The Venting Thread

[downer]

Time for a double shot.

When a Dean sends an email saying, regarding the next couple of weeks:

Apparently there are different versions of the academic calendar.

the question becomes: will the wheels fall off before then end of the semester.

[apl68]

This morning I had to let a service technician into a utility room with a door lock that sometimes gives trouble.  It was especially bad today.  As part of my effort to get it open, I tried lubricating the lock.  Now my hands smell like WD-40.  Not an unpleasant smell, but not exactly what a library director is supposed to smell like.

[AmLitHist]

Re:  sciatica and joint pain:

I went in Monday for a meds follow-up/checkup with my internist (and a sinus infection, which I've had for awhile but put off since I knew I'd be going in soon anyway).  We were talking as I was on the exam table and he was listening to my lungs and heart. Just as he was saying, "So how are the SI joints doing?"--but before he actually got it out--he touched those areas on each side in my lower back, and I nearly flew off the table.  It hurt SO bad, and he felt so bad about it.  I actually felt sorry for the guy.  But damn, that hurt!  They've been giving me fits for a month now, even worse than usual (likely because of the wild swings in the weather).

Evil_Physics_Witchcraft, I feel for you.  The only thing I found that even remotely helped with my bouts of sciatica was sleeping stretched out in a recliner, rather than trying to lie in bed.  (And I spent several months doing that.)  It didn't take it away, but it was the only way I could get a few hours of sleep here and there.  I also had Vicodin, but it just too some of the edge off or made me sleep; it didn't really stop the pain.  Sending good thoughts your way.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Re:  sciatica and joint pain:

I went in Monday for a meds follow-up/checkup with my internist (and a sinus infection, which I've had for awhile but put off since I knew I'd be going in soon anyway).  We were talking as I was on the exam table and he was listening to my lungs and heart. Just as he was saying, "So how are the SI joints doing?"--but before he actually got it out--he touched those areas on each side in my lower back, and I nearly flew off the table.  It hurt SO bad, and he felt so bad about it.  I actually felt sorry for the guy.  But damn, that hurt!  They've been giving me fits for a month now, even worse than usual (likely because of the wild swings in the weather).

Evil_Physics_Witchcraft, I feel for you.  The only thing I found that even remotely helped with my bouts of sciatica was sleeping stretched out in a recliner, rather than trying to lie in bed.  (And I spent several months doing that.)  It didn't take it away, but it was the only way I could get a few hours of sleep here and there.  I also had Vicodin, but it just too some of the edge off or made me sleep; it didn't really stop the pain.  Sending good thoughts your way.

Thanks AmLitHist. I hope you get some relief as well. My pain has been intermittent lately. I think I tore my piriformis muscle last month and it just aggravated everything.

[clean]

I have had my own bouts of back issues, including heavy doses of narcotics (the kind no one prescribes anymore).  Ive done physical therapy as well.  I found that the PT in the pool helped a lot.

for drugs, frankly 2 neproxin (allieve) worked almost (not quite but almost) as well as the smaller doses of hydrocodone.  The plus side is that you dont end up stupid with the allieve. 

Just my experience, if it is helpful.


Follow up on my last vent:
The admin in charge of appeals denied the appeal.  However, the student replied that she was shocked, but most disgusted by my reply (which outlined all of the dates that she had been sent the emails, and noted that some of those emails were initiated by her and that even from those dates, she had not initiated a reply in time to appeal. 

"Disgusted" she was. 

She violated the test policies (because she didnt understand them).  She ignored the emails (because she doesnt look at her university email)  which violates the syllabus for the course and the policy for the university.  She ignored the deadlines,  But she is Disgusted by my reply pointing out that she had to know about the situation from her own replies. and that as she had missed the many deadlines, that I objected to her appeal. 

[apl68]

Re:  sciatica and joint pain:

I went in Monday for a meds follow-up/checkup with my internist (and a sinus infection, which I've had for awhile but put off since I knew I'd be going in soon anyway).  We were talking as I was on the exam table and he was listening to my lungs and heart. Just as he was saying, "So how are the SI joints doing?"--but before he actually got it out--he touched those areas on each side in my lower back, and I nearly flew off the table.  It hurt SO bad, and he felt so bad about it.  I actually felt sorry for the guy.  But damn, that hurt!  They've been giving me fits for a month now, even worse than usual (likely because of the wild swings in the weather).

Evil_Physics_Witchcraft, I feel for you.  The only thing I found that even remotely helped with my bouts of sciatica was sleeping stretched out in a recliner, rather than trying to lie in bed.  (And I spent several months doing that.)  It didn't take it away, but it was the only way I could get a few hours of sleep here and there.  I also had Vicodin, but it just too some of the edge off or made me sleep; it didn't really stop the pain.  Sending good thoughts your way.

Thanks AmLitHist. I hope you get some relief as well. My pain has been intermittent lately. I think I tore my piriformis muscle last month and it just aggravated everything.

Wish you both well in getting past this.  And apologizing for the rather trivial "vent" above.

[mamselle]

I'm thinking someone--might have been Octo--had a face-down massage table to sleep in for back pain.

Might or might not work or be possible, but it's another option to consider.

I sort of remember it worked so well at home that she considered getting one for the office as well, somehow.

M.

[smallcleanrat]

Re:  sciatica and joint pain:

I went in Monday for a meds follow-up/checkup with my internist (and a sinus infection, which I've had for awhile but put off since I knew I'd be going in soon anyway).  We were talking as I was on the exam table and he was listening to my lungs and heart. Just as he was saying, "So how are the SI joints doing?"--but before he actually got it out--he touched those areas on each side in my lower back, and I nearly flew off the table.  It hurt SO bad, and he felt so bad about it.  I actually felt sorry for the guy.  But damn, that hurt!  They've been giving me fits for a month now, even worse than usual (likely because of the wild swings in the weather).

Evil_Physics_Witchcraft, I feel for you.  The only thing I found that even remotely helped with my bouts of sciatica was sleeping stretched out in a recliner, rather than trying to lie in bed.  (And I spent several months doing that.)  It didn't take it away, but it was the only way I could get a few hours of sleep here and there.  I also had Vicodin, but it just too some of the edge off or made me sleep; it didn't really stop the pain.  Sending good thoughts your way.

Thanks AmLitHist. I hope you get some relief as well. My pain has been intermittent lately. I think I tore my piriformis muscle last month and it just aggravated everything.

Wish you both well in getting past this.  And apologizing for the rather trivial "vent" above.

"Trivial" vents can accumulate and feed into non-trivial stress, so sometimes there's value in venting them anyway.

[Parasaurolophus]

FFS, deer have antlers, not horns. That velvet's full of blood vessels. How many times do we have to go over this?

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Re:  sciatica and joint pain:

I went in Monday for a meds follow-up/checkup with my internist (and a sinus infection, which I've had for awhile but put off since I knew I'd be going in soon anyway).  We were talking as I was on the exam table and he was listening to my lungs and heart. Just as he was saying, "So how are the SI joints doing?"--but before he actually got it out--he touched those areas on each side in my lower back, and I nearly flew off the table.  It hurt SO bad, and he felt so bad about it.  I actually felt sorry for the guy.  But damn, that hurt!  They've been giving me fits for a month now, even worse than usual (likely because of the wild swings in the weather).

Evil_Physics_Witchcraft, I feel for you.  The only thing I found that even remotely helped with my bouts of sciatica was sleeping stretched out in a recliner, rather than trying to lie in bed.  (And I spent several months doing that.)  It didn't take it away, but it was the only way I could get a few hours of sleep here and there.  I also had Vicodin, but it just too some of the edge off or made me sleep; it didn't really stop the pain.  Sending good thoughts your way.

Thanks AmLitHist. I hope you get some relief as well. My pain has been intermittent lately. I think I tore my piriformis muscle last month and it just aggravated everything.

Wish you both well in getting past this.  And apologizing for the rather trivial "vent" above.

"Trivial" vents can accumulate and feed into non-trivial stress, so sometimes there's value in venting them anyway.

Good point. Don't bottle it up! This is the Venting Thread! :)

[smallcleanrat]

Lab tests from urgent care visit listed a few abnormalities, but results didn't include doctor's interpretation. I guess this means contacting my PCP to see if I need to follow up on this. I know abnormal results don't always indicate a problem, but if the PCP uses this reason not to investigate further it will be pretty frustrating. I've never had this particular pattern of results before, so I would really like an explanation.

I feel exhausted in advance, anticipating the talk with the PCP; I'll need to stay focused to prevent him from just brushing me off.

At least they ruled out COVID.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Unrelated.

Why the hell is it that when one body part starts to feel better, another one starts to hurt? This is getting old. Put some bionics in my body and be done with it!

[AmLitHist]

Thanks for the good wishes, all, but really, I'm fine--well, as fine as it's going to get.  I've been told the SI joints are a lost cause:  PT just makes things (WAY) worse, even after working through the initial pain that's common in PT; surgery isn't an option, as typically the relief lasts maybe a year at most, then the problem (arthritis) comes back even worse later; and pain meds don't do much, so I only use them in a real pinch, and that at bedtime.

Clean, I agree about Aleve:  it's as good as/better than hydrocodone, especially for inflammatory problems (e.g. arthritis). I'm on it as a maintenance med (2 in the morning, 2 at night) with the ability to layer in Tylenol as needed.  ALHS was on Aleve (naproxen) way back in the 80s/90s, when it was still prescription only.  I worry about what it's doing to my kidneys, along with my diabetes; he ended up in Stage 4 renal failure a few years ago from all the NSAIDS over the years, though he came back after getting off most of them.

My internist and orthopedist have told me that pain management is going to be in my future, but at 59, and having seen my elderly mom go through that for her final 10 years, I'm fighting it as long as I can.  I'm in the "mind over matter" mode now:  I have significant pain every day, all day, but I'm learning to treat it as a baseline and just live with it. 

I read a really good GQ article this week:  it interviewed George Clooney, and he talked about his various serious injuries and about how he's learned to do something similar about the pain.  It really encouraged me, and some of the rest here might find it interesting as well.

As for venting:  again, vent away, y'all!  And don't worry about me--I'm fine (except when stupid admins, etc. get in my way)! 

And Clean:  if you've capital-D Disgusted a student, I think you've done your job. Good for you!

[wareagle]

Unrelated.

Did no one ever tell you that statistics is NOT an appropriate pre-requisite for calculus?

Who the hell taught you how to advise?  FFS!!

[San Joaquin]

Quite the other way around, I should think.  Stand fast!