Update: Doc-inna-box (different dude this time) put me back on Cipro. We'll see what that does. Swelp me, if tomorrow starts in the same manner as today, I'll go to the ER. Still hurting, intensity varies, haven't had a really bad episode since right after brunch. But I still feel crummy enough that my next stop is bed. And a heating pad.
Serious mid-back pain yesterday, which hit on the way to work, just about felled me getting out of my car (slammed face-first into my car door instead, a lucky thing really, the pavement being so very far down and so cold, not to mention abrasive), then slooooowly faded over the course of the day. Pain returned this morning worse than ever. Three times now, I have moved or breathed or thought wrong and found myself hung up hooks of pain, barely able to move and making the most interesting sorts of sounds.
Because I am stubborn, I made a fancy scrambled-egg breakfast, with mushrooms, bacon, sausage, potatoes, scallions and a topping of diced radish and "Italian" shredded cheese (mozerella, asiago and I-forget-what). And just about did myself in bending to take the bacon out of the oven where it was keeping warm.
Because I am a creature of just impossible vanity, I'm off for a very cautious shower now and thence to either doc-in-a-box or the ER. Tam has convinced me not to drive myself and by "convinced" I mean in a conversation something like, "Are you insane? You can't even sit down on the couch without making a noise like a rabbit caught in a trap and you want to drive?" Unh, "No," and "Yes," respectively? Turned out that was The Wrong Sort Of Answer.
So, see ya later. The odds favor something like kidney stones. Geesh. Let it be noted that I do not approve of this.
Ouch...
ReplyDeleteBack pain is teh debil.
I hope the diagnosis is swift and solution cheap, get better soon.
Gmac
Jeez! I'm sorry you're in such pain. I had kidney stones four years ago and the pain was just... transcendant, just unbelievable. I hope you're not in that kind of pain. I had a couple of lithotrypsy procedures (non-invasive ultrasound to break up the stone) and I've been fine since. I'm glad Tam talked some sense into you! The procedure is painless but it does require (mild) sedation.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a normal stone, you're going to feel better in a hurry, once you've been suitably demeaned. Fail not to follow up. I shrugged one off ("shrugged off" is a blase term for letting your body forget the worst pain you've ever felt), didn't get blood-chemistry analysis and all, back in the Stone Age, and they found the cancer 20 years later. Huh.
ReplyDeleteThere are special perils to some stone therapies, specifically the one you'd want to write an electronic-fiction about. There are also some really cool little miracle surgeries that don't leave a mark. Keep us posted and we'll keep you advised.
Get well soon!
ReplyDeleteLet us know if we can do anything to help.
ReplyDeleteShermlock and the Mrs.
I'm betting against kidney stones. I had them about 15 times, and that doesn't sound like any of mine.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing torn/strained muscle in the back. Possible Sciatic Nerve.
Either way, hope they give the good stuff for pain. Hope you feel better soon.
Mr Fixit
Tam is being a good friend. I do hope you feel better by the time you get back. Being stubborn isn't always a good thing! Hope the doc gives you something to A) make you feel better and B) sleep. I have been there myself ("No, I don't need to see the company doctor. I'll keep working." Got sent anyway. Hard to work with your lower back going into spasms.) Hey, let Tam spoil you a little. She is a pretty good cook herself!! Let us know, or at least have Tam let us know. Your Legions of Fans await your recovery!!
ReplyDeleteHaving both experienced the department of random and more or less unexplainable "Oh sweet merciful $deity slay me now instead of this" ailments, LabRat and I both wish you speedy recovery and simple treatments.
ReplyDeleteOr if that's too wordy, feel better soon.
I've got a bad back, and have had experience with kidney stones. Good luck and I hope it gets taken care of properly by the docs.
ReplyDeleteSweetie Pie, I wish you the best and I hope you get well soon.
ReplyDeleteI've never had kidney stones but I have suffered from chronic back pain since I got mowed down by a car in my own front yard back in 1988.
My first wife suffered from kidney stones and so does one of my brothers. I can tell you that they are probably the most painful thing I have ever seen a person go through. My brother is 6'-1", 240 lbs. and is in better shape than most 20 year old kids fresh out of boot camp.
Those kidney stones put him flat on his back and made him bawl like a baby. I've never in the 50 years my brother has been alive seen anything physically painful make him cry.
On the bright side, these days they are fairly quick and easy to get rid of IF you get the proper medical attention right away.
Unfortunately with all the dope heads trying to con doctors out of pain meds these days, most ER docs and Docs-in-a-box are very hesitant to give you the proper pain relief right away.
They want to give you worthless shit like Tylenol, Advil, Naprox, Ultram, etc which we all know work about as good as a damn sugar tablet.
I wish you a speedy recovery.
Joe
Best wishes for your improved health, Roberta.
ReplyDeleteJoseph beat me to it and used all the good words.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went in for my lithotrypsy procedure, the admitting nurse told me that she had had kidney stones, "... and the pain was worse than either of my deliveries."
ReplyDeleteSo it's about the worse there is. I hope you aren't in such pain.
Like the man said, your legions of fans are wishing you a full and speedy recovery!
If you need cold to relieve some of that pain, we can send you the best of th Great White North? No ... I didn't think so.
ReplyDeleteHope it clears up ... medically, pharmacologically or Mother Nature laying on hands.
Just make sure Tam doesn't do any of that walking on your back. That's only for experts and shouldn't be done at home.
Regards.
You take care, y'all.
ReplyDeleteIf the doctor is giving you Cipro, it's probably not kidney stones. That's a good thing, BTDT.
ReplyDeleteI hope he is giving you antibiotics because he knows what the problem is, rather than as a default treatment for unknown pain.
Sounds like you have a UTI, given the scrip for Cipro.
ReplyDeleteYour unsolicited medical advice of the day: Rest, LOTS of fluids (cranberry juice is good for plumbing problems), the aforementioned Cipro, and lots of Advil.
Get Tam to peel you a grape and fan you with a palm frond during your convalescence.
Get better soon, Roberta!
ouch ... hope doc-inna-box has a solution for you ....
ReplyDeleteAssrot wrote:Unfortunately with all the dope heads trying to con doctors out of pain meds these days, most ER docs and Docs-in-a-box are very hesitant to give you the proper pain relief right away.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds exactly like my experience with kidney stones.
I turned up at the ER with a report from my GP, and they STILL made me wait until they saw the sweat on my face, and my eyes glaze over from the pain waxing before they would give me anything.
I am working on recovery. Body not cooperating -- slept in 2-3 hour stretches last night.
ReplyDeleteDoc-in-box (it was a different MD than before) is clueless; meds are pretty much a "well, it might help" prescription. Pain had not wanted localize -- last night, it decided it was more on the right side.
This kind of back pain was one of the symptoms back at the end of January when this mess started. That was a definite UTI. Seven days of 500 mg Cipro did for the back pain. (Gone within 24 hours, amazing). ...For awhile. Had some other symptoms 12 days later, went back, got put on a different antibiotic, took it for five days, got a call that nothing cultured, dropped the antibiotic and then the back pain returned last Friday.
Damifiknow. A climbing UTI should still give 'em something showing up in the culture. A stone, you'd think the pain'd localize earlier and why would it respond to antibiotics.
I am not much better today. I'll give it to 'til evening and if I do not feel better, ER myself. This is probably an inappropriate use of the ER but I'm out of ideas. I can't do my job with my mobility seriously limited by pain, so waiting it out is not an option. Might as well go where they have all manner of diagnostic equipment to play with. It rankles -- I was brought up to beleive you needed to be bleeding, unconscious or have a broken bone to go to the ER.
Hope you feel better soon, Roberta.
ReplyDeleteBack pain is truly teh suxxor - two car wrecks (neither my fault) inside of 8 months laid me low for several years...
Hmm - Roberta, the symptoms are not consistent with either kidney or gall stones. Those will get your attention - and keep it. From painful experience with both - and this - it sounds more like a sudden muscle spasm - bend over, something pinches a nerve, and the back tries to immobilize itself. OWITCH!
ReplyDeleteIn this case the ER may be exactly the right place. Because the ER doc should prescribe an MRI that may get to the bottom of the situation. In the meantime, slacks and squats are called for. Whatever you do, do not bend over.
Best regards and good luck getting rid of the agony.
Pete Allen
I suggest wrapping yourself in photos of Barack Obama. This will surely cure you and give you Hope.
ReplyDeleteShootin' Buddy
My own spate of side pain plus come-and-go weakness was attributed to a one-two punch: diverticulosis, to provide occasional bursts of "WTF?", and pnemonia, to assure a steady supply of hard-working bacteria. I am now on an antibiotic that can empty a kennel just by removing the cap.
ReplyDeleteI wish you all the best. You've got a starship to run.
Damn. I'm so sorry. Here's to better days.
ReplyDeleteWhat if you just drank lots of beer and flushed it out? Getting drunk would also numb the pain too, wouldn't it?
ReplyDelete