Thursday, May 13, 2010

The simple joy of being able to stand up from the couch

About three weeks ago I tweaked my back at kickboxing. I didn't think much of it when I woke up sore the day after the class. I routinely feel a little stiff the following day. But that day I was particularly sore and the soreness continued for a couple of weeks. At one point the pain was so intense that I couldn't do much more than lay on the couch. Simple things like putting on jeans, feeding the dog and going up stairs were pretty much unbearable. (Upside - I couldn't unload the dishwasher for a few weeks and had to leave that task to my dear husband.)

After a couple of weeks I realized that my back wasn't getting much better so I finally broke down and scheduled a doctor's appointment. My rationale for not getting an appointment earlier was this: "They'll tell me it's a pulled muscle, to take some ibuprofen, and put some heat on it." So I went to the doctor and she told me, "It's a pulled muscle. Take some ibuprofen and put some heat on it." Shocking, eh? The doctor did have me perform a few leg raises to pinpoint the source of the pain to make sure it wasn't a pinched nerve or anything. She gave me a prescription for some ibuprofen and also took the opportunity to teach me what class of pharmaceuticals are okay to take during pregnancy. (No, I'm not pregnant. But in case it ever happens I'd like to know what I can and can't take.)

The doctor also prescribed me some muscle relaxant that I was supposed to take at night. I didn't take it the first few nights I had it. Truthfully, I was a bit anxious about taking it. I don't like the idea of a drug that is supposed to render you unconscious. (Well, more like sleepy, but you know what I mean.) I am wary of taking a Tylenol PM so the idea of an honest-to-god muscle relaxant worried me. I didn't want to feel groggy or loopy or . . . off. It's just not my thing. Maybe some folks like to take a muscle relaxant, chase it with a glass of wine and pass out but not me.

Finally on day three of having the pills on the nightstand (and after some scolding from my mother who instructed my husband to firmly remind me that "Your mother told you to take them") I broke down and took a half a tablet before bed. The dosage on the label read 1/2 to 1 tablet per dose and I decided starting with the lower dose was best. I took it and then laid there in bed, waiting for the room to spin or strange psychedelic dreams to start. Color me surprised when I woke up in the morning with no ill effects from the drug. I've continued on the ibuprofen and 1/2 tablet of muscle relaxant for the last four days and, wouldn't you know, today I was actually able to bend over to pull up my pants when I was getting dressed. Progress!

On the Zoe front - she's slowly worming her way into our hearts but there have been a few hiccups along the way. For one thing - she doesn't know any commands. So whereas Toivo will sit, stay, come and lay down as we instruct him to, Zoe looks at us with this glazed look. It's going to take some work with her too - she's easily distracted by everything. Getting her to focus on anything for more than a nanosecond is a chore. I think even Toivo occasionally rolls his eyes at her.

Zoe is crate trained, so she's used to being in her crate at night and while people are gone from the house. We wanted her to be roaming the house free at all times, like Toivo. She's been great so far - only one accident on the first day. She doesn't seem to want to sleep upstairs in the bedroom on the floor with Toivo at night. Maybe she will eventually. She's really friendly and sweet tempered. Unlike Toivo, who is content to be on his own 23.75 hours a day, Zoe gets antsy without attention. During the day every hour or two she comes up to you demanding to be pet for a few minutes. She isn't as vocal as Toivo, but she's starting to make more noise. She was absolutely silent the first 24-48 hours. She also is one of those dogs that eats her food lightning fast and will eat any other dog food left out and unattended. This poses a problem as Toivo is a grazer. We'll fill his bowl in the morning and he'll snack on it throughout the day. We're going to have to figure out a way to keep Zoe from devouring Toivo's food as well, otherwise she's going to end up as one rolly-polly pooch.

I took her and Toivo to the dog park yesterday for the first time and she played well with the other dogs. Well, for the time she actually spent interacting. Like Toivo, she spent much of the time at the park on her own - smelling all the interesting smells and investigating the entire park. It must be a Finnish Spitz thing. Too cool for school or something. At least she followed Toivo to the gate when I called to Toivo that it was time to go. I had been worried that I was going to have to chase her around the park, trying to snag her, but apparently she realized that Toivo is part of her pack and should follow him.

Overall, I'm glad we got her. Even though it is going to take some serious patience to get her into our routine, she has certainly made things more lively around here and she really is a sweetheart. Hopefully now that I can bend at the waist again(!) I'll be able to work with her and she'll become a little more obedient. Until then, Toivo, Zac and I will just have to sigh and roll our eyes a lot at her.

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