Finally starting to feel a bit back to "normal" (well, at least as good as I felt maybe a month ago). Coincidentally (or not), two things happened today that I think influenced this - 1) I finally found a spot on my back that, once moved (via pressure from a tennis ball) may have corrected the back pain I've been feeling for the last couple weeks (more on that in a minute), and 2) it got up to 66°F today so I got my cycle out & went for a ride. It was warm enough for just a t-shirt & jeans, and it felt great - I didn't realize how much I'd been missing it.
So, in the last 3 weeks the back pain that I said was getting both better and worse, has just been getting worse. I've been unable to do any upper body pressing (horizontal or vertical), and was concerned that back squats/deadlifts might make it worse, so I haven't worked out since. I tried walking, but the misalignment has also made my right hip feel like it's out of place, and a 2 mile walk was difficult - my hip was sore for 2 days afterwards.
The worst part of it was that 2 weeks ago, the chiro gave me some stretching exercises he wanted me to work on every day - nothing major, and in total they take less than 10 minutes. I expressed my concern that my back misalignment would create a problem with a couple of them due to the reduced range of motion in my shoulder. He said that's what the exercises are meant to help with, so i tried to do them. I managed to get through them on days 1, 3, and 4, but it made my back so much worse that I gave up. Been taking motrin constantly for the last week, and the pain's been affected my sleep as well. Anyway, I go back next Wednesday (not tomorrow), and I'm going to tell him I'll only start doing them again once he's sorted my back alignment out. I still believe he can 'fix' my back, but I should've listened to my body rather than just trying to follow his instructions.
I've also been frustrated with my ring app, because while it's telling me that I have sleep issues, I haven't been able to discern any kind of pattern or commonality between habits & bad nights of sleep (aside from the ever-present pain, which I know can be a big issue). I've tried going to bed earlier to allow more time for sleep, but it still shows me as tossing & turning all night. I've tried taking two sleeping pills, for a week, taking one for a week, and taking none occasionally (which never works during the week, only on weekends). This week I've started trying something new, I'm making sure I don't have any coffee after 11am or so. Usually, I'd have it at 6am, 9 am, and 12:30-1pm, with the thought that the caffeine would help improve my after-work workouts. Now I'm having it at 6am and 9am, and am usually done by 10:30am at the latest, so I'll see how this goes.
Last week, one of the brake shoes on the rear of my car came loose & the brakes started grinding, so I had to take it in to the shop. I had an idea it was going to be expensive, but man... The original estimate (for only the rear brakes, mind you), was $950! I talked them into applying one of their online 'sales' discounts, which dropped it to $850, and I got a free loaner car to use. Fortunately, two of the parts they thought they'd have to replace were repairable, which brought the cost down to $630 - still a lot of money, but better than the 1st quote. Still, that's a lot of bread. Hopefully, nothing else goes wrong with this car for a while.
I'm sure there's more, but I'm burnt out now. Wasn't even going to write anything (as it just feels pointless at the moment), but my last two entries were somewhat useless for remembering why I might have been all bummed out again. At least now I'll remember why.
Oh, and I still haven't had a drink. I think it's been over 3 months now? (Yep, end of March will make 4 months.) I'm waiting until next month to decide whether I want to again, because my annual goal is to have three months per year where I don't drink, so last year's December doesn't count. I may go for longer, but when i was out on the cycle tonight, I found myself wanting to stop off for a beer. That's become kind of a habit, and one I used to enjoy, so maybe once the weather improves, I'll start that up again, but in a new way? I'm thinking, pick a distant city, ride there, have one or two beers with a meal, then head home. Might make for some good weekend road trips?
Gods, I feel like this entry is just stupid. I wonder why?
5:41 p.m. - 2021-03-09
Recent entries:
Making sense of traumas. - 2021-04-08
Third experiment confirmed, and Covid at work - 2021-04-05
Good news / bad news. - 2021-04-03
Rays of hope. - 2021-04-01
Today's random thought: - 2021-03-12
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