NSAIDs and inflammation
When is inflammation good? When should you treat inflammation, when should you let it be?
This is an ongoing debate in the world of medicine. I'm not a medical professional, but I can't consult a medical professional every time I feel a symptom, so I try to learn enough to treat myself for non-urgent problems.
As over-the-counter remedies for common ailments became widely available, the widespread approach became: if you feel uncomfortable, here's a treatment you can apply. Have a headache or fever, take Tylenol. Have a cough, take Robitussin. Have a stuffy nose, take Sudafed. Have inflammation, take Advil. And so on.
Over time I've become more conservative about medicines, only wanting to take them if I have a true reasonable need. This is different from my approach to vaccines -- give me all the vaccines! But with respect to medicine, if I can get along safely without a medicine, I'd rather not take it.
A big example of this with me is Prep to block HIV. Almost every sexually-active gay man I know is on Prep. But I'm not. Instead, I continue to follow the safer sex practices that I learned during the AIDS epidemic, with one difference: if I know you and trust you and you are on Prep, then you don't have to use a condom with me. I live in a world in which I don't have to take Prep, because I don't bareback with strangers.
So when I'm suffering from a respiratory infection, I try to take the bare minimum of OTC medicines I need to tolerate my situation.
And, like now, when I'm suffering from a soft-tissue injury in or near my left patellar tendon, I try to take the bare minimum of OTC medicines I need to tolerate my situation. Yesterday, that bare minimum was the maximum, because I was in so much pain that I could barely walk around the house. Today, I'm not sure I'll take any OTC meds for my knee pain, because it hurts less and I'm more able to get around the house.
It's not that I'm anti-medicine. I just want to reduce my exposure to side effects, and allow my body to follow its normal immune and repair responses with minimal interference.
It's the same way with my prescription medicines. I only take as much asthma medicine as I need to breathe clearly. Some days I don't need any. With my muscle relaxers, I only take as needed and try to take only as much as needed.
I feel about DoxyPep the same way I feel about Prep. Many gay men are now taking antibiotics to prevent STDs instead of to treat STDs as they arise. I doubt I will ever do this, because I'll want to avoid the side effects of taking antibiotics when I don't currently have an infection needing treatment. But, I'm willing to not have bareback sex with strangers. Mostly I have sex with trusted people I've known for years. When I do have sex with somebody else, like I did in Beverly Hills, we either use condoms or we don't have anal sex. And I'm 100% up front about this in my online profiles or when I meet somebody in person. This makes me more conservative than most gay guys, but I'm fine with this and I have zero problem meeting other guys who are also fine with this. K was willing to use condoms when we first met, so was Ben, so was Lawyer David. Missa still uses condoms with me.
All this stands in contrast with my willingness to use intoxicants for pleasure LOL. And my interest in BDSM. Neither of these are "conservative" approaches LOL. But I do believe in safety while intoxicated and while engaging with kink. I don't drive while intoxicated, and I avoid the more dangerous stuff like opioids and meth (no "hard" drugs as they say). I discuss safe BDSM practices with my partners.
Clearly I've made a trade off in my life to use unnecessary intoxicants for enhanced pleasure. But in general with other drugs I'm still conservative. Only use as needed, try to get along without them.
Like I didn't go get Paxlovid for my COVID infection because my symptoms seemed mild. Just let my immune system do its job.
A generally conservative approach to medicine makes for a good fit with my health provider, an HMO, because they're conservative also. Generally my doctor and I make a good team. I wish I could've seen her for my physical as scheduled this week. Now I'll see her in January instead.
This is an ongoing debate in the world of medicine. I'm not a medical professional, but I can't consult a medical professional every time I feel a symptom, so I try to learn enough to treat myself for non-urgent problems.
As over-the-counter remedies for common ailments became widely available, the widespread approach became: if you feel uncomfortable, here's a treatment you can apply. Have a headache or fever, take Tylenol. Have a cough, take Robitussin. Have a stuffy nose, take Sudafed. Have inflammation, take Advil. And so on.
Over time I've become more conservative about medicines, only wanting to take them if I have a true reasonable need. This is different from my approach to vaccines -- give me all the vaccines! But with respect to medicine, if I can get along safely without a medicine, I'd rather not take it.
A big example of this with me is Prep to block HIV. Almost every sexually-active gay man I know is on Prep. But I'm not. Instead, I continue to follow the safer sex practices that I learned during the AIDS epidemic, with one difference: if I know you and trust you and you are on Prep, then you don't have to use a condom with me. I live in a world in which I don't have to take Prep, because I don't bareback with strangers.
So when I'm suffering from a respiratory infection, I try to take the bare minimum of OTC medicines I need to tolerate my situation.
And, like now, when I'm suffering from a soft-tissue injury in or near my left patellar tendon, I try to take the bare minimum of OTC medicines I need to tolerate my situation. Yesterday, that bare minimum was the maximum, because I was in so much pain that I could barely walk around the house. Today, I'm not sure I'll take any OTC meds for my knee pain, because it hurts less and I'm more able to get around the house.
It's not that I'm anti-medicine. I just want to reduce my exposure to side effects, and allow my body to follow its normal immune and repair responses with minimal interference.
It's the same way with my prescription medicines. I only take as much asthma medicine as I need to breathe clearly. Some days I don't need any. With my muscle relaxers, I only take as needed and try to take only as much as needed.
I feel about DoxyPep the same way I feel about Prep. Many gay men are now taking antibiotics to prevent STDs instead of to treat STDs as they arise. I doubt I will ever do this, because I'll want to avoid the side effects of taking antibiotics when I don't currently have an infection needing treatment. But, I'm willing to not have bareback sex with strangers. Mostly I have sex with trusted people I've known for years. When I do have sex with somebody else, like I did in Beverly Hills, we either use condoms or we don't have anal sex. And I'm 100% up front about this in my online profiles or when I meet somebody in person. This makes me more conservative than most gay guys, but I'm fine with this and I have zero problem meeting other guys who are also fine with this. K was willing to use condoms when we first met, so was Ben, so was Lawyer David. Missa still uses condoms with me.
All this stands in contrast with my willingness to use intoxicants for pleasure LOL. And my interest in BDSM. Neither of these are "conservative" approaches LOL. But I do believe in safety while intoxicated and while engaging with kink. I don't drive while intoxicated, and I avoid the more dangerous stuff like opioids and meth (no "hard" drugs as they say). I discuss safe BDSM practices with my partners.
Clearly I've made a trade off in my life to use unnecessary intoxicants for enhanced pleasure. But in general with other drugs I'm still conservative. Only use as needed, try to get along without them.
Like I didn't go get Paxlovid for my COVID infection because my symptoms seemed mild. Just let my immune system do its job.
A generally conservative approach to medicine makes for a good fit with my health provider, an HMO, because they're conservative also. Generally my doctor and I make a good team. I wish I could've seen her for my physical as scheduled this week. Now I'll see her in January instead.