My back felt better for about a day, probably because I was home over the weekend and able to walk more when I needed to or sit against a heating pad when I needed to. I work every day this week and I’m in a lot of pain. And it's definitely a herniated disc, maybe from coughing too hard when I was sick. My muscles don't hurt; it's something else more centralized to one spot in my back. Yesterday I moved a certain way and pain shot through my arm and made my fingers tingle, a sign of a herniated disc. Another time I tried to stand up from sitting, and pain shot down my leg and my toes got tingly.
I tried special back and body pain aspirin that a friend recommended. And…it was easier to get out of bed this morning. I’m not sure how long this will last, but for a herniated disc I’m expecting weeks or months because it takes time to heal. I'm no longer passing out from extreme pain or crying or shouting when it hits me a certain way I don't expect. I try to keep walking around to help it feel better, but at a certain point it's too much walking and it hurts again. It hurts most when I'm standing still, even for just 10 minutes, or when I sit too long without heat, or in the mornings after lying on my back all night. So I take my heating pad everywhere with me. And I found some physical therapy exercises to start trying. It has lessened to a manageable phase, but the back pain is definitely still there, almost 3 weeks later.
Meanwhile I’m fighting a sinus infection with antibiotics, which always happens after being sick with a head cold. Anyone else out there feel like they try to take care of their body but it’s always against them? I get so sad and frustrated and disappointed and discouraged. But hey, I’m still smelling and tasting a little, and this is the longest it’s lasted.
