cause one injury isn't enough.

Maybe I am just having a super terrible string of bad luck.  First there was the foot injury and subsequent surgery.  The surgeon told me it would be 6 months to a year for the foot to be back to normal.  I am at 7 months at this point, and it still really hurts.. and now, all of a sudden, my foot cramps up ALL THE TIME.  It's so obnoxious, so random, and so painful.  Doctor did not warn me of this! 

Stages of post-surgery; the center is at 6 weeks out (still looks about the same).

But then... just as I think I will be able to ease back into running......

Live Out Loud Yoga Studio
La Plata, MD

my back starts acting up again.  It started in my yoga class, during final savasana, I laid on the floor for and could not get up!!  Couldn't move.  I struggled to collect my things and drive home, and it was awhile before I could walk around like a normal person.  A fluke?  Maybe...

Nope.

That next weekend, Cindy was opening her very own yoga studio!!!  I went down for the occasion and to lend a hand.  She was providing a sampling of classes that weekend and I decided to sit in on a meditation class.  All you do is lie on your back.  That is seriously ALL YOU DO.  Twenty minutes later, I could not get up.  It took half a bottle of wine and a Vicodin to be able to stand up straight.  Perhaps I should visit a doctor.

Fast forward a month later and some obnoxious insurance company battles to find out an MRI shows a degenerative *and* herniated disc at L4/L5... at this point, my back seems to hurt all the time, not just after lying down (although that's still the only time it really locks up on me).

I don't think you can see anything in this shot?

so there's that. //sigh//

Steriods, pain killers (Naproxen), physical therapy and an epidural steriod injection is the treatment plan.  Swimming and biking were fine, but no running!  Well..

• The steriods did nothing..
  
• The pain killers were only semi-effective (and not as effective as the Vicodin I'd had to use a few times)
• The physical therapy was OBNOXIOUS.  There were a few certain things that helped - but why did they have me doing bicep curls to help my back???  Most of the therapists were super obnoxious as well with high squeaky voices, condescending attitudes, no thanks.
  
• The ESI was... well let's just say it didn't feel like a massage :-)  But, I do think it helped.. my back stopped hurting for the most part of day-to-day activities... until, I went to a different yoga instructor who did an extra long savasana and BAM, locked up again, couldn't move, needed ice, heat and medication..UGH. (oh, and did I mention I was traveling to Florida the next day -- now THAT was a fun flight!)

Wine and beach helped relieve some of the pain :-)

Where are we now?

I had my follow-up doctor appointment this morning and was told to go see a pain management specialist, so I suppose that's the next step.  As long as I don't lie on my back, it really only hurts after sitting or standing for a long period of time, driving on super bumpy roads, etc.  Swimming and biking are still fine, and I'm hoping to be able to incorporate some running back into my life with the proper medication (and sticking to softer surfaces like dirt trails).

I'd like to say I'm on the mend, but I'm really not positive about that.  Seems a pain management specialist's job is just to mask the pain until it's bad enough to think about a more serious procedure?