Sciatica Rears Its Ugliness

I was hoping to get more done yesterday but I suffered a massive flare-up of sciatica down my left side. The left side doesn't bother me usually but when it does, it's akin to having  shingles episode. Yes, it's that painful. Painful enough to wake me up at 3 am. No position is comfortable, except maybe standing and slow walking. It's hard to dress yourself if bending over hurts. Even laying down offers no relief. I tried doing stretches recommended for sciatica but it was too painful to even pull my knee up, much less cross it over the opposite leg. No way to bring my knees to my chest without crying out.

It's my cardio day but I'm barely able to get myself to the gym. Even stuffing my gear into the locker had me grimacing. I get on the cross-trainer for 25 minutes of easy pedaling. That doesn't hurt. But trying to get down on the floor in the Aerobics Room is another story. Once I'm down, I find every position I try elicits painful protest from the center of the left glute all the way down to the sole. I manage some crunches and bird dogs but that's all I can manage without actually crying.

Yesterday I did pick up the compost bin but it needs to be assembled and anchored in the yard to keep raccoons from tipping it over and ransacking decaying contents. I also dropped a bag of clothes off at Good Will and shopped for new sheets for my son's bed: he's partial to dog or puppy themes. So I accomplished what I set out to do, but I had wanted to assemble the compost bin as well. That'll have to wait.

Showering felt great, but getting undressed and redressed was exhausting, with me breathing hard and deep. I had a doctor's appointment to recheck my blood work: I'm hoping that filtering my coffee, and eating oatmeal and prunes would drop my total level as well as the LDL level. They're both too high. Naturally, my blood pressure was also a bit high at 130/80 since every time I tried to sit down, there was throbbing pain that ran down my entire left leg. My doc writes me a prescription for gabapentin, to be taken with ibuprofen so I can sleep at night. Just like when I had shingles not that long ago... Tomorrow I've got to dose my dogs before I take them to the vet: one needs finally to have blood work done, and both should get bordatella vaccinations (oral). Kennel cough appears to be making the rounds with dogs we're friendly with.

11 Aug 2021
Sciatic Flareup Wednesday

LF cross-trainer
20 min + 5 cool down
Program Manual 1
HR 114-140
Cal 190
Distance 2.30

Crunches 60
**Piriformis Stretch is painful!
Bird Dogs 60s x 2