I'm About the Only Person I Know That Can Hurt Doing Nothing

Seriously.  Not kidding.  I must have a magical power at hurting myself or injuring myself or developing some sort of pain from doing absolutely nothing.

It all started yesterday.... 

Just a regular, old normal day.  I walked around my classroom, I stood at the white board, I sat at my desk for a few minutes here and there.  I didn't bump myself on anything.  I didn't fall over anywhere.  I didn't kick any students.  I didn't even brush a little too close to a desk or a door or a wall.  Yet, somehow, someway, I managed to do something to cause the lower part of my right leg to develop pain.

The pain and location is hard to explain.  It's on my right foot, just above the ankle.  It's on the side of my leg.  Not directly in the front or back, but more to the back than to the front.  And it hurts constantly - has since yesterday.  It hurts worse when I put any pressure on my foot, but the pain doesn't go away when I sit down or rest it.

My ankle was a little swollen yesterday afternoon, and it still is just a little swollen right around the area of pain this morning.  Yet, both of my ankles swell during the day just a little - from being on my feet constantly, and not drinking enough water.  

It doesn't hurt any more or less when I move my ankle in circles or if I flex my foot up and down.  I can't push on my leg where the pain is coming from and make the pain worse or less.  It's just a dull, achy, constant pain that increases and sends little shooting pains when I walk on it.  It's tolerable to walk on - but just barely. 

And it's frustrating as heck as to why I have this sudden onset of pain without any rhyme or reason.

I did what any sane, logical person would do in this sort of situation.  I went straight to WebMD to try and figure out what might be wrong.  And here's a free tip for you - don't ever use WebMD to try and diagnose yourself unless you are, in fact, a doctor.

There are 36 possible causes to my pain according to WebMD.  Ranging from Deep Vein Thrombosis to a fractured ankle to a pulled ligament to a minor sprain.  None of the 36 possible causes have all of my symptoms or way more symptoms than I'm experiencing.   And I wasn't able to actually tell the virtual tool the exact location of my pain - so all of the diagnoses are focused on the ankle, the calf, or the shin.  And that's not really where the pain is.  So, again, don't ever use WebMD to try and be a doctor and diagnose yourself.  It's not worth the worry or the hassle.

I could always go and see a real doctor.  And this may sound stupid, but I just can't afford it.  I know my health is much more important than money - but I also know that any type of pain like this one is going to be an expensive diagnosis.  There will be the initial doctor visit, then x-rays, then possibly more tests, then the slight possibility I'm referred to a doctor that handles leg pain, which carries more x-rays and tests... because specialists never like to take opinions or test results from "regular" doctors.  Before I could scream "enough already", I'd have a nice $1500 deductible bill - and the 20-30% of anything else crammed on top.  Then to find out it is a little ligament strain, get told to limit my time on my feet, and things should heal up nicely in a couple of weeks.  Except my bank account, which will be hemorrhaging money for years.  No Thank You.

And, yes, I know I sound like some kind of doctor scam conspiracy theorist - but I've seen my share of situations like mine go down.  I don't go to the doctor when I'm sick - so why would I go when I have a little leg pain?  I've had the pain for less than 24 hours.  If I'm still hobbling around in a few days, and the pain is worse, then I'll think about it.  But right now, I'd like to keep my money.

I am considering buying some compression socks or something, though.  I know I have to drink more water.  I know that's what's causing the swelling to my ankles.  And the fact that I'm carrying around an extra 100lbs of weight.  Maybe my body is starting to move in to that mode where it's showing me how dire my weight loss should be.

Long-time followers may remember how much trouble I used to have with my knees.  Back in the day, when I hovered close to the 300lbs mark, I had the worst trouble with my knees.  It stemmed from a few injuries from my early years - like an injury I suffered when I was 16 that was supposed to lead to surgery, that never did.  And when I was 20 and dislocated my right knee when I was trying to make a bed.  Don't laugh.  I'm serious.  I got my leg caught under the bed, fell down, and completely dislocated my knee.  And, because I was as much against doctors back then as I am now - I thought it would be smart to pop my knee back all by myself.  And stayed that way for days before getting to a hospital to discover that I'd kinda not done it right. 

Then, after I lost 50lbs, the knee pain just dwindled away.  And, I'm proud to say that ever since then I've not had any problems from my knees - except the minor twitching I get when rain or cold weather comes. 

So, maybe this is that scenario all over again. 

And no, I'm not going to go all "weight loss mode" again.  No more switching my blog anymore.  But, maybe - just maybe - I should start to revisit a few things.  Back to watching what I eat, getting out to walk a little now that the weather is cooler.  Something.  Anything.

We'll see.

I can say that I haven't gained any weight since starting work.  That's a plus that I don't take lightly.  Not having enough time to think straight would normally be the beginning of major weight gain - but not this time.  I haven't dropped anything, either, but maintaining is still a big deal to me.  Especially when I'm not really focused on losing weight.

But for right now?  I think I'm going to just take it easy for a few days to see how this leg pain plays out.