SUP Saturday Rebellion

Patience, recovery, and rehab…

I teach it. I preach it. I skipped it.

Lil’ Red’s whispers grew in my ear.  

Echoing, bellowing, 

“Let’s go to the river,” He shouted.

I ventured out for a short stand up paddle boarding session today.  Tie down straps did not work, the launch fees increased from 3 to 10 dollars.  The crowd started by 9AM when the grounds used to be ghostly until closer to 10:30.

My legs were shaky and my balance faulty.  There were no falls or splashes.  It was clear that I had skimped on my preparation.  My flexibility was surprisingly constrained when transitioning from kneeling to standing.  The muscles in both feet have been spoiled.  A few minutes later, I was back on shore.

It was nice to be back out on the water!

With new exercises in mind, I put Lil’ Red away for another day.

 

Pain

We don’t seem to understand it.  We are not that good at controlling it.  We are becoming better at addressing it.  We have a long way to go.

Picture from Encyclopedia.com.  Info Video

There was a post on My Lymphoma Journey addressing this issue and it really got me thinking.

We are just leaving the declared decade of pain control and research.  So, where are we?  Pain is now the fifth vital sign.  Hospitals, doctors, and drug companies are now more attentive to the issue and attempt to relieve their patients’ agony.  There are still areas for awareness improvement.  For example: Medicare reimbursement, at some levels, is dependent on functional improvement.  Sleep and pain are not considered functional.  Therefore, a person can have 9/10 pain while trying to get dressed (after a sleepless night) but as long as they can get dressed independently they do not need treatment.

Opioid insanity

click for drugfree.org

There are some great new medicines on the market to help with pain control.  There are some to help neurogenic pain, such as Neurontin and Lyrica. (Hard to miss all the Lyrica commercials).  These are not opiate based.  Rather they seem to have their roots in seizure control medicines.  They do have their own side effects but can be very helpful.

Drugs, such as oxycodone, are being used to treat everything from acute (new) pain to chronic (long term) pain.  It is very powerful and has a pretty high street value.  Due to the abuse and over prescribing by many individuals, states are beginning to crack down on its use.  This includes more paperwork for doctors.  While making sure medicines are used ethically and as intended is very important, especially with narcotics, the increased paperwork and investigations have meant a new barrier to access.  Some doctors stopped prescribing it in order to avoid the whole issue.  Some pharmacists try to avoid it for the same reason.  Who wants to go to jail or lose their license because they did not research their patients’ lives enough.  I witnessed a doctor in the hospital accusing a patient of being a wimp and a “clock watcher”.  Only to discover later, he just did not like all the paperwork that he had to do every time he prescribed pain medicine.

An issue of particular importance for chronic pain patients is opioid-induced hyperalgesia.

How to Identify Venomous Snakes

Exploring the great outdoors is a wonderful way to relax and workout.  With extensive research and years of experience, I have learned how to differentiate between a deadly bear and a bear statue.  I have also learned the difference between gators and gator tail stew. Snakes are a bit more challenging.  Top photo credit:  reptilechannel.com

This young man has some good info on the topic with a unique delivery style.

OR

 

 

 

Yogi From:  http://journalstar.com

Mad Momma from: http://modernsurvivalonline.com

Highlights on Living

Today’s six month highlight list includes posts for life management and general tips.

1. Advanced Directives
2. Don’t Take Things so Seriously
3. Taking Care of Your Teeth
4. GIGO
5. Personal Mission Statements
6. Scheduling Priorities 
7. Dating
8. Crucial Conversations
9. The Melting Pot of Ideas and People
10. Tennis Ball Uses

Diet Highlights

As the six month anniversary review continues, today the diet and food post highlights will be featured.

1. Food Sensitivity
2. Diet Wars
3. For the Love of Coffee
4. Eating Socially
5. Probiotics
6. Things to Add to Juice
7. Sugar Highs
8. The Start of the Fast

New Work Out Video

Are you tired of fighting of fighting for machines at the gym?

Is it too hot to go outside?

Do you think a hurricane is an excuse to not workout?

Well think again!

This amazing new workout will keep you groov’n and move’n. For a limited time we are offering this workout for free. That’s right, free to to the first round of motivated clients that are ready to change their lives forever.

My Trip Home and….

…my twist on the weekly photo challenge: Merge.  (Nothing official, just Photoshop fun.)

A couple of months ago, the universe told me not to go to the mountains.  Nothing was in sync until I made a reservation to fly up to see family.  As the sun rose last Friday morn, I headed out for a weekend of good food and family bonding.  It was a fabulous trip!  I was able to see cousins, aunts, uncles and the star: grandma.

On the flight home, I began to drift off.  Is there something on the wing?  I do NOT want to be in the Twilight Zone.  It’s Fred!  He must have followed me on the trip.

Just then, I get jarred awake.

The pilot is on the PA system:  “(static) Um, well folks, it looks like we are done with the roller coaster for awhile.  They are routing us west to avoid the storm.  We will have about 15 minutes with the seat belt sign off.  If you should need to use the facilities, this would be a good time.  We will land about 20 minutes later than my previous estimate.”

It is at times like these that we all ask ourselves certain questions:

Keep Your Balance

From the CDC:  Falling is the leading cause of injury death for those 65 and older.  One out of three adults over 65 fall every year.  Less than half talk to their doctor about it.  (Some studies use 45 and older)

Head injuries, fractures, lacerations and fear, all resulting from falls, can lead to a loss of independence and mobility restriction.  Some people become so afraid about falling that they severely restrict their activities.  They become more dependent on others and lose some quality of life.

What keeps us vertical?

There are three systems that provide the input that keeps us balanced.  Vision is more than being able to read a chart in your doctor’s office.  Depth perception and tracking objects are also important skills.  It is important to have vision tested for all of these, especially if there have been balance changes.  Vestibular (inner ear) problems can become more frequent as we age.  There are tests and treatments for inner ear issues.  Proprioception involves the information your brain gets from the muscles and joints about what position they are in.  This area is the easiest to work on independently before and after seeking advice from your primary care doctor, ENT and/or physical therapist.  Processing the information in the brain and sending signals back out to the body is the last step.

So what can we do?

Fasting 10 Days

I started the fast on a bit of a whim.  It ended most purposefully with an apple and a big spoon of peanut butter.  It was not as good as I had been imagining all week, but I looked down at my stomach and asked it, “Are you happy now?”  It gurgled, thank you, back at me.

Lessons and observations from my adventure:

1. Just because I want to eat, does not mean I have to.  I give into cravings so often with the excuse that I should go ahead, otherwise I will never be able to stop thinking about it.  Another favorite excuse:  my body must need something, so go ahead and eat that chocolate milkshake and fries. 8)
2. Media has way too many pictures of food.  There are the obvious commercials for the -gotta have it now- fast food and sugary treats.  Pinterest can be evil.  My DVR has a list of cooking competition shows waiting for me.  I had never noticed how much regular TV shows flash food across the screen.  I envied Homer Simpson’s plate.  Really, craving cartoon food!

Accidental Fast

Have you ever gotten up in the morning and thought, “today would be a great day to start a juice fast?”  Me either, until Wednesday.  I have been feeling bloated and just blah.  With vacation eating and lunch meetings, I had strayed from my low gluten and lactose diet for the past few weeks.