Drewlander’s BodyBlog

After two days from injuring my shoulder (it snapped when i was beginning to do incline dumbbell bench press last Friday), the pain had subsided for the most part.  The doc put me on 14 days of Aleve just as an anti-inflammatory in case I needed an MRI.  After a week, my entire range of motion is back to almost normal.  The only thing that bothers me is when I lift my arm past 90 degrees upward, my shoulder pops.  This also happens when I try to push things, like hand soap out of a wall dispenser.  Yes, it hurts.  But once it pops, I can continue to move my arm upward and so on.  My thoughts are that I have a tendon that snapped out of place and is now moving back and forth over the end of my clavicle.  I went to the doc yesterday (Friday) and he thinks the same as I do.  He’s going to have me go to one day of physical therapy so they can show me some shoulder strengthening exercises I can start on my own when I go to the gym before class each day.  He expects a QUICK and full recovery in about 4-6 weeks.  He also noted that I may have a very slight rotator cuff tear, but hopefully PT will help that if it is present.  He wants to know if I’m not back to normal within 4 weeks.  If not, then I’ll get an MRI.  As of right now, he doesn’t think I need to get an MRI, especially if we’re right about the tendon thing…I agree with him (plus, I don’t have the $$$ for an MRI).  So, I start PT this week and I’m looking forward to at least strengthening my shoulders up, which I should have been doing all along (shame on me).  And just for a side note–having nicely-developed deltoids does NOT mean you have strong shoulders…only your small little rotator cuff muscles will strengthen your shoulder joint.

Take care everyone!

Andy

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to let you all know how grateful I am to have such encouraging and motivated friends on here!  I have found that my first year of medical school (last year) is a joke compared to this year…and this is still just my first week of class!  I have class for about 7 hours a day, with a lunch break and about 5 minute breaks each hour.  The amount of info they lecture on each hour is TREMENDOUS!  Needless to say, I’m already behind this week by about 2 days of work (so I probably shouldn’t be on here, but I wanted to update).  I have revised my study habits a bit and have gotten some advise from the M3s (third-year students), so I know how to study more effectively and efficiently without having to study today’s lectures, then reading 50-60 pages of very detailed info (in very fine print, no less) about tomorrow’s lectures.

On a lighter, and probably more interesting note, I’ve started by lifting regimen this week!  I have a membership at a gym here by the river (appropriately called "Riverplex").  I am going each day at 6 AM (waking up at 5:30) and have not missed a day!  I will plan on going Monday through Friday and am currently doing a 5-day split, one body part each day, with abs included on the shorter days.  That is, unless XNickEdgeX has some good advice for me later on (lol).  I have to keep my lifts quick with little rest time between sets, because I’m giving myself about an 1.5 hours to change, lift, shower, get dressed, and drive to the medical school.  Also, I have reinstated keeping track of what I eat each day so that I can  make sure I’m eating enough.  I tend to forget to eat when I’m busy, hahaha.  So far, I’m doing well in that area of my life.  I’m no longer on a restricted carb diet, cause I really need the carbs for continuous energy of both body AND brain.  So, I’m getting roughly 3000-3500 calories a day, around 300 g carbs, around 250 g protein, and around 100 g fats.  And trust me…all the food I’m eating is very good and good for me!

So there’s my update of my life thus far.  Oh yeah, my ‘new’ Section 8 apartment took some time and money to make it look good, but I really like it now.  (Yeah, since I’m technically below poverty level, I get to live in government-subsidized housing for single elderly/disabled people right across the street from the school and the 2 hospitals…they keep several spots open for med students and me and 20 of my good friends live here, which is very convenient…and FREE!).  As far as communicating with you guys, I likely won’t be on this site much at all for awhile (maybe on the weekends), so I won’t be answering questions about my diet/exercise regimen cause that takes too much time to respond to.  I’d love to hear from you all and how things are going, though, so feel free to comment on my wall, just know that it may be a few days before I respond.

Thanks again for your friendships and support!

God’s peace!

Andy  =)