I am stoned.
My injured neck and shoulder finally sent me to the doctor yesterday, and after commenting that he'd never seen two shoulders quite so uneven (my left has been riding about two inches higher than my right for the last week), and prodding my strained muscles and tendons, he told me to take two weeks off work and gave me a blammo prescription for cyclobenzaprine. He also recommended I see the chiropractor--we have a guy who comes to town once a week, and the first six visits are covered by medical.
Of course, there's no way I can afford to take two weeks off work, but I am taking a couple of days. Carrying trays of drinks and heavy plates of food in my left hand had me in agony over the last five shifts, to the point that after three or four hours my shoulder and my ear were trying to make sweet, savage love with each other. Even on Robaxacet, within ten minutes of starting a shift, I was lurching around like Quasimodo, complete with pained grimace and inarticulate grunts.
The cyclobenzaprine works much better than the Robax, but holy crapweasels, does it ever knock me on my ass. I took my first one last night at 5, and by 7 I was zonked on the couch, a puddle of drool forming on my pillow. I'm hoping that the side-effects will calm down between now and Friday, since my boss is stuck covering for me at work and I can't imagine he'll be having fun working a Friday night by himself.
This will also stall my writing for a bit--despite the perfect ergonomics of my La-Z-Boy/laptop setup, doing between 1 and 3k a day for the last little while hasn't been helping me get better. So I'm just going to take it easy and try to keep it under 1k a day. Although I refuse to take a total hiatus--I'm on a roll and could lapse into writer's block at any moment, so I have to forge ahead while I can.
The annoying thing is, I didn't even do anything to deserve this. Just about everyone has asked (with mandatory eyebrow waggle) what exactly I was doing when I threw my neck out.
Um, sleeping. Alone. I went to bed fine last Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning I couldn't turn my head. Which really, really sucks. I mean, if I'm going to injure myself in bed, I'd at least like to have earned it. But no, apparently sleeping is a high-risk physical activity for me.
Jeez, I feel old.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Awww... Kirsten, I'm sorry about your neck. As someone who suffers constant neck pain with herniated disks I really feel for you. Lucky you got some great pain killers though.
And I wake up in pain as well from sleeping funny so it is a major high risk activity.. LOL
I hope you feel better soon, but enjoy your few days off and the lovely effects of those pain killers. :D
I hope you feel better, Kirsten :(.
You could make up some really grand story about how you hurt yourself. It could make for a very interesting short story :). Like the one you did with the panties!
I've messed up neck muscles by sneezing while half turned toward kids in the back of the car (we weren't moving) and also by trying to shut a truck door while shouldering a backpack. Both times I was down for a week. I've become very careful about which simultaneous body motions I will attempt, much to my spouse's disappointment ; )
Thank goodness for pain killers. Better living through chemistry, I always say. Feel better soon.
Thanks, guys.
Boy, this stuff sure knocks you on your butt. I just zonked out again for a couple hours.
This is a weird drug. It's actually related to antidepressants. But it works. I'm almost pain-free. Almost.
I did this exact same thing almost a month ago-- woke up and could not turn my head. I'm still having some pain and tenderness in the area.
But I also have long-term shoulder/neck/arm issues from being a computer nerd 8+ hours a day.
One thing that really helps me is to wear those stick-on heat pads from ThermaCare while I sleep.
Dr. Mfred out.
Hey, Mfred.
I, too, have had this happen before, but never with the subsequent muscle spasms in the shoulder. The neck thing I could live with. The spasms--starting at the nape and extending almost to the elbow--are another thing entirely. A friend of mine had the same issue a year ago, and the spasms--which supposedly occur to hold the injured joint in place so it can heal--were so severe, they actually pulled two discs in her neck out of alignment. Youch.
My computer setup is totally comfy--I sit in a recliner with my elbows supported--but typing is gonna make trouble no matter how ergonomic your work station is.
That said, these pills are totally blammo. No pain, no tightness, and the neck is starting to feel better, too. I think I might be able to go off them in a few days.
My computer setup is totally comfy--I sit in a recliner with my elbows supportedKirsten, do you have one of those beanbag lap boards? I have one that has room for both my laptop and mouse and I sit like you, but in an office chair tilted back with legs on coffee table.
Having the laptop on the board raises it to a very comfortable level and I can also angle it so that typing is very comfortable. It's one of the best items I own and will never go to just having a laptop on my lap without it.
But sitting and typing could tighten up those neck muscles to the point that sleeping slight off could throw it all out of whack. I know cause that's me totally.
Putting my dr outfit back on, when your at the computer, is your chin tucked into your chest? Are you always looking down at your lap? That might be causing tension in your neck, which is then made worse by all the lifting/heaving at work.
I suggest winning the lottery and/or living in a near-zero gravity environment. No work, no physical stress. Totally attainable.
Post a Comment