A Reminder

I've been feeling pretty cocky lately - eschewing the walker and just walking from place to place, and I've been going longer and longer between pain pills. I think all that caught up to me today. Instead of my regular 10:00 a.m. PT, I went at 2:00 p.m. today. This was because I thought I had a doctor's appointment today, so I cancelled my regular time. When I found out I didn't have the appointment it was too late to secure my regular slot. (Remember what I wrote about scheduling your PT ahead of time to get the favored slots? This is why.)

My most recent regimen of pain pills has been one in the morning, one in mid-afternoon, and one before bed, which has kept most pain down to a dull ache or non-existent if I'm just sitting or lying around. This morning, I took my pill, spent about 20 minutes doing my at-home exercises (I'm supposed to do exercises twice a day - even if one time is PT), and then I iced my knee for about 30 minutes. I was doing fine, but as we pulled out of the driveway for my 2:00 appointment, I realized I had not taken my pain pill. At that time, my husband realized he had forgotten his grocery list (he's the shopper in the family now and he says it's scary that he's learning where everything is in the grocery store,) so he pulled back in the driveway, and ran in to get the list. Did I ask him to bring me a pain pill? No, of course not. I am tough, and really what difference could it make?

It turns out it actually did make a difference - a rather significant one. I confessed to my therapist about my forgetfulness, fully expecting a "that's o.k.," but he grimaced a bit and didn't respond. We started in on the bike, and the pain started, too. It was pretty much that way through the whole routine, and after I was finally released from the ice and electricity (which today of all days had a compression ice pack) I couldn't wait to get out of there. I doubt I will forget it again. I immediately took a pill when I got home, but remember what I said about not being able to catch up with the medicine? Well, it is true, but I'm hoping after my evening meds and a good night's sleep, I'll be much better in the morning.