18 October 2010 allergy edition

Allergies (or a cold?) and I am getting shocked by static electricity again.

So, I’ll be a bit brief:

Robert Reich: we have a plutocracy (or we are getting that way): a government for big money interests, period.

Political Ads
I roared at this one:

This ad would get me to consider Rand Paul…well, it would if I didn’t know more about him. But this is Kentucky….

Some more ads
I am backing Senator Boxer, but I had to laugh out loud at this ridiculous ad:

I’ve never seen an ad like this one

John McCain: gone to the evil side

There are more here that I will get to later.

18 October 2010 Rehabilitation

Sleep: no shoulder pain, but I didn’t sleep well. I took an antihistamine which may have been a mistake.
I felt terrible when I woke up but my workout went ok:

one legged squats: 10 x 45, 10 x 95
Two legged: 10 x 235 (smith)
Leg presses: 30 x 180, 30 x 270, 30 x 360
sit ups: 100 (4 sets of 25 at inclines)
extensions: 3 sets of 10
curls (leg): 3 sets of 10
toe: 3 sets of 30
back: 2 sets of 20
leg lifts: 3 sets of 20

Upper body:
rows: 3 sets of 10 with 80 each arm
pull down: 15, 10, 10 with 120
curls: 3 sets of 10 with 20 pound dumbbells
military (machine): 2 sets of 20 x 70 (two handed)
bench: 1 set of 30 with 25
arm bike: 4.25 miles in 15 minutes.

Then to class; I didn’t return home.
Right now: very tired and sleepy.

Athletic note: be very wary of taking NSAIDs prior to a long race:

Runners may think that as long as they don’t go overboard like Ehret, they’ll be safe. But experts say the benefits of popping even one pill before a 10K don’t outweigh the risks. NSAIDs inhibit prostaglandins, hormones that help normalize blood flow to the kidneys. Mix an NSAID with physical exertion and dehydration, and you can overwhelm your kidneys.

What’s more, NSAIDs can bump up your blood pressure, and when you add this to the natural rise that occurs when you exercise, “suddenly you have two things increasing your blood pressure,” Graedon says. If you already have high blood pressure, “you could have a mini stroke or a heart attack,” he says. NSAIDs also block an enzyme called cyclooxygenase (COX) that normally protects the heart, and this might explain why many NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, may raise the risk of heart attack.

Some forms of COX also protect the stomach lining from digestive acids, so when an NSAID blocks this enzyme, you may experience nausea, diarrhea, intestinal bleeding, and cramps. When used during a marathon or ultra, NSAIDs also seem to boost the risk of hyponatremia, an electrolyte imbalance that can cause the brain to swell. “It’s something you can die of during a race,” says Martin Hoffman, M. D., director of research at the Western States Endurance Run.

Many runners believe that NSAIDs increase their pain tolerance, but studies contradict this notion. In 2005, David Nieman, Dr. P.H., director of the human performance lab at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, examined ibuprofen use at Western States. About 70 percent of the racers said they took it to help them manage the discomfort of racing. But when he measured pain and muscle soreness in these pill poppers, he found no reduction compared with nonusers. Worse, ibuprofen takers had more inflammation. “There’s no good reason to use ibuprofen during a race,” Nieman says. “There are too many potential negatives.” Any pain and inflammation that turns up while running is not something you should medicate but a signal that it’s time to reevaluate your training regimen, he says.

Watch the dosage
For relief during or after exercise, Hoffman recommends acetaminophen since it works via a different mechanism than NSAIDs, and the drug doesn’t have the side effects associated with aspirin or ibuprofen. “It’s a relatively safe drug, and it doesn’t present problems with the kidney or gut,” he says.

But watch the dosage. While it’s safe at recommended doses, acetaminophen can be toxic to the liver, especially when mixed with alcohol. “You can hit the tipping point pretty fast with acetaminophen,” says Graedon. Acetaminophen overdose is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States, in part because the drug is found in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines, so it’s easy to overdose if you take one of these drugs with Tylenol.

I wonder if this was the cause of my stomach issues.

17 October 2010 PM (sleepy eyes)

My struggles with allergies continues…

Here are a couple of videos:

(too true; thanks to Mano Singham for the link)