In any case, the horrid week long flare that I was in ended right before Mother Nature decided to sideswipe me (leaving me to wonder, of course, if that horrid flare was in any way related) and I actually had a couple of good days in there. Followed by a couple of typical female type normal pain days. Yay for that!
The weather also took a dramatic turn over the weekend, turning unseasonably hot, which might have also factored in to the lessening pain. My rheumatologist practically promised me at my last visit that my pain levels would decrease as the weather improved. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's right. I will say, that I am feeling downright chipper and have had two reasonably good days in a row.
In fact, yesterday was limited to a little minor lower back pain in the early afternoon and a headache that came on as I was going to bed. I still had the headache this morning but it responded to pain medication, which I took as soon as I got to work. I had a lot on my schedule for today and managed to sail through with no issues, getting everything accomplished and not even getting stressed out about all I had to do, including organizing and running a major meeting. It's so nice to be able to post about having a few good days and feeling successful for a change.
Maybe it's the luck of the Irish!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this run of feeling good will continue for a few more days, at least. I don't want to jinx it! I have a couple more things this week that I need to get through, including an appointment with my rheumatologist to have him fill out a medical questionnaire for HR at work. This is what they will use as documentation in order to provide any "accommodations" due to my condition at work. They finally came and did the ergonomic assessment of my office and other work area yesterday and that went fairly well. He had some suggestions to make for how to arrange things, recommended that they get me a foot rest (once he had my chair adjusted how he wanted it, my feet were not able to be placed flat on the floor - short legs, you know!) and when I mentioned that my boss had offered to buy me a new chair, he said he would include that in the report as a recommendation.
It's not really that I feel like I need much in the way of accommodations. And if my boss hadn't initiated the whole thing by taking it to HR in the first place, I probably wouldn't think to ask for anything. But since she did, I'm thinking of things that can make accomplishing my work easier and less stressful. Mainly little things like being able to flex my schedule a bit to accommodate bad days by leaving a little earlier and then staying later on a different day. Not having to work nights (I don't currently work a night but I have in the past). Not having to teach a credit class (both stress and time on my feet). Not having to stand for more than 75 minutes (the length of the workshops I teach). Having desk shifts and workshops scheduled earlier in the day rather than later. Generally, it's all pretty minor stuff in the scheme of things. We'll see what the doctor says.
I'm hoping for a good weekend since my birthday is on Saturday. I'd really like to be able to enjoy the day with a minimal amount of pain! If everything goes according to plan, the family will be participating in the 100 Mile Club Run4Kids event. It's local to us and supports a great organization that encourages kids to get out and run and be active. They track their mileage at different events and school activities, with the goal of getting to 100 miles. Saturday should be fun and I'm hoping for good weather and low pain levels!
I hope Lucky the Leprechaun has dropped by and delivered a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for each of you!
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