said a prayer for you!  I know, I can’t believe how fast things get out of control when you take a day off.  Hope your weekend goes well!

I said a prayer for you too. I hope you are able to accomplish everything that needs to get done. Remember…. good enough is the new perfect:)

Prayers going up for you! A loud “AMEN!” to what Kristi said…perfect, shmerfect.  Just good enough - a solid “C” - is a great goal after illness.

Remember that you’ll need some time to recoup after the daytrip, too, so reset your “back to normal” clock to…oh, maybe next weekend?  (Seriously.)  We took a daytrip on Thurs. & I’m still tripping over piles, looking at the overflowing hamper, etc.

Crockpot meals, paper plates, skipping baths, a video or two…or three…don’t beat yourself up, be *kind* to yourself!  As kind as you would be if it were one of us posting & you were giving advice.

I know the feeling!  I was sick one evening this week, and felt like I was playing catch-up all week.  I hope the holiday weekend helps get you back on track!

Thanks everyone!  I love how uplifting it can be to get on here and see replies that others have posted to something I posted on here earlier.  I am always amazed at how much can be accomplished during nap time, but, for the last half-hour of nap time, I’m gonna rest! God Bless You all.

Artificial anything makes my joints hurt, but what you are describing doesn’t sound like a reaction from artificial sweetener.  It would affect ALL your joints, not just your upper body.  That diagnosis can only be made by a doctor or chiropractor though.  Good Luck!  BTW when I lost 50 pounds, a lot of my joint pain went away.  It’s tough.  I"ll be praying for you.

first talk to your doctor.  cutting out sweetner is not a bad idea, but there could be a whole legion of reasons from poor body posture to arthritis to weak muscles that could be the culprit.  hopefully between you and your doctor you can come up with a plan that is both helpful and practical (i personally adore diet coke so the no sweetner thing would be a tough one on this front).  good luck and God bless.

Melissa - I don’t know about artificial sweeteners and joint pain, but it certainly can’t hurt to drop them from your diet. I’ve never been a huge soda drinker, but one way I cut the occasional can out of my diet was to acquire a taste for flavored seltzer water. I call it my “fizzy water.” It takes a little getting used to, but you get that carbonated zip without the calories or artificial stuff.

That said, there are probably lots of causes of joint pain. You may want to just go and get it checked out.

I cannot directly address your question regarding the joint pain, but I also have heard nothing but bad stuff about the health effects of artificial sweeteners.  I would, however, HIGHLY recommend the sweetener stevia.  There is nothing artificial about it, it is the leaf of the stevia plant, and it is all good, in fact adds a little fiber to the diet. It has 0 calories, 0 sugar, and a glycemic index of 0.  It can be found in powder or liquid form.  I personally like the Sweet Leaf brand (liquid form) for mixing with cold drinks.  I don’t think it’s actually approved for sale as a sweetener, only as a dietary supplement.  I find this in the health food area of the grocery store.  Walmart carries Nature’s Bounty brand in the vitamins/herbal supplements area.  I personally can attest to a 15 pound weight loss in the last year when I stopped drinking soda and other sugary drinks.  Instead, I drink tea or coffee, sweetened with stevia.  If I have a taste for soda, I’ll drink sparkling (carbonated) water, sweetened with stevia and a little fruit juice.  Blessings to you!

Melissa,
I second the recommendation for trying Stevia, powder or liquid.
Also, Splenda is technically sugar/sucralose.  Not aspartame, and I know you can Google just about anything and get a million hits telling you this/that/the other thing is the devil, but Splenda might be a different route for you.  Stevia is definitely worth it for me.

Also, there are correlational studies about diet sodas & overweight.  Not sure that anything’s turned up a causative effect, but one theory is that your body “knows” somehow that it’s being fooled, and it ends up just wanting more calories in the long run.

I can’t find a link right now, but I think there were some finding about carbonated drinks & arthritis…I’m not diagnosing your pain as arthritis, mind you, but if there’s a strong family history, you might consider that & research more.

Anyway, with all that said about diet sodas, sometimes that is the quickest pick-me-up available to me…a nice little fizzy glass o’caffeine & I’m good for a few more hours.  But just as quick can be iced tea or an iced coffee (I’m from New England; we like that…)

The other thought I had would be to consider the skills of a chiropractor.  If that’s not possible, maybe a massage therapist?  And if that’s not possible, do long, hot showers help any?  Or would an icing regimine sound better?  Bottom line, I guess, is you may need to see a doctor.

I prayed for you last night as I hauled my aching body through the p.m. clean up routine.  (Oh, how I detest pots & pans…)    Hang in there.  God bless.

Re: Diet soda and joint pain… my father was a diabetic for 40+ years and drank diet soda and used NutraSweet pretty much since they invented it, and no joint pain (he really never even suffered from arthritis) or any other side effects that could be linked to the sweeteners. He took excellent care of himself and was the healthiest person I ever knew. Just one person’s experience, anyway!

(Sorry this got posted in the wrong spot last night.)  Artificial anything makes my joints hurt, but what you are describing doesn’t sound like a reaction from artificial sweetener.  It would affect ALL your joints, not just your upper body.  That diagnosis can only be made by a doctor or chiropractor though.  Good Luck!  BTW when I lost 50 pounds, a lot of my joint pain went away.  It’s tough.  I"ll be praying for you.

I’ve experienced joint pain also in the last year.  After going to the doctor for that and other complaints, they put me on Vitamin D3 and the joint pain all but disappeared.  A blood test showed I was low.  Just a thought….Good luck- hope you feel better!