I Don't Need You Anymore

Last month I adopted a dog and had no idea that she would be the catalyst for great change in my health as well as my mind and heart.
I am one of the millions of middle aged Americans who are neither privileged nor wealthy enough to have medical insurance and in 2000 I was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis and in 2009 with Osteoporosis, both of these afflictions are in my spine, my hips and one of my knees.

I have done whatever I could to fight it off and alleviate pain, by working out and being active, eating healthy and losing weight and I took up Belly Dancing and Yoga. But nothing I did individually or in combination really worked for pain and I tried every over the counter med and prescriptions and alternative remedies, but nothing worked at all or for very long.

Well, last month I found myself adopting this great little girl I named Fiona and she of course needs exercise and since I live only feet from nine miles of walking trails we have been doing a lot of walking, jogging, running and climbing  and this of course is contributing to the absence of pain and stiffness I have endured for so many years, but something else happened also. I have been self medicating for about two years now with OTC Ibuprofen/Motrin. I have been taking up to eight per day and although it would relieve some of my symptoms for a little while, it was never enough. About three weeks ago I went to take my usual morning dose only to discover that bottle empty.
I went to the store that evening to fetch some and studied all the labels before me to see if there was something better, something I was missing but all that stared back at me was the same tired bottles with the same tired claims, it was at this moment that I decided I had had enough and I walked away without purchasing any of them.

The first couple of days were difficult, but as I paid closer attention to my body and the things I was doing to trigger pain such as moving to quickly or slouching or straining during work outs, I began to become more aware of how to move and check my posture, began listening to my body in a way I never had before and by the end of the first week I was feeling great! No stiffness or muscle spasms, no heavy feeling in my joints, no headaches and I was even breathing better as I begun to pay very close attention to this reflex process that we take completely for granted.
I have not taken a single pill of any kind for pain in almost a month and I intend to continue this process of self healing.
 I mention my dog and give her some credit because if not for her I would be sitting here at my PC or on the couch watching Netflix as I would not have thought to venture outside unless necessary as I am not a Sun Bunny, so having this beautiful creature to care for, a creature who needs me to stretch my wings and go out and bask in the sun for her sake is giving me those wings and removing from me the self doubt I have been carrying like a lead weight around my neck.
And I believe with all my heart that the medications that are designed to take away pain were actually causing me more pain and distress. I wonder if this is what the Pharmaceutical companies had in mind all along...keep Americans sick so they will continue to line the pockets of doctors.
I am angry that I am not one of the elite who can go to a doctor anytime they want and there are times when even hateful skeptics like myself need one like last year when I took a very bad fall that caused serious injury...now those IV meds were really good I have to credit them with that, but I am angry about the sinister back handed way in which drug companies lie to us and give us false hope about how good we can feel when, in my case anyway turning my back on their snake oil had proven to be the best thing I have ever done for my health. I woke up today saying to myself, pills I don't need you anymore and intend to do the same thing tomorrow.

I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL OR RECOMMEND THAT ANYONE WHO MIGHT ACTUALLY READ THIS TRY THIS ON YOUR OWN AS EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT AND IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A DOCTOR TO BITCH AT THEN YOU MUST CONSULT WITH THEM  BEFORE STOPPING ANY FORM OF MEDICATION YOU MAY BE TAKING. MY RESULTS ARE NOT USUAL FOR SOMEONE WITH 'PRONOUNCED' DISEASE AND THERE MAY BE OTHER FACTORS CONTRIBUTING MY ABILITY TO BE WITHOUT PAIN RELIEF, but I am here now telling you that stopping all pain relief for me has been a turning point in my life, my body has never felt so good.