As some of you may know, I have been suffering from back problems for probably the last 6 months or so. I went to my Dr about 3 months ago, and was diagnosed with a bulging disc in my left lower lumbar region. Oh yeah, I was just thrilled to hear that (notice the sarcasm here). Well, after a dose of pain medications and anti-inflammatory drugs that worked but didn't kill the pain, I went and got an epidural steroid shot in my back. That seemed to help immensely. I'd say my pain went from a 11/10 to probably a 1/10 (and no, that 11 is not a typo). At the beginning of August, I fell outside my home on the sidewalk, HARD. I landed on my right knee, and banged my left shin against the step. Yeah, it was bad! My right knee swelled up to probably about the size of a grapefruit, and I had a pretty good sized knot on my left shin. I ended up going to the ER that same night and they told me that I didn't break anything (thank goodness), but had a LOT of soft tissue swelling around my knee-I did not get my left leg looked at, as it didn't hurt as much. Luckily, the swelling on both legs have gone down, but ever since that day, I have had excruciating pain in my lower back & left leg. I literally would have shock waves of pain shooting down my leg to my foot almost 24/7 and I would have a hard time standing up straight, or standing up for long periods of time. I even had trouble walking around, as my left leg would get so weak within probably about 10 minutes, I could barely keep my body weight up. Well, after trying OTC pain meds, with no such luck, and a MAJOR flare up of inflammation this week, I finally went in and saw my Doctor this morning. She has decided to have me try Physical Therapy to see if it'll help with the pain in my leg, and prescribed me some more painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. If the PT doesn't help the problem, then she is going to schedule another MRI on my back to see if maybe I jarred my back enough that the disc has moved some more or if it's pressing up against anything (like my spinal cord). I think I may have a pinched nerve around that area, as the only pain I seem to have is on my left side, so I'm really hoping the PT will work. I have my first appointment on Wednesday morning, and I'm not sure how many times I'm going to see them. Keep your fingers crossed for me that this works! In the meantime, the pain meds and anti-inflammatory meds that the Dr gave me seem to be helping me, as I don't hurt as bad right now, as I did this morning (it was so excruciating, I was literally bawling as I got out of the shower). I'll keep you all updated on how things go.
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| Not taken here, just a thunderstorm pic I love :) |
On another note, today's weather was AWESOME! It basically stormed on and off all afternoon, the wind was blowing like crazy, and the temperature dropped to under 70 degrees, which made me so happy! It really did feel like Fall was here, and I only wish that it would stay like this! Even as I type this, I have my balcony door and bedroom window open, letting the cool, fresh air flow throughout my apartment. I'm totally loving it. Tomorrow it's supposed to be back up in the 80's, and be that way (or in the 90's) for the next week, so sadly I'll have to turn the a/c unit back on, and just anxiously await the time where I can turn the a/c off for good. Hopefully in the next few weeks, it'll start to cool down and actually become Fall weather. Until then, I'll just keep dreaming of that day! :)
Well, I think I'm going to end this here, but I hope you all are doing well, and I hope you all have a great weekend! Take care & stay safe!
Later gators,
*Jolene*
