Block Gone Bad

As I type this I am laying as flat as I possibly can on my couch. The past 6 days have been something out of a nightmare. Last Wednesday, I went to have a epidural block done for my lower back. (I have a bulging disc and it has been bugging me for over a month.) The block was supposed to alleviate the back pain I had been having since December, and allow me to quickly get back into the swing of being a wife, teacher and mommy. WRONG. Thursday morning I woke up with a dull headache. Nothing crazy, and since headaches are a common side effect of steroids, I popped a few Tylenol and went on to work. By 12:00, I wanted to die. My dad had to come and get me from school, then drop me off at Urgent Care. After speaking with the doctor there, and getting a round of pain and nausea killers in my system, I left thinking I could sleep it off. Wrong again! Friday morning I woke up in more pain, so I called the surgery center. I went in to have a blood patch done. Apparently, the leak was pretty bad, because in my drugged up state I could hear the anthesiologist (sp?) talking to the MD. I ended up getting 27 cc's of blood in my patch instead of the normal 20 cc's. Immediately after the patch I felt relief. Well, except for the insane burning in my neck and ears, but hey, my head felt better! When I went home an hour later and tried to lay down, my ears were on fire. When I sat up, the were fine. I attributed it to my overactive imagination, but took a Percocet for the pain and SLEPT. Saturday morning was sure to be a better start. Seriously? I was, yet again, wrong! Needless to stay I have been hopped up on painkillers and Coke since Wednesday. I stupidly tried to go to work yesterday and my precious principal hauled me off to Birmingham yesterday, because the local doctors were just not doing the trick. While in the emergency room at St. Vincent's, where I was taken excellent care of, I found out that I was one of the 15% of people who do not find relief from a blood patch. Good to know. (I also found out I was allergic to morphine, which is also excellent information to have on hand.) So, here I sit, er...lay. Down in the dumps and on the couch. I love Coke, but my waistline is not handling this "lay around all day and eat/drink your weight in caffeine" bit I've got going on. I also love my students, and not seeing them in almost a week has been a bummer. More than anything else, I love being mommy, and that is something I haven't been able to be since last week. If you're the praying sort, please say a little prayer for me tonight. I am SO over this!