Been a while since I have written a personal Diary, but I thought I would put pen to paper today and catch my diaries up with life!
About 2 months ago now I went in for back surgery to fix a slipped disk and 2 Schmorl's Nodes. While there was not much they could do with the slipped disk, (BUMMER), I under went an experimental treatment for the Schmorl's Nodes, and this lowered my back pain from a chronic 9 to a manageable 3. At last I am off heavy narcotic pain pills and just take Tramadol to deal with the ongoing discomfort. I can not express in words how wonderful it is to have my pain threshold lowered so dramatically, the experimental treatment is expected to last 8-12 month , and I am making the most of this break from chronic, disabling pain, and am enjoying doing all the things that were very difficult for me to do just 3 months ago, like jogging and riding a bike, hours gardening. Moving things by myself, and carrying more than a gallon of milk!
Unfortunately this was just one of my many medical issues, but not having to deal with the near debilitation pain is making EVERYTHING so much easier to deal with. I will be undergoing physical therapy for another couple of months, strengthening my core, and getting back my range of motion. Just dealing with the pain has improved my attitude, and my CAN DO attitude is back. I am enjoying hiking, mountain biking, and just being out. That is until this heat.
Unfortunately I also deal with numbness down my left leg due to the slipped disk. I also have neuropathy from genetic diabetes, and going out in the heat is the worst. Under normal circumstances the neuropathy cause a burning sensation to my feet to my knees, and hands up to my elbows. Sort of feel like my hands and feet are in a 500 degree oven, from which I can't pull them. When I go out in 108 degree heat for any length of time the burning become UNBEARABLE, and there is literally nothing I can do to lesson the pain.
The only real option I have is to stay indoors, in the ir conditioning, and try and do my running around in the morning before it gets too hot. Evenings are out because at 9pm at night it is still 98 degrees out! Since I don't drive and usually walk places, in this kind of heat I am forced to take taxis when I go out, taking a bite out of my tight budget. Living on a fixed Disability Pension is noto easy at the best of time, during the summer is the worst. PG&E sores with the heat and use of the air conditioning, the heat forces me to become a shut in, or resort to taking expensive Taxis. Unfortunately, when just about every cent of your income is budgeted, these kind of expenses mean something else doesn't get paid, or the belt has to be tightened somewhere else.
I take a lot of medications, and deal with a lot of side effects, things like dry mouth are definitely worse in the heat of summer. All in all, having the pain reduced is a wonder, but dealig with the heat is a MAJOR drag. Last heat wave I took off to SF, but this time I have important meeting coming up that I need to be in town for. So beating the heat by doing a geographic is out of the question, instead I will just have to endure!