No morning hand joint pain

Been noticing I haven't had morning joint pain in my right hand when I wake up since donating blood on February 16, 2020, a little over a month ago.  But I did have puffiness in right hand today, with no pain.   First time since blood donation I've had hand puffiness.   Last night's dinner was bbq chicken on homemade roll with lettuce and arugula.  Leftover broccoli soup.  Baked potato.  Lemonade with gin.

My neck - 4 years later

Not much improvement since 2 years ago, newest xray on left, oldest xray from 4 years ago on far right.  Neck it at a straight position, no curvature.  Now we hope it'll start curing in the right direction.

Upper back scoliosis still there.   That one hard to fix, stretching in both directions could help.

At the beginning, Chip had said it'll take 5-8 years.  So I asked how much longer, realistically.  He says 2 years.   I'll be 50 then. 

Burning Mouth Syndrome from Sensodyne

This weird thing started to happen right around when I donated blood.  It was a sensation in my mouth that I had scalded it with hot water and it hadn't healed yet.  Anything acidic burned my mouth, and there were sores on both sides of my tongue.  My mouth felt extremely dry upon waking, often times sticking together.  I've been drinking the usual amount of water so I ruled out dehydration.  Internet searching showed other people had it too, some as long as 3 years. Yikes.  I think what I have is burning mouth syndrome, a lot of the symptoms fit.  The cause is unknown, but some theories include low iron and zinc, having dental work done, and some sensitive tooth toothpastes.  I had been using Sensodyne for a week when I started to notice something odd. At first I thought it would just go away so didn't think much of it even tho it hurt to eat. Drinking wine and eating citrus and fruit was painful but tolerable. I also thought it could be the blood donation maybe dropped my iron really low.  About a week into the condition, I took some iron pills and stopped using Sensodyne.  It began to heal.  It's been about two weeks now, overall much better but not 100% normal.  Maybe 90%.  I can eat normally now but I do have mild soreness on my tongue.  Talked to dentist Dr. Berg about it, she had heard of Burning Tongue Syndrome but not Burning Mouth.  That lady was diagnosed as possibly low on B-vitamins.

Burning mouth syndrome is the medical term for ongoing (chronic) or recurrent burning in the mouth without an obvious cause. This discomfort may affect the tongue, gums, lips, inside of your cheeks, roof of your mouth (palate) or widespread areas of your whole mouth. The burning sensation can be severe, as if you scalded your mouth.

Burning mouth syndrome usually appears suddenly, but it can develop gradually over time. Unfortunately, the specific cause often can't be determined. Although that makes treatment more challenging, working closely with your health care team can help you reduce symptoms.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/burning-mouth-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20350911?fbclid=IwAR3z4UWnJ99BcG5xypGWUzu0e4kTVb-wqus8gi0WGyCKTKA4KV2UNPZ23Jw

Amazon reviews on this particular kind of Sensodyne, which I wasn't using but the complaints fit my description.

https://www.amazon.com/Sensodyne-Rapid-Relief-Sensitivity-Toothpaste/dp/B079Y7RCZ6?th=1&fbclid=IwAR2ZRoV690YiYLoLv6cKF5gm2ekQwqiruN24mPjACi1JiAbVk9baQoTqBC4

After it completely goes away, may try the Sensodyne again.  Or see if it happens again the next time I give blood.  Haven't found any info on the blood donation link to this tho. 

From American Red Cross:

Each time you donate blood, you lose between 220-250 mg of iron.  It may take up to 24-30 weeks for your body to replace the iron lost through a blood donation. That time may vary, depending on what your iron level was before donating and if you take iron supplements or multivitamins with iron.

From National Institute of Healths (NIH):

Researchers separated the blood donors into two groups based on their iron levels: a lower iron and a higher iron group.  Half of each group was randomized to take one tablet of ferrous gluconate (38 mg of low dose iron) daily for 24 weeks following their blood donation. Hemoglobin and iron levels were measured seven times during the study. Compared to donors who did not take iron, the donors taking iron supplements returned to pre-donation hemoglobin levels faster in both the lower iron (five weeks versus 23 weeks) and higher iron groups (four weeks versus 11 weeks). Similarly, donors taking iron supplements recovered lost iron more rapidly than those not receiving supplements (11 weeks versus more than 24 weeks). Without iron supplementation, two thirds of the donors did not recover the iron lost from donating blood after 24 weeks.

Foods high in iron include:

• meat, such as lamb, pork, chicken, and beef
• beans
• pumpkin and squash seeds
• leafy greens, such as spinach
• raisins and other dried fruit
• eggs
• seafood, such as clams, sardines, shrimp, and oysters
• iron-fortified dry and instant cereals