Crazy Eights

Today started out OK. I went to work (back brace and all) for four hours, helping during lunch rush and putting the truck away (with no heavy lifting, just putting some things in the freezer). Tonight I had a glass of riesling with dinner and some chocolate cake for dessert, but it was very dense, dark chocolate, which, in theory, is OK for me to have.

I was fine until about 11. My pain increased suddenly, and I've been at an 8 ever since. I was driving home and became disoriented. I could tell my reactions were slower, and I was having trouble forming sentences. This happened before in 2008 for a while. The strangest thing is, while these are some side effects for medication, I wasn't on anything. I'm out of pain meds, and I hadn't taken my evening dose of muscle relaxer yet (I save that until before bed, which decreases the chance of me careening into something on my way home on account of side effects that I never feel, but I like to be safe anyway).

Now I'm home and applying lots of heat. LOTS. My leg is starting to feel tight and crampy again, but it isn't nearly the severity as before. I'm stretching my hamstring, though, just in case. Also, my upper left thigh had a brief sharp, stabbing pain, but it quickly subsided.

So let's recap: Thursday was bad, and I can't think of anything that stands out except that damn back brace that my doctor insisted I get. I got it, and what has it done? IT HAS MADE ME WORSE. But apparently it's something I need and the worseness is temporary. It better be.

Oh, and when I was disoriented, before that happened, the back of my head (where my head meets my neck) was really tingly. This seems to be the progression of things: intense pain; intense pain followed by paresthesia in the extremities and head (which I guess counts as an extremity as well); intense pain, paresthesia, and other neurological symptoms (disorientation, insensitivity to heat and cold, etc.). As an example, I can flip a quesadilla on the flat top using my hands instead of utensils and it doesn't hurt.

Let's take bets on what pain level I'll wake up at tomorrow. My guess is 7 or 8.