I have had a very productive pandemic. Which is why I have had no time for my blog. I forget this thing is here until someone writes to me.

I suddenly realized I should report that I finally figured out a way to make the C shot painless.

. . . after doing them everyday for a loooooong, painful seven years where most of them burned, a little if not a whole lot. 😿

Let's call this another pandemic gift.

This discovery happened because stuck at home, I began to buy aerobic exercise equipment. 

A stationary bike - OMG!! I will die of boredom on this! 

But I do not. 

I watch something on my iPad while I sit upright and do endless reps with three or four pound dumbbells.

That is a hard workout. It gets your pulse up! up! up! and stabilizes your core.

Excellent posture and head position is key.

Remember that in everything you do.

My core has never been so strong.

I really feel my core stability when getting in and out of the rough ocean, waves slamming into my torso.

Oh look, a dolphin escort.

I also feel my core stability when running on my friend’s water treadmill. That thing is hard work! It’s not long before my thighs burn.

It is also an interesting proprioceptive experience. By that I mean the feedback coming through my senses to my brain about where my body is and what’s happening around it is stimulating.

Proprioceptive feedback makes my body feel better. I go out of my way to get it. Dance, balance exercises, walking barefoot and devices like the TRX are a few proprioceptive rich activities. My EDS body needs proprioceptive training everyday I can get it. It calms my nervous system and makes me feel energized. Let’s not forget we are the circus contortionists, capable of superhuman balance and agility. We can be more than weak, flimsy klutzes.

Stroke swimming into the stream in the Endless Pool corrects your stroke. If your arms are not propelling yourself evenly, you plop right out of it.

By focusing on swimming into the stream of water, my nervous system self-adjusts and calibrates my arms. What a wonderful challenge for the brain, teaching my body awareness of itself. This is something an EDS body needs forever and ever amen.

I also got a low-priced stepper from Amazon.

I put in under my desk.

When I can get away with turning my zoom camera off, I slip on my ballet slippers and do 10 minutes.

I keep my dumbbells nearby for the same.

I need to get my circulation up whenever I can to prevent feelings of fatigue and malaise.

Doing a home workout everyday and C shots everyday, these activities crossed paths. I noticed that with adequate circulation, the ascorbic acid goes in utterly painlessly.

A few minutes on the stepper are enough as that thing really pumps the gluteus muscles, which is where I inject. The bike works, too, but the stepper is best — faster and more effective. Phew!

This makes my life easier.

I also got a lightweight, simple home rower.

It does a much better job than I imagined. 

I did some research on how to use a rower well.

Guess what?

Excellent posture is key.

Remember that in everything you do.

I like what this device does for my back muscles.

I get off after 10 minutes because that seems like enough and it’s boring.

Here is my cat working out on my home rower.

Hope he doesn't over do it. 

Sometimes he climbs into the box of kettlebells and naps — I mean works out.

If he were napping he’d be in his kitty bed, obviously.

Speaking of exercise.

Do you want to make the most of exercise to enhance cognition and heal your brain? This podcast has some novel ideas.

It’s very important to take care of your brain if you have a disease like EDS.

Pain and fatigue can be described as brain disorders. They can relent by improving cognition and brain health.

Now, some bad news.

The price of Ascor has gone way up due to supply chain strains caused by the pandemic.

I placed an order at Walgreen’s. The retail price was over $450. Yikes! Yes, my insurance covers it, but my co-pay would be $100.

So I cancelled and drove down to lovely Santa Ana to buy directly from McGuff. They sell it wholesale for around $76 per bottle, if I remember that right. They do ship, but I love a trip to the OC. My insurance paid a portion of the claim.

Despite the price hike, this remains a very inexpensive treatment. And effective enough for me. With it, I produce stronger collagen, experience widespread symptom relief and get to live my life.

Healing takes time!

Immediate relief, while we would all like it, tends to come from the blunting symptoms, which isn’t necessarily an improvement in health. Chasing symptom relief is a different goal from improving health.

EDS is a lifelong disease that takes good management.

Make wise decisions that will serve you in the long run.

EXERCISE + C INJECTIONS turns over the collagen, gets it to repair more strongly and builds muscle to stabilize joints.

Tendons, ligaments and cartilage do not have a direct blood supply. Exercise in order to nourish and heal those structures.

Bones need impact and resistance training (weights) to stay strong. Bone and cartilage health run parallel. The breakdown of cartilage is called arthritis — joint damage.

Circulation and exercise also reduce fatigue and malaise that come from having such floppy veins and arteries. Gotta get blood up to that big brain of yours to be able to function!

All in all, this is a very simple intervention.