Sunday, March 25, 2007

Anatomy of a Fall

This fall was nothing unusual, even typical for me. What is different is I am now hyper-aware of how my body responds to everything.

I was trying to get one of our cats into the carrier for a vet visit on Thursday afternoon. Not only did she escape but I instinctually spun around to catch her. My left foot never moved even though the rest of me did. It was as if my ankle was a ball and socket joint! When I put my right foot down my left ankle, followed by the left knee, gave out and down I went. I couldn't stand back up until I popped my ankle. What was interesting is that my joints (hips, knees, ankles, and areas of my feet and toes) hurt but not as much as the muscles. My back did not even bother me much, and all discomfort was gone after a good night's sleep. My legs took longer; only easing up the throbbing in the muscles and soreness in the joints as of yesterday evening.

I need to find a way to deal with the discomfort I am having other than being stoic. I've given up on acetaminophen. Since two extra strength capsules make me light-headed I am leery of taking more, but those two do nothing for the muscle or joint discomfort. Warmth helps, but not completely and not when there is a major atmospheric weather change. Cold doesn't help at all and sometimes makes it worse. Alcohol makes me forget I hurt, but I can still tell the discomfort is there. Chiropractic helps with my spine, but unrealistic for everyday unless I convince Tree to become a chiropractor. Aspirin and ibuprofen both have dangerous results for me or I would try those. I am on the lookout for more ideas to try since it is not like this is actually painful and I don't want to take chances with pharmaceuticals.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Sore and Tired

It has been a couple of weeks of exhaustion. I have been trying to analyze just what is going on. This is what I am currently observing:

For the past few years I become REALLY tired in the winter, especially when it is very cold or we have significant weather events (like the 12+ inches of snow yesterday). A walk to a neighbor's house can mean a nap or serious lethargy for the rest of the day and my legs will be sore for at least a day or two after. My arms do the same; not as problematic after a walk but can be so if I do something simple like hold a vent in place while Tree fastens it to the wall.

My joints also go *nuts*. Standing in place is almost impossible to achieve since almost every joint involved, from my spine to my hips to my feet, feel like they are slipping back and forth. Consequently, I look like a waving flag (or a drunk - I'll leave the image to you :-) ). Sitting down means sore hips and not only the challenge of standing back up but also not knowing which way to sway to get a wayward joint to slip back where it belongs.

As an example, while typing this post I have had to stop several times to pop my joints. I know, Mom, it is a bad habit, but useful because it makes the discomfort go away and in some cases is necessary to regain the use of that joint (or the attached limb). My hands (not finger knuckles, but the back of the hand), neck, spine, left hip, and right shoulder are frequent annoyances while typing and rarely even need gentle pressure from anything but normal movement. The worst are my elbows; I don't have to do anything but move them let out a loud, satisfying *pop*.

I wonder if my muscles are overworking in the winter to keep my joints from dislocating, thus causing the soreness and exhaustion. I do feel like I have run a few miles or played a strenuous soccer match this past week. I am eagerly awaiting my first face-to-face meeting with geneticists so I can run some of my concerns and observations past them.