let me update ya

I've stopped going to the chiropractor.  It's been a week now with no chiropractic related treatments.  My neck is just now starting to feel back to normal (did I ever mention that she had this odd fascination with my neck- WHICH IS JUST FINE thankyouverymuch!), my back is still sore-ish but I can sit without feeling awful and that is more than I can say when I was getting "treated".  I was having trouble even finding comfortability when I was sleeping at night and that was never a problem until I started going to the chiro.  Funny how none of those ominous signs were the real reason I stopped going.  I just didn't want to pay the bajillion dollars and follow her treatment plan that went until MARCH!  MARCH?  WHAT!  Um, NO!

When I got her "plan" and saw the way-too-high number to pay on the bottom (and also, you should know that this shockingly high number only went through my 2011 treatments and we'd have to start paying again in January for those treatments until MARCH!), I started calling around to physical therapy places.  Turns out PT is also a gigantic pain in my butt.  I had to visit with my primary care doctor, which I suppose was ok since I needed to find one anyway and I like the lady I met with, just to get a script for PT.  The place she wants to send me to took 3 business days to finally call me back and they can't even get me in for my initial evaluation for another week (the first place wanted me to wait even longer).  I can't even imagine the grotesque amount of money it's going to cost and our new insurance here in Texas just plain sucks.  (I'll save my rant about high deductible insurance and how it totally punishes people with minor issues and basically gives you good coverage only when you've had a ridiculous chronic problem for ages for another day.)  But my hope with PT is that they say it should only take me 8 sessions, or about 4 weeks, to complete whatever plan we agree upon and if I haven't seen results, we'll move on to something else (probably meeting with a surgeon and I pretty much refuse to have back surgery for this, I'd rather just live with nagging pain).  It's not treatment until MARCH! so I'm happy with trying this route for now.  Plus, PT is more active, meaning that I'll be doing some exercises to get the area around my problem stronger and maybe even get "worked on" which I'm hoping means a massage.  We'll see.

AND... I would just like to CLARIFY for all the people who think they are my doctors.  My injury is opposite of what happens to most people.  I don't feel any pain when I'm standing, walking or running.  I have been guided to be doing backbending exercises for low back strength.  My injury is from over stretching during forward folding (like putting my face against my shins when either standing or sitting with legs extended).  So everything going on with me is pretty much the opposite of what all your other friends with bulging discs have had to do.  Until someone tells me I can't, I'll be running as much as I can.  It is the one time I feel no pain and when I mentally don't feel old, decrepit and defeated (which is totally the opposite of my normal attitude toward running).  Not being able to do yoga full-time has been very difficult for my psyche.  The studio used to be the one place where I felt strong and good at what I was doing and not having that right now has not been easy for me, mentally.

I did break the chiropractor's rules yesterday and went to yoga.  My primary care doctor said I'm smart enough to listen to my body and take it easy.  It's extremely difficult for me to not take everything to the ultimate maximum of my capabilities, but I felt SO DARN GOOD when my class was over yesterday that it's worth the mental effort I have to put forth to restrain myself during class.  My back is a little tight but it's more sore from the yoga class and a run Adam and I went on last night.  It's the first time in a LONG TIME that my body has been sore in a good way, not in pain.  I'll wait to see what my PT thinks after my evaluation next Monday and modify what I'm doing from there.

On an awesome note, we ran the Uptown 5 miler on Saturday.  It was a great course through uptown and downtown Dallas.  I finished in 52:16, which is less than 11 minute miles and that always makes me happy.  Adam rocked the race in 45:38 and we both finished 12th place in our respective divisions.

It was a great race and they were giving out grapefruit flavored La Croix at the finish.  I have a new obsession.  You should get some before I buy the grocery store out.  And yes, I am a race marketer's dream.