Tuesday, December 20, 2011

ugh....have you been on WebMd again?

Well, mom and I got a great start on the week-before-Christmas-chores yesterday. I did nearly all the laundry and mom folded. I started cleaning. I'm taking it one room at a time, starting with the living room. It has been de-furred and is looking pretty nice. I also baked two pans of bars last night - cereal bars and mixed nut bars (Andreas' favorite). Only 20 more to go. Ok, maybe not that many, but a lot of baking to do yet.

I had a terrible sore back and neck yesterday. I pulled a muscle in my back last week and I thought it was done giving me trouble but it seemed to have traveled to my upper back and neck. It was so uncomfortable and I couldn't sleep so I got up at 4:30am and did the worst thing I could possibly have done - look at the symptom checker on WebMd.

You know, that sight is marvelous, I've used it before, but it is so easy to get yourself worked up. I usually end up thinking I have rare diseases and such. For real, it did get me a bit paranoid. The hypochondriac in me was almost positive I had meningitis.

I am no stranger to muscle aches and pains, because I lift weights and that is just part of the game. But the ache I had felt so much different. It was a stiffness that came on really quickly. I could hardly turn my head left or right, and tipping my chin to my chest was very painful. Something just felt wrong.

Not only that, but I've been sick for so long and it didn't seem all that far fetched to think I had some sort of infection going on. My immune system is down, I can't shake this cough/cold/mucus thing, I've got this stiff neck...what if I had viral meningitis? Or worse...bacterial meningitis??!! That is nothing to play with, you can die within a day or two of getting it.

So, off to the ER I went. I didn't want to wait until 8am for the walk in clinic to open. My blood pressure was very high but I didn't have a temp. The fact that I had no temp and didn't have a headache, was reason enough to rule out meningitis. Phew! What a relief that was. The doctor said that I probably pulled something and it would get worse before it got better. He prescribed a muscle relaxer and pain pill. Oh joy. I seriously dislike pills. BUT, it will help me get better quicker and that is all I needed to hear. Sign me up, doc!

I have so much to do this week and luckily the best thing I can do for myself is keep moving. Apparently the laying on a heating pad regimen I did for myself last night did me no favors. Heat = bad. I will probably stay out of the gym for the remainder of the week. It will feel good to start up again (hopefully) pain free and rejuvenated after Christmas is over. And it pretty much takes a doctor to tell me to lay off strenuous activities for me to actually lay off. Sometimes we just need to rest our bodies. Ok, mom? Are you happy? ;)

So now I'm home, blogging while medicated. That's gotta rank up their with drunk dialing. So I should get off here and go operate heavy machinery or chop vegetables with a large sharp knife or something....haha. I kid, I kid! But I am feeling a tad uncoordinated at the moment and a bit sleepy so I'm off to find my cozy bed.

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