To Be or Not To Be in Pain?

That is the question. Last week my strong narcotic prescription ran out. My local orthopedic surgeon then gave me the choice to either stay on the same narcotic or much to something a bit softer (that being vicodin). I thought the smarter choice would be to move on to the vicodin. Unfortunately, my bones did not agree. I stuck with the vicodin for a week, but that entire time, I was in so much pain. On the one hand it was comforting to know that the strong narcotic I had been taking previously was doing it's job, on the other hand, it was frustrating to realize my level of pain was still too high to move on to the vicodin. The entire week I could barely move. I felt as if I had just regressed 4+ weeks. I couldn't walk well, I could barely even get up from lying down. And so much for practicing my driving! I spoke to the doctor's office on Friday and told them of my pain. The nurse suggested taking two pills at a time rather than one and that if that didn't work over the weekend to call back on Monday. Even taking two at a time barely worked. I'd say that for about an hour and a half I felt good - my pain was diminished. But then it returned. So yesterday (Monday) the doctor gave me a prescription for my stronger pain pill. I start taking it today. I look forward to being able to continue my recovery - walking and driving.

What's even more worrisome is that there is a chance I might have to start work on Friday. Though my doctor's are requesting that I continue to recover at home through the 3 month mark, my disability insurance has me returning to work on Friday. The doctor's request is still "pending" but obviously I am running out of time. Hopefully the insurance company will make their decision today in the positive regarding my doctor's requests for full recovery. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but as you can imagine I'm a nervous wreck. Imagine being told I have to go back to work by my insurance company, when I still can't even drive to work! And you'd think the doctor's opinion would have more weight. That's certainly hope logic rules in this case.

As Promised...

I can't think of many things that make a day better than TWO Caramel Apple Empanadas and good company! Yesterday, Stacy, Valerie, and Adam (all co-workers) made the trek out to James Island during their lunch break to bring a Taco Bell lunch to my house. It was a lovely day for sitting in our sunroom/dining room enjoying fun company and a tasty meal. I enjoyed catching up with them and was sad to see them leave...I'd been anticipating this lunch for over a week! I know I've mentioned before how lucky I am to work where I do, and yesterday reiterates that. There aren't too many people who would make the 30 minute trek one-way to James Island just to bring me lunch. I really appreciate the support!

St. Patrick's Day

I hope you all had a nice St. Patrick's Day weekend, whether or not you did something to celebrate. We were fortunate enough to have some wonderful friends who decided they would bring Jonathan and me a St. Patty's Day dinner and dessert to our house! This was incredibly thoughtful. Jonathan and I enjoyed our meal and evening with them. It was nice to see people again, and still be able to lie down on my couch when I started to hurt.

My lower back has been hurting a lot lately so we (I) couldn't do much more this weekend. I've even decreased my walking in an effort to stabilize the back pain. My left heel has been hurting me a lot as well, and we wonder if that has been affecting the way I walk, which in turn is affecting my lower back. Too many things to think about!

I did hear from St. Louis. Turns out the surgeon, Dr. Lenke, took a look at the xrays we mailed out from my local 6-week post-op visit and determined that everything looks good. That's great news!

The Past Couple of Weeks

Well its been a while since I last posted something. Long enough that I even had to read my blog to see where I had left off. Sorry for inconvenience of having to check the site only to find nothing. I guess I've been busy...which is good.

Let's see...so what has happened during the past couple of weeks:

My mother was here for a week and a half which was wonderful. Again, it was a huge help to Jonathan and myself, and it was nice being able to go out nearly every day. Mom would take me to the grocery store or lunch or to the Doctors. It was nice to get out even if it was tiring. Since she has left I've been stuck in the house while Jonathan is at school.

I also had a 6-week check up with my local orthopedic doctor. He was impressed with everything Dr. Lenke did. He still wants me to take it slow and said I shouldn't go back to work until mid-April (still trying to work this out with the disability people, yet another headache). He also prescribed me a stronger medication which doesn't make me loopy or slur my words. This is key because it has enabled me to go out with my mom, and since then, to read and to try to study. I will be going back for another checkup mid-April.

I have also practiced driving. First I just went around the loop in our neighborhood. More recently though I drove 20 minutes to our Costco (always with Jonathan of course). This longer drive really hurt me and I couldn't do any more, so Jonathan had to take over. Slowly but surely, I hope.

Around the house I have been walking up to 2 miles (I can now go a mile at a time), reading, watching tv, and trying to study for my upcoming classes. I have just registered for Summer I, Summer II, and Fall. I'm not sure I'll be able to manage the Summer I class, but I should be able to handle Summer II. Especially if I can get some of the studying done now for the class. Though it is hard to study. I've tried sitting at a desk or table to do so, but I can't last more than 15 minutes, and studying in the recliner is hard too. This causes me concern for when I return to work.

I've decided to start back at work at 30 hours a week versus full time. My boss agrees with this decision. Hopefully that will only be needed for a month or so and then I'll go full time again. I do not want to hurt myself more so I think this is the smartest thing to do.

Well, I guess that is the past two weeks in a nutshell. I will try to do better to update this site more frequently.