TanksHill...Roll on!!

[TanksHill]

Ok, I am really still trying to befriend this little bunny. I just was thinking maybe I should speak Spanish to her. Maybe she doesn't understand me. She did come from a Spanish home.

 

[tortoise]

She'll probably come around. Rabbits get spooky if they aren't handled regularly. I bought a rabbit that I almost butchered because she was such a b*tch. She turned out to be the coolest rabbit. She lived with a friend when I was moving because I wasn't about to move a new mommy and a litter from indoors to outdoors! After about 2 months of not being handled, she became a b@tch again. I am happy to report that she is back to her sweet, curious, affectionate self again.

She is one of the buns on antibiotics now. The other is normally the sweetest bun-bunm but is AWFUL to medicate. Pickle (the good one) licks it right off the syringe and bites it to hang on to it when I take it away. I guess she likes fake cherry flavor.

Just give her time.

 

[TanksHill]

Well today is Sunday and we are all moving a bit slow around here. My son asked for a sleepover for a couple of his good friends and I ok'ed it. Yesterday my dh took my 3 to watch the friends play baseball then after the game they all came here.

I had planned pretty well and put a pork roast in the slow cooker the night before. Had some salads ready to roll and made the infamous Black Bean Cake.

We ended up with a houseful of kids under the age of 10 and four sets of parents. Fun was had by all. The parents left about 10pm and the 3 boys were up till after midnight. My kids normally go to bed by 8. So I think around 1am my son turned off the movie and told his friends they had to go to bed. Sensible kid!!

I made a pancake breakfast and friends have already left. My son was soooo tired he was being grumpy. After his friends left I sent him back to bed. That was almost two hours ago and he is still sleeping. Thank goodness.

My dh just left to go to the in-laws. He is going to pick up a truckload of composted horse manure for me. I needed it in Sept but I guess late is better than never. I will side dress the garden and trees with it.

My back is killing me. I moved some pavers last week and I must have pulled it. But yesterday I was on my feet all day and the Somas I took did not seem to help. Today I am trying ibuprofen.

I finally got a copy of the Back to Basics Book. Found one on e bay for 15.00 bucks. It is the original yellow hard cover. I have been looking it over all morning.

Our major topic of discussion with friends was our plan to try and leave Ca. Some think we are crazy and others think we should go for it. I shared my Have More Plan book with a friend of ours. He really liked it. A couple of these families are really struggling right now with the job market and cost of living here in Ca. I was happy to share my knowledge and info with them.. About being more self reliant and not being part of the rat race.

One of the families had been to Branson and the area of Mo we want to move to. They backed my opinion of how nice it is there and how great it would be to live there. I have another friend who is very negative about the whole thing and never says anything nice. My mother would say he's just jealous. Maybe so. He is older and self employed, not really in the position to make such a change. Even if he wanted to.

Well I need to catch up on house chores.

Oh I held the bunny this morning. Felt her belly. No jelly beans that I could feel.. But what do I know. I also flipped her little sleeping box. So the top would be open for better viewing. I just picked up everything she had built up and set it right back in. I hope she doesn't get mad.

have a great day.

gina

 

[TanksHill]

Monday May 3rd...

The pain is killing me. I strained my back last week. I had to move those extra pavers from my yard down to the elementary school. I loaded from the ground into the lawn tractor trailer, then into my mini van, then down the hill. When I got down there I used a milk crate and a dolly to wheel them about 50 yards onto the school campus. It took 10 loads. Ugggggg..

I was sore the next day. No biggy. I took ibuprofen. Felt a bit better but not much. By the end of the week I tried Soma. A muscle relaxer. You think this would have helped. Nope. I guess it's not a muscle thing. Last night I just gave in and took a Tylenol codeine to help me sleep and had dh rub my lower back with Ben Gay.

I am not sure what to take or do next. I think I said before we are trying to avoid paying for Cobra Health Ins. This is available to us between my dh old and new job. His health care should kick in in early July. I gave the whole family the stay healthy speech. Then I go and hurt myself. Figures.

Any advice would be more than welcome. I have iced my back and tried to stretch. Please don't tell me to hang upside down.. I don't think I could manage that. I am walking around picking up things off the floor with my toes. It hurts just to carry myself up the stairs.

To top it off I got a load of composted horse manure yesterday and all I want to do is work in the garden. :h

At this point I will try anything. I was thinking about calling the chiropractor and see how much they would charge for a cash visit. Not my first choice. Is there a stronger anti inflammatory drug than Ibuprofen?

gina

 

[Dace]

My best guess is that you need to resign yourself to a couple of days on the couch. You need to ice your back and stay on the ibuprofen. Two days off of your feet and oyu should be feeling better.

Don't forget that when you overdo the exercise or pull something you are at your sorest on day three, then recovery will begin.

 

[pioneergirl]

I agree with Dace...a couple weeks ago I did the same thing, couldn't hardly move and it sucked. I had so much that needed to get done, that I just screamed through it. The only time my back had time to rest was at night. I didn't have any relaxers, or ibuprofin, just the hot tub and tempur-pedic. Its 2 weeks later and although I'm back in fighting form, I still go a bit easy.

This time of year seems to be the worst time for any kind of ache, pain, or trouble, with all of us needing to get so much done! But I tell ya, rest up a couple days, you're back is your "trunk" and if it goes, you fall down and can't get up!!!

Hope you feel better!

 

[TanksHill]

Thank you both. I think I will try to keep today's activities to just whats necessary. I am managing but it really is torture.

I need to run an errand or two so maybe while I am out will check the pharmacy for some over the counter back stuff. Who knows.

I think what bothers me the most is I am usually pretty healthy and don't get sick very often. But like you say your back is just so important. I think once I get through this I am going to try to work on strengthening my core and loosing some weight.

I am not getting any younger and poor health will not help me reach my farming/ self reliant goals.

gina

 

[Farmfresh]

Doing an Epsom salts soak will also help a bunch! The magnesium in the salts will really help the muscles. Try to take it easy and rest. Feel better soon.

 

[Ldychef2k]

Gina, out of curiosity, can you describe the location and character of the pain? It is a knot? Tingling? Electric? A stabbing? With and without movement? Does it seem to go along a path or is it in one spot only.

If it's a muscle strain, which is a guess, it will take a course of treatment such as you have been doing, not just a day or two, and you have to completely rest the area, not just for a while but completely. Just as the muscle fibers start to heal, you do something to tear them again and it worsens the pain and the duration.

Wet heat is best. Find a position of comfort and have someone nuke a wet towel for 30 seconds or so, then apply to the area when it is tolerable. Do this about 10-15 minutes every couple of hours.

Keep the anti-inflammatory medications on a schedule, not just when it hurts. You want to keep the inflammation surrounding the injury from cycling and causing pain, which causes you to tense, which causes more pain.

Heat, anti-inflammatories, rest.

Doctor's orders !

 

[TanksHill]

Thanks, Doc !!

The pain is kinda hard to describe. I is definitely a dull ache from my middle of my back straight down and radiating towards my left buttock. I talked to my sil law and she said about the same thing. Regular ibuprofen and Tylenol on schedule. Ice. She asked if it was spasming I said no. But then I bent over to pick up a laundry basket today. I thought I was going to die. Sharp, stabbing almost one of those holy crap moments. I don't know about it being a muscle. The Soma really did nothing for me. I am thinking more like a pinch or something.

I think I will try the wet heat. Sounds like it will feel good. I feel really good for a while after I take the ibuprofen/Tylenol combo but then it creeps back. I will just need to keep it going for a few more days I think. And a couple soaks in my tub.

thanks to all.

gina