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Mar 23, 2015

Race Recap – runDisney Princess Enchanted 10k (Part 1)

March 23, 2015 By Christina

[Note: I tried writing this recap as a single post. It was nearly 3000 words. To spare your eyes, I’m breaking it up into two parts.]

It was after last year’s Disney Social Media Moms Conference, where I ran a two mile fun run through Disneyland, that I decided I wanted to run in a runDisney race event. I loved running through the parks, and wanted to do it as part of an official race, with a medal. I really hadn’t run anything more than a 5k, and the idea of traveling across several states just to run another 5k was not going to work. If I was going to do it, I had to challenge myself to something bigger.

I registered for the Enchanted 10k, part of the Princess Half Marathon weekend at Walt Disney World, back in July, so I was committed to this race months ahead of time. It’s a good thing, too, because I needed the extra time to get ready for it. An injury in mid-October led me to missing out on weeks of running as I rested my foot, tried to run again, injured it again, and then spent six weeks in a boot. When I was released to run again in mid-January, my orthopedic doctor recommended I take it slow and drop out of the 10k, because I wouldn’t have enough time to get ready for it. While I appreciated his opinion, I wasn’t letting this race slip past me. I got back into running, despite the cold weather, and did my best to increase my mileage again at a reasonable, but quick, rate.

A few weeks before the race, I had completed five miles. That was as far as I’d get before the race, due to needing time to rest and recover after losing my pregnancy. That moment left me emotionally raw. I lost one of the things I was looking forward to this year, and so when looking at this chance to run through a Disney park, I refused to lose this experience, too. I knew I could make it five miles, so another 1.2 was possible, even if it was just walking.

The Day Before the Race

We arrived in Walt Disney World on February 20, the morning of the Frozen 5k. On one hand, I wish I had done that race just because the medal was so cute. On the other, the 5k lived up to its name by setting a record low temperature that day – below freezing. It was – literally – the Frozen 5k. Perhaps it was a good thing that I missed it.

We skipped going right to our resort and instead went to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex to pick up our race bibs at the Princess Half Marathon Expo. This was the second day of the expo, so there wasn’t as much of a crowd.

Getting a photo in front of my race banner on a very chilly morning.

We received our bibs with practically no waiting, and the official merchandise lines weren’t that long, either. (Sadly, the Dooney & Bourke PHM purses sold out on the first day, so I missed my chance of getting one.)

The second area of the expo was a little more crowded, with lots of vendors to see, including my favorite SparkleSkirts. It was a run-nerd’s paradise of gear. I bought a new SparkleSkirt, and picked up the RawThreads hoodie that I had pre-ordered, while Aaron bought a new pair of sunglasses.

The kids were less thrilled to look at running gear all day, so we cut our time in the expo short, but not before spotting Jeff Galloway and stopping for a photo and an autograph.

Jeff Galloway is the trainer for runDisney, and his run-walk-run method has helped many new runners cross the finish line. After I tried different couch-to-5k programs with little success (I almost always failed when I reached the 8 or 10 minute long running segments), I decided to give his method of interval running a try. It’s because of his method that I was confident that I could do this race, and I recommend him to all new runners I meet.

After the expo, we checked in to our resort, Port Orleans Riverside. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside two years ago in one of the Princess rooms. This time we stayed on the other side of Riverside – Alligator Bayou. These rooms are decorated to have a more rustic look, but the bonus is that they also have a fold down bed.

The wooden box/bench on the left folds down into a bed.

We knew Mira was an active sleeper, but didn’t realize just how active until our stop on the drive down the night before, when sharing a bed with Cordy proved almost impossible. Mira woke Cordy up several times with her constant shifting around in bed. Having the fold-down bed in our resort room was perfect – now each kid could have her own bed!

My race was the next morning, and I was focused on drinking as much water as I could, stretching, and preparing myself. But I didn’t want to stay in the room all day, so we went to Magic Kingdom for a few hours, with the knowledge that I wanted to be in bed by 9pm and not do too much walking. That was still plenty of time to meet a couple of princesses, ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and eat dinner before going back to the room.

Seriously, I will never get tired of this view.

The Morning of the Race

My alarm went off just before 3am. Wait, 3am, you say? Yes, runDisney events start very early in the morning, and to be on the bus in time, it’s best to be out at the bus stop at 3:30am. I quickly got my running costume on (details on my costume will be another post), tried to do something with my hair and makeup, made sure I had everything I needed, and left the room to catch the bus.

The “flat me” for the race – making sure I had everything I needed.

OMG it was cold outside. Not as cold as the people who ran the Frozen 5k endured, but it was still unusually cold for Florida at 39 degrees. I had leggings and a long sleeve shirt under my costume, but it still felt cold walking through the resort to the bus stop.

A bus was waiting and I enjoyed the short ride to sit and eat my bagel for breakfast. Once we arrived in the Epcot parking lot, I followed the thousands of people streaming into the race area. There were large clusters of people gathered around outdoor heaters. It was at this point that I pulled out my mylar blanket to help me stay warm.

Forget what you’ve heard, the cold did bother me.

It wasn’t long before we were sent to our corrals. I was disappointed to be in the last corral, worried that I’d have very little cushion to finish under the time limit, but I was still determined to finish. The corral was packed, and I worked my way up as close to the front of the corral as I could.

Looking towards the front of corral E. (At least twice as many people behind me.)

Once we were in our corrals, we waited. I’m not sure how long we waited in the corrals. It was probably not as long as it felt to me. I refused to release my death grip on my mylar blanket and risk letting cold air in long enough to check my watch.

And then? Finally, it was go time. [To be continued in Part 2, which can be found here.]

Filed Under: Disney, me me me, running

Dec 8, 2014

Thanksgiving Day Race Fail

December 8, 2014 By Christina

I realized I left everyone hanging about the outcome of my foot. My orthopedic doctor suggested an MRI to determine the cause of the pain on the outside edge of my foot, wanting to rule out a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal. The good news is that there was no sign of any fractures. The bones looked healthy and strong. He said there wasn’t a lot of fluid or anything indicating a severe tendonitis, either, but that it’s still possible to have tendonitis without the swelling and fluid.

So the recommendation was that I wear the boot for another 2-3 weeks and do physical therapy twice a week. This meant missing out on the Hot Chocolate 5k that I was registered for, and it put the Flying Feather 4 mile race on Thanksgiving Day in jeopardy.

I just wanted to run again.

I called the physical therapist and set up twice a week appointments. The therapist found that my right foot didn’t have as much dorsiflexion as it should, and my right hip was really weak. He provided me with a list of exercises to complete at home, with a more rigorous set that I was assigned in the office.

I did my exercises without complaint, applied ice to my foot twice a day, and took my anti-inflammatories on schedule, focused on the end goal of running again. Anything that gets me closer to running again is a priority for me.

After a solid week in the boot, I was allowed to go without it for short bouts of walking. So walking around the house was fine. Going out to check the mail was okay. My foot felt better, probably because I wasn’t giving it a chance to flare up again most of the time. When it did start to hurt, I stopped and rested it.

By the second week, I wasn’t feeling any pain. I was given permission to go for longer stretches without the boot, told to keep it nearby and put it on if my foot began to hurt. I managed to walk around IKEA without it hurting, giving me confidence that the end was in sight. IKEA is not a small amount of walking – if I could walk around the store for an hour and a half, I could probably do anything else.

I still wanting to do the Flying Feather 4 mile race, though. Two days before the race, I was given permission by my physical therapist to do the race, but only if I walked it. I asked if I could try a couple of short run intervals (under a minute each), and he said I could try two, but only if I stopped immediately if it hurt to run. I agreed to these terms, since I had been walking without pain for days. I was sure it would be a breeze.

On Thanksgiving Day, I had second thoughts about the race. Not because of my foot, but because it was 28 degrees outside, with a strong wind, and it was starting to snow. I was determined to not let another race I was registered for slip past me, though, so I suited up in layers (finishing with a SparkleSkirt, of course) and stretched and stretched and stretched ahead of time, as ordered.

Notice the gloves. I could have used two pairs, really.

When the race started, I wanted to take off in a run and never look back. But I walked for the first stretch until the crowd thinned out. I didn’t want to waste one run interval stuck in a pack of people shuffling along.

It was a little crowded at first.

Once I found a clearing, I started a slow jog. It was awesome! I was carefully controlling my speed, but it felt like I was gliding gracefully through the air with pixie dust trailing behind me. I’m sure I didn’t look like that – more like plodding along – but in my head I felt like a gazelle. It had been a month since my last attempt at running.

I switched back to a walk in under a minute – no need to force me there, since I was out of shape with cardio. There was no pain, everything felt good, and I continued on.

When I reached the first mile, I was thrilled to still have no pain. At mile two I mentally cheered that my feet weren’t failing me. I was doing this. I beat this tendonitis and could get back to my training.

And then half a mile later, I felt the first little shooting pain.

That little pain soon called in its friends, and by the time I reached mile 3, I couldn’t ignore the sharp stabbing with each step. But I was also way out on the course – with only a mile left, I didn’t want to be THAT person and ask the race staff to find someone to drive me to the end because all this walking had worn me out. I slowed my walking down and focused on the end goal.

During the last mile, I did have moments where it didn’t hurt. I’m guessing my feet were just numb from the cold and the effort. But just when I wondered if the pain was gone, it would come back. I was happy to cross the finish line and get my medal (and wine), but the smile was masking the pain I was experiencing.

smiling thru the agony (and snow in my eyes)

I was utterly defeated realizing how much my foot was hurting again. After a month off, nothing had really changed, it hurt just as much as before, and I was left wondering how long it will take to get better. I spent Thanksgiving dinner limping around my aunt’s house, and applying ice to my foot.

My physical therapist was not happy with me for not stopping when the pain started. No surprise there, and I’ll agree I was a stubborn fool with that. But last Monday I also had a follow-up appointment with my orthopedic doctor. I described the entire experience to him, he looked at my foot again, poked around a little…and then determined that I needed to see someone else.

He’s sending me to the top foot specialist in their practice tomorrow. He knows my running goals, and said he doesn’t want to treat it conservatively again for another 4-6 weeks to then risk the injury coming right back again. The X-rays and MRI didn’t show anything significant, which makes it more of a puzzle, so he wants their top foot doc to have a look and diagnose the old-fashioned way: by physical exam. Apparently for many unusual foot injuries, an extensive physical exam is the best (and only, in some cases) way to get to the source of the problem when it’s done by someone with advanced training.

Then came the next surprise: no more boot, and keep walking on it all I want. In order for the new doctor to have the best chance at determining the problem, I have to still be in pain. Resting it makes it feel better – as evidenced by weeks of it feeling great when I was babying it – so I need to make sure it still hurts when I see him on Tuesday. This made traveling to BlogHerPRO last week much easier without a boot to bring along, but I still didn’t enjoy hobbling down the hallways.

I really just want to run again. The Enchanted 10K at Walt Disney World is two and a half months away, and I want to be ready for it. I even have an amazing running costume being made for me that I want to wear for this race.

I’m hoping for a solid answer and an aggressive treatment plan tomorrow so that I can get back to training as soon as possible.

Filed Under: me me me, ow, running

Nov 29, 2014

Nine Lessons from Nine Years of Blogging

November 29, 2014 By Christina

A week ago, I was looking at the date and thinking November 22 should mean something to me. It felt like a date I needed to remember. After some thought (and looking through my archives), I realized it was the date that I had started this blog.

Woo! Happy blogiversary (or blog anniversary, or blog birthday, or whatever you want to call it) to me!

Yes, I started my blog in the pre-Twitter, pre-Facebook, pre-Instagram days. Actually, I had a LiveJournal blog for a few years before this one. Not quite a blog pioneer, but I was quick to jump on that next round of wagons heading down the dusty Internet trails before they were paved over to become super highways with outlet malls and flashing neon billboards.

I feel like I should have some kind of wisdom to pass on for having blogged this long. Wisdom I’m not so sure about, but I can share some of my observations over the years.

Nine things I’ve learned in nine years of blogging

1. Being a big blog is nice, but not necessary. Some might argue that if I’ve been writing here for nine years and still haven’t made it big, I must be a failure. (No really, I’ve had people tell me something similar to that.) I’m not regularly featured on top sites, I have no book deal – just nine years of a little blog. But being “big” wasn’t why I started my blog, so I can’t be upset with the results.

I started my blog when Cordy was just over a year old, and I found myself seeking out other parents for camaraderie and to learn from. Most of our friends were childless, and those with kids lived out of town. But the internet was full of other parents sharing their stories – rather than only being a regular commenter on all of their sites, I decided to carve out a little corner of the ‘net to share my stories as well. No one made serious money from their mom blog back then.

Nine years later, I make enough from my ad revenue and the occasional sponsored post to cover my hosting, my site monitoring, and if I’m really lucky, a conference fee each year. I’m still small, and that’s okay.

2. Friendship knows no geographical boundaries on the Internet. I have friends that I see maybe once a year at best, and yet when we do see each other in person, it feels like we hang out together every week. I’ll be the first to tell my kids to be cautious about people they meet online, because people can give a false idea of who they are, but these are time-tested (and IRL-tested) friends. They’re people I’ve known online for years and years, shared highs and lows with, and people who, in-person, are just as friendly and supportive as they are online.

I’m truly thankful for all of the people I have the privilege to meet and be friends with that I might never had met if I hadn’t put myself out there online with my blog.

3. Do as I say, not as I do. In nine years, I’ve learned a lot about how to be a successful blogger. Just don’t expect to see me put it all into practice. I’ve read so many posts on successful blogging, attended countless conferences and taken pages and pages of notes. You’d think I’d have everything down to a science by this point. But…I’m a lousy example of good blogging. I’ve coached others on how to start a blog and grow its audience, and have seen those blogs grow bigger than my blog quickly, yet can’t seem to follow my own advice.

You could say I’m a little disorganized.

The difference is that my blog isn’t my job, and in the mix of work, family, homework, therapy appointments, etc., blogging is often the item that gets pushed aside to make room for everything else. I have a long to-do list for this blog, and an equally long list of post ideas I want to eventually get to, but I’m always limited by time and energy.

It frustrates me at times, but I try to look at the positive: at least it’ll always be here for me when I have the time and energy to put into it. I’ll never be bored with blogging when I’m always wanting to do more with it. In the meantime, I’m always willing to share what I know with others who want to start.

4. I’ve learned a lot, but I still don’t know what I’m doing. This may seem counter to what I just wrote in #3, but it really isn’t. With how quickly technology and best practices change, it’s impossible to keep up on everything unless it’s your full-time job. Yes, parts of it are my full-time job (I can talk ad viewability and mobile options for hours) but I can’t possibly have the time to keep up on all of the ideal times to post and what topics are trending and what the proper spacing is between sponsored posts. I still have a lot to learn, and that’s okay.

5. Success is random. I know this isn’t true for everyone, and some bloggers work hard for their success. I can write long, heartfelt posts that barely get noticed. But then sometimes you write a post about a creepy Furby, never intending it to get much attention, and find you have 1,000+ pageviews on the day after Christmas. (I feel your pain, other parents. I really do.) If required, I couldn’t reproduce that kind of successful post on demand – I’m really not very good at humor when I try.

6. It feels good to make a difference for someone else. Probably my favorite part of blogging is when I share a story of something that happened to me, or a solution I found for something, and have a reader comment or email me to say, “That happened to me, too. I’m glad to know I’m not alone.” Which is really the whole reason I started blogging – to know I wasn’t alone in the parenting struggles I was experiencing. Or school transportation struggles, as I saw last year.

Most recently, the post about developing bursitis from a poorly administered flu shot has opened my eyes as to how big of a problem this is. So many other people have had a similar experience, and my story has helped them know it isn’t all in their heads, and given them ideas on what steps to take next. That’s powerful.

7. You have to accept that you never know who will find your blog. It can be fun to look at your site stats and see where everyone is coming from. Like when I saw several visits from the City of Columbus to my blog last October. (Tell me again that “random” tax audit was unrelated to my position against last year’s levy, Columbus? *waves hi*)

Over the years, I’ve become more aware that anyone can find my blog, and so it’s wise to carefully consider what I put here. I’ve made some revisions to older material to avoid some embarrassment to my kids (like removing a photo of a bare baby butt), and I’m more cautious with what I choose to share. I can still cringe in embarrassment over some of my earlier posts, but overall I’m content with what others may find here. Even my kids’ teachers.

8. Blogging can be the start of great things. While my blog may not be big, I can’t deny that it has led to some big opportunities. I’ve been to the Johnson & Johnson headquarters and heard from top execs, saw how Cheryl’s cookies are made, gone on tours of the Ohio dairy and beef industries, experienced the sights of Lake Erie and many happy visits to Cedar Point, and even went to Disneyland for the first time.

If I hadn’t started this blog, I wouldn’t have met the people who helped me navigate the world of autism when Cordy was diagnosed and helped me be the best possible advocate for her. And without my blog I wouldn’t have found the awesome job I have now, with the best coworkers ever.

9. Just as people grow and change, blogs grow and change. And that’s okay. Nine years ago, I was an exhausted mom of a toddler. I’m still exhausted, but I’ve changed a lot since that time, and as a result much of what I write about has changed, too. I think it’s only natural for a blog to grow and change with the author. I write more about running, education and family travel now, and less about the embarrassing antics of my kids.

As Cordy and Mira have grown older, I’m finding it more of a challenge to share their stories in a way that hopefully won’t be used against them by their peers as they grow into teens. They are both aware of this blog and they generally get a say in the posts I write. If they don’t want something shared, I won’t share it. Luckily, both are usually okay with anything I write about them. Maybe they’ll start their own blogs someday.

I’ve noticed an ebb and flow with my writing, too. Sometimes I have a lot to say, and sometimes I have long stretches between posts. I still usually have a lot to say in those moments, but I’m too busy to find time to write. My drafts folder is a little overgrown at the moment, and it’s been hard to give myself permission to let it go – I feel guilty if I’m not writing regular posts, which is silly. I’ll get to those posts eventually.

I’m working on letting go of the shame when I don’t write for awhile.

Lately, I’ve also been struggling with the name of my blog, considering (for the umpteenth time) re-branding to a new name that better reflects how I’ve grown and changed. I’m nearly beyond the “mommy” days now – even now, Mira only calls me “mommy” when she wants something, and otherwise it’s “mom.” It may happen, it may not – I’m sure I’ll debate the idea in my head for months to come.

Either way, I still enjoy blogging and will keep on keeping on for the foreseeable future. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by to read, left a comment, or shared a post. I will never take for granted the honor of having someone choose to read my words. I’d still be here writing if no one stopped by, but having readers along for the ride makes it so much more rewarding.

Filed Under: me me me, memories

Nov 7, 2014

Stopped In My Tracks

November 7, 2014 By Christina

At the beginning of October, I had officially caught the running bug. I mean, I had been running for awhile, but had finally reached that point where I looked forward to lacing up my running shoes. I wanted to get out on the road and leave any stress behind for 40-60 minutes.

And then in mid-October, while out for a typical mid-week short run, I noticed a pain on the outside of my right foot. I usually have little aches during a run, and most of the time they go away after a few minutes. It wasn’t super painful, so I continued on for the last half mile or so. When I got home, I took off my shoes and noticed that the outside of my foot and my heel were still hurting, so I stretched as I usually do, and then grabbed an ice pack to ice down the sore spots.

The next morning, my foot still hurt. I decided to play it safe and stick with the RICE protocol until it was feeling better. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) I tried to run a couple of times in the next two weeks, but each time that pain came back.

Late last week, I noticed that I couldn’t even walk around much without my foot hurting more and more. I finally gave in on Saturday and visited an urgent care, where they took x-rays and recommended I see a specialist. In the meantime, I was to wear an oh-so-sexy black and white shoe and stay off my feet as much as possible.

Yesterday, I saw the specialist. Even though the urgent care said the x-rays looked good, this doctor was less convinced. He saw a shadow on my fifth metatarsal that could be hinting at a stress fracture. To complicate matters, the area of my foot that hurts the most is the exact spot for a common type of stress fracture, but also a common spot for peroneal tendonitis. Which is it? We’re not sure.

Say hello to my inner foot!

I explained to the doctor that I wanted to run again as soon as possible. No – I needed to run again as soon as possible. The last three weeks have been torture. I finally settled into an activity that I really enjoy, and now I can’t do it. I can feel my legs tightening up, itching to hit the pavement. I put shoes on and I want to break out into a run.

And my mind is handling this poorly, too. I’m cranky. I’m short tempered. I’m depressed. I had found that running was a fantastic way to get rid of stress, and now that stress is trapped again. When I’m frustrated at the end of a long day, I want to go run to blow off steam. Oh wait, I can’t.

We don’t know for sure if it’s a stress fracture or tendonitis, so the doctor recommended an MRI to get a better look at what’s going on and (hopefully) rule out an existing or imminent stress fracture. Once we have a better look at what’s going on, the doctor said he’ll put together an aggressive treatment plan to get me running again.

If it’s just tendonitis, I’ll likely go to physical therapy for several weeks, and could possibly be running again in a few weeks. Or maybe just walking. I’d even be okay with walking if my foot was strong enough to get me through the 4-mile race I have on Thanksgiving Day. I can keep up the required pace by walking. (Did I mention I’m registered for two races in the next three weeks? All that money may be gone now.)

If it’s a stress fracture…well, we’ll hope it’s not. The options for how to handle that aren’t pleasant, and most guarantee I won’t be running again for months. If that happens, I’m going to need an antidepressant prescription with my treatment plan.

My MRI was this morning, and we’ll go over the results on Monday. In the meantime, my footwear has received an upgrade:

This really looks like an early Iron Man boot prototype.

It’s too bad this couldn’t have been the left foot. I can’t drive in this boot, so any driving involves getting to the car, taking the boot off (which is a multi-step process), switching to a shoe, driving to my destination, and then putting the boot back on before getting out of the car. Which limits my desire to want to drive anywhere unless it’s absolutely necessary. But we’ll really hope this doesn’t require a cast, or I won’t be able to drive at all for weeks.

So for the first time in my life, I’m cheering for tendonitis. It’s the lesser of the injuries, and would be a welcome diagnosis compared to the hell of a stress fracture.

We’ll know more on Monday. Hope for tendonitis.

Filed Under: me me me, running

Oct 21, 2014

Flu-Shot Shoulder Update

October 21, 2014 By Christina

I’ve recently had several people ask me how my shoulder is doing since getting my flu shot at the beginning of January. It’s now flu shot season, and judging by traffic to this site, others have also been wondering if the shoulder pain they’re experiencing after their shot is typical or not. So I wanted to provide an update on it.

Is my shoulder better now?

Yes. And no.

Back in February, a month after my flu shot, I saw an orthopedic specialist who diagnosed me with subacromial bursitis. I was given a cortisone shot directly into the joint to help with the pain and stiffness, and handed an order for physical therapy. The cortisone shot was like a miracle – my shoulder was more sore the day the shot was given, but by day three the pain was nearly gone. I still had some stiffness and ache if I moved my shoulder to the upper limits of a stretch, but otherwise I felt great.

I set up my physical therapy and completed six weeks of appointments, twice a week. The goal was to strengthen and stretch the muscles around that joint for better movement and (hopefully) no more pain.

By April, I thought that perhaps I was all in the clear. The pain was gone, and other than some “popping” in my shoulder for certain movements, it seemed completely normal.

Then in mid-June, I went to Chicago for a one-day trip: one plane ride there, half a day in a conference, and then a few hours wait in the airport before another plane ride home. While waiting for my flight home, I noticed that my shoulder felt a little sore. I had been carrying my bag on that shoulder for part of the day, so I assumed that the soreness was just muscle soreness from carrying the bag during a very busy day. My back was sore from uncomfortable seats on the plane, too, so I didn’t worry.

But then a week later I noticed that shoulder in particular was still a little sore with certain movements. Shouldn’t it have been better by now? I took some ibuprofen for the next week, restarted the exercises I was taught in physical therapy, and hoped it was just a small flare up that would go away.

I finally admitted this low-level, chronic ache wasn’t going away at the start of August (yes, AUGUST – I’m stubborn like that), and scheduled an appointment with the orthopedic specialist again. He took a look and said the range of motion was still better than it had been, but wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything else going on. X-rays were taken, and nothing could be seen from them, so he ordered an MRI.

The MRI thankfully showed no damage to the rotator cuff tendons. So, ruling out any other issues, we were right back to the original diagnosis – subacromial bursitis. He told me that the cortisone shot probably did a great job at keeping the inflammation in check, but that it eventually wears off for most people. It’s likely that the cortisone shot I received in February lost its effectiveness in June, allowing the inflammation caused by my improperly placed flu shot to come back.

My doctor suggested another cortisone shot, since the first one did help. When he was injecting the cortisone, the doctor said bursitis was definitely the diagnosis, as the joint capsule was very tight and he had to apply more pressure than usual to get the cortisone into the space.

For now, my shoulder feels fine. I have full range of movement, I can sleep on that side, and while I’m still a little weaker on the left, I can perform weight-bearing exercises on that side. The first cortisone shot did eventually wear off, but my shoulder was still in a better state at that point than it was before the first cortisone injection was given. My hope is that the second cortisone shot finishes the job and allows the joint to completely heal.

But the truth is, I don’t know for sure. It’s possible the cortisone will wear off again and I’ll be right back in my doctor’s office. It’s definitely a possibility. There was talk of surgery to essentially “clean out” the joint as a last resort – I’d like to avoid that if I can. Surgery is simply not something I even want to think about right now.

I’m still frustrated that I had to go through all of this due to a flu shot. SIRVA (Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration) is a serious issue, and while it only affects a small percentage of people, it’s entirely preventable by ensuring good form when giving an injection.

I still stand by the tips I provided in my first post about this. If the placement seems wrong, say something. Make sure the person giving the shot is at the same level as you. Consider carefully who will be giving the shot. And if you’re eligible for it, consider the Flumist instead.

This is a good spot for an injection. Not higher.

A stiff or painful shoulder after a flu shot can be completely normal. The pain is usually at its worst the day of and the immediate day after, fading quickly after that, and it’s felt in the muscle. If the pain gets worse on day two or day three, doesn’t start to decrease by day four, and is causing you to restrict your range of motion with that shoulder, it’s worth giving your doctor a call to get it looked at.

There’s a big push for everyone to get their flu shots at this time of year. I haven’t received mine yet, and I’ll admit to being a little more cautious about having it done this time. I’ll likely either choose the Flumist nasal vaccine, or let the nurse in my family doctor’s office give the shot, as I trust her to do it properly.

I won’t tell you that you must have a flu vaccine or that you should avoid them completely – that’s an individual decision for all of us. But I would urge you to pay attention if you do get one, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s your health, and you have the right to make sure your vaccine is being given properly.

Note: a quick Google search helped me find this recent article for nurses, which specifically mentions techniques to avoid shoulder injury. It’s good to see the medical community taking more notice of this topic.

Filed Under: big issues, healthy living, me me me