Bicipital Tendinitis

I was not suffering from a pinched nerve after all. According to the Rehab Doctor, I was suffering form Bicipital Tendinitis which in layman terms means inflammation of my bicep tendon. According to my therapist, if it was a pinched nerve, the pain would've been more immense than what I was suffering.

After my acupuncture session last night, I started my physical therapy today. I was given a hot compress, then heat ultrasound and afterwards, some exercises. The exercises were quite painful. We were able to do 10 rotations of my arm and 5 of side rotation--which is more painful.

What caused it? Well, I was very remiss in stretching before my work-out last Monday. I stopped going to the gym for a couple of months and last Monday was my second day back. I foolishly increased the weights on the machines where I did my shoulder press and other arm exercises thinking I can lift them. Unfortunately, I did not stretch properly before my work-out.

Well, now I know and it's a lesson well-learned. I promise to stretch before my work-outs from now on.

Thanks to mdguidelines.com for the picture.

Acupuncture

I'm not a fan of needles. That's why I when I gave birth, I refused the anesthesia until I was 19 hours into labor and with only 6cm in dilation to show. However, as mentioned in my previous post, I was suffering from a bad case of pinched nerves and I haven't had a decent night sleep in 3 days.

I went to Tokyo Healthlink this afternoon to schedule an appointment with a Rehab doctor. I came in at 330PM and was fortunately first in line. I went home afterwards as the doctor won't be in until 530PM. I just returned at 5PM.

When the doctor came and checked my arm, I almost cried when he began twisting and bending my left arm. He asked me if I'm open to acupuncture. I just paused for a bit as I haven't tried it before but I'd try anything to alleviate the pain. Not giving me the chance to change my mind, I was brought into the treatment room.



I was made to lie down on a cot and next thing I knew, needles were being inserted on my forehead, arms, legs and feet. It was not painful at all. In fact, the bite of an ant is more painful. I could immediately feel myself relaxing and that somehow was part of the healing process.

The needles were left in my skin for 20 minutes and after taking them off, the doctor tried stretching my arm. It still hurt but at least the degree of pain is smaller than before.

I'm due to return tomorrow for therapy (hot compress, ultrasound etc. Same as what they did to treat my de Quervain's Tenosynovitis almost three years ago.) Best of all, the consultation and therapy was covered by my HMO (go Maxicare!).

Hopefully, I can sleep peacefully tonight without waking up to the pain.

Pinched Nerve

On Wednesday night, I noticed that my left arm was feeling sore. I didn't pay attention to it as I just went to the gym the previous day. But when I couldn't move my arm anymore the next day, I knew there was something wrong.

I self-diagnosed with the help of webmd.com and found out that I have a pinched nerve. As I knew therapy was needed, I called our local manghihilot to deal with my shoulder.

When she arrived and started working on my shoulder. She confirmed that it was indeed a pinched nerve and massaged the nerves out.

My arm is still sore up to now but getting better. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in three nights and I'm getting grumpy. I couldn't get dressed without any assistance from my husband. What frustrates me is that I can't take any painkillers as we're in the middle of TTC. I just have to do with Paracetamol and it somehow takes the edge off but still painful.

I think what made it really painful yesterday was the aircon in the office. Temperature is relatively Siberian (although it's only 22C but that feels like 10C to me) and somehow amplified the pain.

Hopefully today, my arm will feel better. I miss cradling my son and playing with him.

(Thanks to healthcentral.com for the picture)

Day 19 - Groton, CT (4th of July Parade)

I was finally able to witness an honest-to-goodness local 4th of July Parade. It's nothing like the Rose Bowl but it's more of a community parade where almost every aspect of the community has its own float.

Before going there, I resolved to eat a healthy breakfast so I can some cereal, fresh blueberries and humongous strawberries. This is what it looked like:



If there's one thing I miss about the US, it's the fresh fruits as shown above. That was the best breakfast that I had when I was there. I tried to duplicate it here but I could not find fruits that are as fresh like what I got there.

My step-sister-in-law, Eldica and my stepbrother, Patrick together with their son, Christian, picked us up and took us to the next town (Groton) where we staked a spot across the local Dunkin Donut (apparently, Dunkin Donuts is really big in the East Coast. Krispy Kreme is not heard of there) to wait for the parade.

The parade featured the navy servicemen in their really spiffy uniforms. There were also the vintage cars and motorcycles. It was interesting as it gives you an idea on what kind of community Groton is.

I told Eldica that on my next visit, I would want to visit an old-fashioned country fair. I want to eat the local food and see the local sights. Somehow, it's like seeing all the stuff that I read come to life. She promised to take me and I can't wait!

Here she is with her really cute son:

Day 18 - Gales Ferry, CT and Sunni Dae

(Continuation of my travel posts. Day 18 is July 3, Sunday)

We spent the 4th of July weekend with my mom and stepfather at their CT house.

I really love their community because it's so peaceful and most of the people who live there are retirees from the nearby US Navy/Submarine base. We heard mass that morning in the local Catholic church. Again, they have that lovely musical organ and the sole singer who leads the congregation in the singing.

My stepfather has turned my mom into a dog lover and this weekend, they were able to bring home their new dog--an Akita breed--named Sunni Dae. I can't recall why they named her as such but she is one cute puppy.



Like any newborn baby, she pees and poops a lot and my stepdad would wake up in the middle of the night to take her out. I remember waking up also as I would hear her crying in her kennel.

I bet she's big now. I was told that this specific breed really grows and is quite loyal (there's a movie called Hachiko and a lot of my dog-lover friends have attested that it's quite a tearjerker. The dog there is an Akita breed). Can't wait to visit my mom again so I can see Sunni Dae.

The Walking Dead Season 2

After posting about the first season, I knew I had to watch to follow where this new season goes. The first season was just too short so hopefully, they'll make it longer this time.

I'm deathly scared of zombies. It ranks up there with cockroaches as my greatest fear. I used to have nightmares about those damned creatures. I want to blame my childhood as we would watch every zombie flick ever made whenever we would go to the province for a vacation. Since it was pretty rural and that we leave near the cemetery, it makes quite a nice setting for any nightmare.

The new season is now on its second episode. There are still a lot of plots that need to unravel and hopefully, it won't take until the end of the season for all things to happen. I watch them with half my attention as I don't want them invading my dreams. I just read the episode guides to see what I might have missed.

I know I'm such a ninny but I value my sleep too much to have it disturbed by undead creatures chasing after me. *shudder shudder shudder*

The Plans of Mice and Men

Ever since I got back from the US, I've been wanting to do so many things. Updating my blog is one thing and I have fallen way, way behind. There are still numerous items in my to-do list which I hope to finish before the end of the year. I want to start the new year with a clean slate as much as possible.

I also updated my blog template. I've had that template for two years and it's time for a change. Hope you like this one.

One of things that we're planning is to give Basti a baby brother or sister. But it's not as easy as it sounds due to my condition. The first cycle was not successful so we have to go through another cycle--which starts tomorrow. I hope this time around, it works. Wish us luck!