Really?!

All day today I've felt like I had this mild pressure in my head. I thought it was just tension headache coming on, took some Advil, and then went about my business. But as the day wore on, it gradually became worse. I wouldn't exactly call it painful, it hurts just enough for me to pay attention but not enough that I feel like I need to take anything for it. 

Strangely, my skin is hot. Just my head, face, neck, and my shoulders. My skin used to head up now and then when I was younger, so much so that you could feel the heat coming off me if you held your hand about an inch or two away. And I never felt sick or like I had a fever. But today, I feel tender when I feel hot. Since I was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, I wonder if, at least the skin issue of this, is due to that. 

I've taken one Ibuprofen and have an Ice pack on my head. It's helping. However, the comment I received from Skoora's dad did not help. Skoora was being really nice and rubbing my head. Her Dad wanted us to put on a movie from our Instant Que on Netflix and we both asked him to hang on a minute. He got a little impatient and when I tried to explain, he said something really rude and mean. I know that I run a little on the raw side sometimes but when Skoora even jumps in and and tells him he's being an ass, mean, and rude, then I know it's not just me. 

Of course there is always something wrong with me, I have a herniated disk and fibromyalgia. I live with chronic pain everyday and even though I have pain meds to help combat it, they don't take all the pain away. Some days are worse than others. Some days all I want to do is stay in bed and be left alone but I manage to drag myself out of, try to be positive and helpful, and cook his damned dinner and pick up his house. I don't have to cook and clean, I do it because I live here and want to be helpful. And I never seem to get a break because I'm stuck entertaining his wife most of the time because he won't get out of his damned chair, stop watching the damned news, and do stuff with this wife.

And what the fuck?! I don't even complain to him about my back, in fact I rarely tell anyone how bad it gets. If I do say something, I try to only say it Skoora and quietly so I don't bother anyone else. So, I am a little pissed off and I think I am just going to go to bed.

Back pain strikes again.

For the last couple of days I have been having pain in my lower back again. Since Tuesday it's been especially bad, bad enough that I am having difficulty walking from my sofa to the bathroom and back. Which is a big problem. I have classes I need to get to and sit through, house cleaning, errands to run. Needless to say I don't have the time or luxury to be stuck on the sofa with ice packs. 

Previously I've gone to the doctor and since I can't afford an MRI my doctor can't say for 100% certain what's going on. However, based on the pain that I have described, where it's located, and so forth she's pretty sure that I have a herniated disk in my lower spine. I cannot afford physical therapy either so she gave me a book with back exorcises to do. I haven't been following them to the letter every day but I have done a few of them off and on. I have been working to lose some weight, actually a lot of weight, but I can't lose it all over night though I am making some slow progress.

Still, it's not enough. Pain pills and muscle relaxers only get me so far and I hate taking them. I don't ever want to build up a tolerance. So, I have been trying to figure out what's aggravating my back and come up with ways to help myself so I do not have to rely on pills.  

The very first problem is, of course, how I sleep. I'm mostly a side sleeper but I also sleep half on my side and half on my stomach and very rarely on my back. So to help, I put a pillow between my legs to help stabilize my hip. It doesn't always stay there, but for the time that it's there, it helps a little. I do need to start sleeping on my back a little more and I've read that putting a pillow under my knees will help as well.

The second problem is the chairs at school. My classes run 4 hours long with two breaks. However, the chairs are hard plastic and I always find myself bending forward, over the table to take notes. I need to be sitting straighter and possibly take a pillow to class to sit on.

Another problem is how I sit on furniture at home. I tend to sit leaning to one side or the other. That needs to stop. I need to sit straight. My posture standing isn't really a problem, I stand straight.

Most of all I need to keep moving. It's so easy to get caught up in watching movies, sometimes two or three at a time. When I do homework, I'm often at it for hours at a time with almost no breaks except to go to the bathroom or get a drink. I need to get up and move around a bit.

I have also been looking at some spinal decompression. While I can't afford to go to a doctor to do it or invest in those over priced home machines or equipment, I can do a few little exercises to help. There is one where you lie on your bed to the floor on your back. You have your knees up and move them from right to left. But if you move them to the right, you push up with your left foot so your left hip comes up off the floor and vice versa. I hope I explained that well enough. If not, there are some videos on youtube that will explain it better.

I am hoping that sleeping on my back tonight with a pillow under my knees will help me, even a little. Tomorrow I have a midterm I have to take and can't miss.