Rick's b.log - entry 2025/12/05

Work injury

I finished my day, which included working in the other washing up area with the big automatic washer tunnel gizmo. This was a double edged sword because I can reduce the 'load' by dealing with the things coming out of the machine one by one, but that means I need to turn and put them on the plastic palette one by one. So your choices are "heavy" or "turny-twisty".
Suffice to say, by quarter to five I was glad to get the hell out of there. It really hurt.

But, okay, I've had back problems in the past - plonge is hard work. Just make some comfort food, go to bed early, I'll be a little bit better in the morning.

Only this time my back wasn't playing along.
My back really wasn't playing along.
There was no position that was comfortable. I spent a long part of the night on my back (note: I never sleep on my back) because it hurt too much to roll onto a side. I did a few times, but oh my god... I didn't sleep, obviously.
Come early morning, time to get up and pee and feed kitty. Well, it took many minutes just getting out of bed. It might have worked if I had a rope or bar hanging from the ceiling and I could haul myself up, but otherwise it meant I had to move myself into position without moving my back. Clearly not possible. I found the (painful) way that worked was to roll onto a side and then use that arm to push myself upright. And, you try going from sitting to standing without moving your lower back. Your lower back that seems clenched in place but with the consistency of jelly in that if it gets upset with what you're doing it'll just stop and let you flop over. Yes, that happened. Only a hard push got me to flop onto the bed and not face first on the floor.

My wake up alarm came, and went. Then at 8am I spammed the phone with calls to my local surgery. I was finally put on hold at ten past and the receptionist answered about five minutes later; giving me a rendez-vous at noon.

So I made a tea and sat in the kitchen by the little electric radiator because, well, it was (just) sub-zero outside. Normally I'd just go back to bed until maybe ten or so, but after all of the trauma getting out, I didn't want to have to repeat that ridiculous shitshow.

I have a band in my hair to keep it pulled back. One day I'll cut it, maybe... To put that on I had to sit on the chair and rest my head on the table. Anything more upright than that and my back wasn't having it.
I was smart enough to know that my doctor would want to undress me and poke around, so I put on a shirt and a fleece jacket. No jumper. I wore my clothes to bed last night because trying to get undressed hurt too much, and it was no fun at all taking the jumper off this morning, so I had things that could be unzipped or unbuttoned.
The weird thing is how many little movements you don't realise involve the back. Like to reach and pick up a mug of tea. Nope! Not happening. I had to get really close and move my arm as little as possible.

I went to the doctor and explained what had happened. And as expected, undress my top. She carefully pressed her way down my spine both on and between the bones. I expected that, I had already tried to do it to myself to be sure we weren't looking at a slipped disc sort of thing. But, no, this felt muscular. About two fifths of the way up and on both sides, though this morning it hurt slightly more on the left though that could have been the position I didn't sleep in.

Since I live in a stinking commie socialist country... I have been signed off for five days. I may or may not get paid for some of it. The "unpaid" part is the first three days, but I'm not sure if this is counted as "days stopped" or "days not worked" because there is a weekend in here. That being said, it ought to be days stopped because I have restrictions on when I have to be present at home and on what I can do - so no sneaking off bungee jumping tomorrow afternoon. Not that I'm going to be or go anywhere, mind you.

Not only that, but I have been prescribed paracetamol, ibuprofen gel (an NSAID), and some sort of anti-inflammatory pill to ease the muscles (rummage: Naproxen, another type of NSAID). Interesting that I'm using ibuprofen and naproxen together; though one is a pill and one is a rub-on gel.
Of all of that, I only had to pay €11 for three boxes of paracetamol because I wanted a special type that you can take without water. It's a little tube that I rip off the end and tip the powder directly into my mouth. It tastes like something desperately trying to be strawberry and missing. Actually, it's not unlike those weird little pill-sweets you used to get out of Pez containers that weren't overly sweet and had various obscenely fake flavours. Everything else was "pris en charge" by the state. Oh, I had to pay €30 for the doctor's visit, but that will 100% refunded by some horrifically convoluted method.

Not only that, but I have a prescription for a kinesiotherapist (sort of a masseuse but for medical reasons). I had to go to the town where I worked to hand over a paper saying that I was on stoppage - it needs to be given to them within 48h and since tomorrow is the weekend... I stopped at a kiné in town who said "I have nothing before February".
I called the one in the other town where my doctor is. I was there at 1pm when Google Maps said they would be open, but nobody was there. I think Google Maps was flat-out wrong and they open at 2pm like everybody else. Anyway, he told me that he had nothing before the end of January, so I said I could barely hear him - is he in the cabinet and can I stop by? He said yes, but he'll tell me the same thing in person.
So I stopped by. I handed over my prescription and he actually read it, noting that it said very specifically to invoke a "protocol". This protocol means that the doctor wants this seen to now and not months away, because this is a problem now because of a work-related accident.
He asked how long I was off work for. I said until Wednesday, clarifying that I go back to work on Wednesday because it seems that a lot of French people would say "until X" with it being inclusive. So he flipped through a large booklet and said "7pm on Tuesday okay?". Yes.
Well, no, I don't like being touched, but I think I'm going to have to suck it up and tolerate somebody pushing and prodding my muscles. Not that I'm convinced it's going to do much, mind you...

The actual diagnosis is doctor-speak that basically translates to "pulled his back, ouch".

I have also just received by email a form from work that asks medical professionals to note down what they did and how much it cost. These things will all be covered. I may have to pay and get refunded, because France is just like that, but at the end I'll have paid only in the loss of 1-3 days of work and the €11 for the paracetamol. Because, as I said, I live in one of those awful communist-socialist countries where employees actually have some rights and work is not a disposable meat grinder.
You know, I read a story the other day about a guy who calmly robbed a bank at gunpoint, demanding $1. Then he sat and waited until he was arrested. Why? Because he would get important, life saving, medical treatment in prison. I also read about people who are terrified to see a doctor because they live from one payday to the next and medical treatment could bankrupt them (having medical insurance is absolutely no guarantee that they will actually pay for any treatment given) and even if that were not a problem, their absence could be justification for firing them. I'm sure you can guess what country I am referring to in this paragraph, and to be honest I'm glad I don't live in such a place. France is not perfect, but it does attempt to give a damn about its citizens. Not always entirely successfully given that the Parliament is a split system like the US where the President and House can be different parties (or, like right now, a complete mess) and getting that lot to agree on anything is like trying to herd a pile of rambunctious kittens, but I like living here. I like working here. Barring a major war or Nazi-wannabes in government, I see my future as being here. About sixteen or so more years of doing what I'm doing and then I can retire and potter around aimlessly until this crappy body my ghost got stuck into finally...gives up the ghost. I only really have two wishes - that I die peacefully, and that I don't go gaga beforehand. Oh, and it would be nice to have a few years after retirement to sit with tea and books, otherwise what's the point? Might as well just pop off now and save myself the troubles of getting older. Well, not now now, after New Years, I want to see how they wrap up Stranger Things.

I scored a free euro, but...

I hurried across the car park and grabbed the trolley before it hit somebody's car. Some old bloke tipped the hat he wasn't wearing at me then pointed after the car and gave a WTF? gesture. I just nodded. Yeah mate, what the actual...

I did my shopping, and afterwards took the trolley to the bay, that I then realised was right beside angry woman and parked the trolley. It obligingly returned its token. A one euro coin.

A bit bittersweet though. I mean, cool, I got a euro for doing a good deed and catching the trolley, but on the other hand, that poor little girl.

Anyway, I'm shattered now. So I'm making something to eat and then I'm going to bed. Late night Friday? You must be joking. I'm now of the age where I understand those who went to bed early on a Friday...

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C Ferris, 6th December 2025, 10:46

There are Handy back exercises, that might help.  Also there is a hot water bottle like a 1 yard snake.  A walking stick might help.    Can you work out a way at work to bypass heavy lifting?

C Ferris, 6th December 2025, 10:50

Is your cat free range - if not some auto feeder / water gadget when you are layed up.  Chicken feeder!

John, 6th December 2025, 13:52

I am a great believer in dangling. Find somewhere high you can just reach and gently use your body weight to stretch the back for some seconds, perhaps 10 or so.    Repeat if it provides some relief.    Au Petit Four I had a handle above the bottom step of the stair that I could grip from tippy-toes on the first step and gradually let my weight extend my spine. I always found this helpful if my back was giving trouble!    In the UK I had a rope contraption from the top newel post with an adjustable-height plastic "dangling ring" from a playground set.    You could give it a try, starting cautiously and gently. DIY traction.

Zerosquare, 6th December 2025, 17:53

Rick, take good care of your back.     A friend of mine that's about your age has been suffering periodic, painful relapses for years after hurting his back. And he works on a computer in an office, so you can imagine what it'd be like if he had to do physical work like you.    If needed, you should also discuss workplace accommodations with your doctor. I'm not sure about the details, but French companies have to take their employee's health conditions into account, by law, even if it's not convenient for them.

Rick, 6th December 2025, 21:12

I have a small heated blanket that's intended for my lap, but it works just as well stuck around my back. I have another with a velcro strap as it is intended exactly for that, but it doesn't get particularly warm.    Unfortunately heavy lifting is a part of the job. Ironically, I started on and used to help in production and I found that - standing still at the production line - messed with my back more. I prefer to be active, unfortunately being active means doing heavy stuff.  Trust me, if this was an easy job, people would want to do it... ;)    Of course, there will come a time when I'm no longer capable of doing this which means I may end up getting moved back to the production line. I'm not looking forward to that as I know that it'll hurt more *and* my dyspraxia makes it a bit of a farce...    I used to do computer work in an office. A long time ago. It's the only time in my life I had to lie on the floor and was literally unable to get up for hours. Having your back locked in an artificial position for substantial chunks of a day is a really terrible thing. There's a reason my blog posts and coding take me a long time...I am very easily distracted. But I welcome these distractions because, you know, abandoning the thing mid-paragraph (or mid-function) and walking Anna around the house gets me up and moving. Not stuck in position for ages. Also, gotta keep that tea flowing...    My pain has, mostly, shifted to be only on the left. I got up and out of bed this morning, fed Anna, made tea, and burst out laughing because of what a massive difference it was to yesterday.  I don't know if it's the natural healing speed or if it's due to the anti-inflammatory. Either way, I'm definitely not right (it's only been a day) but the difference compared to yesterday is remarkable. I have to force myself to stay up and make dinner around half ten because that's when I got up. I needed to catch up on sleep I missed the night before. I've not felt the need to take any paracetamol since this morning, and then I only took half a stick as I didn't want 1000mg. My pain tolerance is greater than my "putting weird stuff in me" tolerance. That is to say, the pain bothers me less than knowing what a paracetamol overdose can do, and how close the legitimate maximum daily dose actually is to a potentially damaging dose.  I don't get why paracetamol isn't supplied with either N-acetylcysteine (recommended today) or methionine (Paradote) within, given that paracetamol toxicity is one of the most common causes of poisoning worldwide (about 100K per year in the US, and it's a leading cause of drug overdosing in the UK,US, AU, and NZ (among others)).  So, I take it in extreme moderation.    At any rate, I'm feeling much better. Maybe on Monday at noon when I'm permitted to not be home I can go bungee jumping. Well, John thinks I should give my back a stretch. :)

jgh, 6th December 2025, 22:55

I am pouring empathy your way, as I have exactly the same problems, and it's not fun. Five years ago I knackered my right knee by kneeling on a doorway carpet strip. The ***PAIN*** of just bending my knee or putting any weight on it was unbeleivable. Hobbled to A&E, got a walking stick, pressure bandages, medicine etc etc etc.    Anyway, *something* I did last week did my /left/ knee in and I've had the same since Tuesday. I just woke up Tuesday morning with an achey feeling, swung my legs out of bed and SCREAMED! I went through all your convolutions to manoever myself into a standing position with my knee screaming at me all the time, enough to hobble to the bathroom and have a pee.    I then found I couldn't bend far enough to get a sock on, or tie shoe laces. Using my walking stick and a broom handle I managed to feed my foot into a sock and get my foot into a pre-tied shoe so that I could hobble out of the house to get to the shops.    Five days later, and I've just tested, and I can now just about get my foot up to resting on chair to get it within reach of my hands, and I've just managed to do a normal two-legged ascent of the stairs - albeit putting most of my weight on the bannister.    You don't realise what bits of your body you use for everyday activities.

Rick, 6th December 2025, 23:08

JGH: 🤗A virtual hug in your direction because I certainly understand this. I hope you recover soon. Do you have any medications? Have you seen a doctor?

C Ferris, 6th December 2025, 23:24

Rick - remember that other things can give you a bad back - drink plenty of fluid.

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