Reducing Pain

[Chris]

#blessed

I need to spend about a year stretching out my left hip. You're on the right track with dat dere yoga

[vanslix]

#blessed

I need to spend about a year stretching out my left hip. You're on the right track with dat dere yoga

It does get that way, doesn’t it? figure it’s going to take a solid year to unfuck my body after residency. At least.

Cycle 3 Wk 4 Deload A
Press - 140 x 3 x 4
Pull downs - 120/105/90 x 8
Dips - 5,5,5
Back work

My body is feeling beat to shit.
- Waved the white flag and started prednisone.
- But I’m also going to do a deload week. Which for me is the same weight as week 1 of the next cycle but just fewer reps. And accessory work if I feel like it and usually a bit less volume.
- Goal is yoga three times a week. After my last one, I realized I might need to ease into a bit more gently, if that’s even possible. It hurt like a sonofabitch.

[vanslix]

yoga
Pred needs to hurry up and kick in.

Cycle 3 Wk 4 Deload B
Sun salutations
SGDL - 150 x 3 x 4
Hector press - 265 x 3 x 8
Back extensions

[vanslix]

Conditioning
- bike ride for about 5 miles

[vanslix]

Conditioning
- elliptical x 12 minutes

Cycle 3 Wk4 Deload C
Bench - 205 x 3 x 4
DB Incline - 50/45/40 x 8s
Then ran out of gas.

[vanslix]

Deep Thoughts
- I’m still beat to shit.
- My pain ain’t reduced. Not even by a little bit.
- trying the same approach and expecting better results is just plain idiotic
- not sure what exactly I’m gonna do yet
- so I’m gonna experiment and fuck around
- thoughts are very light weight just to keep blood moving, at least until May

Conditioning
- Airdyne - 4 rounds

- yoga
And then a bunch of yard work

- attempt #1
Elliptical x 15 minutes
Press - bar x 5 sets of 8s
Pulldowns (really light)
Barbell curls - 45 x 3 sets of 8
Trunk work

[hector]

- thoughts are very light weight just to keep blood moving, at least until May

Sounds smart to me. Is May when you finish your training and can have a normal sleep/work/life schedule?

[vanslix]

- thoughts are very light weight just to keep blood moving, at least until May

Sounds smart to me. Is May when you finish your training and can have a normal sleep/work/life schedule?

In May I will be done with the bulk of the insanity. There’s still work but it’ll be significantly less stressful.

Weight was around 255-257 on the prednisone this month. Need to rectify this.
255 -> 250.6
Airdyne - HIIT x 5 rounds of 15/75 seconds.

Weight loss is assisted pharmaceutically, for now. I figure since some of the weight gain was pharmaceutically assisted in the form of pred, it’s only fair. It’s Saxenda. (I’ll avoid geeking out on it). At least until the sample runs out and I can see if insurance will cover it. I put patients on it when they have good insurance as it works pretty well in patients who are even the slightest bit motivated. Hell, even had my wife ask her doc about it. She lost well over 12% body weight in about 8 weeks. Thing just destroys your appetite and you feel full after a freaking cup of yogurt. Better living through biology.

[vanslix]

255->>250.6->248.6
Total pounds lost 6.4

Elliptical - level 1 x 17 minutes
Hip raises (5) and jump rope (60 count) x 3 rounds
Hip abductions (10) and back extensions (5) x 3 rounds

My left hip has really been bothering me which it tends to do when my back gets bad. Shit rolls downhill. Log is going to be pretty banal unless you want to see if the weight loss or my lack of willpower wins.

[cwd]

How does weight loss interact with systemic inflammation? Does it make it worse or better?

I've noticed that an outbreak of seasonal allergies will make all my old booboos flare up -- hip tendons, low-back discs, etc. You seem to be battling some serious inflammation issues here, I guess?

[vanslix]

How does weight loss interact with systemic inflammation? Does it make it worse or better?

I've noticed that an outbreak of seasonal allergies will make all my old booboos flare up -- hip tendons, low-back discs, etc. You seem to be battling some serious inflammation issues here, I guess?

That’s a very good question. I’ve got a colleague who thinks I may actually have Ankylosing Spondylitis on top of the physical malformations. She may have a point in that I can’t live without naproxen (at least not without countering it with opiates and the powers that be have deemed opiates evil so doc in their right mind would prescribe them to another doc). And prednisone is a wonder drug for my pain. So both of those point to a strong inflammatory component.

Now what to do about it? Weight loss itself may actually generate some inflammation as you go into a catabolic state. Weight maintenance would likely decrease inflammation. Then there is diet and lifestyle. There are some data which suggest diets like the Mediterranean diet can reduce inflammation and help with diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. How much of an effect and for how long is unanswered question. My hunch is not as much as some people would like. I’ve seen lots of patients who would defend their Enbrel with brute force because of the improvement in quality of life is so dramatic. I’ve yet to see someone say that about their diet.

Weight
255->>247.8
7.2 total pounds lost

Treadmill - incline 2.5/5/7.5 for 5 minutes each for 15 minutes total
Some sun worshipping to get my vitamin D. It seems like months since we’ve seen the sun and that ain’t normal for Houston.

[cwd]

At this point I guess I should offer you stories about my relatives who gave up X food or took up lifestyle habit X and had their various inflammations get better, but I'll spare you. Surely you've heard dozens of such stories already, each for a different X.

It's probably highly individual to the extent it isn't just superstition, and you'll have to keep your eyes open for patterns, and do a bunch of little experiments.

Good luck to you in your quest!

[vanslix]

There is definitely more than one way to skin a cat. And serious weight loss is the one thing I haven’t tried. The other is post residency.

Weight
255->>>245.2
9.8 pounds in the bag so far. 25.2 more to go.

One day
- some body weight, mobility type of thing from an app
- I had it set on easiest. Sadly, some of it was difficult.

Yesterday
- elliptical - level 1 x 20 minutes
- Some dips, pulldowns, curls and trunk stuff

[vanslix]

Long story short, if I don’t lift, my right shoulder begins to freeze up and turn to cement. And by cement I mean my levator, rhomboids, trap all turn to something visibly swollen and hard as concrete. Sooooo

Weight 245.0. 10 pounds down total
Resting pulse 75 (this should improve once I finish nights)

Cycle 1 Wk 1A
Press - 135 x 6,6,6
Pulldowns - 120/105/90 x 10s
Curls - 55/45/35 x 10s

Then mowed the yard for conditioning and trunk work.

[Wilhelm]

I haven't read this. It may be that you are more well equipped to understand everything in it than am i.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4124736/

It could go hand in hand with your weight loss approach.
It's not me suggesting anything, but perhaps there is something here.
best wishes, @vanslix : )

[vanslix]

I haven't read this. It may be that you are more well equipped to understand everything in it than am i.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4124736/

It could go hand in hand with your weight loss approach.
It's not me suggesting anything, but perhaps there is something here.
best wishes, @vanslix : )

Rodent models of pain, especially chronic pain are pretty abysmal at tracking with human pain. So who knows.

255—>>245.4 fell off the wagon a bit
Resting pulse 76

Cycle 1 Wk 1B
Treadmill - 2.5/5/7.5/10% incline for total 20 minutes
Leg press - 225 x 3 x 12

[Wilhelm]

Ok, here's another thing i have only heard of and know nothing about.

https://24kcbdplus.com/products/500mg-p ... k-zero-thc

[hector]

Ok, here's another thing i have only heard of and know nothing about.

https://24kcbdplus.com/products/500mg-p ... k-zero-thc

Unless you go to the dark web, I don't think the sites selling this are legit.

[vanslix]

Now you’re talking. There are data for both CBD and THC oil. Unfortunately, this is now just starting to be studied in a legit fashion. You can blame the feds for the massive roadblock and it comes from both side of the aisle. Colorado has been about the only sane state with this entire subject. Two random thoughts
1) plants are RARELY the sum of their parts. Meaning people with good vitam A intake tend to better in disease states. But taking the supplement vitamin A by itself tends to hasten cancer in smokers. Oops. A strictly reductionist viewpoint often fails. Same with olive oil. People have been trying to isolate the ONE beneficial thing in olive oil. Hint. It’s more than one. So my hunch is oils from different varieties will produce different results.
2) I’ve pronounced people dead plenty of times from the consequence of alcohol, both from acute and chronic use. It’s a HORRIBLE way to go. I’ve yet to pronounce someone dead from Mary Jane. McDonalds is probably more dangerous to ones health. Our federal government is fucking retarded about it. I blame beer lobbying and the DEA budget. They have the most to lose in legalizing it.

[hector]

How is training going?
Hope all is well.