Barely an update

Sorry I haven't been updating much, but there's not much to update. I'm fine in the morning, gets a little worse during the day. But the acupuncture must be doing something good because the pain isn't as intense as it was. And I can pick up a few more kids. Still not as easy as the smallest ones, and definitely not as long. But still! And there are a few kids I won't attempt to pick up yet.

So there is something working, somewhere. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

Again, not much of an update but there's not much to update. Nothing really going on at the moment.

On the positive side, not so much a major one for today, but in general, I came to a huge self-realization that is a big step forward in my own emotional life. So that's always good.

I guess that's it. My back is hurting some now, but it's also bed time so...sleep it is.

Good night.

Weekend Update

As expected, the back is doing that the thing where after acupuncture, I'm in pain for the next few days, and then I'm fine in the morning and hurting by the end of the day. For some reason, the acupuncturist thinks this means I need to increase my visits, which means an appointment on Tuesday and Thursday. It'll be interesting to see how this goes.

This weekend has definitely proven that I'm fine in the morning and worse in evenings. I experienced that both days. Saturday's pain might have come from the walking I insisted on doing. After a quick coffee with my friend and his girlfriend, I got dropped off at the supermarket to pick up a few things and I said I'd walk down. I was in some pain by the time I got home. And then I went out with my roommate, and I did a bit of walking too. So, more pain.

But it's necessary. As I've said, I can't keep sitting around. I need to lose this bit of weight I gained, and I can't do that sitting on my ass, not moving because I'll experience some pain. As long as I don't get it so bad that I can barely move, I'm going to do it. Because I have to.

Maybe I feel like I have something to prove. Maybe I'm stubborn. Either way, I'm doing this.

I'm also battling this head cold, and I think that's taking some pressure off the back pain. Basically, when I have something else physical to deal with, it's like the back says "ok, we're going to deal with this first, and then I will go back to hurting you." Hopefully this will go away soon.

Not much in the way of positives today. I have a cold, not nice weather, couldn't sing well because of sinuses and back, and I want to destroy my internet. Positives over the weekend included seeing a movie with a friend who I haven't seen in a while because she's been away, and doing some socialization with people I don't know well on Friday. That was a fun night, and I'm glad I went.

So that's about it. I will keep the masses informed about how two sessions of acupuncture goes.

Second Session Down

It's been a few days, but I've been busy.

I had my second acupuncture session on Tuesday, and it was a late one, so I didn't get home until late, so no update. Wednesday is choir, and I come back late, so no entry then.

Today is Thursday. When I saw her, the acupuncturist said that I seemed to have some improvement. It was very slight, but some. I didn't really notice it. I did notice that I had to pee more right after. I'm not sure if it's the relaxation or the fact that I drank a lot of water that day. I was also told it could be detox. It'll be interesting to see what happens next week.

I'm going twice next week. I explained how I was in pain the first few days after, and then I seem to be fine in the morning, but it gets worse during the day, like how it used to be. That means I have to see her more. It also seems to be going the same way this week as well. I've definitely notice a more of a sensitivity. Sometimes, I can do things I couldn't, but other things that were fine make it hurt. Not sure exactly what's up with that. And the pain feels a little different. I can definitely identify a pinching feel to it.

Trying to do a bit of walking but it's not easy considering it's dark and cold when I get home. Did about 15 minutes today, from the bus depot to Walmart. Yeah, my back hurt after that. But it was, late and cold and I was already hurting from the pain during the day. But I want to walk. I have to walk. I don't want to gain that weight back again. My pants are still kinda tight and I'm not happy with that. Doing a few little things with my eating too, so hopefully that'll help.

So I guess that's it for now. Acupuncture doesn't seem to be really working yet, but I'm told it can take a while. Maybe if I'm getting treatments twice a week, there'll be a difference. I miss some of my old life.

I almost forgot my positive. Nothing really big happened today. Not that I can think of. The cat was very happy to see me today, but that's because I was mad at her yesterday for eating another pair of my headphones. I'm supposed to be social tomorrow, but that'a tomorrow. I guess today was just an average day. Nothing really happening. Maybe that's the positive, that nothing bad happened. Is that a positive? A lack of a negative is a positive? In math that works. Now I'm rambling so I'll stop now.

These boots were made for walking

This weekend I did something that I haven't done much of lately. I walked. Friday night, I walked to the supermarket and Tim's from my apartment, and back. Saturday, I walked to the mall, took the bus downtown, walked a bit down there as I shopped, got on the bus back to the mall and walked back. Today, again I walked to the supermarket, Tim's and back.

And it hurt.

It wasn't too bad as I was walking, but I definitely felt the pain when I got home. Today in church I definitely felt the spasms. So if I knew I was going to hurt, why do it?

Because I have to. I hate being restricted because of my back pain. I hate relying on taxis and spending all that money to use them. The bus pass is $70 a month, but I need that for work anyways and it's unlimited. So that's not too bad. If I'm going to be in pain anyways, does it really make a difference?

I can hear people now saying that I'm making things worse, that I should be resting. But I'm also told that I'm stubborn, so I'm probably going to do it anyway.

Also, I want to lose weight. I've gained 10lbs and I'm not happy about it. In two years I've lost 65 pounds and I'm terrified that I'll go back to that weight. I don't have those clothes anymore, I can't go back there. While there are other factors, I know not being able to walk much the last few months isn't helping. I can't do much cardio because of my back, I know that. So, I want to walk a bit, as much as I can, even if it's not much or not very fast. I just need to try.

I also want to look good for a cosplay I'm hoping to do at the Sci-fi convention in May.

So I'm going to what I can and hope that the pain doesn't become unbearable again.

Two days later

So it's been a few days since I've been to the acupuncturist and...well...no change yet. I was told that this can happen. Some people feel better right away, some feel better after a few sessions. I think I'm on the second side.

Still getting spasms, still feeling pain almost all the time, still sometimes feels like I've been stabbed or punched in the back. So hopefully over the next few sessions, things will be better. If not, then we'll need to find another method of treatment.

That's really about it. People have asked how it was and really that's it.

As for the positives in life...well, since like September, I've been collecting these Funko Pop vinyl figurines. Mostly My Little Pony ones, but I also have a Lumpy Space Princess anda Gizmo. At some point, I'd like a lot of these figurines. Anyways, since September I've been collecting the MLP ones. However, three are hard to find in stores. They're even hard to find online. ThinkGeek was even out of theses three. Until a few weeks ago! I got an email notification that two of them were in. So I ordered right away and now they are mine! The only one I missing is Dr. Whooves. I'll find him...somewhere...sometime (see what I did there?).

Again, that's just a quick updated on the acupuncture. More to come when I get there.

Acupuncture

I did the acupuncture today! It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. There wasn't much pain, and you could hardly feel the needles going in. And I have another appointment next week.

There's a lot more to acupuncture than I thought. It's not just stabbing you with needles. There are certain places that are connected to other places and affect here and there. And we had to discuss my past and current medical conditions. We had to discuss the fact that I'm always cold. Always cold. Even when she took my hands, she said "wow, they really ARE cold". Knowing if I'm hot or cold helps determine if I'm better suited for hot or cold treatment. Since I'm always cold, I'd be more sensitive to cold and would then respond better to hot. Makes sense considering...well...a lot of things.

The needles going in were fine. I couldn't feel it much. Felt the ones in my hands and the ones in my feet a lot. The thing is, you don't touch my feet. Especially the bottoms of my feet. If I kicked my best friend and made him fall down because he touched my feet, imagine what I'd do to a stranger. But she touched very gently and I still felt the urge to kick her. And my foot jerked too, so, really, they're sensitive.

After I got stuck with needles, we turned on a heat lamp and relaxing music and I was there for about 15-20 minutes. Partway through, I guess I slightly re-positioned  my shoulders or something and then I felt the needles there. And then I felt the needles elsewhere. And then my back started to spasm a little. I was thinking about calling out to her that I was getting really uncomfortable, but then she came back in. She took the needles off and I was good to go. I felt a bit dizzy getting up but my back did feel better. Though by the time I left the building and started home, it started to hurt again. It still hurts. So hopefully in the next few sessions, things will get better.

Also hoping that the lawyer will get things straightened out and pick up the tab. They told me that I was approved for acupuncture and to let them know who I was seeing so they could tell them to bill them. I did that. They haven't contacted anyone yet. So I had to pay out of pocket for this session, but I have the receipt.

So that's acupuncture. I'll keep the updates.

And I have three major positives today! One, I have awesome co-workers. We frequently tell one that she's not right in the head and she's hilarious. Always bringing the smiles. All of them do. And they were just awesome today. Second positive was the reception I got from the cat when I got home. She was just so happy to see me. I didn't get the red dot, like she wanted, since my back hurt and I needed to lie down. She jumped on my chest and laid down and purred. Again, just so happy I was home. And the third positive...NEW ARCHER TONIGHT! And new How I Met Your Mother and it was a Slapsgiving episode and there's one slap left! I won't give spoilers for that in case you haven't seen it. But super excited for Archer, but that might be another positive for another day since I won't be watching it tonight. Thank god for DVRs.

So that's it. I'll keep people posted on how things go.

The finally got back to me!

I've been away the last few days. Wednesday was choir so I wasn't home to update. Tuesday, my back was terrible. I spent a lot of time lying down because of the pain.

I'm not sure exactly what set it off the last few days. I guess maybe getting back into routine is putting stress on the back. After the holidays, then a weekend, and a Monday where we didn't really have to work, getting back into a regular routine made my back go owie.

In fact, I had wanted to take my Christmas tree down on Tuesday but the back laughed and said "yeah, good luck with that". So it stayed up until tonight. Still pain, but not as much. The tree is now down. Took two attempts because I had to have a break in between.

I also discovered something else that may cause problems in the future. Maybe it hurt more because I was already in pain, but I had trouble cooking. I love cooking. I don't like baking. And yes, there is a difference. I always find baking has to be more precise or things might explode. At least, that's the impression I get. I don't like the pressure of it. With cooking, I feel it's a lot more relaxed, more of a "let's throw random stuff together and see what I get!" which is what I do.

And I seem to be good at it. I'm told I've made good stuffed chicken breasts, various potato dishes, various pasta dishes, meatballs and my mac and cheese is always a hit. While I'm cooking, I'm not staying still. I'm stirring or cutting or mixing or pouring or something. There is a rush with it, making sure I get veggies in the sauce or that the spices are just right or moving quick enough to add things before the time runs out. It's kind of an exhilarating pressure that I enjoy.

Anyways, it seemed that the rushing made my back hurt more while I was cooking on Tuesday. I wasn't very happy about that.

And it seems like, once again, it's the constant pain. Just sometimes it's more manageable than others.

BUT!

There's a big but there! I like big buts, and I can not lie. The pain may soon go away. Finally, FINALLY, the lawyers got back to me! It seems that I have been approved for $600 worth of acupuncture. According to the email, I just have to tell them what clinic I'm going to, and then tell the clinic to bill the lawyers. Now I gotta find an acupuncturist. My friend is giving me a recommendation that I'll check out. If I don't like it, I'll look at one either near work or home.

I'm very glad that that's moving forward. I guess that's my positive for today. Well, that or defeating Civ 5 as Attila the Hun with a domination victory. If that means nothing to you, that's fine. It's awesome for me.

Well, that's it. I plan to be a little social this weekend which will be exciting.

I guess that's it for now. Wish me luck in finding someone to stick me with needles!

Lack of Exercise

I've been a way for a bit and if anyone was really worried, I'm sure they'd ask. But since most people, if not everyone, sees this from either Facebook or Twitter and I've been updating from there. Being away from blogger because we kinda fell into a crisis here, even if the premier said it's not a crisis. Basically, frigid temperatures combined with a blizzard and increased energy usage made the place go ka-boom! Generators went down and we're pretty much in a Blackout '14. Had rolling blackouts and everything.

So how has the back fared in all this? Not too bad. I think it helps that I don't shovel. Or rather, can't shovel. I think a magic shovel fairy comes and shovels the steps and plows the parking lot of the building, since I've never seen anyone do it. It's just done. But even if I did have to shovel, I wouldn't be able to. That's definitely something that would hurt the back.

The last few days haven't had much an update. I haven't really been doing much, what with the power outages and all. But then when I went to work today, there was some pangs while I was cleaning. There's that conversation about balance again. I didn't do much over the weekend, I go to do stuff and then owie. I really have to learn howto balance that, and it's not easy.

I want to touch on something I've been thinking about the last few days. For those who don't know, I used to weigh 215lbs. I currently weigh about 155lbs. It fluctuates. I've been very proud of being able to keep that weight off the last little while. One of my fears is that I'll gain all that weight back. An important method of keeping weight off is exercise. I used to do that a lot. I use to walk everywhere. I had gym access at an old job and I was there usually 3 times a week. But now, I can't do that. It's been made clear that I can't walk like I used to. I've asked people to slow down because I can't keep up with them anymore. I can't walk the same distances as I used to without feeling pain.

But what about other exercises? We know that shoveling is out, so no exercise from that. Treadmills, ellipticals, probably bikes, that's out. I like doing cardio, but I don't know what cardio I can do that won't hurt my back.

So I guess that's it. I haven't contacted lawyers yet. With the blackouts and holidays, I doubt anyone is in. I will get back to them by the end of the week. Tis my goal!

That's all the news. Again, not much, but that's the way it is. Hope everyone had a safe holiday and stayed nice and warm during our non-crisis time.

I almost forgot the positives! The positive of today is...I got the bus just in the nick of time. That was good. I also got a great amount of gear and a mount and pet and some achieves on WoW in the last little while. That was good too.

Quickie Update

Well, it's a new year, full of new....stuff. Experiences, life, all that. I, for one, am still dealing with the old back pain that still doesn't go away.

I went out New Years Eve, and I did what I could. When your ride is in the band, you're there early and you're there late. I was able to help with some of the set up, by putting things on tables and such. Couldn't help with taking things down. By 3am, my back was gone and I found myself sitting while those around me did the work. Kinda sucked because I wouldn't have minded helping clean things up, but I just couldn't do it.

Couldn't dance either. But my last experience with dancing proved that I definitely shouldn't do that again.

New Years Day involved a lot of time doing nothing. Battlestar Galatica and World of Warcraft was about it.

Remember that post I wrote about balance? Well, New Years Day didn't provide much balance so I was in a bit of pain today when I went back to work. Doing things that I normal do did cause some pangs, but there's not all that much I can do.

Sitting  in the chair at supper time didn't help either. It usually does because I'm sitting, but not today. So I decided to take a bath. That didn't help much either, which is unusual. It usual does help. Maybe it's because I listened to classical orchestra instead of classical solo piano, which I find more relaxing.

The Magic Bag? That helped. I love that thing.

So...that's about it. I've learned that somethings that usually relax me may not always do so, depending on how tense my muscles are.

Really hoping to hear from the lawyers about my acupuncture soon.

Today's positive...well, a few small ones. The biggest one might be the fact that when I came home, our power was back on! Due to the insane freezing temperatures and a blizzard coming tomorrow, we've had to do rolling blackouts to deal with the demand. The bus on the way home from work had my street pitch black. Couldn't see anything. I was planning on getting groceries anyways, so I just kept going, hoping the rest of the area had power. Turns out my street was one of the only ones without it in the area. Kinda sucked. But when I came home, the power was back and has been back ever since, so yay.

So a blizzard tomorrow. I'm glad I don't have to shovel. My back wouldn't allow it, and yay for apartment living.