Log #20 (Getting out)

Whew!!! Finally!!!

Little league baseball season is finally getting underway. This is one of the things I really look forward to each spring and fall because it gives me a reason why I HAVE TO get out of the house. One thing I promised myself that I would do with my two youngest children--both boys--was that I would do what I could to attend and support their activities. If they are participating in a church program I go, even though the church pews are absolute torture. I take a pillow with me to sit on, but after about ten minutes that isn't enough padding and my back starts throbbing.

Baseball is a little different in that I am able to take a folding camp chair and sit on that. I still have to take a pillow to sit on and one to put behind my back, but with those three things I can sit up a little longer.

Today, for example, I took a Norco just before we left knowing that I would be in pain by the time we took the ten minute drive to the baseball fields. Walking from the car to the ballpark can be a very painful experience especially if there are a lot of cars and we have to park further away. Remember, I've already taken a pain pill before we get there. The games last roughly two hours and if they go over that it isn't by much, so I know what I'm dealing with each time we go. About half way through the game my back and groin was getting painful enough for me to take another pain pill. By the time the game was over and after picking up some KFC for dinner (using the drive through), I once again felt like someone was stabbing my groin and low back repeatedly with a knife. So when we got into the house we asked a blessing on the food and I went straight to bed so I could recline/lie down while eating. Plus I had to take a third pill.

On a good day when I don't do much moving around I can get by with two Norco tablets and sometimes just one. I take Oxycontin every eight hours no matter what because they are a slow release pain medication. The Norco is strictly for pain spikes. So that should illustrate what getting out does to me--I take more pain medication in the three hours surrounding a baseball game than I usually take in an entire day. My two boys play in different age groups so we sometimes have two games on a Saturday. That doesn't mean that I take twice as much medication. Most of the time two tablets can get me through two games if they are close enough together, but depending on how far apart they are I may take up to four tablets. The games take enough out of me physically that I have to really rest up for a day or two afterward.

One thing I need to explain about my groin pain is where it is located... The main portion of it is right over/in/on my pubic bone just to either side of the base of my penis. From that location it radiates across my lower abdomen then it curves up over my hips into my sides right about level with my belly button. It also radiates from the focal point on my pubic bone down into my inner thighs about half way to my knees. The majority of the time my right side is far worse than the left.

It is because of where the pain is centralized and how it radiates that I originally believed that I was passing a kidney stone that had become stuck. It feels like a kidney stone. I've passed some kidney stones since this began and couldn't tell the difference in pain. If you don't know what a kidney stone looks like... It isn't like a smooth little rock. It is more like a porcupine the size of a Bee Bee with very sharp little spikes. I actually passed one last week that looked like a sliver of wood. Those things hurt!!! And that is what I deal with on a daily basis if I stand up more than a few minutes, walk more than a few minutes, or sit up straight in a chair longer than a few minutes.

This isn't an easy life and that is why I can get irritated when people THINK they know better than me how much pain medication I should be taking or when they tell me CRAP about what they THINK I should be doing to feel better. If you know specifically about my problem, read an article about it, seen a TV show on it, or know someone personally who has overcome it by one method or another then I am all ears. I want to know how to fix it! BUT, if none of these sources applies to you then keep your opinions to yourself. PLEASE!!!