Back issues

So, me lugging around literally 15-20 pounds on the bus all day has finally caught up to me.

I can hear my teachers' from high school ... I used to shove all my large print books, laptop, binders, lunch, and anything else that would fit in my backpack in there and lug it around rather than making pit stops at my lockers. They used to say, "You're going to have back problems later in life if you keep carrying bags that weigh that much!"

It's hard. I rely on public transit, which means that I'm not often close to my home. It's not easy to "pop home" to pick up or drop stuff off. And I'm working two different jobs and going to school, which means I have a lot of different stuff to carry around. Add all the junk I need to lug for diabetes- and blindness-related needs and that adds up fast.

For the past week or two my back has been killing me. Today it got to the point where I was trying to do homework and could not think of much else other than how to make myself more comfortable. Unfortunately, my back hurts the most when I'm sitting down. Yesterday or so the pain began to radiate down my leg, so I decided it was time to go to the doctor.

I went to the walk-in clinic where, thankfully, I was the only one there so got seen right away. The doctor says it's a strained muscle, and to put heat on it and that it usually takes a few weeks to fully heal. My back has gotten better in the past few days in that it no longer hurts quite as much, it just hurts constantly. I'm not sure I believe him that it's a pulled muscle, but he didn't seem to think it was anything serious, so I'll take it for now. If it doesn't go away in another week or two I'll make a visit to my own doctor.

In the meantime, I'm seriously trying to pare down what I have to carry around. I switched to a smaller purse even though it barely fits the bare essentials, and even though I love my leather purse, because it's lighter. If this is what back pain is like, I don't want to be one of those people who ends up with chronic back pain—that would just royally suck. Right now, as long as I keep Advil in my system, it doesn't bother me much.

A perfect example of my struggle to travel light comes tomorrow. I would like, ideally, to get up in the morning and go to the gym, which is a bus ride away and in the same direction as work. Then I'd like to go to work, and tomorrow I have to bring a portable CCTV for a student to try. After work I have a break in which I'd like to study for several hours. Then I have class up at UBC, and then the bus ride home. To bring gym stuff, work stuff, portable CCTV, and school/study stuff requires that I carry at minimum two bags, and that's going to weigh a lot. But if I leave some stuff at home it means that I can't get all of that done, which I find really frustrating.

I've also backed off on using screen magnification on my computer, and am currently using a screen reader. I really hate not being able to see what I'm writing (even though, yes, I can hear it), and for years now have been using screen magnification even though it obliges me to lean forward to see the screen. I read online (after getting back from the clinic) that poor posture can cause back strain, and that's definitely not good posture. I found longer ago that reading braille and sitting up straight was far less painful and fatiguing than hunching over a large print book, and since then I do most of my leisure reading using a refreshable braille display. Perhaps I will end up doing the same wtih the computer, as sitting back does make my back feel better, even if I can't see the screen well from there (even with magnification).