Performance Enhancing Drugs

Go ahead. Test me.

Just let me tell you though, you're wasting your time.

Because . . . ehh . . . I'm guilty.

Yep, it's true.  Reluctantly, I must surrender my role as your idol image.

Methylprednisolone.
aka corticosteroid.
aka 'roids, baby.  Four days in and I'm happy as hell.  Actually, first day in I was happy as hell.

The particular performance that has been enhanced is my ability to stand, sleep, tie my shoes.  I'll gladly accept whatever bans and sanctions are issued.  Along with relinquishing my status as a squeaky-clean role model for your kids.

To be totally serious for a minute, I'm extremely grateful to my care providers (which now include a chiropractor and an MD, along with radiology, pharmacy and insurance people), who are helping me effectively and efficiently deal with my problem.  I now understand, firsthand, what serious shit back problems are. These pills aren't curing me, they're just reducing the inflammation and pain to a level that allows the real healing progress to occur.  But yay!

When you've never been through back problems before, it's really tough to sort out your choices.  You get opinions from friends and go on the web and read, and make the best decisions you can based on your limited knowledge, but at some point you have to put your trust in someone who knows way more than you.  A little over two weeks ago, riding a bike wasn't even on my radar because I was fully preoccupied with whether I could function well enough to go to work.  As of today, my back problem has very little affect on my daily routine and all I can think about is how soon I can get back on my bike.  I know that I'm not there yet and that I need to be patient and do the work, but holy krap: Things looked pretty hopeless not that long ago and now there's a bigass light at the end of the tunnel.  And it's of none of my own doing, so all I can attribute it to is what tremendous quality of healthcare we have access to.

I realize that not everyone in this country can get to it and that truly sucks. I hear all the political mess around the subject and I'm not smart enough to even have an opinion on how to fix it.  Because there's no simple answer - it's a supremely complicated issue. Tonight I'm just selfishly really grateful.