Add Ice to Reduce Burning in a Non-Traditional Manner

If you have burning pain, you probably use ice.  Icing helps reduce pain and numb the area.  Yes, I sit around with an ice pack in between my legs on occasion.  On Friday however I tried icing a little differently.

I busted my ass on our snowy/icy walkway just 20 minutes after leaving physical therapy!  Seriously?  How do I manage this?  I'm bruised on the left side, pulled something in my shoulder, and scraped up my hand.  By the time I got into the door of my new house, I was bleeding all over my paint swatches.  As these things usually go, I imagined that I'd be in bed for -- well, forever really.  I was sore on Saturday, but definitely mobile and no more than usual.  I iced my back Saturday night and the back/sciatica pain were flared up for all of Sunday more than usual, but again still very mobile.  Then I noticed it.  The holy shit moment.  I wasn't on fire in the, well, you know.  How could it be?  By Sunday evening my back was hurting pretty bad and my leg was hurting, but I was sitting down in jeans and not on fire!!  I'm going to have to explore this.  Naturally, I don't want to slip on ice every other day, but it seems like a massive hit to my left hip knocked my right side into place.  Whether or not it's the right place, I don't know.  If it's not pushing on the pudendal nerve (the burning pain nerve), do I really care?  Can I go to a PT or a doctor and ask for a massive whack to my left side to shift everything over?

Obviously this is not a cure.  Things will settle back into their old uncomfortable places, but it does seem interesting and evident of something.  Something...

The Chronically Ill Label

I am writing this propped up in bed, strategically arranged in a mountain of pillows with ice packs and heating pads.  The words chronically ill hang in my mind like a dead flower in a plant hanger that hasn't been watered in a year.   Chronic.  It's such a strong word, seemingly without an end.  It describes the situation (no doubt about that), but I'd rather think of it differently.  Twelve years of battling this and that, certainly would bring the word chronic to mind.  I spent hours searching the internet last night for some sort of answer and I think it is going to take a band of people to arrive at a definite conclusion for all of this.  You see, I have had back problems accompanied by sciatica since I was young.  I saw every doctor, had every scan in the book, various procedures, but I was stuck with it and they were perplexed.  Now, I have developed a rare conditioned called pudendal neuralgia, which many do not understand and there doesn’t seem to be a direct solution.  I think the two are related, but I’m not a medical doctor.

The pain is constant.  Burning, stabbing, aching pain that forces you to lie down regardless of what your plans were for the day.  It happens so often that you might even call it chronic.  There’s that word again:  Chronic.  It’s a touchy subject and I hate to be labeled the sick one, the chronically ill girl, the one who cancels plans, misses out on fun stuff, and even though achieved a 4.0 GPA in school had letters sent home that I would fail because I was hardly ever there.   I might add that I graduated with honors and obtained my Bachelor Degree, so take that snooty attendance police.

I’m changing the label, if not for my own sanity.   From now on, I shall be fashionably ill.  If you’re always running late, people don’t deem you “chronically late,” but rather you are fashionably late.  Why is that fashionable?  Is it because you took too long to get all dolled up or is it because the first one who comes to the party isn’t trendy?  I don’t know, but it sure sounds better than chronically.  Yes, I am fashionably ill, despite the fact that it isn’t very fashionable at all and I certainly can no longer dress in the fashion I was accustomed to.   Alas, I can only hope it will help.

If you’ve found me during your own search, I invite you to keep stopping by.  I’m not sure how often I will post, but I want to help.  I want to share my story.  I’ve been through enough that they’re practically throwing everything but the kitchen sink at me.  Maybe I can help you or at least let you know that you’re not alone.  I’ve found a few other bloggers who have helped to ease my mind in this unwanted journey.  I’m not sure where this will lead, but if it can help someone else, perhaps it’s worth it.