Somehow

Life moves along. Here I am, early in the morning and not feeling too bad. The left heel pain is absent again this morning and yet the right hip pain remains. It's a 'deep' pain; one that can't be eased with warmth or cooling. I'm back to using ibuprofen regularly again and avoiding the Vicodin when I can.

I did a lot of standing yesterday and that didn't help at all. The hip pain did return quickly and stayed with me for an hour or so.

Here's my take on the epidural injection. It won't work. Yes, the left heel pain is gone and the right leg pain is moderated. But it feels tenuous. Maybe it's early yet and I should wait before making an decisions? What I do know for sure is the fact that I don't want any more epidural injections without sedation. Lots of sedation. Well, I have an appointment to meet with the doctor and review all of this on the 23^rd of this month. I'm sure we'll talk about it.

I found this bit of text written on the 23^rd of February. Back when I didn't know what was wrong with me and was getting ready for the Durham Almond Blossom 5K… "I have taken a dose of ibuprofen early this morning and I will take a few more just before I leave the house. I want to make sure I can avoid the sore hip that has been plaguing me for the past few weeks." The drugs must have worked as I ended up that morning with a plaque that says I was the fastest in my class. But who knows what I did to vertebrae while I was racing? The ibuprofen and the adrenaline masked my pain that morning.

Ha! If only that was all I needed. A few ibuprofen. Close to 9 months later and I still don't have a real solution for the pain of Stenosis. But I've met a lot of the members of the medical community here in the north state! And I feel that I will be meeting even more of them.

But…back to my marathon plans. Yes, I still have them. I still find it hard to describe the incredible feeling of accomplishment that comes with the crossing of the finish line after 26.2 miles. And I want that feeling again.

Update

Speaking of cures, as I was somewhere else… I will going in to the 'Pain Factory' around 9 this morning for an epidural steroid injection. This will place some cortisone around the irritated nerves passing through the spine at the juncture of vertebrae's L5 and S1. Not a cure. Not even close. But it will (hopefully) alleviate the pain for about a week. And it will also further define the irritated nerves; it's really more of a diagnostic procedure this time since the RF Ablation procedure didn't work as hoped for and the doctor wants to pinpoint the nerve if possible.

Then it will be time to move on to another 'specialist', a physiatrist this time. And I suppose I will have to wait 6 weeks for an appointment. That seems to be the medical standard these days. From tonsils to toenails…it's always 6 weeks.

And… if the epidural does give me some relief, I'm going to be watching the Wii Fit statistics to see how much it really does help. I've been watching the decline in stability/core strength for the past month and I would dearly love to get back on the scoreboard with some of my exercises. (Wii Fit only keeps the top 10 scores)

Give Me Some Air!

OK, I've done the Wii exercises for the day…35 minutes. Some days are good and I see an improvement. Today was not one of those days. I was shaking because of the hip pain/instability and unable to register a score in some of the balance poses. And I haven't even unlocked the poses that require me to stand on one leg. (I don't want to embarrass myself by falling down.) I'm not really expecting to see great things coming from these exercises, but it's a perfect way to make certain that I'm up and moving and not feeling sorry for myself. And the running in place does provide cardio exercise. Sorry, no fresh air!

I did add some weight training to my repertoire. Even if I can't do marathons any more, I should at least look healthy…