I had two great days after struggling with my concentration for months. It seemed I found a bit of balance. I did a lot more in one day because every activity lasted 5-10 minutes. Just as long as I could concentrate. I made a list, so I could combine activities after each other till I lost my concentration and went back to another activity. After reading for 5 minutes, then something practical in the household, watching tv for 5 minutes, eating something, doing groceries, and walking outside. For me, it felt I made progress. It made me happier.
On Tuesday, I met someone I got in contact with on LinkedIn. I had a great conversation. When I got back home, I couldn’t get out of the car. I walked home with my body at an angle from 90 degrees.
I called a friend, who is also a masseur, he told me to do things to see what was wrong. I wasn’t able to do much of it. I started to build a pain relief mirror with paracetamol.
Because of my life changes, I had a fridge full of homemade meals to choose from. So that evening, I had a healthy sauerkraut mash pot.
I had a terrible night. I had a lot of trouble getting out of bed, going to the toilet, or grab something to eat in the kitchen. Still, at a 90 degrees angle, I called my friend again; he was able to take me to the doctor that same day. So we went. It took me ages to get downstairs, and through the shopping district I live in, to get to the car supported by my crutches again. My general practitioner told me that this was the outcome of a very stressful year, and she prescribed 1000 mg paracetamol and 600 mg ibuprofen three times a day.
At home, my friend gave me a massage after taking the first dose. It relieved my pain a bit. The next day I took it four times a day. The next day I called my general practitioner to prescribe me something stronger, Tramadol 50 mg. At first, I just went on with the ibuprofen and paracetamol because I could get addicted to the other medication.
Those days I received flowers from my board and a handwritten Christmascard, and a Feelingz card from my supervisor, wishing me the best for 2021. I gave them a nice place in my living room, not knowing what to think about it.
First Christmas day I planned to spend with a friend. She told me to stay home to rest, take medicine, and stay in bed with lifted legs to relieve my back. In that way, I was less tired when my daughter came on the second Christmas Day. So I did. Staying in bed with my legs up gave me more pain relief than the painkillers. I slept almost all day, at first Christmas day. I tried a combination of all three of the meds, and more often. The Ibuprofen influences my coumarin balance, increasing my INR. That means a higher bleeding risk. Still, I hadn’t the idea the painkillers did anything in relieving my pain, and my left leg was feeling different. Again I had palpitations when I got up with a lot of pain in my back. It didn’t felt good, so I quit the painkillers after the second Christmas day and decided to give my general practitioner a call on Monday.
When I spoke with my former general practitioner, she told me to take the Tramadol 3 times a day with 1000 mg Paracetamol. And one time 1000 mg Paracetamol without the Tramadol. If that didn’t work, she would prescribe Morphine on old years day. Luckily the painkillers relieved my pain, and it gave me the ability to exercise again to relieve my muscles. I made a little bike ride on old-year’s-day and did a lot of stretching.
