encouraging to me to know i'm not the only one to have discovered that muscle relaxants are a necessity for the dentist.

for me its that plus my "bag o pillows"! i take a small couch pillow for under my knees, a small air lumbar pillow that i can adjust for the small of my back, and my neck pillow. my dentist like many has some arthritis type issues from all those years hunched over patients in odd positions for so many hours each day, so understands.......well, he just left his practice to another, but he seems very understanding as well, and the entire rest of the staff stayed the same, so nice that they are so accommodating! they also let me stand up in between whenever possible. and let me close my mouth and move my jaw around as often as possible.

i also have found a tylenol right after the procedure helps with any pain as the novocaine wears off.

and i use zanaflex as my muscle relaxant for both dental and other medical procedures (like US's, MRI's, etc). i take it 30 minutes before the start of my appointment so its kicking in as they are starting. it only knocks me out for about an hour, hour and a half (mostly while i'm there) and by hour say 2-2.5 i'm coming out of the muscle relaxant fog and i'm good to go shortly thereafter. the muscle relaxant effects last 5-6 hours, but the low blood pressure is only 1-2 hours long. its a great choice, i think, the short activity gives great flexibility, that's the main reason my physiatrist put me on this one in particular so many years ago.

me, getting ready for my trip, too much work to do, did do a few errands around campus today to make up a bit for not walking, but home early tomorrow to walk then pack and finish my medical resume. wanted to work on it more this evening, but needed to catch up on sleep.

GO TEAM! cheerleader

i remember trish saying something about being busy (with swim season maybe?) but had been thinking about TINK just the other day! TINK if you see this, (and trish too) know we are thinking of you! heart



sue

Spondyloarthropathy, HLAB27 negative
Humira (still methylprednisone for flares, just not as often. Aleve if needed, rarely.)
LDN/zanaflex/flector patches over SI/ice
vits C, D. probiotics. hyaluronic acid. CoQ, Mg, Ca, K.
chiro
walk, bike
no dairy (casein sensitivity), limited eggs, limited yeast (bread)