The Big Pain in My Behind

IT all started Friday morning.  I woke up feeling a little achy, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Until I stood up and tried to walk.  Whoa!!!  

Pain in my lower back and hips.  Serious pain.  Pain that sent me scrambling... ok... hobbling... back to bed with some ibuprofen and a heating pad.  Wondering how in the world I had hurt my back. 

I once heard a comedian joke that you knew you had reached a certain age when you could hurt yourself in your sleep.  Apparently that wasn't a joke.  It's a very real phenomenon.

Once the over the counter pain meds kicked in, the pain was at a tolerable (?) level.  At least enough for me to do something that resembles functioning. 

It was Saturday at the male offspring's guitar recital that I learned sitting for over 30 minutes caused my right leg to start tingling - as if it were falling asleep - all the way down to my foot.  And also increased the pain level in the back and right hip.

Ok, this was not fun.  Not that it was fun in the first place, but now it was really really not fun. 

After 3 days of discomfort, pain, and numbness/tingling  and very little sleep - it was time to call the doctor's office on Monday morning.  The last thing you want to do when you're experiencing what I was going through is a long, long wait in those uncomfortable waiting room chairs, surrounded by people who may or may not be carrying the flu.  But I was just desperate enough for some relief to brave it.

Finally... finally... I was shown to an exam room.  A million questions, and some testing of my reflexes, range of motion and to determine that there was no loss of strength on the right side - I had a diagnosis of sciatica (possibly caused by a slipped disc or a strained back muscle) and a prescription for Prednisone and a muscle relaxer.  Accompanied by orders to limit activity and not to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for about a week to rest my back.

So... yeh...

Hypochondria 2.0?

I've mentioned before that I have had to force myself to stop watching Dr. Oz because I end every episode convinced I have most, or all, of the symptoms for whatever disease/syndrome/infection/condition he was discussing on any given day. 

On the other hand, when I have real symptoms I tend to just blow the off or glaze over them.  I've thrown my back out I don't know how many times in the past couple of years, but I always grit my teeth and self treat with heat, ice, and ibuprofen instead of seeing a doctor or chiropractor about the situation.  I just assume in a few days the whole thing will be a memory.

But, this one has somewhere caught in the middle of the two.

It started with what I thought was a very itchy bug bite on my forearm near my elbow.  A little blister, which popped pretty quickly and scabbed over.  But then a new blister formed right beside the scab.  And popped.  Then another right at the outer edge of those. Which also popped. And every so often would leak a little clear fluid - you know in that way bites do sometimes.  Then last night it was itchy and red all around the scab.  This morning I woke up to this:

I don't think that's good.  It has me concerned.  A Dr. Oz level of concern.  My imagination is running wild with thoughts of MRSA or some flesh eating virus.  While the female off spring has me convinced that I have either a) been bitten by a brown recluse, or b) have West Nile Virus. 

The flip side of paranoia is that if I go to the doctor I will pay for an office visit to be told that it is a slightly infected bug bite - keep it clean and put hydrocortisone on it. 

As that internal debate rages, I cleaned it.  Put some hydrogen peroxide and antibacterial ointment on it, and am now sprouting a very stylish Star Wars band aid.

I think it looks a little better already. Don't you? (please say "yes")