Ow! My Back!
Monday, June 26, 2006 at 09:25am
This weekend, I officially turned 102 years old when I threw out my back. Threw out my back. Me. GODDAMMIT. I’ve never done something like this before; I’ve had back troubles like pulled muscles or pinched nerves and all that, but never this. The geekboy, the freakmom and I were bringing some things to our storage unit Saturday afternoon. I simply bent over wrong and felt something >>pop<< in the bottom of my spine, and then I couldn't stand up straight. All bent over like an angry old man from a sitcom. Except I was crying and hyperventilating because it hurt so much. Ugh. Long story short, I was finally able to straighten up and get in the car to go home. I spent the rest of the day on the floor with ice and Aleve and later, I got my hands on some sweet, sweet percocet. I'd never had that before and I can't believe I waited this long. Heh. The poor geekboy has basically been my cabana boy the entire weekend - getting me things and picking things up and helping me put on my shoes. Wait until I have to ask him to shave my legs for me.
Anyway, it’s now Monday and I am feeling a bit better. I still can’t bend over at all, I have to move slowly and carefully, and it still hurts. But it’s slowly improving. I’m really not supposed to be sitting at my desk right now, but I am tired of reading magazines and watching VH1. Ugh. I think I’ll go to the doctor later today. The scary part is that on Thursday, we’ll be in the car for 9 1/2 hours on our way to Canada for vacation. Depending on how I feel, I may spend the duration of that ride prone in the backseat, in a babbling percocet haze.
sandra on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 9:35 am
ugh! funny (not really but), this morning a co-worker and i were discussing throwing out ones back and how damned painful it is after another coworker called in sick due to screwing up her back during a rough boat ride yesterday. i’m so sorry - i’ve never thrown out my back, just pulled a muscle under my shoulder blades and that was horrible enough. jay’s pulled his back out a few times and he was basically immobile for days. I hope you feel better soon! we want you at 100% for your visit.
freakgirl on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 9:41 am
Just lay me down on the deck and give me a nice long straw attached to some wine; I’ll be fine.
Susie on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 10:06 am
Oh, poor you! And I mean that sincerely. I haven’t had a back episode in probably 10 years, but MAN is it painful. There’s really no way to describe it. I’m glad you got some Percocet (that stuff makes me puke, sadly) though, and you’re on the mend. You did the right thing with the ice pack and Aleve. The first time I threw out my back I was visiting people in Chicago, and fortunately, one of Al’s friends out there was a doctor who slipped me some muscle relaxers for the flight home. I have no idea how I would have made it home otherwise.
I hope you’re feeling 100% soon!
Chuck on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 10:14 am
Mmmmmm…percocet.
Maggie on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 10:20 am
Add to shopping list: long straws.
Michael on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 10:32 am
Mmmmmm…percocet.
Easy there, Elvis.
Glad you’re feeling better. Now is not the time to rock the boat. Be good!
Kimberly on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 10:39 am
FG, my sympathies are with you! This past fall, I bent down to pick up a simple remote for the kid and wham I was down on my knees in a flash. My husband was so worried that he took me to ER. When the nurse insisted that I needed to get up on the exam table, I told her to **&*^&^*^%@^*#&@#*&#^*#^ herself. Get better soon.
freakgirl on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 10:40 am
Yep, Kimberly, that’s the way it happened. My mom thought we should go to the ER, but the thought of having to get on an exam table was just too much.
leah on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 11:29 am
get better soon so you can enjoy your vacation
Janet on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 11:56 am
Well, the last time this happened, you married the guy. So I guess you’re getting the townhouse.
freakgirl on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 12:02 pm
Heh, true.
This isn’t the same as last time, though. This is waaaaaay worse. Bleh.
Charlie on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Gross. You ARE old. J/K, feel better. Lots of bed rest, et cetera. I would’ve said ‘mmm percocet,’ too, but I already have a bad reputation about pills. *shrug*
Marjon on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Hope your back will be better soon. Back troubles really suck.
And I don’t think percocet and wine are supposed to go together, but what do I know?
Janet on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Sorry to hear it’s worse - that IS bad, cause the last time was awful.
By the way, God spoke to me and He said you should hire movers.
freakgirl on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 1:25 pm
I know, right?
Oh, and don’t worry, Marjon. I will not OD from a percocet/wine cocktail.
El Gato on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 1:58 pm
You have my sympathies. A couple of years ago I managed to herniate a disc and ended up off my feet for over a month and out of work for two months. Ouch!
freakgirl on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 2:09 pm
I’m really not digging that I can’t do anything. Especially since we’re moving in five weeks. FIVE WEEKS FROM TODAY!
I’m going to go for a short walk since that’s all I can do. Yoga and my circuit training are on hold indefinitely. Which sucks. But the good thing is, because I was working out consistently, I’m stronger than I was last time I hurt my back. I can use my upper arms to pull me up, and I can get to the ground and back up again without bending. Yay for glutes.
chuck on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 6:18 pm
I always thought the cocktail was a good friend of any pain pill - the famous “elixir of life”. Not to say I chug a 12 pack and down a bottle of oxycontin’s, but I’ve always found the cocktail just grabs the pill and says “Hey little buddy, wanna go to the beach?”
Maggie on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 6:32 pm
Chuck, this is an earnest question (I’m not making fun of you): What is the relationship between pain pill and cocktail? Does the pain pill help the alcohol to make you feel drunker, or does the alcohol enhance the pain pill? I had friends in high school who would pop a codein when they drank beer because they claimed it made them drunk faster. I got plenty drunk, and fast enough, on my own without any help so I never tried it.
Michael on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 6:50 pm
Not Chuck, but I’ll chime in. Depends on the pill, but with your example of codeine, it’s a synergistic effect, I think. You already know how alcohol makes you feel somewhat euphoric by depressing your central nervous system/brain function. Codeine is converted in your body into morphine. That’s how it helps with pain, but it can impart a euphoric feeling as well. So they work together to an amplified effect. They can also work together to depress respiration and other autonomic functions, so it’s actually a very dangerous combination, as in– pass out and stop breathing, Karen Ann Quinlan-stizz (though she did alcohol with Valium).
chuck on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 6:53 pm
I’d say more along the lines of kicking in the pain pill rather than drunker, but I’m only talking a glass of wine or 2. Basically, it just makes the pill feel like it’s REALLY doing it’s job.
chuck on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 6:56 pm
And yes, what Michael said about being dangerous - if you’re mixing large amounts of either or both, it ain’t too smart. But a couple of cabernets and a xanax is a very relaxing evening.
Maggie on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 6:57 pm
Thanks, Michael. I knew about the depressant properties of both and how the combination can shut down body function (because depressant means to slow EVERYTHING down) and I have always known it is extremely dangerous. Which is why I wanted to know how FUN it supposedly is. I’ve, uh, experimented (to put it diplomatically) with all kinds of party favours in my day, but I’ve never, ever mixed them with alcohol because I kind of like the little ba-bum, ba-bum my heart makes.
Michael on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 6:57 pm
OK, that was a big downer, when I know Chuck was just playin’. Still, even Tylenol combined with alcohol is crazy toxic for your liver. Makes me shudder to think of all those drinking binges I bookended with Excedrin (pre) and Excedrin PM (post).
Maggie on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 7:00 pm
Chuck, right on. A glass of wine makes the xanax more xanaxy.
Maggie on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 7:02 pm
I like to take a couple of Advil before I drink. Since I’m a cheap drunk these days, I don’t worry about it. And I usually take a couple of Advil before I go to bed, after drinking.
Michael on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 8:16 pm
Pssst, I still do the Excedrin (pre) sometimes for the caffeine, otherwise I might get maudlin drunk. Yeah, I’m one of those.
Michael on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Also, I could really use a mood stabilizer right now (stir my martini with it, Karen Walker-stizz). I finally watched the series finale of Six Feet Under last night, y’all. I cannot shake it. Don’t really wanna.
freakgirl on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 10:50 pm
Re: The SFU finale. Oh, Michael, I cried for days.
Rona on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 9:11 am
Oh, you poor thing! We moved yesterday, and those movers you asked about were just awesome - I wanted to kiss them all! They were like tazmanian devils movning through our house and were so polite and quick and worth every penny. Love them love them love them! Call them and book them because I don’t think you should lift a finger.
We call Percocet “Happy Pills” in our house. My husband had a perscription when he had his gall bladder removed, and the leftovers helped him get through passing a kidney stone a few months after the gall bladder surgery.
freakgirl on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 9:44 am
Ugh, Rona, kidney stones! Blech!
Congratulations on a successful move! We will definitely call the movers you used. Thank you.
GeekBoy on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 9:51 am
Leftover drugs rule.
Maggie on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 10:01 am
Rona, congratulations!