Oh, My Sciatica!

Happy Friday and a Hoppy Birthday to the Monkey! Hope he's enjoying a nice hoppy ale in celebration of his birthday this evening.

As for me I'm enjoying a hoppy good ale that's finally available in Carolina... Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary - Black Barleywine Ale! Perfect for a chilly evening. They're even calling for snow flurries here tomorrow night!

That's Vita V. popping up in the background of the photo to see what's doing. She's a great cat and very happy, she loves to run around and play. It seems like when I take a photo of her, that "happy cat" side of her doesn't seem to come through. I guess Vita V. must truly be experienced in person - that is if she comes out of hiding when new people are afoot.

By now you may be wondering about the title of this post. I've been experiencing some pain in my lower back and glute, off and on for a few months now. I could tell the pain would come if I sat for too long without a break to stretch my legs at work. I work on a computer all day long, five days a week. You might be thinking... ah, a cushy job, eh?

I tell you what, as much as I love working in computers, solving problems and writing computer code... sometimes I think I'd be better off with a career in which I could get off my ass a bit more. Alas, these gigs pay far less, but honestly if I could get my current salary for landscaping work I'd take it in a minute.

I run on a regular basis and I was even trying to run a marathon until one of my calf muscles said "enough" after I reached the nine-mile plateau.

I'm still running, but on a less regular basis and far less miles. This is partly due to the calf injury, and partly due to the pain I mentioned above in my lower back and glute. The pain decreases as I run, and/or walk.

Not sure if I can describe the pain, but at its worst it's like someone stabbing you with a knife in the lower back and leg when you get out of bed or try to walk following a day/evening when you sat for too long.

I did some research online and looked like I was dealing with Sciatica - pain that derived from a pinching of the Sciatic nerve that extends from the lower back and runs down each leg. I found some stretches and was able to keep the pain at bay for awhile, until last night.

I barely got any sleep as each movement brought with it excruciating pain, and this morning I could barely walk. But, I knew that the more I tried to walk the better it felt. I managed to get ready for work, but the worst was trying to put on my pants - holy crap that was painful! Anyway, I made it to work and got a doctor appointment for lunch time.

My GP didn't have anything available, but I was able to get in to see the Nurse Practitioner at 11:30 this morning. She did some tests to make sure it wasn't my spine, and after a couple X-Rays I was told that I have one of the "nicest spines they've seen in a long time." However, with that it was confirmed I did indeed have Sciatica. I was referred to a physical therapist and a got a prescription for pain medication to take at night. She said the physical therapist appointments would probably be only a couple sessions, where they'd teach me some exercises I could do on my own at home.

So here I am with a weekend planned for catching up with leaves in the yard, putting up the lights on the house and trimming the Christmas tree. Let's hope my Sciatica stays under control and I can get all my projects done, but if you hear some screaming... well, that's just me exclaiming for all to hear, "Oh, My Sciatica!"

- Salud!