Work Hangover Wednesday: Gluteus Minimus, Flashus Maximus

After a three month reprieve, my hot flashes are back with a vengeance. Not sure why they suddenly decided to come back, but the past two nights I've been unable to get comfortable, keep waking up in a sweat, throwing the covers off until I cool down.

I got dehydrated over the past few days. Between the hot flashes and not drinking enough while at work, and for some reason, peeing a lot, I felt funny this morning when I decided to go out and test my back with running.

I took Iris out first and then brought her home. I went back out to do a loop that's about 6 1/2 miles, because I only had about an hour until I had to leave for Loveland. I did fine for the first 45 minutes, it was a warm morning. My back was okay, I felt some intermittent numbness in my leg and hip, mostly in the left hamstring and around the front of my hip, but it didn't seem to be affecting my gait.

I started aching in my hips, though, both sides, and felt really weak all of a sudden. I stopped under a tree in some shade and felt dizzy, like I would pass out. I held myself up on a street sign.

Once that passed, I started running again, and about 5 minutes later the same thing happened. Again, I let it pass, I was only 2 miles from home. I ended up stopping three times on the way home in the last twenty minutes of the run, and walked for a minute each time, I kept feeling so weak and dizzy. Each time I had to stop and hang on to some object because I wasn't sure if I could stay upright.

Then I remembered the hot flashes, and not drinking enough, and decided that as soon as I got home I'd weigh myself to see if it was dehydration. I got the scale out of the closet. Five pounds down. I was 125, and I've been consistently weighing 130 lately. So I started pounding the fluids, blended up a maradol papaya with orange juice and ice and two S-Caps, and I'll keep drinking.

I iced my back to be safe. I got 8 miles in this morning, and I'll go out for another 4 or 5 this evening once I rehydrate. Seems like the dehydration was a lot bigger issue than any muscle strains.

I did my day at work Tuesday, and my back held up well. The only things I couldn't do were bending over and picking things up off the floor unless I squatted, which is hard enough to do anyway, but you really don't want to do that if your scrub pants are even a little bit tight.

At work yesterday it was a slow morning and occasionally if it's slow, the oncology massage therapist will come over and ask the nurses if they want a neck or shoulder massage. She brings her chair over and works on us. It's one of those rare things but yesterday it couldn't have been better timing. My 11:00 patient didn't show up and I got a massage.

I told her about the muscle strain in my back and as she worked on me, gently, she told me she thought it was my gluteus minimus that was injured, she could feel a swollen area, and it made sense given the way I've been feeling through my butt and around my hip. Sitting for long periods of time is uncomfortable, I start to feel a little numbness down the back of my leg, which gets better once I stand up and start walking.

I was relieved to hear that I have a gluteus minimus. All this time I would said I have a gluteus maximus, that is expanding with age. I'm all for being minimalistic when it comes to my glutes.

Today I went out for lunch with my friend Pam, whom I haven't seen in quite a while. We always do sushi when we get together, we both love it. This time we went to a place in Loveland that I haven't been to. It was good. And even better to see Pam and catch up on things. While we were eating, it was a little warm in the restaurant, with bright sun coming in, but I started having a hot flash. The sushi wasn't even that spicy, but suddenly I was sweating.

I'll try to be consistent this week with the running and cycling as long as my back, butt, and legs can handle it. A nap or two wouldn't hurt either.