FUBAR February

[SmartAleq]

I'm home and so glad of that! MRI disclosed nothing major going amiss, thank goodness, so it's just a simple case of inflammation and needs rest, stretching and heat/ice like any other inflammation. I must say though that I have not given gabapentin its due, thinking it wasn't really helping the pain much. Yeah, about that, during my time in the ER the gabapentin wore off completely and the opioids didn't do nearly the job of controlling the pain. I tried to get out to my car and ended up hobbling back into the lobby, nearly sobbing at the pain caused by simply trying to take a goddamned step, couldn't even pick my foot up off the ground. A nice security dude wheeled me out to my car, I drove home, then took the tiniest baby steps to get up to the house. I had some food, then took more gabapentin and in a half hour the pain level of trying to take a single step was cut by about 75%--no wonder I was able to work today, with gabapentin and naproxen on board. They wrote me a scrip for Norco but I might not bother to fill it, I have empirical evidence that I already have something that works right here in the house. That stuff is magic on nerve pain!

[3acres]

Overall, that's definitely good news. Despite the terrible pain,it's nice to know it's not terrible pain from a terrible condition. Try to take it easy for a while.

[teela brown]

Oh, Smartie, I'm sorry to hear you were in such pain. I had a sciatica issue decades ago, and it SUCKED. And the opioid they prescribed me then didn't do a lot for my pain, either. If I lived nearby, I'd come by and give you a hand with whatever needed doing.

What you say about gabapentin intrigues me. I haven't had any major pain issues for a long time (knock wood), but when something happens, it'd be nice to have an option that wasn't oxy-whosis.

[Solfy]

I'm sorry you're going through it, Smartie. I hope you're on your way out the other side.
I have a coworker who's been in the hospital for sciatica since last week. Got an epidural steroid injection and is doing OT/PT. She hopes to be sprung today. Sciatic nerve's a bitch!

[Wolf Larsen]

Glad to hear that wasn't any worse than it is.

[Rebo]

I second that Gabbies work great! BUT - I think you can build a tolerance to them. Be careful. Glad you're doing better, Smartie.

[JackieLikesVariety]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

OK, so I passed my neuro check and I'm waiting to get an MRI now. They gave me a nice dose of Norco (on a completely empty stomach, wheeee!) and that's taking the edge off nicely. More hurry up and wait I guess!

glad you are home and the gabapentin worked well. (wouldn't hurt to get the Rx for more Norco filled on the theory it's better to have more rather than less pain meds)

[SmartAleq]

Yeah, the scrip is valid for a few days so I'll probably go get it because a full larder is always a good idea. I got a followup call from Kaiser today and I ran my gabapentin regime for this particular ailment past them (600mg at night, 300mg in the day) and got the official sanction that it's perfectly fine. I'm not worried about building a tolerance since I really only use it when something's bothering me, like my shoulder kicking up a fuss or this current mess. I wanted a reliable painkiller that doesn't fight with my other meds, warfarin is intolerant of NSAIDs and does strange things to my INR levels and the gaba fits the bill perfectly--and since it's non-narcotic they'll basically keep refilling my scrips for it unto the end of time since it's a cheap generic. I have a shitload of the stuff.

In other news, the MRI did turn up a 3.8cm ovarian cyst that they want me to come in sometime fairly soon to have an ultrasound on. Probably won't be a big deal and it's pretty remarkable that, with all my fun musculo-skeletal issues and attendant ailments I've been basically free of "lady troubles" lol. Silver lining?

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

Silver lining?

Every cloud may have a silver lining, but most aircraft are made of aluminum, which is much less dense than silver, so your aircraft crashing into that silver lining may just wind up looking like the 9/11 aircraft crashing into the WTC steel and concrete buildings.

You should probably avoid or steer around those clouds. Just in case...

[Jaglavak]

Holy crap lady, your purfume is knocking my socks off from 100 feet away. I hope you get over your long covid real soon.

[picunurse]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

I'm home and so glad of that! MRI disclosed nothing major going amiss, thank goodness, so it's just a simple case of inflammation and needs rest, stretching and heat/ice like any other inflammation. I must say though that I have not given gabapentin its due, thinking it wasn't really helping the pain much. Yeah, about that, during my time in the ER the gabapentin wore off completely and the opioids didn't do nearly the job of controlling the pain. I tried to get out to my car and ended up hobbling back into the lobby, nearly sobbing at the pain caused by simply trying to take a goddamned step, couldn't even pick my foot up off the ground. A nice security dude wheeled me out to my car, I drove home, then took the tiniest baby steps to get up to the house. I had some food, then took more gabapentin and in a half hour the pain level of trying to take a single step was cut by about 75%--no wonder I was able to work today, with gabapentin and naproxen on board. They wrote me a scrip for Norco but I might not bother to fill it, I have empirical evidence that I already have something that works right here in the house. That stuff is magic on nerve pain!

I wouldn't trade my Gabapentin for gold! I have peripheral neuropathy from diabetes. My feet start to burn then my legs then I'm sweating toes to head. I can barely breathe. After I started the Gabapentin it only happens a few times a week.

Here are a few notes on Gabapentin: It doesn't effect blood pressure or breathing so it's nearly impossible to overdose. One doesn't build a tolerance, so the dose needn't change much.

[picunurse]

I'm doing our taxes. I just found the bank didn't send a vital scrap of paper. I'll call them tomorrow.

[FairyChatMom]

OK, what's with all the software updates that are screwing up my various automatic payments?? First, my credit union "upgraded," so this month, the money to cover my grandson's tuition won't be automatically transferred - I have to set up the link again. Dammit. So I had to write a check since I didn't catch this early enough.

Then BIL's apartment uses Rent Cafe for automatic payments, and Rent Cafe did an update. All of a sudden, they don't recognize the credit union where they drew rent the last 3 months. So I had to write another check and I need to figure out how I'm going to ensure his rent is paid automatically.

And before anyone asks, BIL has mental and emotional problems and he can't really deal with on-line financial transactions, so I manage that stuff for him. It was a no-biggie up till now. Stoopit Rent Cafe.

[Inna Minnit]

Originally Posted by Radical Edward

Windows updated yesterday and installed some ai assistant bullshit on my computer. It can only be disable via registry editing, which is doable for me but isn't something every user is comfortable with or even knows about.

Fuck off Microsoft.

I disabled it somewhere in the setup. Or at least made it so I didn't have to look at it. Did we learn nothing from Clippy?

[Ludovic]

A classic ludovic rant/rave - ravent? rantave? Anyway, I filled out a survey I got in my email since I had some specific feedback I wanted to give.

Rant: I was as long as any other survey. I lose interest halfway through most of them and this was no exception.

Rave: Unlike a lot of surveys, it did have lots of free form text fields for me to give specific feedback. I hate going through a 10+ minute long survey only to find that they don't inquire about my specific issue and there's no way to give feedback on it.

Rant: They didn't even ask me about the thing that's been bugging me the most - ease of use of their website. It's costing them money too since I use less of their product.

Bonus rant: I rated most things "excellent" because I know how the game is played these days. Indeed, sometimes they asked me specifics on why I thought the service was "good". However, sometimes they also asked me specifics on why I thought the service was "excellent". Come on, for this survey, "excellent" is not the default answer? Am I supposed to detect from 1000 miles away the exact amount of grade inflation you are looking for?

[picunurse]

Its March and it's snowing.

[SmartAleq]

I'd almost welcome snow at this point, it's been nonstop The Postman levels of constant pasting rain here and even when it stops for a minute it's gloomy AF. No bueno, mang.

[Radical Edward]

On Monday I had an awful episode of horrendous pain in my upper abdomen, radiating to my chest and ribs and shoulders and back. I wanted to die. But, being a broke person, I did not go to the ER. Google suggests gallbladder and to switch to a low fat diet. But fuck you, Google, I do what I want. So in defiance, last night I ate fries and ice cream while sitting angrily in my car. And of course, before I even finished the stabbing pain was back. I couldn't even stand up straight. It didn't stop, and it was even worse than before, so I missed my first day of work at this job ever. I have just now managed to get out of bed and let the dogs out.

Fuck my life. Guess I'm going to live on crackers and bananas.

[SmartAleq]

The angry sciatic nerve has now shifted its focus around to the seat bone on the left, radiating up into my lower back and causing spasms and a whole new range of pain. Yay. This sucks.

[Jaglavak]

Originally Posted by Radical Edward

Fuck my life. Guess I'm going to live on crackers and bananas.

A green leafy garden salad once a day with random chopped up veggies and whatever dressing you need to gag it down, will make your tummy happier and let you get away with an amazing amount of sin. He nagged annoyingly. Its about fuel not flavor. Your guts are begging for mercy and it gets worse. Humor them and me just this once and try it? Its cheaper than a ride to the hospital. And WTF are they going to do for you there besides surgery and bankruptcy and a $1000 a month forever prescription? I'd hate to see you go that way. Time to sneak up on yourself, sis.

[Radical Edward]

Pffft, $1000 a month? Ursodiol is cheap. I could get the beef flavored dog kind.

In reality, I need to take this seriously. I haven't been able to eat any real food all week without stabbing horrible consequences. Yesterday I ate some crackers, two bananas, and a protein shake. Today I haven't eaten anything, and somehow it still hurts. I almost went to the ER twice, but they'll probably laugh at me. I'll be able to see my own doctor next week. She is very good about getting to the bottom of things without much dicking around like my last doctor.