My physical therapist is Bob. He is very nice and inspires confidence. He did a pain free evaluation of my condition. He thinks my scoliosis is just above the waist and not a factor in this current situation. I got the heat, electro thing and deep heat ultrasound massage and he gave me a set of 4 exercises to do 3 times a day. They are all things to be done sitting down and I found that I can do a set at the computer wairing for a download.
I feel good and encouraged. I have pt scheduled every mon. wed. and fri. at 2:20 pm for the rest of the month.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
How do you spell relief
V I C O D I N
Extra strenth vicodin and something called Neurontin. I took one of each as soon as I got home from Meijers and within a couple of minutes I took off my shoes with hardly any groaning.
I went to the real doctor. His is the name that was on the clinic when I first started going there and the name they have to use when billing my insurance. But he is hard to see since he is trying to retire. I had to wait a week for an appointment with him but he's the only one there that can prescribe narcotic drugs and I was afraid of running out.
When I told him how many Tylenol4s I was taking each day he said "Those are clearly not working." Duh. How come the other doctors (2) I went to didn't know that. He changed the prescriptions and added the Neurontin. I told him I will start the physical therepy on Thursday and he said after we see how much that helps he wants to refer me to a (kind of doctor I forget the name, but it made me think of sports medecine). So I have a little more ease of mind that releif could be on the way.
While I was at Meijers I picked up some light staples like chips and crackers. They are having a fantastic sale on pap. 3 24 packs of 12 oz cans for $4.00 after rebate but I couldn't even think of picking one up. All the stores around here are having really good pop sales. Maybe Gretchen will pick me some up later this week.
I will put that on the running "wish list" I started keeping on the kitchen table.
Extra strenth vicodin and something called Neurontin. I took one of each as soon as I got home from Meijers and within a couple of minutes I took off my shoes with hardly any groaning.
I went to the real doctor. His is the name that was on the clinic when I first started going there and the name they have to use when billing my insurance. But he is hard to see since he is trying to retire. I had to wait a week for an appointment with him but he's the only one there that can prescribe narcotic drugs and I was afraid of running out.
When I told him how many Tylenol4s I was taking each day he said "Those are clearly not working." Duh. How come the other doctors (2) I went to didn't know that. He changed the prescriptions and added the Neurontin. I told him I will start the physical therepy on Thursday and he said after we see how much that helps he wants to refer me to a (kind of doctor I forget the name, but it made me think of sports medecine). So I have a little more ease of mind that releif could be on the way.
While I was at Meijers I picked up some light staples like chips and crackers. They are having a fantastic sale on pap. 3 24 packs of 12 oz cans for $4.00 after rebate but I couldn't even think of picking one up. All the stores around here are having really good pop sales. Maybe Gretchen will pick me some up later this week.
I will put that on the running "wish list" I started keeping on the kitchen table.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Little River
I did really well on my gambling trip. No I don't mean the gambling part although I am $6.00 ahead. No I did well physically if you don't count the part about being in pain and I hardly ever count that part any more. It is a given. Actually, either my pain threshhold has gone up a notch or I am getting a little better because I don't need the pain pills as often as I did.I can go 6 hours or more sometimes in a sedentary position.
I dressed myself this morning, even shoes and socks. I took my car in for a recall and I have to get dressed again tomorrow for a doctor's appointment. The I finally have my first physical therepy on Thursday and have to get dressed for that. I don't know how you young people do it, getting dressed every single day.
I dressed myself this morning, even shoes and socks. I took my car in for a recall and I have to get dressed again tomorrow for a doctor's appointment. The I finally have my first physical therepy on Thursday and have to get dressed for that. I don't know how you young people do it, getting dressed every single day.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
My aching back
The physical therepy prescribed by my doctor has yet to materialize. I have to wait till they have an opening and be evaluated etc. I'm still waiting for a call from them. I tried calling them and crying a lot but they have no sympathy.
I am living on pain pills and inactivity. Lucky for me that fits my lifestyle.The worst part is getting out of bed in the mornings. It is a long drawn out process of inching to a sitting position and letting everything settle and then inching to a standing position (trying not to fall backwards in to the above mentioned sitting position) [Not always succeeding]. However, when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom I don't usually have time for this ritual and I end up moaning and groaning a lot.
Showering is an adventure. Once I get it and let the hot water stream over my back, that parts pretty good. I can manage to wash up but you would be surprised how many back muscles it takes to lift your arms. I haven't washed my hair since I left Florida.
Another bad part is getting dressed. It is very frustrating to dangle step in clothing only to get your toes caught up in the elastic parts. I did manage to wiggle into my shoes to go to the doctor's but I used a ruler to close the velcro. Socks, of course, are out of the question.
I don't expect this disability to curtail my gambling trip this weekend.
I am living on pain pills and inactivity. Lucky for me that fits my lifestyle.The worst part is getting out of bed in the mornings. It is a long drawn out process of inching to a sitting position and letting everything settle and then inching to a standing position (trying not to fall backwards in to the above mentioned sitting position) [Not always succeeding]. However, when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom I don't usually have time for this ritual and I end up moaning and groaning a lot.
Showering is an adventure. Once I get it and let the hot water stream over my back, that parts pretty good. I can manage to wash up but you would be surprised how many back muscles it takes to lift your arms. I haven't washed my hair since I left Florida.
Another bad part is getting dressed. It is very frustrating to dangle step in clothing only to get your toes caught up in the elastic parts. I did manage to wiggle into my shoes to go to the doctor's but I used a ruler to close the velcro. Socks, of course, are out of the question.
I don't expect this disability to curtail my gambling trip this weekend.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Another Post
Oh, my aching back. The bad back was a big fat drain on the enjoyment of the last few days in Florida.
When I got home is was hot in my house. About 87. Kelly had told us a story on the way home from the airport about how it was hot in Rita's house when he went there to paint. He went out in back and found a utility box that was open and a large plug-type contraption was laying on top of her a/c unit. After trying to notify maintenance and deciding that after hours they really didn't care; he put the pluggy thing into the box thing and the a/c started right up.
So, when it was hot in my house I called Rita and asked her to ask Kelly if he would come to my house and check for a pluggy thing. I saw that there are several utility type boxes behind my house but I didn't know which one it would be. Kelly came by and identified the box, managed to get it open and pulled out the plug. He didn't find anything wrong with the plug so he put it back in.
I opened my front and back doors and the weather had cooled down enough that I couldn't tell if the air was working or not. One big sign was that the unit behind my house was not cycling.
Then I opened my mail and found my Visa bill. My billing cycle ends on the 23rd and I usually have the bill before the end of the month, but holiday and all, it wasn't here before I left for Florida. After checking the bill I noticed that the due date was 6/14. It was by then 11:30 PM of 6/14. I went on line immediately to pay the bill. When I got to the confirmation part they said my payment would be posted on the 16th.
All of this was fixed today. I went to the doctor and after pushing and prodding and xrays that made me lay flat and roll over. All things that I could not do easily because my back hurt. Duh. He determined that I was not experiencing a muscle spasm at all (thus, why the muscle relaxers were not working) What is going on is that my spine is moving. My scoliosis is getting worse. He is setting me up for a couple weeks of physical therapy. Also for bone density and stress tests. I am waiting for his "girl" to call me and let me know when the appointments are.
I called the Visa people and asked them why my due date was so early this month. I told him this is one of the bills I usually pay out of my social security check and that doesn't even come until the 3rd wednesday. He changed by billing cycle to end on the 28th and my due date to be the 23rd of the following month. He confirmed that I had made my payment on line last night and said that when the late charge went on, he would remove it.
I called Family Heating and Cooling. They came out and found that my problem was a bad fuse. A part that cost $4.50. The service call, however was $80.00.
But, I'm all fixed and all is right with the world
When I got home is was hot in my house. About 87. Kelly had told us a story on the way home from the airport about how it was hot in Rita's house when he went there to paint. He went out in back and found a utility box that was open and a large plug-type contraption was laying on top of her a/c unit. After trying to notify maintenance and deciding that after hours they really didn't care; he put the pluggy thing into the box thing and the a/c started right up.
So, when it was hot in my house I called Rita and asked her to ask Kelly if he would come to my house and check for a pluggy thing. I saw that there are several utility type boxes behind my house but I didn't know which one it would be. Kelly came by and identified the box, managed to get it open and pulled out the plug. He didn't find anything wrong with the plug so he put it back in.
I opened my front and back doors and the weather had cooled down enough that I couldn't tell if the air was working or not. One big sign was that the unit behind my house was not cycling.
Then I opened my mail and found my Visa bill. My billing cycle ends on the 23rd and I usually have the bill before the end of the month, but holiday and all, it wasn't here before I left for Florida. After checking the bill I noticed that the due date was 6/14. It was by then 11:30 PM of 6/14. I went on line immediately to pay the bill. When I got to the confirmation part they said my payment would be posted on the 16th.
All of this was fixed today. I went to the doctor and after pushing and prodding and xrays that made me lay flat and roll over. All things that I could not do easily because my back hurt. Duh. He determined that I was not experiencing a muscle spasm at all (thus, why the muscle relaxers were not working) What is going on is that my spine is moving. My scoliosis is getting worse. He is setting me up for a couple weeks of physical therapy. Also for bone density and stress tests. I am waiting for his "girl" to call me and let me know when the appointments are.
I called the Visa people and asked them why my due date was so early this month. I told him this is one of the bills I usually pay out of my social security check and that doesn't even come until the 3rd wednesday. He changed by billing cycle to end on the 28th and my due date to be the 23rd of the following month. He confirmed that I had made my payment on line last night and said that when the late charge went on, he would remove it.
I called Family Heating and Cooling. They came out and found that my problem was a bad fuse. A part that cost $4.50. The service call, however was $80.00.
But, I'm all fixed and all is right with the world
Where to finish
A little ways down the beach (to our right, looking at the ocean) they were building on to the beach. We could watch the sand being blown onto the shore and then spread around by bulldozers. My dad would have loved watching all that. After a couple of days the yellow taped area moved closer to our strip of beach. The day before we left the yellow tape was right in front of our building, but the weather was bad that day and the day we left so they weren't working on it. I'm thinking the people who rented the week after us were in for a disappointment. The beach building was to make repairs for the damage caused by last year's hurricanes. And in the middle of it, here comes Arlene.
I didn't get down to the pool every day. One of the days I didn't go down, I was re-heating our Sunday roast for dinner. about 4:00 Monica came up and got our blender because Mitch was making Frozen drinks out by the pool. I put the roast on to heat at about 6:30. Every time I thought of joining them down at the pool, I figured that by the time I put shoes on and got down there they would be ready to come up. So I didn't. I ate my dinner at about 7:30. My two drunken sisters wandered in after 9:00.
One of the days I did go down was Wednesday. Hot Dog day. They don't cook the hot dogs out by the back of the pool (where the drinking party was) any more. They cook them up by the clubhouse. I had my hot dogs and stayed down the rest of the day. We had a family dinner in the club house at about 6:30. Everyone brought stuff and Monica made a barbequed briskit. Afterward, we played nickle dice.
Thursday night all the women (11, count them 11 - including Monica's friend Ginny) went to see the play Menapause, the Musical that was playing in Sarasota. We decided to go out to dinner first and they picked a restaurant that served drinks. As part of Kim's birthday present (her birthday is 6/8) John (her husband) rented a limo for us. It picked us up at Four Winds. We had a couple of drinks in the limo (I'm not sure who supplied the rum and coke but it was delicious). The driver dropped us at the Chart House where it was Happy Hour and early bird dinner prices. He gave Kim his number and she called him when we were ready to go and he took us to the theatre. The play was very funny and the limo was waiting for us when it was over. Angie (Mitch's wife) kept us all in the party mood right up to the time we were dropped off. I heard later that although some of us went to bed, others continued to party.
Saturday we went back to Monica's and the weather was cloudy and not so nice for the first couple of days. Monday me and Rita did get down to the pool for a while. Starting from Sunday I was suffering from what I thought was a muscle spasm in my back and it hasn't gone away yet.
But that's another post.
I didn't get down to the pool every day. One of the days I didn't go down, I was re-heating our Sunday roast for dinner. about 4:00 Monica came up and got our blender because Mitch was making Frozen drinks out by the pool. I put the roast on to heat at about 6:30. Every time I thought of joining them down at the pool, I figured that by the time I put shoes on and got down there they would be ready to come up. So I didn't. I ate my dinner at about 7:30. My two drunken sisters wandered in after 9:00.
One of the days I did go down was Wednesday. Hot Dog day. They don't cook the hot dogs out by the back of the pool (where the drinking party was) any more. They cook them up by the clubhouse. I had my hot dogs and stayed down the rest of the day. We had a family dinner in the club house at about 6:30. Everyone brought stuff and Monica made a barbequed briskit. Afterward, we played nickle dice.
Thursday night all the women (11, count them 11 - including Monica's friend Ginny) went to see the play Menapause, the Musical that was playing in Sarasota. We decided to go out to dinner first and they picked a restaurant that served drinks. As part of Kim's birthday present (her birthday is 6/8) John (her husband) rented a limo for us. It picked us up at Four Winds. We had a couple of drinks in the limo (I'm not sure who supplied the rum and coke but it was delicious). The driver dropped us at the Chart House where it was Happy Hour and early bird dinner prices. He gave Kim his number and she called him when we were ready to go and he took us to the theatre. The play was very funny and the limo was waiting for us when it was over. Angie (Mitch's wife) kept us all in the party mood right up to the time we were dropped off. I heard later that although some of us went to bed, others continued to party.
Saturday we went back to Monica's and the weather was cloudy and not so nice for the first couple of days. Monday me and Rita did get down to the pool for a while. Starting from Sunday I was suffering from what I thought was a muscle spasm in my back and it hasn't gone away yet.
But that's another post.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Where to start
Where to start? Where to finish?
First of all we arrived at Monica's condo on Tuesday the 30th. It rained every day we were there (not the whole day) and we never used her pool that whole week. We proceeded to Long Boat on Saturday (a mere 1 hour and 15 minute drive)
Some of you may be aware that there was a shortage of rooms there this year. Kim really wanted to rent an extra unit but there didn't seem to be one available. Alternate plans were made and it ended up that Danny and Janna were going to use the unit that Debbie usually uses and Debbie and her kids were going to spend the week at Monica's condo. Debbie invited her mother-in-law and sister-in-law to spend a long weekend there with them.
Now comes, one or two days before our week starts and Kim gets a call that a unit has opened up. She took it. Now Kim's family have three total units which gave Lauri and Austin one to themselvs. And thus, we enjoy the weekend.
Then comes Krista in the pool on Monday talking to a woman that says her group has to leave that day and would Krista like to use her room for the rest of the week. There are some huge teenagers in the Krista/Mitch unit. So Krista got the keys etc. from her and wanted to give Debbie first shot at it. So Monica called Debbie and since her company had left that day, she decided to pack up the kids and come on down.
It turned out that the free unit was a large studio (all in one room with a murphy bed and sofabed) Debbie has a couple of good sized teenagers also. Anyways, Brittany moved in with Laurie and Austin and Debbie and Ryan did fine it the studio and we all had a wonderful week.
to be continued
First of all we arrived at Monica's condo on Tuesday the 30th. It rained every day we were there (not the whole day) and we never used her pool that whole week. We proceeded to Long Boat on Saturday (a mere 1 hour and 15 minute drive)
Some of you may be aware that there was a shortage of rooms there this year. Kim really wanted to rent an extra unit but there didn't seem to be one available. Alternate plans were made and it ended up that Danny and Janna were going to use the unit that Debbie usually uses and Debbie and her kids were going to spend the week at Monica's condo. Debbie invited her mother-in-law and sister-in-law to spend a long weekend there with them.
Now comes, one or two days before our week starts and Kim gets a call that a unit has opened up. She took it. Now Kim's family have three total units which gave Lauri and Austin one to themselvs. And thus, we enjoy the weekend.
Then comes Krista in the pool on Monday talking to a woman that says her group has to leave that day and would Krista like to use her room for the rest of the week. There are some huge teenagers in the Krista/Mitch unit. So Krista got the keys etc. from her and wanted to give Debbie first shot at it. So Monica called Debbie and since her company had left that day, she decided to pack up the kids and come on down.
It turned out that the free unit was a large studio (all in one room with a murphy bed and sofabed) Debbie has a couple of good sized teenagers also. Anyways, Brittany moved in with Laurie and Austin and Debbie and Ryan did fine it the studio and we all had a wonderful week.
to be continued
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