Curious

about where my ortho doctor was from, I noticed someone had made a bobble head of him that was displayed in the office with a flag I didn't recognise. Now, if you don't know where a flag is from, it can be a little hard to find, but I put in light blue and flag into Google and got the right one. The result? Argentina. I think their flag is lovely.

He didn't like the band the physical therapist gave me. It works, he says, but it has to be so tight that it can irritate the medial nerve that runs parallel to the lateral one that is already irritated. Also he doesn't want them to do e-stim on me; it can apparently tear muscle. Instead, he wants them to focus on postural exercises and for me to find some gentle exercise that I'll like and do. I do love yoga, actually, although water aerobics is another option. Walking is also fine. My elbow is doing somewhat better; he says that most of my problem is coming from the core as well as my neck, shoulders, and spine, with my posture and general lack of fitness. He'd like me to slowly work on changing how I move and my posture, even if it takes years, just making small changes at a time.

You know, it's harder than you might think to wrap a toe in a Band-Aid

Listening to: 'I'm Not that Girl' from Wicked

Especially if you have stubby, unagile toes like I do. They don't like to separate.

In other personal medical news, assuming you care, I'm out of the wrist brace except for lifting. Dr Favetto saw me this time, and he said that a lot of the trouble with the elbow tendon actually stems from my shoulders and posture. He wants me to go to physical therapy and get back into yoga. I was virtually prescribed to go to the gym, since most people don't exercise well at home. He thinks that will help with the various joint pain and the fibromyalgia that I rarely think about but which is always in the background (I don't do acute pain well, but as far as chronic pain goes, I'm a trooper).

I checked and if I go to the downtown gym (not as close to me as Palumbo, but close to work) on Mondays or Wednesdays, I could take an 'urban yoga' class. (The downtown gym also provides towels and all sorts of amenities). :) And of course I do have my Rodney Yee morning yoga tape, which I'm pretty decent at doing once I get into the groove of getting up earlier. I'll have to move some book boxes out of the living room, but I need to do that anyway.

The only trouble with yoga class or physical therapy is that I'm working 34 hours at the store this coming week, for a total of 54 hours. Mostly it's at 3 pm, a half hour after I get off at the hospital, going to 10 pm or so. I may take off a couple of days at the hospital for some other appointments and work the physical therapy in then; I'm not sure yet. We'll see how I do. I've been abysmal at going to the gym and I really don't have one to go with for motivation.

PS I think my keyboard is not sensitive enough or something; it keeps skipping over letters when I push the keys. It's not very old. Oh, well. I just have to remember to go back and read over what I write.

I am soaking my foot

in epsom salts because I had in-office minor surgery to remove an ingrown toenail at the podiatrist's today. It was supposed to be numb and wasn't completely, but I managed to get through it with a stiff upper lip. It is interesting to see just how much even a fourth toe is necessary to your balance, for getting up, etc. Going up on tip-toes is right out. But ibuprofen's taking care of the pain and it's not too bad in any case. I have to soak it in the salts two-three times a day for 15-20 minutes and then pat it dry, put on Neosporin, and wrap in a Band-Aid. I thought it would be disgusting when I took off the bandage, but there's just some blood. I didn't look too closely at the nail this time though, I admit. There's also blood where she put in the needle around the base of the toe for the local anaesthesia. I go back in about 2 1/2 weeks for follow-up.

Tomorrow's my follow-up for my elbow. I'm still having trouble, even with the brace. Lifting at work isn't helping, especially on Thursdays when I put away the truck. Maybe we'll have an extra person who can lift the crates next time.

I saw a doctor today about my elbow

He agreed with my 'diagnosis'--tennis elbow/tendonitis. He gave me a brace to wear on my wrist. Apparently bending back the wrist is a major cause of elbow tendonitis. The brace keeps my hand in neutral position and should take pressure off the tendon near my elbow. I'm also supposed to give it a rest, but not try to do everything with my left arm because I'll just get it there. So I have to make a decision about the Habitat house. I'm signed up for two full days of painting, which is one of the worst things you can do with tennis elbow. I'm betting hammering's up there. Last Thursday we did framing for the house. I built a wall to a utility room and toted and sorted wood. I was careful to take breaks and hydrate. But the next day my elbow hurt, even with the ibuprofen, and I had to ice it throughout the day about 15 minutes apart. So we'll see. Maybe this will help and I can continue, but I suspect I'll have to drop out.

:(