Monday, July 5, 2010

Leg Cramps Be-Gone - Please!

I'm getting really tired of these feeking leg cramps (thanks for the word MFN - I really like that one).
For the second night in a row, I've been wakened at 2:00am, or thereabouts, not because of hip pain (that seems to have been resolved by the steroid injection) but because of leg cramps.
I did manage to stretch them out and go back to sleep -- but I'm sure I'm going back to sleep because the new sleep med does such a good job on that front:  I'm too groggy NOT to drift off again.
But by 5:00am this morning (yesterday it was 4:00am) the cramps were too strong to allow me to stay asleep and I just couldn't stay in bed any longer.
I had to get up and stretch them out.
So I'm up for the day again.
And this too will be a long, busy day.
Yesterday, I managed fourteen minutes on my walk -- and I surpassed my goal landmark.  I was very impressed with the progress I'm making on that front.  I'm walking upright, without pain, like a person with a purpose.
John comes for these walks with me but he's not even trying to keep up with me, preferring to loll along the roadside looking at all the pretty flowers and sights (I swear he's three years old sometimes!)
As I passed him on my way back, I heard, "Your legs must be longer than mine because I'm keeping pace with you but I can't keep up with you."
Well, of course my legs are longer than his, so my stride is longer than his.  Before, when I couldn't walk without pain, I took "baby steps" so he walked much faster than I even when we went shopping.  But now, I'm walking the way I used to, which happens to be a naturally fast pace anyway.  And of course, since these walks are for exercise purposes, I'm definitely not 'taking a stroll.'
Today, I will again walk for fourteen minutes but I'm guessing that I won't exceed the point I hit yesterday, (but I hope I at least make it to the same landmark).
I'm simply too tired to put out the lead -- and I already know that if I push myself too much, I will pay dearly in other areas.

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