. . . and setbacks

I got up this morning and went directly to yoga class first thing.  Coming out of aptly named "Awkward Pose" I felt my back go "sproing!"  As I have alluded to before, I have a bad back due to a fairly serious back injury about 10 years ago.  Mostly it's fine, mostly these days I just have lots of arthritis and problems with stiffness.  I'm gimpy in the morning but usually 1/2 hour after I get up all traces are gone and off I go without another thought.  I think it's been about three years since I have had any significant Issues, but I think today's the day to reset that counter.  Whatever I have going on back there is very different from the arthritis "pain" that I am used to.

It's not that bad, mostly muscular pain in the low back, a little weakness and definite pain when I bear weight on one leg (like going up or down stairs).  Having been through the wringer and back in the past, though, I really respect and listen to what my back is telling me.  I have learned through experience (and through Tom, who has MORE than his fair share of back issues) that the thing to do when confronted with unusual back pain is to hit it soon, and hit it hard, and don't wait for things to get worse (which they almost inevitably will).  I just got out of a nice warm shower, and am sitting here with an ice pack to that lumbar spine.  More to the point, I've just ingested a prodigious amount of drugs (yes, it's true, nurses ALWAYS have the best drugs) and am predicting that I'll be drooling in about 45 minutes with the onset of ibuprofen, norco, soma and just a touch of xanax.  Fuck yeah, that's a LOT of narcotics and other things which I don't usually take, ever, but experience has proven to me that if I do this little cocktail soon enough, and spend a significant time off my feet, out of pain and with muscles relaxed, the spine just kind of deals with itself and sorts itself out without getting lots of collateral muscles involved and really turning into something serious.  It seems a little extreme, but I would rather lose a day to drugged-out numbness than lose a week (or more, much more) to pain and weakness and exacerbation of existing nerve damage.  The last time this happened, it was after a really scrambling-type backpacking trip, and I spent 2 days in bed only getting up to pee, and I was fine after that two days.  This does not seem as serious, and I'm hoping (almost against hope) that it will work and I'll be back to my normal self tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I'll sit here in a narcotized puddle and watch stupid things on TV.  I am trying to put a positive spin on this, and am thinking that this is just a little roadblock to having a much more limber spine.  I don't blame the yoga and will get back to it as soon as possible, for it has vastly helped me with spinal issues in the past and has already made a considerable difference in just the 2 months that I have been seriously attending class this go 'round.  Tom brought up a good point in that this morning I woke up, sat on the couch checking emails, then went right to class without ever really moving around much -- I might as well have been asking for it.  In the future I will spend more time limbering up or just walking around prior to going; perhaps I should concentrate on evening classes as opposed to the morning ones.  Something to consider, anyhow.

Yeah, ok, the shit's starting to hit the fan now and I'm feeling a little floaty.  But when I start drooling in another 5 minutes I'm not going to be entirely sure it's from the drugs -- it might be from Shut Up and Run!'s awesome giveaway of lots of cool Champion gear.  I love this brand and really want to win this one . . .