Mir: minus the armor

[Blueberries]

I have been thinking about calling the psych office to change drs but I haven't done it. This may be silly, but I kind of feel like I am betraying the guy I have been seeing. I'm sure he doesn't care. But I can't help the feeling.

Have you considered switching to a psychiatrist to handle your eval and symptom/med management? Then you could seek out whatever specific kind of counseling you need, whether it's CBT or something else, but you'd still have some stability in who's managing your treatment even if you jumped around as far as therapy goes. Just a thought.

I have no goats to offer you, but I do have a podcast that was helpful for me this morning: ADHD and Total Overwhelm (Web Link) OR  iTunes Link (Episode #120)

[Morrigainz]

They have a psychiatrist at the office I go to, but I gather he/she is pretty booked. When I went the the employee service thing here, the guy I talked to said that the psychologists work closely with PCPs to figure out meds. But as far as I can tell that doesn't really seem to be the case. I probably should call and see if I can get an appointment with the psychiatrist. Just another thing on the list I guess

 

The place I go is the only place in the county that accepts my insurance, so even if I switch, at least it will be within the same office?

[msuroo]

I have been thinking about calling the psych office to change drs but I haven't done it. This may be silly, but I kind of feel like I am betraying the guy I have been seeing. I'm sure he doesn't care. But I can't help the feeling. 

 

If he is worth his salt, he will care, but in the best way (ie, he will want you to find the Dr that you work best with).  One of my best friends is a professional psych, and he stresses this point repeatedlly - developing a reltaionship with your therapist is a very personal thing, and there are lots of reasons it does or doesn't work.  He encourages everyone to try multiple people (if you have the opportunity) because sometimes you don't even know what is or isn't working until you have something to compare against.  And hey, sometimes you just need a change for change's sake.

 

But basically, if he feels betrayed because you feel like you need a new Dr, then he is a crappy psych and you shouldn't care how he feels.

[Blueberries]

They have a psychiatrist at the office I go to, but I gather he/she is pretty booked. When I went the the employee service thing here, the guy I talked to said that the psychologists work closely with PCPs to figure out meds. But as far as I can tell that doesn't really seem to be the case. I probably should call and see if I can get an appointment with the psychiatrist. Just another thing on the list I guess

 

The place I go is the only place in the county that accepts my insurance, so even if I switch, at least it will be within the same office?

 

That does complicate things a little bit. But I agree with Roo that you've got to find a good fit for you. Maybe if you want to explore trying to get in with the psychiatrist, I wonder if they'd let you get on his waiting list but see one of the other psychologists in the meantime.

 

Ugh. The List. I hate the list.

[Morrigainz]

Getting on the p-doc's waiting list is actually a good thing to put on The List. Rounds it out to 6 items, which is one item per week!

[AngelaTheGeek]

Just popping in to say hi!

 

[Morrigainz]

Just popping in to say hi!

 

hai!

 

 

 

Back update: saw PT tonight. She said I have problems with my SI joint. Lots of other stuff going on too - tightness in the hip flexors (which I knew), weak gluteus medius (which I did not expect) and apparently my pelvis was rotated somehow?

 

Anyway. She gave me some exercises to do, and I've scheduled PT 3x/week for the next couple of weeks, and then 2x/week after that.

 

My exercises:

 

Hermione Gainser's clam exercises.

flattening the back against the bed/floor/table using my core, NOT my butt muscles

some thing where i lay on the table/bed/couch and dangle one of my legs off the table/bed/couch. As I get better she said I might need someone to pull the leg back for me.

 

I sure hope this helps.

[AngelaTheGeek]

hai!

Back update: saw PT tonight. She said I have problems with my SI joint. Lots of other stuff going on too - tightness in the hip flexors (which I knew), weak gluteus medius (which I did not expect) and apparently my pelvis was rotated somehow?

Anyway. She gave me some exercises to do, and I've scheduled PT 3x/week for the next couple of weeks, and then 2x/week after that.

My exercises:

Hermione Gainser's clam exercises.

flattening the back against the bed/floor/table using my core, NOT my butt muscles

some thing where i lay on the table/bed/couch and dangle one of my legs off the table/bed/couch. As I get better she said I might need someone to pull the leg back for me.

I sure hope this helps.

Ugh... Sorry to hear this. I was initially under the impression that my issue was my SI joint, but it turned out to be my lower back. nightlight told me about a stretch for my SI joint, where you sit on a couch/chair and push your knees in against your elbows while pushing your elbows out. I can't remember what she called it, but it's supposed to help realign your joint. It feels amazing. I do it when I'm warming up for practice, but in a squat.

I hope it gets better soon!!!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Morrigainz]

Honestly I'm glad it's the SI joint. When it first happened, I was worried that it was a herniated disc. Which I think would be a lot more work to fix. She basically told me that in addition to whatever is going on, I was pretty tight all over (which I kind of knew) and that I had muscle imbalances. By that I'm guessing that she meant my IT band is a lot stronger than my gluteus medius.

[AngelaTheGeek]

Honestly I'm glad it's the SI joint. When it first happened, I was worried that it was a herniated disc. Which I think would be a lot more work to fix. She basically told me that in addition to whatever is going on, I was pretty tight all over (which I kind of knew) and that I had muscle imbalances. By that I'm guessing that she meant my IT band is a lot stronger than my gluteus medius.

 

Oh, I agree. Having a problem in the SI joint is probably easier to fix than a back issue. My MRI showed a slightly herniated disc. I took a long break from lifting and got some much needed help on my technique, so now I'm pain free and back to my old numbers.

[AKLulu]

Glad you're getting some things figured out! Hope those exercises help. My mom has always had back problems and does the using the core to flatten her back against the ground/bed one. She can really tell when she hasn't been keeping up with it.

[JessOfAllTrades]

Glad you have some answers and some PT stuff to do! I hope it helps.

[Bunnit]

MIR. 

 

Super jealous of your holiday but glad you had such a good time

 

Really hope Mr Mir is feeling back to best ASAP as well.

 

Glad you're getting things sorted, I'm more than sure you'll be kicking life's ass soon enough!

 

We got yo' back!

[Hermione Gainser]

hai!

 

 

 

Back update: saw PT tonight. She said I have problems with my SI joint. Lots of other stuff going on too - tightness in the hip flexors (which I knew), weak gluteus medius (which I did not expect) and apparently my pelvis was rotated somehow?

 

Anyway. She gave me some exercises to do, and I've scheduled PT 3x/week for the next couple of weeks, and then 2x/week after that.

 

My exercises:

 

Hermione Gainser's clam exercises.

flattening the back against the bed/floor/table using my core, NOT my butt muscles

some thing where i lay on the table/bed/couch and dangle one of my legs off the table/bed/couch. As I get better she said I might need someone to pull the leg back for me.

 

I sure hope this helps.

 

Yus!

 

But sorry you're a member of the weak medius club.  It's a bummer. Plus side: it won't be long before you see improvement.

 

Oh, and my pelvis likes to rotate, too. Seriously. It's so annoying.  But that's why I see my chiro regularly - she keeps that mofo in line.

 

Rest up, clam up and you'll be back in action in no time!

[The Tin Man]

Mir. Much love. Nightlight had shared this with me a bit ago, does your pt have you doing anything like it?

[Strawberry Squatcake]

I'm also a member of the twisted pelvis club.

 

I actually came here to post what Tin Man posted. I do what he's doing, but I've always done both legs (I do the right, then the left, then the center thing, but I really struggle with the pushing the legs back in in the last step. I'm not sure if I could identify one side that bothers me, but I might try now! I get this glorious pop when I do the hands between the legs thing (dirty). Except I put my rolling ball in there (it's about the size of a medicine ball), but compares more to an exercise balls since it's aired up. I feel like I get more resistance that way. Anywho, that one has helped me a lot. I recommend. 

 

And I also tried moving the back to the floor with my abs thing. That felt weird. I have never done that before. I think I need to keep doing it!

 

I also did the thing Angela suggested with the squatting and pushing the legs out. I'd never done it from a chair, which I tried. Then I tried from squat position, which I'd done way less aggressively before.

 

All this to say, I feel different today. In a good way. Not quite THIS bendy, but getting there:

 

 

Seriously. How?

[AngelaTheGeek]

I wish it didn't loop! CANNOT BE UNSEEN!!!

[Morrigainz]

WOW. What the actual fuck. I agree with Angela. CANNOT UNSEE. LIFE IS DOOMED.

 

I haven't tried anything exactly like that video yet, but we've done several exercises where I have to push against her hand/leg in various positions. I'll definitely take a look at the vid.

 

Slept on the floor last night at my sister's, and my back definitely hurt more today. Luckily I had a PT session this afternoon. She did some kind of ultrasound/electric stim thing and it helped the pain quite a bit. We did some of the same exercises we did before, she showed me a different way to stretch the quad/hip flexors, and then she showed me a new one where she wrapped a theraband around my ankles, I had to drop my hips and bend my knees slightly, and then walk sideways. It was really awkward and I'm not sure I was doing it quite right. Maybe I just needed a slightly stronger theraband? Not sure.

 

I'm making slow but sure progress on cleaning the house. It's really hard to do when I'm in pain. Things like washing the dishes aren't *so* bad (although not great, since I still have to bend slightly to turn on the faucet and that's uncomfortable), but picking things up on the floor, doing laundry, etc...not so great.

[Wufkar]

I'm also a member of the twisted pelvis club.

 

I actually came here to post what Tin Man posted. I do what he's doing, but I've always done both legs (I do the right, then the left, then the center thing, but I really struggle with the pushing the legs back in in the last step. I'm not sure if I could identify one side that bothers me, but I might try now! I get this glorious pop when I do the hands between the legs thing (dirty). Except I put my rolling ball in there (it's about the size of a medicine ball), but compares more to an exercise balls since it's aired up. I feel like I get more resistance that way. Anywho, that one has helped me a lot. I recommend. 

 

And I also tried moving the back to the floor with my abs thing. That felt weird. I have never done that before. I think I need to keep doing it!

 

I also did the thing Angela suggested with the squatting and pushing the legs out. I'd never done it from a chair, which I tried. Then I tried from squat position, which I'd done way less aggressively before.

 

All this to say, I feel different today. In a good way. Not quite THIS bendy, but getting there:

 

 

Seriously. How?

There was an article about this, part of her hip bone was removed so there's no stopping her leg ball joint.

 

I advise NOT to pursue that level of flexibility.

 

Also subbed

 

[alienjenn]

I *think* I got all my water in. I know this sounds silly, but after getting up several times to get water, I seem to lose count. I may have gotten it done at work, but if not I definitely chugged some water when I got home.

 

 

 

when I was counting water... I would put hair bands (the amount of hair bands equal to the number of bottles I needed to drink) around the bottle... every time I refilled the bottle I removed a band... when all the bands were gone I met my goal... 

 

 

 

that and subbed

[cline]

Sorry to hear of the back woes but here's the thing: PT works!!!! Sounds like you are off to an awesome start.

Spousal unit hurt his back about 1.5 years ago and when he got into PT they told him weak core. Yup. So he PT'd like crazy, I sent him to WMAT who taught him about core and how to strengthen it, AND WMAT looked at his squat which was missing core. Fixed that too (that's how he got hurt). He still does ab stuff regularly and he's right as rain. Took a while to get his squat back but he did.

PT is fantastic!!!

[Strawberry Squatcake]

Sorry to hear of the back woes but here's the thing: PT works!!!! Sounds like you are off to an awesome start.

Spousal unit hurt his back about 1.5 years ago and when he got into PT they told him weak core. Yup. So he PT'd like crazy, I sent him to WMAT who taught him about core and how to strengthen it, AND WMAT looked at his squat which was missing core. Fixed that too (that's how he got hurt). He still does ab stuff regularly and he's right as rain. Took a while to get his squat back but he did.

PT is fantastic!!!

Why do I feel like this is probably an issue for me? Ugh. Because I read it and said, "Ugh. I better check that." So it likely is. Better to know now than when I hurt myself like Mr. Cline.

[EmCee]

Bahaha - clam exercises. I immediately thought kegels.

[Strawberry Squatcake]

Bahaha - clam exercises. I immediately thought kegels.

 

I have these workout videos (The Firm) and the older ones (pre-2002ish) ALWAYS work in pelvic floor flexing. It's so funny because I don't know any workout videos now that address such things. So when they tell you to do it, I laugh. Which I suppose is good anyway. 

[Blueberries]

I'm also a member of the twisted pelvis club.

Ditto. I think we should make t-shirts. I feel like there are probably amazing puns for this that I'm just not seeing right now.

Also, ACK! That leg GIF seriously just made me gag. OMG.

-----

Sorry you're still having trouble, Mir! SI joint stuff is a pain (literally), but I'm glad it's not something worse like disc issues. I was really worried about that after you first posted about what was going on.