Lumbar fusion wasn't that long ago. September, 2012. I thought I would stay "normal" after I gave up the cane late last fall. Instead, I got non-invasive breast cancer. And, the last few days I've felt 100 years old. So right now I'm on hold with Barnes & Noble reserving a copy of Strong Women Stay Young. But I've owned it before, and it wasn't the whole answer for me.
Will every discussion like this for the next five years involve whether Tamoxifen is making me tired? Or making me ache? Or making me whatever? Mayo Clinic website lists sleepiness and lower back pain among its bushel of side effects. How can anyone know whether feeling old and achy is age or the medicine or not doing her exercises (I've only been walking lately.) Or all the above.
I want to be strong enough to take my laptop to Starbucks and sit there looking at the trees and people while I type up my notes. But moving my laptop around feels like carrying a German Shepherd.
True, my arms and upper body have never been very strong. Once I lived in a beach house with a loft that was accessed by a knotted rope. I only got up there once, with help. And the bit of physical therapy I had when the spine first went bad was for my lower body.
I do NOT want another Xray, but I do want a Physical Therapy assessment and/or maybe some very slow, very easy Pilates.
Okay, take action. I'm seeing my primary in a week. I can email the California surgeon (thank God for doctors with email) and ask once more if they found that Xray. I can ask my primary doctor to have an inspiration.
Caring for my health with Tamoxifen is mental exercise in a life skill I haven't always been great at: making the best possible change when I don't have any way of knowing all the facts.
No comments:
Post a Comment