Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Cell Therapy - Miracles for Modern Agers


Just received the news I have arthritis - which sounds minor, but its not. Suddenly everything makes sense - the deterioration of my back, the pain I fight, which seems to come in on waves of multi-level layers. At times I've been unable to hold a pen or pencil...weird disruptions in muscles - fire balls shooting through areas of body - traveling, nothing consistent.

The docs are once again passing me around because of other things - no one wants to take responsibility to treat, just in case some standard medication kills me I guess, haha. So I'm trying to make it work with Tylenol. So far, can't even get an anti-inflammatory, only offers of surgery.

I have come across one interesting treatment: Stem Cells! These cells are harvested from the illiac crest (the inside of the hip area) and then injected (not that simple, lots of steps in between) into the affected joints. No mention of embryos, hooray! This confirms what I've been reading about our own bodies being marvelous sources of stem cells to treat ourselves, should they be needed.

This would explain why the back surgeon was going to pack the area of my back he wanted to fix with the bone marrow & bone from the illiac crest. How cool is that! "H" is incredibly bored when I regale him with facts I glean from medical research and is irritated when I'm right.

It's because men's brains are arranged like tidy boxes and ours (women) run amok like a Machiavellian subway system all at once, criss-crossing, and constantly moving. Eh eh.

Soooo - I feel peace - conquered worse - just a nuisance, a bump in the trail of life. I'm still going to boogy, paint, and garden and probably irritate a few more people! I've become a student of chronic pain, and sometimes conquer it for a few weeks here and there and then I begin bragging about feeling so well. So, I tell IT, so what! So damn what!!! And so there!

I know what to do - all the alternative to medicine things.

I've been studying anti-aging medicine. I would highly recommend Suzanne Somers book, "Breakthrough." She postulates that since the medical world can keep us alive into a ripe old age, well, then, why not feel good till we die? Why get sick, crippled, and debilitated when there are so many ways to prevent it such as hormone treatment (which is quite controversial since some of the hormones are considered "performance enhancing" - well, ya, living is sort of a performance, isn't it?) and supplementation, radical diet changes and exercise.

It is beyond me why attempting to maintain an organic, toxin free, diet and water supply, and supplementation is considered extreme? Anti-aging medicine is still considered extreme, while slowly dying of preventable disease is not extreme. The very wealthy, all very quietly are able to obtain all the treatment they need IF they are so inclined to stay healthy and active until death. Maybe the fight against the "performance enhancing" medications is really a form of euthanasia? Sick, demented? Aw, just stick em in an old age warehouse, who needs 'em?

I'm now beginning to understand the things that used to irritate me with my grandma, whom I dearly loved. Her fading sight, short temper, (although it was rumoured to always being that way), complaints of pain she could barely stand, weakness of body - she really should have moved in with us so she could have had regular meals. It got so I had two houses to clean, two laundry duties, two yard duties, for many years - but it was ok. Now, I'm grateful I was able to do it. Ya never know till ya walk a mile in their shoes - so they say.

7 comments:

mister anchovy said...

I hope you find good treatment for your arthritis!

Gardenia said...

Rereading this - it sounded bad - my grandma's decline did not irritate me - it was her anger and frustration at losing her sight, her strength - her life essentially that irritated me. This was the woman who had a hip replacement and crawled through her garden digging potatoes shortly afterward - I did not understand her flipping on all the lights in my house in the day time - or her pain. , the woman wo walked everywhere she went in a town of 8,000, rain, snow or sunshine, until I moved back there. Makes me feel bad now that I didn't have that understanding she needed.

Wandering Coyote said...

My dad has had bad arthritis for years as a result of his job (he's now retired). It's particularly bad in his neck. He does a series of exercises every morning that really helps. Perhaps you could look into seeing a physio therapist just once to see what they have to say. I've also heard that staying away from nightshades (peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes) helps a lot with arthritis. Just some other options. I hope you get some relief. Chronic pain is the shits.

Cherie said...

Happy for you that you understand why you are having these pains - chronic pain is just what WC says it is, I suppose. Knock on wood I've not encountered it myself.

I've been wondering about Suzanne Sommer's book. Thanks for the mini-review. I think I'll pick it up.

The information about stem cells - fascinating and hopeful. Imagine, your own body healing itself in such a 'natural' way.

I'm rooting for you!

punxxi said...

make sure you use the tylonol for arthritis! I have been takeing some stuff called osteo-bi-flex...it works on me and it works great and fast compared to most of those things, they say 2 weeks, but it took less than that for my achey thumbs to stop hurting!

tweetey30 said...

I hope you find peace in your pain. I know my grandmother and great grandmother had troubles. I remember watching them both and it was terrible some days. But glad you have your good days to catch up on all things said.

Gardenia said...

thanks everyone - I take something called "Joint" and Osteodenx, (will try a month on the Oseo bi and see what happens!) am bad about loving "nightshade" veggies - they are all acidic - since I wrote this, I upped my water to 9 ph alkaline and the intake to a gallon per day and already have some relief. I see a therapist tomorrow for thumb splints which doesn't make sense to me as I thought you were supposed to exercise and move! But I'll be good and try it.