Michele, I hope you're feeling better soon. Does it help at all to take the meds with food?
Dagmar, I'm sorry to hear about the lab. 15 years sounds pretty impressive for a larger dog like that though, and it sounds like he had a good life. I hope you get to enjoy your time off with Trixie and your DH and spending some time on yourself as well
I can't believe how soon the holidays are coming!
As far as exercise, I was really hoping to start running again but I know I won't do it in the cold outside and I can't fathom paying the ridiculous gym fees around here for a treadmill. My apartment just has the one flight of stairs, but the hospital where I spend most of my time is 11 floors, so I do take the stairs when it's only a few floors (and yes, it is soooooo much easier going down than up!). I am considering trying bikram (thanks, Michele!) if I can work it around my schedule. The bikram place nearby does not have showers so it would have to be at the end of my day.
Iris-- I was taking the meds right after a meal which is the way they are prescribed. Ewww-- I've never been to a studio without showers-- that would be a necessity!
Michele, although they aren't anti-inflammatory, you will get just as much pain relief from 2 extra-strength Tylenol (try to find the extended release kind, that last for 8 hours instead of 6), and they don't affect your stomach. And never fear, all low back pain improves - no one has ever stayed in acute pain forever (kind of like labor).
Also, if the issue is disk compression, you may want to cut down on bikram yoga: hot yoga encourages ligaments to relax (that's the "deeper stretch" you get from being overheated), which is what holds your disks in place. Repeated deep forward and backward flexing of the spine combined with ligamentous laxity is a recipe for disk displacement. Maybe replace 1/2 your bikram classes with traditional yoga (and just do some other cardio work for the calorie burn)?
Andrea-- thanks for your words of wisdom. I just took two tylenol and am contemplating your thoughts on my bikram. I do try to do other exercise but I tend to gravitate back to bikram. I'm definitely taking a break for now. I'm just hoping I have a fair amount of relief by Saturday when I fly. How's carb cycling going for you? Do you prefer the higher carb or the lower carb days so far? I still like both, but it is nice to enjoy the carbs!
As the week of standard time goes on we're slowly adjusting to the change (or not adjusting as the case may be). I expected to have a hard time staying up Sunday and/or Monday but that was not the case. We watched "Lone Survivor" Sunday night and the intensity of that movie made me not drowsy at all. I had no trouble getting up to do my exercising each morning, too. But then Tuesday evening it hit me. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open by 7 PM and ended up in bed by 8:15! I'm feeling more normal now, but I think the animals are now experiencing issues. The orange cat pounced on me at 3 AM and the dogs were very restless afterward. I hope they adjust soon!
Sorry your back is giving you trouble, Michele. I hope you have a nice trip!
Michele, I hope your back is doing better and you have a great trip!
I'm not sure if it was the time change or my erratic schedule this week, but my sleep cycles are way off right now. I got home early today and it was already starting to get dark and I think I seriously could have gone right to bed!
At this time of year, I'm very conscious that I am battling the impulse to hunker down in my apartment after dark, or go straight home without stopping. I'm like an animal pulled toward its burrow. I tell myself, "No, don't. Outside is where it's happening. It's the same place as it was a few hours ago, just with lousy lighting." Yes, it's hard, I agree with you all.
Michele, I hope your back is doing better and you have a great trip!
I'm not sure if it was the time change or my erratic schedule this week, but my sleep cycles are way off right now. I got home early today and it was already starting to get dark and I think I seriously could have gone right to bed!
I have not been able to adapt to Daylight Savings for several years now. I wake up around 3:30 a.m. and am ready for bed by 8 p.m. I think I'm going to ask for some meds from my doctor when i go for my yearly physical. Another thing to become addicted to but I can't do what I'm doing without sleep. It would be nice to get some anti-anxiety meds too but he's very against prescribing anything.
"No, don't. Outside is where it's happening. It's the same place as it was a few hours ago, just with lousy lighting." Yes, it's hard, I agree with you all.
I love this - I need to tell myself the same thing!
Dagmar, I think I'm the opposite - I could sleep till 11 and still be ready to go back to bed by 8 pm. Too bad we can't share those early morning sleep hours and even things out!
Dagmar, if you can manage to stay up late enough, you might try taking some extended release melatonin or extended release valerian to sleep in longer in the morning. I take both because I have sleep maintenance insomnia. They help me some (though I still sleep less than I'd like).
I haven't met anyone who likes moving the clocks back in the fall, even though we get a bonus hour. Maybe we should vote on it!
My low carb Wednesdays seem to be easy-peasy. Going to try to add a weekend day, circumstances permitting, so I guess that means today with a fallback of tomorrow. I don't have any pre-made plans that would interfere, but something might come up.
I just got an invitation to stay at a family member's condo in Hilton Head at the end of this month.
It freaked me out, but I said yes. In fact, I am still freaked out, but I need myself to push forward into change and going to other places, if I don't want to close down and constrict myself to the same routine, wearing the same harness, pulling the same load.
Where did I read/hear that morning people have less dementia than night owls? Hope it is true. Since getting up at 4 AM five days a week to work out I now get to "sleep in" until 6 AM on the weekend. Seriously, I wanted to get up earlier but it was still dark and kind of cold so I snuggled for another 45 minutes and then got up at 5:45. It felt great to sleep that long!
My Dad is in the hospital. He either has an infection (has been on antibiotics for a week including starting with a long IV in the ER) or he has a blood clot despite having very thin blood. I guess we'll know more once tests are run. Meanwhile we're supposed to fly up next Friday to celebrate birthdays (his 93rd, my brother's 60th and my sister's 68th). And he's supposed to fly here for Thanksgiving to visit his brother who was in the hospital for a long time with pneumonia. We were thinking it might be their last time to visit.
Today marks the beginning of golf season! Our golf course is opening this morning (with a tournament). we're hoping to get an afternoon tee time and another one for tomorrow morning.
Stayed up late last night and played Rummy with my son, since neither of us had played for years we considered this to be a practice game and we will be back tonight.
Just wondering what's up with Megan. I haven't seen any posts from her for quite a while. Not that I'm a regular poster (although a regular reader), but I always enjoy hearing what's going on in Florida with her theater, fieldwork, dog, etc. Not stalking you, Meagan!
