Blood test results: It turns out my iron and haemoglobin levels are pretty good – the highest they’ve ever been on blood tests. Even so, the iron levels are a long way off the maximum healthy level, and, with how quickly they’ve dropped in the past, I am going to self-medicate another course of iron tablets. The last course took my ferritin from 20 to 62, and the healthy range is 20 to 300. It turns out you can buy the tablets I was taking – ferrous sulfate 200mg – over the counter without a prescription (though you need to ask), and it’s actually cheaper than a prescription.
Injury: I mentioned my ongoing running injury woes to the doctor. She had a good feel around and told me that the area of pain is a busy area full of soft tissue, tendons, fascia, etc. She recommended a week’s course of ibuprofen to reduce inflammation, then re-asses. I was completely hyped for this until I read the side effects list of ibuprofen, then got cold feet. I have had problems with stomach bleeding in the past (hence the iron tablets), so I get nervous when I read it on side effects. So I haven’t taken any.
Instead, I’m trying to get some anti-inflammatory effects through my diet and I’m coming around to the idea that I just need to rest it. It is improving, but it’s not there yet.
Interestingly, although she didn’t say it to me, she recorded it on my record as a strain of the tendon of the medial thigh muscle – so not my abs at all. It makes sense – I have found that stretching my inner thigh can give an unpleasant pulling sensation in the area it’s been hurting.
Rambles 
Soft tissue strains and injuries can take so long to heal – it’s very frustrating. When I sprained my ankle it was months before it was back to normal, and it took a month or more to heal a recent neck strain, and that included rest, ibuprofen and even a round of steroids! I do think letting yourself rest is going to be one of the most important factors for healing.
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In my extensive experience of hurting myself running, soft tissue injuries usually heal faster if you keep up some activity… except for the times that they don’t!
I remember seeing you post about your neck problems, is it feeling OK now?
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Yes, thankfully the medication & suggested care worked and it’s back to normal now. I think what helped me most was changing how I had my neck and head positioned while sleeping though. (Maybe if a muscle in your leg is the problem, some kind of adjustment to your sleeping position would help, too?)
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That’s good!
And possibly yes! I’ll pay more attention to my sleep position and try to make sure my legs are straight and not pulled across my body (i.e. contracting the muscle in question).
I used to get intermittent numbness in my little finger on my right hand… it turned out that sleeping with my arm bent was compressing a nerve at the elbow which would manifest as random numbness during the day.
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Sounds like good news 🙂
Am glad you mentioned the injury while you were there. As hard as rest is, sometimes it’s as well to heed the body asking for it before it forces a stop.
What would you eat for anti-inflammatory?
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Sooo, anti-inflammatory foods are things like oily fish, kale, spinach, tomatoes and green tea. There are others too, and some foods promote inflammation, like processed meat and sugary things. It’s probably not nearly as effective as ibuprofen, but a bit safer.
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I’d heard wheat also promotes inflammation (or maybe I mean gluten). I was trying to get my dad to give up bread for a week to see if it helped ease his arthritis but he wasn’t interested 😦
let us know how it goes 🙂
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Lol, your dad sounds like my mum. Trying to get her to look after herself is impossible!
I have seen white bread under the “foods to avoid”… but I like white bread 🤔
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White bread is the devil’s work lol. I’m more a fan of granary / nutty / fruity loaves.
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