Update on Pain Management

It's been almost 2 weeks since my appointment at the pain management center. First, let me say that the doctor did not impress me. He's arrogant and obnoxious, and talked down to me until my partner made it clear that she was a veterinarian. I.E., a medical professional that couldn't be bullshitted.

That being said, he definitely knows his stuff as far as fibro goes. He did the pressure test to confirm that I have it (no doubts there!), and then he started telling me about a new drug, Savella. Very few side effects, and those show up in a small minority of the people on the drug. He gave me a prescription and a coupon for a free titration pack to get started with. It took a few days to get started -- no one carries the titration pack in stock, and finding a pharmacy to take the coupon was tricky. Say what you like about Wal-Mart, they took the coupon!

So, today is day 10 on Savella. It's my third day at the full dose (5o mg twice a day), and yesterday I did something I haven't been able to do for a long time.

One of my big jobs around the house is cleaning ferret cages. It's physically demanding, and for the past two years it's been such a painful thing to do that I haven't done it any where near as regularly as I should, especially the part where I change the bedding, which frequently requires getting down on my hands and knees to clean the lower part of the cage. When I've done it, it's taken an hour and a half to do one average sized cage -- the bigger ones have been impossible! Yesterday, I cleaned an average cage in 45 minutes, including a full bedding change! I used a foam kneeling pad, where I've been using both that and strap-on knee pads. I was able to get up and down fairly easily. And while I'm more sore today than I was yesterday, I should still be able to clean another cage!

So, while the doctor is not a fun person to be around, he does know what he's talking about. And that's what I really care about!

My First Knitting Pattern -- Threes Triangular Shawl

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This is exciting to me! I designed this months ago, but due to other things haven't had a chance to try knitting it until this week. The project is still on my needles, so no photos yet, but I'll add them when it's finished.

I've always liked the look of the original K3P3 Prayer Shawl, but I prefer a triangular shawl to a rectangular one. I kept thinking that there had to be a way to incorporate the pattern into a triangular shawl, but couldn't figure out how to start. Then I started knitting a scarf from the book "101 Designer One-Skein Wonders" and realized I'd found the start for my shawl. From there, it was trial and error until suddenly things started working. Once I had the pattern, I set it aside and got distracted by other things. This past week, I found the paper it was written on and set out to test knit it. After a few false starts, and some corrections, I got it working. As of now, I'm the only person to test knit it -- I welcome any and all comments, especially if you find mistakes! I'll be putting this on Ravelry as a free pattern once I've got my shawl finished and some pictures taken. Enjoy!

Threes Triangular Shawl

by Beth Bowles

Abbreviations:
kfb -- knit into the front and back of the stitch
s1wyif -- slip one stitch purlwise with the yarn in front
yb -- put yarn to back of work
yo -- yarn over
k -- knit
p -- purl
co -- cast on

Gauge -- not vital. This shawl can be knitted with any weight of yarn, using the appropriately sized needles. I'm using an aran weight cotton, on size 10 needles.

CO one stitch
Row 1) kfb
Row 2) s1wyif, yb, kfb
Row 3) s1wyif, yb, kfb, k1
Row 4) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, knit to end
Rows 5-7) Repeat Row 4 -- 8 stitches on needle
Row 8) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k3, p1, k2
Row 9) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p1, k3, p1, k2
Row 10) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p1, k3, P2, k2
Row 11) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p2, k3, p2, k2
Row 12) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p2, k3, p3, k2
Row 13) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p3, k3, p3, k2
Row 14) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [p3, k3] to end
Row 15) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k1, [p3, k3] to end
Row 16) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k1, p3, k3, p3, k4
Row 17) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k2, p3, k3, p3, k4
Row 18) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k2, p3, k3, p3, k5
Row 19) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [k3, p3] to last 5 stitches, k5
Row 20) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [k3, p3] to last 6 stitches, k3, p1, k2
Row 21) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p1, [k3 p3] to last 6 stitches, k3, p1, k2
Row 22) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p1, [k3, p3] to last 7 stitches, k3, p2, k2
Row 23) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p2, [k3, p3] to last 7 stitches, k3, p2, k2
Row 24) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p2, [k3, p3] to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 25) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [p3, k3] to last 5 stitches, p3, k2
Row 26) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [p3, k3] to end
Row 27) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k1, [p3, k3] to end
Row 28) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k1, [p3, k3] last 7 stitches, p3, k4
Row 29) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k2, [p3, k3] to last 7 stitches, p3, k4
Row 30) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k2, [p3, k3] to last 5 stitches, k5

Repeat Rows 19-30 until shawl is desired length. For the most even appearance, end on Row 19.

Bind off.

Copyright 2009 by Beth Bowles