Spastic

Memo to April:

"April showers bring May flowers" means that you keep your showers to yourself once May starts.

May is off to a soggy start here, and so far I've been flat on my back for most of it. Last May-June I was having sharp chest pains that would last about 3 days. The pain usually went away after a large yawn or stretch would cause something in my sternum area to pop. Then I had an episode where the pain had been constant for about 2 weeks despite much popping in the sternum, and I finally went to the doctor.

The doctor said it was costochondritis, a swelling of the cartilage in the rib area, wasn't anything serious, told me to take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory, and set me up with some physical therapy. The physical therapist was great and I gradually got better. Turns out that the costochondritis was being triggered by a muscle spasm in my back. Cutting to the chase, my back muscle has been spasming again and that's why I'm mostly out of commission.

Yesterday I started taking cyclobenzaprine I had left over from when I pulled a muscle in my neck a few years ago. It definitely brought some relief and I'm sure taking the day off from work and sitting at my desk helped too. Today I'll switch to over-the-counter stuff and see if I can maintain some level of relief.

Scoob has convinced me to see the doctor again. I'm not looking forward to it, mostly because I'm navigating Blue Shield now instead of Kaiser. Oh, and my company uses Blue Shield of Tennessee, so anything I do winds up in an out-of-state provider process. My company has offices in at least 6 states, but we all have to use the BS of Tennessee because that's where the Human Resources office is located. At least I think that's their rationale.