Here we go again...

So, after going off the Zoloft for a couple months, I started back on it yesterday. Poor timing to try going off it. Never go off during the most stressful time of the year, when you have the longest period of time between botox injections and travel. It was a horrible time to try this experiment. So, back on it.

My workouts have pretty much stopped for now. After Christmas, we were gone for 10 days in Missouri, then came home and started on Miranda's bday party. And of course, now I am sick.

Next week, I fully plan on getting back to routine. I need to get back to it. It truly makes a difference in how I feel overall. I have been in a lot of pain. Without the botox, they have been curling a lot. And with the new brace, I have had a lot of pain with that too. My leg cramps up.

But, I keep plugging along.

On Jan 31, I go to see Dr. Ralph for a checkup on how the brace is working, the exercise, check my liver function, etc.

On Feb 3, I go for the botox injections in my hands an left leg.

Personal trainer & Gym

So, I joined LA Fitness at the end of October and then started working with a personal trainer, Allison. Allison has been kicking my butt for 3 weeks now. I work out with her 3x a month. Then I work out on my own another 4-5 days a week on my own. I, currently, work out in the pool for most of my cardio. I run in the pool for about 30 minutes. Some days, I will also add another 20 minutes on the recumbent bike. It's about all I can do without my leg cramping so bad it hurts. It's amazing.

My workouts with the trainer have been incredible. We have been working on building muscle especially since my muscles have started to atrophy. Also, we are doing a lot of core exercises. So far, I have noticed that I'm loosing the jello flabbyness of my arms and upper legs.

A new leaf on life

I have decided to try a new road for my life. On Saturday, I joined a gym to continue my pool workouts. With that membership came a complementary session with a personal trainer. Oops. Yesterday, I had that session and now I am signed up for 3 sessions a month for the next year. That's a little tough on the budget especially since my wife just went through so much to get us a little ahead and now we're back. Yikes. But, this is something that I am very excited about. I have been wanting to get in shape forever. We, of course, are working on things that will improve my quality of life and hopefully get me off the pain meds.

Honestly, I got a little scared when my doctor mentioned that the next step would be a surgery where they snipped nerves in my leg. Time to try turning my life around without modern medication. So, here we are working out 6 days a week at the gym and 3x a month with a personal trainer. Gotta admit that the idea of losing 45 pounds and toning my body really make it worth while too. I would really love to look sexy for my wife again.

Then, energy to play with my daughter without hurting during every move - sweet!

Hope to keep everyone updated.

Changes and figuring out the next step

Things have been really difficult for me of late. Over the last few months while working out in the pool, my left ankle has been hurting. Finally a few weeks ago, I finally had to stop going to the pool for my workout. It finally got bad enough that I took time off. Last week, I got back in only to experience a great deal of pain. I have a knot on the side of my ankle and my Achilles has been hurting a lot. I go to  the doctor on Monday to try to get a handle on this. I have to admit, I am really missing my workouts. I was really feeling good about myself.

On another note, I went to Hockey fest '10 last weekend. During the event, I tested the Power Balance which I really was skeptical of. However after feeling the different, I actually purchased one. And I gotta say, it has made a difference for me. It has helped with my balance.

This is the bracelet.

Achillies tendon

Having tremendous pain in my Achilles tendon lately. To make matters worse, it's the worst Dystonic foot. There is no real relief with it. Very frustrating. I think it was caused by the swimming that I have been doing. Never thought that it would do this. But when you have a foot that curls inward and you are trying to run/walk in the pool, it's got to do unnatural pressure on the tendon. So, it looks like I'll  have to change my workout again.

Going to see my sports medicine primary care dr. on the 20th. Hopefully he will have some good suggestions on how to keep working out without injury.

On another note, the botox spreads again. Very little strength again. So frustrated by it.

Too much botox

So the botox is in full effect now. And oh my, I am very, very weak. I can't even make a fist in my right hand because of the weakness. Once again, it got into my thumb on the right. I can never catch a break there. We thought for sure that it wouldn't creep into the thumb again. Guess time to try something else.

Botox

Today, I had my Botox injections in both arms. Feeling good about that.

However, due to a lot of recent stress and being very active, my left ankle has been in so much pain that I asked the doctor today to prescribe something besides the Vicodin to combat the pain. He put me on Tramadol HCL 50mg tablets 2 every 6 hours as needed. On my second dose and it does seem to be helping. YAY!!!

Still trying to get my pool workout in at least 5x a week. Back is feeling pretty good. Have dropped 3.5 lbs but go back in forth. Not a lot, but a lot of muscle mass now. :) Tired of being hungry all the time.