Pains in the something or other

So, yesterday, I walked to the gym. First, the parking lot is under construction, and secondly, I might as well walk, it's only about a mile. Got there, water aerobics were cancelled. I dragged myself out of bed at 0700 for what, now?

Later, I walked to the shopette and back to get some milk and a couple bits, since the commissary is closed on Monday. By last night, that twinge in my lower back was back, and I've had trouble walking today (by which I mean I have a pronounced limp). Called for a referral to the pain clinic, hopefully it won't get too bad before I can get a cortisone shot. I can mostly deal with pain, but it gets hard to drive with that particular pain--the nerve gets all buggered up and my leg doesn't work right. I don't know if it was just "time" for it to flare up, or if I caused it walking somehow. If so, it's got to be a terrain problem; I walk all day at work without screwing myself up.

Anyway, my hubby is now convinced that I need a breast reduction. A lot of the pain I get is in my shoulders and just below the bra strap line. And somehow, in losing weight over the past year I managed to get from 38DD to 36DDD. Well, it's still not as bad as when I was nursing--after a year of that, I was about two cup sizes bigger than this. Anyone have any experience with that? Surgery makes me nervous, seriously. Plus, I sort of identify as being large-breasted. How much would they take off for something like that?

Vacation Ramble

I'm off this week. My mother is in town, and I hadn't seen her in two years. My neck and hands are having bad weeks for swelling and pain--I should call tomorrow and get a referral to the pain clinic for a cortisone shot in my neck where that disc is bad.

So, anyway, I still need to do all my schoolwork for the week. My boss called this morning to let me know that there was a holiday next week he'd forgotten to schedule, so I told him I'd just work the full week and take 8 hours holiday pay as a bonus. We went to the Gold Dredge today, which was really interesting, and stopped at the Pipeline on the way up.

Now, we're watching Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, so I made a decision: when I'm an accountant, I'm going to have a business card made up with the title "Counting Mutant."

Shoes

I must confess, I've never been fond of wearing shoes. I feel better overall and in my feet without, and I'm not convinced of the shoe industry's rhetoric about needing supportive shoes; we've evolved to walk barefoot or with leather moccasins that mold to the feet but are only a protective covering. Surely, doing so does not throw us out of alignment? The flip side of that coin is that we also evolved to walk on ground that was softer to our feet and had some give to it. Concrete sidewalks and hard floors are also of the modern world.

Last week, the day DH left, we went to buy him some walking shoes. The guy at the Athlete's Foot (it's a terrible name for a shoe chain, isn't it?) was very passionate about shoes. His spiel was quite long. But since then, I've been thinking that I should get some better insoles. Actually, I feel better overall when I use the Profoot 2 oz. Miracle insoles; I may just need some new ones, rather than some different ones. Still, since I have to wear shoes, I know that the shoes I wear make a difference in how I feel. The best shoes I've found are Okabashi sandals; real Crocs aren't bad, but watch for knockoffs. But if there are cute shoes you're just dying to wear, or if you can't manage new shoes in your budget right now, try to invest in some decent insoles. It might make a world of difference to you.

I will, however, probably go to Athlete's Foot in a couple weeks to get some sneakers and insoles for walking. Our water aerobics class will be cancelled for the summer while they repair and renovate the pool at the gym, so we're going to meet and walk instead. I have some cheap gym shoes, which are OK for using the elliptical or bike at the gym, but I should probably get some good walking shoes. I thought about getting shoes I could wear to work while I was there, but they only appeared to sell dress shoes for men.

I missed water aerobics today, because I had to be at work early. I did a half-hour on the bike, instead. I wish the seat could be set shorter than ours can--I have to sit at the edge of the seat--but it's still very handy to have as a backup plan.

Good and Bad

I've been in flare this week regarding the pain that is inflammatory, particularly in my fingers and my neck. Still, I've had some OK days when not discussing pain issues. Last weekend, we saw Iron Man (like half the people in this country, right?). My son LOVED it. I loved it, if less. Sometimes, feeling good about something outside makes a day OK. We basically had a party after, playing Scene It and some board games. I can't drink much any more, though some of my friends drank quite a bit (I nursed a banana bread beer, which was pretty good on my stomach, which doesn't tolerate--well, anything much, actually; IBS has taken over my life even more than the FMS, I guess).

Hell is other people...

If you're not feeling sensitive, read this.

I couldn't respond. I'm shaking with anger. Never mind the pain people live with on a daily basis. Never mind that addiction is virtually unknown among people who are actually in pain. We have "AngryPharmacist"s complaining that patients use it as an excuse to take pain medicine--taking pain medicine makes me vomit at least once every couple weeks, but obviously, I'm enjoying the dizziness and nausea because of some theoretical high, and then we have some nurse bitching that the only real "sufferer" she's known must have been suffering because she didn't take real pain medicine, managing with massage and "an occasional Advil."

I self-treated with Advil for a good decade before that allergy took out an entire class of pain medicine. I have obvious inflammation in major areas of my body, and doctors who hear about the pain will dismiss other real issues (the muscle pain is worst? OK, we won't treat the cervical disc disease for now, then) because they'll attribute everything to FMS--who cares if my fingers are stiff and swollen and crack when I use my hands? Obviously, since I have been independently diagnosed with this several times, I made up having pain all over so that I could get Flexeril I can take only at bedtime because it renders me incapable of functioning at all for several hours.