![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Reinforcing Bad Behavior
Dec. 19th, 2012 08:28 amSo I've been dealing with a chronic shoulder/neck problem for about three months now. Meds didn't help, and just made me sicker. Neurologist punted me down the line to a physical therapist, who (after I started to show some improvement and then plateaued) more or less informed me that unless I change careers I am never going to get better and am wasting her time.
(Okay. What she actually said was that I need to change the height of my writing/typing desk at work. When informed repeatedly that I do not have a writing/typing desk at work she just sighed and told me I wasn't being cooperative. She also told me that I need to adjust how I work so that I never lean forward, lean back, turn to the right, lift anything, or raise my arm above shoulder level. Not quite an option. Also I'm not allowed to do any strength work or exercise.)
Anyway, I made a unilateral decision to look into acupuncture. And I had my first appointment yesterday, and it was surprisingly amazing, and I feel better than I have since August. The acupuncturist thinks I could do well, but wants to see me pretty frequently - twice a week, at first. So I made another appointment for this morning.
And now I have bronchitis. Unfortunately, the Wellness Center does not allow for short-term cancellations. So in spite of the fact that I'm running a fever, coughing up nasty gunk, and it hurts to breathe, my choices are to go in anyway, cough all over their staff, and not get much benefit because I can't lie facedown for an hour, or swallow the $50 copay (which is a lot of money right now) and stay home.
(Incidentally, people always seem to specify that they're coughing up icky stuff. Is there really an alternative? Are there people out there who cough up delicacies and beautiful tidbits? *hack gag wheeze choke* 'Oh, look, butterflies and rosebuds!')
I suppose it's a sign of how far I've come in my self-work that I'm staying the hell home. I'll call the Wellness Center when they open, and ask them if they really want to reinforce the idea that people should share their germs, but if need be... I'll lose the money. I just hate choosing between which health problem I get to pander to today.....
(Okay. What she actually said was that I need to change the height of my writing/typing desk at work. When informed repeatedly that I do not have a writing/typing desk at work she just sighed and told me I wasn't being cooperative. She also told me that I need to adjust how I work so that I never lean forward, lean back, turn to the right, lift anything, or raise my arm above shoulder level. Not quite an option. Also I'm not allowed to do any strength work or exercise.)
Anyway, I made a unilateral decision to look into acupuncture. And I had my first appointment yesterday, and it was surprisingly amazing, and I feel better than I have since August. The acupuncturist thinks I could do well, but wants to see me pretty frequently - twice a week, at first. So I made another appointment for this morning.
And now I have bronchitis. Unfortunately, the Wellness Center does not allow for short-term cancellations. So in spite of the fact that I'm running a fever, coughing up nasty gunk, and it hurts to breathe, my choices are to go in anyway, cough all over their staff, and not get much benefit because I can't lie facedown for an hour, or swallow the $50 copay (which is a lot of money right now) and stay home.
(Incidentally, people always seem to specify that they're coughing up icky stuff. Is there really an alternative? Are there people out there who cough up delicacies and beautiful tidbits? *hack gag wheeze choke* 'Oh, look, butterflies and rosebuds!')
I suppose it's a sign of how far I've come in my self-work that I'm staying the hell home. I'll call the Wellness Center when they open, and ask them if they really want to reinforce the idea that people should share their germs, but if need be... I'll lose the money. I just hate choosing between which health problem I get to pander to today.....
