December 2008 - Posts
'Tis the season...and for the first time in my life I'm not feeling much stress at the holidays. Thankfully.
My wonderful husband taped over 100 photos into our holiday cards last weekend while I addressed envelopes and wrote in my personal message. Even taking the photo for the card wasn't too stressful - the boys didn't self destruct, they actually smiled, and it was after 8pm when the photo session was initiated (post-bath for clean babes).
In terms of my holiday shopping, I started in January of this year. Yes, January. When I find something, I make the purchase. Nothing is worse than braving the mall with a toddler in their terrible twos stage and an infant who wants to constantly eat at this time of year, let alone when you can actually wheel a stroller in the mall without stopping short, bumping into things, or trying to avoid those lovely shoppers who feel compelled to make the world move around THEM. As of right now, I have one more small gift to purchase...and if I don't, I have something in my "back-up" stash that will do. I'm waiting for our annual holiday calendar of the boys to arrive, but besides those, everything else is wrapped and under the tree (or already shipped). Phew.
I have my marching orders for what I'm bringing where on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Nothing terribly difficult, and nothing I can't do that morning. This afternoon, as we're expecting about a foot of fluffy white snow and my loving husband is coming home early, my boys and I are going to bake up a storm of cookies. I'm not feeling pressured or short of time in baking either. I realize that in one evening I can whip up several different batches of holiday cookies that I then dole out and bring with us on our travels and wrap up for friends and family.
My final project of the holiday season is knitting my youngest a red and white Christmas stocking that matches the one I made my oldest on his first Christmas two years ago. It's a big stocking, and up until last night I hadn't had time to start the project. I did jump in with two feet and feel like another 2 or 3 evenings and it will be done. It's a quick knit, but it's a big stocking.
So, instead of running around at the very last moment and having the house completely torn apart trying to decorate, things surprisingly were finished early this year...even despite having major back problems. I finished my steroid last week and have been feeling mostly back to normal the past few days. I did feel some aching in my back last night as I shelled and deveined 3 lbs of shrimp (yeah, fun is), but that was fleeting. I feel well enough to be out in the snow with my son, but still cautious that any quick movement or heavy lighting/pulling/pushing can literally throw my back not only into spasm, but might get me an operation for Christmas. I was a bit shocked to hear my chiropractor tell me on Monday as I was relating how good I was feeling that she really expected me to have surgery. Surgery, really. I'm surprised that a chiropractor would actually say that aloud...and glad that I'm doing much better as it's fairly certain I might be awaiting surgery right now.
So, although stress isn't good for my Sjogren's or my back, it seems that in a time where I thought I would be pretty highly stressed, I'm actually able to enjoy the holiday. Maybe after 30 something years I'm finally figuring things out. I did make a garland just for our light post this year...I didn't make the one for around the door. Maybe I'm just learning to let some things go...
I'm off to fill the house with the wonderful smell of childhood...and watch my little one enjoy sampling every creation.
Is a new back...or maybe just to be pain free. I tried describing the constant pain to my husband tonight, and I guess by saying, "I'm tired of being nauseous" it hit home. I just keep in mind it could be A LOT worse.
I saw my rheumatologist this afternoon to check in and see if this neck/back pain could cause problems with my Sjogren's. The issue itself won't, but the stress and constant pain might. She provided me with a few suggestions, including going on a steroid usually used for Lupus patients to help with the inflammation. Turns out this is safe for *** feeding (YEAH), so we're going to give it a shot...just need to check in with my chiropractor first thing tomorrow.
Supposedly I'll feel like I'm on cloud 9 while taking it...but I should try and limit my activities as it could set me back. Let's hope wrapping Christmas presents doesn't push me over as between that and the cards...oh and knitting like a fiend to finish (um, start) my son's Christmas stocking...that's what I'll be doing for the next several weeks.
Well, in the past few weeks I've managed to do some recoup on my back...only to find out it's my neck.
I did get in to see the chiropractor the day of my last post. Since then I've been on very restricted duty and thus, nearly unable to sit still long enough to type. Well, without having a child or two trying to monopolize my time.
The chiropractor I saw took several sets of x-rays, and after reading them asked me if I was in a traumatic car accident as a child. My Mother-in-Law said she was asked the same thing many years ago, so perhaps it's just a ploy. I've never firmly believed in chiropractic care, skeptical might best summarize my outlook.
Well, my spine from my mid-back upwards curves to the right, my neck curves like a C rather than a reverse C like it's supposed to. I guess a hard 180 degree flat out fall on black ice as a child didn't help thing, neither did a hard fall down the stairs before my first pregnancy, or the fall out of the kayak right before I conceived the first time...or all of those years as a thrower on the track team in high school and college. I've just been really hard on my body.
So I have been seeing the chiropractor three days a week since my first appointment, including the week of Thanksgiving. This is the first week I've gone to a Monday/Friday appointment. Not that I'm feeling 100%, but the pain in my neck is now in my lower back. The week before Thanksgiving the pain was radiating down my arms, so the chiropractor sent me for an MRI. Fun is. I'm not afraid of small spaces, was actually somewhat peaceful as no one was trying to climb on me or bother me. Twenty minutes of time to myself. Who cares if I was in something no larger than pea pod.
That surprisingly showed that I have a disc problem in my lower neck - C5 and C6 to be exact. One is a protruding disc, one is a bulging disc. I've been told not to lift anything, no housework, no major activity. Take it slow, lay low, get lots of rest. Hah. This week I'm doing better, actually able to finally drive (before I couldn't turn my head enough to check the side mirrors). As I sit here typing my lower back hurts the most and my neck hurts just a little less. I've been told that something as simple as a sneeze could throw one of the discs, so I need to be very careful. Scared? A bit.
We did discuss muscle relaxants and as I'd need to be on them for at least 10 days and they have a 3-4 day elimination time, I'd basically have to either wait a month to build up enough milk in the freezer or I'd have to stop nursing. As such, we've decided (my, my PCP, the chiro, and my son's pediatrician...yes they are all involved) against that route for now. The chiropractor has given me about 2 weeks until she ships me to an orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion. Yikes.
In the meantime, I've called and left two messages with my rheumatologist and am ready to chew her a new ear tomorrow as I have yet to hear back. My concern is that the stress I'm under from this (pain, emotional) will accelerate the Sjogren's...as I've been told stress does that. I'm on the Plaquenil, but wanted to know if I should up the dosage. We had waited for me to take the full dosage until my son was old enough, but maybe now is the time to introduce the higher dosage. Nothing from her. Makes me want to consider another rheumatologist.
We'll see tomorrow what she says, but although I'm pretty uncomfortable I know that it could be a whole lot worse.
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