Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Health, Fitness, Food, Insurance, Longevity, Diets,...
7Wannabe5
Posts: 9372
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

@ember@plow_2:

Thanks for the suggestions. Based on my current scope of research, I have decided that in addition to course of prednisone which I am now tapering off, and maintenance dose of oral delayed delivery system mesalamine (anti-inflammatory), I will attempt my own version of clinical trial currently being conducted on humans at Stanford utilizing the Fast Mimicking Diet. Previous experiments on mice with chemically induced version of disease indicated some positive results. I can't join the actual trial because it excludes humans with nut allergies. Another next step option I may try would be either adding or switching to suppository version of mesalamine delivery system. I am feeling better than before I started the prednisone, but not good enough. If my choice in the moment was continue ad infinitum at this level of discomfort/impediment or have colon removed, I would choose to have my colon removed. However, I do not yet have enough information and have not yet explored enough options to make this call. My guesstimate is that this decision is at least 4 years out, barring emergency event.

I am trying to remember the name of a particular method for analyzing benefits of particular factors when you are changing multiple factors at the same time. It was something like The Taguchi Box. Does this ring a bell with any of you? Probably more relevant to engineering design than being your own lab rat, but I would like to attempt some level of analysis beyond How Many Times I Pooped Today Journal.
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Systems level design is often based on natural "design" or pattern. Similar patterns are found in many different organisms or situations, because they are inherently beneficial.

Another interesting thing I have learned about the "design" of the human digestive system is that when your colon/rectum are functioning normally, sensors that judge fullness will send a message to your brain and you will get the notion that you ought to make a journey to restroom, outhouse, or designated spot beyond village, some time within the next half hour or so. However, if your colon/rectum is damaged or inflamed, as with flare of chronic IBD or easily imagined acute toxic event "in the wild", the message from the fullness sensors in your rectum will go directly to your spinal column rather than your brain, causing your bowels to immediately start to emergency empty themselves, literally beyond the scope of your will, except to the extent that you have muscular control of your outer anal sphincter. Kind of like short loop of your guts and spinal cord constitute a primitive creature within your skin sac, but no longer in direct communication with the thinking/planning you.

Somehow I feel like this could be related to the overall notion of agency, because as Freud noted, our bowel movements are one of the first behaviors we learn or are taught to control within the social context, and the Anal Retentive type is supposed to be stingy or thrifty with money. Embodied language allows us to make sense of multiple metaphors in a statement such as "You will never have fuck you money if you can't keep your shit together." because analogous or naturally extended from more core recognition of truth in statement such as "You will never sequester enough power to assume dominant posture in sexual intercourse with other, until/unless you gain consistent conscious control over your bowel movements."

SavingWithBabies
Posts: 882
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 2:50 pm
Location: Midwest, USA

Re: Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Post by SavingWithBabies »

I've been watching some videos of a young sailer that has been sailing long distances solo and I was surprised to learn he has Ulcerative Colitis. His video about the condition was informative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hLWiYKiR48

I'm sorry you're going through this too. It's interesting what he says about his experiences with the various doctors involved.

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9372
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

@SavingWith Babies:

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Young otherwise fit and healthy human makes a much better spokesperson for this disease than me, because makes clear that it is not a lifestyle disease. IOW, species of bad luck shit that could happen to any member of this forum and might ought to b accounted for.

I am currently in bureaucratic hell dealing with this problem because my doctors and my pharmacy do not take the “Medicaid private insurance product” insurance assigned to me due to current income. So, I switched pharmacies and now the insurance company will not refill my prescription for modern expensive drug until/unless I do trial run of 1930s era inexpensive drug. I’m actually okay with that except I was tagged as being allergic to sulfa in childhood and the olden days drug is a combination of sulfa and anti-inflammatory. Now it is the weekend and gastro office has not gotten back to me and my original cache of capsules has run out. My new employer will provide minimum minimum coverage insurance after 30 days, but I doubt it will be much better option.

I may have to go rogue and set up a “mes” lab and/or enter into a marriage of convenience.

Qazwer
Posts: 257
Joined: Thu May 16, 2019 6:51 pm

Re: Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Post by Qazwer »

Google prior authorization medication ‘your insurance company’ to find their rules - then find out how they treat your Med - allergy might be a listed exemption if not there is likely a process of approval for allergy - can be helpful to feed your gastroenterologist what you found to expedite process

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9372
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

@Qazwer:

Thanks. That was helpful. I’m actually willing to do trial run of much cheaper olden days drug even though I might be allergic to it. I think sulfa just caused me to vomit repeatedly as a child, so possible I could tolerate it better as adult. It didn’t put me into anaphylactic shock like peanuts.

However, even the more modern engineered drug isn’t working that great for me yet. I would still rather have my colon removed than continue indefinitely with current level of dis-ease. At my age I would probably just have the one step surgery and be stuck with the stoma, but the only thing you can’t do with a stoma is scuba dive below 500 ft and that wasn’t on my bucket list anyways.

shaz
Posts: 420
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:05 pm
Location: Colorado, US

Re: Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Post by shaz »

@7wannabe5 don't know if you tried applying for the cost relief from the pharmaceutical company or if you just read the published rules and decided you don't qualify. If you did not apply, I suggest doing so. My experience is that they do not always enforce the published rules for those programs and figure if you applied for the relief, you must need it.

I am very sorry to hear you have such a devastating medical issue and wish you all the best for finding a way to manage it that is tolerable to you.

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9372
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

@shaz:

Thanks for the suggestion. The tangle of bureaucracy I am having to deal with is at least half my fault for refusing to adopt conventional lifestyle inclusive of full-time affiliation with corporation or institution or SO thus associated. The current health care marketplace is not designed for somebody who strives to earn/spend very low income from rough mix of investments/self-employment/part-time-temp work/ flow of discards. But, I will figure it out eventually. It would be much easier if the system was either completely centralized/socialized OR completely free market. As it is there are rules, barriers, and costs, but nobody seems to know what they are or what they should be. I may have to leave the U.S. to solve this problem. Google search: medical vacation colostomy.

Myakka
Posts: 122
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 3:39 am

Re: Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Post by Myakka »

My knee-jerk response to your health issue is to wonder if something called "colon hydro therapy" would help you. Simply put it is a procedure in which an experienced technician pumps water into your colon and then pumps it out again. It has the effect of cleaning out matter that has gotten stuck on the walls of the large intestine and possibly putrified overtime.

I had this done many years ago to reduce the toxins I had absorbed when having my mercury amalgams replaced with less toxic material. Whenever my colon gets stopped up I think about this procedure -- and then sneak some cinnamon into whatever dish I am preparing.

I do not know anything about its compatibility with your condition. My knee-jerk guess is that the base cause of your issue might be related to the long term effects of the stuff I described in my first paragraph.

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9372
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: Ultimate Stoic Frugality Challenge

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

@Myakka:

Unfortunately, opposite of that sort of problem. Everything including the mucous lining which is supposed to stay put comes out, sometimes quite violently. Hydro-therapy is specifically red-flagged as dangerous for my condition.


I just finished yet another round of steroids and started a new formulation of anti-inflammatory. Definitely not in remission. Still a month off from getting into the very good research hospital clinic specializing in treatment.

Positive note being that since I can’t just be happy, because I am so frequently in pain, I am focusing on fulfillment.

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