Jul 28 2006
Aches and Pains
I loathe waking up before my alarm is set to go off, which seems to be the trend this week. Almost precisely at 5:30, my bladder rouses me from my sleep and forces me to make a trip to the bathroom. Normally, I walk to the restroom in the semi-darkness, do my business, return to bed and promptly fall back asleep. I don’t turn on the light for fear that it may shock me into a state of wakefulness which will make it harder for me to go back to sleep.
Unfortunately, the past several days, I’ve been waking up not only with a full bladder, but also a terrible, shooting pain in my left shoulder blade. Needless to say, this makes it much harder to fall asleep upon my return to bed. Believe me, every second counts when I only have 39 minutes before my alarm starts buzzing obnoxiously, signalling the start of another glorious day ahead.
I’m not quite sure what caused it: weight training, bon dancing, or if it’s just an extension of my ever-present neck, shoulder, and back tension. Or something else?
Like every loon with an Internet connection, I decided to consult Google. What I found played right into my hypochondriac fears:
“Pains that occur under the shoulder blade may signal a warning that the pain is not in the shoulder itself, but can be related to a pain from one of the organs in the body. The shoulder where the pain occurs can give the clue which of the organs are affected and causing the radiating pain into the shoulder. Pain under the left shoulder blade can be a signal that there is a problem with the stomach or in the chest.”
Naturally, this freaked me out. I was convinced that the pain in my shoulder was caused by the presence of some sort of serious illness. I must’ve been ranting like a maniac because Hubby interrupted me.
“Don’t freak yourself out about this. I’m sure you must’ve just tweaked something while you were working out with your weights,” he assured me in his calm, level-headed manner. “It’s a good thing you’re not a doctor. Every time you learn about a new disease, you’d be convinced that you’re dying from it. You’d probably think you had the bird flu even though it was just the common cold.”
He’s right. I’m a hopeless hypochondriac. What can I say? It’s one of my many, many quirks.
But needless to say, if this mystery pain doesn’t go away soon, I’m going to see my doc so that I can pay him to tell me that it’s nothing and that it’s just a part of growing old(er).
A 30-something Christian girl, blissfully wedded to her perfect match (the yang to her yin) of 14 years. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from her hometown, a slave to her mortgage payment, but seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest.
Boy do I understand the dreaded “wake before it’s time” syndrome. My bladder has a clock of its own! And lately, my blasted mouth has been keeping sleep at bay - it didn’t hurt before it was extracted but the space sure hurts now! Bah!
I’m sure that your shoulder pain is nothing serious, we just tend to forget that we aren’t quite as youthful as we once were! Feel better!
you are truly my virgo daughter! don’t worry! think about it …stress affects your stomach and your chest. i think you’ve been under so much stress. I too, used to get those sharp pains under my shoulder blade and nothing could get to it. tell hubby to find the muscle that is at the top of your shoulder, kinda nearer to your neck and press. there is one area that will shoot straight to that pain under your blade.
are you carrying your bag on that shoulder?? that may be a part of the problem too. you know who us women have to carry our whole house in our bag.
hope that helps … your hubby knows you the best ..maybe it is a muscle strain (mutiplied by stress..haha)
luv ya,
mama
Aloha Donna,
Sorry to hear about your shoulder and, er, the other thing. (I thought that’s more of a guy-type problem, hehe.) It’s good to hear that you’re on a weight training program though. I try to work out 3-4 x per week and mix cardio with machines and weights at 24 Hr. Fitness. For da wahine, it’s usually better to do more reps at lighter weight. Building core strength first is also a good thing. Do you use a workout ball? My wife uses one and I find for guys it’s kinda frustrating because our macho tendancy is to go with plenty weight without concentrating on the balance. Den we fall on our behind. Like Sensei Miyagi said, “Balance is the key Daniel-san.” Hehe!
Aloha and God Bless,
Mark
PS, our church’s Pot Faith (as in plenty kau kau) is tonight and our Worship Team is kicking off a new tune called “I Am Free”. Hopefully I’ll have viddy courtesy of my wife or daughter.
hello champuru!
there’s a saying: Doctor, heal thyself! i think it applies to your case here, except it’s more like “doctor, diagnose yourself.” =) i guess the lesson is that both things are nigh impossible. i’ve heard of med students freaking out because every disease they learn about, they believe they have it (this applies especially to mental disorders). haha. i’m all for WebMD and other online resources for health consciousness, but it does lead to misuses. i’m sure it’s really nothing. could have been just you sleeping in a wrong position.
it’s been a while since i’ve commented here… guilt galore. i do want to tell you though, i immensely enjoyed your bon festival photos. got to see your hubby’s face too! =)