ANTI Anti-inflammatory

It's been a while friends, life has been BUMPY and I needed an outlet. Here's the deal, remember me talking in the past about how terrifying it is to get old in a body that has never been young? A new dimension or I guess complication has arisen. You see, someone very close to me has had health issues related to regular use of anti-inflammatories.

It wasn't a huge surprise that too much Advil can shred your organs. My knee jerk reaction was over-dramatic and consisted of tears and a plan to go cold turkey. Don't get me wrong I do not pop them like they are candy. However, there have been periods of my life when doctors prescribed high doses of anti-inflammatories around the clock. We're talking every 6-8 hours for months.

A few things: First, my muscles are always tight. ALWAYS. Second, I don't like taking medicine. I'm not 100% wholistic or anything, but I refused pain pills after back surgery in favor of extra strength Tylenol, pain breathing and distraction. Third, weird medical things happen to me fairly regularly. So, here I am afraid for my loved one, who will be fine if they lay off anti-inflammatories for life, and panicking for myself.

Personally, Advil and such don't do much for me. It's the kind of thing I take after directing children's theatre on my feet for weeks at time. When I need it I take the maximum dose, usually once in a 24hrs period. If there are particularly strenuous things happening it may go one for anywhere up to a week. What all my pain breathing and distraction and pushing through isn't enough and an over-the-counter analgesics are going to shut down my organs?

I'm a 37-year-old mother of two, cerebral palsy or not Advil is occasionally on the menu. The way I understand it ibuprofen enters the bloodstream and just circulates hoping to come upon inflamed tissues and do its job. Obviously, not the ideal method for delivery and then the leftover Advil soup gets filtered through the poor kidneys. After enough attempts to strain the analgesic from your system the tissues of the kidney become damaged and blood flow, which is crucial, becomes impaired.

Talk to me about your ways to cope with inflammation. Non-obvious things especially are there diets or specific exercises tight people can execute without help that cut it down? Do any of you already have kidney issues related to analgesics? How are you coping?

Born Old

Pictures taken the day after I was born.

I was born old. Not old in spirit by any means. I, my friends am a permanent resident of Neverland. I mean physically old.

Ironically my body is so much older than my true age because I was early. I had big things to do and I wasn't going to waste any more time than necessary gestating. Unfortunately, there was a supply and demand issue between my brain and oxygen due to being ahead of schedule. Survival's always been my thing so no biggie, but I drew the walk funny card.

It's kind of like Sleeping Beauty most of what I got was a boat load of amazing, but you know there's one baby curserer at every party.

I didn't realize how "old" I've always been until freshman year of collage when we had to observe the way children and old people moved. When I watched an elderly woman come out the front door of a building, pause at the top of the front steps, find the railing, lean into the railing and cautiously lower her foot to the step. I saw myself. I move like an elderly person.

At the time I filed that under "interesting" and didn't think to much about. Then I got hit crossing the street, got pregnant and had a baby and generally started getting older.

I live in a body with faulty wiring. My brain relentlessly misinforming my muscles so that they ratchet down as tight as my frame will allow. I'm just along for the bumpy ride.

What will another decade or two mean to my joints, muscles, tendons used and abused by my wonky gait all this time...

My physical therapist in elementary school informed me in a mater-of-fact way that I would blow out my knees by the time I was a teenager. She was wrong-o I still have two functional knees. My horrible orthopedic surgeon when Miss Roo was tiny assured me with God like authority that my left hip would have to be replaced within the year, still got that too. Although, he was a quack in general and wasn't to be trusted (not that I knew that back then). There have been so many who thought they could "fix me", pray away the cerebral palsy, bulk me up, change me or ignore my limitations. Well meaning people can do be so misguided, it's a shame. We all know what they say about opinions, ha!

I remain cautiously optimistic, in spite of my fears, about aging. I remain me. I just keep moving forward. I keep adapting and lord knows, I keep aging...