Last night Carrie spent the night with Whizzy & Pop Pop, so it was just me, Jerry & Anna. Anna is like a totally different child when Carrie isn't around. I guess maybe it's because she's not having to compete for attention with Carrie, who knows? She was so lovey-dovey, handing out hugs and kisses to us both, and just not acting like a 19 month old typically acts.
I obviously love both of my children very much, but it is nice to revert back to only having "one" kid for a night!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Well that's confusing
So I'm on my second physical therapy appointment. They are going well so far - a few exercises for me to do, but the best is this treatment called ionotophoresis (I think that's how you spell it, but then again I'm not an MD). It is basically where they hook you up to what looks like a car's jumper cables to more effectively deliver medicine to the affected area. This works well for me since, given my Crohn's, anti-inflammatories and I don't get along very well. It feels really weird since they can amp up the juice on it and you start to feel little tingles where it's connected. Here's a picture of it (no comments about my bird legs):
But here's the confusing part - everyone treating me seems to have differing opinions on what the hell is wrong with me. The orthopedist says yes, I definitely have stress fractures on the tops of my tibias. The physical therapist says nah, it's more your bursitis that's bothering you, so those crutches probably aren't as necessary as you think. Then there's the PT Assistant who jumped on me today because I was hobbling around the PT office without my crutches, telling me I shouldn't be putting weight on my knees unless I'm doing the prescribed exercises. Orthopedist says my running days are over; therapist says I'll definitely be able to run again, but it will just be about 6 months before I can even think about starting again.
So what's a girl to do? I'd of course love to believe I'll be able to run again, but somehow I don't think that's probably my best move. Maybe I can pick up cycling after this is all said and done and eventually do some of those long cycling events (Alston, you'll have to give me pointers!). Right now I think I'll just rest the ol' legs as I've been instructed and not make anything worse! Although this whole "rest" thing? WAY overrated.
But here's the confusing part - everyone treating me seems to have differing opinions on what the hell is wrong with me. The orthopedist says yes, I definitely have stress fractures on the tops of my tibias. The physical therapist says nah, it's more your bursitis that's bothering you, so those crutches probably aren't as necessary as you think. Then there's the PT Assistant who jumped on me today because I was hobbling around the PT office without my crutches, telling me I shouldn't be putting weight on my knees unless I'm doing the prescribed exercises. Orthopedist says my running days are over; therapist says I'll definitely be able to run again, but it will just be about 6 months before I can even think about starting again.
So what's a girl to do? I'd of course love to believe I'll be able to run again, but somehow I don't think that's probably my best move. Maybe I can pick up cycling after this is all said and done and eventually do some of those long cycling events (Alston, you'll have to give me pointers!). Right now I think I'll just rest the ol' legs as I've been instructed and not make anything worse! Although this whole "rest" thing? WAY overrated.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Thank Goodness for Technology
Cause if not for it, I'd probably just have to stay at home for the next couple of months and burn through all of my sick/vacation time and then just not get paid! My boss has been generous enough to let me work from home part-time while my knees are healing. For the next 2-3 weeks I'm going to work at home M/W/F and be in the office T/Th. After that I'll re-evaluate and perhaps go to 2 days at home a week for the remainder of the three months it's supposed to take to heal. Keeping my legs propped up really does make a huge difference.
All this laying around starts to work on my head, though. I hate not feeling like I am contributing. Chasing after the girls is next to impossible, and Anna's not really feeling like listening to me when I ask her to stop running away from me these days :) Carrie is being incredibly cute; every day when I pick her up she asks me "Mommy are your legs still hurt?" and she'll sit beside me on the couch and rub my knees to make them feel better.
Oh yeah, and I start PT on Wednesday. I have a feeling that should be interesting!
All this laying around starts to work on my head, though. I hate not feeling like I am contributing. Chasing after the girls is next to impossible, and Anna's not really feeling like listening to me when I ask her to stop running away from me these days :) Carrie is being incredibly cute; every day when I pick her up she asks me "Mommy are your legs still hurt?" and she'll sit beside me on the couch and rub my knees to make them feel better.
Oh yeah, and I start PT on Wednesday. I have a feeling that should be interesting!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
On the flip side....
I did actually have a very encouraging visit to another kind of doctor on Monday morning - the allergist. I've had allergy problems all my life (gee....what sort of health problems have I NOT had would probably be a shorter list. Sorry, just a little pity party I'm having today). I actually had sinus surgery a number of years ago which really helped significantly cut down on the number of sinus infections I've had, which has been a blessing. But from what I remember I don't think I've ever visited an allergist for a true testing of just what triggers me and what we can do to fix it.
So off I went Monday morning, hobbling along (and managing to take both sets of keys with me, leaving Jerry stuck at home with the girls - another long story). By the time I left there an hour and a half later, I had already gotten the whole skin test thing done on my back where they roll those little needles along your back which have small doses of allergens in them. I now know exactly why they put it on your back - because if something does trigger you, you want to scratch profusely. Anyways, as it turns out I am allergic to dust (aren't we all), several different types of tree pollens and some other random weeds. Oddly enough, cat did not show a reaction and I've always thought I was allergic to cats (maybe there's just lots of dust in cat people's homes? who knows?) Based on the results I go back in two weeks to get a more in-depth skin test done, but the doc thinks I'm probably a good candidate for allergy shots.
However, he did give me a shot on Monday, and I swear to you - I have not sneezed once since then. And let me tell you, if you step outside here in the lowcountry, you can see the pollen swirling around in the air. Everything is coated in that nasty yellow stuff, and normally I'd be a giant sneezing mess. But nothing!!! Hopefully I'm on the right track to being able to not worry about carrying around a big ol' box of tissues with me everywhere I go.
I just hope if he does decide I should do allergy shots that it's something I can give myself. Unfortunately I'm pretty adept at giving myself shots, so I don't really want to waste time driving back and forth to Savannah if I can help it!
So off I went Monday morning, hobbling along (and managing to take both sets of keys with me, leaving Jerry stuck at home with the girls - another long story). By the time I left there an hour and a half later, I had already gotten the whole skin test thing done on my back where they roll those little needles along your back which have small doses of allergens in them. I now know exactly why they put it on your back - because if something does trigger you, you want to scratch profusely. Anyways, as it turns out I am allergic to dust (aren't we all), several different types of tree pollens and some other random weeds. Oddly enough, cat did not show a reaction and I've always thought I was allergic to cats (maybe there's just lots of dust in cat people's homes? who knows?) Based on the results I go back in two weeks to get a more in-depth skin test done, but the doc thinks I'm probably a good candidate for allergy shots.
However, he did give me a shot on Monday, and I swear to you - I have not sneezed once since then. And let me tell you, if you step outside here in the lowcountry, you can see the pollen swirling around in the air. Everything is coated in that nasty yellow stuff, and normally I'd be a giant sneezing mess. But nothing!!! Hopefully I'm on the right track to being able to not worry about carrying around a big ol' box of tissues with me everywhere I go.
I just hope if he does decide I should do allergy shots that it's something I can give myself. Unfortunately I'm pretty adept at giving myself shots, so I don't really want to waste time driving back and forth to Savannah if I can help it!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tibial Plateau Stress Fractures
That's my latest diagnosis, and it's a mouthful.
Seriously? Seriously. This is crazy. I was just minding my own business, trying to get back into running, and this is what it gets me. A recovery time of 8-10 weeks, and you know what they do for stress fractures? Nothing. You have to rest. A lot of rest. And elevation of your affected leg, or legs in my case. Did I mention rest? And just how does one who has a 4 year old and an 18 month old do that?
I have a friend that's a PT and she saw me at birthday party on Saturday and she had made me feel a little better when she said it was highly unlikely that I had bilateral stress fractures, since that's pretty rare in the "normal" population. Apparently I'm not normal. The ortho doctor this morning assured me "Oh, it's actually more common than you'd think, especially in army recruits."
Um, don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly wearing cammo, my friend.
And someone explain this to me - I'm not an Olympic athlete by any means, but I'm also not 100+ lbs overweight, so how is it those jokers on Biggest Loser don't come up lame like this more often???
So now I'm trying to figure out just how I'm going to get all my mommy/wife duties handled over the next three months. We are looking into getting someone to clean the house on a regular basis for us (thanks Mom!). But just the simple things like cooking dinner, laundry, and grocery shopping are all of a sudden a big pain in the ass....or knees as the case may be.
If anything, let this be a lesson to anyone who's taken steroids for prolonged periods and/or is a Crohn's patient. When I was originally diagnosed with Crohn's in May 2002, my doctor immediately put me on steroids. Like 30 mg or so a day, for months. Works like a charm while you are on them, but dear Lord it can wreak havoc on your body. Stay away from long term steroids! Because of these steroids, I managed to develop osteopenia at the ripe old age of 33 (I think that's when I was diagnosed). That means my bone density is lower than what it should be, but not low enough to be classified as osteoporosis. After I told the orthopedist this, he was 99.9% convinced this is why this happened.
So yeah, good times right now. I know I could have something much worse going on, but it's still a pain in the butt!!
Seriously? Seriously. This is crazy. I was just minding my own business, trying to get back into running, and this is what it gets me. A recovery time of 8-10 weeks, and you know what they do for stress fractures? Nothing. You have to rest. A lot of rest. And elevation of your affected leg, or legs in my case. Did I mention rest? And just how does one who has a 4 year old and an 18 month old do that?
I have a friend that's a PT and she saw me at birthday party on Saturday and she had made me feel a little better when she said it was highly unlikely that I had bilateral stress fractures, since that's pretty rare in the "normal" population. Apparently I'm not normal. The ortho doctor this morning assured me "Oh, it's actually more common than you'd think, especially in army recruits."
Um, don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly wearing cammo, my friend.
And someone explain this to me - I'm not an Olympic athlete by any means, but I'm also not 100+ lbs overweight, so how is it those jokers on Biggest Loser don't come up lame like this more often???
So now I'm trying to figure out just how I'm going to get all my mommy/wife duties handled over the next three months. We are looking into getting someone to clean the house on a regular basis for us (thanks Mom!). But just the simple things like cooking dinner, laundry, and grocery shopping are all of a sudden a big pain in the ass....or knees as the case may be.
If anything, let this be a lesson to anyone who's taken steroids for prolonged periods and/or is a Crohn's patient. When I was originally diagnosed with Crohn's in May 2002, my doctor immediately put me on steroids. Like 30 mg or so a day, for months. Works like a charm while you are on them, but dear Lord it can wreak havoc on your body. Stay away from long term steroids! Because of these steroids, I managed to develop osteopenia at the ripe old age of 33 (I think that's when I was diagnosed). That means my bone density is lower than what it should be, but not low enough to be classified as osteoporosis. After I told the orthopedist this, he was 99.9% convinced this is why this happened.
So yeah, good times right now. I know I could have something much worse going on, but it's still a pain in the butt!!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Well, that's one way to cure my OCD....
So you know how I was all gung ho about running the half marathon in Savannah in November? So much so that I already went out, got fitted for new running shoes and started my training?
Yeah, not so fast....
I was running around campus last Monday. It's quite convenient since the circle around our campus is exactly 1.1 miles. So I was trying to do one measly little mile and about halfway through, my knees started to feel like someone was stabbing the inside of my leg right at my knee. Interesting feeling, no doubt. So I stopped, hobbled back to my office and told myself I'd take a day or so off.
Four days later, yesterday, I could hardly walk without having pain. Both knees were hurting, the left one more than the right one, but still both hurting. I decided it might be a good idea for me to get it checked out, and it just so happens that the best ortho docs in Savannah have an after hours urgent care clinic. I begged Jerry to pick up the girls and take Carrie to gymnastics, and I drove myself to the clinic. The nurse came in, took history, and within about 5 minutes I was getting all kinds of x-rays done. The PA came in a little after that, started pushing around on the inside of my knee, and I started coming off the table. Turns out he thinks it could be one of two things:
1) Prepatellar bursitis - inflammation of the bursa near where my hamstrings connect to the knee (I think, I don't have an MD people). Apparently this can be remedied through rest and aspiration of the affected bursa.
2) Stress fracture(s) - more likely on the left side since I almost involuntarily kicked the hell out of the PA when he was poking around. What the hell do they do if it's a stress fracture? I've tried to stay away from looking this up on the Internet cause I'm sure someone will tell me I'll have to get my leg amputated or something. I know rest is involved, but how in the hell do you keep your knee rested for a long period of time???? And please don't tell me a cast.
So I walked (hobbled) out of there with a new set of crutches, a prescription for pain meds, and a promise that I'll have an MRI scheduled for next week for both of my knees. I hope to get this figured out soon, cause I can't really sit too well without them becoming stiff and painful. And while the PA gave me a script for hydrocodone, something tells me I probably shouldn't take it while at work.
Seriously? How old am I?
Yeah, not so fast....
I was running around campus last Monday. It's quite convenient since the circle around our campus is exactly 1.1 miles. So I was trying to do one measly little mile and about halfway through, my knees started to feel like someone was stabbing the inside of my leg right at my knee. Interesting feeling, no doubt. So I stopped, hobbled back to my office and told myself I'd take a day or so off.
Four days later, yesterday, I could hardly walk without having pain. Both knees were hurting, the left one more than the right one, but still both hurting. I decided it might be a good idea for me to get it checked out, and it just so happens that the best ortho docs in Savannah have an after hours urgent care clinic. I begged Jerry to pick up the girls and take Carrie to gymnastics, and I drove myself to the clinic. The nurse came in, took history, and within about 5 minutes I was getting all kinds of x-rays done. The PA came in a little after that, started pushing around on the inside of my knee, and I started coming off the table. Turns out he thinks it could be one of two things:
1) Prepatellar bursitis - inflammation of the bursa near where my hamstrings connect to the knee (I think, I don't have an MD people). Apparently this can be remedied through rest and aspiration of the affected bursa.
2) Stress fracture(s) - more likely on the left side since I almost involuntarily kicked the hell out of the PA when he was poking around. What the hell do they do if it's a stress fracture? I've tried to stay away from looking this up on the Internet cause I'm sure someone will tell me I'll have to get my leg amputated or something. I know rest is involved, but how in the hell do you keep your knee rested for a long period of time???? And please don't tell me a cast.
So I walked (hobbled) out of there with a new set of crutches, a prescription for pain meds, and a promise that I'll have an MRI scheduled for next week for both of my knees. I hope to get this figured out soon, cause I can't really sit too well without them becoming stiff and painful. And while the PA gave me a script for hydrocodone, something tells me I probably shouldn't take it while at work.
Seriously? How old am I?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
I think I have some sort of sickness....
And I think it's called "OCD." Or maybe "Type A personality." I don't know the correct diagnosis, and don't really care. All I know is I function much better with a tangible goal. When I think about it, my whole freaking life has been chasing after some goal. When I was in high school, I wanted to graduate with a 4.0. (when I was in college I think I had flashes of wanting to do the same thing, but that first D in calculus I quickly got me over that and I was happy with the whole "D for Done" in that arena). When I was in college I wanted to get into a good grad school, and I got into a few and settled on GT. I then wanted to get my PhD....then thought better of it because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life struggling to get grants approved. After grad school I was focused on planning our wedding. That took a year....Got married in December and then in January decided I needed a new goal which happened to be running a marathon. That was over in June, so by August I was enrolled in my MBA program. That was over in December 2005....by July 2006 I was pregnant with Carrie. Had Carrie April 2007....then ran a half marathon that November. In 2008 we decided to uproot ourselves and move to SC and I started a new job and later that fall I was studying for the PHR exam. Passed that in December 2008, which just happened to be the same month I got pregnant with Anna. Very convenient for Jerry since he was leaving in January for Portugal for 8 months :) So I had that to focus on throughout 2009. 2010 brought the bright idea of me now studying for my SPHR exam, which I thankfully passed the very last day of January, which was also the very last day of the testing window.
And now? Now I've decided that it would be a good time to pick up running again and I'm contemplating doing the Savannah Rock n Roll Half Marathon in November.
WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?
Does anyone else out there do this? Jerry always teases me and says I am physically incapable of just being in the moment and going with the flow. I really wish sometimes I could do that. But every time I do it my mind goes into overdrive of "well, while I'm sitting here watching this show on TV I could be reading my magazine and filing these papers that need to be filed and perhaps also do a little scrapbooking."
I think I am just better at managing my time when I know I have some sort of goal hanging out there. If I know I have to get X number of miles running in this week, then I know I have to schedule the rest of my time around that because if I don't get the running in I'll look like a total fool (or hurt myself) come November.
I haven't actually signed up for the half marathon yet....taking my new running shoes for a test drive for a few weeks first to make sure I don't hurt myself. At any rate, if anyone would like to join me in November, just let me know....that would give me even more incentive to make sure I meet my goal :)
And now? Now I've decided that it would be a good time to pick up running again and I'm contemplating doing the Savannah Rock n Roll Half Marathon in November.
WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?
Does anyone else out there do this? Jerry always teases me and says I am physically incapable of just being in the moment and going with the flow. I really wish sometimes I could do that. But every time I do it my mind goes into overdrive of "well, while I'm sitting here watching this show on TV I could be reading my magazine and filing these papers that need to be filed and perhaps also do a little scrapbooking."
I think I am just better at managing my time when I know I have some sort of goal hanging out there. If I know I have to get X number of miles running in this week, then I know I have to schedule the rest of my time around that because if I don't get the running in I'll look like a total fool (or hurt myself) come November.
I haven't actually signed up for the half marathon yet....taking my new running shoes for a test drive for a few weeks first to make sure I don't hurt myself. At any rate, if anyone would like to join me in November, just let me know....that would give me even more incentive to make sure I meet my goal :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)