I’ve just spent the past 3 ½ days in pain hell!!
And the worst of it is, it could have all been prevented…if only I’d….you know, famous last words, as they say.
My late grandmother was often wont to quote: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”
In theory, I truly do see the wisdom in this; the problem is when one’s life seems too busy to take a moment to exercise the “ounce of prevention”.
About the time it takes a “pound of cure” to fix or correct what once would have only taken an “ounce” is about the time one really wishes one had taken that moment, as the “cure” so often takes far more in every way.
After a fitful night of sleep, unable to get comfortable and experiencing pain with every attempt to move, I awoke Sunday morning intending to get up to use the toilet only to collapse back upon my bed in a scream, as pain radiated from my foot up my leg in an intensity unlike anything I can recall ever experiencing.
I very literally had to crawl on hands and knees to the toilet whereupon I used my arms to hoist myself up only to be overcome with nausea and lightheadedness.
Life experience has taught me this is the forerunner to passing out, something I had no desire to do while half naked (or any condition otherwise for that matter), which is why mere seconds later I was lying on the cold floor while waves of nausea subsided.
While others celebrated Easter (hopefully) joyfully, I spent Easter Sunday ingesting a cocktail of drugs: anti-spasm, anti-inflammatory, and anti-pain.
While I was extremely thankful for the drugs, as prior to their effectiveness kicking in, thoughts of death held a definite appeal; nothing eliminated the pain, at best they kept it tolerable.
And one false move (of which I unintentionally managed many) sent what felt like 220 volts of shock waves coursing up and down my leg.
Gravity became my enemy as lowering my leg from couch to floor was an experience equal to torture. Walking was a thing of my past; with enough drugs I could hobble when absolutely necessary.
Physically, even though I’m rather a little woman, I’m still pretty tough, both physically and emotionally. But this experience; this pain, brought me to my knees, figuratively, and brought me to tears, literally. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was off the charts (well okay, but it was definitely a 10).
Initially I thought I had a sciatic nerve being pinched. From a phone call on Monday, the chiropractor I used to see, whom I’ve haven’t seen in years (who the heck has the time for such things) said he wouldn’t see me until I saw a medical doctor and got a scan done to see what the actual problem was.
Dang, I didn’t even have a primary physician; last one I had moved elsewhere and I was too busy to get around to finding another.
Thankfully a friend recently filled in for someone who works at a local Homeopathic, Holistic medical practice; a clinic where they were happy to fit me in the very next day.
My husband was a bit concerned with what he witnessed as this doctor examined me and then pushed and held onto various parts of my feet and pelvis.Smartly-pants husband later said he wondered if Doctor might start chanting.
All I know is I slept better last night, and this morning, while stretching my back, I felt something give way just a little; enough so that it no longer felt like I had electric pulses coursing through my leg. I figured something eased a little pressure off of the pinched nerve.
Today in a visit to a massage specialist, (same clinic), I learned I didn’t have symptoms of sciatica but instead am dealing with other pinched nerves.
Thanks to our fantastic resource, the internet, I was able to learn where a few of the different nerves run, and their function, which helped me determine the highest probability is I’ve pinched femoral nerve, and saphenous nerves.
What’s really amazing is this also sheds light on a chronic issue I’ve been dealing with for SIX YEARS for which even a “specialist” only did a best guess at my “mystery” issue!!
For years I’ve thought I had a bone issue, but the very spot where I have unnatural sensitivity is exactly where the saphenous nerve runs along the medial border of the tibia (inner side of my shin bone). Finally, at last, even that problem now makes sense.
It is that VERY spot I accidentally smacked Saturday night; the night where only a few hours later, I started having serious pain all up and down my leg that led me to waking up with an inflamed pinched nerve mess!
Turns out the saphenous nerve runs the length of the leg.
The femoral nerve affects the outer portion of the thigh; that and the front of my thigh were rock hard when I arrived at the massage therapist’s office.
My next visit is to a chiropractor, tomorrow, to get my spine realigned as my hips are where the nerves run through and I know my hips are out of alignment.
My next assignment, for now, is a hot soak in an Epsom salts bath.
My next massage is Tuesday.
My advice: listen to your body, be careful with your body, spend a little of your resources to tend to problems when they arise rather than waiting until you are in such pain you’d rather be dead.
Had I listened to my husband, I’d have been in for a massage Saturday, after waking up that morning feeling a twinge. I didn’t go because I was “too busy”; I had too much to do to take the time.
One hour of time for one massage on Saturday would have relaxed my muscles; the very muscles and ligaments that, via inflammation, pinched those nerves.
Instead I’ve paid a HUGE price in pain, suffering, tears, and lots of time I couldn’t accomplish much of anything beyond surviving, over that choice.
Another of grandma’s favorites was: a stitch in time saves nine. I just “paid” ten stitches, next time I’m catching it when it’s only one.