{ Wednesday, April 25, 2007 }
If you've been reading this blog a long time, you'll recall I have been taking painkillers for the past 10 years for a chronic pain condition that started when I was backpacking around the rainforest in Brazil and took the evil drug Lariam, an anti-malarial. No more! I had to stop taking the medication because of the baby, and as a result, am in pain like I haven't been in 10 years, and not sleeping as a result. Not sleeping makes it worse. It's been hard.
After watching me suffer, my boss and HR said, please, go on disability. I hadn't really considered it. But I talked to my doctor and it was so.
For someone like me who loves work, this isn't easy. When I check my work mail, it makes me crazy because there are all these things I want to take care of. I had to stop looking. On the other hand, I feel much better because I can sleep at strange hours and stress? What stress? It's amazing -- we started the company in 2002 and I haven't really slowed down since. In the end, this is very good for me. I tend to push myself too hard, take on too much. Too many speaking engagements, too many airplanes.
Read, think, blog, eat, sleep, go for walks, see the acupuncturist, do yoga, get massages and get ready for the baby. It's good.
LINK | 7:31 AM | TB
My wife used biofeedback along with acupuncture as a way of controlling chronic pain from a bad car accident. She swears by it. Hope this helps you.
chris robinson | April 25, 2007 9:39 AMI'm so sorry to hear about the pain. It is however, a true pleasure to see you posting more (even if some of them have happened at 3:47 AM).
The baby is (of course) the best news of all!
Please take care of yourself.
j david | April 25, 2007 10:48 AMI too had many problems with the evil evil larium and found acupuncture and yoga helped (and I did both well into my pregnancy).
Sharlene | April 25, 2007 10:51 AMplease don't be a martyr after your baby comes. Make sure to take what you need to to get rest. You can't parent when you are in too much pain. take care of yourself! there is lots of time in life to work.
jen | April 25, 2007 4:34 PMMany wishes for a smooth last bit and a good birth.
Ben Clemens | April 26, 2007 1:27 AMHi Caterina - as a fellow Yahoo! I really admire everything you've accomplished these last few years at the company. I look forward to (hopefully) more blog posts and best wishes on reducing your back pain.
Congratulations on the baby as well :)
Regards,
david
my sister(who is petite)refused to take drugs during her 3 pregnancies.(i mean during delivery).because of the adverse effects proven on children in later years.(higher incidents of drug use,alcoholism,etc.)go with a midwife,au natural,the way it was intended.she was in a great deal of pain,but happy that she chose this course. in the end,mind you, it could have led to her death.peace.bz.
bzkajo | April 26, 2007 1:59 AMI'm sorry to hear the news. You will be missed but you have your priorities in order. I agree w/ Chris Robinson... If you haven't tried acupuncture ... give it a try.
marc | April 26, 2007 9:19 AMGlad you are taking care of yourself - it will be good for the soul AND the body and even make you more productive in the long run - baby/work. Took me a long time to realize this. Ping me for coffee..;)
deb schultz | April 26, 2007 10:00 AMThanks everyone for the well wishes! It made my day.
Caterina | April 26, 2007 1:55 PMCaterina, I am so excited for you and Stewart. The very best wishes from Brooklyn!
estee | April 26, 2007 2:10 PMA baby!!! What excellent news, Caterina!! I'm sorry to hear about the pain being this bad, but, yay, a baby. Many good wishes for you and Stewart.
I also want to say 'hope the pain will go away soon', but I guess that's not really very likely, alas. I'm glad you at least have good people around taking good care of you and doing things to make it all easier.
Must now knit you a little something :-)
marrije | April 26, 2007 2:12 PMVery Best Wishes
Please see http://www.sakthifoundation.org/panchabhoota.htm - Something here will help you
Kishore Balakrishnan | April 27, 2007 10:50 AMCaterina: I've been following your blog for quite some time and I'm just so happy for you and your husband. Get ready for big changes. Don't worry....these changes will only last for about 20 years. I'm sure you will be a great mom and mazel tov!!!!
Lynne
Lynne | April 27, 2007 2:48 PMHi Caterina!! Hey congratulations!!! This is such exciting news. Take good care of yourself and eat a lot of chocolate. It makes for happy babies. (They did a study in Finland!)
I read your blogs and I didn't know about it till now. Besides acupuncturist, as a Chinese, I propose you have a try on Zen/QiGong (sit our lie quietly and concentrate on the breathing. Someone propose the alternative: if you cannot concentrate on the breathing you follow your the heart flows, you see through your ideas/feelings come and go in front of your head. It won't hurt and it may help.
Wenjie | April 27, 2007 8:05 PMTaking long breaks is a very good thing.
You'll come back stronger than ever.
Then, we all win!
P.S. beware of poorly anagrammed medications
Andrew S | April 28, 2007 12:34 AM{ Post a comment }
I think we all tend to forget that being healthy is what matters the most! We owe it to those who love us, to our work but, most importantly, we owe it to ourselves! Best of luck to you!!!
petya | April 25, 2007 9:02 AM