I am finally home. Diazepam has been taken, heating pad is on high, I have sushi for dinner, and I don't plan on leaving my room until morning.

Thanks for y'alls support today. I've had my piriformis knot up before, but NOTHING like this. I know a few different stretches and I need a tennis ball. But for now it is trying to knock the pain down until I can get into see a PT and get needled. Then we go from there. Work tomorrow may not happen...will have to see how I feel in the morning and if I will be doing the diazepam/vicodin combo.

Which I have just taken, so loopy Suzi may be posting later.

Suzi, I'd actually recommend a smooth ball like a lacrosse or even racquet or specifically marketed trigger point ball over a tennis ball - in part because tennis balls are scratchy and you'd be less inclined to use them on bare skin areas like back of the neck or forearm so they'd be less practical for all your potential needs.

I also like the 5 inch foam roller balls like this one in lieu of the standard foam rollers for my bigger muscle groups because I think they're actually easier to use (which means I'm far more likely to actually get around to rolling than just thinking I ought to). Plus you can use them against a wall and not use your whole entire body weight (unlike the floor) if the sore spots are too riled up.

YMMV

a smooth ball like a lacrosse

I tried using a lacrosse ball once, but it is way too hard for me to lie on. A tennis ball has a lot more give. But my muscles might be a lot more tender than most.

I took Flexeril last night, and as far as I can tell, it did not make me sleepy in the slightest. I feel kind of betrayed.

Thanks for the ball recommendations. I actually have some racket balls in the house, so I may try those. The drugs helped me sleep last night. When I first woke up this morning, I was able to walk to the bathroom without wanting to cry, but the return trip was back to the worst of yesterday. So I have hit the drugs again and am going to take most of today off work.

Kelly went to the doc with me yesterday and was pleased that her armchair diagnosis matched the doctor's assessment. As a PTA she doesn't diagnose issues, just carries out the treatment plans developed by the PT.

ISTFG, if I see that "Fuck the South" piece on social media again I will lose it.

The racquetballs are great starter balls, imo. I give them out to my clients sometimes as self massage tools when I can buy them in bulk. You might graduate past them pretty quickly because they aren't super duper firm, but they are firm enough that if the tissues are a mess or just super sensitive they can be excellent tools. They're also a pretty great size - bigger than a golf ball, but smaller than other balls, so they can get into the shoulder blade area or work up at the base of the skull but can also help with detailed work at hips or low back.

I also like them because I have some clients that just sit on the tennis balls for long periods of time and that is terrible for the tissues - whereas if they do that with a racquetball then it's harder to have accidental compression injuries.

Thanks d. Right now I'm in the loopy zone. I did some of the piriformis stretches I know but it doesn't seem to help, which is so frustrating. I got my referral but the first available PT appt is next Tuesday. I can't brain on these drugs and I can't move without them. The next few days are going to be interesting.

Ugh. I am so frustrated. The ADAPT protest in Columbus last week, where all those people got arrested and police conduct at the very least bordered on brutality: a Columbus news station has an article up now where they say that one protester admitted she was faking a disability, because she thought it would get sympathy from the cops. Also, she's trans, and they dead-named her.

The actual story: She does not have a physical disability. She is 19 years old, and has an intellectual disability, which she told the reporter. ADAPT had a spare manual wheelchair at the protest, in case anyone who didn't normally need one needed it after standing for so long. Someone asked her to sit in it, so it wouldn't get stolen. The reporter was calling everyone listed on the arrest records, and everyone else told him to contact the ADAPT media people for any statements. She didn't know or didn't understand that she was supposed to do that, and she thought she had to answer the reporter's questions, so she gave the best answers she could come up with. This reporter KNEW that she has an intellectual disability, and is a teenager, and that he was taking advantage of this to get a headline.

That is next-level shitty.