i've created a Tumblr for the photos of the medication i'm taking, it's here if you want to see all the #25aday photos together, just click on the photo below.
the title is actually a bit of a misnomer now, because as of this week i'm no longer taking two ibuprofen tablets and two paracetamol four times a day (which, if you can do simple multiplication, is of course, the bulk of the 25 tablets i've been taking).
i'm unconvinced that paracetamol and ibuprofen have ever given me much pain relief. i do mean to look into the genetic differences that cause people to be non-responders to these two different types of painkiller (ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID). i sprained my ankle two weeks ago and it's still painful to walk on, so it will be interesting to see if it feels any different today, having been off this combination for more than 24 hours.
i've also run out of codeine tablets, and fortunately, my back is a lot better so i'm not too worried about that.
the one thing that has made a big difference to my back problem is a brilliant physiotherapist who understands and treats the problem not as an acute injury or complaint, but as a whole body problem triggered by the way i move, sit and stand. Hannah Maxey at
Complete Physio agrees that it's very likely that due to repeated problems with the hamstrings i injured when i was thirteen, i'm not bending my knees enough and moving in such a way that puts strain on the small, weak muscles in my back and buttocks - such as the piriformis - rather than the strong gluteus. hence the horrible sciatic nerve pinching that's been going on - this nerve runs straight along (or sometimes through) the piriformis, so if that muscle is inflammed, it irritates the nerve, which causes this horrible electrical burning sensation down my left leg.
it's not 100% better, i still get a lot of back soreness and i'm still taking pregabalin twice a day to reduce the nerve, or neuropathic, pain. but i'm getting there and finally on the mend.
