Back is at it again.

OMGGGGG Y’ALL. So I hurt my back yesterday just doing housework prepping for the cleaners…but I took an Oxy which pretty much made me forget about it.

Fast forward to the middle of the night when I woke up and couldn’t move! Freaked me out until I realized that the Oxy had just worn off and my back was super sore again—and it was just tough to move.

Stayed in bed laying down because it didn’t hurt if I wasn’t moving. Got out of bed at 9 to take another Oxy and sat on the couch hoping to take a nap until it started working…but the dogs kept playing and making noise and jumping on me and waking me up. So I kept floating in and out of sleep.

Guess who’s JUST NOW finally getting up?! OMG it’s almost 2:30.

And look who FINALLY settled down now that I need to get up.

Today’s tip? Don’t get old.

I apparently tweaked my back last night leaving the reception—and didn’t realize it until this morning when I tried to get up and out of bed and realized I had more than my usual amount of pain.

Walking out, I had half stumbled on some rocks (in my stupid heels—why did I try to be fancy?!) and “caught” myself. (But aren’t they fancy?! They looked amazing!)

I can walk (thankfully) but can’t bend at all. And Tom had to help me put my underwear and pants on. But isn’t that what marriage is all about?!

Surprise I hurt my back.

About two weeks ago I dropped my phone behind the bed. Tom managed to get it out but unknowingly unplugged the bed (it has USB ports in it so it needs to be plugged in) so nothing is charging and no cables work. I’ve not even been charging my phone at night because I haven’t wanted to figure it out.

Fast forward to last night when I thought I had FINALLY gotten a cable working. Aaaand no. And then I dropped my phone BEHIND THE BED AGAIN. Not reachable at all.

So I got super pissed and rage pulled the nightstand away from the bed. I knew I’d pay for it today and yep, my back hurts. I hate being old and broken.

And yes, I also hate all the cords but they’re generally hidden.

At least Tom and I take turns.

Getting old sucks. I woke up this morning with a familiar twinge in my lower back which told me I’d have to be careful or it would go out on me. So I was careful. I squatted at the knees, didn’t bend over, did my stretches. I sat at my desk, walked around Costco with Anna, and then we went on a walk. I felt fine. Then guess what happened midway through my walk? ZING! My back went out. I managed to make it back and drive home but now I’m sacked out on ice on the couch with Maggie. I took whatever drugs Tom gave me and crossed my fingers—we have another appointment today at 4 (not for my back) and I hope I can make it.

I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.

When you wake up with a screaming back and a 2-mile walk doesn’t help, you end up on the floor trying to remember the stretches your physical therapist showed you three months ago because you haven’t been doing them daily like you’re supposed to. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I’ve had a bad back for many years (not helped by being obese for most of those) and while losing weight did help, it wasn’t a cure-all. I try to be careful, but once you reach a certain point in your life, you could throw your back out rolling over in bed, putting your wet hair in a towel, or putting your socks on (true stories). All I know is I am never shoveling snow again–never ever ever, even if it’s just for 30 seconds. 😒❄️

Tell me how you’ve managed to injure yourself in a simple everyday way so we can commiserate.

You’re staying… No you’re being discharged.

Tom texted me in the morning to say they were holding him another day… So I went to visit after the kids for on the bus…and while I was there they decided he was being discharged! After waiting since 7am to get the MRI results, the doc said it’s a torn nerve (and of course the doc came in during the five minutes I ran too check on another appointment). They said he doesn’t need IV drugs so they’re sending him home since there’s not much else they can do at the hospital. It is what it is. The meds will help with inflammation and pain and he gets an appointment with a pain clinic for a steroid shot. But that’s it. If it rips more it’s serious—like they told him if his lower extremities get numb to come in immediately. 😳🥺

Of course, it took about two hours to get discharged and then an unplanned 45 minutes to get the meds at the pharmacy, so I had to scurry to find friends to get the kids off the bus. But all ended well and he’s home now.

Let’s just say we don’t have good backs in our house.

I threw my back out last week and Tom threw his out yesterday (reaching for something he dropped). He managed to hold out overnight until the kids went to school before going to the ER…

The typical drug routine didn’t work this time so long story short about five hours in (when his pain level was still at a 10) they ended up admitting him so they could do an MRI (the ER couldn’t administer it on their own for whatever reason).

I had to go home to eat lunch, pack his overnight bag, get the kids off the bus, and then we all went back for a picnic dinner and some cuddles.

He seemed a little better, but then he wasn’t moving. He said his pain was about a 3 laying there but any time he tried to move or stand it was a 10. He has an MRI scheduled for the morning so hopefully we will know more then.

Seriously? Washing my hair?

There’s nothing like throwing your back out while reaching for conditioner in the shower.

It’s pretty bad—normally when I tweak my back I don’t even need to break out the Tylenol 3. Today I took one and it didn’t touch it. Later I took two and it still didn’t really do much.

#ugh
#gettingoldsucks
#tylenol3totherescue
#goodexcusetorelax

Tom’s turn for back issues

This happened a few days ago on April 23.

So, Tom hurt his back way back in 2012 when he was at Quantico for Advanced Comm School. He got X-rays taken but was told nothing was wrong.

Fast forward to today when he hurt his back working out and went to the doctor. His X-rays had been digitized and attached to his account and as soon as the doctor saw them he told Tom he had degenerative disc disease! He was clueless how any previous doc could have missed it!

So, that sucks. But! He is now allowed to go to a chiropractor at no cost! He will have another appointment to determine the extent of the issue, but in the meantime, he’s taking drugs.

Just a little windy.

I love going out to the deck to put away the plastic chairs blowing around in the wind…only to discover the 14′ patio umbrella half out of the table and the heavy wrought iron table is what we heard moving around. EEK! Of course I couldn’t leave it like I found it (I should have taken a picture) so I had to finagle the stupid thing (which weighs a ton) and I think I threw my back out getting the umbrella safely removed. Fun!

Birthday Bowling + A Toe Tragedy

Today we had a birthday party at a bowling alley for one of Owen’s classmates.

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He had great fun using up his allotted tokens:

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And I played one game for him and won over 100 tickets! He liked feeding them into the counting machine! (I thought we were done at this point which is why I turned them in so early. By the time the day was done, I had three redemption slips!)

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Then it was time for pizza, cake, and opening presents. Overall it wasn’t too bad, but the party room was SUPER tiny for all the kids and let me just ask: If you were having a birthday party at a bowling alley on a limited time schedule with little kids with a short attention span, why on earth would you bring ALL your personal presents (at least 10-12)? Bring maybe 2-3 from mom and dad (if any at all) and open the rest at home. But anyway.

Owen was really very patient, and finally it was time for bowling. He wasn’t thrilled with the shoes but I told him he had to wear them. The first few frames went pretty well (they had the bumpers up) but honestly, trying to corral ten or so ~5-year-olds into bowling is like trying to herd cats. Kids running here, running there, between lanes, down the lanes while others are bowling, not waiting their turns, wanting to punch all the buttons on the display… And the noise level? Eeesh. Owen started complaining that the shoes hurt his feet and even though they felt fine, I let him take them off. I bowled in socks as a kid and so could he.

Here was his first go at it!

Then they brought out the helper stands—which made a HUGE difference in the success of each turn.

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So it was only Owen and another kid on the last lane. This kid seemed to be a little older and a little bit of a brat—and I have NO idea who his mother was/parents were because no one was ever once close to him the whole time I was there. Well, in about frame six, this kid grabs a ball off the ball return and I guess was trying to be nice and bring Owen a ball for his turn… And just as I’m realizing this could go horribly wrong…yep, bowling ball to the toe. Screaming, wailing, tears, and a little boy sobbing in my lap.

A few moms and kids came over to see if he was okay (he was, he just had to cry a bit and settle down) and one offered to get some ice (oh, yeah, that would be good—I was so concerned with calming him down I had completely zoned on getting ice). Anyway, that was the end of the fun and he just kept saying he wanted to go home. I said we could but we had to leave the ice on for a bit first. The other kid never apologized (I’m sure he didn’t think anything of it) and whoever was there with him never came over (I recognized the few moms that did come over) so that was kind of annoying.

We did have to stop and redeem his tickets on the way out. He had picked out what he wanted earlier and of course they were out of that item. But the guy said we could pick ANYTHING in the case! (I mean it’s all cheap crap, but Owen was excited!) So he picked handcuffs! 🙂 Then it was a slow hobble to the car (I obviously can’t carry him) and he really was a trooper for as painful as I know it was. On the way home I tried to get his mind off it it and had him smiling and laughing. And since he can take pills now, I stopped at Walgreens to get some children’s Advil.

Of course he couldn’t wait to get home to tell Gramma and Grandpa about it and show them. We asked him if he knew the kid and he said no, but he always drops the bowling ball on his foot. 🙂

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My second chiropractor.

I like my current chiropractor, so why did I seek out another one? Well, he practices a different style of adjusting—the NUCCA method:

NUCCA is a unique form of Chiropractic spinal health care that uses a specific procedure focused on correcting a small misalignment of the upper neck know as the Atlas Subluxation Complex. This subtle correction ultimately restores optimal balance to the entire spinal column. Because the spinal column protects the central nervous system that controls and coordinates all body functions, good spinal balance is critical to good health.

Plus he was offering a special deal—the consult and first set of X-rays for $25 (instead of $200+)…and you all know I’m all about the deal. 😀

I didn’t think I’d like it—I mean, I LOVE being cracked, and he does NO cracking whatsoever. But I wanted a “second opinion” if you will. And I thought if he could help me more (or in addition to) the other chiropractor…then why not? The goal is to FIX my neck.

So I had the consult (about a week ago) and from the basic check, he determined my neck was bad enough that x-rays were warranted. Big surprise, I know. 🙄 So today I got the results and yep, I’m broken.

My spine (at the neck) should be curved—like the “near normal” x-ray below—and it’s not. (NOTE: These are NOT my x-rays—these pics are from here.)

Near normal neck x-ray

My neck is almost straight, like this (Phase One Subluxation Degeneration)—characterized with a loss or change in the normal curve in the spine):

Phase 1 neck x-ray

But that said, I think I actually fall into the next worst phase—Phase Two Subluxation Degeneration—where there is a reduction in the range of motion, you may start to feel stiff or achy, affected vertebrae are noticeably narrower and may appear to be flattening out, and you can see the beginnings of arthritis. XX(

He said that in one direction, my neck is off by (I think it was) ½° and in another direction, it was off by 2° (which he said was pretty bad—I don’t think he used the word severe, but it certainly wasn’t good).

The adjusting is done by pressing (with the heel of his hand) on my neck in the direction it needs to go. It was done in a matter of minutes (much like the other chiropractor) but unfortunately, it’s a bit more expensive ($40/visit vs. $25/visit). BUT if it helps me, I think it’s worth it. I have been going to the other chiropractor for about three months and it HAS helped (as evidenced by her scans), but what she’s doing can’t actually realign my neck, which is what I think really needs to happen. And I’m still getting headaches every night so something else needs to be done.

So we’ll see how it goes. I just want my neck to feel better and not get any worse.

I got cracked!

I went to the chiropractor tonight—something I’ve always wanted to do, but never got around to figuring out because I hate dealing with insurance and it was just never really “that” bad. But ever since Owen, my back has been a lot worse—and if you remember, I threw my back out in December and had to get shots and take major painkillers. So I knew it was time. And then there was an internet deal I found for a local place…so I went, figuring even if I didn’t like it, I was only out $38. And all I have to say is…WOW.

It was originally supposed to just be a consultation, but when she saw the results of my scan, she said “You need an adjustment now.” Yeah, I knew I was broken.

A good scan would be all white—and (I’m guessing from the quick look I had) mine was about 80% color, with a few black spots at my neck (meaning it was the worst). After I laid on the table, she said one leg was longer than the other, which means my hips/pelvis is off, so she did something for that—which was painful, but then I felt relief, so it was all good. Then she took my head gently in her hands and—CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!—twisted and cracked my neck in one swift movement and it was simply amazing. And then she did the other side. AMAZING! Yes, I was one of those patients who had an “OH GOD” outburst because it felt so good. I could tell I would be sore, but it felt SO good to have been cracked.

She recommended me coming back in a few days and then again next week (when they have $10 sessions). Plus then I still have two more coupon visits (which equals about $8/visit). Aside from that, a visit is only $35 so it’s a lot cheaper than I expected—so I could easily afford to go once a month until my spine is back in working order. And they ALWAYS have the $10 Tuesday thing for people with no insurance or high deductibles!

The only negative is that the drive is about 20-35 minutes depending on traffic…but I can live with that for the relief it will surely bring.

This is not my day.

It started at 4:30am, when Tom’s alarm went off…which in and of itself is a necessity, I know. But he didn’t get up. EVEN THOUGH I SPECIFICALLY ASKED THE NIGHT BEFORE ABOUT IT AND OH, OF COURSE HE’S GETTING UP. 😐 So then of course he falls RIGHT back to sleep and I toss and turn, finally falling asleep until his second alarm went off about 5:15. Needless to say I was NOT happy. And he STILL didn’t get up and of course I had trouble falling asleep again. So just when I’m getting some sleep…*I* get a blocked call (had my phone on silent, but it still vibrates, which is enough to wake me up) at 6am.

>:XX

Then, after I put Owen down for his nap, I decided to get a bunch of stuff done around the house since I was feeling AMAZING (after a round of stomach flu this weekend) and was carrying laundry down from upstairs when I slipped and crashed on my ass. Luckily I didn’t hit my head or go down the entire staircase (or do any serious damage), but my butt, back, and wrists hurt immediately and I predicted in a few hours I wouldn’t be able to move (so I skipped the measly Advil and went straight to the prescription painkillers).

And just to round out my morning… I discovered that Maggie peed in the house. Again. I let her out this morning like I always do and tried to keep an eye on her (since she’s been peeing inside more often lately) and damn if she didn’t do it while I was in the shower. She just hates going outside in the cold/snow so if you don’t actually watch her outside I swear she fakes it…then pees in the house because you weren’t watching her at the exact moment she needed (wanted) to go outside. I think it might be time she goes back in her crate during the day.

GRRRR.

I know things could be worse (I could still have the flu, knock on wood, or god forbid Owen could have it, KNOCK ON WOOD) but this has not been a good day.

Back Pain

I just got home from the doctor’s office (clinic). I threw my back out Monday and have been taking some of Tom’s leftover meds to survive until I could get to the doctor. I thought I might get a lecture about taking other people’s prescriptions, but when I told the doc he didn’t even bat an eyelash and just said “Yes, those will help.”

He gave me a cortisone shot and prescribed Flexeril and Vicodin. He also took x-rays to rule out anything major like arthritis, scoliosis, or problem discs. He said he didn’t see anything obvious, but was having a radiologist look as well and will get back to me.

On another note, I technically killed three appointments in one by also getting 1) a script for my sleeping issues and 2) a flu shot. So I guess the hour wait and eventual 45-minute appointment wasn’t THAT bad.