I so want to take care of my little place; to dust everyday, vacuum at least once a week, change and launder the bedding, do regular laundry, clean the floors. It's not a lot to expect of oneself or of life generally, but my chronic back pain has become so bad that even the movements involved in dusting are causing acute flare-ups.
When I asked my doctor a couple of months ago for help with pain management, she put me on Gabapentin. The new treatment worked initially. It reduced the level of chronic pain from 7 (out of 10) to 5 or 6. That was sufficient to enable me to do more light housework more frequently. But it did nothing for the (level 9) flare-ups of acute pain, which are increasing in frequency and duration; the most recent lasted five days. Likely the increased activity encouraged by the easing of pain is aggravating the underlying condition.
My doctor upped the dose, but I've felt no appreciable difference.
It feels so good to be able to do the small ordinary tasks that keep my little place clean and shining. But I hurt and don't know how much longer I can keep doing this.
Showing posts with label Disability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disability. Show all posts
Thursday, December 23, 2010
SAFER Means...
a vacuum cleaner!
While I posted Wanted messages for a vacuum cleaner several times to my local Recycle/ReUseIt online site, it never resulted in my getting one I could use: an upright cleaner that is powerful but lightweight.
Finally getting rental assistance through SAFER has meant being able to get this little gem:
I'd intended to wait to the next day to try it out, knowing the trip there and back and my early-morning housework would have done me in and caused flaring up of the pain.
Do you think I followed through on that intention?
Of course not. After friend Daisy left - she had taken me to London Drugs to get the vacuum cleaner and helped with the unpacking and assembly -, objects were moved out of the way, including a 30lb bag of kitty litter.
Vacuuming ensued. Pain soared.
Did I stop?
Of course not. Objects again were moved and the mop and floor cleaning solution came out.
Mopping ensued. Pain spiked close to level 10.
But my little place was cleaner and more shiny than it had been in a very long time. Kinda made the pain almost endurable.
No. I guess it didn't.
While I posted Wanted messages for a vacuum cleaner several times to my local Recycle/ReUseIt online site, it never resulted in my getting one I could use: an upright cleaner that is powerful but lightweight.
Finally getting rental assistance through SAFER has meant being able to get this little gem:
Do you think I followed through on that intention?
Of course not. After friend Daisy left - she had taken me to London Drugs to get the vacuum cleaner and helped with the unpacking and assembly -, objects were moved out of the way, including a 30lb bag of kitty litter.
Vacuuming ensued. Pain soared.
Did I stop?
Of course not. Objects again were moved and the mop and floor cleaning solution came out.
Mopping ensued. Pain spiked close to level 10.
But my little place was cleaner and more shiny than it had been in a very long time. Kinda made the pain almost endurable.
No. I guess it didn't.
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