The flu appears to be gone. But then, just when you think it's safe--I have been running a low (just under 100 degrees) fever all week. Looks like another weekend of lying on the couch coming up. Wheee!

When it comes to my back, I decided the first thing to do was switch doctors. It's not that my old doctor was bad, it's just that he didn't seem to have a terribly great bedside manner. I much prefer women doctors for whatever reason, and when it comes to bedside manner, women usually spend more time listening to their patients. I know I'm biased, but women seem to understand women better.

First Dr. Woman confirmed what I had thought all along regarding my numb hands--I have carpal tunnel. Duh. Dr. Man had sent me to have lab work done and the cervical spine X-ray, all of which came back perfect. The braces Dr. Woman provided have elminated the pain and tingling that was waking me up at night. Follow up in a few weeks.

Secondly, Dr. Woman confirmed that I likely pulled a muscle in my back. Gentle movement, heating pad, and Advil. And finally, she found a pain point on my spine which warranted another X-ray, this time lumbar. Now I'm waiting on those results.

My body is going kicking and screaming out of my twenties. I turn thirty in less than three months.

Posted by: Ensie at 01:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I feel like all I've done lately is apologize for not posting. But I have a note from my doctor!

Is it possible for the flu to cause back problems?

On Friday morning I woke up feeling ill and by 10 AM I was on my way home to sleep for seven hours. A fever of 102 degrees was capped off by a round of vomiting at 1 AM. During the long nap, my back started aching. By the next morning the fever was gone, I was unbelieveably stiff, and it's only gotten worse. The pain was bad enough that I had to cancel two meetings today and worked from home, typing on my laptop from the prone position.

The earliest my doctor can see me is tomorrow. Pray it's not a herniated disk, just a strained muscle or something. I just had a cervical spine X-ray recently to try to discover the reason my hands are going numb constantly. Think the lower back pain and the numb hands are related? Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow.

Posted by: Ensie at 06:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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