Category: Doctor

Swollen Parotid Gland

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, Health, Pain15 Comments

swollen parotid gland

There is this strange thing that happens to me at the very least 1 time and at the most 4 times per year.  My Parotid glands swell up because there is a blockage and it hurts like a mother effer.  I wouldn’t normally use such profanity, but it really hurts lol.

What is the Parotid gland?  Nobody has ever heard that term, but apparently it’s a saliva gland.  This is where your saliva comes from, well, one of the many glands anyway.  I am not a medical professional or even a student so don’t listen to what I’m about to say if you expect to get an education from this, this is only my assumption based on my experience with this.

So you have these glands that produce your saliva.  They release saliva through veins that run from the gland to the inside of your mouth and it oozes out into your mouth.  If there is a block, your gland fills up with saliva and you can literally push on it and you can feel, and even see saliva squirting out of the inside of your cheek either into your mouth, or on the bathroom mirror depending on the direction of the vein and the position you are facing the mirror.  No joke lol.

When I feel it filling up, I push on it and it releases the saliva which gives me some relief, but sometimes the block is so bad that even pushing on it won’t release the saliva.  This happens to me all the time.  Although, pushing on it really hurts until the saliva squirts out, but then it still hurts, but it does give me some relief for a while until it fills back up.  I try not to think of anything that will make me salivate, but then everything makes me salivate.  I can’t win.  It’s like trying to think about baseball when you have an erection, it doesn’t always work.

About 2 weeks ago I could feel swelling and pain from my Parotid gland and we went to our regular appointment and the doctor gave me some antibiotics which was supposed to help.  The doctor told me that if it doesn’t help then I may need surgery.  When we went back a week later it seemed like it had gotten better because it wasn’t as swollen.  The doctor asked me if I wanted surgery and I said it wasn’t necessary.  Oh boy was I wrong.

Saturday evening the Parotid gland had swollen up again so I pushed on it and the saliva went through the veins, but then got stuck so there was a little bubble with saliva sitting in that vein and it couldn’t exit.  It’s still there.  That one little tiny mistake has given me massive amounts of pain since Saturday night.  I’m not the kind of person who cries when he’s in pain because I am literally always in pain so I’m used to it.  When I broke my arm earlier this year I didn’t cry once.  This swollen Parotid gland and saliva bubble pain is so bad that I want to cry.  I haven’t, but I want to.  Or maybe I’ve just bottled my pain emotion so much that I just want to let it out lol.

So I called the doctor’s office yesterday and they scheduled me to come in today at 11:30 a.m.  The doctor gave me a prescription for Norco as well as 2 antibiotics which he said I don’t take right away, he said to wait for it to get worse.  WORSE?  Holy crap!  I went to Truxton Radiology and had an ultrasound then went back to the doctor’s office to have blood drawn for a test specifically for this problem.  He said I will get a letter in the mail with the information for the surgeon referral which will most likely have the appointment in the letter with an address.

I am ready for this thing to go away.  You have no idea how ready I am lol.  I am just sick and tired of being in pain all the time.  If it’s not one thing, it’s another.  If it’s not my curving back which turns out to be scoliosis, then it’s my freakin’ Parotid gland.  I guess that means I’m getting old lol.

Sabotaging My Weight Loss

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, Diet, Doctor, Exercise, Food, Health, Noom, Weight1 Comment

junk food

Is it even possible after losing as much as 70lbs for a person to go back to their old eating habits after eating healthy for 7 months?  I guess the answer to that question is yes, if you let it happen.  Well, I don’t want to let it happen to me again, I refuse to even allow the thought to enter my head.

I am putting myself in a bad situation right now.  I was 264lbs when I started this weight loss journey in January and I had lost a whopping 70lbs thanks to the Noom weight loss coach.  It helped me lose weight by giving me articles and letting me scan bar codes of the foods that I ate and told me whether it was healthy or not by coloring coding everything with red, yellow or green.  I knew I was eating healthy when I was eating more greens than yellows and reds.  I had dropped down to 192lbs in 7 months because of it.  Although, the last 2 months have been very slow, but at least I was still losing weight and not gaining.

Lately however I seem to be in a bad plateau that I can’t get out of and I am slipping as a result of it.  I’ve been eating food and not logging it into the Noom app because I know it’s bad for me.  I feel like I’ve been sabotaging myself, and I am well aware that I am doing it too.  The food I’ve been eating has been graham crackers, handfuls of Wheat Thins at a time, before I was pouring the Wheat Thins into a bowl which was sitting on a food scale, but now I just grab handfuls and don’t even log it.  We’ve been eating Michelina’s frozen dinners instead of Weight Watchers because they are cheaper and I haven’t had the money for the Weight Watchers.

Lately my partner has been buying frozen pizzas and asking ME to bake them and then telling me that I need to eat the other half because he can’t possibly eat the whole thing.  Of course, knowing he would do that to me, I could cut half of the frozen pizza and only bake half for him, but instead I go ahead and cook the entire thing.  So I am not blaming him for that or for anything for that matter, because I knew what I was doing.

Last night he wanted to go to McDonald’s to buy himself a double cheeseburger and I  decided that I wanted to go with him because I thought to myself “I haven’t had a McChicken sandwich in such a long time and I miss it” so I made the decision to go along with him and not just get 1, but 2.  I thought I was being a good little boy by eating the chicken without the bun or mayo, but instead of throwing the buns away, I put them in the fridge and ended up eating them anyway within the hour.

One final thing.  I haven’t been riding my bicycle and I really have no excuse.  That is the only exercise I am comfortable doing because of my back problems which seem to be getting worse.  I am however waiting to hear from the physical therapist to find out if cycling is going to damage my back or not since I now know that I have scoliosis.  When I start going to physical therapy, then I am positive that I will start getting the exercise that I need to not only help my back, but to also help me lose weight.  Perhaps the physical therapist will give me home exercises that I can do on my home gym, my Weider Body Works 5000.

So I am done with sabotaging myself and I am done with this plateau.  I am going to get serious about this weight loss again because I really want to get down to my goal weight of 170lbs.  The doctor said to stop losing the weight because he is happy with where I am, but I feel that stopping to maintain is only going to encourage me to eat unhealthy.  So I will go back to my healthy eating habits so I can not only maintain a healthy eating lifestyle, but to also lose more weight and to lose this weight that I have regained.

I know I have enough money that I can go to Food Maxx and buy some more Weight Watchers Smart Ones meals.  I’m going to try to get back into the habit of eating those again to give me the boost that I need.  I am also going to cut out all crackers and replace them with fruits and vegetables.  Finally, I am going to start using the word “NO” again, and I am not going to let myself get back to 264.  Heck, I am not going to let myself get back to 200.  It’s just not going to happen.

Do I Have Scoliosis?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, Exercise, Health1 Comment

I have had serious back pain for probably the last decade of my life.  Sometimes my back locks up when I bend over and boy it is painful.  Mostly I can’t walk too far before the pain kicks my ass into submission and I have to sit or lay down.  I can walk to the grocery store from the house because it is only 3 blocks from the house, my back is in pain by the time I come home but it’s not excruciating.  I cannot go for a walk for exercise though.  Before I got a new (used) bicycle wheel, I was trying to walk for exercise and that caused the most horrible pain I have ever felt in my 43 years on this planet, and that is not hyperbole either.

Last month I had some x-rays of my back taken and a week ago my doctor told me that according to the x-rays, my back was curving, and he shaped his hand like a parenthesis (.  I misunderstood when he mentioned something about slouching, so naturally I thought my back was arching outward because I do tend to slouch a lot, but then I went to see him again yesterday and I asked him about the x-rays again and he wrote down on a piece of paper exactly what he means.  This is a normal spine |.  This is my spine (.  He drew it on a piece of paper so I could see exactly what he meant.

That makes sense to me, and that explains a lot why my back is in pain in the middle of my spine.  I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease in my lower spine a few years ago and so I was assuming that it was going up which was why I was in so much pain in the middle of my spine which is why I asked my doctor for help.  Who knew that it was some new problem.

So I use the term scoliosis loosely.  I don’t know for a fact that I have scoliosis.  I asked my doctor “Is it like scoliosis?” and he responded with “yes” but that was not a diagnosis.  He asked me if I wanted to see a physical therapist and I said yes because I don’t know what to do about this and if a physical therapist can help me, then I’m going to go see one.  It will also help me with my weight loss, so I will do anything that I can to help stop this pain.

I called my aunt this week and told her about it, but with the impression that my spine was bending outward, but with the understanding that I had no clue which way it was bending.  I mentioned that I wanted to ask about a back brace and she said “DO NOT ASK FOR A BRACE!  You do NOT want to depend on a back brace, trust me.”  I don’t like arguing with people, especially her because she gets very emotional, but like I said before, I will do anything that I can do to stop this pain.  I didn’t ask my doctor for one when I saw him, but if a physical therapist suggests and prescribes one then I will wear it.

No I don’t want to have to rely on a brace, but I will do whatever it takes to stop this constant nagging pain that I have all day.  I’m not joking when I say I am in pain all day.  I am literally in pain every waking moment.  Even if I’m sitting down like right now I’m in pain.  If I’m laying down, I’m in pain.  I can’t do the dishes for more than 5 minutes without being in pain.  I can’t go to the mall and walk around like a mindless zombie like my partner loves to do because… you guessed it, it causes me pain.  It doesn’t really matter where I am or what I am doing, you can guarantee that I will be in agony, whatever it is.

I had a broken arm earlier this year and I was taking Vicodin probably 3 times a day.  It wasn’t stopping the pain in my arm, but it was helping and it did help my back pain, so I had a vacation from my pain for as long as I was taking the Vicodin.  I stopped taking the Vicodin when I stopped having pain and naturally the pain in my back came back immediately.  I have tried taking a Vicodin here and there, but they don’t seem to help at all.  I have been taking Ibuprofen, and that helps my toothache, but it doesn’t stop my back pain.

Oh one more thing about my back pain.  I have a very large patch of skin on my back that is dead.  I mean the nerves actually  I say that because my back in that spot has been numb for 19.5 years.  It never really bothered me until now.  Now it tingles and the numbing is causing pain.  It’s constantly itching and I’m constantly scratching it and the tingling really bugs the hell out of me.  Scratching doesn’t do anything except weird me out that I can’t feel my own fingers touching my back.  I mean, I can feel it, but I can’t feel it if that makes sense.  It’s like I know my hands are scratching my back, but it feels like someone else is doing it.  I can’t explain it, it’s a very odd sensation.

Anyway, I would really love to just go one day without having pain if that is possible.  I am hoping a physical therapist will help because I am really sick and tired of being sick and tired of being in pain.

Naturally I will update my blog when I begin physical therapy.

One pain replaced with another

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, HealthLeave a comment

I usually joke about how I must be paying for my bad karma from a previous life because I always find myself having the worst pain. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

I’ve been sick for a few days. We went to Dollar General and there was a woman coughing up a storm. I didn’t notice at first when I got in line behind her and then my mind said to get away from her because I’ll end up sick just like her. I backed off but it didn’t do me any good because I was sick the next day. I woke up with a sore throat and gradually throughout the day more symptoms were added to the list. Coughing, stuffed up nose and chest congestion. Then to top it off, my tooth started hurting. It’s a bad tooth that needs a root canal, but I can’t afford $1000 for the procedure since my insurance no longer covers anything but emergency extractions. I can’t afford to lose any more teeth.

We called Walgreens to find out what I can put on the tooth besides anbesol and they said it sounds like I have an infection and need an antibiotic. We have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow so I will get a prescription for an antibiotic.

Fortunately the tooth pain has subsided, but it’s still there. I now have a swollen lymph node which is where the tooth hurts, and that hurts now. So the pain seems to be gone from the tooth just to give me pain in my lymph node. I’ve been taking Vicodin that I still have from when I broke my arm, but that hasn’t done me any good. I took some today and my pain went away, but it seems to be coming back so I wonder if the pain medicine finally decided to work and that’s why I haven’t had pain all day. Since the pain seems to be coming back, I decided to take another one, but I only have a couple of pills left so I hope the antibiotic helps tomorrow, otherwise I’ll have to make a dentist appointment for an emergency extraction. I hate to lose more teeth.

I’ve been resting for the sore throat, coughing, chest congestion and stuffed up nose issues and taking NyQuil and sucking on cough drops and that has helped.

I haven’t been riding my bike because, well, I’m sick lol. So I do look forward to getting back on the bike again.

So we will go to the doctor’s office tomorrow, get medicine and hopefully not be in anymore pain. Hopefully…

Back X-rays

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, Health1 Comment

back-pain-xray

We went to the doctor’s office today for our regular appointment and I mentioned that the Robaxin that he gave me for my back pain wasn’t helping at all.  That is a muscle relaxer and I don’t think the problem is in my muscles.  I told him that I had an MRI a few years ago and they found out that I had Degenerative Disc Disease in my lower spine and since then the pain has gone up to the middle of my spine.  In fact, if you look at the image above, the red area is actually where my pain is.  The top of the red area is the worst.

He poked my back and of course I wasn’t in pain at all because I was sitting in the waiting room and in the exam room.  I told him that the pain is usually when I am standing or walking for more than 5 minutes.  I described the pain by motioning my hand as if I were repeatedly stabbing someone in the spine.  I’ve never been stabbed repeatedly so I don’t know exactly how that feels, but I do know that my back hurts a lot, so I can just imagine that is what it feels like.

We went to Truxton Radiology and I had many x-rays taken.  The x-ray technician told me it would be up to 4 days, but I told her that I won’t see the doctor for 4 more weeks so no rush.  Besides, I’ve been dealing with this pain for many years, so another 4 days isn’t going to hurt me.

My pain first began in 2000 when I would bend over to pick something up and my back would literally lock up.  I would be stuck in the bent over position because I could not straighten my back.  After grabbing something to keep from falling and almost screaming from the pain, I would stand there for a minute until it unlocked and I was able to stand up slowly.  That happened in front of my aunt and uncle in Palmdale in 2004 or 2005, I forget when exactly.  I had pain in the lower part of my spine, but it was nothing compared to what it is like today.

Just before I went to get my x-ray I saw this humungous fish in a very large fish tank by the back door.  My first thought was holy cow that’s a big fish.  As I left, I took my phone out to take a picture, but first I reached my finger to the tank as if I were petting him, or the tank, and he rammed the glass while trying to chomp my fingers off as if they were inside the glass.  Holy crap that was an aggressive fish lol.  I pulled my hand away and he was looking straight at me.  He wouldn’t look at anything else, so to get him to turn so I could take the picture I had to put my right hand out to my side so he would turn his body.  Here are 2 pictures of the fish below.  You can see my reflection in the glass so you can use that as a scale.

big fish

big fish 2

Anyway, now I am finally getting my back pain taken care of.  The doctor said that the x-rays will determine whether I will need another MRI, but in the meantime he is going to call Truxton Radiology where I had the original MRI for those results.  I don’t know what they can do, but at least they will see where the problem is and possibly give me a brace or maybe injections for the pain.  I’ve seen the commercials for that exercise machine where you are upside down which helps to replenish your discs, so perhaps I will get something that is equivalent that is more affordable.  Who knows for sure.  I will keep this blog updated on that.

Diabetes Update

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Doctor, Health1 Comment

Last month my doctor gave me a new medication to help lower my triglycerides called Gemfibrozil 600MG that I take twice a day.  I was told to make sure I take them exactly 12 hours apart for it to be effective.  I created a schedule on my cell phone to remind me twice a day, once at 10am, and then once at 10pm to take my pills.  It has worked out so far and today is day 30.  We went to the doctor’s office on Thursday and they drew blood to test it to see if it helped so I will find out on my next appointment which is May 24th.

In the meantime, he gave me a prescription for a blood glucose meter to check my blood twice a day.  He told me to check it in the morning before I eat and before I have dinner at night.  So far it hasn’t been that high.  Thursday night I did a reading and it was 112 then the next morning it was 132, last night it was 100 and this morning it was 112 again.  Why is that so important?  Well, when they did that blood glucose test a few months ago I was near 200, so this just tells me that I have gone way down.  I have been eating a lot of chocolate lately, this just shows me that it hasn’t really affected me as much as I thought it did.  Although now that I have this meter, I have been staying away from the bad foods because I know if the number goes high, it will make me feel guilty.  Perhaps guilt is the kick in the pants that I needed to get me to stop eating so much sugar.

This is my new meter, the One Touch Ultra 2.  I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it because Darrin has a meter, but it’s a different one with different strips.  He couldn’t get the hang of his and he was going to just give me his since he stopped using it, but I didn’t want his, I wanted one of my own because, well I just did :p.

The needles that you use to prick your finger with (in the zippered pouch on the left) aren’t very painful.  The skin on my fingers on my left hand are so thick that even at the highest setting, which is 7, hardly any blood comes out so I have to use my right hand.  I have to really milk the blood out because even at the highest setting it still doesn’t penetrate enough.  So when I say I am thick-skinned, I’m not exaggerating LOL.  My first test was an error because I didn’t milk it enough, but I learned to really get as much blood out as I can so I don’t waste test strips.  The wound heals up so fast that I am only able to get that one little drop, if I try to milk out any more after the test, nothing comes out.  Not that I need to, but I was curious to see if any more would come out for S&G’s.

So this is what it has come to, I have to test my blood every day, as if the constant medication every day for 18 years isn’t enough.  I really hope that the triglyceride medication and the guilt from the meter really helps me lose weight so I am no longer diabetic.  I hope the day finally comes when I no longer have to go through all of this nonsense with health issues, although we both know when that day will occur, and it’s not going to be a good day.  Oh well, life goes on.

Drunk Bus Station People

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, Health, PeopleLeave a comment

Since Darrin is working now and my bicycle is missing a wheel, I have to take the bus to my doctors appointments and anywhere else that is too far to walk. I don’t mind taking the bus, in fact, I recommend it to anyone because it’s green.

Unfortunately, our city has a station in Downtown Bakersfield where all the busses come.  If you have to transfer then you just go downtown and walk over to your next bus. If it’s there great, if not wait.

So I took the bus to my doctor’s appointment, all is well with bus travel. I leave and have to go to the bus station to transfer to the 2. It’s not there so I have to wait.

I’m sitting in one of the seats waiting and the number 2 (going in the opposite direction that I need to go) comes and people get off. I hear a guy taking his bike off the bike rack in the front and turn around and look at how nice his bike is and watch him struggle to put the rack up.

Out of nowhere, another guys face is literally 1 inch away from my face. He said “why were you looking at me just now?” and I could smell the beer on his breath. “I wasn’t looking at you, I was looking at the guy taking his bike off the rack” as if I owe him an explanation.

He backs away and sits across from me, staring at me.

Uncomfortable, I get up and walk 40 feet away. I’m staring off into the distance so that it doesn’t appear that I’m looking at anyone or anything in particular. I don’t want to get accused of looking at anyone again.

I feel like I’m being watched and I turn around and he’s sitting down 2 feet behind me.

Are you serious?

He comes up to me, again 1 inch from my face but whispers into my ear “I bet you watch anus videos all day long, don’t you?” I smell the beer on his breath and it is not pleasant.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so” I say to him with a dirty look on my face. Trying to convey to him that he has the wrong impression of me and hoping he’ll leave me alone.

I’m trying not to look at him, not even for a second and he tries to start a conversation with me but I’m giving him 1 word answers, trying to let him know that I am uninterested in talking to him.

He asks if I have a badge.  Why are people always asking me if I’m a cop?  I mean seriously!  Does a Lego Indiana Jones t-shirt scream cop?  No, it screams video game geek.  I tell him “I don’t have a badge, if I did have a badge it would say ‘The Nerd Herd’” (you know from Chuck) and he laughed and said “well at least your honest.”

He’s asking me questions and finally I said “Look, I don’t want to get into a fight with you, I just want to go home” but apparently that was the wrong thing to say because now he starts laughing as if I just told the funniest joke. “You think you can take me HAHAHAHA that is so funny because I will kick your ass so hard….”

I just walked away. I figured, he’s not going to just let me walk away and wait for my bus, no he’s going to stalk me until my bus comes. And for all I know he might get on the bus and follow me home. Then he would know where I live. I can’t have that. So I left.

I left the bus station altogether. I just kept walking until I got to the corner that City Hall is on right next to the police station. Not to go make a complaint, the bus stops there.

I didn’t have to wait long but if he were on that bus I would’ve hoofed it all the way to the house which is about 25 blocks. My leg is still injured and walking to that bus stop which was about 5 blocks was causing a lot of pain but I would rather suffer a bit of leg pain to avoid that guy knowing where I live.

What makes people do things like that? I looked at the time on my cell phone when he was harassing me and it was only 11am and he’s already piss drunk. I don’t understand alcoholism.

First of all, I don’t know if he was hitting on me or if he was trying to find a gay person to beat up. You can never tell anymore what someones motives are. He didn’t look like a typical gay person, he looked like a typical red neck which Bakersfield is most known for.

And if he was gay trying to get a piece of this action (yeah right, that’s hilarious) why wasn’t he a little nicer about it? I mean seriously, you catch more flies with honey that with vinegar.

Anyway, I NEED to either get my bike fixed or get a new bike before my next appointment because I am NOT taking the bus again. Period! End of discussion.

My Leg is Better

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, Exercise, HealthLeave a comment

Just thought I would give an update about my leg. A week ago I posted about My New Leg Injury describing what happened to me on Sunday, October 17th. How I ran for the ice cream truck, ran faster then my calf muscle popped and stopped me dead in my tracks.

I was on crutches for a few days then I went to 1 crutch then no crutches. I was supposed to be out of commission for 4-6 weeks (or 6-8 weeks for my overestimation, just in case) but it turned out to be way less.

Over the last few days I’ve been walking on my foot instead of walking on my toes and limping. I think that has stretched what was tightened so that I can walk normal again. The doctor said ice for 20 minutes several times a day for the first 3-4 days then heat. Well, I did the ice and heat and it did help some but I think the best therapy is getting up and walking around. Sure it was painful as hell but no pain no gain right?

Every morning when I wake up I limp at first but once I start walking on my foot it starts to limber up and I can walk. Occasionally the pain will start up again but it won’t last too long then it’s better again. And actually I’m having pain in other places now. All the way down my leg from my knee along my shin down to my foot. I don’t know why the pain has moved from my calf to my shin but I’m sure it will go away in time.

I’m not 100% healed but I’m not too far from it. I rather enjoyed having a few days off and not having to take the dog out 20 times per day and having to make all the meals. Of course when I was able to walk on my own again I was forced to continue daily life as if nothing had happened. I could be laying in bed pretending for another 5 weeks but I’m a terrible liar lol.

My New Leg Injury

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, Exercise, Health, HumorLeave a comment

I’m sitting here in my room reading “Official Book Club Selection, a Memoir According to Kathy Griffin” on my Nook and I hear the ice cream truck. Darrin hears it too and he tells me to go stop him. I opened the door and saw he’s already across the street, he says run to stop him.

I’m in my bare feet and I’m running and waving like a maniac. They aren’t looking in the rear view mirror either. I think they get off on that.

I pass about 6 houses and figure they aren’t going to look in the mirror and they are driving the same speed that I am running which means, I have to pick up speed to catch up.

That’s when it goes horribly wrong. I pick up speed and just then “POP” my left calf makes this popping sound and I can feel the pop too. Crack one of your knuckles, that’s the popping sound that I heard.

I immediately had to stop because my calf tightened up, sort of like a Charley horse. Not only could I not continue running but I can’t even walk, heck, I couldn’t even stand up straight. My left leg hurts like hell when I have it straight like my right leg. The only way my leg is comfortable is if it’s lifted up in the back, like I’m on crutches. The tendon is tightened so that it hurts when I straighten my leg out.

I look towards our house to see if Darrin has come out of the house to come to me as if I had stopped the truck and he sees me bent over and I used a sort of sign language, as if I’m mimeing like I’m driving a car but rocking the wheel too far to the left and right. That was my way of saying, get in the car and come get me.

He’s not coming and I’m standing there with my leg bent back, I can’t go anywhere but I start hobbling towards the house. I saw the white car coming around the corner and he stops at where I’m at and opens the door and I painfully got in.

He drove to where the Ice Cream truck is because I’ll be damned if I hurt myself in vain. He gets our “Mama Flip” ice creams which is soft serve in a cup with chocolate syrup and sprinkles.

We come home and I’m not only about ready to throw up but I’m also about ready to pass out. He goes in the house to get the crutches that we have had since his mother broke her leg in 2000 and I go in the house with the intentions of laying down with some ice on it with hopes it will get better. It’s not getting better.

I went to WebMD.com and looked it up and it tells me to immediately go seek medical help so we went to the E.R. where I sat for about 3 1/2 hours waiting for them to call me. After 1/2 hour I told Darrin to go home, I’d call him. No sense in both of us being bored and losing internet time lol.

The doctor couldn’t do an emergency MRI or even x-rays but he bends my leg back and forth and moves my foot and he gives me his diagnosis which I couldn’t remember (remember that I have a learning disorder?) but all I can say is he thinks I must have torn a muscle which is what I figured out right when it happened.

He tells me to rest and put ice on it for 15-20 minutes several times per day for the first 3-4 days then after that replace the ice with heat. He also gave me a prescription for Motrin and a muscle relaxer. I can’t say the name of it because I can’t read his writing lol. I have some ibuprofen from when I had the neck and shoulder pain so I can take that until we can get to the pharmacy tomorrow (followed by Subway or Panda, you know, while we’re there lol).

I have to report to my doctor in the next 1-2 weeks to let him know what happened and maybe perhaps get an x-ray or MRI done if it’s still hurting by then. Oh and I get to be on crutches for a while too which in a way is a good thing because now I don’t have to take the dog out, I can’t if I’m on crutches (wicked evil grin).

Unfortunately, I can’t count on Darrin to do the dishes for me and when I make dinner he’ll have to bring it to me. If I leave dinner up to him we’ll be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a while. Or soup, he loves making soup lol.

I was afraid I would miss my shows but when I got home it was some hometown sports show plus the Closer is on tonight instead of my Sunday night Fox cartoons. Oh well, I’m glad I didn’t miss them but it would’ve been nice to know they weren’t going to be on so I wouldn’t have been stressing about miss them during my 3 1/2 hour wait time lol.

Anyway, so I’m off to go rest and ice my leg.

Doctor Visit

On By Michel McDonaldIn DoctorLeave a comment

I went to my regular doctor today and told him that I’m still having shoulder pain despite the steroids and muscle relaxers the RN from the Neurologist gave me.  I told him that she was going to give me a referral for another specialist but that could take weeks, months even and I just can’t suffer like this for months.  She said that I would have to see a specialist before I could get a cortisone shot.

Well, my regular doctor said if they had those x-rays they could just give me the shots there.  I called the neurologist office and asked them to send the x-rays to my doctor’s office because I’m tired of messing around.  This has been going on for too long now, 5 weeks in excruciating pain.

In the meantime he gave me a prescription for Vicodin (SWEET) and that should be ready soon.  The thing is, I’ve taken that for this pain and it doesn’t help.  Well, then again, that prescription expired on 2/09 so maybe that has something to do with it lol.

When my toenails were taken off I was in a lot more pain than this and the vicodin numbed the pain so if it works for that then it should work for this.

Sad news about my doctor though, today was his last day.  He’s moving back east and he said something about making more money so that’s good I guess.  It’s not easy working for the city in a clinic I guess, you just don’t make as much as you would’ve thought you would when you went to Medical school.  I’ll miss him and have to get used to yet another doctor.