July 04, 2009

I'll Admit It, I'm a Wimp

As I wrote about before, I started playing tennis again about a month ago. Things have changed since I played so many years ago and I am probably a 2.5 player playing with 3.5 players, and as a result of playing harder than I should have at the beginning, and just being older, I developed some problems. The first was the hip pain which finally went away after a two week break, but then my elbow started hurting. I bought a forearm strap and tried to play through it, but finally the pain became too persistent even after icing so I went to the doctor.

If you've read any of my other posts on the subject, you know I'm not a fan of doctor's offices, and this one was no exception. My appointment was at 9:30 and I walked in the office at precisely 9:30. Being a new patient, I probably should have been there at 9:15 to fill out ten pages of questions, but as it turned out, that didn't seem to matter since the doctor was running behind.

After the paperwork, I started looking around for a magazine. Other than one that someone was reading, there were no magazines in the room, not even a medical journal. So I played a game on my phone until that got boring. It was now 10:00 and no one in the room had been called back and two more people had come in. I heard snoring and looked up to see a man about 30 sitting with his head back on the only upholstered chair in the room. The man and woman across from me saw me look up and we all started laughing. The lady said she always had to wait so long. I went to the bathroom and when I came back, the man across from me put his finger to his lips and nodded at the man on the upholstered chair who was now sitting sideways in the chair with his head pillowed on his arm. I wished I had my camera. And a magazine.

I was finally called back to the examining room where I again had to wait, but here there were about twenty magazines on the table so I picked up a Ladies Home Journal to read while waiting for the doctor.

When he came in, he did some tests putting pressure on my hands and told me I had several options, but my elbow would recover faster and stronger if I had a cortisone shot followed by a week of methylprednisolone and physical therapy and could resume tennis in two weeks. He said that the shot could cause a white spot, or loss of pigment, where the needle went in and it would be permanent, and it could cause the loss of the fatty tissue around the area but it will come back. I asked if it hurt and he said it will sting a little. So I said ok.

The PA came in to give the shot, and it didn't just sting, it hurt and I yelled like a little kid. He said it would only sting for a little while, so I picked up my purse and the Ladies Home Journal and wished the PA wasn't there so I could grab a bunch of the magazines for the front waiting room. When I walked into the waiting room, the man who was sitting across from me was still there, along with about ten more people. I asked if he wanted a magazine and his face lit up until I handed him the magazine. He laid it on the table beside him and as I left I wondered how long before even the Ladies Home Journal sounded interesting to him.

I got out at 11:00 and ran a couple of errands on my way home. After lunch, my arm was hurting worse so I sat in a chair to watch Wimbledon and let the pain ease. Hubby had the day off but had to run in to the office so he took my prescription for the Methylpred pak. Three hours later the pain was so bad I couldn't even move my fingers without a sharp pain shooting through my elbow and my fingers on that hand were swollen.

Hubby brought home my prescription about 5:00. When I read the information sheet, it said not to take it if you have a systemic fungal infection, and since I have battled Candida for years I decided not to start it until talking to the doctor on Monday.

Until next time, may you have blessings and good health,
Marti

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