Righ!!?? It's the same with the prosperity Gospel people who say that loving Jesus means nothing bad happens to you. I'm like...uh....ever heard of the Apostles? They did NOT end up living happily ever after in a McMansion with a trophy wife, 2.5 kids enrolled in private school, and a BMW. It became a cultural movement largely shaped by economic/marketing forces - specifically the ability to sell "Christian" stuff without being tied to a particular church or seminary. Christianity is sadly not much more than a brand name for many people, same as "Lululemon". I can buy the leggings and have the logo on my water bottle but it doesn't mean I actually do yoga.

This actually was just in the news in June or July, so after the pandemic being "over". It's cheap and safe so I'd think not that hard to get a doctor to prescribe? A quick google has headlines about it from quite a few medical schools and medical centers. https://news.unchealthcare.org/2023/06/study-shows-metformin-lowers-long-covid-risk/

long shot - but I get this when I have a nerve pinched in my neck or shoulder from sleeping wrong. I wonder if since you have been basically bed ridden you might have compressed something? Hugs. I hope it is something temporary and fixable!

Oh, that's right. I'm sorry! I misremembered. That had to be hard. We have SO many more options for treatment of autoimmune drugs now, but back then yeah, I bet prednisone was one of the only options.

Metformin!!!! It is also shown to reduce chances of Long Covid symptoms by about 40%. But specifically regarding clots: In conclusion, metformin treatment in COVID-19 patients with DM was associated with lower markers of inflammation, renal ischemia, and thrombosis, and fewer hospitalized days and intubation requirement. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8764325/#:~:text=In conclusion%2C metformin treatment in,required to support these findings.

Remember, if you don't feel depressed that usually means they are working. I would NOT advise weaning off right now, when everything is so crazy pants. If life settles down then you could talk to a doctor about doing so.

It is an autoimmune disease, so treated with many of the same drugs as other autoimmune diseases. Interestingly, like other AI diseases it can be triggered by an infection - so it is possible when your son was sick you were infected and your body overreacted and triggered it. But it's impossible to know what the trigger was for sure.

i totally feel this. I was doing yoga every day, often an hour at a time, walking, etc and feeling great. Then it got back again (I forget what I did ....i think I was moving bags of mulch) and had to stop. Right now I am doing the DDPY Back Pain series, just the first two, off and on and can do those. But when it was really flared couldn't do those either. what is often called "bird dog" pose is really really good for this, BUT you have to be sure you are using your actual glutes...go slow and concentrate on using them, rather than concentrating on getting the leg high. And keep your hips level - what helps me do that is focusing on keeping the front of my pelvis level to the ground. i can't visualize the back of my hips well enough to try to keep them level, but I can the front for whatever reason. (brains are weird) Start just with putting the leg up, then work up to lifting the opposite arm. Really stretch that leg backward to the far side of the room as well, to elongate the spine.

Thanks all! I did ice it last night before going to sleep, and between that and sleep and ibuprofen and such it was better this morning. A bit twingy again now after doing school work and chores and reading and different things that cause me to use that arm, but not as bad as yesterday. Will repeat ice/rest/ibuprofen/cannabis tonight and I bet it is fine by tomorrow. Thank you for the ice recommendation - I had tried heat but the ice worked better.

I've used a few different brands. All seem about the same for me - magnesium is pretty cheap so it isn't like they have to cut corners like with a more expensive thing. It's basially epsom salts, which are super cheap, but in a different form 🙂

Hiking uphill, or doing stairs, will likely be hard. Bring meds, use ice, etc. Tens unit can help if it is nerve pain. Flat hiking sure. Go slowly, and listen to your body. Stop if it starts to hurt, because it will hurt more the next day if you don't.

Yup. PT for you. And google. And yes, building your core - the deepest layer of abdominals, will help. But for me it was my weak glutes - turns out I use all the other muscles, not my glutes, for pretty much everything. I injured the tendons most likely - as I had a fairly sudden onset - but the muscle imbalance is why it hurts.

One key test for SI joint is that if you go to point to the pain (without touching) you use a finger to point to a specific area. If it is more normal back pain people are less able to specify a place where it hurts. Mind you, it doesn't hurt to the TOUCH in that spot, it is deep inside.

Sounds like maybe SI joint. It's part of the pelvis, so having it out of whack can cause pain anywhere around the pelvis - back where the SI joint is OR in the front groin area nearer to the pubic bone, or in the hip. It often jumps around. (SI joint and Pirformis and PSOAS are linked - one influences the other. In my experience tight quads and weak hamstrings are a big part of the problem. Try massaging your quads and see if it helps the back pain. I'd ask for referral to PT, they can help figure out what is going on.

How is your breathing? O2 saturation? Any other lab abnormalities like anemia or anything that are impacting fatigue? Or just from the (presumed) lymphoma itself? I know fatigue is a big symptom for lymphoma. I guess you don't have to answer that, I'm just wishing there was a way to help you have less fatigue.

I'm sure it will be better before I could get a PT appointment. I do have a gift certificate to an infrared spa place, if it is still hurting I will go on thursday or friday, as it is right next to the drop off program my kids go to on those days. I'm pretty sure it is exactly that, knots are putting pressure on a nerve. It is absolutely from holding my shoulders/arms up too high for too long. I keep doing range of motion exercises and dropping my shoulders which helps a bit. Hot bath with epsom salts in on my list!

The issue becomes, who decides what should be covered, and how well it must be covered? If I decide we are covering American History this year with a focus on Native peoples, and the assessment is on World Geography this year, we'd have issues, lol. Or if my kids are experts on ecology rather than physics. I do like the idea of kids being judged on progress though, rather than level of achievement. I've been happy with our portfolio system here, where you show work samples and a list of books/resources used and then a certified teacher has to sign off that the child is making progress commensurate with ability. Mind you, you can pick what teacher you use, and most are homeschoolers themselves and willing to sign off on anything that at least shows your kid is doing work of some kind and not in a basement. More importantly it means that every homeschool kid has at least minimal contact with a mandated reporter each year.

The ability to vet a source and decide what is and isn't reliable information is sort of important. Some sources and the "knowledge" they presenta re definitely better than others. To pretend that isn't true is silly. Fine. California doesn't exist, based on my lack of observation of it. Neither do the stars or planets. We just live in a dome with a heat lamp on a timer.

Right after reading this thread I saw this video...seemed appropriate (about 1:45 in) https://fb.watch/mAR_3c_glo/

By that standard, I have no personal knowledge that any state west of Florida or north of Pennsylvania exists. So I mean, maybe most of the USA is a lie made up by the illuminati. I've also never seen a cow butchered, so maybe beef is actually made from humans who voted the wrong way. I've never personally seen soybeans growing in a field, maybe those are delivered here by aliens trying to control us via protein rich phytoestrogens! The idea of not believing as true that which we haven't seen personally is ridiculous.

I spent way too many hours in a row for several days in a row typing at a desk that was too high for me. I know I was basically holding my shoulders up and using my arm muscles in a weird way for several days, and now I'm paying the price - bit of a crick in my neck, some nerve stuff going down that arm. Yesterday at one point my hand was actually shaking after doing some more typing. I started massaging and found that basically I have a ton of knots (painful tense spots in the muscle) all over my left upper arm and into the forearm. Also one spot in my shoulder, but mostly my arm. Massaging the knots in the arm helps the neck pain, so pretty sure that is where it is all coming from. I was doing a bit of massage, and some CBD cream yesterday. Took some medical canabis laced chocolate (low dose and legal, approved by my doctor in place of muscle relaxers for my SI joint). I think that knocked me out too much and I slept on that arm weirdly and it is worse today. Just took some ibuprofen, have been massaging off and on as I do school with the kids, and am going to go rub some CBD cream on there and massage a bit more. Any other thoughts? Heat? This is super annoying, and that is the side I already have damage to my wrist from banging it on a door frame (200lbs of dog slammed my hand holding the leash into the metal door frame) two years ago. I'm sure it will go away on its own eventually, but sooner would be better than later, lol. I'm a wuss! (It's not so much painful as....icky. I HATE nerve pain with a passion - that tingly/pinchy/creeepy sensation does NOT do well with my sensory issues)

I will add, because I forgot to before, that the ESA that is being expanded to all homeschoolers here comes with agreeing to doing a standardized test at the end of the year. They will be collecting that data as part of a study (although the study doesn't start until 2027). I'm assuming the idea is to compare how well students are doing or something.

Praying for a straightforward path to wellness

This - food and shelter should not be seen as "enabling" in my opinion, but the absolute basics for survival. This person has already been homeless and lived on the streets, so it isn't as if kicking him out means he will figure out how to take care of himself and be gainfully employed and able to afford housing. This.

It's funny, I think my perception of teachers, and who goes into teaching, was permanently skewed after listening to my college roommate and her classmates complain about how much reading they had to do...and then asking and finding out they meant picture books. (no, they were not talking about a textbook for the class...literally complaining about reading picture books. Not about writing about them or whatever, just reading them)