Still no barn

My knee is feeling better though.  I see the physiotherapist tomorrow (soonest I could get in to the place I wanted) and hopefully they will have good news on recovery times.  Its still a little unsteady on stairs and uneven ground, but I'm almost walking normally on the flat ground in the house and at home.

My Chiropractor was very upset with me today because I was at the barn all weekend and he thought I should have stayed home and recovered then.  Basically he told me I took the short term gain against the long term pain.

Ice packs on my A$$

Well more like my hip.  I slipped on some ice earlier this week and twisted my back a bunch.  At first I thought it was my knee, as it swelled a little. But I went to the Chiropractor today and he found the spot on my hip that lifted me off the table.  So after several ajustments and ice on and off my hip and knee all day the swelling has gone down significantly so I'm on the mend.

Barn has been quiet this week because of all the snow we've had this week, Oscar's mom went back to school yesterday so I hope to have a bit of a ride tomorrow on him and hopefully at least brush Lucy.  It should be a good weekend if my butt ever unfreezes.

Chiropractor

So I finally got in to see my chiropractor again today.  And boy he did a number on my back!  It was good though I know that when I rode on Monday I wasn't quite square so it was a good thing I went today. 

He was very happy with the news of my good blood tests, and the fact that I have been able to eliminate two of my drugs.

On the gluten free front I'm getting better at learning what works for my body although its taking some work.  I used to be able to throw together a sandwich or crackers and peanut butter for work but now that doesn't work at all.  On one hand I'm making much better decisions about the food that I'm eating and adding in a lot more fruit and veggies, and almost no pre-made stuff that you can buy in the stores.  On the other hand I'm having dreams about toast!

No good news but no bad news either

We haven't heard any more from E or her parents but at this point we know that no news is good news and that we knew they would be busy with doctor meetings and appointments today. 

Oscar and I are good.  We are really starting to work as a team.  Tonight I found a bit that really works for the two of us, and our walk/trot transitions are really coming.  Were going to start lessons with D next week to help with some of the issues that I'm seeing but cant quite fix on my own. 

On Saturday I had a very low key ride (I sat and talked to C more than we rode around!) but by the time I got off my right leg was numb.  I went and saw the Chiropractor on Monday and he found that my "funny disk" was pressing on my sciatic nerve and that was causing the occasional numbness. 

Still Alive!

I'm just about fully recovered from the cold, still have a bit of a cough, but even that seems to be going away. 

Oscar is good, tonight I actually had a chance to brush him for the first time in over a week.  I think he likes being a pretend halter horse, I'll have to get some updated pictures.  His coat is looking great, he's keeping his blanket on (he is well known for his ability to rip himself out of blankets he doesn't like) and hes gained some weight over the past couple of weeks. 

The chiropractor has really been helping.  I noticed on Wednesday that my ankle was bothering me a little, and I had an appointment but before I had a chance to say anything he said "oh your lower back needs done today!".  I'm also on a type of Flora digestive aid that he recommended that seems to be helping my digestive system.  And biggest change of all:

I've stopped drinking Pepsi!

I do miss it occasionally but I realize now what a huge factor it was playing in my health.  I'm still drinking lots of juice, but its much better for me than Pepsi.  And I have managed to triple my water intake over the past week.

I will say that my face has stopped breaking out, so if the outside is improving we can hope the same thing is happening in the inside.

Just not getting any better!

Yikes!  Well I got my IV last night.  Did work ok until the tubing came apart from the needle that was stuck in my arm. ... And once the drugs aren't flowing in... the blood starts flowing out....yuck....so that was nasty, but the nurse was quick to clean it up, and I no longer pass out at the sight of my own blood!

Today I'm at work when I suddenly start coughing all the time.  This is one of the side effects that is reportable, so i had to call 2 different doctors to report the symptoms, the 1-800 drug company number then left work 1/2 way though the day to get to see a different doctor to confirm it was just a cold that came on quickly. 

I did have a much better treatment at the Chiropractor on Wensday, got new insoles for my sneakers and I go back again tomorrow as well.  Its really starting to make a difference I think.  Oscar is getting his feet done tomorrow or Saturday so I hope to go riding this weekend, fingers crossed nothing else happens!

Its not all in my head

Well we got the results from all the tests that the Chiropractor took on Monday.  Turns out that I'm not crazy after all.  My hips/leg length are fine.  No twisting and one leg isn't longer than the other.  However there is a reason that I'm still occasional having issues with balance and uneven gait.  There is a disk in my lower back that is causing most of my problems.  Its not dangerous and the Chiropractor thinks that it can be helped with some minor adjustments (which will include a new pair of custom insoles for my shoes/boots, my old ones are 5 years old and do need to be replaced big time!) I should be back to a better "normal".

It was great to see the x-rays and have him explain what he thought my issues were (and he was correct, down to how my migraines hurt, and how I loose my balance).  And it was nice to realize that the issues I was having were real issues, and that they weren't related to the RA and they might even be fixable!

So basically it gets broken down into 3 areas.
1) bad neck alignment in my spine is causing the tight muscles and then the migraines as a cause of that.
2) one crappy section in my back, right about where my bra is.
3) bad disk in my pelvic region

We have  a plain of attack now, cross your fingers he can improve things!

There are some lines drawn that he was using for measurements on the x-rays 

neck x-ray

back of the neck disks (and teeth!)

back of the neck, shoulders without teeth

spine

side view but it went a bit blurry

funky disk is right above the cross of lines in the middle.

Lower back

Chiropractor for me

Well I know I'm crooked (though my hips) and the local chiropractor isn't doing much for me.  So on the recommendation of my best friend I went off to see her Chiropractor. 

Hes a former Junior A (semi pro 16-20 year old's) hockey player who went to a top school in the states.  He also manages the health of several semi-pro hockey teams in the area.  So he is very big on the "big picture" of how your body works and starting with a correct skeleton and building from that. 

So we started off with a full history, and ended up with a bunch of digital x-rays that he's going to look at. He tested my reflexes and I failed on my left leg, which was interesting...  On Wednesday I go back for a discussion on my x-rays, and a first adjustment.  Lets hope this helps my right hand side!

Wishes she could have a new right side.

Blah... So we had a very good ride today (more on that later) but I really need to figure out whats going on with the right side of my body. My hips are twisted (right hip is about 1/2 of an inch higher) but it usually is ok, and can usually work around and with any stiffness that is present. With this issues over Christmas, and after having the massage 2 weeks ago the joint pain is gone but my muscles are not handling the change well. Basically the muscles that I use to open my hips and wrap my thigh and lower legs around Lucas are extremely tender and weak. Its nice that for once its not a joint issue, but it still hurts!!

So for today's ride I lunged Lucas a lot! Once I got on he was a bit sticky but I mixed up the warm up a bit and did some rollbacks and finally got him to trot off out of one of them. Once I get him going hes ok and he was very good today. Once we got a bunch of long trotting done we threw in some short canter sections (10-15 strides at a canter, not much but we are still trying to focus on quality not quantity) to the right. Transitions were good and solid and he came back to the trot and walk steady and quiet and wasn't anticipating the 'next canter'.

(Just a note here: I've noticed he's getting 'stuck' more when we don't have some poles or trail stuff out, maybe hes extremely board of just going around the ring?)

I've been so worried and worked up over his left lead that I've been avoiding much of any cantering. We both get upset at my inability to cue him correctly and then I end up making us both even madder by trying to 'fix' him. I've been working with him on the lunge line that when he picks up an incorrect lead or gets disunited that I use a vocal command for him to come back to the trot for one stride then to canter off again.

So today I let him come off a diagonal change of direction to go to the left and simply sat and kissed. He took the wrong lead and threw his head around, but I let him come back and tried again twice. I think started thinking and using my brain about how to fix it if I couldn't fix 'me'. So after a bit I tried it again, just sitting, using my right spur and kissed. He got the wrong lead but I used our command, he came back to the trot, I kissed and he cantered off on the correct lead. I let him go a couple of strides then went back to work at the trot for a bit and let him come back to a walk and gave him a big pat. It was good because neither of us was as frustrated today as we have been about the lead, and we got it without a fight.

So we finished off with some one handed work, our correction bit is not the bit for that as he tends to get lighter and lighter and behind the bridle if I correct him too much in it. (Its great in that it offers a correction, but he likes to reach into in and travel level when the bit is at rest, but lightens up his front end when I need it) I think its time we look back into the bag of bits to see what else to try.

Here comes the chiropractor

The chiropractor came out today. On the side that Lucas has been the worst on (rushes though doorways) he had 6 ribs out of place. He had 2 on the other side as well. They were most swollen where my leg would be when I was riding him. He commented that he was amazed that Lucas was letting me ride him. He thought that the pressure of my legs must be really bothering him but he was a trooper for putting up with it.

Hes done work on Lucas before, and though that he looked the best than he's seen him look in years. That he was carrying enough weight had put some muscell tone he thought I was doing all the right stuff with him. He sujested some streaches to do to improve the musclle tone along his back but thought that it would improve in time.

He also said that my saddle fit!! the rigging rings had a bit of a twist to them (which were also pressing onto one of the ribs!) but he thinks we can get that strightened out. He of course liked my friends Wanger better, but thats ok I'll buy one eventuly but Im glad I just dont have to buy one right away. Liked the fit of the english saddle, loved the olgovy half pad (bonus points) and though that he should be ok being ridden in any of the 3.