Tags
blogging101, Creative Writing, Family, Journaling, muscle spasms, Poetry, Reflections, Writing 101
4:18 a.m.
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can feel it starting,
creeping down the back of my leg.
thought i’d beaten it this time,
gotten to my feet before it could begin
to twist and turn. but no…
my knee locked,
the hamstring coiled toward my ankle
where muscles circled it in a vice-like grip.
couldn’t stand, couldn’t sit.
the window sill and my husband
kept me upright while all i could do
was shake and whimper.
first one since Christmas.
muscles relentless,
tightening then relaxing,
tightening then relaxing,
no flex in the ankle.
husband massaging my hamstring
and slowly, slowly it and my knee relax.
finally my ankle unlocks and i can stand.
nausea subsides as i’m finally able
to stop groaning and gasp for air
coming through the open window.
eight minutes this time.
eight minutes in hell.
as the clock flips to 4:27
i grab ice packs for my back and hip.
the time is coming, and soon i fear,
to face down this monster that terrorizes me,
that lives to attack out of nowhere, unexpectedly.
but for now i sit popsicle-like and wait
for the ice and the tylenol
to work their magic one more time.
Impromptu Promptlings 
Oh Calen, how awful !!! I know mine are what you call Charlie Horses, but the pain you describe is soooo familiar. I have a high threshold for pain, but they reduce me to cold sweat and agonies of tears. Over the years I have learnt to identify early onset symptoms and jump onto it immediately as well as use preventative treatments. I hope your doc finds it in his heart to give you the help you need soon xxxx
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Yeah, I get the cold sweats, too. But we’ve been trying to find something to help for 30+ years. I have seasons of quiet. I’m in one now. I think he really figures surgery for spinal stenosis is the only thing that will fix it. And I’m honestly afraid of having surgery. At least as long as I’m functioning fairly well.
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Spinal surgery can be very tricky and if it goes wrong it’s tragic. Fingers crossed something better comes up xxxx
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I actually got a very good physical therapist in 2008 (after getting two crappy ones who just made things worse!). I was pretty pretty much pain free until 2012 when we joined a gym. BIG mistake. Screwed everything up again. Going to go for another MRI after the kids leave and go back and see Frank. Maybe he can fix it again. Sigh…
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Ouch! Graphic description almost made my leg cramp. Hope you find a long term relief. x
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Thanks for your thoughts. I will find relief for it (hopefully) when I have surgery. They’re actually from a back injury from 1982 and the doc has been disinclined for years to work on it because I was young and things could go wrong. In the meantime I’m proving to them that blonde’s have a MUCH higher threshold of pain than they want to admit! So much for dumb blonds! 😀 Thanks for stopping by. Hope your weekend got off to a great start!
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I have an absolute cure for the cramps. I have suffered from them my entire life and a year or more ago, I was having them in both arms and both legs at the same time. Another night I had 9 cramps during the night. Excruciating. I now keep a bottle of Cider Vinegar on my night table. When I first feel a cramp, I take a swig and the cramp goes away immediately! Try it. It has changed my life. I know it sounds crazy, but what have you to lose except minutes of agony???? Judy
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Thanks for your concern, Judy. Been there, done that. Tonic water, too. Neither of them worked for me. I even tried putting a bar of soap down at my feet when I sleep! I don’t think there’s anything I haven’t tried. Those home remedies often work for things like Charlie horses, but this kind of spasming is associated with a back injury I got in 1982. The surgeon doesn’t want to do anything about it yet as I’m so “young.” Tell that to my 64 year old body! I DID get SOME relief for the regular cramping from Hyland’s Leg Cramp pills, but they made my calcium level sky high. Gotta be careful what OTC stuff we take these days!
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I tried that bar of soap, also..what we are driven to when desperate. A really hot shower helps, or hot towels, but the cider vinegar, horrible as it tastes, works every time for me. So disappointed that it doesn’t for you.
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I think the difference probably is that it’s more of a mechanical issue with me and a nutrient or chemical issue for you. Like you might be lacking in magnesium, calcium, or potassium which are the usual culprits. My levels are all ok. I DO appreciate the fact that you can identify with me, however! Had I to only deal with muscle spasm I probably would be ok. But when my joints freeze up like that and I can’t move them, holy cow! My toes often do a swimmer’s cramp thing with it, too, where my big toe will stick right up in the air! They’re actually getting worse the last couple years. Sooner or later the doc is going to have to see if he can give me some relief. Even if it’s just steroid shots again.They’ve been REALLY quiet for awhile now but that’s because I’ve been careful with my back. I suspect too much sitting the last few days at this computer created the problem this time. I do thank you for your suggestions. {{{Judy}}}
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Yes, I do take potassium and magesium and calcium…and fish oil, which supposedly helps the potassium to work. I often forget it, though. I also find drinking lots of water helps.
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Hubby has leg cramps just about every night. He has to get up and walk around until they pass. I had a bad one last night, but I’d been setting on a wooden chair at my desk writing for like 4 hours. Hurt like he!! though.
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Oh! Don’t do that! Get up and move like every 20 or 30 minutes and stretch a little. I can do that with regular spasm/Charlie horses, walk them off, I mean, stretch them out. Unfortunate these are not the same creatures at all. The muscles surround the joints and make them freeze up. There’s no stretching you can do to unlock anything. They just have to pass. But they’re related to the back injury I had in 1982.
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Ouch! 😦
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There ought to be a support group for that.
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Believe it or not they’re not uncommon. Makes it kind of hard to understand why the medical profession has failed repeatedly to come up with something that helps — aside from surgery, I mean… 😦
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