Friday, June 13, 2008
Sidelined
Just a quick update - I have a bone scan in two weeks. In the meantime, I still have pain in my left leg which I'm sure is something more than shin splints. So I continue to ride the stationary bike and do resistance training. Funny thing is, I'm starting to lose weight again! So there's an upside to everything. And I'm looking at bikes. I hate to spend the money but I could get some great exercise riding to work every morning. There are bike trails almost the whole way downtown....
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
These Legs Were Made for Running...Not?
Well, I saw the doctor today. I still have the pain in my right leg. Enough pain that it hurts to go down the stairs. Even after two days of recovery. He felt all around my lower leg until he found the pain and it went all up the inside of my leg - probaby that posterior tibalis muscle again.
But I said it was worse and different from before and that made him decide to take an X-ray to see if I had a stress fracture.
It looks like it's easy to get a stress fracture, especially if you haven't trained enough or if you have changed your training significantly. I changed from the treadmill to outdoor trails, and I was trying to increase my mileage, and my speed. But maybe my bones couldn't take all the pressure!
The doctor had an X-ray machine in his office so they were able to X-ray my legs and view them right on the computer. There didn't appear to be any fractures visible, but there was some very slight build up on the inside of each tibia, right where my pain has been. The bone has a slight curved area to it, which could suggest a recent fracture that has healed. Apparently it is not easy to detect a stress fracture, especially with an x-ray. So I am now going to get a bone scan which sounds like an ordeal in and of itself.
I explained to my boys last night I might have "broken" my bone in my leg. My two year old said I broke my toe and had to go to the hospital. I asked him where he had heard about going to the hospital, and he said proudly, "Caillou!" (the PBS cartoon). I explained I wasn't going to the hospital. But now, for the bone scan, I do have to go to the hospital. I told my two year old he was right after all. Now he wants to go with me.
I was slightly disappointed the x-ray didn't show anything because this has been so frustrating for me. At least if I knew what the problem was I could do something about it, even if it is to drop out of the marathon training (I would still see if I could do the half....). If the bone scan doesn't show anything, I'm looking at an MRI, possibly.
All so I can jog slowly for a few miles like a crazy person. It's what I love to do. After family and work, it's all I have. If you are a runner, you'll understand....
But I said it was worse and different from before and that made him decide to take an X-ray to see if I had a stress fracture.
It looks like it's easy to get a stress fracture, especially if you haven't trained enough or if you have changed your training significantly. I changed from the treadmill to outdoor trails, and I was trying to increase my mileage, and my speed. But maybe my bones couldn't take all the pressure!
The doctor had an X-ray machine in his office so they were able to X-ray my legs and view them right on the computer. There didn't appear to be any fractures visible, but there was some very slight build up on the inside of each tibia, right where my pain has been. The bone has a slight curved area to it, which could suggest a recent fracture that has healed. Apparently it is not easy to detect a stress fracture, especially with an x-ray. So I am now going to get a bone scan which sounds like an ordeal in and of itself.
I explained to my boys last night I might have "broken" my bone in my leg. My two year old said I broke my toe and had to go to the hospital. I asked him where he had heard about going to the hospital, and he said proudly, "Caillou!" (the PBS cartoon). I explained I wasn't going to the hospital. But now, for the bone scan, I do have to go to the hospital. I told my two year old he was right after all. Now he wants to go with me.
I was slightly disappointed the x-ray didn't show anything because this has been so frustrating for me. At least if I knew what the problem was I could do something about it, even if it is to drop out of the marathon training (I would still see if I could do the half....). If the bone scan doesn't show anything, I'm looking at an MRI, possibly.
All so I can jog slowly for a few miles like a crazy person. It's what I love to do. After family and work, it's all I have. If you are a runner, you'll understand....
Monday, June 9, 2008
Help
I limped around this weekend and today at work, feeling grumpy and sorry for myself.
It didn't last long once I was at work, because for what I do, I'm faced with stories of people who are not faring well in these economic times. While politicians refuse to declare a recession, real people are not able to fill their gas tanks, or their stomachs, because of the high cost of everything and the lack of jobs.
My job is to develop policy for welfare programs. These programs were once considered the way to move people from welfare to work. But without jobs, there is no moving to self-sufficiency. Now people who believed that only people who deserved welfare should get it are finding out what we are supposed to do to determine if someone is "deserving" enough.
Unless you have a trust fund that pays your way in this world, many of us are one or two paychecks away from needing help. Every day I read about layoffs, plant closings, lack of food in food pantries, the increasing cost of groceries, the decreasing value of food stamps (they really only last 2 weeks), and the increasing cost of gas, and I worry. I worry about all the people we are supposed to be helping. I worry about the people who are about to need help, and I worry about my own family.
There's no easy answer, except that people need money, and the only way to be able to get enough money to survive is to get a decent paying job. The only way to get a decent paying job is to have a decent education, and have decent paying jobs available where you live. Decent paying jobs need decent health coverage, which costs money. I could go on and on.
The only way I ease my worries is to believe that what I do helps a little bit. It's not the answer, but it's there for people who need help. It's just that there are a LOT of people who need help right now.
It didn't last long once I was at work, because for what I do, I'm faced with stories of people who are not faring well in these economic times. While politicians refuse to declare a recession, real people are not able to fill their gas tanks, or their stomachs, because of the high cost of everything and the lack of jobs.
My job is to develop policy for welfare programs. These programs were once considered the way to move people from welfare to work. But without jobs, there is no moving to self-sufficiency. Now people who believed that only people who deserved welfare should get it are finding out what we are supposed to do to determine if someone is "deserving" enough.
Unless you have a trust fund that pays your way in this world, many of us are one or two paychecks away from needing help. Every day I read about layoffs, plant closings, lack of food in food pantries, the increasing cost of groceries, the decreasing value of food stamps (they really only last 2 weeks), and the increasing cost of gas, and I worry. I worry about all the people we are supposed to be helping. I worry about the people who are about to need help, and I worry about my own family.
There's no easy answer, except that people need money, and the only way to be able to get enough money to survive is to get a decent paying job. The only way to get a decent paying job is to have a decent education, and have decent paying jobs available where you live. Decent paying jobs need decent health coverage, which costs money. I could go on and on.
The only way I ease my worries is to believe that what I do helps a little bit. It's not the answer, but it's there for people who need help. It's just that there are a LOT of people who need help right now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)