this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2023
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Gen X, the meh generation

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A community for Gen X, those born between 1965 and 1980. Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z are welcome as long as the topic is Gen X or related. Abusive, racist or anti-LGBTQIA+ commentary/users will be removed.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 11 months ago (6 children)

yoga. yoga, and more yoga. nothing as good for those joints as stretching.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

As a 50+ GenX who can easily sit in Lotus and tough my forehead to me knees in forward bend...yep.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Came here to say the same. Seconded! ⬆️

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

For me, it's swimming. Similar concept though...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Lay off the sugar and carbs in all its forms. Yes you can still eat them, just don't binge on them or rely on them.

Sugar does the same to the body as pouring it into the gas tank of a piston engine .... it destroys the internal systems and stops the vehicle from running.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

As a hypermobile person with pain from a lifetime of casually overextending and overflexing- Pilates

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Prednisone.

And yoga.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

Hot singles hate her because she"s solved joint pain with this one weird trick

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hot shingles in your area.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Burning shingles in your area .... your abdominal area.

I've had shingles .... it's like someone took a blow torch to your skin and there's nothing you can do about it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Glucosamine, curcumin with pepper, heat, regular exercise, dietary changes to reduce inflammation, top up with ibuprofen or paracetamol but be careful about doing that too much or in too large quantities. Especially ibuprofen.

On a related note, one of osteoarthritis's most common comorbities is depression. That may be down to inflammation. That's why some people report that ibuprofen can reduce their symptoms, although you obviously shouldn't use ibuprofen regularly. If applicable, perhaps you've noticed you get particularly sad when your OA flares up, this is something to maybe talk about with your doctor.

Also notify your doctor if you're taking supplements. Some interact with medication and dosage is key.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8883119/

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The primary reason you shouldn't use ibuprofen on a regular basis is that it causes ulcers in the digestive tract.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

And it's impact on the ~~liver~~ kidneys.

I'd say tylenol is perhaps a bigger issue, becuase research shows it's nowhere near as effective as once thought. Weird.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I think Acetaminophen is the one that is likely to cause liver damage. It's fairly easy to exceed the processing capabilities of the liver with Acetaminophen and when that happens it causes liver damage. Also, since Acetaminophen is incorporated into so many other products like cough syrups and sinus and headache pills, people end up taking more than they realize because they take 2-3 products at a time. So Acetaminophen overdoses end up being surprisingly common.

https://www.goodrx.com/classes/nsaids/nsaids-ibuprofen-bad-liver-kidneys

Extended Ibuprofen use can cause kidney damage though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Saw a stat recently that the #1 overdose (and overdose mortalities) seen in hospitals is acetaminophen, by a significant margin (orders of magnitude more than all opiods/opiates if I remember correctly, but don't quote me).

That's pretty SOBERING. And frustrating.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I know a teenager that died from an accidental acetaminophen overdose. He had a cold so took Tylenol cold, which has acetaminophen, and then because he had a headache too, he took some extra-strength "regular" Tylenol. Turns out he was one of a small number of people that are particularly sensitive to acetaminophen and taking essentially a double-dose killed him in his sleep.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Tylenol is liver. Ibuprofen is kidneys.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Ah, thanks, I often get them mixed up.

I was just surprised to find tylenol had a much lower effect on pain than once thought, as in way lower, hard to measure territory.

Of course, studies of this stuff are hard to do well, so who knows what we'll see next year.

My personal experience is analgesics/NSAIDS are almost useless. So much so that I don't even bother with them - why take on the risks if there aren't tangible benefits?

THAT makes me wonder if these studies are problematic because there's so much differentiation between individuals, or perhaps there's an attribute that's common to groups of individuals that makes these meds more/less effective.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I was really shocked how helpful curcumin is for chronic inflammation. I was having trouble with reoccurring tendonitis in my shoulders and thought I was going to have to give up lifting. Doctor didn't have anything else to offer. Read a study about this proving useful and I thought "Simple enough to try it and find out."

Works great and part of my daily routine now.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Out of interest, how much do you take?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I take 1500 mg/day.

1000mg/day was my usual for the last 6 years. Bumped it up 6 months ago as I've been having a strange reoccurring pain in one foot. Honestly think I have something else going on with it though so might just have to go to the doctor. I suspect I can drop back to my original and wouldn't know the difference.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

I use the Kirkland brand from Costco. Back to 1000mg/day after the issue with my foot subsided.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

For most people in their forties who suffer from those kind of ailments it’s usually caused by unhealthy lifestyle. Stop drinking alcohol and exercise more. Alcohol causes inflammation in your body. You’re not in your twenties anymore, your body can’t take that kind of beating anymore that alcohol causes.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

You've heard of arthritis right? Somewhere between 35 and 60% of arthritis sufferers have genetic markers associated with arthritis.