Saturday, October 04, 2008

A happy ending

So I spoke to my folks towards the end of yesterday and managed to worry them. It is rather odd to have one leg so much worse than the other, and to have this level of pain on my current pain pills. My folks thought I might have a clot - and they weren't just being mean about AJ. I thought this unlikely in the extreme and I'm sure it was only in their minds because my sister's father-in-law had exactly that last weekend. Nevertheless, I was coerced into phoning the doctor out of hours.

The doctor diagnosed sciatica, which meant that I had a nerve trapped in my back and happened to be feeling it in my leg. This made me feel better straight away, because it could have been so much worse - pain in leg is much nicer than pain in back. Hooray for my arrangement of nerves! Plus it wasn't going to get any worse and knowledge almost always has a positive effect on pain.

But then this morning it is much much better and amputation has lost all appeal. I have decided to put this down to love-making, as it is the only notable event between then and now. There are other explanations, of course. I did eat a small amount of chocolate, which may have helped. I tend to think that sex and/ or chocolate can account for most positive health outcomes. Medical science can play a supportive role, but only that.

The doctor did suggest that the trapped nerve might have something to do with my barely-functioning bowels and there might have been some change there, but that's just not nice to think about.

Anyway, having had such a moan yesterday, we are still pretty worn out and still worried about AJ, but I am much more comfortable myself.

5 comments:

Wheelchair Dancer said...

yeah! sex and chocolate. Can't think of a better way to live.

WCD

Jess said...

Sciatica is no fun. :( I'm pleased it seems to have sorted itself out, though. Hope AJ is feeling better, too.

D Phoenix said...

Oh yeah, get the pelvis out of whack and you can get sciatica pain for sure. If it doesn't resolve in a few days, a good physiotherapist can help get things to release (and they might be able to give you strengthening exercises to help prevent a recurrence). It may sound harsh, but the best pain reliever for sciatica is an ice pack on the butt! Just below the lower back and on the SI joint... that tends to be the sweet spot. 20 minutes every few hours. Ahhhh. A bit of a contrast to the love making, I know...

Attila the Mom said...

Glad to hear it wasn't a clot---but sciatica---gak!

Here's to more sex and chocolate!

marmiteboy said...

Hi Goldfish,

Sorry to hear you've been in so much pain. I get sciatica all the time and i know how uncomfortable it can be.

It is good to see that you've been taking some kind of medicine for it. Sounds like one of them new-fangled homeopathic jobs to me ;-)