Friday, July 6, 2012

So Many Needles...

Okay, so the whole waiting thing didn't work.

Once I'd had the doctor stab my shoulder, after a couple of days I could feel that my shoulder was tight enough that it was pulling on other, looser, bits of my anatomy. So I called his office and booked 2 more appointments, for Tuesday, and Thursday this week. During those appointments, I had my entire spine done, as well as my left scapula, and 3 left ribs where they attach to the sternum. And my S.I. joints. I still need to have my hips done, and I'm on the cancellation list for the next available appointment.

I had my neck and lumbar spine done yesterday, and today they are quite sore. The doctor bruised me at one injection point (left S.I.) but it's not causing any extra pain, it's just an ugly bruise. My neck is feeling very tight today, and I had problems finding a position to sleep in last night. But I am sitting straighter, and holding my head in a more natural position than I usually do. I usually crack my neck several times a day to relieve the pressure that I feel, which also allows me to maintain range of motion. Since the injections, that pressure has built and built, and I can't turn my head to the right, as it pulls on some very tender bits on the left side of my neck.

Looking at the injection points on my spine, my mom exclaimed "holy crap your spine is crooked" as it seems to curve about an inch and  half to the right, right before it meets my hips. This is a new curve that wasn't there the last time I had someone look at the curvature of my spine, and I'm assuming it's like that from all the limping I do onto my right leg, causing really asymmetrical pressure.

My wonderfully stabby doctor has informed me that I'm responding well to the injections so far, and that I'm tolerating them better than he had expected. He's also surprised by my ability to spew out medical research, terminology, and "big words" like proprioception without getting tongue-tied. He seems to be quite impressed with my knowledge of how prolotherapy works on the body, and how those effects affect other things.

It's nice to have a doctor that realizes I'm not like some people that Google medical-related things for a few minutes, and proclaim themselves to be educated. He can tell that I actually do know what I'm talking about, and he treats me with more respect than I've ever had from a doctor. He also explains things to me as -not quite an equal- but as though he were talking to someone whose opinions and knowledge were beneficial to him.

So to sum up: I feel like crap, but I also -and more importantly- feel like I'm benefiting from the injections.

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