Thu 12 Feb 26: Knee felt great going to bed... getting up, not so much. Think the sleeping position may've allowed meniscus to slip into one of its old pathological positions, as the stiffness and pain haven't returned w/ vengeance, but is unfort'y familiar. Treating the splinting ham helped quite a bit... and at end of laps did feel better. Nothing like the previous week, tho... Laps (R1): --- Lap 1 - 5 -- can cover all of them in 15 secs; rest day so did dial down pace due to the tweak. Thought at the time I'd dodged a bullet... but that'd turn out slightly optimistic. Driving and getting out is again 1 min walking to warm before it feels normal. Gotta get a handle on what during the night could've caused the knee to regress this much
Fri 13 Feb 26: Knee still a bit cranky this AM -- got a strange rating from the CPAPualung on the wakeup: a 35; said I'd broken seal 30x and only slept 0.4 hrs Checked it again literally seconds ago... the s/w dev equivalent of 'oh... never mind'. Full (99 - 100) points, of course Slept good that I remember, no idea why the Die Machinen decided to brain fart. Only neg was I still had the knee tweak. Laps (R2): --- Lap 1: 4:37 -- pretty typical R-day starting lap Lap 2: 3:45 -- wait, wut? Stopwatch doesn't lie tho... no idea what took 47 secs out of L1...? Lap 3: 3:56 -- am I in the f***ing Matrix? How is this possible, when this lap felt better than last...? And knee's ache-y, not amazing Lap 4: 3:51 -- feels okay now but still no idea why this isn't over 4 mins as past Rs on sore knee were Lap 5: 3:51 -- guess the weird wasn't satisfied yet. Felt faster (for an R day) over L4... but not according to my wrist Machinen --- 'Tf is going on Guess the fates have deemed 13 Fri as a real head scratcher today. Most times it weren't, historically... ime this phenom mostly applied on mainland in past, around people who believed in it (much like the now-very-obvious change on and around 31 Oct), just wasn't a thing here. But the hoards of mainland transplants now dominant at least 2 generations calling themselves 'Locals' have apparently changed the air The only explanation for the jump in L2, could be a thought experiment I were doing after the split on L1 --> L2, where were looking at the brick floor on the upper mall level, and seeing if my steps could stay within 3 brick widths (100mm L x 50mm W bricks, so trying to follow a 150mm line of these zigzag pavers). But if anything that'd slow me down, not speed things up? Weird
Addendum, Fri 13 Feb 26: Quite an odd, if not unpleasant day on the table. As before, not sharing possible identifying info about the client or session (will mention their stories later in recollection, to prevent clocking story to date)... but suffice to say two of the day's clients were rather unusual for this gig... Lesson from the first: a reinforcement that every client should be treated as individual... and my policy of explaining what's happening and reasons why in length that often stops the session, should and will continue. Getting the conscious mind to grasp at least the cliff notes of the work, helps the subconscious mind accept the frequent and often intense pain to come -- and prevents feeding fear, which directly fights progress and depth. Lesson from the second: you must cater the work to the client always, as above... but esp when comes to age. Children don't yet have the life exp to face and process pain (often not until they set out on their own, removed [a proper] parents' well-intended protection), so you as prac must not sow trauma in their delicate, open fields of a mind. Elderly have much thinner skin, atrophied muscles, and often grossly-ignored adhesions... which with too-aggressive, ham-handed pracs can lead to simple non-resolution in a young adult... but crippling, debilitating -- and permanent -- weakness, paresthesia, and pain in those over 60. In addition, injured athletes w/ large areas of joint scar tissue, victims of burns or other catastrophic damage to connective tissues or organs, often need bodywork far from the average client's care, into the weedy median. Let's hope your work has proper cable barriers to catch the odd mistake sending your work into it. But unless medical needs contraindicate deep-tissue work, every client has an area / range / point where pain and suffering can be reduced; one just has to have the skill to first find and identify it, then have the tools to do something about it. Have it, get that in return. Lack it, may as well send them home, but at least in the direction of those who don't. The realist life of the bodyworker
Valentine's Day, Sat 14 February 26: Had to cut P1 laps short due coming down w/ a cold, so no times. Got steps in anyway... just not there and not interval stuff. What a bonkers day this is been. May be need to add this holiday to the list of bad-luck days on Maui -- lots of angry / stressed / both people everywhere, esp on-road. Mostly males -- not one bit surprised Knee does feel a bit of the interruption of routine, stiff mostly. Had to sit in a doc's office ~ an hour today to make sure it wasn't something other than a cold (wasn't, no worries Not sure why, but traumas admitted but triaged non-critical are flooding the clinic today -- man, is the holiday that bad nowadays...? What the hell do people expect it be and why does it make peeps bash heads / damage GI tract / get organ failure, today of all days? Or am I just seeing a 1-day sliver of what happens all the time? Hope y'all are having a good VD (will never get over the irony of that acronym ). May your clinics (and ERs / A&Es) be quiet as a mouse
Not a Wash Day, Sun 15 Feb 26: Welp, another Sunday w/ bad weather. Looks like the car will go another week w/o a detail Since have a cold, all laps will be R-day. Since the point isn't to challenge splits but just get exercise and circulation in, decided to total the 5 laps and base any observations on changes to that... --- Laps (R w/ cold): 1 - 5: 19:38 -- cold's coming on very slowly; started as a scratchy throat, then aches, then energy sap, then fever. Not flu thank God. Trust that if a vax were available for the cold virus I'd have it 4x a year if need be due to my prox'y to clients often for hours. No such luck, and not going to happen until the rest of the world's basically turned into a Blade Runner x Running Man parody... --- That said... part of the reason I know it's a mere cold, is the weak symptoms -- flus have always hit me hard (esp when idiotically convinced my immune system didn't need them). Haven't had one for probably 15y+ now? Yeah, from pre-WA massage school days, exposed to hoards of others w/ sh*tty stay-at-home-when-sick and other transmissible habits. And given the Year of the Snake's dying corpse is still capable of killing if you catch your arse on its fangs... not at all surprised I'm getting something not had in almost 20y, in the final days of its good-riddance reign Oh -- the supps I'm taking for the cold, are NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine, an amino acid) and zinc citrate. Can't take NSAIDs now, esp acetaminophen / paracetamol, due to the liver stress... which is fine as not popping pain-relief pills can help recalibrate dialing down any semblance of whiny b*tch about a damn cold NAC in particular's been super-effective in past for other viral-only infections like styes (which beats hot compresses burning your eyelid 4x a day), and prior to religiously vaxxing, taking it as directed lessened flu symptoms by 2d or more. So far, letting the cold reach the fever point (where it's peaking), then will narrow the intervals betw. NAC doses (allowable is 3x a day; so far only using one). That's worked best ime; have been doing this since 2020, when first learning about it for covid (am not convinced of its effectiveness in killing SARS-COV2 and curbing covid symptoms from the literature, at least not directly. But for flu and viral styes, very effective).
Mon 16 Feb 26: Cold's gotten a touch worse now; congestion, runny nose, y'all presently in frozen winters know the deal. probably got it from tourists from such places, looking for a snowbird-y respite here w/ lows of high 50s. Having paid my dues shoveling snow and scraping windshields many years can't blame 'em for considering transmitting a virulent cold strain, fair dinkum Yep -- probably 20y since catching a cold...? So either cold strains are getting better at unraveling strong human immune systems, or I'm getting weaker. probably a little of both... --- Laps (R w/ cold): 1 - 5: 19:47, pretty typical. Knee feels better at least first 4 laps; probably from increased rest. Resumption of knee issues afterwards proves the regimen's not over-exercise. Keeping the knee moving w/ R laps is paying dividends... --- Skipped the med one dose to allow taking NSAIDs for cold symptoms; will resume tonight before bed. Don't feel the immense fatigue as pre-20y ago w/ colds and / or flu, so not doing that badly. Scratchy throat's annoying but no issues on CPAPualung -- otherwise'd be much worse I reckon. Am glad I know how to prevent fomite transmission from a world event you may've heard of. Actually using old stores of 70% isopropanol from said event, to do this Another rest day off the table, obvi. Only person I've worked today was a barista at Starbies who'd bumped her head and got a sudden neck stiffness. History of car accidents as well, so old whiplash enforcement by the cervical spine. Treated two muscles, recovered. Good to me many years, happy to cover them in time of need
Tue 17 Feb 26: Last day of the Year of the Snake. Man what an end of year / beginning of year this has been... good riddance Cold: still getting over it. But on the backside now, as hacking up phlegm and runny nose is finally calming down. Weird -- haven't had runny noses even when I were still catching cold on mainland, due to a condition surgery corrected beginning of last year. Now in my 50s finally see why people are so irritated by sprinting noses catching cold Still have my appetite and did complete my laps today, so luckily like every time I'm down w/ some virus (the mind goes to dark places then the bouncer's away), this is just a cold. Flus usually enforce lying down a day focusing on how miserable I feel; luckily them're a thang of the paist --- Laps (R w/ cold): 1 - 5: 19:02 -- think the fact I'm cutting the slight fever w/ ibuprofen, is also allowing the knee to stop kneecapping performance (see what I did there?) Almost reaching the 18-min mark w/ no shuffling, means all but the first lap were sub 4-min... --- Even slight pain signals from the knee joint, actively limit joint use by increasing tone on crossing muscles. This constant acknowledgement / correction cycle upon load interferes w/ smooth gait; can feel dramatically how different the two states are. If the 'profen killed all the pain, w/o awareness of what's happening it'd be easily to deceive me into thinking the knee were fine -- the siren song of all narcotics. Reality is, being aware of pain is only half the communication the brain / spine have with peripheral-body joint injury. Oh, and am not taking full doses of 'profen; only half, as am resuming the med. Have a bottle of combo acetominophen / profen pill, if this drags on another day (doubt it, hacking up some green). Felt a bit worse last night but did buzz my head yesterday (which for me, brings down core temp significantly). On the laps, felt okay again. The adage eating easily-digestible complex carbs during a sick, yet seems to hold for me at this age. Have incorporated some purple sweet potato salad from the health food store onto the brekkie salad, then for today a small container of pasta salad (made sure no chintzy ingredients like seed oils or food additives) atop that -- felt immediately better. Apparently giving the body easily-digestible fuel to fight the virus, overrules type of fuel. Still eat a tonne of greens with as the bennies of that need to remain whilst sick (the mineral content, fibre thus bulk, and C / A / antioxidants -- same w/ all cruciferous veg). Have to work a bit harder to digest and absorb whole plant food vs. okayu (Japanese porridge / congee of short-grain rice, eaten by piss-y sick kids in every JA household)... but to me the tradeoffs are worth it, esp since washed plain white rice is pretty barren of nutrition.
Wed 18 Feb 26: First day of the Year of the Fire Horse! Hope it doesn't punk me as hard as the Snake did No laps today -- last night cold settled into my chest, and even w/ CPAPualung wasn't able to get much rest. Fact my appetite were fading also means the cold was approaching flu-levels of literal kneecapping. Even pre-CPAP wasn't gasping for air consciously Jesus, great time to need a bunch of meds that may impede the progress of one bottleneck med. Have avoided any cold / flu formulations w/ acetaminophen as that's worst for the liver... but any med has to be metabolised out there so the fewer the better (good advice in general for OTC meds). Chose Mucinex for this f***ing hacking cough and Advil PM for nighttime sleep (no generics for either significantly cheaper). Only things that combined these two symptoms, were DayQuil / Nyquil PM and Theraflu, both which have acetaminophen. Gah, hate taking this stuff Knee... feels great today...? Thing is, any more than 2d of this and the muscles will begin to rebel. So if I'm up to it tmw, will resume laps. Spent most of y'dy in bed trying to rest betw. meals, so probably why it feels babied. Thing is, a normal knee would feel fine w/ exercise included -- not like I'm scaling mountains every morning. Miss a normal R knee... and function of every other body part I've crushed, broken, or burnt, whilst we're whinging Little detour in this journal: the Prius needs an oil chg. But since it's going into the shop beginning of March... plan was to hold off spending the cash on it until it comes out (whereupon, the 20K svc is due in mid-April, which does swap the oil/ filter). However, am not confident this oil will last another month+ -- already taking tenths it's not done before... but also have never let the car run on the same oil this long. So fair warning: if you're getting in the mid 60s for mpg now and you live where it either pounds down rain / snow... swap every 3500 - 4K mi, to get that water out of your oil (obvi not as crucial where it freezes, save coastal Great Lakes states where high humidity's still a thing in summer. And case in odd point: Fresno, CA -- over a hundred miles from closest ocean access [San Simeon], but still 75%+ humidity, in winter no less). So will have to swap it once I get the time
Addendum, Wed 18 Feb 26: Am really interested now in a way to avoid needing to top up the CPAPualung w/ distilled water and not have to clean and dry all those fiddly internal surfaces, every time that happens (did they purposely design this tank, not to be cleaned with fingers...? What a PITA). An age ago, ColoradoBoo recommended the CSpring MK3 water chamber tank, which is basically a fancy Igloo cooler that senses and tops up tank water on its own. But also has a silver ion lining on the inside of their tank, to keep bacteria from colonising -- pretty gross slimy feel even after just a couple of days presently (blame the draftiness of this old place blowing dirt and debris in from fields further north). Much like expecting mold on white bread here after a few hours, can't be that much different with a practically-indifferent filter size and capture spec, for air being blown thru it into my head and lungs... Thinking about it, as status quo's having a gallon bottle of distilled water opened every other day, and every time I open the cap on that, what remains in the bottle gets less and less pristine for the same reasons (when you pour out, air gets sucked in to replace it, not a passive process). Been having to spray a lot more hypochlorous acid solution in the hoses and mask just to keep odour down, so bedroom in particular's not the most HEPA place in the world. Have noticed spraying the inside of the tank w/ a small mist of hypochlorous controls this about 75% down from worst case, but leaves breathing air slightly acidic -- which in winter w/ drier air here for my acclimated lungs, means irritation if not done at the right time. Hypochlorous acid denatures into saline and water, so at worst after a few hours you get a very small amt of salty vapour. Best to do after waking up, so at bedtime no danger of active acids being breathed in. The MK3 is defo expensive (three bills w/o shipping)... but even taking up extra bedstand real estate -- again, the size of a small Igloo cooler -- strongly considering one. If can avoid waking up to that smell (and of course not remove the tank to refill)... will pay for itself
Thu 19 Feb 26: Did get laps in, but just R laps -- tbh, despite the cold's peak having passed, feel objectively worse, but not as if the problem's getting worse. Wasn't able to get breakfast in after laps due to a tight appt, so were starved a bit. Thank goodness for that, tho -- appetite-gone's a fine indicator for whether my health's deteriorating. Haven't had a cold since my 30s, so forgive the obviousness of my epiphanies --- Laps (R w/ cold): 1 - 5: 19:41 -- defo felt a bit worse on the laps than yesterday. Now comes rebuilding cells the viral infection destroyed, I guess. --- That cold felt like it were in every system in my body, then settled into the lungs. Crazy sneezing, fever and that 'sense' you're sick, but keeping almost all my strength, 2 days after the first inkling. But 2d later, feel less of that feverishness... but weak, like I need to sleep. How much more? Got a solid 7:50 last night, and w/ dextromethorphan, very restful. Woke feeling almost normal... until I began to move around the house Still, glad I felt up to doing laps today. Knee feels good, but tempered by the fact I'm on an NSAID -- of course it's better. It does seem to be improving doing normal exertion, tho. Hard to tell by how much genuinely, until I'm off these damned pills
Fri 20 Feb 26: Woke up feeling distinctly 'relapse'. Cold snap (now-now, calm down... for us in Hawai'i, 60F) had settled over the south part of the island. Slept like a stone, tho -- thank goodness for dextromethorphan. Feels a bit chilly when you sleep nude atop your duvet Thusly were going to tone down any ambition in the laps... --- Laps (R w/cold): 1 - 5: 20:21 -- felt a little raw the first 3 laps but fine by 5th. --- The distance is what matters, and didn't feel any congestion... despite horking up some gluey stuff last night. Don't feel 100% yet, gut feels off (damned cold settled first into the head [where probably got infected, airborne]... then chest, then gut. Maxxed out on the bad luck slots ). When it affects my appetite, it's gotten real F***, I hate taking a sh*tload of pills. Like a dress rehearsal for 20y from now or something. Tho on the bright side, am glad I began this important med away from the climate of the PNW, where treatment there'd be hugely slowed by it
Sat 21 February 26: Whew -- what a morning... Had an somewhat early (0700) appt at a doc for MRI... found morning traffic on a route thought to be clear due to no school-mums-in-minivans on weekend, wasn't exactly true -- where are you all going, midtown-Wailuku, @ 0650 on Sat...? Five mins late Headed into the bldg... hmm, no one here yet. No one at the MRI office next door either. Then saw weekend hours are 0800 - 1600... So headed out to get breakfast, as wouldn't be able to talk to anyone to figure this out, until 0800. Back, and talked to registrar... "Due for an appt for MRI at 0800, says here" **taps keyboard** "No, can't be. MRI office is shut down on weekends" "Maybe could be a PM appt they mistakenly gave me?" "Nope -- whole bldg closes for the weekend 1600. Says here you're scheduled for one in Mar" Scrolling through my virus-addled, unreliable brain for any memory of a reschedule. Took out phone and looked up the Mar date -- sure enough date was added and marked for the appt. Forgot to wipe the old appt from my schedule. Apologised... and went to eat my breakfast in the car Goddamnit. All that rushing around for a ten-second mistake Which is weird, as when rescheds happen, usually just chg the date on the original appt, no need to create and delete two records. Perhaps because the appt was rescheduled twice, is what threw me off. One thing to be grateful for, is all that rushing around was more than enough to sub for morning laps. Could've done w/o the cortisol brimming my blood tho So no lap times today. Actually, feel worse for some reason on the wakeup. Like I need more sleep, despite getting 7.5 hrs. Must be the call of the Stressed Liver again... I get it -- can't detox the Dangerous Med plus these lesser stressors, and expect no consequences
Addendum, Sat 21 Feb 26: Did I mention the ganky autocomplete in this forum's a real downer? Who the hell programmed this trainwreck? And a coward too, since it doesn't make its wrong, Engrish-like substitutions, until after I hit Post Little epilogue, about the knee... Hasn't felt this good in a long time. Gonna chalk a little of that to the NSAIDs for this cold, but been using a week so should be much less a factor now. The knee can do things it simply couldn't, a month ago... like support my weight immediately after getting up, rather than spend a minute massaging thigh muscles first. Still doesn't like a lot of fan blowing on it all night (esp now that I sleep 7 - 8 hrs) but not nearly as bad as the last few months of '25. Walking on it... couple of times found myself, catching myself -- drifting into a normal that remembers my knee being 100% functional, and naturally doing things as before the injury. Doing those things caused a bit of a tweak to remind me the past actually happened... but nowhere near as slapped down. It's a weird place to be -- maybe some of you've experienced this as old hat playing field sports... but I've never injured lower body joints, maybe twist an ankle a dozen times but never enough to cause 6 mos of recovery. It's humbling, but also forces one to focus on the prize -- getting back on that horse. Perhaps that gung-ho attitude held me back a bit, in 50s. Learnt the body needs more care, close to 60. Sure you can push it, and probably impress yourself (like my 2-mi times 5y ago)... but the body will extract a heavier toll w/ each year, often preventing further excursions to the envelope. Once over 60... think the amt I'll need to see the doc's gonna do nothing but increase. Can already feel some of this, returning to having a simple cold after 20y+... and how long it's taking to get over it (granted, the med's taken down the main metabolic organ in the body, so was bound to happen). That said, didn't really set myself up for longevity, eating what I did 20y+, in the amts I did. Basically used my body as a filter for the cheapest, greatest-profit poisonous junk sold in the country... and what I've taken in damage is wholly my fault, 'born again' as a clean eater. Can't expect the same day of passing as if I'd kept my old salad-loving habits, coming back to the US that fateful NYE, two generations ago. Anyhow... gotta hold the little victories in your hands, really look at them, up here. Lots on this forum 15 - 20y older than me... but they've got more to worry about than reading this pish I just know what I know... and the decades of expectations I'd made of my body, have changed, permanently. Change with it, whilst your hardass head still can, Fyooch
Sorry, nothing of note for Sun, as were slamming down in a new front passing over the state. Obvi no laps as am still under-weather Aaaand nothing today either, as have jury duty. So no laps (correspondingly no knee issues)... just trying to get past this, but will fail as will soon be shoved into a tiny courtroom full of other sick people Something of note tho... Have been taking milk thistle religiously in this liver-hammering regimen of med... only a week left (flwp appt in a few days). Already using the max per day, but had not seen any benefit for tangible benefit to the liver. Remember am taxing the liver, as being the main metabolic organ in the body, were already being weakened by the med... plus now providing energy thru a viral attack (probably lack of immune response is why I've caught the first cold in 20y). So to give it a chance began milk thistle supplementation. It seems to be working -- forgot my dose of thistle whilst taking the drug only, and did feel noticeably weaker -- more cold, more ache-y. All the regular symptoms of cold that plague everyone. Just less of that 'c'mon get off yer arse' reserve, had to reach somewhat deeper. And taking it again last night, better on the wakeup. So endorsement from a study of one, milk thistle does help the liver -- at least w/ its primary job of metabolism. NAC is only slightly improving recovery from this particular cold virus, and does cause problems if taken too long (as does milk thistle)... so have only taken it when needing to exert, or before bed when the body can rest and repair. What an unwelcome squatter cramp in my style, this damned cold on my handicapped immune system... and later have to go wait in a room of other surly jurors long hours today, with no doubt their own viruses in tow
Mon 23 Feb 26: Cold + jury duty. Cannot divulge anything about the case... so just my impressions of the experience... Rained all morning. Since Wailuku (where the County Courthouse is) is higher on the windward side of the West Maui Mountains & directly exposed to trades from the 1500-mi front currently mid-armpit atop us... by noon were still dumping. And by 'dumping', 100-ft-visibility, dumping. And since it's a weekday in Wailuku (the County seat where all the gov't bldgs are), have to park in a structure 300 yds away, and walk in it. Great... glad to have my bumbershoot Cold is still with me -- no surprise there. But had an old person's pill vial on my keychain loaded up w/ Advil gelcaps, so as not to shiver (and possibly make the cold worse) in the drafty-arse 4th floor benches in the bldg, outside the courts. Actually felt rather good, considering I'd not had lunch yet, due to the bug in my belly Was the usual roll call and introduction to the principals + Honourable magistrate. Then came the exception hearing, to see whose excuses were actually valid / harmful to the case. I had one (actually two), and the judge kindly excused me. End of story Had a sandwich on the way home, tasted fantastic. Even the rain seemed to let up a bit After a week having to wave off client after client with this cold... am so glad scheduling can resume probably Wed (it's slow, but do feel on the mend). Slowest effing recovery from any virus ever... but guess that's too bad, dissing my liver 3 wks with a hepatotoxic med
Thu 26 Feb 26: Sorry for the gap (though doubt anyone seriously misses these; thanks for anyone who do) -- after the jury duty were out of the way, had to get under this damned cold -- turns out tho the low-level symptoms permitted some exertion... once really going for it (like washing the car), the symptoms sapped my energy quickly -- humbling, and rather surprising, considering how pleasurable that chore used to be. So Tue and Wed, just concentrated on lots of good sleep / rest and 'sweating out' what remained of the colonies of stragglers still touring my bloodstream and tissues... what a squatter of a goddamned cold. And talking to some friends / clients (to tell them I were cancelling due to this bug) who'd exp'd eerily similar symptoms from AUS, East Coast, Bali, and SK... a globetrotting virus indeed. Hits, doesn't bash you on 1st infection... but quickly causes constant sneezing & makes your face gush w/ clear mucus like a fire hose (my head symptoms), then hacking cough and loads of clear phlegm (chest symptoms), then irregular appetite and the trots (yep, my gut symptoms). No incendiary fever, no bedridden weakness... but lasts for weeks. F%$#&@ng cold... Anyhow -- today took first clients since 2w-ago Fri . Good sessions, caught up with a Bali client. Boy was nice to have cash flow again -- big bills coming Obvi, no laps. Haven't done since turning sick last week, in fact. Have been walking in place after meals tho so knees don't feel too bad. If you're exp'g a lingering, clinging cold (and for y'all stuck in places below freezing for highs during the day, have an inkling you do)... sweating out the cold has done leagues of work in a short time. Can do this many ways, but the easiest is just to swaddle up in a comfy chair during day and in bed during night. Socks on, the works. May need to undress and change wet layers during the night (why I prefer it during daytime) to avoid chilling and relapse... but when done right it's de facto effective for showing a cold the door. Been so long since I've had one, forgot to do it Had never used Mucinex DM before (dextromethorphan + guaifenisin)... and have some mixed reviews. On one hand, in the chest stage would've been miserable and had more problems spring from chronic cough (like inability to sleep) w/o it, from jump. On the other... produces at least in me, some strange lingering symptoms that tend to blur when exactly recovery's happening, if at all (intermittent body aches, and a wooden-headed feeling)... whilst like on schedule, dropping its cough-suppression / expectorant abilities bang-on @12 hrs. Which is why after a week using it, have weaned then dropped it -- voila, the symptoms went too. Esp the body aches / twinges of that feverish sort of pain on exertion, defo fooled me into thinking this'd last longer than it did. Could be some of it wasn't being filtered out and metabolised (remember, still on the liver-punishing med), so pinch of salt. Oh -- had a visit to the doc who prescribed the hepatotoxic med... told him the symptoms, specifically the fact I'd not had a cold in 20y until taking this med. Pivoted to coincidence and plausible deniability as most med pros tend to default... but also ordered a blood draw to monitor liver status -- which one wouldn't do, unless that symptom raised a flag, Did it this morning... so we'll see when labs are published. Since this regimen's supposed to go on a few refills... understandably interested in what that draw finds
Fri 27 Feb 26: A bit about a past session, and what value it may have for those here suffering from old joint injuries... emphasis on may, nothing here is intended to be medical advice, consult your doc w/ concerns, yadda-yadda... --- May have mentioned before, but first time finding an injured client since developing this tnq, to test on other cases of the same affliction. My knee's been recovering rapidly since upper floor lap regimen, but there was a point of diminishing returns. Got the muscle built, got the ligaments free of any adhesions and misalignment possible w/ my level of expertise... but something were still 'wrong'. When pushing the joint to its outer limits, some of the splinting returned -- with a sharp jab of pain to teach me. Luckily had the other knee as a control... and sussed out the original limits, which 4 mos ago were excruciatingly-enforced as impossible to reach... were now on the doorstep of the recovered knee's ROM, alongside routine and 'normal-for-recovered' activity / ROM. Meaning these limits would be comfortably bumped up against on regular basis, thus constant splinting if something weren't done. So what to do... Dug into my books / pubs on alternate modalities I'd not used in some time, like Egoscue Method and Advanced Muscle Reconditioning (AMR). Had been using bits and bobs from these and a few other modalities for some time now... but none had been tested (at least recently) on a major joint injury, let alone on me. In AMR, found the fundamentals of the tnq useful on a daily basis in nerve and tissue-to-tissue adhesion release... so wondered if it'd have worth, when tendinous and ligamentous attachments vs. simple muscle fascia, were damaged and healed adhered (specifically, by stretch)? The only spots still causing > 5/10 pain in the knee (and / or jump sign) were the old medial knee spot from the very beginning. Logically taking from why that spot'd do that... went to the back of the knee, where the first muscles known to be splinting after the injury, were attached (semitendinosus / semimembranosus, the medial hams). Found the right evidence of both damage and scar tissue healing there, along with a significant amt of tension, even w/ the knee bent @ 90º. Stood and tensioned the area more, applied AMR tnqs... and waited. Wasn't long (abt 3 hrs) before I could feel the difference. Not sure why tendinous tissue took this long to do so (in AMR on fascia, ranges from instantly to ~ 5 - 15 mins for results)... but the result was staggering: full extension of the knee, into its hard limits, w/o pain for the first time since Sep. Those hard limits were still not full 0º extension as the left knee... but the lack of pain were so strange, almost wanted for the familiar sign of reaching it. Astounding... That was tendinous damage. The real test, were if this worked on any ligaments w/ stretch damage... Oddly, only found the signs in the lateral knee, where it struck and folded atop the lip of the bucket, that cursed morning washing the car. Right where the impact happened (and apparently caused a knot to form a few months in the lateral quad attaching close to that area)... was the sign -- and despite logically not seeming the place where the most damage would occur in a compound hyperextension / medial ligament injury... there it was. So why not work it and see what would happen. The result wasn't as dramatic as the tendon work... which makes sense as ligament isn't contractile tissue. But it is full of nerve endings and serves a separate network distinct from the normal motor / sensory nervous system... with its own red phone connections to both brain and spinal cord. Changing it, would change its dialogue -- and about a day later doing the laps not long ago... the benefits were defo there. Being able to squat again, being the first. Ligaments aren't really tested in their elastic limits until the joint is, so given the pain in a full squat were 20% vs. 80% before the work... judged the change not a figment. Looking at my client's injury (rolled ankle causing vast scar tissue limiting ROM), first point of attack had to be the tendons involved. Very few were, w/ no AMR signs. But the ligaments... dear God. Far worse than my knee... and not the first layer of them to be untangled and freed. So worked them probably 15 full mins -- the most severe case of these signs I'd yet seen. Took about that long for the results and release... but wouldn't know for sure, until they return from an overseas trip later next month. The gait told volumes, tho -- and gait isn't something one's usually aware of, even if it's a large change (unless your vocation depended on it, like a model or high-tension wire dog for a utility company). More smooth, more transfer of weight to the ankle, less asymmetry walking away. Busy client, soon as time were up already in their phone and f***ing off out the door. But given how they trotted to their car (versus the obvious intent walking up)... there's something to this new protocol, I'm eager to dig into
Sat 28 Feb 26: Man this cold just will not stop clinging to its misery-spreading life -- still have the clear phlegm, still have the occasional body ache (which resolves of course doing chores anyway). Been > 2 full wks of this. probably the worst cold for longevity I've ever had. Now, not sure if the immune suppression caused by pharmaceutical liver siege has to do with its infuriating squat in my gut, just wish it would f*** off. Any cold remedies are reduced to nighttime-only, and only if needed -- last night popped one of those God-awful-tasting Mucinex horse pills, and got great sleep as a result, if small wonk morning after... discussed prior). All other supplementation is same-as. No results re: liver function test blood draw, am eager to hear what that has to say and what it'll mean for the med and the affliction it's treating. Good work y'dy tho -- some new, one cherished old client, and others in between. Thank God for that -- have the car note coming up soon. Appears the experimental tendon / ligament protocol worked on two more clients, taking that from the number remaining needed to graduate it to full-bird, diagnostic / therapeutic protocol. Also seems to work on stretch damage to synovial membranes around joints, another subject of research. Doesn't respond to the same palpation as tens / ligs... but does to a slightly-modded version. Not enough work to really know what exactly to do when... but did improve pain in the context of the sessions it were used in; needs more bodies-on-table to know its in-bounds... Knee's felt better than it's ever felt -- even trips in the car punish a shadow in stiffness vs. 2 mos ago. Significantly tho, have not pushed it since last week. Perhaps what it wants, the rest? Which means this injury's taking a normal therapeutic exercise regimen, and inverted it for effort : time. Tbh, the L leg were beginning to get stiff as well, even noticing week-on-week improvement in walking / running perf w/ mall laps. So maybe, end of the regimen's near...? Will get back into it once this damned cold has f***ed off, just to be sure
