View from the Other Side

This past week, I started physical therapy (for my back/SI) as a patient for the first time since completing PT school and becoming a PT myself. I was nervous going into the appointment (when am I not?), but I quickly found that the PT had experience with patients with EDS. This, in addition to her being open to my opinions and working as a team together to come up with a plan, put me immediately at ease. Even after one session, I felt that I was more conscious of proper body mechanics the next few days.

Aerial the following day was also a success. I started learning a couple new skills that I've been reviewing in my head ever since. I can't wait to get back up on the silks and try them out again! I also successfully made it through an entire song up on the silks without getting too fatigued and coming down for a break. I've been working so hard on building my endurance on the silks, and I was so excited to finally see this improvement in my performance!! I switched around the order of some of the skills in my routine, and it's feeling a lot more efficient and natural. I'm hoping that this week, I will have the energy to add a drop back into my full routine. It's been weeks since I even attempted a drop.

Additionally, I had a follow-up appointment with my rheumatologist this past week. We decided together that at this point, I have enough tools with PT, OT, and over-the-counter medicines (still avoiding ibuprofen and meloxicam, but I'm going to try a regimen of naproxen with tylenol for breakthrough pain), that I do not need to venture further into the territory of prescription medications. We also discussed lidocaine/cortisone injections as an option for pain flare-ups down the line. It's nice to know I have options available to me without needing to branch into narcotic medications or strong muscle relaxants. Keeping my brain constantly sharp for working with kids all day is hard enough with my fatigue, so I'm happy to not add in more confounding factors that may impact my mental clarity. 

I'm looking forward to continuing on my upward trend this week, complete with mastering the aerial skills I learned last week and keeping my endurance up!

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