On Monday, the pain was really bad. I had probably done too much standing up over the weekend - I was baking treats to take to a party (since I always pride myself on making something homemade rather than buying a bag of chips or whatever), and then going to the mall to return some things I had bought online.
So on Monday the pain was pretty bad. I called up the office of the sports medicine doctor that I had previously seen, to try and get an appointment that day. They said he was unavailable until Wednesday, so I asked if I could see another doctor in the practice - there are about 10 doctors in that practice. And I was told no, because I am “his patient,” and therefore I can’t see anyone else.
So I looked for a new primary care physician. Using the website for my health insurance, I managed to find a doctor who was taking new patients and was available to see me that same day.
After explaining the entire situation to her (and telling her the other doctor’s response), she asked me a few questions, and felt my muscles, asking where it was hurting. She concluded that it was a massive case of muscle tears, and I had to just take it easy until they healed. She said that cases like this can sometimes take months. I asked if it was possible that I had some kind of permanent damage, and she said she didn’t think so. She had me get some blood work done, because it could show if any muscle breakdown was showing up in the blood, or something like that.
So when I asked for advice on how to get around without aggravating the muscles, she said to stop all exercise (which I am already doing) and to take things slowly - like if I was trying to do a household chore, just do a little at a time, with breaks in between. She also advised me to drink lots of fluids, including Gatorade, for the electrolytes.
Just to be sure, I also saw my gynecologist to ask about blood clots in the legs. After explaining my situation to her, she said it didn’t seem like blood clots because you usually feel them in the back of the leg, not the front, and the other symptoms didn’t quite match up either. She did write me a prescription (or whatever it’s called) to get a test done to check for clots just in case, but I haven’t done it yet because I was waiting for the blood test to come back.
I called on Friday to ask about the tests, and just spoke to someone working in the doctor’s office, but not the doctor herself. She said that the only thing the tests showed was that I was low in vitamin D, and I should start taking a 1000 IU supplement of D3. I asked if this was related to the muscle pain or if it was something they had just coincidentally happened to find. At first I don’t think she understood my question, and then she said that it might help with the pain, but I’m not sure if she was just making something up or what. But I went to Rite Aid and bought some D3, which I have been taking daily. The only other thing she said was that the doctor wanted me to come back in 4 weeks, so I made another appointment.
So that’s where I stand. I am feeling seriously depressed about the whole thing, and the thought of continuing like this for months makes me want to cry. I can barely walk, and can’t stand up for more than a few minutes at a time. All I do all day long (when not at work) is sit at the computer and surf or watch YouTube videos. I used to enjoy cooking healthy meals, but now am resorting to simple dinners with more processed ingredients, simply because it means less preparation and less cleanup (although I am able to do some things by sitting at a stool in front of the stove and/or sink).
My mom came over last week to clean the house for me, and next week I have a cleaning service coming (I got a Living Social coupon, similar to Groupon, for the service). And I guess my mom will come back the week after that. But I am still having difficulty with the day-to-day cleaning, and it has been causing a lot of tension in my marriage - Mr. Ipsum seems to think I am no longer doing my fair share of the household chores. He does the laundry, bed-making, taking out the garbage and a few other things, and the kitchen, bathrooms and vacuuming have always been my thing. His opinion seems to be that I am a wuss that just can’t handle a bit of pain - but I am afraid that every time I stand up too much and cause pain, that I am just delaying my recovery.
Has anyone gone through anything like this? Is Gatorade and vitamin D going to help or am I kidding myself? I can believe that a serious muscle injury will take a while to heal, but the problem is, it’s impossible to entirely avoid using my legs, short of buying a wheelchair. In the spring I had a muscle injury that lingered - I was doing an arm exercise, and accidentally did the same arm twice instead of doing once on each arm (don’t ask). So that shoulder was sore for about 2 months. I avoided doing that particular exercise again, although other arm exercises probably aggravated it too. It didn’t hurt all the time, but during certain movements. But since I can get through my day without moving my arm in that particular way, eventually it did get better. I am starting to doubt that my legs will ever get better.
Today I was doing some baking - again, it’s a long story, but it was something special that I didn’t want to cancel. And since I had to do a lot of standing up, my legs have been hurting all day again. I ended up taking a bath for the first time in about 20 years because I couldn’t stand up long enough to take a shower. So I am starting to doubt that I will ever be in a situation where I can just spend weeks at a time sitting down and not have to get up and walk, to let my legs recover. Is it possible that they can still get better even if I have to stand/walk?
And of course, I am worried about the health problems I might cause by being so sedentary. Right now I feel between a rock and a hard place with no way out. 
I have started seen a psychologist about my depression, but I am hoping that someone here may have some words of comfort too. Am I ever going to get better?
