From alpha testing to the QUERCUS 200

Made it through my field work okay. It was an easy day with about a mile and a half of easy hiking. Crossing a fence a couple times wasn't easy on the back, but that was the toughest part of it. I think the heat is a benefit as far as how my back feels moving around.

I made a terrible choice for lunch (Chinese buffet) and I feel cruddy from that. I have been allowing myself to eat meat or whatever I want for a while, but I have come to the conclusion that not eating meat is a better choice for me. It isn't a restriction in that I can eat it if I want to, but I have come to the conclusion that I don't want to eat it anymore.

I now by how my clothes are fitting that I have regained some weight since leaving the scale alone. I need to focus on making healthy eating choices consistently so that stops. If I outgrow my tighter pants that I am in now I will have to consider giving up on the no scale plan and I would like to avoid that. So good choices for me. I feel like I may not be hungry again today as I am so stuffed at the moment.

Have a great evening everyone!
 
Healthy choices are tough, aren't they? I know a guy who decimated nearly an entire colony of chocolate chip cookies. Ended up regretted it.

Anyway, that was yesterday. Today you can choose wisely. Even if you wind up at the buffet, you can stock up on soup and vegetables and grab just a couple little pieces of chicken or other critter.
 
Well I had a light and vegan dinner and a healthy vegetarian breakfast so I'm doing well since lunch yesterday.

I slept my way home yesterday and continued my nap until dinner. I could have stayed asleep, but I made myself get up and go play in my little pool which made my back loosen up a bit. It doesn't feel very good this morning and I could stay asleep all day I think. Lately the tiredness has been as limiting as the pain. Yesterday I had 6 cups of coffee, a 24 ounce sugar free monster, a powdered energy drink, and a coke zero. The only time I wasn't fighting sleep was when I was asleep which happened on the ride into work, at my desk at 5, on the way home, and when I got home. I also went to bed early. Maybe I have some kind of bug.
 
Regular lately. Today 4 cups of coffee, 2 diet sodas, 2 powdered energy packets, and a 24 oz sugar free monster. That's just to keep me awake enough to drive. Today was a tough field day. I have to schedule the epidural/steroid injection. I can't keep living like this. I skipped my allergy and cholesterol medication last night thinking I would be less groggy,but it made no difference except I'm snotty and sneezing. Sneezing is fun when your back is in spasm.

Positives for today:
I've made the decision to go on to the next stage of treatment.

I took the time to talk to a couple of coworkers when I returned from the field despite not wanting to. I felt better after I interacted and made soft plans for a social outing with one of them.

I got exercise today.

I very likely got some future business for our company today by explaining the elevated risks and challenges of developing a particular area to a client. It's an area that I would rather not see development, but if they are going to build I can minimize damages to the extent possible and keep the client out of trouble.
 
It's good to see you trying to turn a negative into a positive Quercus. Hope the pain can be relieved very soon! Well done in managing to get some exercise in!
 
The fact you have a pool is great as that helps the back.
No meat, can I ask why? I'm just curious about random things. Some do it for the animals but my friend did it for her sinus problems. She only eats fish and no other meat. It has helped her.

Coffee, is 6 cups bad? I drink anything from 2 to 6 cups daily
I can drink a coffee at 10 pm and still sleep like a baby.
While I was pregnant I drunk 1 or 2 and then switched to decaf for the restof the day but I'm back at real coffee.
 
Hey, a book worth reading for you - sounds like you're an introvert, like me. It's called "Quiet: The Power Of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", helps explain what introversion is and how to manage the extroverted world in which we live. I really enjoyed it, and it helped me to understand why I tend to lose patience when there's too much going on.

As for the back, sorry it's munging up your life so much. Fingers crossed that the next phase will do the trick. Chin up!
 
Thanks Cate, it's a struggle but I am trying to stay positive.

Nostalgic, the no meat thing has quite a few reasons.
It improves my diet is the main motivation. There are very few vegetarian options for eating out locally so no meat keeps me from spending the money and eating the huge portions at restaurants. When I make my own food and have to eat a mix of foods to get complete protein I eat a larger variety of food.

Meat is caloric dense so not having it is good for my caloric intake.

I've seen the feedlots and poultry houses first hand in my travels and they are disgusting and bad for the environment. The U.S. has also decided to eliminate poultry inspectors from chicken processing plants which leaves one of the healthiest meat options much less safe.

I will still eat wild game and fish that I hunt and catch myself, but this will account for a miniscule part of my diet. Especially when at this point I am unable to hunt or fish. I allow it as there is no large environmental impact in taking a few animals from a sustainable population. The meat is leaner and I know how it has been handled and how fresh it is. I also do all of my own butchering so the inspection of the animal is thorough and first hand.

I would say 6 cups is quite a bit, but caffiene dependence is low on my priorities of habits to break.

LJ, the book sounds interesting. I am odd in that I am rather extroverted once I have established contact with someone. I just don't normally initiate conversation and I go out of my way to avoid people in general. I have a difficult time finding people to relate to because I am very scientifically minded. I refute the idea that someone is conservative or liberal or that being a gun owner/hunter is a conservative act. I'm ashamed to associate with the stereotypical "gun nut". I hunt and own guns, but I would never join the NRA and I am for gun reforms. Using guns to have a healthy and direct relationship with omnivory and for the practical protection that is needed in a rural home is a combination that I haven't run into often, but that is my motivation.

My life is a constant barrage of learning, analysis, and experimentation (actual experiments, not getting high or being promiscuous). Sometimes people feel irrelevant or like a burden to those pursuits. My wife is often the sole exception to that sentiment and that's because we truly understand and compliment each other. Having her reduces my desire to interact with others for sure.

I'm feeling better than expected this morning and I'm not quite as tired. I have my PT reevaluation this afternoon and I don't have particularly high hopes. I imagine that I will start doing the exercises at home and schedule a consultation for the epidural on Monday.

That should be a long enough post.
 
Ha - you need to read the book! Worth checking if your library has it. From what you've written in that paragraph, you're an introvert! So am I, it's not a bad thing. And it also doesn't mean shy or anti-social.

Introverts are more sensitive to stimulation, so they (we) prefer more time to assess a new situation before plodding forward. It's actually a measurable part of the human brain - the more reactive to stimuli this thing is, the more introverted the person is.

Also, introverts need that "time alone" to recharge, where extroverts get recharged by interaction.

Aaaaand, I agree with you about your gun stance. I don't own any, nor do I hunt, but I support any hunter who's out there (for food, not just trophies).
 
I will check out the book.

I took a turn for the worse and I went home and slept for 4 hours. I've had some pain meds and I'm just going to stay in bed as long as I need to.
 
Ahhh! That thing looks scary. I hate bugs of any kind and have to be "saved" every time I see a spider.
I had to do a wikki search on it as I had never heard of it. They do look like scorpions. They kill their prey with a corrosive venom.

That makes sense. I would love to taste wild game. Everyone tells me you can really taste the difference.
I only have supermarket options and I hate to think how those animals were treated before hand.
I'm one of those hypocrites when it comes to meat eating. Couldn't kill an animal but, am very happy to eat one someone else has killed.
I can eat chicken, beef, pork, because when I hear the words I see meat. Can't eat rabbits, duck, deer because I picture the animal. Can't eat seafood because of the smell (only exception in fish n chips :-/ )
 
Venomous pincers sounds pretty scary, but this guy had to climb over the ridges of my skin. If you are a mm long springtail be worried.

Unfortunately the exercises were supposed to loosen me up so I could get out and about, but they didn't work. I left the house for the first time this morning to go to work. I haven't left the couch or bed other than those exercises since Friday when I came home from work early.

I left a message with the spine specialist that I need to schedule the site injection/epidural. I'm having a difficult time today as I slept very little last night. I'm a mess. My boss asked me to do fieldwork tomorrow and I had to turn it down. I almost cried which is ridiculous. No reason to even be upset. I'm losing it.
 
Eww... that little pseudoscorpion looks pretty gross!! Looks like a tick with pinchers! Blah!

I can't believe you're still dealing with such intense back pain. I wish I had some advice for you, but I don't other than to just hang in here.
 
Quercus said:
I left a message with the spine specialist that I need to schedule the site injection/epidural. I'm having a difficult time today as I slept very little last night. I'm a mess. My boss asked me to do fieldwork tomorrow and I had to turn it down. I almost cried which is ridiculous. No reason to even be upset. I'm losing it.
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Quercus, you are not losing it. Pain will do that to anyone! Almost crying is not ridiculous. You need to get something done about this & soon! Pain sucks!! Hope you can get your appointment with the spine specialist asap. Take it easy in the meantime if you can. Thank you very much for repping me today. It was a lovely start to my day. Kind regards, Cate.
 
Hi Cate! I'm feeling much more grounded today. I still hurt, but I slept a lot yesterday and last night. I tried to grocery shop with my wife last night and I used the cart like a walker and made it through a third of the shopping and had to go to the car. I was asleep when she got to the car and I slept my way home, slept until dinner, and napped my way to a 10PM bed time. Not much of a life, but I feel more rested even if it still hurts. I'm not looking forward to the final PT this afternoon. There is really no point and it will probably make me hurt more. Maybe I'll talk her into giving me estim, an ice pack, and an F on the reevaluation.
 
Ooops I didn't see your post at first Mandy. I'm out of options so there really isn't much advice. I just have to hang in there until I can get something done.

A tick with pinchers would be awful!
 
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