January 11, 2010

Later today, I go to see my surgeon for my post-surgical office visit. The incision is clean and dry, no redness (erythema), no drainage, no swelling and it appears to be healing very well. Nice and clean, with no signs of infection.
 
Of course, it’s a bit tender still, but nothing like it was for the first few days. As a surgeon myself, I know that it’s healing well, and I’m  grateful it is. But the doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient, or so they say. 
 
So, I will dutifully go to the surgeon and get his official evaluation and his blessing, before starting back on my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA,  http://www.favoriteformulas.com  my garlic, DR. BILL’S MAXIMUM ALLICIN FORMULA (only available for those already on my fish oil), which enhances the lipid lowering actions of the pharmaceutical grade, enteric coated fish oil, to make it a net cholesterol lowering agent, as well as lowering triglycerides.
 
Especially since this cold snap and nasty, rainy weather lately has made me feel my incision more lately, than before, I’ve really missed its natural anti-inflammatory action. Did you know that in a number of clinical studies, fish oil was found to have an equivalent effect to NSAID’s, but without their adverse side effects? It’s true. In fact, in cases of rheumatoid arthritis, fish oil use allowed some patients to reduce, or eliminate NSAID’s. 
 
And, as I’ve mentioned before, inflammation is a necessary part of this hernia repair, allowing the ingrowth of fibrous tissue into the implanted mesh. So I have had to forgo the comfort of my usual dose. But, as a result, all my joints are “talking” to me, my back is aching and of course, the incision site aches, too. So I’ll be glad to get the OK to start it up again.
 
I’ll also be glad to start some mild knee pain exercises for my aching knees, like those in my newly redone and expanded PAIN-FREE PROGRAM and full length DVD  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
Combined with walking and isometrics, I can begin the long process of rebuilding my fitness, a step at a time. Luckily, he did a subcuticular closure, meaning there are no sutures to be removed–a long suture under the edges of the skin gives a hairline scar and a tight closure. There wasn’t even a drop of blood, when I took off the initial dressing. Good job, all in all.
 
So, I’m looking forward to a positive evaluation, now eleven days and counting, out from my surgery. This will take about six months to really mature, but this is a good beginning. Thank God! If there’s ever going to be a problem or a complication, it’s gonna happen in a doctor, guaranteed. 
 
Well, over the weekend, we had that plumber return and install a couple of new toilets for us. I went upstairs, to say hello and came up on him, kneeling on the bathroom marble floor, while setting the base of the commode. And, whaddyaknow…he was wearing KNEE PADS! Just like I told him to. 
 
You know, usually, I give folks good advice and more often than not, they ignore it. People often don’t respect or value what they don’t pay for. But not this guy. I told him I was proud of him. He said, “Hey, if I’m told something by a guy who knows what he’s talking about, I listen.”
 
Well, good for him. If he sticks with his new protection, he’ll be real happy a dozen years from now, when he DOESN’T have to suffer with patellofemoral arthritis. For more simple, but effective tips on preventing, or treating knee pain, try my LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
So that’s it for today, my friend. Talk to you soon. Til next time, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
“The Wellness Warrior” TM
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to  http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

Here I am back in Southampton, having delivered another batch of cats to their new digs. They were remarkably good for the entire trip–they cry a little bit at the start of each day, but then they settle down and go to sleep. All except the smallest one, who can see right out the front window, through her cage door, situated as it is between my wife and me–she looks and looks, with wide eyes. I wonder what she’s thinking, seeing all that world out there, just flashing by….
 
Anyway, for a trip of over a thousand miles, they really did do very well. Unlike my last trip down to Florida, the weather was clear and bright the entire way. But COLD! You live in Florida for a while, your blood gets “thinner.” Well, not really, but you do get much more sensitive to the cold when you’re living in a warmer clime. And of course, I didn’t realize that I had forgotten our coats until I was well on the way here, and went to look for them.
 
24 degrees it was, last night in Maryland, and I was freezing my butt off, ferrying cats into the motel room, two at a time, in their carriers. And
for about the 800th time, I said to my loving wife, “Are you friggin’ CRAZY?! THIS is what you’re dragging me back to? Are you out if your mind?”  Then I strangled her. No. Not really. But I’m confident that no jury would convict me….:)
 
I DID however, point out to her that if ever she doubted my love for her, THIS should quell any doubts. Brrrrrrrrrr!
 
On a positive note, she didn’t get any mosquito bites.
 
Well, we finally got them all packed into the car for the last leg of their fantastic voyage. And we’re driving along at more or less the speed limit  (honest) when two cars pass me at warp speed, like I was standing still, one on either side. And both were trying to occupy the same space at the same time, right in front of me.
 
Now, you don’t have to be a genius at math or physics to realize that that won’t work in the real world. I instinctively did what good sense dictated: I stepped on the brake to allow young Newton and the new Einstein to battle it out just ahead of me. Ah, the excitement and drama, when idiots (almost) collide. 
 
You see, perhaps thirty years ago, I would have stepped on the ACCELERATOR. But, hopefully, with a bit of age, testosterone levels decline a little and acetylcholine rises, so brain triumphs over hormomal urges to a pointless (and dangerous) battle. As it happens, they nearly did run right into each other. Missed disaster by a whisker.
 
Unutterably stupid. 
 
But, I’m more charitable these days. After all, if it wasn’t for clowns like these, those of us with more than two neurons firing couldn’t feel special.
 
Meanwhile, I discovered a new way to deal with aching knees while driving on long distance trips. This is especially good for cars (like mine) that don’t permit the driver’s seat to slide back far enough to allow the knee to fully extend. 
 
In these cars, you’re forced to keep your driving knee bent for hours. And if, like me, you have chondromalacia (degenerative softening of the cartilage behind the kneecap–see the full description of this, and many other knee problems, in my LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, at  http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html ), this forced flexion results in a really annoying ache, that builds with time.
 
So, here’s what I learned. Most cars today have a cruise control. When you’re on cruise control, you can control your speed with your fingers, while steering.  And while you’re on a long straightaway (obviously, you DON’T use this method when on a series of turns, or when you’re surrounded by other cars), I found that you can straighten your driving leg, do quad isometrics, just like those I teach in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM, at  http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html/.
 
Again, obviously, DO NOT DO THIS IF THERE IS ANY CHANCE THAT YOU MIGHT NEED TO BRAKE SUDDENLY–because you CAN’T. So use this judiciously.
 
By tensing my quads (like any other isometric exercise), for multiple reps, then switching legs and repeating, I made a trip of over a thousand miles, without any knee pain. Simple, but effective.
 
Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

This email comes much later than most because we just got in from a Hampton Jitney Tour into New York City. We got up at the crack of dawn this morning, around 5:45AM, so we could get to Riverhead, where we were to meet the Jitney. I know the proverbial early bird catches the worm, but this WAS pretty early…especially for me. I need my “beauty sleep!”

My wife had arranged this little excursion because her father and a friend of ours have been staying with us all this week. This was a particularly nice trip and I’d been looking forward to it all week. I have to tell you, this was a really nice way to get into The City. I’d never done this before, but I got to rest, even nap a little, in comfort and with no stress. 

Normally, just driving into New York, especially in the morning rush hour, leaves me tense and often with a tension headache, just from dealing with the traffic and trying to stay alive on the road. There’s a reason they say “The LIE (Long Island Expressway) is LOL.” We got in about an hour and a half early at Chelsea Piers, on the West Side of Manhattan, right on the Hudson River. 

The plan was to have lunch aboard one of the harbor cruises in New York Harbor, then see a play at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The weather was supposed to be lousy–rain was expected from Tuesday night through Wednesday morning. Luckily, the rain held off all day. We only saw some rain tonight, on the way back home. So, despite the dire predictions, we had just great conditions–not too hot, not too cold, mostly sunny with a nice breeze. All in all, couldn’t have been better. 

The food was pretty good, too. I had the wild salmon with dill sauce that was REALLY good. Spent most of the time above decks, taking photos of the skyline, just like the rest of the tourists.Then, we all got back on the bus and were dropped off at the Vivian Beaumont. 

The play was “SOUTH PACIFIC,” the first revival since the original musical production in 1949. It’s based on the novel by James Michner, “TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC.” As sheer entertainment, it was terrific! Many of the musical numbers and songs from this Rogers & Hammerstein production have entered the cultural lexicon: “Some Enchanted Evening,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” “Bali Hai,”and a number of others were dimly remembered from my youth (I saw the movie, not the original play). It was well done and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. 

One of the funny things was that my father-in-law, Charlie, who actually WAS in the South Pacific Theatre during World War II, said, “Bill, I don’t remember the South Pacific being like THAT. It was hot and sticky and the enlisted men were NOT allowed to fraternize with the natives.” Well, that’s show business for you!

The thing about the theatre is that the rows of seats are so jammed together that your knees are bent, with virtually NO leg room. And I’m not a tall guy. Really tall people must feel like they’re folded up and boxed in! And for three hours, too! It was a loooong play. 
 
So my knees and those of all my party were aching by the time the play was finished. But at the intermission, I was able to knock out a few quadriceps setting isometrics, like those I teach in my new program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
I swear, it was like magic! The aches disappeared–just like that. 
 
And that’s what YOU can expect, with this and other tips I reveal in this new healing program.If you have knee pain, sore kneecaps, or knee injury,and want FAST pain relief , with conservative, non-surgical treatments and selected, specially modified exercises, then try my program today: http://drbillsclicic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html

So, all-in-all, a really pleasant day…and you might even say, an “enchanted evening,” too. We had a great time. 
 
Well, it’s back to Florida tomorrow, for a while at least. Talk to you soon, my friend. Meanwhile, be well. Til next time,
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill  

P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 

P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html

FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved