Skip to main content

Back pain is the worst!

Now I have pulled a muscle or two in my lower back before, which has resulted in a great deal of pain, often coupled with an inability to even move, but at least in those cases, when I curl up in the fetal position, and don't move, the pain goes away.

But around 2 AM last night, I awoke with such extreme pain in my upper back, there was nothing I could do to alleviate it. The pain was so extreme, I couldn't even lift my head, and for quite awhile I actually felt nauseous. Eventually I was able to stretch it out, enabling me to move, albeit very gingerly, but the pain was still there.

At that point, I was desperate, and did something I have vowed never to do, or at least only do in extreme situations. I took a SOMA.

So what caused this pain? I'm not exactly sure, because I don't remember feeling any pain at the time, but I suspect it was when I was putting the sub woofer into the new entertainment center we had delivered yesterday. That sucker is heavy and awkward to lift.

Now I'm still in a lot of pain, and I'm resisting the need to take another SOMA, so I've decided not to go for my usual bike ride (I couldn't even if I wanted to) this morning. Instead, the plan is to spend the day alternately applying heat and ice to the effected area in the hope the pain will go away by tomorrow.

If it doesn't improve much, I may resort to taking another pill, but I'm hoping it won't come to that.  In the mean time I'll just suffer

Comments

Becky said…
Sorry to hear about your back pain. Soma should help if it's a muscle spasm, but they don't do much for pain, at least with my back, but I have two herniated discs. Which I hope you didn't do cuz' they are a bear to deal with.
Marc said…
It better be a muscle spasm. The alternative isn't something I want to think about. It's awfully similar to the pain Edie was experiencing prior to her diagnosis.

I don't know what I would do if that were the case. Fortunately I am feeling somewhat better, so I am optimistic I'll be able to go for a bike ride tomorrow morning.
Becky said…
You ought to just take it easy and let you body heal.
Vreni Gurd said…
Hi Marc,

Let me know if there is anything I can do. I spend my life fixing people's backs ... And there are lots of great people in Southern California with my training too, if you want to see someone for help.

Hope you heal quickly and easily. Sounds like you are doing the right thing, with heat followed by ice.

All my best,

Vreni
Marc said…
I think the ice is helping, so I'll give it a couple of more days to get better on its own. If it doesn't improve, I may take you up on your offer.

Popular posts from this blog

Fatigue! Part II - Maybe it is real?

Or it's actually Motivational Deficiency Disorder, MoDeD (pronounced Mo-Dee-Dee) for short. In a report this week by Roy Moynihan who reports for the British Medical Journal Austrailian scientists may have come across the reason for extreme laziness . The condition is claimed to affect up to one in five Australians and is characterised by overwhelming and debilitating apathy. Neuroscientists at the University of Newcastle in Australia say that in severe cases motivational deficiency disorder can be fatal, because the condition reduces the motivation to breathe. Neurologist Leth Argos is part of the team that has identified the disorder, which can be diagnosed using a combination of positron emission tomography and low scores on a motivation rating scale, previously validated in elite athletes. "This disorder is poorly understood," Professor Argos told the BMJ. "It is underdiagnosed and undertreated." Who knew? Maybe I have MoDeD, from my attempts to become a...

My concerns reaffirmed today

When I was first diagnosed with MCL, I pretty much read just about everything I could get my hands on, I attended various conferences, and I talked to anyone who would listen. One of the most important lessons I learned, and which I've mentioned numerous times before was No one cares more about you than you. But in addition to that, I learned to fear the drug Doxorubicin , AKA Adriamycin, Doxil, Hydroxydoxorubicin, or more affectionately the Red Devil. Besides being a deadly chemical, as is the case with most chemotherapy drugs, it is one of the few chemotherapy drugs known to cause permanent heart damage. I even heard Dr. Sandra Horning , a noted Stanford lymphoma specialist, state at the first lymphoma conference I attended in LA, there was no evidence Doxorubicin provided any added benefit to chemotherapy protocols. This was music to my ears, since Doxorubicin is very common in most lymphoma treatment protocols. And even though Dr. Horning has since changed her tune [which my sk...

Tacitly condoning racism?

I learned something very discouraging in my current events class yesterday, there are a lot more racists and bigots out there then you may think. They may not admit it, or they'll claim otherwise, but when someone says they place the blame for what happened in Charlottesville on both sides, or better yet, they don't know where the blame lays, then they are condoning the action of the white supremacists groups, and in my book that is a racist/bigot. The truth is, there should be no doubt where blame for Charlottesville lays. It lays with the white supremacists, neo-Nazi's, KKK, etc, plain and simple! The hatred, bigotry, and misogyny displayed and espoused by these groups, coupled with the tacit approval of President Trump needs to be confronted at all cost, and history tells us so. If only the Jews, in pre-WWII Germany, had confronted the Nazi's in the same manner, Hitler might never have risen to power, and we would not be looking at the prospect of a  third anti...