Notes From Under the House

For the past six weeks I’ve been suffering with back pain.  It’s mostly on my right side. The pain is most acute when I’m sitting down.  When I’m sitting at my desk at work or at home, when I’m driving, or even sitting on the sofa I can only sit for so long before I start shifting around.  Bending over or standing up (and walking), basically stretching seems to ease the pain somewhat.  We saw a film over the weekend (first one in over a month), and I was only able to sit comfortably for a limited time.  When I’m lying down flat on my back is the only time I get complete relief.  Weird.  I finally went to the doctor and had x-rays taken and found out that I have arthritis.   My doctor gave me a referral for an orthopedic surgeon with whom I have a consultation next month.  There are different forms of arthritis (Mr. C has rheumatoid arthritis in his knee), and once I see the specialist I’ll find out what kind and how debilitating mine is.  I guess then it’ll really sink in.  In the meantime, I was given a prescription for Diclofenac, a form of Motrin that hasn’t eased the pain at all, but has made me throw up.  Yesterday I had to go back over to St. Joe’s to get a different prescription this time for Celebrex.  The nurse told me to give it a week or two before it starts taking effect.  Geez, I need fast acting relief now.