Thursday - Library, Health

[helwen]

Saw Marty Benjamin again this morning - TCM for the win! Nice to be getting back more mobility and having a lot less pain these days. Chronic pain is not for the weak ;)

Took it easy for a bit, then finished painting the last bit of wall in the library.

Was going to do garden stuff - been neglecting the veg garden, such as it is - eh, tomorrow?

At least I picked a handful of blueberries :D

***

While I could wish for being pain-free, there are levels and there are levels. And while I'd like to have a lower level (which may yet happen), I appreciate that I'm no longer on ibuprofen on a near-daily basis, as I was earlier this summer.

Comments

Ibuprofen and dosage

[shaunacarrick]

I hear you on the ibu! I was taking pretty mega-doses of ibu - two 800 mg horsepills every 12 hours or so for a maintenance dose and extra one or two in the middle of the day if I did something stupid or the weather made me stabby with hurting - for close to 20 years. That's 3200 mg daily, for the math-inclined, on a regular basis, with an optional add of 1600 for a total of 4800 at least once a week (usually two or three times a week in bad weather). I was frequently a bit 'loopy' according to my friends - many of whom thought I was no much harder drugs than simply ibuprofen. Never got NEAR the opioid problem, thank goodness! I did find it made sleeping easier - probably because everything (including my bowels and bladder!) relaxed a lot easier after my night time dose. NOT a way to sleep, however, that I would recommend to anyone!

My Dr still monitors my liver and kidneys via blood work every six months, but I've shown no damage, so I can count myself very lucky in that regard. Stomach, also, not affected apparently. I was able to get off the 'ibu train' after my two knee replacements, and now I only take that dose when I am REALLY hurting somewhere (usually my back) or have swollen up due to weather or other factors. I'll 'pre-medicate' if I KNOW I am going to be up and about and needing to be alert-ish for more than an hour or so. Beyond that, when I do ask for a refill from the VA, they still send me the HUGE bottle (it's just about a pound!) which lasts me a lot longer than it used to. Since I am 100% disabled - and the base injury was service-connected - all my meds are no cost to me, thank all the little ghods and ghoddesses!.

Hope that you can find more relief soon!

Re: Ibuprofen and dosage

[helwen]

Wow! Glad your kidneys and liver are still all right! Also glad you had the knee replacements and have medical support -- so expensive.

I did work out that coffee is a no-go for me. I've mostly avoided it anyway because I couldn't drink it in the morning (nausea) but this spring the guys in our house worked out some tasty, lower acid coffee and I would have some once in a while. Started being in so much pain I felt like every nerve was on fire -- coffee was the only new thing, so I stopped it and dropped pain levels down to something bearable.

The TCM guy I see has been helping - and I was given some homework on things to meditate on, which actually helped. I just have to remember to do it every day. Work in progress!

[inamellowmood]

Very glad the TCM is helping your pain levels!