Shame, shame, shame

ON ME!!! I have not only been remiss in my blogging, I have been remiss in almost every other area of my life, as well.

This is the point where I now begin the litany of maladies that have prevented me from doing what it is I know I must do. So as not to disappoint, I shall begin by saying that my sciatica has come back with a vengeance. It has prevented me from sleeping, doing stairs, driving long distances, and sitting comfortably. I have not come downstairs to blog or to ride the recumbent, or to do any exercises at all. As one might suspect, the lack of activity has taken a toll on my previous successes. I am about as out of shape and "blubbery" as I have ever been. It's more than slightly depressing. I'm trying to work myself back into some sort of groove, but when I awake at 3:30 every morning in pain, I'm not exactly motivated to get exercising. I know, Excuse #1. When the pain finally subsides, I drive the 7 blocks to the chiropractor, where he uses his elbow to go deep into the tissue to loosen up the "knots". I'm black and blue for days, and it hurts to sit on the bike seat. Excuse #2. There are days I cannot stand to do the stairs. I can get downstairs from the bedroom, but doing another flight just isn't in the cards. Excuse #3. I could go on and on, but instead I bit the bullet and actually went to my regular Doctor.

After making me push and pull various muscles, he came to the conclusion that I do, indeed, have sciatic nerve problems, caused by my bad knee. (Which, due to the sciatica, I'd almost forgotten about.) He's given me prednisone (sp?) for the time being. I only have to get to Nov. 29 when I have my knee replacement, so this is a 6 day pack, with 6 days of residual effect. That will hopefully give me some much needed relief. I just want to sleep more than 3 1/2 hrs. per night. I think the worst part of all of this is my pathetic lack of golf this summer. It has always been the one key component to my exercise regimen. That, may very well be the cause of my blue mood. I've only had one day on the prednisone, so we'll see if relief is on the way. Fingers crossed.

I did try to take a short walk yesterday, but turned back after less than 1/2 block. I thought the stretching would be helpful....I was incorrect. Back to the ice pack again. I'm going to try again this afternoon, so we'll see how far I can get. I'm going with the any progress is good. Even if I only go 3/4 of a block today, it will be an improvement.

I probably should have titled this post "Oh Poor Me!", but I think I've used that before. :)