The Flu

Well it was bound to happen right?  I finally got the flu this year.  It has been going around work for several weeks and my group leader has had it for 2 weeks.  Unfortunately for the rest of us he spread it around.  I left work last night and called in sick tonight.

Tens Unit for Back Pain

I bought a tens unit a few weeks back to try to combat my pain.  I had tried one at physical therapy on Christmas Eve.  It worked wonders.  I bought a small unit through Amazon, although you can probably get a prescription from your doctor and get it through a local medical supply for less money.  I personally didn't think to ask my doctor for a prescription.  This is the one I bought:















It works well, doesn't get rid of all of the pain, but helps some.  Amazon has a lot of listings for this and other units similar for a variety of prices.  This one has 5 different modes and you can adjust the intensity.   I like the modulation mode.  The burst mode is good, really powerful so set it low to start and adjust the intensity up as much as you like.  The electrodes are reusable, I haven't replaced them yet.  Those would be covered by some insurance too, if you have a prescription. 

My take on these units are they do work in a limited capacity, but enough that I think it was worth paying for.  The units at physical therapy are much better, but also the price on those was over $3000 when I was shopping for one.  I don't feel that these would be dangerous but you may want to ask you doctor or therapy if it's ok to use. 

I am not a doctor, nurse, or medical professional.  Anything contained in this is my experience and shouldn't be taken as medical advice.  As with anything medical related consult a trained professional before starting any treatment.

I finally got a PS3 on Tuesday.  I wasn't really sold on it's abilities, but I won it from Winnla on facebook so I decided to try it.  Man I wish I had bought one sooner.  The Blu-ray is awesome.  I never would have believed it if I hadn't tried it myself.  The clarity is awesome.  I figure if I'm going to spend most of my life on a heating pad I should enjoy the time I'm spending.  I rented The Day the Earth Stood Still.  I was told it was a horrible movie but I really enjoyed it.  It was a good story and I didn't get bored and wander away. 

I'm going to try to move away from my pain and misery.  I'm going to try to find things that make my life easier in many ways.  I think I should try to find a bright side to my current situation, at least until I find a solution to the pain.  I will post anything I find that either helps my pain or takes my mind off of it.  Anyway today I added all of the Amazon widgets to my blog, I think they look pretty good.  It was so easy to add stuff to my blog.  It's too cool.  So hopefully I will be able to post the things that I find that are helping me.

Avoidance

I admit I have avoided calling the doctor.  I'm really scared to tell him I'm in this much pain again.  How do you tell a gifted surgeon that you screwed up his work?  I'm afraid I've done something to the hardware on the right side.  I've been having spasms and pain down the butt and leg again.  I also don't want to admit to him that I started smoking again.  I worked so hard to quit and now I've ruined it all.  I guess I'm going to try to quit again.  I'm really confused and cranky all of the time.  I've also turned clumsy all of the sudden.  I lose my balance alot now.  I really have to work hard not to fall.  No matter where I am I always look around to see what to catch myself on.  Anyway that's where I'm at right now.  Back in pain, back to smoking, and depressed.