for me right now, laying down to sleep at night is the scariest thing, as laying on it makes it infinitely worse. but started once again sleeping with ice under the inflamed area and hoping i can nip this before it snowballs out of control like it was last year. but right now i am very scared, to the point i'm trying not to really think about it, but waking with a freight train racing through one's body is never a good thing.

but the ice does help, it really does. and i have these artificial "peas" ice pack from CVS (dow told me about! thanks dow if you read this!). this ice pack stays cold a long time but its hard, so i layer it under my gel ice pack which is soft. the "peas" help the gel one stay cold longer. stays chilled for about 5 hours, so can sleep about 5 hours before waking, that's pretty good. can get up and change out the ice packs if i want. can take another muscle relaxant at that time if i want. but the way i have to lay, with the icepack under the area, and with my back propped at an angle is not so great for my neck, last year the neck and even the head muscles went into terrible spasm as well. feel like i'm on a rollercoaster ride and its like "hold on" and brace yourself for this wild ride.

but classes start in 2 weeks. can i drive to and from work? can i sit at work? can i sleep enough to not be so sleep deprived doing my job is difficult? can i get this under control by then? can i go to see the rheumy in philly next month or do i have to cancel again? so many questions, and when i think about them, right now i get very freaked out, so i'm just trying to live day by day right now. i used to be so proactive, a real planner, but this disease has been teaching me that i just can't always do that anymore. trying to take it one day at a time.

but, with all that said, my SI joint was a nightmare since oct 2000, and finally in april 2010 (so almost 10 years), i discovered that if i wear a flector patch over the spot 24/7, my SI is "almost normal" (just a little butt spasms if i sit for too long, lay for too long, etc) but the "loosey gooseyness" is gone, the misaligning is gone, the lower back spasms are gone, the severe inflammation right in the SI joint is gone, the sciatica is lessened.

so when i start to get particularly freaked out about my upper back, i remember that i finally found a solution (for now) for my SI joint (so long as i can keep using the flector patches side effect free and so long as my SI joint doesn't get too bad for this to work). sadly i had to figure my SI joint out for myself, and this is with a team of doctors (2 physiatrists, a rheumatologist, a GP, a chiropractor, PTs, and other doctors), and no one thought of such a simple simple solution. thanks to all you here!

so i think its only a matter of time before we'll hit on a solution for the upper back. i have to believe that anyway. if it were the rotator cuff, they'd be thinking surgery i'm sure. but since its the rhomboid area.......i need to find a doctor that does rotator cuff surgeries and talk to him/her, that's my next step. this conservative treatment thing just isn't working. i really think i tore something and it needs to be addressed.

oh poor buggy! but you're still kicking AS$!

this is where i get my wax refills. lots of yummy flavors to choose from!

http://www.therabathpro.com/products/refill_paraffin.php

i do think the sleeping on ice is helping, fingers crossed, toes too!
now that i've been up, think its better today than yesterday, if i can just get through this.......

never heard of hot stone manicures........will google!

as for that rude person, my mama taught me that the ruder someone is, the nicer and sweeter i am, either it diffuses the situation or really makes em' boil over . either way, at least that way i don't get all worked up . but too bad he had to be so rude to ya'll. good for gianna! good to see she had your back, so to speak!

today: walking: 2 miles, 40 minutes

at least the feet and knees (really the hamstring tendon entheses behind the knees which yield "impingement" in the knee when inflamed) seem over their flare!

Nice walk it seems?

Feet and knees being essential to walking - glad yours are behaving better! Way to keep moving - you inspire me

Go TEAM!

LOL! you all inspire me!

Oh MAN Sue...what else can I say but I know. I know that lying down to sleep is both a necessity and can be an evil. I know. I know about having to go on...I am the sole wage earner in this family. I know. I worry. But I do what I have to do. Oh MAN I know.

You will find a solution to your upper back problem. I know.

Saturday: yardwork 200 minutes (3.3 hrs).

Split a bunch of wood for winter.

thanks lath, just saying you know and knowing you know is enough

and yes, we are strong people, even if we don't feel like it sometimes. i often say "things will work out because they have to." and so far they have.

thank you.

wow! getting ready for winter already! school starts in 2 weeks and i'm not even ready for that! LOL! good for you!

YOU'RE THE MAN!

Go TEAM!