Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Health Update

I survived my big vacation home to Northern Wisconsin. I was surprised the whole time, 3 weeks, about how well I felt and how active I managed to be. The cold was killer on the joints, and my family believes one should be busy at all times, and if you're not busy then you should be eating. Neither one is good for me, but it was wonderful all the same.

My biggest complaint was my hip pain, it was constant for over 3 weeks straight. It felt as though something sharp had clamped down, gripping the inside of my hip and it wouldn't let up. Thanks to all the activities, and holiday parties, I was distracted alot of the time which helped. But whenever I had a second...the pain was there and I couldn't get comfortable. At night it's the worst. There's no escape from the throbbing, no position to alieviate it. Stretching doesn't seem to reach it. Amazingly enough, going up stairs with my painful leg first seemed the only exercise that reached the pain. It hurt, but somehow in that good painful way. The pressure seemed to reach the spot.

I resorted to taking advil at least once during the trip, which is strictly prohibted because of my platelet issue, ITP. But I can't help feeling desperate when I really need some help, and Tylenol just doesn't cut it. I've been on Plaquenil for almost 4 months now...it feels longer but my husband keeps reminding me that it hasn't been that long. So far I haven't gotten the relief I'm hoping for. I've been doing my physically therapy exercises several times a day, and thank god it has helped my hands tremendously. I almost don't want to complain about pain now that my hands have been 85% pain free!! Afterall, knitting is the most important thing!!

My weight has reached 10 pounds over the max. of my healthy spectrum. I began an exercise program this month. Nothing to brag about, I'm starting slow. I've been pretty inactive physically for 7 months now. So I'm starting with one mile on the tredmill, a few minutes on the Elliptical Trainer, and a minute or so on the bike machine. Everyone keeps saying how much exercise will help everything else, so I'm gonna do it!!

2 comments:

Lupie said...

Knitting is one of the most important things! That is why I knit or crochet through the pain when I can.

samanthajohnson_16 said...

my mother is the most talented women i know!!! how incredible her imagination is! i would never ask for a different mother.. however i do think she would do exceptionally well turning her talent into a business....