Stabby Stabby

stabby stabby

Stabby stabby is a good way to describe both my mood and my day. Yes, later today I have the pleasure (?) of going to get: “ultrasound scan guided of steroid injection” – literally what the referral says.

 

My GP told me that it can hurt more for a few days after, so I’m kind of not expecting my mood to improve much if I’m in pain.

 

Last night we had the first real storm of the year (and like maybe 3rd of the entire bloody summer). It should have been good. Mostly because I got home before the storm! But I was just tired. Too tired to enjoy a storm, so that’s a serious level of tired.

 

The first thing I saw when I got in the door was Ben defrosting a meal from the freezer – the same one I had taken to work yesterday for lunch, eaten half of, then thrown out cos I didn’t like it. So weird, it’s all the same batch of spicy kidney bean chili, but the first bag I ate was spicy and nice and the second was plain and too boring to eat. I think all the spice went in one bag?

 

Either way, and despite the fact he couldn’t be expected to know I took that for lunch yesterday, it made me cranky to not have dinner. But the storm was running fast behind me and we were having brownouts so there wasn’t time to cook.

 

Enter hot cross buns. I picked some up in Woolies for $1.75 on Sunday afternoon (I love end of day markdowns) and figured hey, that’s lazy food that will keep me alive until I do grocery shopping. I got a plain mini 9-pack and a ‘chocolate’ regular 6-pack. So last night I picked up a ‘chocolate’ one without looking at the packet and put it in my mouth.

 

But something was wrong. There was a taste that my mind told me was stale tobacco. (How it thought that is beyond me as I’ve never smoked anything in my life and hate being even a few meters away from a smoker.) I looked at the packet, gasped, and…

 

stabby stabby

 

MOCHA

 

EWW!! I hate the smell and taste of coffee and I just put something coffee flavoured into my mouth. I half gagged (I truly hate coffee) and Ben came to see what was going on and then got really happy when he realised he now has a 6 pack of hot cross buns to himself.

 

Anyway, I ended up eating a plain hot cross bun from the fridge for dinner. How thrilling. Not. The storm passed over us quickly but the lightning kept on for a long time; actually getting worse AFTER the storm had passed. The house was being rattled by the thunder and at one point, the sky turned purple with lightning.

 

Obviously we couldn’t have the TV on but the air con was blaring so I curled up under a blanket on my chaise and watched Netflix on my phone while munching my hot cross bun. It was surprisingly therapeutic.

 

See, I think I’ve been under-drugging myself with my shoulder. I hate taking drugs and especially painkillers but I’ve been in near constant pain for 6+ weeks now and it’s taking a toll on me. I ‘gave in’ last night and took something a bit stronger for it and finally had some pain-free time. And I think it was around then I crashed into bed super early and still had trouble waking up in the morning. Which is unusual for me, nearly all the time I will wake up 8 hours after I go to bed, even if that means waking up at 4 or 5am.

 

Anyway, I didn’t even end up getting a good dinner last night because I fell asleep on the couch and the crawled to bed.

 

Also, I got a letter from the hospital where I’m on an ENT wait list and they asked me to reply that I still need treatment otherwise I get kicked off the list. FFS hospitals, shit doesn’t just cure itself! What a way to reduce the wait list – it’s not like I’m already OVER the minimum waiting time because they don’t have enough ENTs. Oh and when I last called they think it will be around another year. So wait list waiting times are a pointless joke…

 

Do you under-dose yourself? Have you ever had a steroid shot in the arm? Does it hurt? Should I stop thinking about it hurting?

 

18 Replies to “Stabby Stabby”

  1. Oh dear. What a “painful” post. Pain is not helpful at all to our mood. I am of the belief that we can be our own worst enemies when we dont want to take stuff though so am glad you succumbed and took pain meds. I am not having the injection for my mild bursitis. I may change my mind if it worsens but I am giving this the time to recover. I had an episode with tendonitis for about 3 months where I had physio every few days, tried heat packs and all that…and then I decided “no more” and over time…it went. I think there is a likelihood this relates to the the bursitis in the shoulder (same side) but so far OK to live with. I cannot comment on whether the needle hurts..it did for my 93 yo Dad..and for a few days (his was in his buttock area as he couldnt walk much) but in time he came good and is mobile again. By now you might have had this…hope you are OK. D

    1. I think I really am my own worst enemy when it comes to drugs. My GP seemed shocked that my initial ultrasound came back with both the bursitis and tendon issues at the same time so I think that’s why he wanted the injection – and I’ve been having weekly physio. So I guess it is worse than I think but I’m just used to it?

  2. Living with pain is the pits! Surely the pain from the steroid shot is going to be less in the long run? The Builder is always in a shocking mood when he’s in pain. I hope your pain can be sorted quickly xxx

    1. I think it will help in the long run, I’ll just be crankier for a few days haha. I’m just glad I found a place that bulk bills it – I was quoted up to $285 yesterday for a freaking needle! Worth a lot to spend time making a few phone calls.

  3. you should have toasted that hot cross bun, then munched on it (but I’m with you, mocha is gross!)

    hope the pain sorts itself out, Australians in general don’t listen to doctors about pain medication, because they think they’re being ” tough”, but it doesn’t work like that!

    1. Plus the constant “must show ID” stuff at chemists to get painkillers, it bugs me.

  4. Ewww mocha hot cross buns. Hope your injection is more successful than mine was. I also had a reaction the next day – my skin flushed bright red and was sore, like I was sunburned. I was told there would be no side-effects so was definitely not prepared for that! But at least you will be now, should it happen to you 😉

    1. Yeah my GP told me about side effects so can only wait and see now if it works for me. Thankfully the needle was small & I barely felt it.

  5. I love your rant!
    Darn, I just bought those buns on special at Woolworths today and I noticed mocha on the label and thought they were chocky! Angry now!
    I hope your tests and things are easier than they sound. X

    1. Yep pretty gross surprise for people who don’t like coffee haha. Needle was nearly painless! Woo.

  6. Coffee flavoured ANYTHING (that isn’t coffee) is a total abomination. YUCK. That would have pissed me off too. LOL.

    1. Haha that was Ben’s complaint, that it was fake flavour. I just think all coffee is foul.

  7. My mum has those injections for her lupus and swears by them – I think it might be a case of some short term pain for long term gain. I hope those less storms, more delicious freezer food and zero mocha hot cross buns in your future!

    1. The needle was nearly painless so that was a nice surprise. As for the mocha hot cross buns, well… some things take a long time to leave memories 🙂

  8. Can’t they leave poor old hot cross buns alone? And I wish the pain would leave you alone but in the mean time, take the drugs as prescribed. Though completely understand not wanting to rely on it.

    1. I know! I mean chocolate ones are cool but I’d be pretty happy with just traditional ones. I am certainly giving in to using the painkillers today, lots of walking has left it a bit in pain.

  9. Ah, I really hate it when all of the shit goes wrong all at the same time and it all just plays off each other! So freaking stabby!!! And that hospital waiting list thing? Ridiculous! Almost as ridiculous as the letter and paperwork my step-Dad has to fill out EVERY YEAR to confirm that yes, he still only has one leg, no, it hasn’t miraculously grown back, and yes, he will need some assistance when it comes time to get a new prosthetic. Seriously?!?! I wonder if anyone has replied to say their limb has grown back? There are just some things that will never change, Medicare!!!

    1. It always does happen at the same time. Freaking murphys law stuff. They send him the letter to check he still has only one leg?! Let’s just go for a long line of expletives for that…. wow! Government are so dumb sometimes.

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