#Whole30 #WholeLent Days 2b & 3b.

Wednesday:

Sleep: deep & extended. I didn't have to get up early because I had my annual work physical scheduled for 8:30 AM. I have to be fasting when I go for that physical, so why get up early? I found a way to prop myself up with approximately 48 pillows that kept my shoulder in a neutral position & prevented me from rolling onto it.

Breakfast: The physical pushed breakfast back to almost 10 AM. I ate three slices of bacon, two over-easy eggs, two small potatoes (sliced thinly, sauteed in coconut oil, seasoned with Slap Ya Mama Cajun spices), & two cups of Bloodless coffee (coffee blended with coconut oil & collagen powder).

Lunch: salad (deli chicken, lettuce, carrots, peppers, cherry tomatoes, & Tessamae's ranch dressing). I don't think I had anything else? Breakfast was very late. Oh wait, I had a LaCroix.

Dinner: Doghouse Tavern for trivia night (Team JAMS finally won!) - I had a doghouse burger sans bun with a garden salad w/balsamic vinaigrette.

Thursday:

Sleep: I took Tylenol PM because I was amped up after winnning trivia, had arm pain following a second dry-needling session, & wanted to guarantee getting some overdue rest. Woke up buried in dogs.

Breakfast: 4S casserole, an apple, & Bloodless coffee.

Lunch: a vendor took me to lunch at Bar Louie. I had the Voodoo Chicken plate, replacing the rice pilaf with steamed broccoli. I doubt the sausage or the voodoo sauce were Whole30-compliant, but I can't find an ingredient list online anywhere. Anyway, it was tasty.

Snack: EPIC lamb bar.

I am having massive, massive, MASSIVE sugar cravings today. I'm not sure what's bringing it on, unless it's just being tired from the ongoing pain in my shoulder. I don't know if everyone feels this way, but I find being in pain to be an enormous energy drain. Just sitting around while some part of my body hurts is exhausting. But anyway, I'm daydreaming about stopping off on the way home for a bag of donuts... just like old times. My brain keeps telling me, "You won't get caught" - as if GETTING CAUGHT IS THE PROBLEM HERE. Thanks brain, you're terribly helpful.

Dinner: Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice.

Snack: chamomile tea.

Dry-needling.

OK, I want to write this down so I remember what my dry-needling experience has been.

I had my first dry-needling treatment on Monday night, around 6 PM. Doctor Vance put an electrode on my left shoulder blade (right on the muscle that had been twitching for days), then stuck very slender needles into various areas around my rotator cuff. He turned on the electricity & caused my muscles to contract - violently. It was like electro-stim treatment but deeper & more intense. And I'm not going to lie - it hurt. My muscles contracted hard enough to bend some of his pins. When my bicep was stimulated I nearly punched myself in the face (the thought of which gave me giggles, through my pain-clenched teeth). After the treatment, Dr. Vance taped my shoulder back (in good-posture position, not slumping forward like my shoulders normally are) & that felt really good.

Yesterday I contemplated punching Doctor Vance in the face the next time I saw him, but I would've only been able to use my right arm for punching, because my left arm hurt LIKE OMG WHOAH & had pretty limited mobility. I had shooting pain & numbness all the way down to my fingertips. I couldn't even walk the dogs because holding the leash while they pulled on it was agonizing. I took about eight zillion Advils & Tylenols & made it through the day.

But today my shoulder feels AMAZING! Full range of motion! No pain, no shooting sensations, no numbness! I have some tender spots on the front of the rotator cuff where the pain was the worst prior to the treatment, but it is a fraction of what it was before Monday's treatment. I feel like I could hit the pool today (but I won't - Doctor Vance said no swimming for a week).

I have a second treatment scheduled for this evening & I hope that it will be enough to clear up any remaining trouble. In summary: for me, dry-needling seems to have worked!