The back will stop you in your tracks.

I haven't been sleeping very well the last few nights. My back has been acting up again, and it seems as though Advil just isn't cutting it anymore.

Back in the fall of 1997, I was in college on a volleyball scholarship. It was great, getting school paid for is always good. I was a lean, mean spiking machine. But one particular day, in one particular game I took a particularly nasty dive into the stands to 'save' the ball.
Bad move.
Within a week I found out I had herniated L4 and L5 in my back.

Pinched nerves, check. Immense pain, check.
No bueno.
I never had surgery.

Over the years there have been times where I have been in excruciating pain and have lost feeling in my legs. Yet other times where it is fine, and not a problem at all.
But, today I am particularly exhausted. On a scale of 1 (no pain) to 10 (I'm going to die pain), I am probably at a 6.5 to 7.
Add in the fact that I can't seem to sleep...

Pain + Insomnia + Writers block = one crazy girl.