Float Pod Therapy Challenge - 6 floats update

Ok.  Finally!  Here are some updates.  Hold on to your hats, y'all!

As a disclaimer, like the one posted at the heading of this blog ... I don't sugar coat.  I'm open and honest.  I don't want people to be embarrassed or shy about the things they may be going through due to their disease.  Its not our fault and nothing to be ashamed of.

Float #3 wasn't much more successful than float #2.  I have some sores on my hands and one on my elbow and the salt water was not comfortable.  Additionally, something we hadn't even considered was this ... I am post-menopausal and therefore my vaginal tissue is dry as The Mojave Desert ... which unexpected to me isn't a great combination with floating in a tank filled with 750 pounds of epsom salts.

The studio has a lubrication that can be used to cover any sores and cuts to prevent the salt water from burning.  It works on the lady bits, too.

Now that I have that all worked out, the next floats were successful.  No alarms on the phone.  No lady bits feeling like the are on fire.  No salt in the eyes.  It's all good.

Here is video of me floating ... It's nothing exciting.  Just floating

Now ... for a list of crappy Scleroderma items in my life (follow along, we're getting somewhere) ...

For years, 

• all of my joints have ached and been arthritic and my tendons are scarred, making my flexibility poor and altering my gait and how I carry myself.
• I have difficulty putting my socks on, shaving my legs, picking things up off the floor, etc.
• Squatting has been impossible.  
• My hands are a curled, gnarly hot mess and I've had surgery to remove knuckles and fuse the remaining finger bones together, to have some sort of a functioning hand.  Those fused "joints" swell and ache.  
• The big toe on my left foot hasn't been able to bend or flex in over three years.
• The shoulder and spine issues detailed in my first post about the pod.
• Chronic acid reflux
• Various heart and lung/breathing problems
• I have osteoporosis
• On my upper arms there are calcium deposits just under my skin.  They are hard an painful.  To the touch, it feels like there are BBs lodged under my skin.  I can, at times, pick them out and they come out as hard little bone like nodules.
• My circulation sucks.  At anytime the temperature starts to dip below 75° my fingers and toes start to get painfully cold and turn white, then blue/purple and become excruciatingly painful.  My hands become sore painful I can and do cry and my hands become useless.

Now, I told you all of that, obviously for a reason.  In what seems like a crazy, kooky, over night situation, I am seeing HUGE relief in the above mentioned areas of my health.  I shit you not.  It seems unreal, I know.  After doing research ... it makes perfect sense and I believe I have found a key piece to add to my ongoing self care healthcare.  Here's why ...

• Since last Wednesday, the bumps on my arms have softened and no longer hurt to touch.  When I told Annette to feel my arm and tell me what she feels ... her immediate response was a look of amazement and a "the bumps are less!!"
• The swelling and pain in my fingers decreased to the point that I can now use them to push the buttons on my key fob, when just last week I had to use my thumb.
• as I type this, I am sitting here bending and flexing my big toe.  Not full range of motion, but there's a huge amount of movement that wasn't there before.
• When asking 2 different people to look at my shoulders, both say that my shoulders are even, back and down.  Not forward and curling in like previously and my collarbones protrude less.
• The heaviness in my chest and need to occasionally stop to get a better breathe have subsided
• Since last Wednesday, acid reflux has only bothered me one night
• On Sunday morning, I left the house in flip-flops and a tank top, without checking the weather.  When I walked outside it was 60 degrees.  I was "chilly".  I was outside and in my car for 20 minutes before it dawned on me to turn on the heat.  No pain.  No tears.  No blue/purple fingers.
• I can do this  ....  it's not beautiful.  Its not perfect.  Yet, it's 1000 times better.
  
• My skin is soft and not flaky and dry and I haven't applied lotion in 6 days.  

There have been so many of these small, yet HUGE and significant to me changes that I have to be careful managing it all emotionally.  It can, at times, be overwhelming.  Its definitely hard to stay in the moment at the idea of what is happening so far and what could still happen in the future.

I'm not saying life is pain free, yet, it's a hell of a lot better.  I still find myself needing a quick nap most days.  I wake up with some stiffness and a sore shoulder.  However, not to the degree of before. If it weren't happening for me, I'd say its unbelievable.

When starting on this float pod journey I had no dreams of these results.  I really was just anticipating that the act of floating, resting, and reaching that zen state would ease my joint pain.  I really was just excited about the idea of zero gravity for my stressed and beat up body.  That idea was exciting.  I was not prepared for this.

I don't know that anyone anywhere has considered the health benefits that the pod can have just by virtue of not only floating, but soaking your body in magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt).

Research shows that a majority (if not all) of the symptoms outlined above can be the result of a calcium and magnesium imbalance.  We're told that we need to get more calcium in our bodies to help bone retention and growth.  It turns out though, that if you don't have enough magnesium, calcium isn't absorbed into your body properly and then just builds up in places like joints, tendons, soft tissue, etc., creating various issues.   Unfortunately, when we take calcium and/or magnesium supplements orally, for whatever reason, they are not properly absorbed into our cells.

Therefore, it stands to reason, that submerging our largest organ, our skin, in a bath of magnesium sulfate and allowing it to be absorbed in that manner could have some awesome benefits.

Or at least the logic that comes from my recent experiences lead me to believe so.  Nothing else in my life has changed.  Last week I was knocking on the door of a Scleroderma flare up and within 2 days of my first float THOSE symptoms disappeared and other major symptoms and maladies have seen some level of improvement.

After I finish this "challenge", my intent is to continue floating twice a week.  I will use any and all therapies that are natural and continue to provide at least relief, if not improvement.

Float Pod Therapy Challenge - Let's Just Pretend Today Didn't Happen

Each day's report is going to start with some updates about how I feel the morning after the float and then give details about how the current day's float went and how I feel at the time of the post.  I'll try to do the posts in the evenings.

So, this morning ...

I slept great.  Some of the best sleep I have had in years.  I also remember bits of my dream.  I couldn't tell you the last time that happened.  It was an odd dream, of course.  In it, in the middle of a conversation with someone, I suddenly realized that all of my fingers were working normally again and ran off to go find someone else to tell.  This morning when I woke up, that was the first thing I remember doing - moving my fingers to see how they were.  Still "crappy ass hands"  *LOL*

Physically, I felt like I had been hit by a truck.  Not necessarily as sore as I often have been in the past, yet, definitely my normal aches, a little more stiff than usual and moving super slowly.  I wasn't expecting this AND YET it is not at all surprising and makes sense.  Yesterday my body was loosened up by the float and then my massage was very deep and intense, followed by a chiropractic adjustment.  That's probably the deepest, most penetrative work my body has been able to receive in quite some time.  Of course there's going to be a "reaction".

Otherwise, I feel great.  Good energy.  Good mood.  Looking forward to today's float.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, on to float #2.  We're pretending this float didn't happen and extending the challenge by one day.  Not that the floating therapeutic part of the float was bad.  It was just a hilarious smash up of comedic errors that made the whole thing a FAIL.  Ok, maybe not a complete failure, my joints did get some relief, but the zen, nap, extra mind melding stuff didn't happen.  The joint relief floating part wasn't in one big chunk of time, so the benefits for today can't really be "measured".

Here's what happened ...

For 15 minutes before you get in the pod, you shower to make sure you get all the oils and chemicals off your body and out of your hair.  Getting into the pod, I had a little difficulty relaxing because I was paranoid that I didn't get all of the oils off from yesterday's massage.  After 15 minutes, I got my brain quieted and I'm all relaxed, Lumineers radio playing softly on my phone and piped into the pod through the iPod connection and I'm just about to drift off and "ding-a-ling-a-ling.  ding-a-ling-a-ling...." The alarm on my phone goes off reminding me it's 1 p.m. and time to take my meds. (Apparently, scheduled alarms go off - even when your phone is in "do not disturb" mode. Noted!) Sonofamotherlessbitchin'goat ... as I all but shit myself and jolt upright in the pod, trying not to hit my head ... I scramble around, now cold and dripping wet and get to my phone trying to turn off the alarm ... when your hands are wet, the mothertrucking screen doesn't "slide" so well ...  After what seems like forever, I get the alarm silenced, mop up half the lake I've now left on the floor and manage to climb back into the pod.

Just as I'm laying back, water from my hair runs down into my eyes and my mouth.  Bleh.  Bleh. Bleh.  and "MY EYES!" ... Sure, there's a squirt bottle with fresh water specifically for situations like this ... but, let's stick with humor here and imagine me fumbling around with these crappy ass hands and the fact that I now can't see with the salt in my eyes ... finally it's just easier to fling the top open and grab the towel.

Ok.  Salt water off my face.  Hair blotted.  No chance anything is going to drip into my eyes or mouth.  Close the top and lay back.  But, now, my brain is all "What time is it?  I bet the time is up soon.  The water is going to start circulating soon.  Will I be able to shower and clean up the flood that I'm sure is still out there before the next floater needs to get in?  I'll just sneak around the corner in my towel and shower in the ladies room.  I hope I can keep the towel on and carry my stuff and don't run into anyone and flash them.  Aaannnd there's the circulating water.  Ready.  Set.  Go."

So, while my joints got a little bit of relief today, it was NOTHING like yesterday.  My mind certainly didn't chill and honestly, the whole thing just makes me giggle to look back on.

So, we're saying today's float didn't count - no measurable therapeutic benefits to report.  Hopefully tomorrow is better and not another script for an episode of a sitcom.

Update and A Float Pod Therapy "Challenge" - 1 of 7

Three and a half years since my last blog post.  The list of reasons that I stopped writing is quite long.  Through diet I had learned how to manage my condition and didn't feel like there was a lot to share.  Then, I just wanted to live life and not write about every Scleroderma event.  Sometimes sharing the ups and downs can be daunting.  Sometimes, I just want to deal with it for what it is, not dwell and I guess, in some way "forget about it" - not that I can.

Then there was a divorce and life got hard.  Then "hectic" and busy and wonderful.  Any Scleroderma related issues that have come, haven't been anything new.  Just recurrences of the same list of issues I've written about in the past.

For the most part my Scleroderma has been very manageable.  Typically just dealing with things that arise from the damage previously done, but no new Scleroderma activity.  It's expected that some things will continue to degrade without new activity just by virtue of the damage already done and the aging process in general.  So, even without new activity, the roller-coaster continues on the track.

I'm still on only 3 medications.  One for my thyroid and two for my heart.  I would like to not take these, yet, in comparison to the 23 pills I once took ... I won't balk at the three.  My diet is key here.  I'm so grateful to have learned this!

So, why am I dusting off the pages of Sclero Scoop and giving you something new?

Because it's awesome and the world needs to know and every Scleroderma patient needs to be privy to this!

A little back story ...

In early March, one of my closest friends, who also happens to be my massage therapist, opened Kodawari Studios where I act as the "behind the scenes" magician that manages tasks that she doesn't have the time for.  I put 48 hours into a 24 hour day.  I'm the mouse in her pocket.  The Pinky to her Brain.  Or is the other way around?  Either way, one night, we WILL take over the world.  Or not.  It might be too much work. ... Opening a business is no small feat.  It's a lot of work, a lot of hours, a lot of stress, a few tears and sometimes a whole lot of "WHAT THE FUCK?"  Having this new drive, tasking, and passion has been so good for my soul.  I feel a purpose again.  A purpose beyond being a woman managing a disease, a mom, a fur-mom, a decent human being, enjoying this life I was given, and doing what I can to be a positive influence for others.  It feels good.  It feels great.  Emotionally.

Physically, it's exhausting.

In true LoJo fashion, I threw myself into this whole-heartedly and let my personal care and well-being take a backseat.  My healthy diet and lifestyle were already challenged over the past few years and over the past month have just slid right off into the gutter.  Fast food.  Soda.  Sugar.  Alcohol.  All easy items that require no prep work for my crappy ass hands and my exhausted body.

I knew better.  Still, I didn't listen.  I poked the Scleroderma bear.  Quite probably triggering a flare-up.

Starting last night, the dreaded "itchies" returned.  The "itchies" that freak me the fuck out.   They freak me out enough that by midnight I was in the midst of a full-on panic attack.  Scratching my body, crying and hating on myself for going down this road.  I have a disease that would like to kill me and here I am fueling it?  *palm to the forehead*  I made a plan that "this stops now" and I'm getting back on track immediately.  I have enough struggles on a good day that I'm not adding to it and creating an extended calendar of bad days to deal with.  Finally, at 0200, I finally calmed and exhausted myself enough that I was able to fall asleep.

I woke up early to feed the horses, which starts any morning off on a great note.  Except that I found myself itching and scratching along the way.  Trying to remember to not let it get me and to remember the plan, I plowed on through....Prepping my food for the day, not rushing in order to prevent banging my hands around and causing more aches and pains, trying to not get frustrated with all the normal struggles that just seemed to be piling on by this point.  It's Wednesday after all. Wednesdays are massage and chiropractor days.  As painful as both have been in recent months, they really do help keep me moving.  Wednesdays are a much needed and beneficial day each week.  Last night we decided that I should add float therapy to Wednesday's line-up, with the imagination that I would get some awesome relief for these achey joints and followed by massage and chiropractic care, I might see some good results.

By the time my float time arrived, I was mentally ready.  I was stressed, overwhelmed, achey, exhausted, bordering on a meltdown and just needed to start this part of the day.

I'll admit, though excited, I was also a little nervous.  What if I got all freaked out in there?  What if this?  What if that?  In addition to just awkward body mechanics in general these days, my right shoulder is really problematic.  The whole shoulder structure is compromised due to fibrosis of tissues, tendons, etc. There is shortening of muscles, and alignment issues in my spine and the rib cage under the shoulder blade - all as a result.  I can't lay on my back, I can't lay on my stomach, it's difficult to reach across my body with my right arm.  I can't reach behind me.  I can barely touch my right ear and I can only occasionally touch the back of my head.  How was this all going to play out in the pod?

The float experience was pretty dang awesome.  A little trippy at first.  As soon as you lay back in the water, that's it, you're afloat.  No effort.  I haven't been able to comfortably lay on my back in ... I have no idea how long.  After a I realized I could just "let go" and let the water do it's job, I just floated.  Blissfully.  In essentially zero gravity for an hour.  My joints didn't hurt. They felt 'lighter".  My skin wasn't itching.  I fell asleep.  I didn't have reflux.  I didn't feel the need to move around.  I just floated.  I exited the float feeling more relaxed, lighter in my joints and just happy at noticing a physical difference.  IN ONE HOUR.

Immediately following my float, I walked down the hall and got on the massage table.  Here's where the sheer awesomeness of that float therapy became the spotlight for the day.  In the past 2-3 months, when I get on the massage table on my stomach, I have to have a towel under the front of my shoulder because it won't relax onto the table without excruciating pain.  Today, I was flat on my stomach, shoulder on the table, no pain.  I could feel tension, but no pain.  For the first time in a very long time, there was virtually no pain during my massage.  Annette is not gentle with me - I can't afford her to be.  I need her to push my limits and work my muscles as much as possible to keep them moving.  Most times I tell her things like "Why do you hate me?"  Followed with a lot of other colorful words and sometimes tears.  In the end, I always feel better, but the process can be grueling.  Not today.  Today, I enjoyed every stinking second on that massage table.  She was her normal aggressive self and I wanted more.  It felt good.  I was giddy on that table today.

I left the massage and headed down the street and less than 20 minutes after the massage, I was on the chiropractor table.  Typically, as she starts feeling the muscles along my spine, there are a couple of spots that make me grimace and all but shoot off the table.  In recent weeks, I have left there feeling beat up and ready to cry.  Later, I always feel better, but the process to get there sucks.  Today, not the case.  Not once did I feel any of the pain I normally feel.  She adjusted me and I was ready to go.  Just like that.  She said she could feel a huge difference in the muscles along my spine.  Normally they feel like hard ropes to her and she has to work with them to manipulate my vertebrae.  She said that tonight they felt soft and squishy in comparison.

With all of that said, as I write this, I can feel stiffness (no real pain) returning to my body and I have been mildly itchy tonight, but nothing more drastic.  I am tired and imagine I will be crashing hard when I close this laptop and make my way to my bed.

Due to the drastic and almost unbelievable relief I experienced after only one hour, we've decided to put a test scenario together.  I'm the perfect test case, after all.  I am going to float every day for the next 6 days and write about the experience and results.  So, stay tuned for tomorrow's report!