![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
A Merry (Painful) Christmas
Dec. 24th, 2008 03:27 pmWoke up around 5:00 this morning, feeling a lot of pain. I lay there for a few minutes, staring into the darkness, loath to move but also noting that — since I was awake — my bladder was sending me signals, urging me upright.
Groaning aloud, I rolled — carefully, I thought ‐ from the futon and onto the floor.
That's when the spasms grabbed my lower back and wouldn't let go.
When breathing is painful, moving is pretty much out of the question.
I was on my side and, through sheer force of will, after about five minutes managed to turn myself onto my stomach.
By this point I was making so much noise, including such pithy terms as Owww! and Oh Christ it hurts! and Owww! again (and again and again), that I was more or less expecting someone to knock on my door, either inquiring after my health or else demanding that I shut the fuck up.
No such luck either way.
Gasping, I slowly pulled my knees up and that eased the pain a little. And within only 15 minutes or so I was able to get to my feet. Another 15 minutes — hanging for dear life onto the back of a chair with one hand and a low shelf with the other, while very gently lifting my knees in front of me, trying to work out the bastard that had hold of my back like a pit-pull on a poodle — and I was able to shuffle like a very old man to the bathroom, where I answered my bladder's call and downed 1400 mg of ASA.
When I got back to my room I found I'd managed to lock the door. Fortunately, it's more for show than anything else and easily opened via the use of a driver's license.
Which was in my office.
It took my probably another five minutes to make it there and back, but at least I was moving.
I wanted nothing more than to return to bed, but knew that would be the worst thing I could do. When your back goes out, the best thing you can do is keep moving. And so I've done, including a trip to a local drug-store for some pain-killers stronger than aspirin.
I really need to start exercising more regularly ...
Meanwhile, since I'm half-floating on the aforementioned pain-killers and so not feeling particularly productive, ( a meme, the idea for which was stolen from at least a couple of you. Click if you too are passing time idly rather than being productive or socializing. )
Groaning aloud, I rolled — carefully, I thought ‐ from the futon and onto the floor.
That's when the spasms grabbed my lower back and wouldn't let go.
When breathing is painful, moving is pretty much out of the question.
I was on my side and, through sheer force of will, after about five minutes managed to turn myself onto my stomach.
By this point I was making so much noise, including such pithy terms as Owww! and Oh Christ it hurts! and Owww! again (and again and again), that I was more or less expecting someone to knock on my door, either inquiring after my health or else demanding that I shut the fuck up.
No such luck either way.
Gasping, I slowly pulled my knees up and that eased the pain a little. And within only 15 minutes or so I was able to get to my feet. Another 15 minutes — hanging for dear life onto the back of a chair with one hand and a low shelf with the other, while very gently lifting my knees in front of me, trying to work out the bastard that had hold of my back like a pit-pull on a poodle — and I was able to shuffle like a very old man to the bathroom, where I answered my bladder's call and downed 1400 mg of ASA.
When I got back to my room I found I'd managed to lock the door. Fortunately, it's more for show than anything else and easily opened via the use of a driver's license.
Which was in my office.
It took my probably another five minutes to make it there and back, but at least I was moving.
I wanted nothing more than to return to bed, but knew that would be the worst thing I could do. When your back goes out, the best thing you can do is keep moving. And so I've done, including a trip to a local drug-store for some pain-killers stronger than aspirin.
I really need to start exercising more regularly ...
Meanwhile, since I'm half-floating on the aforementioned pain-killers and so not feeling particularly productive, ( a meme, the idea for which was stolen from at least a couple of you. Click if you too are passing time idly rather than being productive or socializing. )