Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Golden arches, faux stick and bottomless pit

Top of the mornin' to ya!

I think this week may be my final appointment with the chiro.  I don't want to jinx myself but when I thought the tendon problem was coming back after walking almost 40 miles in Chicago, I saw that as long as I do 2 really good digging sessions in my arches to keep them pliable as well as a rolling session on the arches and lower leg, the tugging has been kept at bay.  Then they'll truly be golden arches.  Of course I haven't done any really hard core workouts either because I didn't want to jack myself up right away.  I will add some more normal cardio back into the routine this week and continue focusing on the legs more during strength workouts and hope for the best.  If I do that and if my pain level keeps up as it has the past week, he likely won't order any more visits except for an as needed basis.  Woot!  I will continue to go to him right after a vacation where my routine has changed for a week or more just to make sure he makes sure I didn't do any damage and can work out any potential kinks.  He agreed that was a good idea when I mentioned it to him.

When we went to Chicago and I forgot my "Stick(affiliate link) (hard roller), I freaked because it would've saved me a lot of pain and my weenie little tennis ball just couldn't work out the kinks.  So I ordered a version to keep in my suitcase all the time so I won't ever forget it.  The Stick's price went up a little and I'm too cheap to pay more for an extra one.  So I found this one:

Massage Stick (affiliate link)

It'll do for a vacation but it's not flexible like my regular one so I'd say for the extra $8, if you're considering it, get the original.  I love that baby.  But this will be fine to keep in the suitcase so I never find myself without one and now that the Mr needs to roll regularly now (a fact he's desperately trying to deny), we'll both be glad it's with us.

I was ravenous about an hour before my usual lunchtime and I wondered if it was due to the steroid treatment or not.  I held out and chugged water to try to appease the beast.  Even as I type this and have had my dinner and snack, I find myself wanting something else and it sucks to feel that way.  Is this why they say people gain weight on steroid therapies because of this bottomless pit feeling?

My smell was a little diminished again yesterday which got me whining.  I know I'm early in treatment (day four) but when you're on week seven of dealing with it as a whole, you just want everything to be done.  I made chili for dinner and I couldn't smell the onions I was cutting or even the serrano and jalapeno peppers!  I think that early kick of 70-80% smell on Saturday was a 'gift' as the Mr called it.  A hint of relief to come I think.  I must be patient.  HA...fat chance.

We went down and ended up gabbing for about 45 minutes.  It was a good talk and I'll likely share a bit of it tomorrow.  Then we did Power 90 and it was time for dinner.  The chili was good, I think.  The Mr seemed to love it so I guess that's a plus.  We settled in for Sleepy Hollow (which is thankfully righting itself after 70% of the season going a little sideways) and then I flipped to Tom's (Ichabod's) favorite show the Great British Bake Off just after Sleepy Hollow.  It only seemed right.  They were making pasties (pass-tees).  We had some of those in Traverse City and while I wanted to love them, we both found them bland.  I hope these people had better luck with theirs.  Thankfully my not so savory experience with them didn't make me want to eat them or attack the fridge.  Why is it when we're hungry many of us watch cooking shows?

Makes sense...*rolling eyes*

Are you patient when recovering from an injury or illness?  Do you find yourself inadvertently watching cooking shows when you're hungry?

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10 comments:

  1. OK I admit the Stick is the Sh*t. It did work wonders for my legs yesterday and I do believe it will come in handy on a trip so it's good that you got one specifically for that.

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    1. Yes it is! I need to do a little roll this morning because I'm a wee tighter than I'd like but I can't live without that thing.

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  2. My mom is from Michigan, so of course I know what pasties are. I actually love them, but rarely go to the work of making them. Every time I do a round of steroid I gain 5-10 pounds. I don't know if it's retention, extra hunger, or something else, but I avoid them the way you avoid antibiotics. I hate the way they make me feel, and I'm none too pleased w/ the weight gain either.

    I have no patience when it comes to recovery. None. I want to be better yesterday.

    I do like cooking shows, but they don't really make me that hungry. I like to watch people who are really good in the kitchen work - it's like watching Bob Ross paint.

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    1. We could've just gone to a mediocre pasty place so I am willing to split one with the Mr in the future from a different place before I give my final verdict.

      I did a little research and it looks like they do cause you to be more hungry and since many people take them when they have pain issues, they will rarely exercise. But they do say it can redistribute fat in undesirable places like your face, collar bone, back of the neck and abdomen. Aces. I'm already on day 2 of my taper on the pills and will be done with them by Saturday but I'll be on the spray until the end of the month so let's hope I don't look like some disfigured blob by March.

      Good way to look at cooking shows!

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  3. It's definitely the steroids making you hungrier. I used to get them before chemo and I would be ravenous after my infusion. Sucks :( I hope you feel better though!

    Sidenote: I never knew you sold on Etsy and I also think I'm gonna try the how to use your DSL people! I usually read in Feedly so I've been missing out on your sidebar!

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    1. Oops, I meant DSLR people! :)

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    2. Thankfully today wasn't bad but I wonder if it was because I was expecting it? I think me being aware will be half the battle. (Fingers crossed)

      Well the Etsy shop is pretty empty right now unfortunately but I have a few things I need to get listed.

      Everyone who has taken the DSLR classes, including myself, LOVE IT. They are great teachers and you go at your own pace to fit it into your schedule. I learned SO much from it. You'll have to let me know how you like it if you do it!

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  4. Oh Anele I feel so bad for you - I don't want to upset you, but I would only go on steroids again if my very life depended on it. I was put on steroids last year - the beginning of October. It was for severe polymyalgia - I could barely walk. Well the steroids were AWESOME! Within a couple weeks I felt like there was hope that I would be "normal" again. It was the best thing. I hope you are not on it long because the first two months I was on it, things were fine. Then I started noticing I was gaining weight...and before it knew it, I had gained 30 pounds in 3 weeks! I panicked and begged the doctor to take me off it. I just couldn't believe all my hard work at losing 115 pounds and now I was gaining 2 pounds every other day - and my eating didn't change. I know people say they are hungrier and eat more and guess that is the price they pay, but I was NOT eating any more than usual - but even with dieting, I was gaining. It was very discouraging to me. And so they are weaning me off the steroids....lets see if the weight drops off as quickly, but I don't seem to think it will.

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    1. I'm so sorry you had that experience. This is a short course of steroids. I am already on the last day of my middle taper (2 pills a day) and the next three days I will be one pill a day (down from 3 the first three days). I will remain on the nasal spray for a month and from what I've read with nasal inflammation, it can take 1-3 weeks for the full effect to take place. I will not be on this long term. I hope weaning you off gets you back to where you were and you can find something for your pain that helps you without that side effect.

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  5. I enjoy watching cooking shows but the good thing is when I see them while hungry, if the recipe is some super complicated thing that I know I'd have no patience to make, I'm able to truly enjoy what I'm seeing. Now, when I'm watching something that's fun, easy, or new for me, then I'll start perusing my kitchen to see what I can find! LOL As for injuries, my knee has never recovered from the car accident and I'll always have pain with that. I have to walk down the stairs sideways, which looks pretty funny at work or any place in public! My chest took about a year to recover from the seatbelt and air bag and that was very painful-- I was not patient with that at all I have to say.

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