Yogurt dip made with some good aromatic herbs is even better. You use less because it’s a flavour bomb.
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Flexibility is complicated. There are different ways to be flexible. For example, Yoga is static stretching. However, martial artists do a more dynamic style of movement. They don’t necessarily complement each other. You need to exercise for the flexibility you want.
The book Stretching Scientifically is a good resource.
A lot of stiffness is biological. Some people are just more bendy. In yoga circles, a lot of people actually are overbendy and the dirty little secret of yoga is that a lot of big yoga teachers get hip replacements. You don’t want to stretch connective tissue. It keeps you together.
The way muscles “stretch” is they don’t. Muscles only contract (also go to slack position - See positional therapy for more info). To stretch a muscle, you contract it’s agonist (opposite muscle). Muscles physically can all stretch very far, but the stretch receptors give your nervous system an alarm message when you move past where you have safely moved before. So, yoga teaches relaxation by using your own body as a biofeedback mechanism. You go to your perceived limit then use your yoga mind skillz to calm your agitation down which helps you ease further into the pose.
Still, some people have a natural stiffness or exercise in a sport that makes stretching difficult - see running and bicycling. You have to accept some reduced flexibility if you take these up.
There is a lot of new research going on with fascia, which is another factor in movement. Because it doesn’t have an easy shape, it used to be discarded during cadaver studies but now with scope cameras there is a lot of new information coming out. Rolfers are a good source of information on fascia if you suspect this is your issue.
As far as diet goes, an anti-inflammatory diet can help joint swelling. It’s basically veggies veggies veggies, especially greens + beans + mushrooms + onions. Fatty fish. No meat. Low oils. Low fats. Moderate intake of nuts. Eat to Live is a good book on the subject.
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Thanks for the information. That’s interesting about research into fascia being behind. It’s also true from a biomaterials viewpoint. I looked up “mechanical properties of fascia” on Pubmed and found 177 articles (with the last 170 from the late '80s), vs. “mechanical properties of skin” which shows 3200, with substantive articles from the 1950s or 60s. It’s about the same with “arteries”
And then there’s this abstract from the Second international fascia research congress, held in 2009. Only the 2nd? In 2009?
Int J Ther Massage Bodywork. 2009 Jun 29;2(2):1-6.
Second international fascia research congress.
Findley TW1.
Author information
AbstractFindings from papers published by key speakers at the 2007 Fascia Research Congress are presented in preparation for the second congress, October 2009, in Amsterdam.The role of fascia is demonstrated in new scientific findings in mechanotransduction between the cytoskeletal structure and the extracellular matrix, and its implications for health and disease.the presence of contractile cells (myofibroblasts) within the fascial fabric. Clinicians are interested in their role in creating contractile tonus in the fascial fabric-how myofibroblasts form, how they are activated, and their influence on passive muscle tonus.the biomechanical properties of fascial tissues: creep, relaxation, hysteresis, effect of sustained spinal flexion on lumbar tissues, strain-induced hydration changes, myofascial manipulation, and fascial viscoelastic deformation. These properties underlie the response of these tissues to therapy.how fascia is innervated, and how proprioception and pain are created, detected, and modulated by the spinal cord and the rest of the nervous system.forms of mechanical signaling within the fascial matrix, such as the tugging in the collagen matrix created by twisting acupuncture needles.new techniques for measurement of fascial motion in living tissue.
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Yes, fascia is fascinating. I took a short class on the subject with a yoga teacher who is an expert and he is on my list to continue studying with.
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I almost never experience constipation, so no, but my system tends to (ahem) lean the other way.
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Ha, fascinating.
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The pharmacy had a 2-for-1 special on Prednisone. Small woot.
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That’s interesting in and of itself, because it’s not the sort of thing which would usually go on sale.
Just goes to show how common its use is.
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I think the important distinction is that it’s Mexico. A lot of things don’t get heavily regulated here, whether for good or for ill.
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I’ve heard that you can buy a lot of stuff there OTC that requires a prescription here. That would make a lot of people’s lives so much easier. I’m sure it could be abused at times, but I would love to have that option vs waiting 3 months to spend a lot of money for an appointment with a doctor just for him/her to take 5 minutes to say “ok, try this” or “ok, let’s refill the prescription that you ran out of 2 months ago” when you already know what you’re dealing with.
Some stuff might be better off with more controls, but most of it isn’t rocket surgery. There’s already plenty of dangerous and even deadly stuff that you can buy without any oversight. Why not medicine that you might need?
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I think it’s also a more common sense approach, sometimes. I wonder how much medicine is “prescription only” for the sole purpose of funneling payments through our for-profit insurance industry?
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The things that bother me the most are cases like my daughter, who’s been on the same prescriptions for years, but when they run low she has to get them redone and there’s only one doctor (of the relevant type) in the state that takes the insurance, so appointments are hard to get.
They have had to change her mixes in the past, because people do grow and change and medications can become less effective when that happens, but we can all pretty much tell when that’s the case or if this is just another refill.
Funny fact: Years ago we had an incident where her mom caught her with ketamine and insisted that I go talk with her and tell her that I was disappointed with her. I went in to talk with her and she said “Mom told me that you’re disappointed with me.” I said “Yeah, she told me that too.”
We then sat together and went through the studies (which we’d both seen news of) that show that ketamine, when used a certain way, might be effective for some things within hours vs. the conventional treatments (which she was on) that take weeks or months to take effect. It was not officially approved yet, but looked somewhat promising. Worth a try, compared to the alternative of potential death. Better than having to carry your daughter down the stairs while holding her airway open, checking her pulse, and waiting for the paramedics (again).
As a family we came to the conclusion that street drugs are acceptable if there’s a valid reason for it, science to back it up, and they are there for that and to be used in that manner. (I know that my daughter might have used some for recreational purposes, but I was ok with that as long as she was saving some for emergency use, which she was and is what she got caught with.)
Nowadays we just need basic things (blood pressure meds, levothyroxine for thyroid problems, low-level sleep aids (not sedative or narcotic), adderal, a common SSRI, CBD (not THC)), nothing the least bit dangerous, uncommon, or designed to get high from. Yet it all requires prescriptions, and often from specialists. The three of us have a combined 122 years of experience and the knowledge of the effects of these things on us. Yet every month or 3 we have to go take time away from work, sit and wait, and pay money to get a permission slip. For no reason.
I have a job when I can duck out anytime for an appointment and insurance where I don’t need permission from another doctor first to make the appointment. And yet it’s still difficult for me to take care of my family’s health. Most people don’t have those luxuries. I could rant for hours about this. It makes me so angry.
And yet people still use the term ‘self-medicate’ in a negative way. Is it really any wonder why so many people self-medicate with whatever they can get, when there’s an entire industry - multiple industries - designed to make it expensive, time-consuming, and difficult for people to get the medications that they need (including even ones that they know well and have been using for years). 
ETA: sorry, that turned into a longer rant than I intended, even though I tried to cut it short.
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How much prednisone are you on and how long have you been on it?
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This reminded me of the “insulin caravans” which have started making runs from the US, where insulin is prescription-only and expensive, to Canada, where it is over the counter and cheaper (er, something like 80% cheaper).
Insulin can be used as a downer (Sylvia Plath mentions it being used psychiactrically in The Bell Jar), and too much will kill you, but I guess that’s been balanced off diabetics not being able to wait very long if they run out.
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Second question first, I’ve been on it “off and on” for 10 years, mostly off.
Mainly because doctors’ tendency to be cautious, despite what I can tell them about my medical history.
The primary struggle for me is that my polyps are very bad, and the last ones to deal with are located in an extremely difficult location (upper sinuses, olfactory chambers) to operate without invasive surgery. Surgery is quite necessary per all the ENTs I’ve seen, but for me, we’re talking about fixing a wildly deviated septum and dealing with a very narrow, caucasian nose. The bridge of my nose is narrow even for white people, dished on the sides.
Over the last 10 years, it’s become apparent that my polyps are pretty resistant to typical treatment like Nasonex, etc. and it’s frustrating that it’s taken this long for a doctor to sympathize with my situation and allow me to risk taking Prednisone long-term (in my case, until I can get money for a complicated surgery).
To answer the first question, I’ve leveled off at 40mg/day.
I’ve tried less before, but that’s just a slow slide into polyp-ville again. Where I’m at, there’s very little agitation, polyps are shrunk and not draining pus, and no bloody nose from dryness. I can smell very well, which has made all the difference in my well-being, since anosmia no longer amplifies my normal chronic, hereditary, mild depression which I deal with very well when it’s isolated from other complications.
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Wow. That’s a tough situation you are in. I fucking hate prednisone but have been on it many times for my asthma, sometimes for extended periods. I wonder if anyone has tried hospitalizing you and injecting it to see if you can really make some headway on the polyps instead of just managing them.
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Is this normal or is it a symptom?
Excruciating pain and blisters after chopping peppers.
Fuck.
I ordered some glucosamine, but forgot to check the ingredients.
Every time I forget to check the ingredients, I get hurt. I intellectually know that most people aren’t allergic to sorbitol, but when I’m not thinking about it, I wouldn’t think someone would put sorbitol in or near anything intended for human consumption, let alone use it as a standard.
My stomach hurts.
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If you remember, I got an injection of about 70mg when I almost suffocated at the pharmacy/doctor’s office last Thanksgiving weekend?
I’ve had a couple of extreme doses, but the polyps always come back.
Anyway, aside from the time I wasn’t thinking and accidentally ate some cinnamon, I tolerate Prednisone extremely well compared to most people.
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FWIW, I have only a basic HMO health plan from the ACA marketplace, and I can contact my doctor’s office to request a refill prescription even if I don’t have an appointment. They just send the new Rx to the pharmacy on file.
I can’t imagine that works with psychiatric drugs, but it works for autoimmune and cancer drugs.
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