User:Brettz9/Palliative strategies

General approaches to health

• Don't take anything not known to be needed, and then, only as much as needed
• Eat natural and organic ingredients wherever possible, not so much because of a belief in any documented evidence of problems, but to avoid unknowns
• Listen to what my body craves rather than what my mouth craves, and give my body a familiarity with diverse and healthy sources of nutrition such as nuts, mangoes, etc. so that my body has a "vocabulary" for indicating to me what it is craving.
• I don't like the effects of taking a multi-vitamin every day, not only for a lack of confirmed benefits, but also because of their ability to limit my cravings, leading me I believe, to, e.g., drink milk more instead of fruits or vegetables since my body doesn't feel I need Vitamin C. However, since I know I am generally deficient, I do schedule in a multi-vitamin about twice a week which seems to be good.

Sleep

• I have sleep problems which I believe may be due to poor absorption caused by test-confirmed gluten (and other) sensitivity allergies. Taking melatonin (pills or liquid) when I deviate from my allergy-friendly diet can sometimes burn my esophagus, and I have found that eating cherries (those high in melatonin) is just as effective. I do have to avoid taking too much, for one because it loses its effectiveness, and two because it can give me slight depression and what I can best describe as a feeling of being trapped and without adequate mental function. I take it with milk to help me with some anxiety to sleep.
• Avoid caffeine after 1pm (though contrary to hysteria about caffeine by some, I find it extremely helpful in moderation such as through dark chocolate).
• I was diagnosed in more recent years with severe sleep apnea, both central and obstsructive. While I found some benefit from an APV CPAP machine (especially with the mask on the loosest setting), I could not manage the mask for enough time to qualify continuing its use. However, one bright spot has been Trazodone, a medicine which has both been indicated in some CFS study and has been recommended for use before other sleep medicines. I have discovered that even the 50mg pills I was given are WAY too strong for me to swallow whole. Instead (and my pharmacist said it was safe to do so with this medicine), I nibble off a tiny amount (even a half or quarter of the pill was too strong) and it works quite well. The effect of taking too much was like the feeling of somehow sleeping so hard that it wakes you up again (or going around in a circle multiple times rather than moving to the position one needs). But when I say sleeping "hard", I do not mean like being knocked out with a sleeping pill--it is not like that where your faculties are beyond you (even too much melatonin can do that to me, especially if my brain is alert (too much DHA?) while melatonin is simultaneously dragging my brain unwillingly to sleep). Trazodone does give a little drowsiness for me after about 45 minutes, but mostly I think the benefit is quality of sleep over night (occasionally taking during the day if I forget a dose seems to work fine too). Taking too much is not super unpleasant, so don't worry about a couple of days to get it right, but to get optimal sleep, I find one really needs to cut it down to what one actually needs.

Mental/executive/social energy

I seem to be in particular need of such boosters (in particular DHA and melatonin though perhaps also Vitamin D) and when breaking my wheat (and egg and rice)-sensitivity diet).

• Take a few squares of dark chocolate in the morning (I don't drink coffee, so that is enough)
• I have found Red Bull (with Taurine as well as caffeine) particularly helpful to my brain fog, allowing me much better executive function (being able to think enough to make decisions and take steps such as getting myself to put on clothes to go out for a walk when I have enough physical energy). It is also particularly helpful for social occasions, where the boost it gives in peppiness almost makes me normal for that time (Taurine does not seem to produce the same effect as caffeine on sleep, but Red Bull does have to be taken early enough and only as much as needed to avoid sleep problems; oddly though, sometimes in smaller amounts, it really can even help me sleep).
• Drink some Coke (now Coke Life for the fewer calories) for under-stimulation of brain and for social energy/reducing social anxiety on occasions requiring social energy (which seems to have an effect beyond caffeine perhaps due to the de-cocainized coca?). Sometimes with either Coke or Red Bull, it can actually relax me enough to be able to sleep (since my brain is not so preoccupied at trying to stimulate itself enough to consider what I am even doing). Similarly, though ironically, having these can help me to feel energy to do some light exercise.
• DHA (maybe because of a deficiency) has truly enabled power thinking for me (including relatively massive will-power to finish projects or to deal with negative people, e.g., to articulate myself) and it increases my working memory, allowing me to be more empathetic of others as I can afford to concentrate on other people's conditions. I must take it in moderation, however, to avoid obsessiveness, irritability, and dryness which seems very much to promote conditions for my getting a cold. I cannot take it too late at night or the mental activity it fosters will keep me awake. I can also become more pedantic with too much DHA, as I feel a little OCDish in feeling the need to elaborate my thoughts too much to people. The mental power it gives, when in excess, is the same reason why too much DHA could be negative as I would find (when I was able to work) that it was nearly impossible to tear myself away from a non-work project which the DHA had caused me to become more absorbed in. It doesn't help as much with mental acuity (like B12/B6: see below) as it does mental power to sustain mental work (great for a programmer but it even helped with activities as diverse as playing the piano).
• B12 (and even more so, though requiring moderation to avoid counterproductive effects, B6) can give a smoother kind of nootropic effect, allowing for sustainable work when I was healthier (intelligence/cognitive speed booster). Excessive B12 causes mucus hardening and when in significantly higher doses, causes something which feels like a pimple but is not, in the flesh of my nose, but unlike DHA, these side effects do not affect me seriously, so as long as I am not taking 12,000% RDA liquid B12, it doesn't bother me to take this (bearing in mind, that the likes of Red Bull already include a good amount). The mental clarity B12 gives is more balanced than the obsessive (though more powerful when lacking) kind given by DHA. B12 (and B6) just lets me respond more quickly and sustain mental acuity, though not of the powerful nature to cause me to plow through difficult programming tasks as DHA did when I was healthy enough to use it on a daily (or even twice-a-day) basis.

Coping with heartburn

I have heartburn due to some weight gain which I have only been able to fight off during certain periods of time when I could exercise.

• Add wood block supports to lift up head of bed (This helps a lot)
• Try to limit my weight when I am feeling ok enough to exercise
• Take Sucralfate and Ranitidine if necessary (the *prazole medicines caused a terrible jaw pain whose cause it took me a while to isolate)

Coping with low immunity

• Honey, already-chopped garlic in a small jar, orange juice, and Milk Thistle have seemed at different times, to be of some help.
• Eating chocolate with nuts (when I feel a little weak) seems to balance the mild negative immune system effects of a diuretic like chocolate and drinking water helps to avoid irritating my hiatal hernia.
• Yakult really makes me feel good in this area. Have taken probiotics but that didn't seem to help me feel any better while this does.
• Drinking milk (skim milk) consistently carries me over in fighting off potential colds

Coping with low physical energy

There is not much to help with this for me, but the following help a little. This section is also a little arbitrary in differentiating physical from mental energy.

• Mangoes give a pretty good boost (confirmed IIRC in a study by Nike which compared mangoes to oranges during sports team breaks). Dried mangoes are just as effective and convenient.
• Honey seems to gives a little boost in the morning or in the evening too.

• ((See exercise below.)

Exercise

Although exercise is extremely hit or miss, variable within a day, and quite variable over seasons and years, when I am feeling up to it, I have been able to do some moderate exercise:

• Only when up for it, I have felt good enough for periods to go on a tread mill (with frequent breaks) or use a Health Rider in addition to going on walks.
• Avoid weight lifting as I will invariably get a cold the next day, even when I think I am up for it.
• On those days when I cannot do "real" exercise, I must motivate myself to move around, swing my arms around, to a little pretend boxing, etc. (when I am really fatigued, walking seems more tiring than using my arms, so I at least try to exercise the arms).
• Set computer reminders for morning and evening activity.

Coping with D-deficiency

With lack of energy, and extreme cold sensitivity, comes long periods where I do not go outside enough.

• Melatonin not only helps me sleep well, but also (taken the night before) actually causes me--normally a night owl--to crave the sunlight in the morning! See WikiPedia:Delayed sleep phase disorder.
• As I kept needing to take 50,000 IU distributed doses, I am now taking the critical Vitamin D with 1000 IU per day (which I will maybe increase to 2,000 IU).

Coping with temperature sensitivity

I apparently have a genetic predisposition to temperature sensitivity, with many family members on one side having this problem.

• "Listen" to my body to notice where I need to cover up. I may need socks, may need more layers, whether long underwear or extra t-shirts.
• Have warm robes handy to quickly heat up as well as a cube heater. Have a space heater (with thermostat ideally) to keep a stable temperature at night in room with house otherwise with central heating.
• Take levothyroxine for my hypothyroidism (prescribed for me as one 50 mg a day, optionally substituting one 75 mg every other day) but carefully avoid too high of a dose due to increased anxiety and thereby increased lack of sleep.
• If I start coughing, sniffling, or sneezing (without a cold), I have found that putting more layers on, even if I do not feel cold yet, almost immediately stops this.

Fluid retention

I sometimes would have problems with a need for frequent urination. I think this may have been due to taking DHA (which may be due to its causing me a significant increase in thirst).

• Chamomile helps retain fluid and is also pleasantly anti-anxiety

Coping with irritability

Probably since I kept pushing myself even while I had CFS, my fight-or-flight system allowing one to cope with stress has almost become null (making me feel quite a bit like Bruce Banner of the Hulk, though with the feeling of depleted physical ability to quell anger rather than psychological limitations). Avoiding stressors and getting enough sleep are critical (see the sleep section). When I am low on melatonin, supplementing a bit, even if not at night, seems to help calm me down enormously. Though I am not a fan of regular use of such medicines, a very rare Xanex (or half of one) occasionally helps to deal with particularly rough spells of irritability during the day.

Coping with daily life requirements (as a result of poor memory, etc.)

• Set frequent computer reminders (I am often in front of my laptop), e.g., to take meds and supplements, air out my room, do morning or evening physical activity of some kind, etc. Failing to do this could have big consequences since failing to take supplements for brain power could lead me in a vicious circle, as I would be in a mental state where I failed to notice the importance of taking my supplements.

cognition Thought processes, including attention, reasoning, and memory.

adverse reaction Any unintended or unwanted response to a treatment, whether in a clinical trial or licensed treatment. May be minor or serious.