Day 14: Oh my! Fighting a Forest Fire

I love summer. I really do. Aside from its obvious charms, I love the fact that on days like today when I wake up feeling like crap, I don't have to do anything. I don't have to suck it up, slap a smile on my face and pretend like everything is okay. I don't have to ignore the shooting pain in my arms and hands or the fact that my upper back and pecs feel like they're about to start on fire. On the contrary, I can take care of myself. No class. No homework. Nothing. Just me and my pain management strategies...

I don't entirely understand it myself, but every month around this time, I get a flare up like this. I can almost pinpoint its arrival to the day. I get other smaller flare ups throughout the month, but those are solely based upon my activity level, stress, dehydration, and how much I've been playing viola. The nice thing, I guess, about those flare ups is that I can actually control my pain to some degree--stretching, heat/ice, some Advil, and as long as I take it easy, I don't feel too horrible.

These monthly flare ups are different, though. Nothing stops the pain. I spent an extra hour in bed this morning with my electric heating pad, and it felt good at the time, but as soon as I got up, the shooting electric shock sensation in my left forearm/hand returned. I took Advil: no change. Bio freeze: nice try. Ice: no luck. I can actually feel the path of my nerves because they are so irritated. Just give me a marker and I could easily trace their paths, all the way up to my neck, ribs, and shoulder blades...it radiates. Good news? This only lasts for a couple days. I mean, I usually can feel my nerves because there is always some degree of irritation, but this intense burning is just a little unbearable...

Today I plan on taking advantage of the summer. I will guitlessly lay around my house, accompanied by my heating pad, and revel in the fact that I don't have to move. Or lie whenever someone asks, "How are you?!" Or sit in an uncomfortable desk. Or whatever....

In other news, overall I am feeling much better since I've been home. My arms are still irritated easily, but my upper back hasn't been bothering nearly as much. Progress! And I'm up to 20 minutes of viola, 3 times a day.

So, despite the fact that I feel like there's a forest fire raging through my body...

I will defy.

Day 6: I'm on "The Desperate Plan"

DISCLAIMER: The following post may cause concern that I'm turning into a crazy health freak, and that would be an accurate assumption. Please view it as a reflection of my desperateness. If this doesn't work, I'm hopeless...

Alright, here's the deal, I have a plan, it's crazy, and I don't even know if it will help, but I have to try. The plan I'm about to outline is very involved and I'm hoping that as my symptoms become more under control, I can back off a little. It would be impossible to maintain such a plan if I were not an unemployed college student on summer vacation. Ha. I have three months. It's GO TIME!

The first part of the plan consists of initiatives directly related to TOS wellness. It mostly revolves around stretching, ice, and heat. I have a 30-minute stretching/relaxation routine that I do when I wake up, before I go to bed, and one other time throughout the day. Posture training is also a big part of TOS wellness, which makes upper body strengthening crucial. Other miscellaneous things include drinking lots of water, taking vitamins, and getting a massage every week (I had one yesterday and have the bruises to prove it!)

Viola Wellness-Naturally, I have a stretching routine for warm-up/cool down before and after every time I touch my viola. Also, I heat before I play and ice afterwards. Currently, I'm only letting myself play 20-30 minutes a day while my body makes a little progress. Last week, I started playing more than that, but my body was telling me I wasn't ready. Since I have an intense 3-week chamber music institute in July, it's critical that I begin building endurance soon. Next week, I'm going to start increasing my playing time, according to a "return to play schedule" I received at a performing artists clinic in St. Paul, MN sometime last year.

The rest of my plan is based upon the idea that every function of the body directly or indirectly impacts the rest of the body. So, here begins my ridiculously healthy lifestyle:

Exercise-

• M/W/F-working out at The W (Wartburg's recreation center. I hope they can handle my Luther-ness.)
• T/Th- Yoga, walking 3-4 miles
• Weekends- some kind of physical activity. I might take up swimming or something...

Diet-

• The anti-inflammatory diet: it's nothing special, really. It basically consists of eating everything that we've been told we're supposed to eat since we were little, and is based on the premise that some foods cause our bodies more inflammation than others. By eating anti-inflammatory foods, you can decrease inflammation within the body. Sign me up! My collar bones feel like they're on fire! Haha. Basically, I'll just be eating a lot of veggies, fruits, nuts, lean meat, whole-grain products, and low-fat foods. Not a lot of processed foods...oh, and no coffee... :(

Well, I think that's everything. If this doesn't help, then I don't know what will...

But again, that's why I'm on The Desperate Plan.

I will defy.