pain in the back
It was last Monday. I started tossing and turning at some point in the night. Eventually I woke up, and the first thing I knew was that I was gonna be sick. I sleepily tried sprinting to the bathroom — in hindsight, that probably looked pretty funny: half-asleep and jumping over the cat, hurdling piles of clothes, trying to navigate the obstacle course of furniture that is our living room — luckily, I made it. About every other time my body tried to throw up, it found something to offer. So I was alternately dry-heaving and vomiting. It was 2am.
About a half hour into it, my lower back started to hurt. I figured it was from being hunched over the toilet, so I tried to find a better position that still kept me facing my puke target. But bathrooms just aren’t meant for that. I did my best, but the pain got worse no matter how I squatted or sat.
By 3:30am, I had barely stopped throwing up, I couldn’t lay down, sit, kneel, squat. Pain was radiating down both legs to my knees. For some reason, I could stand and shuffle around. So that’s what I did, until I had Luc (formerly known here as H) take me to the Swedish E.R.
At the hospital, they asked me all kindsa questions. I answered them all, including my favorite “If 10 is the most pain you’ve ever felt and 1 is the least, where are you right now?” I told them the truth, “Eight.” (Later Luc teased me about it: “We went to the E.R. for an eight?“)
They pumped me full of saline to rehydrate my system (3 IV bags in less than 4 hours! And they have no idea why I was puking for 2+ hours.), and they put some steroids in my system. See, it turns out that somehow during the vomiting, I wrenched my back in such a way that the sciatic nerve was pinched where it branches off and down the legs. The steroids alleviated some of that pressure. Some. (A word of advice: relax your back muscles while you vomit.)
I guess I will always have to learn the hard way. I’ve known for a while now (read: years) that my body has to exercise regularly to function properly, but I’ve been lazy and office-jobby-occupied, and it took until my body slapped me in the face (or back, rather) to realize that Hey! You really do hafta get off your ass! NOW.
I start physical therapy today.
Wow, I hope you are doing better. And thanks for the puking/back muscle advice.
http://www.thepincushionclinic.com/
As for Costa Rica details, blogging is imminent…
thank you, bailee. my insurance is probably ending shortly after this month, so this is perfect timing.
and YAY! :) i’m looking forward to reading about it…
and kb, thank you, too. it’s still iffy, but i’m optimistic that it won’t be chronic.