Well, it's 11:39 on Friday night. I've already had both hours of sleep I will get tonight.
About 2& 1/2 weeks ago I tripped over the edge of a sidewalk at work (reading while walking is a fool's game) and landed hard on the left knee and point of my left hip.
For the first few days I was sore, but it was lessening each day. Then last Thursday my whole left leg began to throb and burn from the point of the hip to the top of the foot.
Lots of Advil and little sleep Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. I was so exhausted that I started to hallucinate. My favorite was the grey figure running alonside my car as I drove at 58 mph back from the Walmart where I had bought a deep-heating pain relief creme in a desperate attempt. . .
I did lots of research online and talking to others, and self-diagnosed it as sciatica. Wednesday I went to my doctor, described my symptoms, and he talked about spinal stenosis and inflamed nerves (in layman's terms, Sciatica*) and prescribed Prednisone to reduce the inflammation, and Flexiril to relax the muscles and help me sleep.
I was to start the Prednisone Thursday morning, but the flexiril was for that night. Within one hour of taking it, I was barely able to walk, and the pain was worse than it had been at any time. Worse by far than when I broke my collarbone riding an innertube down an ice-covered ski slope in Anchorage and wound up in traction for a week (youth, foolishness, don't ask).
I spent the whole of Wednesday night /Thursday morning whimpering, as I staggered from bed to computer chair to floor to armchair in the living room, all in a mad whirl of trying to find someplace (ANY PLACE) to be comfortable. I was not even thinking of sleep any more, just a reduction of pain.
Anyway, I took the first 6 Prednisone tablets a little after 2 am (that's morning, right?) and by 5:30 or so was able to sleep a bit. By that afternoon I felt GREAT! No pain, no worry, fit as a fiddle and ready to fight (did I mention that Prednisone is a steroid?). To the best of my ability, I did a little soft-shoe dance.
Trouble is, that having taken it so early, it also wore off early, so by 6:30 I was in bed, already beginning to feel that ache, and praying I could get to sleep and stay there before it went Whole-Hog-Harry on my ass (literally, as it had now moved into my buttock as well) . I made it to sleep by about seven, and made the mistake of moving in my sleep at 11:15.
Did I mention that when taking Prednisone you cannot used any other NSAIDS (i.e.: aspirin, advil, etc) so I had no recourse but tylenol which has about the same effect on me as near-beer on an alcoholic.
So, THIS (Friday) morning, I gave in to the pain and took my 6 pill Prednisone dose at 1:45 (you see where this is leading, right?) and felt not quite as good for not quite as long, but hey, I did get my required two hours of sleep before waking a little after 10 pm.
I promised them I would come in to work, tomorrow, and promised myself I would not take today's Prednisone until at least 5 am, which gives just a little over 5 more hours before the dose (and at least 3 more before I feel an effect).
Oh, and I am on the 'Taper' regimen, so today and tomorrow the dose will be 5, rather than 6 for, I am certain, an even shorter time of good effect.
Ah well. That took about 50 minutes to write, so at least I kept my mind off the aching for that long.
*Note that when the doctor diagnosed, it was capitalized.
And now back to bed. I won't sleep, but will at least change the areas of pressure from the butt to the front of my thigh for a while.
ReplyDeleteInelegant aging sucks.
OMG, I'm so sorry Dances. I have no cures or potions to cure what ails you.
ReplyDeleteJust my thoughts and prayers which are probably useless.
@&1/2 = 2&1/2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Fay - I will thankfully accept any prayers I can get.
I just said to Hell with the 'no NSAIDS with Prednisone' warning and took 3 advil after coating my stomach with vanilla yoghurt.
At least that might knock down the pain a little bit and allow maybe one more hour of sleep.
At this point I am sure that there is no Prednisone left in the system, and by the time I take it again, there will be little to no ibuprofen left, either.
I hope.
Weird that the Flexiril didn't help - in fact you suggest it made it worse...
DeleteYou know, all I have is a NRAD/NEC* degree... but I'm wondering if you might have a hairline fracture in your pelvis. My father suffered with one for a time after a bad fall... he was in rehab / Physical Therapy and wasn't getting better... they finally did the MRI and hey, whaddya know...
This site (link) points out that sciatica is a symptom, not an underlying problem... possibly a symptom of pelvic injury...
Don't mean to alarm you, but IMHO you aren't whining at all - if it doesn't start improving soon I'd raise the issue with my doctor.
Not that they can do much with a hairline pelvic fracture - what you want to do is rest, not stress it (IIRC - again, see my (imaginary) credentials) - but it could affect the course of treatment. They may dispense with the prednisone and just give you good dope and let you sleep.
If it does start to get ever more bearable, day on day, then stick with whatever program your doctor has you on.
If you don't take Melatonin, consider it - may be good for another hour or two of sleep - do the liquid or the sublingual.
Be very, very careful combining the ibuprofin with the pred - the yogurt was a good idea. Primary risk here seems to be stomach bleeding.
I've got nothing against prayer but I generally take that up when I'm out of ideas (God helps those who help themselves, etc...)
* Not Really A Doctor / Not Even Close
I pray that you will get through this soon and in good spirits, Dances.
ReplyDeleteWell, Matt, the spirits are silly, but the flesh is weak.
ReplyDeleteThrough dint of super-human effort (heh) I was able to hold off taking todays dosage until 5:38.
So it will still be 2 or 3 hours until it actually takes full effect. Just about time for me to go to work (if I decide to go on less than 3 hours sleep).
Geez DWT, you may have a herniated lumbar disc! If your symptoms don't improve, go back to the doc; he'll probably want to do a CT scan or an MRI just to be sure. He may also give you an injection of cortisone for inflammation.
ReplyDeleteIf you're taking prednisone with NSAIDS, may I suggest a few things to discuss with your doctor? Ibuprofen gelcaps are a lot easier on the tummy than tablets, and ibuprofen has strong anti-inflammatory properties. Also, if you take each drug after a meal, at different times of the day, it helps decrease stomach irritation. Your doc may also prescribe something like omeprazole (Prilosec) to keep stomach acids down while taking prednisone.
Hang on to the Flexeril. Sometimes with nerve irritation, muscle tension follows. You'll be glad you have them!
I sure hope you're feeling better soon! You're in our hearts, dear friend. {{{DWT}}}
Lewy;
ReplyDeleteHmm, I do have three bulging disks already, as well as spinal stenosis (which may or may not be the some - not going to look it up now) and the thought of a fractured pelvis never occured, and I needed something more to worry about. . .
And now I will check weather, then get dressed for work. Thank for the prayers and thoughts, everyone.
Well, it was foolish of me to work yesterday. Had a busy day, and a very bad night as a result. Not quite as bad as Wednesday, but close.
ReplyDeleteTook my Prednisone at 4:06 this morning, just Could Not wait any longer. Of course now I am waiting for it to take effect.
I don't know what we can do to help, but if there is anything just let us know.
ReplyDeleteWow, so this is where all the Discarded Lies people went after Zorkmidden and Evariste pulled a Charles Johnson.
ReplyDeleteI only noticed it when I saw Aridog post on Althouse.
Hi, Bigel, how have you been?
ReplyDeleteThis is a much more laid-back place.
DWT
ReplyDeleteLet's see - the America I loved and thought I knew died on Nov 6. The Islamonazis have taken over the Mideast. Iran is less than a year from the bomb and we are perhaps two years away from a second and final Shoah with the resulting nuclear war that will at a minimum destroy the world's economy if not all of civilization. But apart from that; I am fine.
Well, if you remember, I was always closer to your ideas than many, and am even more so now.
DeleteI can't say I remember, since Zorkie and Ev, in one of the first indications of a leftward turn, banned me as an ASBO back in '07.
DeleteI used to get grief from CBA about my doomsaying - she would post pictures of Eeyore.
Hello bigel! It's good to see you! Welcome to our Kitchen. :)
DeleteLooks like bigel, walks like bigel, talks like bigel. Must be bigel!
DeleteHello bigel.
Greetings to all my old DL friends (well all those who haven't drunk the leftist kool-aid).Too bad Zorkie seems to have undergone the Andrew Sullivan transformation - from Zionist to Israel bashing
DeleteLong time no see, bigel ;-)
ReplyDeleteDances, I am so sorry to hear about this. Even extended pain is somewhat tolerable with sleep. But when you combine it with no sleep - well, it's unbearable :-(
Are you better today? Steroids drive me crazy, I'm glad they are helping you. I have no advice except to say when I injured my shoulder, the simplest little PT exercise ended up being a great help. And that was after 6 weeks of pain and very, very little sleep. But I will definitely pray for you; keep us informed, Dances.
Florrie, I actually slept last night.
DeleteWent to bed at a little after 7, woke at 11:15, but with the pain not so bad for the first time in 12 nights, I was able to get back to sleep and stayed there until about 3:25.
Of course, it is throbbing now, but with an actual 8 hours of blessed sleep, I will be able to stand waiting for proper medication time, and maybe even put it off some so that I can last longer this evening.
And again,thanks to everyone for your concern, prayers and good thoughts.
You had 7 hours sleep? You lazy bum! I get by with 6 hours and notice how upbeat I am. Why I am just eagerly counting down the days (18) to the Mayan apocalypse!
DeleteWhy I am just eagerly counting down the days (18) to the Mayan apocalypse!
DeleteLMAO!!! Nice to see you so positive ;-)
DWS, so sorry to hear about your troubles, pain, and perhaps most especially your lack of sleep, though it sounds as if that is easing a bit. I do hope that continues.
ReplyDeleteI've suffered from a dearth of original thought for some time now (assuming I ever had one of course), thus my absence from the comments. And though that situation hasn't really changed, I have, after the election, thought more often about you good folks here at TCKT. In a sanctuary, sanity sort of way if you know what I mean. Or, in other words, I've missed all of you.
And somehow, it seems appropriate to return and find bigel making an appearance. Sort of brings the whole thing full circle, back to the early days of LGF. Where, as terrible as a few of us thought things were at the time, the world has since become even more dangerous than we could have then imagined.
I've missed you as well, Luther, glad you have you commenting again.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you back, Luther.
ReplyDeleteGlad that so many friends have gathered around my sickbed. ;^)
Hi Luther! I'm so happy to see you! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I had to wait to see if anyone remembered who I was... :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, for the welcome back.
bigel, I was mudmarine back then, remember more than a few occasions trying to pull you back from a despondent brink (please don't take this in a negative way). Good to see you back, as well.
I think my despondency was well-founded -- a kind of modern day Cassandra.
DeleteI can't recall who said it, but there is a saying to the effect that nations/empires/civilizations collapse in two stages - first gradually, then suddenly. I think the world is fast approaching the "suddenly" stage.
Can't exactly say I disagree about suddenly, though I think it might better be viewed as a relative term.
DeleteBigel.
ReplyDeleteLuther.
omg.
img:"http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d170/lewy14/Blues_Brothers.jpg"
LOL lewy!
DeleteThat's funny as hell, lewy.
DeleteYeah, but who is which?
DeleteIn current medical news;
ReplyDeleteI woke at 12:30 last night, but was able to go back to sleep for another 3 hours after. So again my exhaustion is not so bad.
The pain has not reduced in any way, however, and I am supposed to return to work tomorrow.
I am waiting until 5 to take today's Prednisone, then will have another minimum two hour wait after that for any relief.
Today's dosage is 1/2 of where I began, last Thursday, so the relief is not nearly as great. No attempted soft-shoe today, sigh.
Dances, do you have a follow-up visit with your doctor scheduled?
DeleteLewy, I am going in to work this morning, but will leave to see my doctor at 11.
DeleteAt which time I will report the limited efficacy of the Prednisone, and tell him just how tired I am of the pain.
Not sure what can be done differently, but when he prescribed the Prednisone he did tell me that it helped about 80% of sufferers.
Your doctor's course of treatment isn't unreasonable - time and medication does help most people. Just not all.
DeleteLet us know how it goes.
No, in fact it is fully reasonable, but just not working particularly well in my case.
DeleteAt least I am inured enough to the pain to be sleeping through more of it than I did at first, which is a big improvement.
Sleep is the great provider of relief, I feel. Do whatever you can to gain more of it.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of pain, I could live with.
DeleteSleep with, even.
imgw:"http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d170/lewy14/attachment.jpg"
At the end of the day yesterday I felt better than I had expected to.
ReplyDeleteBut now it feels like my left foot is being crushed in a vice, my left ankle and calf are burning and there is a very hard and multi-pointed stone inside my left hip. Yay.
My doctor has referred me to a local pain clinic for evaluation. If they feel it will help, I will be given shots of an anti-inflammatory into the lumbar area of my lower back.
Sounds like some kind of nerve pain - doesn't seem likely to me that your foot suddenly became injured.
DeleteI had real bad foot pain several years back - it turned out most of it was originating in my lower back.
Yep, it sucks. Good news is, like I said, probably not an injury - although neural pain is very real.
Another possible cause is muscle spasm - which can cause nerves to freak out. I have this, ongoing - shoulder pain that flares up "for no reason".
If this is part of your condition, locate someone skilled in therapeutic massage. If possible, marry them.
Good thing your going to the clinic. I'm not a doctor so I'm free to prescribe booze.
Research has shown pain outcomes to be enhanced by emotional equanimity so whatever you have to do to reach your "don't give a shit" place, at least for a few hours here and there...
All of the above-described symptoms are part and parcel of the original Sciatica and the Spinal Stenosis that seems to be the underlying cause.
DeleteAt least my knees are only having the standard 60-year-old-wear-and-tear-pains, for now.
Although the left has wanted to hyperextend for years.