Tag Archives: health

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Hydration

Figure out if your sense of thirst works (part of interoception). If you can go hours without getting thirsty, it might not be working so well.

If your “thirsty don’t work” then building in a hydration habit is important to avoid dehydration.

Ted Ed: What would happen if you didn’t drink water? – Mia Nacamulli – YouTube

Habits: https://youtu.be/PZ7lDrwYdZc 
Effective practice: https://youtu.be/f2O6mQkFiiw

Water | Bunny’s Info-Dump (sweetpeastudio.biz)

Water Calculator: Water Intake Calculator – How much water should you drink per day? (gigacalculator.com)

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Heat vs Pain

I’ve been using the Sunbeam heat pads to target my mid-back pain. Sometimes they are enough for my cervicogenic headaches, but the last one I had it was not. Next on the list is trigger point injections to help with my mid-back pain.

Even just raising my arms is enough weight to cause my rib/spine pain to flare up. So then I have to go sit and heat treat to prevent it from cascading into another cervicogenic (mine last three days usually) headache that was misdiagnosed as a migraine.

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Misophonia

I was looking at upgrading my 23andMe, but then I saw they mislabeled Misophonia. So I sent them a letter instead:

Misophonia was incorrectly labeled: (hatred of the sound of chewing) on https://you.23andme.com/chip-upgrade/
While that is the most well-known and common form, Misophonia is actually specific sound sensitivity. Having two family members who suffer from it and NOT the chewing form, it was disappointing to see 23andMe spreading misinformation.

Misophonia – Wikipedia

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Dental care list

Preferred order but not required:

Mouthwash – swish for 30 to 60 seconds, then spit into sink

Floss (gets mouthwash between teeth)

Rinse and put away flosser

Brush

  1. Wet brush
  2. Apply toothpaste if using (optional – the friction of the bristles is enough)
  3. Divide mouth into quarters, at least 30s each
    1. Either upper right, upper left, lower right, lower left
    2. Or right outsides (teeth together), left outsides (teeth together), top insides, bottom insides

Test for clean teeth using your tongue. Get any spots that aren’t clean.

If you can’t reach the back molars, look into tongue tie.

Rinse and put away toothbrush

Clean tongue (brush or scrape with spoon, no special tongue scraper needed).

Clean tonsils if required (I use the spoon handle)

Spit as needed

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Power over Pain

I’m recovering from the hour drive to and from the Stanford Pain Clinic but I am hopeful as they have Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and options for trigger point injections and emergency pain meds. I’m hopeful that after the PT/OT evaluations they’ll be able to refer me to someone more local that can help with the Muldowney Protocol.

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Sutures (Stitches) or Gooey Gooey Glue?

I have EDS.

Glue allergies run in my family.

I’ve read (and can link later if someone cares enough to request it) that because our tissue can be more friable (tears easily) that stitches can result in worse scarring (keloid scars?). I’ve known people who have suffered from excessive scarring after surgeries before they found out they had EDS.

I chose glue for the tongue tie release since I’ve found I generally am fine the first use of a glue (mostly taping for joint support or bandages) and then move on to rash the second or third time and then I can discontinue use. I think the glue was mostly gone by the first day or two, definitely faster than they expected, but it healed up nicely.

I had dissolving stitches post-partum, getting the stitches was the only thing I needed pain meds (nitrous oxide) for. Getting those stitches in 2015 was the most pain I’d ever felt until I got punched in the nose in Dec. 2023. No, the lidocaine didn’t help reduce the pain of the stitches at all. Another EDS thing – metabolizing medications differently.

I had some cysts removed from my scalp during quarantine – one had gotten infected and ruptured so it went from “cosmetic” to “medically necessary” according to insurance. The dermatologist used non-dissolving stitches. I took the front one out on my own when it started itching and it healed up nicely. I tried to leave the one in back in until my appointment to remove them. I tolerated an extra day or two of itching and then couldn’t stand it anymore and removed that one too. I regretted waiting because that one took forever to heal while the one I took out earlier was fine. Partially the delay in healing was because it kept trying to form a keloid scar – turns out skin picking can cause scarring, but can also reduce scarring.

So far the Patch bandages and hydrocolloid acne patches are the only ones I haven’t developed any reaction to.

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Adjusting

Life changing chiropractic for about $20:

Dr. Ruch’s books (WAY cheaper than an adjustment):

Knees: AmazonSmile: GOT KNEE PAIN? Where is Your Tibia?: 9781977224149: Ruch, William: Books

Hips/pelvis (as important as the spine since they mess up everything else if they are off – it’s not just for birthing): The Level Pelvis Method: for Pregnancy and Birthing Ease – Kindle edition by Ruch DC, Dr. William J.. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ AmazonSmile.

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Slooooooow it down: eating

Infographics video – processed foods taste good when eaten quickly and not so good when eaten slowly. I would guess that eating slowly makes it easier to taste the various additives.

Chew a bite of food 10 times (aim for 5-10 seconds) – it can reduce the desire for processed food. Unprocessed foods – chewing for at least 10 seconds helps unlock more nutrients and makes it easier to digest the food.

Obesity wasn’t a thing until 1800s, recognized as deadly mid 1900s? Ted Ed

1 hour activity daily kids?

average time daily eating 1.75 hr (ex. Spain meals 1 hour usually, up to 2 with family)

If meals are an hour – and you chew thoroughly and slowly – then you have time for questions and stories. Ask a question, take a bite, chew slowly and focus on listening to the answer. This avoids interrupting, eating with mouth open (small bites make it easier to close mouth), or talking with food in your mouth.

We use “chew, chew, swallow” to encourage finishing a bite before talking. We also wait until the person is done to say or ask anything to reinforce that slowing down didn’t cause them to lose their train of thought or their place in the conversation.

Small bites, lots of chewing. Put down utensils between bites. Wipe hands on napkins. Sip water between bites. Chewing slowly preps your digestive track – if you swallow before food is completely crushed and mixed with saliva, it won’t digest as well and could lead to heartburn, constipation, indigestion. Lack of chewing can lead to gastroparesis because there wasn’t enough chewing to signal stomach acid production. Or it can contribute to SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) because things don’t get moved through as quickly as they should either because the system wasn’t revved up or the food was harder to move. Things moving through the system slower also leaves it more open to fermentation or contributing to gut permeability and inflammation.

TLDR; Take small bites, chew at least 10 times and aim to completely liquify the bite by thoroughly mixing it with saliva before swallowing.