Tag: chronic pain

Tough Decisions

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, blogging, chronic physical pain, depression, mood disorders

Tough Decisions

Since Friday morning my back has been hurting moderately to severely. Saturday when I made the sauce, it almost went out on me completely because I washed the pots and pans. Today I made some pasta to go with the rest of the sauce and I am hurting. So I had a tough decision to make and that was to cancel my Zipcar for tomorrow to see my therapist in person. I don’t think I can drive for 45 minutes, sit for another 50 minutes, then drive another 45 minutes home. My back would kill me and I am already in no position to fight it. The temperatures have been made crazy with the humidity now creeping up.

I hated cancelling the car because I really wanted to see my therapist. I wanted to show her my writing of the story I am working on. But stupid back pain is preventing this from happening. I know once the temps level off I will be okay. I hate being sensitive to the weather changes but I don’t have a stable back. Just taking a shower today killed me. I had spasms in my lower back and could barely stand straight. I haven’t been able to stand up straight all weekend long. It’s been brutal.

My cousin called my sister to cancel seeing my godmother. She isn’t feeling well. I was so looking forward to seeing her too. She has been ill a lot lately but then she is 92. I am kind of glad I don’t have to get dressed and go out. My back would not be kind to me. I am getting a little bit of cabin fever though. I haven’t left the house since Friday. It’s supposed to be really hot tomorrow so I am not sure I will go out. I hate heat. Summer is not my favorite season.

Because of my back issues, I haven’t been able to clear my bed off to change my sheets. I was really hoping to do it this weekend but I wasn’t counting on being in pain. We did have rain for most of the morning and afternoon but now the humidity has been creeping up as well as the temp. It’s 74 degrees right now, up 10 from this morning. I have no idea if it’s going to increase or decrease for the night. I just know I need my pain meds and need to lie down. Maybe wear a heating pad too.

Ankle Chronicles 12

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, blogging, chronic physical pain, depression, mood disorders

Ankle Chronicles 12

I haven’t written a chronicle in a while so I thought I would as my ankle is being a fucker right now and I don’t know why. I didn’t do anything like I did yesterday so not sure if this is a delayed reaction or what. I just know that I am in pain.

I ordered my Chinese food tonight. My stomach is nice and bloated. I don’t know why I was eating while standing. That might be why my ankle is upset with me. I then stood to finish watching the game. Sox came back in the 11th inning to win 5-3. I usually stand in the kitchen because the box is hard to read, even with my glasses on, when I am sitting. I like to see the pitch count and other stuff. I finally figured out today what the fourth box was when they showed the score. It was LOB, left on base. I don’t know why they are showing this stat. It’s annoying.

Pain begins in my ankle and then trickles down my foot into my toes. It drives me nuts that this is the pattern every single night. Then when it is in my toes, I am in agony. I have yet to figure out the right combination of pain meds to stop it or at least decrease my pain. If I take it before it starts, I have a good chance but it’s hard to tell because I never know how severe the pain is going to be. It can be a 5-7 on a scale of 1-10 and then quickly move to a 9+. It’s worse if I get a cramp or a spasm. Sometimes I will get a “tic” where the foot will just jerk upward. It’s not really painful but it’s uncomfortable. I have to take an Ativan to calm these jerks down or I get no relief from them. It took me a while to realize I was having these things happen because they would be so far apart from one another. I still have no idea what sets them off.

After the pain settles down some, then comes the nerve pain. I really hate this part because I have to take gabapentin to settle it down or my foot will burn and feel like it’s on fire. It really is uncomfortable. Sometimes it is so bad that I can’t have anything touch my foot, like the sheet or sock. It just makes the pain worse. I hate having to take the gabapentin because the next day I will get the hungry horrors. It’s like no matter what I eat, I am still hungry afterwards. It’s like I have a bottomless pit for a stomach. I have to be really careful because I don’t want to gain back the weight I lost when I was severely depressed. I am back to eating solid food again instead of just drinking Ensure. I have three packs of it left because I didn’t think my depression was going to get any better. But with the increase in my antidepressant, I am feeling better and my appetite is back.

Because of stupid pain, I can’t walk like I used to anymore. Some days I can walk a few blocks and be okay. Other days, those same few blocks seem like an obstacle course for me. It’s hard to gauge when I will be in severe or moderate pain and when I will be in little to no pain. I think the weather has some say in it. Rain or dramatic changes in temps will cause my pain to flare up. Like yesterday it was 92 degrees. Today it has been in the mid-50s for most of the day, an almost 40 degree difference. Ouch.

Stair climbing is another reason my foot/ankle will flare up. I try not to but sometimes my mother will go shopping and need help bringing the shopping up the stairs. Other times, I am up and down because I need to use the bathroom or eat. I don’t keep food in my room because I don’t want pests. I do have some pretzel bites in a sealed plastic baggie. That is only in emergencies when I am hungry but am in too much pain to go down stairs. I keep it on my nightstand.

Being in pain all the time, makes you tired. It’s exhausting both physically and mentally.

feeling grief

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, blogging, chronic physical pain, depression, mood disorders

Feeling grief

The movie of my father’s final hours keep playing in my mind the past hour or so. I have been trying to distract myself by listening to music or playing on my phone. I even watched some episodes of Friends on Netflix to no avail. My heart is just so heavy. I feel really depressed and want to cry but I just can’t. It hurts so much. I feel like I am losing my mind. I don’t understand this at all. I know my father had been a huge part of my life the last few months, with him having to be hospitalized because of this and that ailment. And I know my writing has suffered because of it. But not having any more contact with him has been so difficult. I am not sure I can get used to his presence not being there anymore.

I never typed up the stuff I wrote while I was in the hospital. I haven’t even so much as removed the notepad from my backpack. I am wicked hot in my room because it’s so damn hot out. I should open the door to let some air in but I hate my bedroom door being open. The ceiling fan is not doing much to cool me off. I am just uncomfortable.

My pain has returned. My foot/ankle has decided to give me grief. I took my pain meds but they haven’t kicked in yet. I haven’t been taking them around the clock because I wasn’t in that much pain. Now I am playing catch up and it sucks. I just want to sleep but I can’t because I am hot and in pain.

I added another book that I am reading to the Good Reads list that I have going. Seems it’s easy to add the books and start reading them but difficult to finish reading the book. I have had Alexander Hamilton on there for a couple years now. It’s a big book and difficult to read so I put it down and have some idea where I put it but am not sure. It is an interesting book but the author has no breaks and the chapters are really long. With the latest book I added, Risk Management with Suicidal Patients, I have six books I am currently reading. This book is a short read as it’s only around 200 pages. I hope I can finish it by the end of the week but it takes some doing. I just need to find motivation to read. Of course, trying to find motivation to do anything has been difficult lately.

I have no idea where the day went. I got my haircut, made lunch, took a shower and have been in my room since. I did watch John Adams and did not like it. It was very boring. I don’t understand how it won awards. I canceled the rest of the discs and I am going to return the disc tomorrow. Then I am going to cancel the subscription so I don’t get charged.

I texted my sister that I missed my father. Today has been really difficult for some reason. I still haven’t cried. I am getting to the point where I don’t think I am going to. I am worried that it might happen around Father’s day.

Sox lost big tonight. I think Buchholz is washed up. And he is a relatively young pitcher. He just hasn’t been pitching well all season. His first game that he pitched was a no hitter and since then he has been on the rocks. Bradley, Jr. ended his hitting streak at 29 games. I was so looking forward to him getting to 30 games but they placed him in the lead off position and I think that messed it up for him. I am so upset over this. I know he has been hitting well, but he is not a lead off man.

I am debating taking some gabapentin for my pain levels. But I am afraid that I will get the munchies all day tomorrow. Since I have bought my groceries, all I want to do is eat. Tomorrow I will be making my Bolognese sauce. Just to get an idea of if I had the right idea about making it, I watched a YouTube video. The one I saw was not made by an Italian. He put nutmeg in the meat sauce and Bay leaves. I was disgusted. He also put cream and wine. That was too complicated for me. He also used two pounds of meat. I am just using one pound for 1 can of tomato sauce. I think that will be sufficient. I know I will be the only one eating it, though I will be giving some to my therapist on Tuesday. I got to go to Walgreens and get some disposable Tupperware because I don’t think I have them anymore. I will look but I don’t think so, least not the size I need.

I am so damn tired but can’t sleep because my foot is bothering me so much. I know that is in part to me going up and down the stairs to eat something. I really hope I don’t gain back the weight I lost. I will be so mad at myself. I know that I have gained a few pounds back. But that is all that I am willing to tolerate.

done nothing I wanted to do

by Midnight Demon, posted in Bipolar Disorder, blogging, chronic physical pain, depression, mood disorders, suicide

Done nothing I wanted to do

After I wrote my previous blog, I played with my bibliography program, entering the book that I was going to start reading as well as exporting the citation of the article that I want to get when I become a member of AAS again. I let my membership lapse because it was and is expensive. I mostly was a member so I could get the journal and still be somewhat connected with the field. After I entered all this information, it kind of made me tired. Data entry is not my strong point. I know people that love inputting stuff in worksheets but it has never been my thing. I should have taken a nap but I wasn’t really tired like I am now. Then I tried reading the chapter I wanted to read and I couldn’t even open the book. My mind kept on fixating on other things. I also could not get into a reading mood, which didn’t help.

Then I thought of typing up the stuff I wrote while in the hospital just to get it out of the way. I became paralyzed. I just couldn’t get off my bed to get to my backpack to retrieve the notepad. I didn’t want to read what I wrote. I didn’t want the “movie” to start over again. So I did nothing. I watched a couple of Friends episodes. They weren’t really funny but I laughed at some parts.

I have been fighting cramps in my side the past few hours. I took an Ativan and you would think that would cause me to nap and settle down, but nope. It took care of the cramps but nothing else. I did start to get tired around 1800 but that is my normal sleepy period. Every day I fight the tireds at that particular hour. I don’t know why. But I know that if I fall asleep, I am up all night. So I fight it at least until I take my night meds. Then I can go to bed. I think I am going to take my night meds early tonight because I feel like a piece of shit. I have done nothing, nothing at all, and it is bothering me. It is making me feel suicidal that is how bad I feel. I texted my therapist. I didn’t get a response back. I really wasn’t expecting one back. I wish she would acknowledge some of my texts so I know that she read them. But nope. I don’t have that kind of text relationship with her.

I also have been so lazy, I haven’t looked for the grief counselor’s card. I found my father’s GI doc’s card. I tossed that out. I won’t be needing her services again. I think I still have the note that the lab my father had his blood drawn in on my bureau. I have been meaning to toss it but I haven’t for whatever reason.

I bought a bunch of Ensure before I went into the hospital. Now that I have my appetite back, I am wondering if I should return them. I kind of don’t because they will be handy when I want to have something to “eat” but don’t feel like making myself something. Or on days when I don’t eat as much. Only time will tell if my appetite is here to stay or not. I could go on a liquid diet for a while to lose some more weight but that will be tricky. I would have to do math and I really am not up to it. I know if I drink at least 4 bottles, that is around 1400 calories, which is ideal for weight loss. I would just have to spread them out so I am not starving myself. I will run this idea by my psychiatrist and see what she thinks. She probably will not like it much but I really want to lose another fifteen pounds. I am so close to my target.

I am going to try the lidocaine cream on my Achilles lump just to see if it helps with the pain. It’s supposed to be odorless so I hope it doesn’t smell. My left ankle/foot is bothering me so I will be taking pain meds for it. I wish it helped with the lump pain but it doesn’t. I am guessing it’s because the pain is so acute and severe it just won’t touch it. Hopefully the lidocaine will.