ARTICLE: I Really Need To Get Back In Exercising

Originally published on May 4, 2013 for Bubblews, a website that no longer exists

For awhile now I've been realizing the need to get back into some form of exercise. Now in years past I was never a fanatical exerciser, that is I never jogged, never did calisthenics, nor weight lifting, I certainly didn't do any of those grueling DVD exercise programs like Tae Bo, yet I had kept myself trim by doing yoga.

Up until maybe four years ago, I was extremely flexible and limber, and I guess due to my childhood years where I studied ballet. I also was introduced to the world of yoga way back in the middle 1960s via my mother who used to watch the Richard Hittleman yoga show on PBS. I would watch her attempts to do the various yoga postures and copied what she was doing. It wasn't until say maybe my high school years that I did a regular regiment of exercise doing a combo of both yoga and various ballet barre exercises, and I kept up this routine almost religiously all through my college years and beyond. Somewhere along the line though I stopped, yet was still in a sense active as I would take long, long walks. That changed however, some four years ago when I started getting severe symptoms of RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) and ironically it was triggered off by the antibiotic "Cipro" (Ciprofloxacin), which when I took it had no dire warnings about. Not long after I took it, I began noticing arthritic type symptoms, joint pain, swelling of my joints, I also lost my flexible and limber qualities. I didn't connect the dots until sometime later I was doing research about something else, and came across "Cipro" again. Now that medication had dire warnings about it and was one of the medications with class action law suits against it. Gee, thanks pharmaceutical and FDA land.

My RA issues have gotten progressively worse, but if you think I'm going to take a medication again, forget it. Do you think I would trust a medication again? Instead, I have been trying to find more natural alternative means to help my symptoms. But yes, I'm also realizing I do need to exercise again. I've read tons of material suggesting anyone with RA or even Fibromyalgia needs to do some form of exercise, to get moving again, the irony is how can one with RA or Fibromyalgia even think of exercise when it can be so painful to do.

Some months ago I did actually go back into trying my attempts with yoga, but got frustrated. The same yoga postures I did years ago without a thought and could manage easily proved difficult, or and yes, that yoga posture in the photo was one of many postures I could do with ease. If I tried that now, heck, I'd probably fall over.

Still, I do need to get back into yoga/exercise again, not so much for weight loss as thankfully that has never been a problem for me, I've always been rail thin all my life, if anything I wouldn't mind gaining some weight! (Dons helmet to ward off wet noodles being flung at me…with take those noodles with Alfredo Sauce please).

I do have the realization of needing to do exercise to keep my joints flexible and to build up muscle tone. Anyway, if any of you also experience RA or Fibromyalgia, and if you do some form of exercise I would gladly welcome suggestions how you manage and cope.

ARTICLE: DO We Rely Too Much On Medications? Do They REALLY Help?

Originally published May 9, 2013 at Bubblews, a website that no longer exists

First of the bat, let me give you a little background info about me, or actually my great grandmother, and in a sense it's due to her that I'm pretty much anti-medication. My great-grandmother was a nurse who basically thought all doctors were basically idiots. She was into herbal and natural remedies for healing, never took anything stronger than aspirin, and maybe a few shots of whiskey, and had no major health problems. Back in her time, she would eat what we would consider high cholesterol heaven heart attack style breakfast, consisting of eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. And that was just breakfast. She would also have some kind of meat for lunch and dinner, used butter, heavy cream and milk. How old was she when she passed away? Ninety-eight.

I guess I inherited her disdain for pharmaceutical medications and I too have refrained from taking medications in general and try to go a more natural form of healing any problems. But yes, on occasion, perhaps I might take a penicillin type antibiotic if I had some kind of infection. However, usually for some pain issues I'll take, yes aspirin, but only sparingly and not all the time, which is probably why it still works for me.

Years and years back I had blood tests done with a new doctor, and it was discovered I had high cholesterol; folks when I say high, I mean I was in that range that was considered dangerous. He wanted to prescribe right off the bat Lipitor. Instead I bargained with him…I said give me a month for me to change my diet, if my cholesterol is still high then I'll take the medication. Well I did just that, I radically changed my diet, and I was by no means overweight either, instead, I've been rail thin all my life. But I did a conscientious change to reduce fat intake, thus no heavily fried foods, lessened my meat eating habits, etc. When the next month came and had new blood tests done, my cholesterol was in the borderline zone….with another month I was in the safe zone. All done by just changing my eating habits.

Yes I do realize that in many cases medications might be the way to go to control some serious health issues, but once again I can't help thinking in many cases a radical form in a change of eating habits could be beneficial. I actually know an on-line friend who was diagnosed with diabetes and had it for years. Eventually she radically changed her diet habits and at last health report she is diabetes free. Also , I can't help wonder if medications can actually trigger more health issues.

Say a person has a certain health issue, and the doctor prescribes some medication for that issue. As you know, many medications can have serious side effects and could be responsible in creating yet another health issue that didn't exist before. So wham, the doctor now prescribes another medication to combat the "new" health issue that was triggered by the first medication. Then maybe that second medication with its side effects, creates yet another health issue…more medication prescribed. Is it any wonder people then start becoming walking medicine cabinets and their whole day and night revolves around taking medications?

Then too it can be the simple issue that a medication just doesn't work anymore and a stronger type needs to be taken. As I mentioned, I ONLY take aspirin for any pain issues. I've never even graduated to Tylenol, Aleve, or Advil. But say for years you've taken some OTC pain reliever. You use it constantly, and after awhile it just doesn't work anymore, so now you ask for prescription pain killer from your doctor, yet somewhere along the line even that won't work, so a stronger pain killer is prescribed and on and on it goes. Then comes probably an almost addiction to the medication. One may realize it's not working anymore, yet one will still take it out of downright fear perhaps of stop taking it.

The bottom line is in my opinion we've gotten to be a pill popping society. We want a pill for everything and anything..have a pimple? Take a pill. Have a hang nail? Take a pill. Have dandruff? Take a pill. Okay maybe I'm making "light" of the issue, but I think you get my meaning. And is the risk worth it with taking all of these super duper medications that have detrimental side effects that could trigger even more health issues?

I can give a personal example. My grandmother had asthma and was on several asthma type medications, including Theophylline. The very last time she was raced to the ER with a bad asthma attack she died. Why? Not due to her asthma, but she died of cardiac arrest as a result of being given too much Theophylline and ironically it was known that Theophylline could indeed cause cardiac problems.

UPDATE: Well as cautious as I've been all my life about medications, some years back I was given the antibiotic "Cipro". I did look the medication up and noticed the "usual" side effects with an antibiotic. I did, however, have a "symptom" right away. Let's put it this way, I could have read Tolstoy's War And Peace ten time while sitting on the "royal throne". I did complain about it to the doctor and he said, "Oh, that means it's working." So like an idiot I continued to take it. Well...I paid the price. It triggered off my now debilitating pain issues along with CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). One can do a general search and one finds out that I'm not the ONLY one that has been severely affected by using "Cipro".