I have long wanted to go on a staycation. To book a weekend stay at a nice hotel in the city, have a fancy dinner, order room service, and veg out on comfy beds and luxe sheets. Inside a cool room all day long. Well, Alfred would say that I finally did it, and for an entire week too.
Problem is, I didn't spend the week in a hotel. I've been a patient at the Capitol Medical Center.
My rehab doctor advised bed rest, stronger pain medication and twice daily therapy to manage the pain. They also did an EMG and an MRI. Both tests basically confirmed an impinged nerve due to slipped disc. That's no news to me. I am going home today although I can still hardly sit up nor stand for too long. I guess they can do nothing more for me and they haven't advised surgery just yet. I go for two more weeks of thrice weekly therapy then I'll see the doctors again.
I will also need to seriously lose weight. Being heavy is making matters worse. Like that's easy, no?
Alfred is my bedside nurse, though he sleeps a lot, he's been helping me get a proper bath.
My parents have kept me company here, too.
My nieces and nephew have also been by.
FaceTime with my nephew was a regular happy event. 🙂
Hospital food wasn't bad at all. Actually, I feel like they should have deprived me a little.
The bed and the room does not feel new. But the A/C works just fine and I have a refrigerator, cabinets and my own small toilet and bath. The nurses have been nice and friendly, so is my therapist.
But they don't have Wi-fi so I rely on Globe for connectivity. Rather than spend so much time on my gadgets, I read books and crocheted. Mostly though, I'd been sleeping.
So anyway, that's how and where I've been. How about you?
I don’t think I’d ever looked forward to the First of April as much as I did for today. April 1 couldn’t come too soon for me. It was the first day of my fourth set of treatments for lower back pain.
Last treatment was early December, so I am still thankful for over three months of relatively minimal pain. In the last two weeks though, pain started to escalate. On Thursday night, I dared say that it was nearly as bad as the first time I experienced it back in August last year. The pain killers just don’t seem to work anymore. I knew that it would just get worse until I could get some therapy.
I wish I could say that there was relief right after the first session. So far, things are the same. But I have full confidence that soon, things will be better. Currently, I am wearing sacro-lumbar support – it’s like a corset that you strap on. But I’m so big that I need another person to help pull it just to get it on. The boyfriend is just the perfect person for it – muscle man (without the muscles)! Hehe.
So… I know did not end on a high note, but it’s no reason to be fearful for what’s to come in April. Besides, how can it not be a good month, when you’ve got this little angel ushering it in?
Amir and his parents were here for the long weekend. He ran all around our little home, and I just watched him from the couch because I couldn’t run after him, haha. He fills our days with so much joy whenever he’s here. They left on Easter Sunday which was the only time the entire Holy Week that the house got quiet.
I finished my second round of Physical Therapy sessions over two weeks ago. That meant I have completed 24 sessions of the back strengthening program. Was it successful? Well, it helped me. Definitely. I can stand straight and walk, I sleep better.
About a week or so before I finished with my sessions, the pain started coming back, and more often too. I told my therapist about it, but she couldn’t offer me anything really. I decided to just take it up with the doctor when I see him. Then I remembered that I will need to go see a different doctor; my HMO no longer allowed me to have outpatient services at St. Luke’s QC (the hospital a stone’s throw away from home, and where I was born too).
So seeing the doctor took awhile. I only went in to see the new doctor last week and only because I’d been complaining of the pain more and more lately. My new doctor looks very respectable, and credible. But he made me wait four hours. Today, I waited almost three hours. More reading time for me. So he’s good, I think he is. He asked me if I was ready to have my back opened, I said no. “Of course”, he said, “I think we can try another combination of medicines.”
He gave me what I call Pain Medication v.2. Instead of one tablet of Arcoxia daily, I now take Cerebrex twice daily, with Lyrica. Lyrica, I was told, desensitizes my nerves so I don’t feel pain too easily. If the pain is still a little too much to handle, I get to take Dolcet upto four times a day. So far I’ve only had to take Dolcet twice (just took a pop while typing this). Lyrica also tends to make one drowsy. So I’ve been sleeping a lot, which maybe also tricks me into thinking my back hasn’t been painful, because I’m not awake to feel it. Ha!
His advise also includes losing 30-40 pounds. That would likely allow me to escape the need for an operation. Like it was that easy! Ugh.
I was advised to check myself into the hospital in case the pain persisted until Saturday (first visit was Thursday), otherwise I was to report back to the clinic on Tuesday the 27th. I was also to take an LOA from work for one to two weeks pending treatment. That was the toughest advise, I think. Although I love any excuse to stay home, I just can’t leave work for very long. But I wasn’t about to argue with the doctor; I don’t want my back condition to worsen.
Saturday came. I wasn’t in too much pain so I decided to stay home. Tuesday came and I headed to the hospital early. 30 mins prior the 10AM clinic opening hour, I was already there. Armed with a book, I waited. Almost three hours later, I met with the Doc again. He obviously read my file already, and he said that it looks like the combo of medicine was good for me. After all, I didn’t rush to the hospital on Saturday. I said yes, it seems the pain level decreased. When I felt pain, I just adjusted my position.
The verdict: keep taking the meds, but I shouldn’t take Cerebrex for more than a month. After a month, I’ll have to rest before taking it again. I should also go back for more PT. After the sessions, the rehab doctor can give a recommendation for fit to work (although I think I’ve already decided to go back after only a week and a half of rest, we’ll see). If after another round of therapy I still am not happy with the results, I am to go back to the Doc with the PT’s assessment.
If after this third round I am not happy, I’d seriously consider an operation. Ugh.
When I started sharing my love for HN products again this year, one of the most in-demand product was the new Strawberry Hand & Foot Salve. Before that though, HN already had a staple in its roster of products, the Eucalyptus Hand & Foot Salve. Now it has been repackaged, with a new minty scent, that has oregano, spearmint, and lemon balm extracts.
It promises to soothe dry, cracked skin, giving a mild cooling sensation for a truly relaxing and refreshing experience.
Many hand and foot creams and salves in the market right now use synthetic feel modifiers. Feel modifiers are petroleum by-product ingredients, like silicone and dimethicone. These sit in a layer on top of your skin keeping the moisture in but at the same time, clogging your pores and trapping in sebum, dirt and bacteria.
According to www.ewg.org, there is insufficient toxicity data to know if dimethicone and silicone are safe for use in personal care products. So why use them at all?
Our salve contains none of these feel modifiers. Instead, we use premium all-natural plant oils to give soothing and softening relief to your hands and feet. Here’s an overnight treat for dry skin and cracked cuticles: After applying our 100% Natural Hand & Foot Salve on your hands and feet, put on socks and gloves before you go to bed. Voila! Softer, refreshed skin when you wake up. ?
I personally prefer the sweet scent of strawberry, but the minty Eucalyptus would be perfect for those looking for a more relaxing, soothing feel to their salve.
As always, contact me for orders of any and all Human Heart Nature products.
*Photos and quoted text from Human Heart Nature’s Facebook page.
Finally! Human Heart Nature releases a facial wash that is specially formulated for the Filipino Man!
The very first product in this range is our 100% Natural Oil-Fighting Face Wash. It’s formulated with the right amounts of premium bamboo carbon to fight dirt and oil build-up as well as deep-cleansing bamboo scrubs for a clean, clear complexion. It also has energizing menthol to leave men’s skin feeling cool and refreshed.
So I guess there will be more products under the Pure Strength range for men. That is exciting to know. The boyfriend has switched from one product to another through the years. Sometimes, he would use whatever scrub or wash I was using at the time. He actually likes the Human Nature Balancing Facial Wash as well. I ordered this for him to try and so far, he has no complaints.
If you’d like to order this for yourself, or for the men in your lives, message me and we can setup delivery or pick up. I may throw in free delivery for orders exceeding 500 pesos in total.
Should you want to order through the Human Heart Nature website, use this link to purchase with a 10% discount courtesy of yours truly: Buy Human Nature!
