2008-05-28

Rough night

Just an update re: my entry last night... Yeah, Celebrex might have helped but I still woke up with a crazy set of back spasms... I was yelping in pain when I woke up./ I ended up trying to sleep sitting up on the couch from 3am till 5:30 or so (up at 5:45). All in all, last night kind of sucked although I at least got to watch a few minutes of some show I can't remember before I nodded off (and this happened several times!) so I guess it wasn't all bad. :)

Very tired/sore today. Still not as bad as before Celebrex but definitely not the ultra-relief I was getting used to for the last week. If I continue to not get relief I'll try 400mg instead of the 200mg I am taking now (once a day w. dinner).

2008-05-27

Missed Badminton

Something came up tonight and I didn't end up going to Badminton. Kind of missed it as it would have been my first pain-free night (or so I thought, see below) since I started going and I had a lot of excess energy to burn off. But I ended up not going, and don't regret it. I had a wonderful night.

But (always a "but") I have been stiff/in pain, getting worse all day. I took Celebrex at dinner as usual, but it hadn't seemed to kick as late as 9:30. I didn't feel like going to bed at that point and wanted to get some exercise so I hit the elliptical (I had done about a 20 minute walk in the morning but wanted to get some more exercise in, for sure).

Anyway, after about 5 minutes on the elliptical it became clear that my knees were "cracking" on each revolution and it was getting worse and freaking me out. So I jumped on the treadmill and got a good 20 minutes in. My knees seemed fine there.

I worked up quite a sweat and am very relaxed after being wound up all night. My back continues to be sore, though, and my knees are kind of achy.

This is really disappointing as the Celebrex has been working really well lately. I think maybe I overdid it on the weekend. I also didn't sleep deeply last night because I was wearing that sleep apnea diagnostic kit. Oh, well, I still feel much better than before, so that's what I am focusing on. :)

2008-05-26

Monday - weekend update

I feel like my life started over this weekend. The Celebrex has made peace with my body. Gone is the racing pulse and upset stomach (for now, anyway). For the first time in a LONG time I was able to be on the go, getting tons of stuff done, for both weekend days and I feel relatively good this morning.

I am tired but it is a normal tired. A "I worked in the yard all day" tired, not a "run over by bus" tired. This is incredible.

Anyway, no need for exercising this weekend, I did a TON of stuff around the house and yard and loved every minute of it.

2008-05-23

Celebrex - short honeymoon

Hmm, night two with Celebrex was not so great but not so bad. I took it right after eating instead of right before. We ate around 7pm. Around 9:15 I got back from a one hour walk with the dogs and a friend and my back was doing the usual spasm/ache thing it would after that. Not quite as severe, though.

Sleeping was difficult but much easier than without celebrex. I had a little aching/stiffness and was woken up once by muscle spasms but on the whole it was a walk in the park compared to normal. I also had an upset stomach. I noticed both times I took it that I spent the night running to the washroom (well two or three times). I can live with that if it means mostly pain free sleeping.

The doc said I could go to two capsules if one wasn't working so I think I'll try one again tonight and if it doesn't work I'll try two on Saturday night.

2008-05-22

Celebrating Celebrex

Wow, here's to Pfizer...

As much as I have raged against pharmacorps trying to get us all hooked on their junk in the past, I have to say this stuff REALLY works. Or it worked last night, the first time I tried it, anyway.

My rheumatologist prescribed it to me yesterday and I took one with dinner, as suggested. It took an hour or more to kick in but didn't start wearing off till 3 or 4AM and even then I just had a dull back ache and mild stiffness compared to my usual circle of hell level of back spasming insanity. :)

So basically I got a GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP. If you know me this will blow your mind. I was actually so excited at being pain free that I couldn't stay in bed and had to get up and move around the house for a while to calm down. Once I did hit the sack I was comfortable and pain free for the first time in years. What a relief.

I am hoping there are no issues with taking it re: my GI tract and I can keep my blood pressure under control. AND that it keeps working like it did last night. I'll post here with updates.

2008-05-21

badminton is OK

I had an appointment with my rheumatologist today. She said the latest xrays confirm I have some type of rheumatoid athritis related to inflammation. This and the sacroilitis diagnosis make sense together. That would explain the extreme pain and stiffness I fought through at Badminton last night; still worth it though. :)

Anyway, now to combat this she has asked me to take Celebrex. I am not sure if it will cause GI tract problems for me (Ibuprofen does) so I have some samples and will get the prescription if this works. I am looking forward to sleeping through the night and REALLY hope this med lets me do that. If not there are other options like biologics.

I asked her if I can continue with badminton as I am really enjoying it (I was worried the impact would cause problems for my joints and spine, etc). She said it is OK but jogging/running are out so I'll keep it to a fast walk on an incline on the treadmill (this is OK, I guess).

Celebrex can raise your blood pressure and I am already on the verge of high b.p. so I need to really cut out sodium. Weight loss will also help with everything (lower b.p., take pressure off inflamed joints, etc). Unfortunately I am the opposite of a hard gainer. I have a LOT of trouble losing weight (I know everyone says this but it really is the case for me and I have a history of weight loss efforts that did succeed but more slowly than you would expect despite extreme calorie control and high exercise levels).

To deal with this I am considering trying a low GI diet... apparently, this should work really well for people who have trouble losing weight and have the same issues as I do (see above). I'll try to track it here so I can be accountable for my diet now in addition to exercise.

2008-05-20

Re-exercised

OK, for the last few weeks my exercise routine has been disrupted. No excuses. I let fatigue, chronic pain, and a lack of free time impact my commitment to exercise. The fact is the longer I go without regular exercise (more than just day to day walking and house/yard work) the worse the fatigue and pain/stiffness gets so this is really no reason to stop working out. Also, exercise helps energize me which leads to better use of what free time I have.

So I don't have any good excuses.

I did get some exercise in over the last little while but not the regular, daily workouts I had been doing for a while. I managed to get a good workout in last night, though, and think I am back on the plan again. Tonight, badminton.

2008-05-17

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