A Little Help From My Friends: How Do YOU Do (A Healthier) You?

[cherenkov]

9 hours ago, Colleenna said:

Great job! :-)

This was the year I broke two hours.

Then I spent a good three minutes at the finish line sucking in air and dry heaving while a cop asked if I was sure I didn't need the medical tent!

[mybuddyspence]

Jesus, I'm exhausted just reading about all of your workouts. ?

[Colleenna]

Started gradually increasing my swim mileage yesterday. I went from 1 mile to 1.25 miles. I also started a walk/run program. Can't go very far, but then again, when I started distance swimming I couldn't even go 1/4 mile. I just need to remind myself that for now, the only person I'm competing with is me. 

I've also been increasing my weight load, and surprising myself in the process. 

[JudgeyMcJudgyPants]

I completed the Rock’n’Roll Las Vegas half marathon this past weekend.  Ran the whole fucking thing and beat my goal time of 2:15:00!  Hell yeah!

[ClareWalks]

Happy Thanksgiving, gang! I ran a half marathon on my home treadmill while the turkey was cooking. It all turned out fabulously! I just had to split up my run into 5 miles, 5 miles, 5K so that I could baste the thing :-P

[Colleenna]

Where the hell is @cherenkov? Did she go out for a run and get lost?

[cherenkov]

1 hour ago, Colleenna said:

Where the hell is @cherenkov? Did she go out for a run and get lost?

Ran the Double Gobble Turkey Trot this morning. A 5K plus a 5 Miler and then ate a giant Thanksgiving feast. Last week was the Hot Toddy 5K and the week before that was my Veterans Day 10K.

Lots and lots of running to end the season.

Two more races to go.

[Colleenna]

5 hours ago, cherenkov said:

Ran the Double Gobble Turkey Trot this morning. A 5K plus a 5 Miler and then ate a giant Thanksgiving feast. Last week was the Hot Toddy 5K and the week before that was my Veterans Day 10K.

Lots and lots of running to end the season.

Two more races to go.

I was just concerned because I hadn't seen any posts from you lately --- no medals! :-)

[cherenkov]

8 hours ago, Colleenna said:

I was just concerned because I hadn't seen any posts from you lately --- no medals! :-)

The Veterans Day medal:

[TurtlePower]

Hello all, hope you had a great thanksgiving. Spent mind running 12k in the am (I live in the country so no races for me, just miles of dirt roads!). Super easy this year, just hubby and me. He cooked a turkey breast and I made myself a wild rice dish with leeks and carrots. I dislike turkey, so no turkey for me. Very simple.

Now, a confession: I don't always look forward to the holiday season (except for the weather). When it's just hubby and me, it's fine. But when it's not, being forced into family gatherings, the large quantities of food, food I don't like, mindless jibber-jabber, the obligatory photographs--sensory overload. Often times while visiting family, I escape by running or hiking or doing the dishes while everyone else eats. The one aunt who scolds her kids for eating cookies and then makes 10 trips into the kitchen, eating cookies herself (every year, drives me nuts). 

I really can't express this to anyone for fear of seeming "Grinchey" or anti-social (I'm also on the spectrum for HF ASD which explains a lot, but I don't feel like "explaining" it). So I smile and nod, do dishes, run, eat my veggie foods and try to participate but can't wait to escape to solitude. We're heading home in a month to visit so, yeah. I don't fit in with the rest of them and it's always the same crap every year. 

I just needed to vent that. 

Edited November 23, 2018 by TurtlePower
double post, what the heck?

[Colleenna]

14 hours ago, cherenkov said:

The Veterans Day medal:

Some day you must post a picture of your "medals wall." Maybe once this season is over? 

[cherenkov]

On 11/23/2018 at 10:37 PM, Colleenna said:

Some day you must post a picture of your "medals wall." Maybe once this season is over? 

I"ll see what I can do. Two weeks left.

[ClareWalks]

@cherenkov how do you display your medals? My husband and I have mounted curtain rods on the wall for easy display. My goal is to catch up to him but that bastard wins not just finisher medals but age group medals, boooooo :-P

[Pachengala]

On 11/23/2018 at 8:06 AM, TurtlePower said:

Hello all, hope you had a great thanksgiving. Spent mind running 12k in the am (I live in the country so no races for me, just miles of dirt roads!). Super easy this year, just hubby and me. He cooked a turkey breast and I made myself a wild rice dish with leeks and carrots. I dislike turkey, so no turkey for me. Very simple.

Now, a confession: I don't always look forward to the holiday season (except for the weather). When it's just hubby and me, it's fine. But when it's not, being forced into family gatherings, the large quantities of food, food I don't like, mindless jibber-jabber, the obligatory photographs--sensory overload. Often times while visiting family, I escape by running or hiking or doing the dishes while everyone else eats. The one aunt who scolds her kids for eating cookies and then makes 10 trips into the kitchen, eating cookies herself (every year, drives me nuts). 

I really can't express this to anyone for fear of seeming "Grinchey" or anti-social (I'm also on the spectrum for HF ASD which explains a lot, but I don't feel like "explaining" it). So I smile and nod, do dishes, run, eat my veggie foods and try to participate but can't wait to escape to solitude. We're heading home in a month to visit so, yeah. I don't fit in with the rest of them and it's always the same crap every year. 

I just needed to vent that. 

Thanks for sharing that with us, Turtle. When you go home to visit, can you stay in a hotel so you have an escape? My husband’s father died this summer and we rented an AirBnB for the week instead of staying in someone’s guest room, and it was a lifesaver. Every night we could go home, cook dinner, and decompress in our own QUIET space. 

We don’t do big extended-family holidays anymore and I don’t miss them. This Christmas we rented a cabin on the west side of Vancouver Island for us and my mom. Her husband died unexpectedly in June and we need a holiday with completely new touchpoints for her—it’s going to be sad enough as it is. 

But anyway, I would definitely recommend slipping those kids cookies on the sly. Hell, the resulting sugar high a) won’t be your problem and b) could be really entertaining. 

[TurtlePower]

1 hour ago, Pachengala said:

Thanks for sharing that with us, Turtle. When you go home to visit, can you stay in a hotel so you have an escape? My husband’s father died this summer and we rented an AirBnB for the week instead of staying in someone’s guest room, and it was a lifesaver. Every night we could go home, cook dinner, and decompress in our own QUIET space. 

We don’t do big extended-family holidays anymore and I don’t miss them. This Christmas we rented a cabin on the west side of Vancouver Island for us and my mom. Her husband died unexpectedly in June and we need a holiday with completely new touchpoints for her—it’s going to be sad enough as it is. 

But anyway, I would definitely recommend slipping those kids cookies on the sly. Hell, the resulting sugar high a) won’t be your problem and b) could be really entertaining. 

We stay in a downstairs bedroom at hubby's dad's house, which actually works. It's kind of like a cave and it's dark, so we're pretty much left alone down there when the rest of the brothers/sisters/kids arrive. They're all nice people, but when everyone's talking, I can't process or focus on a single word. It's just noise to me and very overwhelming.

With the kids and the cookies, it's kind of hypocritical with the one mom mentioned above. The kids are active and not overweight, in sports and all, but the mom micro-manages their intake as if she's their coach. She's hardly a shining beacon of wellness herself, is rather roly-poly and does not lead by example (shovels cookies in mouth shortly after reminding those kids they have a workout to be concerned about). 

I don't make trouble, I just watch and keep my opinion to myself.

[Dot]

This WaPo article about shrinking bathrooms in airplanes is a horror story for Twit.

https://wapo.st/2FBEXlg

[3girlsforus]

1 hour ago, Dot said:

This WaPo article about shrinking bathrooms in airplanes is a horror story for Twit.

https://wapo.st/2FBEXlg

Forget Whitney... that is a horror story for many people. Not to be gross but how do you have enough room to put in a tampon or wipe properly???

[3girlsforus]

Claire walks- yes my trainer is much better than Jessica. I take classes, not individual training but the classes are small and she’s very encouraging. I started working out in February by walking. I was walking about 15-20 miles a week and between the walking and dlilgent food monitoring I lost 40 lbs. But I live in the DC area where the summers are like the 7th circle of hell so by July I could walk outside anymore without feeling sick and Id rather be fat than use the treadmill LOL. So I went looking for gym/classes as a stop gap until it was cool enough to walk again. I was nervous since even though I’d lost a lot of weight I still wasn’t thin and definitely wasn’t tone etc. I was lucky to find these classes. They are challenging but she supports modifications without making anyone feel incompetent. I like that she’s my age (50) and in amazing shape. It’s less intimidating than a 20 something instructor. Crossfit and Orangetheory are big around here but they scared me because they are so focused on high numbers of people. My classes have 4-8 at a time. So now I take body sculpting 2 times a week. HIIT 2x a week and a hips/abs class that spends time working stretching hips and increasing hip mobility followed by 15 minutes of abs. The problem is I can figure out how to get my walking back into the schedule. I like the classes and don’t want to give them up but I don’t think I’ll lose much more weight without the walking. I do also need to get more strict again with my eating. I am losing inches but not much weight. 

So that’s way more than you wanted to know about my trainer LOL. 

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, 3girlsforus said:

The problem is I can figure out how to get my walking back into the schedule. I like the classes and don’t want to give them up but I don’t think I’ll lose much more weight without the walking.

That all sounds awesome! Definitely keep up the classes and training. Could you maybe wake up a bit early and walk for 20-30 minutes before starting your day? Sometimes that helps to get in a little bit more of that cardio.

[cherenkov]

On 11/25/2018 at 10:27 AM, ClareWalks said:

@cherenkov how do you display your medals? My husband and I have mounted curtain rods on the wall for easy display. My goal is to catch up to him but that bastard wins not just finisher medals but age group medals, boooooo :-P

I got a rack made for them from a company that does custom metal cutting and hang them on there after I outgrew the first rack that I made myself. This one should last me another couple of years before I fill it up. I put in anchors into the drywall so that the weight won't tear it down. After the season's over I'll grab a pic of the rack. Two weeks to go.

The bibs are hanging on binder rings because they overflowed the mug hooks they were on, so I started sorting them out by year.

[AZChristian]

14 hours ago, 3girlsforus said:

I was walking about 15-20 miles a week and between the walking and dlilgent food monitoring I lost 40 lbs. But I live in the DC area where the summers are like the 7th circle of hell so by July I could walk outside anymore without feeling sick and Id rather be fat than use the treadmill LOL.

Walking is our favorite form of exercise, too.  We walk almost every morning at the local mall.  The doors open to the main enclosed area around 6:30, and there are a bunch of us who walk there regularly.  It's like a club.  Sometimes, we just wave and smile as we pass each other, but sometimes we stop and chat for a few minutes.  We call those "cool-down" times.  Being in Arizona, it's W-A-Y too hot to walk outside in the summer  months (April-October), so the mall is a good substitute.

[Elizzikra]

Quote

 But I live in the DC area where the summers are like the 7th circle of hell 

Not a problem this week - though you might have to worry about being swept away by the wind!

[TurtlePower]

1 hour ago, Elizzikra said:

Not a problem this week - though you might have to worry about being swept away by the wind!

We're windy in AZ right now, so much so I had to find my ski goggles to go running (50 mph gusts). It's unseasonably cold, too. But as much as the wind sucks, I hate indoor workouts even more. Off I go!

[Pachengala]

I'm a gym-4-lyfe kind of worker-outer myself; I LOVE going to the gym. It feels like me-time. I just switched from an old local nautilus gym--seriously old; the equipment was so decrepit I was sure I was going to injure myself--to a brand shiny new Planet Fitness near my daughter's school, and every time I'm there I feel so happy. The final straw on my old gym was when I changed the channel that was perpetually turned to Fox News because I can't deal with racism and propaganda at the best times, much less at five in the fucking morning, and some old guy started shouting about liberals etc. I told my husband he could try to get us out of our contract or not but I was never going back. 

Anyway, on topic, Husbo and I signed up to run a half in May so I am going to have to move my training outside, in winter, in the dark, in the rain. The last half I ran was in October so I had a primo training season. This one's gonna be...different than that one. 

[Colleenna]

2 hours ago, Pachengala said:

I'm a gym-4-lyfe kind of worker-outer myself; I LOVE going to the gym. It feels like me-time. I just switched from an old local nautilus gym--seriously old; the equipment was so decrepit I was sure I was going to injure myself--to a brand shiny new Planet Fitness near my daughter's school, and every time I'm there I feel so happy. The final straw on my old gym was when I changed the channel that was perpetually turned to Fox News because I can't deal with racism and propaganda at the best times, much less at five in the fucking morning, and some old guy started shouting about liberals etc. I told my husband he could try to get us out of our contract or not but I was never going back. 

Anyway, on topic, Husbo and I signed up to run a half in May so I am going to have to move my training outside, in winter, in the dark, in the rain. The last half I ran was in October so I had a primo training season. This one's gonna be...different than that one. 

The gym is my "me" time, too. My phone stays in the car. I love being in the gym. Good thing, since I spend about 3 hours a day there! 

ETA: At my gym, each piece of cardio equipment has its own tv screen that you can tune to whatever channel you want. One lady joked that she watches Food Network and wants to make their desserts, but that would mean another hour on the stair climber.....

Edited November 29, 2018 by Colleenna

[ClareWalks]

5 hours ago, Pachengala said:

The final straw on my old gym was when I changed the channel that was perpetually turned to Fox News because I can't deal with racism and propaganda at the best times, much less at five in the fucking morning, and some old guy started shouting about liberals etc.

UGH, the worst. We have those old dudes at my gym. I watch Netflix on my machine and turn my headphones up but I can still hear the old farts whining about Hillary Clinton's emails because they do so at such a volume they must assume that everyone agrees with them.

[3girlsforus]

9 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

Not a problem this week - though you might have to worry about being swept away by the wind!

This was definitely a problem this week. I went out and made it about 1/2 a mile when I turned back because my face hurt from the wind and I felt like I was swimming upstream. 

[Dot]

I have a Q about the Apple Watch data Twit keeps showing us. For example, today she showed:

Actual cal = 737

Total cal = 975

Now I assume the watch is calculating the number of calories burned thru exercise from the total calories which would also include calories burned from simply living.

I make this assumption based on the calculator in my diet & exercise journal. For example, my exercise mostly consists of using a little foot pedal gizmo. If I enter 10 minutes & 70 total calories (giving myself credit for burning 7 cal/minute), the journal calculates that "net energy" (cals burned thru exercise) is 57.

So my Q is: does Twit enter the time & number of total calories SHE THINKS she used in that amount of time? Because it seems to me the watch is giving her more credit for her exercise than is accurate. And if not, where do her figures come from?

[TurtlePower]

19 hours ago, Dot said:

I have a Q about the Apple Watch data Twit keeps showing us. For example, today she showed:

Actual cal = 737

Total cal = 975

Now I assume the watch is calculating the number of calories burned thru exercise from the total calories which would also include calories burned from simply living.

I make this assumption based on the calculator in my diet & exercise journal. For example, my exercise mostly consists of using a little foot pedal gizmo. If I enter 10 minutes & 70 total calories (giving myself credit for burning 7 cal/minute), the journal calculates that "net energy" (cals burned thru exercise) is 57.

So my Q is: does Twit enter the time & number of total calories SHE THINKS she used in that amount of time? Because it seems to me the watch is giving her more credit for her exercise than is accurate. And if not, where do her figures come from?

That's a good question. If Whitney has a rotten metabolism due to PCOS as she claims, the calories burned seems high. But, she's also 350-ish lb so she's going to burn more based on being at a high weight. I feel like her metabolic rate should be assessed in an exercise lab for her to be sure, but that would likely scare her. Those watch numbers probably look pretty good to her. 

My own metabolism has slowed down tremendously. I'm preparing for a race in March and am already working on cutting down to race weight and don't want to be frustrated in the last month of training. I've found that machines and devices "lie"--I only burn around 100 calories per mile unless it's intervals or harder work and devices like to show it as higher. When I track food/exercise, I round up my calories consumed and round down my calories burned. I want to be sure my deficit is actual, not perceived. 

I'd have to run around 10 miles to burn 975 calories!

[Dot]

8 minutes ago, TurtlePower said:

 

Quote

I'd have to run around 10 miles to burn 975 calories!

 

Many thanks, @Turtle Power. I think your reply tells me what I thought: Twit -- and her watch -- are probably lying.

So, where does she get the info she inserts in the watch? Does Jessica tell Twit, "Today's routine is worth 975 calories"? Then Twit tells her watch that?

[TurtlePower]

1 minute ago, Dot said:

Many thanks, @Turtle Power. I think your reply tells me what I thought: Twit -- and her watch -- are probably lying.

So, where does she get the info she inserts in the watch? Does Jessica tell Twit, "Today's routine is worth 975 calories"? Then Twit tells her watch that?

I'm admittedly not well informed on the Apple watch--I just don't trust most devices to calculate those things accurately but could be completely wrong. Hopefully someone on here has one and can chime in. 

[3girlsforus]

I did some research a few months ago on Fitbit/Apple Watch type things. Of course nothing is fully accurate but some are better than others. Apparently when Apple Watch first came out it was considered much less accurate it has apparently improved. So some of it depends on which model she has. In general Apple Watch now is considered better than some because it takes the heart rate into consideration. 

Personally I think that’s where it gets messed up for Whitney. I suspect her heart rate is high with any exertion. Also her high weight, this being the only place she probably doesn’t lie about it, means she will burn more calories than a smaller person. 

I don’t use one with a heart rate monitor but my walking app tracks my speed, distance, hills etc and then based on my weight calculates calories. Obviously this is less accurate but I have noticed that basically equal walks have decreased in calories burned as I’ve lost weight. I don’t use it for exact numbers just as a comparison thing. 

Edited to add that it’s all irrelevant since she drinks 900+ calories on the way home from the gym. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by 3girlsforus

[Ketzel]

Quote

A 2017 study at Stanford University took a look at seven different devices [worn on the wrist during exercise] to check their accuracy. The results showed that the most accurate of them was off by an average of 27 percent and the least accurate by 93 percent. The heart rate monitor was the most reliable function, but the researchers concluded that the calorie counter should not be counted on.

Here's the study if you want the details: LINK

Edited December 1, 2018 by Ketzel

[Dot]

Thanks, @3girlsforus & @Ketzel. I'm understanding now that heart rate (HR) is what measures energy expenditure (EE) on the watch. But I admit I still don't understand how EE is calculated.

Anyway, the abstract from the study @Ketzel cites states that while most of these wrist devices are pretty good at caculating HR, none is particularly accurate in measuring EE.

I was pretty sure that Twit's exercise routine wasn't as effective as her watch tells her it is. So she is not only lying to her fans, per usual, but also to herself.

[Colleenna]

8 minutes ago, Dot said:

Thanks, @3girlsforus & @Ketzel. I'm understanding now that heart rate (HR) is what measures energy expenditure (EE) on the watch. But I admit I still don't understand how EE is calculated.

Anyway, the abstract from the study @Ketzel cites states that while most of these wrist devices are pretty good at caculating HR, none is particularly accurate in measuring EE.

I was pretty sure that Twit's exercise routine wasn't as effective as her watch tells her it is. So she is not only lying to her fans, per usual, but also to herself.

Years ago, before Fitbit et al, there was Polar. I had one, but used it only for the HR feature. Another woman who was about my age and about my size also had one. We took a Les Mills Body Pump class together, and she very excitedly showed me that her watch showed she had burned 1,100 calories!!! In a one hour class!!! I smiled and made pleasant noises, all the while thinking "NFW." 

[cherenkov]

On 11/29/2018 at 2:08 PM, Pachengala said:

Anyway, on topic, Husbo and I signed up to run a half in May so I am going to have to move my training outside, in winter, in the dark, in the rain. The last half I ran was in October so I had a primo training season. This one's gonna be...different than that one. 

Wear lights. On your back, and on your head.

On 12/1/2018 at 1:43 PM, TurtlePower said:

I feel like her metabolic rate should be assessed in an exercise lab for her to be sure, but that would likely scare her.

It would prove, definitively, that her metabolism is not the problem she's having..

My last 10K of the year is now done. A Christmas Story yesterday in Cleveland.

[Colleenna]

2 hours ago, cherenkov said:

Wear lights. On your back, and on your head.

It would prove, definitively, that her metabolism is not the problem she's having..

My last 10K of the year is now done. A Christmas Story yesterday in Cleveland.

That answers my question about whether you ever ran races outside of da Burgh. :D

[cherenkov]

9 hours ago, Colleenna said:

That answers my question about whether you ever ran races outside of da Burgh. :D

Also, I have a face somewhere under the sunglasses.

[cherenkov]

The 2018 season is over ... it was 31 races this year added to the medal rack.

Here you go @Colleenna: 

Beast. Mode.

Bring on 2019.

[Colleenna]

4 hours ago, cherenkov said:

The 2018 season is over ... it was 31 races this year added to the medal rack.

Here you go @Colleenna: 

Beast. Mode.

Bring on 2019.

Freakin AWESOME. Here's to you setting numerous "personal best" records in 2019! 

[Dot]

Here's a link to a WaPo article about exercise & high blood pressure.

Even more interesting, is the link to another article about exercise contributing to weight loss. It's pretty much an explanation about why Twit is losing wgt thru her gym visits eve tho she claims she's not trying to.

https://wapo.st/2EAd1w2

[connieinnc]

I need some advice:

I recently fell, which resulted in a fractured rib (which I know only time will help) and a severely bruised tendon in my elbow; of course on my dominant side. I am in an immobilizer sling for two weeks. I have been occasionally removing the sling and moving the arm, as instructed by the doctor. I do not want to take the 'controlled substance' pain meds, so have been using ibruprofen.

Does anyone have suggestions for what else I can be doing? It really sucks to be one handed :(

[Brooks]

Organic bone broth, highest protein content you can find.  Good luck!

[Dot]

4 hours ago, connieinnc said:

I need some advice:

I recently fell, which resulted in a fractured rib (which I know only time will help) and a severely bruised tendon in my elbow; of course on my dominant side. I am in an immobilizer sling for two weeks. I have been occasionally removing the sling and moving the arm, as instructed by the doctor. I do not want to take the 'controlled substance' pain meds, so have been using ibruprofen.

Does anyone have suggestions for what else I can be doing? It really sucks to be one handed :(

There's a prescription pain med called tramadol that's not an opiod but can be as effective for some people. I used it for 8 months with reasonable relief until my sciatica pain became too much for the tramadol. It's worth your talking to your doc as to whether it could work for you.

I hope you are feeling better soon.

[kar328]

1 hour ago, Dot said:

There's a prescription pain med called tramadol that's not an opiod but can be as effective for some people. I used it for 8 months with reasonable relief until my sciatica pain became too much for the tramadol. It's worth your talking to your doc as to whether it could work for you.

I hope you are feeling better soon.

Actually Tramadol is in the opiod drug class.

I'd say to keep taking the ibuprofen on a schedule, not just when the pain increases. Besides pain control, it reduces inflammation. You can also alternate it with Tylenol, both drugs together work well also. Non medication wise, I'd check out tumeric. It's got antiiflammatory and pain relieving properties. 

[Colleenna]

6 hours ago, connieinnc said:

I need some advice:

I recently fell, which resulted in a fractured rib (which I know only time will help) and a severely bruised tendon in my elbow; of course on my dominant side. I am in an immobilizer sling for two weeks. I have been occasionally removing the sling and moving the arm, as instructed by the doctor. I do not want to take the 'controlled substance' pain meds, so have been using ibruprofen.

Does anyone have suggestions for what else I can be doing? It really sucks to be one handed :(

Try alternating ice and heat on the elbow. Five minutes of ice, let the elbow return to normal temp, 5 minutes of heat, return to normal temp. Repeat 2 more times. 

http://www.howtowhere.com/apply-alternating-hot-and-cold-therapy/

[connieinnc]

1 hour ago, Colleenna said:

Try alternating ice and heat on the elbow. Five minutes of ice, let the elbow return to normal temp, 5 minutes of heat, return to normal temp. Repeat 2 more times. 

http://www.howtowhere.com/apply-alternating-hot-and-cold-therapy/

I didn't mention, but have been using ice as part of Drs orders. Maybe I'll try the alternate heat also. Thank you

[ClareWalks]

@connieinnc I would strongly advise you to only take your doctor's orders with your recovery. There are certain injuries that are made worse with the application of heat. Since you are under a doctor's care you are not going to get better advice online than you are already getting from him/her (not that folks here are giving bad advice per se, it just might be contraindicated for your particular injury).

Edited January 1, 2019 by ClareWalks

[connieinnc]

3 hours ago, Dot said:

There's a prescription pain med called tramadol that's not an opiod but can be as effective for some people. I used it for 8 months with reasonable relief until my sciatica pain became too much for the tramadol. It's worth your talking to your doc as to whether it could work for you.

I hope you are feeling better soon.

Tramadol is the med I'm trying to not take. I have taken a couple when I can't sleep due to the discomfort. I am on so many meds for other issues (diabetes, high triglycerides, sarcoidosis, to name a few) that I hate taking more. I appreciate the nfo.

7 hours ago, Brooks said:

Organic bone broth, highest protein content you can find.  Good luck!

That sounds good, I actually have some homemade bone broth in my freezer, thanks.

2 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

@connieinnc I would strongly advise you to only take your doctor's orders with your recovery. There are certain injuries that are made worse with the application of heat. Since you are under a doctor's care you are not going to get better advice online than you are already getting from him/her (not that folks here are giving bad advice per se, it just might be contraindicated for your particular injury).

Thank you.

[Sasha888]

15 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I would strongly advise you to only take your doctor's orders with your recovery. There are certain injuries that are made worse with the application of heat. Since you are under a doctor's care you are not going to get better advice online than you are already getting from him/her (not that folks here are giving bad advice per se, it just might be contraindicated for your particular injury).

I agree, only your own doctor can really know what you should take, how often, etc. For instance I have been on tramadol for years for Fibromyalgia but that doesn't mean I know squat about what else it may be good for. I can take my tramadol or leave it - but that doesn't mean "no one can get hooked on it". Only a doctor can tell you that for sure. Heck my mom could take or leave her high powered cancer meds like oxycodone, but she's not everyone, shit tons of people are addicted to oxy.

I feel for you with the immobilizer!! I was in one for a dislocated shoulder...bad fall, didn't just dislocate but ripped the tendons and ligaments requiring surgery later, etc. Life with one arm is NO FUN! Very frustrating, hard to even sleep let alone do anything. For even basic household chores, my Dad came over and fed my pets, refilled my ice machine thing (after surgery I had a big thing that strapped onto me and an electric "bucket" of sorts that needed ice water in it, that plugged into an outlet and pumped cold water through the deal strapped to me)...I was pretty much useless to myself and my parents were coming over and doing darn near everything for me.

You don't realize how much you need BOTH arms until someone straps one to your side! Even typing here on this board to ask for tips was probably a huge challenge!

Some things I did to make things easier was stuff like drinking out of a cup with a lid, because I'd slosh my water everywhere and be clumsy due to having only one good arm to use...set up a folding table with the things I might need on my "good side"...plan meals that were easier to eat with one hand, etc.

But anyway...basically you just have to be willing to ask for help because there's no way you can do everything (driving, cooking, etc). I hope you heal quickly, I remember how bad it sucked! You stand there thinking "how do I complete this task with one arm"...feeling like a turtle who's stranded on his back! Ugh. Hope you get well soon @connieinnc! :-)