I have had 2 more sessions of TENS since my last post.
Apparently, TENS is working better than IFT for me. For the uninitiated, TENS is nerve stimulation and IFT is muscle stimulation. Both use medium frequency electric current.
The process involves placing some gel-smeared flat plastic rounds on strategic parts of my back.
Current is then sent through.
No, I do not get electrocuted. There is just a pleasant sensation of a deep-tissue massage.
Looking forward to the next physio session.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
TENS
I had my first TENS session last Monday.
It is some kind of electric nerve stimulation. Did not help me greatly. I have been in considerable pain all of yesterday. Primary reason being the driver bumped into a bumper while getting back home from the physiotherapist. The husband received all the flak. But naturally.
I could have visited the physio guy today but decided against it. Let the body not get too used to getting physio sessions every other day.
It is some kind of electric nerve stimulation. Did not help me greatly. I have been in considerable pain all of yesterday. Primary reason being the driver bumped into a bumper while getting back home from the physiotherapist. The husband received all the flak. But naturally.
I could have visited the physio guy today but decided against it. Let the body not get too used to getting physio sessions every other day.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Brokeback in Office
I informed my immediate manager and his manager about my affliction. I would be able to do time every day for about 5 - 6 hours daily. I would also be leaving office around 5 - 5:30 PM on the days that I have physiotherapy.
My manager promptly arranged a laptop and a datacard for me. Having hubby in the same organization helped me in this. I mean, if I have a broken back, how can I carry a laptop?
My office friends - Su, I, P&N and Pr were (and are) extremely sympathetic to my pain. They take the lift with me even if I am going down to the floor just below/above. They are really attentive when we go out onto the street in front of the office for tea.
I wrote a mail to the Admin chief to get myself an ergonomic chair. Some following up as per N's advice later, I am sitting in my high-backed chair usually given out to managers/PCs.
All in all, this company has been good to me after I returned prematurely from my 'onsite' assignment on medical grounds.
My manager promptly arranged a laptop and a datacard for me. Having hubby in the same organization helped me in this. I mean, if I have a broken back, how can I carry a laptop?
My office friends - Su, I, P&N and Pr were (and are) extremely sympathetic to my pain. They take the lift with me even if I am going down to the floor just below/above. They are really attentive when we go out onto the street in front of the office for tea.
I wrote a mail to the Admin chief to get myself an ergonomic chair. Some following up as per N's advice later, I am sitting in my high-backed chair usually given out to managers/PCs.
All in all, this company has been good to me after I returned prematurely from my 'onsite' assignment on medical grounds.
Physiotherapy
I was introduced to this miracle by father.
I started office on 22nd June, 2010. Within a day or two I realized that sitting out the 8 office hours was going to be impossible for me. I spoke out my concerns to Baba. He arranged an appointment with eminent physiotherapist JM who happens to be Manab Kaku's brother-in-law by marriage. Manab Kaku is Baba's business partner.
On the first consultation J said that the fracture had healed alright. However, the nerves and muscles had reduced to a painful knot. He got me started on Ultrasound right away. I also did some leg stretching with an elastic band tied around my ankles.
I started visiting J's chamber every day/every alternate day. The usual routine is spinal/para-spinal IFT followed by Ultrasound with Diatherm(just plain old heat) bringing up the rear. Twice, I have done stretching with elastic band(s) around my waist. Last day, I was taught back stretches - lateral and frontal. I am supposed to start with counting 5 and move on upto counting 10. Each exercise - 10 repetitions. Each set of repetitions to be done twice or thrice a day. I did the exercises yesterday morning - skipped at night - got waylaid by Bacardi Breezer(yay!! it's back in the market), biriyani and firni. Did the exercises today morning. My entire lower back in aching today. Looking forward to the visit to the physiotherapist scheduled for later today.
I started office on 22nd June, 2010. Within a day or two I realized that sitting out the 8 office hours was going to be impossible for me. I spoke out my concerns to Baba. He arranged an appointment with eminent physiotherapist JM who happens to be Manab Kaku's brother-in-law by marriage. Manab Kaku is Baba's business partner.
On the first consultation J said that the fracture had healed alright. However, the nerves and muscles had reduced to a painful knot. He got me started on Ultrasound right away. I also did some leg stretching with an elastic band tied around my ankles.
I started visiting J's chamber every day/every alternate day. The usual routine is spinal/para-spinal IFT followed by Ultrasound with Diatherm(just plain old heat) bringing up the rear. Twice, I have done stretching with elastic band(s) around my waist. Last day, I was taught back stretches - lateral and frontal. I am supposed to start with counting 5 and move on upto counting 10. Each exercise - 10 repetitions. Each set of repetitions to be done twice or thrice a day. I did the exercises yesterday morning - skipped at night - got waylaid by Bacardi Breezer(yay!! it's back in the market), biriyani and firni. Did the exercises today morning. My entire lower back in aching today. Looking forward to the visit to the physiotherapist scheduled for later today.
Brokeback at Home
Sorry for the huge delay in posting.
I was back in Kolkata on 10th May, 2010. And I consulted an eminent orthopaedic soon after. He advised bedrest. He prescribed Etova, some other antibiotic the name of which I have forgotten and Supracal Pro. He demonstrated 3 exercises which I was supposed to start right away. I carried on with this schedule.
I drove mother up the tree by refusing to take the stairs. She brought me lunch and Sayan brought me dinner - the kitchen is on the first floor and I had taken up residence on the ground floor. I was getting on father's nerves too by staying back at home. I had a real bad time. The pain did not get any better. And I was home alone frequently. Father and Sayan had their respective offices and Ma had her tuitions and school.
We bought 3 appliances/furniture to make the room suitable for my now changed needs. We got a geyser and had the plumbing done such that the shower could get me warm water straigtaway instead of mixing the hot and cold water in a bucket and having to bend down to get the temperate water from the bucket. Father got a lower bathroom hanger at my request. Then, we got father a 1 tonne AC - we had usurped his room because it was bigger than the one we used to originally stay in. Along came a Godrej steel almirah. And true to Godrej's tradition, we found a flaw with the lower shelves immediately and had to raise a ticket to have it fixed. A few days later, the locker refused to lock!
I read up quite a few books during the days spent in bed.
1. Sevel Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie
2. 5 Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
3. Partners in Crime - Agatha Christie
4. To Kill A Mocking Bird - Harper Lee
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
6. The Stars Look Down - A.J Cronin
7. The Plague - Albert Camus
9. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
10. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer - I am still trying to finish this awfully amateur vampire-human-werewolf saga.
I was back in Kolkata on 10th May, 2010. And I consulted an eminent orthopaedic soon after. He advised bedrest. He prescribed Etova, some other antibiotic the name of which I have forgotten and Supracal Pro. He demonstrated 3 exercises which I was supposed to start right away. I carried on with this schedule.
I drove mother up the tree by refusing to take the stairs. She brought me lunch and Sayan brought me dinner - the kitchen is on the first floor and I had taken up residence on the ground floor. I was getting on father's nerves too by staying back at home. I had a real bad time. The pain did not get any better. And I was home alone frequently. Father and Sayan had their respective offices and Ma had her tuitions and school.
We bought 3 appliances/furniture to make the room suitable for my now changed needs. We got a geyser and had the plumbing done such that the shower could get me warm water straigtaway instead of mixing the hot and cold water in a bucket and having to bend down to get the temperate water from the bucket. Father got a lower bathroom hanger at my request. Then, we got father a 1 tonne AC - we had usurped his room because it was bigger than the one we used to originally stay in. Along came a Godrej steel almirah. And true to Godrej's tradition, we found a flaw with the lower shelves immediately and had to raise a ticket to have it fixed. A few days later, the locker refused to lock!
I read up quite a few books during the days spent in bed.
1. Sevel Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie
2. 5 Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
3. Partners in Crime - Agatha Christie
4. To Kill A Mocking Bird - Harper Lee
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
6. The Stars Look Down - A.J Cronin
7. The Plague - Albert Camus
9. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
10. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer - I am still trying to finish this awfully amateur vampire-human-werewolf saga.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The BrokeBack in the Plane
I wished with all my heart that I could have boarded a ship instead of a plane to go back home.
However, my transport of choice would take months to drop me off in Kolkata. So, I resigned myself to fate and left for the airport on 8th May, 2010.
San Francisco Airport
We reached the airport around 3 hours before take-off. The wheelchair assistance service of Singapore Airlines was pathetic. The ground staff were unable to arrange a better seat for me. The lady who handled the wheelchair was listless and apathetic. I decided limping was better than being dragged along by a complete morone. Hubby brought along a salad. But I was too much terrified to eat.
Herein, I must mention the counter-intuitive design of the San Fran airport. The restrooms were rather far from the boarding lounge. One had to take an escalator/elevator and then had to walk a long way to the restroom. Also, most of the eateries were closed. USA is full of 24 hour diners like Dennys etc. Wonder why they did not think of something similar for the airport which has international flights that take-off in the middle of the night.
Flight from San Fran to Hongkong
This flight was of 14 hours duration and my longest flight ever. The first of the flight was pretty much uneventful with very little turbulence. I managed to calm my nerves with a photograph of Ma Kali, my stuffed toy Buni and my hubby's hand. I watched 'Shutter Island' to keep my mind away from the bumps and dips of the plane. I hardly ate any dinner or breakfast. However, I ate two crackers and some potato chips.
My back was hurting badly by the third hour. I rubbed on some Volini and took short walks.
The plane started trembling violently near Osaka over Japan Sea. I was sure that I was going to die. I let out a muffled scream much to the consternation of other passengers. This horrible state of affairs continued for around 15 minutes. But, it was enough to shatter my nerves. This happened two hours before touchdown. I did not move from my seat again before hitting terra firma.
Hongkomg Airport
This was a lovely airport. Absolutely spic-and-span and thankfully with strategically placed restrooms. I had denied wheelchair assistance this time after the messy experience at San Fran. Me and hubby freshened up with the mini toothpaste and toothbrush provided by the airlines. I tried to prepare myself for the next flight which was in less than an hour.
Flight from Hong Kong to Singapore
This flight did not bother me as much since we had crossed the Pacific by then and it was daytime outside. However, I still could not eat and was subsequently faced with a mini-mutiny by hubby who refused to have lunch unless I ate too. We struck a compromise where I ate a few bits of fruit and promised to eat a blueberry muffin later and he ate everything but the main course. There was almost no turbulence in this 4 hour flight. The Seat Belt sign never turned on other than take-off and touch-down.
Singapore Airport - Changi
This is the most marvellous airport in the whole world and this was my second time here - however, it took me two visits to succumb to it's charms. I was meeting my sister-in-law in Singapore and was bothered by the fact that I was stinking at that point in time. We got ourselves transit visas and met up with our relatives. After a fun-filled 7 hours at their house, we bade them goodbye. We still had about an hour when we reached Changi. We finished up some last minute shopping as I braced for one last flight before reaching sweet home.
Flight from Singapore to Kolkata
I was super-nervous on this flight. I was this close to reaching my sweet Kolkata. I wanted the flight to be super smooth and safe. Again, I refused dinner and just had orange juice with soda. I saved up a yoghurt for later. This was a night flight and the pilot warned about impending turbulence. However, there was about 5 minutes of very low-grade turbulence and we made a somewhat bumpy touch-down in Kolkata.
Kolkata Airport
I was home after 11 months!! Yippee!!!
However, my transport of choice would take months to drop me off in Kolkata. So, I resigned myself to fate and left for the airport on 8th May, 2010.
San Francisco Airport
We reached the airport around 3 hours before take-off. The wheelchair assistance service of Singapore Airlines was pathetic. The ground staff were unable to arrange a better seat for me. The lady who handled the wheelchair was listless and apathetic. I decided limping was better than being dragged along by a complete morone. Hubby brought along a salad. But I was too much terrified to eat.
Herein, I must mention the counter-intuitive design of the San Fran airport. The restrooms were rather far from the boarding lounge. One had to take an escalator/elevator and then had to walk a long way to the restroom. Also, most of the eateries were closed. USA is full of 24 hour diners like Dennys etc. Wonder why they did not think of something similar for the airport which has international flights that take-off in the middle of the night.
Flight from San Fran to Hongkong
This flight was of 14 hours duration and my longest flight ever. The first of the flight was pretty much uneventful with very little turbulence. I managed to calm my nerves with a photograph of Ma Kali, my stuffed toy Buni and my hubby's hand. I watched 'Shutter Island' to keep my mind away from the bumps and dips of the plane. I hardly ate any dinner or breakfast. However, I ate two crackers and some potato chips.
My back was hurting badly by the third hour. I rubbed on some Volini and took short walks.
The plane started trembling violently near Osaka over Japan Sea. I was sure that I was going to die. I let out a muffled scream much to the consternation of other passengers. This horrible state of affairs continued for around 15 minutes. But, it was enough to shatter my nerves. This happened two hours before touchdown. I did not move from my seat again before hitting terra firma.
Hongkomg Airport
This was a lovely airport. Absolutely spic-and-span and thankfully with strategically placed restrooms. I had denied wheelchair assistance this time after the messy experience at San Fran. Me and hubby freshened up with the mini toothpaste and toothbrush provided by the airlines. I tried to prepare myself for the next flight which was in less than an hour.
Flight from Hong Kong to Singapore
This flight did not bother me as much since we had crossed the Pacific by then and it was daytime outside. However, I still could not eat and was subsequently faced with a mini-mutiny by hubby who refused to have lunch unless I ate too. We struck a compromise where I ate a few bits of fruit and promised to eat a blueberry muffin later and he ate everything but the main course. There was almost no turbulence in this 4 hour flight. The Seat Belt sign never turned on other than take-off and touch-down.
Singapore Airport - Changi
This is the most marvellous airport in the whole world and this was my second time here - however, it took me two visits to succumb to it's charms. I was meeting my sister-in-law in Singapore and was bothered by the fact that I was stinking at that point in time. We got ourselves transit visas and met up with our relatives. After a fun-filled 7 hours at their house, we bade them goodbye. We still had about an hour when we reached Changi. We finished up some last minute shopping as I braced for one last flight before reaching sweet home.
Flight from Singapore to Kolkata
I was super-nervous on this flight. I was this close to reaching my sweet Kolkata. I wanted the flight to be super smooth and safe. Again, I refused dinner and just had orange juice with soda. I saved up a yoghurt for later. This was a night flight and the pilot warned about impending turbulence. However, there was about 5 minutes of very low-grade turbulence and we made a somewhat bumpy touch-down in Kolkata.
Kolkata Airport
I was home after 11 months!! Yippee!!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The BrokeBack in Emergency
I went to my boss´s place on 2nd May for a barbecue party. This was also my farewell. I quite enjoyed myself on this ocassion. Ate a frightful amount of roast beef and had two tumblerful of red wine. I had sat at the yard with both my legs swinging from a bench.
I paid the price of my enjoyment just the next day. I had to call a friend to take me to an emergency. The pain in my left leg was killing me. My friend took me to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation emergency department where a certain Dr. Ahluwalia took me for my word when I said that I feared the pain in my left calf was due to my lower back injury. She did not botther to run any diagnostic tests whatsoever. She did not even pull up my legs to ensure there was no gross neurodeficit. For all I know, the left calf pain could very well have been a result of a local injury. Going by the diagnosis of this brilliant doctor, the nurse gave me two rather painful injections of Prednisolon and Toradol respectively on my butt. In addition, the doctor also prescribed Hydrocodone(Vicodin) and Indomethacin. I Googled later to find that the latter has very severe side-effects. Thankfully, I had not partaken of this particular medication and was hence saved from a nightmarish headache(one of the many nasty side-effects of Indomethacin).
The injections gave me an all over body ache and by the time my hubby reached me on 6th May, I was completely bed-ridden.
I wish I could have seen that doctor again. To give her the same injections and one dose of Indomethacin.
I paid the price of my enjoyment just the next day. I had to call a friend to take me to an emergency. The pain in my left leg was killing me. My friend took me to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation emergency department where a certain Dr. Ahluwalia took me for my word when I said that I feared the pain in my left calf was due to my lower back injury. She did not botther to run any diagnostic tests whatsoever. She did not even pull up my legs to ensure there was no gross neurodeficit. For all I know, the left calf pain could very well have been a result of a local injury. Going by the diagnosis of this brilliant doctor, the nurse gave me two rather painful injections of Prednisolon and Toradol respectively on my butt. In addition, the doctor also prescribed Hydrocodone(Vicodin) and Indomethacin. I Googled later to find that the latter has very severe side-effects. Thankfully, I had not partaken of this particular medication and was hence saved from a nightmarish headache(one of the many nasty side-effects of Indomethacin).
The injections gave me an all over body ache and by the time my hubby reached me on 6th May, I was completely bed-ridden.
I wish I could have seen that doctor again. To give her the same injections and one dose of Indomethacin.
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