Thoughts about pain...

There hasn't been a day since about mid-October in which I haven't had intense sinus pain. Yesterday, I saw myself in the mirror and I was so pale my lips were white. My nose, teeth, cheeks, forehead, and skull all have this crushing pain that makes my thighs feel weak and shaky. As an added bonus, I get waves of nausea that sometime even come in my sleep. I had been rationing my Lortab because I don't want to use too much but my doctor told me to knock that shit off and start taking them at least twice a day. Frankly, I don't even know if that is helping get a handle on it. It makes it so I can function. I haven't called in sick in months. I just put my head down, grit my teeth and go on. Mike worries about me, but I always tell him that pain never killed anyone (makes you want to die but doesn't kill you). Yesterday, I thought maybe hiding in the closet would be good but the pain would just follow me in if I did that. Isn't it odd that severe pain makes you want to hide? Like that would really help. The psyche is an odd thing.

This morning the pain wasn't too bad yet and I hadn't been to the gym since October so I figured what the hell and gave it a shot. I took a preemptive Lortab and headed for water aerobics. I made it through about 45 minutes of the class before the urge to throw up made me get out of the pool. I'm quite proud of myself and my muscles feel great! Plus I love being the smallest one in the pool!

Water Aerobics

This blog is starting to turn into my exercise, weigh loss journal. There hasn't been a helluva lot of weigh loss lately but I keep plugging along. I know it is because I am too lazy to cook a lot of the time and because I like those snickerdoodles at Starbucks. Anyhow, I was lying in bed this morning thinking I'll exercise later but I knew I wouldn't do it unless I got up right then. So, I made it to water aerobics. To anyone who thinks water aerobics is for wimps, you're kind of correct in that it is better on the joints and doesn't overheat you but it is definitely exercise. I've found it is something I can do even if I have a sinus headache because the cool water feels good on my head.

Who needs the gym?

Who needs the gym when I can run my ass off at work? I had to work an extra shift this week because one of the other supervisors was on vacation. We were flat out busy as hell with all sorts of craziness going on in multiple areas. Some of those hallways can be pretty long and I was speed-walking all day yesterday through those hallways. I can't count every day at work as aerobic exercise but I'm sure as hell counting yesterday as exercise.

Water Aerobics

I made it to the gym today. When I first started going, I discovered that I enjoyed water aerobics but my carpal tunnels became inflamed from using the barbells so I stopped for a while. I like water aerobics; I'm the least obese in the class. I don't get as overheated in the pool. But being only 5'1" I have to be careful not to bounce my way into water over my head and get water up my nose...very unattractive. Helga, the German aerobics instructor, is quite a taskmistress (and not in a good sort of whips and chains way). I can't understand a damn word she says because her accent is so thick. OK, her name isn't Helga but I since can't understand her I made up a name. I don't much care for changing clothes in the locker room. I've always been kind of shy about that but will do it if I have to. I know, I know, guys romanticize about women's locker rooms but it's not like Porky's (remember Kim Cattrall). Most of the women in there are pretty average or fat and flabby. I like that in a gym; I don't have to set my goals too high.

What a Girl Won't Do to Avoid Exercise

I was going to go to the gym today. Honest, I was. I was getting ready to take a shower so Mike and I could go play at Ikea when I was suddenly hit with that really bad psycho sinus pain that makes me nauseated, panicky, and makes my legs shaky. I haven't had that since May so I thought maybe I wasn't going to be blessed with that kind of pain anymore. At least I wasn't at work this time and could go to bed with an ice bag on my head and a Lortab in my stomach. God I was nauseated. I laid there rubbing my feet together until I fell asleep. I've always done that; rubbed my feet together as a kind of self-hypnosis when I'm in pain. The nurse in me always tries to diagnose what the hell just happened but its impossible. I do know that I get pain with big barometric pressure changes and there is storm coming. Thank heaven the pain is better now and what the hell, it got me out of going to the gym. I tried going once when I was having mild to moderate sinus pain but I got so nauseated that I've decided that idea sucks worse than exercise.

One day at the gym down two to go...

I am constantly looking for an excuse not to go to the gym. Yesterday, I didn't go because it was my first of four days off and I decided I was allowed to rest. In my defense, I have a mild sinus infection and had been working with fevers and pain the last few days (more than my usual), but frankly if I let that stop me I'll never go because I have pain and fevers pretty much every day. I want to go at least three times this week; my week starts on Saturday because that's how our payroll works. Anyway, this morning I had a protein-fruit smoothie and went to the gym. Hooray for me! I am finding I have to work harder on the treadmill to get my heart-rate up. When I started at the gym in February the damn treadmill kept slowing itself down because it thought I was going to have a heart attack when my heart-rate went above 150. Now I'm going faster than before with a heart-rate in the high 130's-low 140's. I still can't run on that thing; I'll fall on my ass.

Back to work we go

This week at work was not bad at all. Utah has a state holiday on the 24th of July called Pioneer Day. It is a bigger deal than the 4th of July because the local Mormons are more proud of their heritage than their country's. The hospital census was below 80% the whole week which isn't good for the budget but my job was a heck of a lot easier. I was able to fill almost all of the staffing needs all three of my shifts. I was bored out of my everlovin' mind.

I damn near talked myself into going to the gym today. Thank God I took a nap instead.

Camping in Wyoming

I'm sure purists among you would not call what we do camping but I've been there done that took my morning bath with river water after hiking several miles to camp. Now we camp with a trailer with a kitchen, bathroom, TV and with any luck...internet access. So we couldn't access the internet, we still had fun and were away from camp tooling around Yellowstone or Teton National Park most of the time. We spent four days at the Star Valley Ranch RV park. The sites were shady and level but there was no grass. It is a huge RV park with a swimming pool, tennis courts and golf course; none of which we used. We had a nice time. Yellowstone and Teton were beautiful. We saw mostly Bison but at the end of the day when photography was impossible we saw herds and herds of Elk. Mike has a waterfall fetish so we went to the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone. The hike down to the lower falls was a bitch especially the hike out but we made it. We were shocked to discover that we were not sore from our hiking the next day. Now we've no excuses not to hike more because if we can do that without orthopedic consequences then we should be able to do more.

The Gym

I've lost about 25 pounds since January. That's not exactly a great accomplishment. I've done it before. The 25 pound mark is usually where I get stuck, give up and any number of excuses. This time is the first time I've joined a gym, however. I'm paying monthly for the membership so by God I'm going to go at least once a week. I know, I know...its supposed to be at least three times per week. And that is my ultimate goal but I cannot or will not go on the days that I leave for work at 6 A.M. and get home at 8 P.M. So that leaves three days a week out. Work is a good excuse for not going to the gym, I'm still working on my other excuses. Mike and I are going camping up near Jackson Hole for four days. So I only have today to go to the gym. Its taken me about four hours to get dressed to go to the gym. As soon as Crossing Jordan is over I am going if I have to kick myself in the ass to get me there!