The Bag Lady grew up in a small town (well, technically a city, but a small one) where everyone knew everyone else. If you needed to see a doctor, you actually could, sometimes even the same day! Hell, some of them even came to the house! She still lives near that same city, but it has grown (boomed?) with the oil field activity to the point where she no longer knows many people, and the medical system is totally overwhelmed.
In spite of the so-called slow down in the economy, the city where she grew up is still a busy little place. Try as she might yesterday, she could not get an appointment to see a physiotherapist or a chiropractor on an emergency basis. The earliest appointment she could get was three weeks away! A co-worker finally suggested she try a massage therapist, and gave her the name of the one she goes to. Bless her heart.
The Bag Lady did manage to get in to see the massage therapist and, although it didn't help a great deal, it did help a little and she finds that today she can move a little more freely. The leg and foot are still very painful, but she is hoping that she will actually be able to function a little better today.
Mind you, she just got out of bed, so she may be just a wee bit too optimistic.... she has not moved very far yet. She did do some stretching and exercising and will continue to stretch throughout the day because that does seem to relieve the excruciating pain a wee bit.
What a way to start the new year!
26 comments:
I'm glad you've found some relief. I strongly recommend the Tui Na self-massage I told you about. It hurts but it works.
Is there an acupuncturist in town?
Poor Baggie. How about some hot pepper with your cheese? Have you ever tried Capsaicin? I've found it surprisingly helpful for deep-felt pain. It takes time though. A few applications a day might give you some immediate relief but it works best over time. If interested, get nothing weaker than .075% capsaicin in a cream. It will feel hot after a few minutes (like a mild sunburn) and then it will reactivate in a hot shower. After a few applications, you'll stop feeling that and that's about when it becomes effective. I hope you feel much better soon.
Wow...been dealing with horrid back/hip pain myself lately (when did I get this old??) so I definitely feel your pain!!
Take it easy and rest on a heating pad. But make sure you don't get up from the pad or the cats will swoop in and take it over...
Well I hope you continue to feel better and the best of success in the new year.
Three weeks for an emergency? Did someone change the definition of "emergency" while I wasn't looking?
Hope you're feeling better soon!
You poor thing. There are a lot of things I dislike about the big city, but with enough calling around, one *can* get just about anything one wants, and in a shorter time frame than three weeks!
You need to make friends with a chiro. I recommend baking one of your famous desserts.
I am indeed sorry to hear that you are hurting. I hope a cancellation gets you in to see someone sooner than that!
Well, that sucks...is my old chiro still there...you could tell them you are me? Not likely that would help though -lol
Hopefully a cancellation will occur and you can get in sooner. Feel better soon.
I can't imagine being able to make a doctor's appointment for the same day. Wow. I hope you feel better soon and can see someone before 3 weeks. *hugs*
Glad you are a little better and may you become better with each passing day.
you KNOW that i am wondering (as per my friend---never tried it) the same thing leah asked...
oops this is me...Miz :) Im logged into the podcasting google account for twofitchicks.
dfLeah - yes, there is an acupuncturist, and I will try to get in to see her (she helped give me some relief the last time I had a problem) And I have been doing the self-massage that you described to me - it DOES hurt, but seems to help, too!
Hil - I have tried Capsaicin..... and then regretted it when I tried to take my contact lenses out!! :)
Missicat - I hope you feel better soon, too!
David - thanks so much, and I hope this year brings you much success, too!
JavaChick - I guess "emergency" doesn't have the same connotation it used to have. Sigh.
BG - why didn't I think of bribery before now!!? :)
Reb - actually, he is! He has a new receptionist, though, which is partly why I couldn't get in sooner....
Aleta - thanks! I'll take all the hugs I can get right now!
Gail - thanks so much! It is slightly better yet today, but it's slow.
Miz - thanks for clearing up who you are - I was a little confused! :)
Yeah..you need to wear gloves. ;)
This sounds so painful and frustrating! I know it will get better eventually, but here's hoping you feel better SOON.
Hil - yeah - I learned THAT the hard way!! :)
Thanks, Crabby - it IS getting a little better, but it's slow. Sigh.
I hope you're feeling better soon, BL. I'm so sorry you're in pain.
Thanks, POD! I hope so, too, 'cause this is really getting me down.... sigh.
Now that you're getting better slowly, I hope you can get better faster.
I can get an appointment at my doctor's the day I call. "Oh, sure, we'll work you in," they say, if I'm prepared to sit in the waiting room for three hours or so, and then wait in the exam room for another hour. If I'm sick enough for it to be that urgent, I don't feel like staying out of bed that long. I usually ask to come in the next day first thing in the morning instead.
With my doctor and his former partner, plus the three in the new practice (nearly ten years old) that's five GPs for a population of roughly twenty thousand. Four thousand patients each, 365 days in a year. No wonder it's hard to get an appointment.
They'd have to see twenty patients a day to see them all just once.
Get better. Pain is so tiring.
Mary Anne in Kentucky
Mary Anne in Kentucky - I am not sure what the ratio of doctors to patients is around here, but I'm sure it's similar.
And you are so right - constant pain absolutely wears you down.
Aw I hope you're feeling better. If we lived in closer proximity my mum would totally have come by and fixed you up with a little bit of acupuncture, chiropractic, and physiotherapy! (I speak for her. Tehe).
Sagan - that's awfully sweet of you! And if I can't get an appointment with someone sometime soon, don't be surprised if I show up on your doorstep! Hehehehe
Baggie, that is just awful! I'm amazed that an emergency doesn't get you squeezed in with a doctor!
Three weeks is insane.
Oh man, that's awful. Could you just show up at the hospital emergency room? I'd give it a try, I think. Surely they would not turn you away. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. And hugs.
Thanks, Cheryl! The pain has abated, but the numbness and weakness in my foot is quite worrisome. Although the numbness seems to be receding a tiny bit - to be replaced with a burning sensation in my big toe. Sigh.
Thanks for the hug! :)
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