Blinding pain and the hospital: just another weekend with Ogre.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Last weekend, I stepped on a rusty thumbtack. Tetanus shot.

This morning, I got in the shower, moved my head in what seemed at the time to be a perfectly routine manner, and suddenly was nearly brought to my knees by blinding pain. I thought I had broken my neck, or at least pushed a cervical disc out of place somehow. My neck would no longer move in one direction. My fiancee is out of town, and this little podunk nothin’ of a town doesn’t really even have an ambulance service, so I was forced to drive myself to the emergency room, nearly in tears from the pain, where I was triaged for two hours before they even called my name. I nearly passed out trying to stand still for X-rays, and vomited from the pain more than once.

It turned out to be one bitch of a muscle spasm. Never happened before. It still hurts like a mother, but at least I have a muscle relaxer and a heating pad.

Christ. I used to look forward to weekends.

2

I had one of those once.

It took a couple of weeks, at least, to settle back down even close to normal. God, that hurt like hell. You have my sympathy.

3

If you can, get a couple of therapeutic massages. I speak from my own woeful experience.

So… slayed one too many knights?

4

How was the drive? Interesting?

5

MY sympathy about having to drive yourself. I once had to drive myself to the hospital(when I lived in East Lansing, MI). I was having severe abdominal pain. Thank heavens it was a straight shot down Michicgan Ave to Sparrow General. I pulled up to the Emergency entrance and a guard came out to see why(It was the wee small hours). I was double over in pain, so he just took my keys and parked for me. I had to wait a while too, and was trying not to make a scene. Someone who was ahead of me went up to the window and said I should be taken on in as I seemed to be in worse shape than they were.

Michiganders are great!

Ogre, what muscle relaxant did you have prescribed? And is the heating pad working? I was afraid, what with the nail and all, that it was tetanus related, in spite of having the shot.

6

Well, I *thought * I threw by back out grinding that one dude’s bones to make my bread…

Hideous. I couldn’t turn my head to the left.

Christ. Don’t say that. I was trying not to worry about that. Ugh.

The drug they gave me was the ominously-named Soma…and thus far, it has most definitely not made me happy. Oh, and by the way,

God, they aren’t lying.

7

I’ve found that ice works a lot better on muscle spasms than heat, at least at first. I had a nasty one in my hip yesterday and iced it down yesterday evening, and it’s much better today.

The ice isn’t as nice feeling as a heating pad, though.

Good luck. Owie.

8

Thanks! It’s the least we can do!
I’ve been to that hospital w/ a gal who had whacked her head but good and was having trouble staying conscious. I drove while talking to her nonstop to make sure she didn’t pass out permanently.

I occasionally get the neck twinge from hell, and just for fun I can accidentally pull my left pectoral muscle at the drop of a hat. It’s a blast, feels like a heart attack w/o all the fun.