Whether it is snake oil or not, I do not know...
Back in August, I learned that I had arthritis. This wasn't a tremendously surprising diagnosis as there has been arthritis in my family and I had experienced an increasing aching in my hands and joints. My doctor prescribed some anti-inflammatory medication but I didn't care for it at all: one of them left me feeling drunk, the other left me feeling angry. As this was all taking place during the beginning of the school year, I anticipated that it'd not be a good idea either to teach (1) woozy or (2) angry.
So I contented myself with a lot of Aleve. Playing a feis (on the accordion) became an increasing burden and I'd have to take Aleve two hours in to the day, a few hours after that, and then at the end. My hands would be in tremendous pain after each feis and I began to wonder if my music career was slowly coming to a close.
In January, a friend suggested that I try something called Astaxanthin. I began taking it, 10mg each day, starting in January. After about three weeks, I noticed a slight alleviation of pain in my hands. After six weeks, I played a feis and realized half-way through that I hadn't needed to take any Aleve. Last month I played back-to-back feiseanna (two days in a row) and needed to take nothing. Yesterday, I played yet another feis and today have absolutely no pain in my hands.
I don't know if it's all in my head or if there is something to this supplement. I know how frustrating it can be to feel the creeping feeling of arthritic pain and I'm grateful that these symptoms seem to have been addressed. I can't think of any other reason for there to have been such a significant improvement in my hands, so I'm currently attributing it to the astaxanthin. If anyone else has had similar experiences, I'd love to hear about them.
So I contented myself with a lot of Aleve. Playing a feis (on the accordion) became an increasing burden and I'd have to take Aleve two hours in to the day, a few hours after that, and then at the end. My hands would be in tremendous pain after each feis and I began to wonder if my music career was slowly coming to a close.
In January, a friend suggested that I try something called Astaxanthin. I began taking it, 10mg each day, starting in January. After about three weeks, I noticed a slight alleviation of pain in my hands. After six weeks, I played a feis and realized half-way through that I hadn't needed to take any Aleve. Last month I played back-to-back feiseanna (two days in a row) and needed to take nothing. Yesterday, I played yet another feis and today have absolutely no pain in my hands.
I don't know if it's all in my head or if there is something to this supplement. I know how frustrating it can be to feel the creeping feeling of arthritic pain and I'm grateful that these symptoms seem to have been addressed. I can't think of any other reason for there to have been such a significant improvement in my hands, so I'm currently attributing it to the astaxanthin. If anyone else has had similar experiences, I'd love to hear about them.
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