Bikini Envy

It’s been 5 weeks since I started my new job. The first week was pretty challenging because I was having terrible headaches (it’s been quite a while since I had to be upright typing for full workdays). So, I was taking Advil twice a day every day and rushing home to lay down. But, over the weeks, things seemed to be getting better. I hadn’t had to take any pain medication this entire last week, until Friday…

By 3pm my neck and throat muscles felt stiff, the left side of my tongue had gone numb and I was having pain at the base of my scull. I did get scared of what was happening to me, which probably exacerbated my symptoms, but these symptoms are clearly symptoms that anyone would get scared by, right? So, by 4:30 I was leaving work to get evaluated by ER. I was feeling like I couldn’t swallow correctly, breathing through my nose felt more difficult, I felt pressure in my throat (as if my spine was pushing into it), I had pains shooting down my left arm into my forefinger and thumb (which had already been feeling stiff and achy for several weeks) and my vision was a little fuzzy. I became more and more afraid as the symptoms persisted.

Surprisingly, the ER doctor didn’t perform any tests. She said that someone with my history of injuries should expect to have flare ups like this from time to time. She offered me muscle relaxers, which I refused (I can’t afford to have weak muscles – they’re the only thing holding my neck together) and told me to take 3 Advil, 3 times a day, for 3 days.

I went home that evening and went to sleep, hoping that the following morning I would wake up feeling better – no such luck! Instead, burning and tingling behind my left shoulder blade and an ache in my upper left triceps muscle had been added to my symptoms.

Afraid of going back to work on Monday feeling this way, I had to do something to calm my nerves. I scheduled a therapeutic massage for Sunday afternoon and went about my day, finding things to distract me from the discomfort. I can only remain positive and believe that things will get better eventually.