Shingles

I thought shingles was something that only struck old people. Well, I learned today that anyone who previously had chicken pox can get shingles, and that's what I have. I also learned it hurts. At least it explains the pain I am in. For most of this week, I have been experiencing some rather strong bouts of pain radiating from my mid-back to around the front. I chalked it up to sleeping wrong or pulling a muscle while working out. The pain though wasn't responding to ibuprofen and I had enough, so I made an appointment yesterday to visit the doc today. When I woke up this morning, I discovered a lovely rash on my back. The doctor took one look at the rash and knew. She said this was my body's way of saying, "I'm important. Pay attention to me and slow down"

While I would love to get 8 hours of sleep every night, workout 5 times a week, we talked my reality, not my dream world. She encouraged me to start small -- restart taking a daily multi-vitamin and try to go to bed at least a 1/2 hour earlier. We also discussed my current stress level. All she really had to offer was empathy, but she gave me something even better, some good painkillers. Although, I had to hold off taking them. A side-effect is drowsiness, so I didn't think as a responsible parent I should take them unless Ella was comfortably asleep in her crib. When she finally was, I popped two, which I had permission to do at night. I feel better but I was hoping for more of a relief. I hope that will come once I know Mike has safely landed and is back home. Thank goodness, he comes back tonight. With the way I've been feeling, I'm more than ready for another set of hands.