I’ve also had the pharmacy offer to call the doctor and request a refill, but it’s not been on anything heavy duty.
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You’re right; I have to go see the head doc every 90 days to get a written script. Or I did till I missed an appointment for the first time in years and they charged me 50 bucks. Pissed me off, so I asked my gp if she’d write the script with refills, seeing as I’ve been on the same combo for the same amount of years (as in two digits’ worth).
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Popping in to say a little something about my health in general before I lay myself down for a nap.
The honeymoon phase with the Prednisone is over, and I am noticing a distinct change. Not a sea-change, but distinct nonetheless. I think that I’m leveled off, and I’m at the appropriate dosage of 40mg/day, 20-20/breakfast-dinner.
Probably ought to say I’m on more “solid” ground, guts-wise, so that probably has something to do with it, too.
Anyway, I really got some shit done today. Two loads of laundry, cleaned the toilet, took a shower, cleaned my palette and brushes, a bunch of dusty canvases and stretcher frames, and barely touched “the other place” (probably lucky it wasn’t a typical shit-show Monday). I’ve been awake for 12 hours straight, feeling neither wound up nor fatigued. Just…normal.
I plan to nap for a bit, now. I managed to get a chicken on credit from my pollo asado guy and had my first solid, heavy meal in days — of three slim chicken burritos — and it’s makin’ me sleepy. But when I get up, I think I’m gonna get some more shit done.
Like finishing these paintings of which I’ve been nearly criminally neglectful.
This is a weird feeling, after more than a decade of a sleepwalking, survival mode. It feels like a thriving mode.
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Glad to hear it. This is why prednisone was called a “wonder drug.”
I hope you can continue to avoid the dark side of the cortisone force.
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Didn’t want to put this in Possibly untrue science news
Vaccine for six strains of Lyme disease is being worked on in Europe. Let’s hope the antivaxxers don’t deepsix it (like they did with the LYMErix vaccine, now approved for dogs but not people). I would really like to go outside without worrying about lyme disease.
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I have been working with a doctor on my nutrition for the past 3 years. After so much chaos in my life, I finally feel I can really commit to the changes and understand his approach.
Though my weight and fat percentage is high now, my blood sugar has been under control for the past two years, which is my main health goal.
The two big takeaways lately:
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Make every meal packed with nutrition. Eat fresh fruits and veggies in large quantities.
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Hydration is key. Water goes right through me. Veggies and fruit keep me hydrated. When I get dehydrated, I feel tapped out and then I crave sugar.
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I was turning in medical study materials yesterday in San Diego, and I learned that the medicine I was on placebo for a couple of years ago (nasal polyp study) has been deemed successful and approved for the market. It’s called Dupixent.
The research center doc says it’s as effective as Prednisone, fewer dangers, and improves asthma symptoms, too. She has no idea of the price point, however.
Now I really need to work on getting onto Medi-Cal.
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Looks expensive, if insurance doesn’t cover it. Very much at the same level as Humira for Crohn’s disease, another monoclonal antibody.
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isnt the internet wunnerful
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Pardon me if I’ve said this before, but have you tried a budesonide nasal spray? It’s a local acting steroid used for nasal congestion (and asthma as an inhaler). Apparently it’s also been tested for polyps.
I’m taking the drug for Crohn’s and it’s worked wonders. (YMMV of course.)
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Yes, but no go. Not effective on me, likely due to obstruction. Actually, this new drug was tested in combination with the sprays.
Sadly, I am at the extreme edge of “ugly” polyp/septum issues. ENTs love doing endoscopy on me because it’s just so darn interesting up there. When there’s an intern present, it always turns into a teaching moment.
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I’ve been struggling to focus a bit lately. My daughter is out of town for the week, so I decided to reboot some habits while she’s away and I only have one kid on my hands.
Biggest changes:
- No screen time before bed. I make my agenda for the next day, read a book for a bit, then lights out
- Back to the 5 am wake-up. My son is sleeping through the night, so I can make a go of it.
- Sticking to my agenda.
- Husband leaving a bit earlier so he can be back by the time I get home with the kids in the afternoon.
Exercise is on the schedule. Eating lunch is on the schedule. Non-emergency emails (ie, crap I need to send and haven’t) are on the schedule. I’m hoping I can get a bit of balance back in a sustainable way for when she comes back, and then the school year starts.
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I made it one day before getting derailed by insomnia and sleeping in until 6:30. But two of my tasks took less time, so I’m more-or-less back on schedule.
I guess I’m no longer in a place to drink a coffee at 4 pm and sleep fine. Getting older sucks.
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Maybe one day this will belong in a “Bad Medicine” thread, but right now this is a promising area of research.
https://gem.cbc.ca/media/the-nature-of-things/season-55/it-takes-guts/38e815a-0091c386082
Maybe there’s a reason the “obesity epidemic” started hitting after we started putting antibiotics in everything. I know correlation/causation, but it’s intriguing.
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It’s a fascinating premise.
Among other things, I remember the late 70s to the 90s as the era of repeated stomach flu epidemics (remember the Norwalk virus?). People would come into school after a bout, complain-bragging about the symptoms and how much weight they lost from being sick. These seem to be blamed in part on food poisoning now, but an infection is an infection.
I had IBS in the late 90s too, something which is supposed to be triggered initially by an infection.
And then, as you said, there are antibiotics in everything now, plus people use antibacterial soap and hand cleanser constantly.
It might wind up being woo, but I’m seeing a lot of smoking guns.
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Me, finally sitting down to work at 7:15: “Why am I so tired that I can’t get up in the morning?”
Cervix: Groans
Uterus: Gurgles
Childbirth tear scar: throbs, as it now does before and during my period
Motherhood. So beautiful.
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Not just the infection, but antibiotics are the nuclear weapons of medicine. Remember how obese kids weren’t the norm? It’s easy to point at inactivity and blame that, but what if they’re never getting a chance to grow healthy guts? Look where the obesity problem is at it’s worst: the US, and anywhere else where the staples are cheap US foods. Even Canada isn’t as bad as the US. It’s easy and tempting to blame restaurant portions, but a large part of that could be placing blame on the wrong industry. Antibiotic use is rampant in the US food system.
What we feed our guts plays a factor in maintaining balance, but it’s not helped when we kill off everything. And the “probiotic” courses we have now are essentially “what thrives on dairy products and sugar¹” and not anything based on any understanding of healthy gut flora.
And I admit to some personal bias in wanting this to be true: being able to shut down some of those who insist that fat people are just lazy with no self-control. You’ll still find people who blame us for not feeding our guts right, but at least we won’t be expected to outright starve.
¹This this could also help explain some of the rise in type II diabetes, because we’ve packed our guts full of sugar-eating microbes that encourage us to eat more sugar. It’s a fascinating realm of research that has the potential to be much ado about nothing or change absolutely everything.
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Many researchers blame antibiotics in part for autoimmune disease.
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