5 For Whatever It's Worth - Cont'd - Part V

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Note: It occurs to me to start each related post by saying that before all this started, I was reasonably active and clearly never knew the meaning of the words "can't" or "don't".   I really, really, really miss my old life. 

Avoid some of my problems - A Few Free Tips

I'm posting information on some things found to be true about self-care, though for me much of it was too little, too late; the lessons were learned after the damage was done.  If you take only one thing from this, Don't let the needlessly bad stuff happen to you.

I'll probably edit this later to add more stuff.

DENTAL
If you have some mild sensitivity, it might be possible to avoid getting drilled by changing your brushing habits, and I don't mean buy special toothpaste.  If toothpaste is left on the teeth for too long, it can actually cause some sensitivity, so try taking less time to brush.  I have found it effective when sensitivity starts to limit brushing time to 45 seconds to 1 minute only, though being quick and very thorough.  Rinse Very Well.  In about 3 days, the sensitivity is gone. 

Wish I knew that years ago before so many possibly unnecessary drilling, root canals, and pulls.  I remember one dentist wasn't sure where my sensitivity was coming from, so he did a root canal on one tooth, I still had the problem, then did the one next to it, then says "ah, smell that?  There was the problem!"  C'mon, you were supposed to know the problem BEFORE you started and SAVE my teeth, jerk.

A lot of Dentists will jump on the opportunity to make as much as they can off something that might be nothing, even if it means drilling to the point that you lose a tooth.  I do remember being told a few times at first they can't find the problem, but then it's "oh, I think I see something".  Don't let this happen.  Try this avoidance technique first.

DIET/WEIGHT
Forget about all those special fad diets.  You only need to remember one simple thing: If you can't hunt it or grow it, don't eat it.  That doesn't mean you can eat everything that grows, like poison ivy, but you get the idea.  People developed over millions of years this way.  We became supposedly "intelligent" this way.  All that processing of today's foods just strips out the nutrients and sometimes they add back artificial "vitamins" that our bodies can't absorb as well, and they add in all sorts of preservatives and chemicals that are supposedly "safe", but seriously, we didn't evolve on chemicals. 

This means trying to eliminate everything not natural, even pasta.  Bleaching agents, oxidizing agents, colorings, preservatives and other chemicals are used in today's processing of almost all flours which means it is in bread, pasta, pizza, wheat cereals, whole grain crackers etc.  Know this is what you are consuming, and it's not good for you.  If you really and truly can't live without bread, try milling your own flour (you can do this, search "table top grain mill") and use fresh grains (preferably organic).

I was eating only natural foods with no breads/pasta/etc. for a while back when I could and never felt better, nor did it feel necessary to eat as often.  Just remember to balance vegs with meats and fish, etc.  Balance is important.  It won't be beneficial if all you eat is fruit. 

This one is another reason I really really wish to be fully functioning and working again - to eat better, healthier and feel better.  Sigh.

Note: as horrible as doctor's are and tend to not care about their patients, well the one's I've had anyway, they can be useful sometimes.  If you are going to change your diet, let them do a full exam and blood tests.  You can get a copy of the results and look online to confirm what they tell you is normal.  After 4 weeks (it takes 3-4 weeks for you metabolism, etc. to fully change to the new food lifestyle), but go back and get another set of blood tests.  The results are sometimes pretty interesting.  Back when I did it, I just told my doctor I was changing meal plans and wanted to be sure no damage was being done.  A month later, the blood test results were much better.

Keep in mind one more thing: a CBC (complete blood count) is not really complete.  It is only a guide and does not cover everything, like B-12 (this is a "special" test).  And hey, guess what?  All these years no one ever checked, and I've just found out I do have a significant B-12 deficiency - oh, and the docs aren't following up even because it was found by someone else.  Yep, doctor's really listen and care, don't they?

Again, I'm only finding most of this out recently - "too little, too late" for me.

EXERCISE
Everyone talks about core muscles, aerobics, etc.  If you want to avoid back problems and some knee and feet issues, you have to stretch a lot and tend to the muscles we don't usually pay attention to.  Everyone keeps talking about working abs, working abs, working abs, but we do have muscles in the back, and in the back of the legs, and we don't typically work these muscles as much from day to day.  Therefore, they get weak, and we get problems.

If you already have aches, try to get in to see a GOOD physical therapist to show you the right ways to do these.

There is more to say on this too, but hopefully this is enough to get you to avoid some of my problems.

Oh, here's one more for today:
SURGERY
I've only recently found this out, after the 3rd surgery (that could have been prevented!).  No surgery is 100% going to work.  There are more things to consider than just the known hazards, such as anesthesia, etc.  No matter where they cut or what type of surgery they are doing, there will be scar tissue - and I don't just mean those neat little scars guys like to show off on their skin.  I mean inside your body, in the tissue, underneath the skin.  The doctor's DON'T tell you this part.


With the formation of internal scar tissue, it could cause complications, new pain, or simply the old pain will not go away.  My doctor's told me that 100% I would be better after the surgeries,  never told me of this risk - they simply lied!


Ok, now I'm done for today.  It's just hard to stay focused anymore when there's no way left to pay rent or be genuinely useful anymore (yes, I've sought work-from-home, but everything I've found was a costly scam - beware of those too, as an additional note).

Sigh!

ADDED:
MEDICATIONS
If you ever really read the info on your medicine, you will see this a lot: "The exact mechanism of action for [medication] is unknown.  Current research appears to indicate that {drug} may [help your symptoms]......."

Also, think about this: the anti-depressants and anti-anxiety (just saw the commercials so this comes to mind first), and other medications actually have a high probability of CAUSING the issue they are supposed to heal, likely because they don't know HOW it works.

THIS is what doctor's are prescribing, pills which no one knows HOW they work, and cause exactly what they are supposed to fix.  Seriously.  And this is only two of the known problems with today's medications that they don't usually tell us.  No wonder they've given me so many more problems.  Making things worse, they don't seem to listen when told things are getting worse, just keep adding more, which is really bad when pain meds are involved.  Why couldn't they just fix the problems instead of masking them?
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