... back.

Ha! I bet some of you were waiting for the inevitable end of that sentence, weren't you? The *usual* end. Sorry, not today. Today it's really a pain in the back.

Well, actually yesterday it was a pain in the back; today it's a mild haze tempered by lots of drugs. Or it will be as soon as I take some after getting some work done. Right now, just out of bed from a good night's sleep, it's a mild pain just starting to wake up and will scream soon.

Some of you know (if you read yesterday) that I had a major back spasm Sunday night as I was getting out of the car. Nothing unusual, no odd movements... but all of a sudden, blinding pain and immediate stiffness.

I was completely taken out of breath. And then I somehow managed to make it into the house where I realized that it hurt to reach out in front of me, and I definitely could not bend down. I made it down to the floor, in a lot of pain, and pushed my feet close and my knees up so that my back would be open and flat to the floor.

After an hour on the floor, I decided that a hot shower was in order. DH and A were saints helping me get up the stairs and get undressed (partially), and A was under instructions to stay outside the bathroom in case she heard me squeal so that she could run and get DH. I thought that was very sweet.

I decided then to spend another couple hours on the floor, watching Desperate Housewives and Gray's Anatomy, and then I had a rather reasonable night's rest. When I got up yesterday, I figured I was fine; I was wrong. About an hour after I got to the office, I could feel the tension pain working its way back into my back. I would get up to do a few easy gentle stretches and walk a little bit and would make my way as quickly as possible back to my chair because sitting still was the only thing that didn't make it hurt.

As lunchtime closed in I realized that I wasn't hungry (a sure sign that something is wrong) even though I had been craving french fries just an hour earlier and decided to call the doctor. Something which a couple of friends in IM were chiding me to do, and it was something I was promising to do if the pain hadn't left around the time that I normally bail for the day. But it got too intense too quickly, and I had another minor spasm. So... call the doctor I did, and then went home so that DH could drive me there.

The doc says I have a major muscle pull/injury/whatever you want to call it, and maybe a minor 'nerve impingment' (a.k.a. pinched nerve) coupled with that. But it's definitely more muscle damage than nerve damage based on my movement and reflexes.

As a result, you might not see me blogging for a couple of days - 800mg Motrin, some Vicodin, and some sort of muscle relaxant are the drugs; walking and swimming are the exercise (nope, no Curves for me this week), and I have a PT appointment for 5/18. I'm not to go to work (oh shucky darn) for a couple of days, and I need to eat 'lots of food' with the drugs (oh darn again).

Now, explain this one to me - they say I can take all three medications at the same time. Ok, I can buy that for the Motrin and the muscle relaxant. But it doesn't make sense to take the Vicodin on top of that (unless I'm really hurting) because the Vicodin also contains acetominphen (the equivalent of Tylenol)... so I'd be taking Tylenol *and* Motrin at the same time? Doesn't make sense. It's one or the other, not both, in my book.

So, for those who were awaiting some news, there it is. Yes, it still hurts. Yes, I've taken the Motrin already with some wonderful beffy soup that DH made last night. Yes, I will be working a little bit from home (I can do limited computer work)because I can do that in the early mornings after the drugs wear off before I start another round of them...

... and apologies to those who already read an abbreviated version of this off the Wagon late yesterday, but I didn't have the energy to flesh anything out considering my computer time should be limited.