Last week I woke up feeling like someone was sticking ice picks in my right shoulder. This did not bode well for spending two hours in the dentist's chair (see my last post). I couldn't get an appointment with the orthopedist until Tuesday, so I ended up at the ER. I got a shot of some painkiller that's supposed to be 10x stronger than morphine and prescriptions for megavicodin and a steroid 6-day pack.
After the shot wore off, I found that I had to take the vicodin strictly on schedule. If I didn't, I turned into a crying, screaming meemie. It took half an hour to work out the least unpainful position for my arm at night, and everytime I woke up in pain I had to start all over again. I think I got about 3 hours of sleep a night. :o(
I hurt in the shoulder joint, the elbow, and the wrist. After a few days, my wrist stopped hurting, but my thumb went kind of numb. All I wanted to do was sleep, but it was too painful to try more than once a day.
All of this was occurring while I worked the Halloween rush, with all sorts of crazy (and crazed) people coming in for stuff to make their costumes. I couldn't do much other than run the register -- you can't cut fabric if you can't use your arm. We didn't get out before 10 any night, and usually it was later. Much later.
Yesterday I went to the doctor, who confirmed my self-diagnosis of tendonitis. (I had it in my left shoulder four years ago.) This time I got a shot of cortisone and a script for mobic once a day (a once-a-day pain pill? how's that supposed to work?).
24 hours later, I can report that both seem to be working. Despite working last night, I was able to fall asleep quickly and slept SEVEN hours!!!!!! All right, I woke up once, but it was to answer a call of nature, NOT because of the pain. :o) My shoulder still hurts, but not as badly. My elbow doesn't hurt at all. My thumb's still a bit numb, but I wouldn't be surprised if I have a pinched nerve as well.
After the shot wore off, I found that I had to take the vicodin strictly on schedule. If I didn't, I turned into a crying, screaming meemie. It took half an hour to work out the least unpainful position for my arm at night, and everytime I woke up in pain I had to start all over again. I think I got about 3 hours of sleep a night. :o(
I hurt in the shoulder joint, the elbow, and the wrist. After a few days, my wrist stopped hurting, but my thumb went kind of numb. All I wanted to do was sleep, but it was too painful to try more than once a day.
All of this was occurring while I worked the Halloween rush, with all sorts of crazy (and crazed) people coming in for stuff to make their costumes. I couldn't do much other than run the register -- you can't cut fabric if you can't use your arm. We didn't get out before 10 any night, and usually it was later. Much later.
Yesterday I went to the doctor, who confirmed my self-diagnosis of tendonitis. (I had it in my left shoulder four years ago.) This time I got a shot of cortisone and a script for mobic once a day (a once-a-day pain pill? how's that supposed to work?).
24 hours later, I can report that both seem to be working. Despite working last night, I was able to fall asleep quickly and slept SEVEN hours!!!!!! All right, I woke up once, but it was to answer a call of nature, NOT because of the pain. :o) My shoulder still hurts, but not as badly. My elbow doesn't hurt at all. My thumb's still a bit numb, but I wouldn't be surprised if I have a pinched nerve as well.
4 comments:
I am sorry you had so much pain! I am glad you have a diagnosis and hopefully a remedy that will work! :)
Hey buggie- this sounds for all the world like repetitive stress injury, something that is generally covered by worker's comp, and something you should definitely pursue through work.
You should not be paying a dime for these visits. And you want to make sure that its on record as being such- should- god forbid- you get to a point where you are missing work or can't work there because of it.
just my .02
glad you're doing better Ladybugs. I hope you're able to rest some and not overwork while healing!
ditto what teegee said. you really do want it on record as being a work thing. besides health coverage... employers sometimes ditch employees with health problems.
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