My back pain got considerably worse over the weekend, and by last night it was unbearable enough that I ended up in the ER. They gave me some stronger painkillers and sent me home, but nothing has really helped so far. I tossed and turned all night, trying to find a comfortable position — there wasn’t one.

I’m hoping to get in to see my doctor today and figure out what comes next. Fingers crossed for some relief soon.

I ended up taking a sick day yesterday because I woke up with a migraine. The migraine had actually started Monday, and then a night of thunderstorms kept me awake for much of the night. When I got up Tuesday morning, the migraine was still hanging on, so I knew I wasn’t going to make it to work.

Thankfully, the headache finally eased up before noon yesterday. My back, which has been bothering me for two weeks now, felt a little better but still not great. I already had a massage scheduled for the afternoon, and I was hopeful that would help.

The massage therapist focused mostly on my right side — where the back, neck, and shoulder pain have been concentrated — and she said my muscles there were really tense. She really dug into my shoulder and back, and while that definitely helped loosen my back a bit, my shoulder was sore afterwards from how much work it took to get those knots to release.

This morning I have more movement in both my neck and back, which is an improvement, but the pain itself isn’t much better yet. My doctor’s office told me to call them back this afternoon if I’m still hurting after my muscles have had time to relax fully from the massage. I really hope that happens by then, but at this point I just don’t know.

With all this going on, I probably won’t have an art history post ready this week, but I’ll see what I can put together later on if I feel up to it.

I hope all of you are doing well — the week is already half over, so we’ve got the weekend to look forward to. Hang in there, and take care of yourselves.

On Monday, I wrote about the back and abdominal pain that made my weekend so miserable. Tuesday, I went to see my doctor to try to figure out what was going on. He ran some tests and was able to rule out kidney stones, a kidney infection, and any obvious gallbladder problems—though, as he put it, nothing could be ruled out 100%.

When I told him how my back pain started the week before, after standing and giving tour after tour to high school kids at the museum, he nodded knowingly. He felt the knots in my lower back (which I had already discovered myself), and then did a thorough check of my abdomen. After he finished poking around, his conclusion was that I strained my back during those tours and probably caught some kind of intestinal virus from one of those “little monsters”—his words, after I joked about losing the immunity I used to have when I taught high school nearly a decade ago. Apparently, years away from a classroom full of teenagers means my immune system isn’t as prepared for their germs anymore.

So the working diagnosis is a combination of back strain and a mild viral gastroenteritis or colitis. He recommended a probiotic, being gentle on my stomach, avoiding anything that would make my back worse, and keeping an eye on symptoms. He told me to call the clinic by Thursday if things hadn’t improved.

Well… it’s Thursday morning, and I can’t say I’ve noticed much improvement yet. Ugh. So I’ll be calling the office this morning to see if they can advise me or hold me over through the weekend since tomorrow is a holiday. Unfortunately, I’m the only person at the museum today, so running to the doctor might be tricky. But I do have a deep tissue massage scheduled for Tuesday afternoon—just couldn’t get in sooner with the holiday.

For now, I’m muddling through. The silver lining? My migraines have been minimal lately thanks to the botox and other meds, so at least that hasn’t been piled on top of everything else.

I’ll keep you all updated if there are any new developments tomorrow. Fingers crossed that a little more rest and care will start to turn things around.

Stay healthy, everyone—and if you’re around high schoolers, don’t forget: those little monsters carry more than just noise and chaos.

P.S.: I should say, though, that the students I gave the tours to were actually wonderfully behaved kids—attentive, engaged, and full of intelligent questions. They really were good tours, and it was a pleasure to share the museum with them.

It’s been a rough one.

This weekend has been full of pain—head, back, and stomach—and not the kind that fades with a good night’s sleep. The headache is, unfortunately, part of my usual chronic migraine pattern. For me, pain doesn’t like to travel alone. When something flares up in my body, it often invites a migraine along for the ride. And this time, it brought friends.

For the past week or so, I’ve been dealing with lower back pain. It ebbs and flows—sometimes tolerable, sometimes so intense I can barely move around the house. I’ve had worse episodes in the past, but that doesn’t make this one any easier. I’ve been using a heating pad, and while it gives me temporary relief, it’s just that—temporary.

To make matters worse, a bout of stomach pain decided to join the party. No clue if the three are connected or just coinciding at the most inconvenient time. Either way, it’s made for a miserable few days.

Today, I’m taking a sick day. I need to rest, let the heating pad do its magic, and take a muscle relaxer to see if I can ease this back pain. If I’m not better tomorrow, I’ll be giving my doctor a call. I know when it’s time to stop pushing through and start taking care of myself properly.

I hope your Monday is starting out much better than mine. Wishing each of you a healthy, pain-free start to the week.