Just a little update post on me.
Let's do the old-people thing first where we talk about our health problems.
So if you recall, I had a total hip replacement of my left hip in November, 2020.
I am cleared by my surgeon to do basically whatever I want. But the truth is, I'm not fully recovered from the surgery, so while I have no official restrictions, I absolutely have a limit on how long I can train in a given period of time.
My surgeon says that unfortunately, younger people (yeah, for a hip replacement, 52 is "young") have a harder time because we're so much more active and we struggle with more inflammation.
The normal treatment is anti-inflammatories, and it works great for most people. I'm not one of those people, as I can't take anti-inflammatory drugs because I have kidney disease.
So I have a stiff hip much of the time. Exercise and time will take care of it, but it's still pretty annoying. That being said, it's nowhere near as difficult to deal with as it was pre-surgery, so I'm glad I did the surgery.
I've also been struggling with pretty intense right shoulder pain for almost two years now. It's been diagnosed as a number of issues - bursitis, small partial tear in the rotator cuff, a few bone spurs, tendonitis. I've had cortisone shots (two), I've had physical therapy.
The pain is still there, and it's increasing over the past few weeks.
So back to the surgeon I go in a couple of weeks. This might be the most frustrating injury I've ever had.
Finally, since I was diagnosed with migraine, the meds I take to help me prevent them have one major side effect - weight gain.
Back in 2015-2016, I dropped about 35 pounds and was about 5 pounds away from my goal weight. Then I started on the meds, and all that weight came back.
I've also developed hypothyroidism, and I started medication for that. That also contributes to the weight gain I experienced over the past few years.
I promise you, it's possible to not lose weight eating 1000 calories a day or so. It's a more complicated topic than you might think.
I recently met with a dietician, tweaked some major things about my eating habits. I hope these changes will help lower my blood pressure and improve my thyroid, to the point where I can change the migraine medicine I am taking to one that doesn't cause weight gain (and maybe not need the thyroid med too).
The biggest changes I've made based on her advice is no more artificial sweeteners as much as possible, and no more skipping meals to train or run around with my kid.
I'm adding in a few supplements as well.
Let's hope this works.
I'mma gonna miss my Diet Dr. Pepper, no lie.
As COVID restrictions wind down, we're ramping up our training. I'm planning on going to, or hosting, a number of seminars and camps this year. There's some really great ones on the horizon, and I talk about them in my Friday posts, so I really encourage you to check those out and maybe join me.
As much as I enjoy cross-training in other styles, between my schedule, my injuries, and my interests, I don't think I'll be doing much outside of the Arnis world in 2021.
I really want to join a tai chi group, but the timing of classes is really difficult for me to get to consistently.
Plus, my mind is just very... deep... in Arnis right now. It's the only thing that really scratches that itch, y'know?
I'm sure I've lost most of you by now, so I'm gonna wrap this up. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I'm grateful to all of you who read these posts, comment either here or in social media, and especially share. Y'all rock.
Are you struggling with health or weight issues? How are you addressing those? What's your training goals like right now? Let us know in the comments!