Here and Now

Well, I will finally come more to the here and now and let you know what I am working up to.But first I will back track about 12 years. One morning I woke up with my right knee swollen and stiff and hurting. No real working up to this took place so I was surprised and I was sure I had not injured it. I could not completely straighten the leg out. From then on for about four and a half months to five months I was in pain. The twenty four seven kind of pain. I could hardly believe that after I was off my feet and lying down I could not get any relief. It felt like my knee was on fire inside.

There were about five steps up to the office I worked in and it was all I could do to get up those stairs. One morning I woke up and that pain was gone to a great extent. The knee felt stiff but it did not hurt so terribly. I was relieved and thought maybe the episode was at an end.

Some months later I woke the same way one morning except this time it was my left knee. I could not even lay anyway that did not hurt. I tried propping the knee up with pillows, finally I did learn that it seemed to help to lay in kind of a spoon fashion on my side with a couple of pillows between my knees so they did not touch. I could not stand that at all. I tried warm baths in epsom salts, I soaked in a hot tub, I rubbed on several brands of arthritic rubs took arthritis pain relievers, but it was still twenty four seven.

For some time the knees took turns, first one and then the other. I kept thinking that I would really be in trouble if they both got that way at the same time. Eventually that was the case and during the last year to two years before discovering what the problem was, my left hip and left shoulder were involved also. I was becoming disabled from the joint problems. There were movements I could no longer make. It became very difficult for instance, to step into the tub.

Besides the joint pain, I had skin problems. My elbows and up the back of my arms were covered with what looked like psoriasis. My sleep was very interuppted, fatigue, and finally near the end I had heart palpitations.

One day at a checkout stand I noticed a caption on the cover of a women's magazine. It said, "IS YOUR DIET SODA MAKING YOU SICK." I bought a copy and read it as soon as I got home. I knew as soon as I read the short article that I had found the answer to my problem. It was aspartame. I never drank another diet soda and made an appointment with a new doctor because I could see that I needed some specialized help.

Here is a list of things that had been reported as caused by aspartame:

Endocrine system out of whack
Thyroid problems
Migraines
Vertigo
Skin problems
Medications not working

Actually the endocrine system can produce a number of problems including heart palpitations, sleep problems, heat intolerance and some others.

I had all of these except the migraines thank goodness.

Long story short within three weeks of my last diet soda the skin problems had disappeared, within two to three months the joint pain was much better. I have come a long way in reversing things but not full circle and maybe I never can.

I really would like to skate again but I know that I will have to work on balance, losing weight and in general getting into better shape. When your leg hurts you favor the one that hurts worse and it really plays with your balance.

I was grown before I realized that skating had been something I actually had a passion for. It was my sport. I know of a number of people my age and older that still participate in some very physical activities. Including skating and tennis and a number of things, but I am not aware of any that had to give up physical activity and then get back into something like this, though I am there have been some.

From here on I will be telling about exercises and experiences I have in getting a second chance to do something that was so much fun. I am thinking that by putting this in writing maybe I will not give up but be more inclined to see it through, The blog will end when I am rolling again.