Ach...ache

From Sundy:

Monday, I woke up with the most horrific pain right under my shoulderblade. It hurt to turn my head from side to side; it hurt to raise my arms to the level of my shoulder...it just plain hurt. I didn't want to run straight to the doctor if I could take care of it myself, so I used some of the frugal home remedies that my time in the trenches of motherhood has taught me.

I filled an odd sock with rice, knotted the top, and microwaved it for about a minute. It made a nice spot of heat to apply to my shoulder. I like these better than a heating pad, because A) they are cheaper, B) easily made and applied, and C) I can't leave one on too long, because they naturally cool off after just the right amount of time.

Nope, no relief.

I put my back to the door jamb and tried to massage it out. Then when my hubby came home, I had him try to massage it out.

Nope, no relief.

Then there's ibuprofen (an anti-inflammatory). I was once offered prescription strength Motrin (800 mg) at the hospital after a sprain. I turned it down when I realized that I could buy 250 OTC tablets of 200 mg ibuprofen (which makes basically 60+ doses) for a much cheaper price than fifteen 800 mg pills for $10 copay. So I tried three OTC ibuprofen tablets (600 mg total).

Nope, no relief.

So, I drank a cup of very, very strong chamomile tea and promptly went to sleep. I am a major light-weight, I know! ;) Melatonin is my alternate sleep aid, and I usually have to cut the pill in half!

The second day, the spasm was worse, spreading like a bar from one shoulderblade to the other. I could not even drive, without some serious pain, much less sit at my computer at work, so I called in.

I again tried all of my frugal tricks to loosen the spasm, but no dice. I even upped the ibuprofen to 800 mg. Nope. So after several hours, I decided that I would go see the doctor. Because even mommies have a limit to how much they can take. ;)

And let me explain...I'm not exactly a wimp when it comes to pain. I've endured much worse (childbirth comes vividly to mind), but this was the kind of pain that is a steady dull thump when you're sitting still, and a big ole smackeroo when you move...the kind of pain that makes you a bit nauseous, if you know what I'm talking about....

So when I got to my doctor, I explained everything I'd already tried, and he gave me a mild muscle relaxant to try, with a second prescription for pain "in case." Hopefully, this will do the trick. $10 copay to the doctor, and $8 and change for the two prescriptions. Not too bad, but I would have liked to have used that $18 for something for the family.

A friend seriously questioned why I hadn't just gone to the doctor immediately. The only thing I can really say is that usually my frugal home remedies work, and I don't need to shell out for the doctor's copay and the prescriptions. Also, as I was neither bleeding nor on fire, it wasn't enough of an urgent care need to me to warrant an immediate doctor visit.

So, yes...I did stay in pain for a few days while I tried to fix it on my own; however, I DID go to the doctor after only a few days. Most of the time, I don't even go to the doctor at all -- probably not such a good thing either....but there ya go.