Wow! What was that owie? You guys know me by now – pretty high pain threshold – so when something hurts, something has to be wrong. At the moment, my entire left side of joints is out of whack and my friends on Facebook are telling me it’s from our 19-hour drive on Friday. Stay tuned for a more-expert opinion…
I’ve been put on notice by one of my dearest friends to never do a drive like that again without a good store of rest in my tank. Thanks, Phil. You’re a real pal. I’ll do my best to rest up after the wedding and be in better shape when we arrive home than when we arrived here.
Through all of the Facebook back and forth, my aunt saw my predicament and offered her physical therapy diagnosis. She was certain of it when I said that even my big toe joints are red and tender, so I’m going to proceed based on her expertise in her field. Driving with one leg out and the other tucked away pinches your sciatic nerve and causes swelling and spasms all the way down to your big toe. My left shoulder is out of whack out of sheer lack of movement, but everything else is connected to that nerve: my left hip just started after church and feels like it’s on fire, my left knee, the left side of my neck, and both of my big toes feel arthritic.
Her remedy includes icing the areas to reduce the swelling and getting electrical stimulation at the chiropractor tomorrow. No need for a cortisone shot or anything drastic like that. Physiologically, she said the same thing happens to her when she drives from TX to OH, so she knows of this drive I just did from FL to OH. On our return trip, I’ll be sure to get out and walk every 2-3 hours… more than just around the back of the car to get gas.
It’s “nice” to have “normal” peoples’ problems. It doesn’t happen very often. I wart here, an ingrown hair there, and an occasional hemorrhoid or cyst just about wraps up the totality of the non-CF-related issues I’ve gone to my PCP for since I was 18.
What “normal” aches and pains or things have you started to experience as a result of living past your life expectancy?
It might be Gout.
Sorry, but not likely did I suddenly come down with gout after family confirmed the same symptoms after similar drives. It may be for others with these symptoms, but i’d put it as less than a 1% chance in a CFer with no history of joint pain like this.