Kkhymn's Corner

OMG!  Stop what you are doing and turn on your iPhone! There is a group of iPhone lovers on Ravelry, and they always share the latest iPhone application or tool, and this one is the best ever! Do you want to know what yarn stores are near you right now? Then turn on your iPhone, and go to he following site on your Safari browser: http://yarnphone.com.  The site will find your current location from your iPhone and give you a list of the yarn stores near you! I love it! Don’t forget to bookmark the Web page and put it on your home screen so that you have quick, one touch access to this great search tool.

Note: You have to have  the latest iPhone 3.0 update for this site to work.

Now I don’t have to type in all the information for a google or map search to find the yarn stores near me. That is what I have been doing in my yarn adventures prior to this great new tool created by a Ravelry guru. Another great reason to love Ravelry.

© https://kkhymn.wordpress.com

Gabriel Says Hello

So it has been a few weeks now since my first prolotherapy treatment. And, yay! I can truly say it is making a difference in my pain levels. The worst of my bad days is still better than the worst of my bad days before the prolo!

There are a few other things that  has helped make  prolo therapy a success, decreasing the inflammation in my body so it can continue to its natural healing processes:

• Going on the gluten-free lifestyle.  Before prolotherapy, you need to be off your anti-inflammatory medications for an entire week. That was terrifying for me because when I did this for a few days prior to my epidural shots for my back, I was in hell and could barely walk through the door for the appointments. But, I realized that when I went to my first prolotherapy appointment, I was not in the same hell that I had been before. Just in purgatory. 🙂 I attribute my ability to survive solely to my gluten free diet.

• Don’t stop the circulation process with anti-inflammatories and nSaids! One of the key points to prolotherapy is that when you trick your body into starting the healing process again, you want to keep the circulation going in your body to continue that healing process. Nsaids (and I am assuming other over the counter anti-inflammatories) actually work to decrease inflammation by decreasing circultion in your body! Thus, your body stops its natural healing processes!  Think about it, when you get injured, and you touch the injured area, what do you feel besides pain? Heat. That increased heat is increased circulation -your body is kick-starting its natural healing processes.

• Moist heat keeps the circulation going – don’t use dry heat or ice to treat the pain. How do you create moist heat? You can buy those moist heat heating pads, but there are more budget friendly solutions. If you have one of those rice packs covered with fabric, heat it up in the microwave as directed. While it is heating, place a thin washcloth under warm water and squeeze out excess water. When the rice pack is ready, wrap the damp wash cloth around it. Viola! Moist heat.  If you don’t have those rice packs, just take the damp washcloth and heat it in the microwave for a few seconds. The rice packs hold heat longer, so you will have to microwave the wet washcloth more frequently if used alone.

Stainless Steel Pineapple Slicer

And, last, but definitely not least, get on board the Pineapple Express! Eat fresh or canned pineapple (not the kind in heavy syrup, but the one in its natural juices) every day to help reduce your inflammation and pain. Pineapples and paprika were two items that were listed for natural remedies for inflammation. And, the pineapples have definitely worked for me and several others on Ravelry.  I am eating almost an entire pineapple in a 24 hour period! It may sound crazy, but pineapples help with the pain.

The pineapple enzyme that is supposed to help in the inflammation and pain is Bromelain, and is also available as a supplement. I have not tried to get that yet – I would rather eat the fresh pineapple as I find too much variation in quality when I get supplements. But, that could be an option for some of you to try. Click here for an article on the enzyme.  Also, IndiaJoy on Ravelry just shared this about the enzyme and its supplement version:

“For those with acid reflux – the good news is that Bromelian is also a digestive enzyme  that can help with reflux and other stomach issues. As far as the supplement goes, it is important to note how the supplement is prepared. If you are using it as a digestive enzyme, you want a variety without enteric coating so that the tablets dissolve in your stomach. If you are using it as an anti-inflammatory, you must get the bromelian preparation with an enteric coating so that it gets to your small intestine before dissolving and, thus, has the anti-inflammatory effect.”

Eating fresh or canned  pineapple won’t get rid of your pain, but it has helped me extend the time between pain medications and thus reduce the total intake of pain medications that I need each day. And, that, is a good thing!

Mutilating and cursing the fresh pineapple won’t help your trip on the Pineapple Express. But I have the perfect pineapple slicer, and I love it. I can core and have fresh slices in less than five minutes.  You can find this great kitchen tool at some local grocery stores, often right where the fresh pineapples are sold.  Amazon also sells it; click here for the link.  QVC sells a stainless steel version of the pineapple slicer that is awesome; click here for that link.

© https://kkhymn.wordpress.com

I am in love – with Prolotherapy.

To tell you how Prolo and I met, I need to vent to you first about some stupid award-winning doctors at an award-winning hospital. I saw them a month or so ago, hoping for some award-winning solutions for my my continuous back, hip, butt and leg pain.  But, instead, I got statements like, “We can only treat what we can see, and we don’t know why the pain is so severe or why it is on both your right and left sides of your back.  Usually, the pain is more centralized. We have nothing for you.” They saw how incredulous I looked, and how much pain I was in, and they gave me absolutely nothing for the $100 co-pay they required at each visit. When I asked them about alternative treatments,  one doctor asked me if I had tried prolotherapy.  I said “No, what is it?” But, instead of answering, long story short, his  response was, “It is too complicated to explain, look it up on the internet.” Can you believe that?!!! You recommend something to look into but you can’t take the time to explain what it is or why you are even suggesting it as an option to me, the patient?!!!

Tony joked saying, “Maybe he thought it was too complicated for your pretty little head?” I don’t think so. The first thing that doctor said to me when he came into the room is, “You look miserable.” Welcome to my world.

After some yarn therapy at the local yarn store, I looked up prolotherapy on the internet. It is not too complicated to explain! They are glucose injections. That is it.  Sugar-water injections! These injections into damaged soft-tissue areas actually help re-trigger the body’s natural healing process for weakened muscles and ligaments.

Prolotherapy is expensive, but Tony is helping me with the costs.  At this point, I joke with him and others, it is Prolo or pot. And, sadly, I am too scared to get pot even if it is legal for California.

So, I had my first prolotherapy treatment last week.  The injections only took five minutes.  I stopped counting the number of injections when the assistant distracted me by asking me about my knitting. Of course, I raved about Ravelry! I am guessing that I had about 25 injections down my lower back and butt area. Yay! Someone finally saw the pain in my butt was not just in my head!

My back is sore,  I still have pain and my pain medication but the pain is still better than the worst of my bad days. I have learned so much about inflammation, circulation and the natural healing process just from this experience. But, I will write more later another day. I will continue to have monthly injections for the next six months or so before I can really judge its effectiveness. But, based on this first set of injections, I finally see a road to potential recovery rather than a road to permanent disability. 

Prolo, Prolo, Where for Art Thou?

Here are some prolotherapy links to check out:

What is prolotherapy:
http://www.prolotherapy.com/prolodefine.htm
http://www.caringmedical.com/therapies/prolotherapy.asp

Where to get prolotherapy:
http://www.getprolo.com/

Conditions Prolotherapy Helps:
http://www.prolotherapy.com/prolohelp.htm#select

Prolotherapy in the News:
New York Times article
USA Today article

 Prolotherapy video (lumbar back area):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NsgU4FVYOA