Posted on 29 January 2010 @ 12:37 in Gadgets, Health
Except in this case, it wouldn’t have helped. The manufacturer had expected the buyers to buy the complete kit, so that everything would work together.
About a week ago, I’d bought a Nike+ Sportband to help with my morning walks. While it won’t help me walk better or more often, it is a cool gadget that’s a few steps up from my previous pedometer and handphone.
The Sportband is one part of a two-piece kit that is worn on the wrist and has a detachable electronic counter (like a pendrive). The other part of the kit is a tiny sensor (Nazley describes it as the height of a stack of three 50 sen coins) which goes inside one of the shoes. After calibration, the sensor communicates information to the counter on the wrist (the most important being distance) which is unplugged after each workout and plugged into the computer to send the information to the Nike Running site where the user has previously set up an account.
There is actually a third part to the two-piece kit. Actually, it’s more like an accessory. It’s a pair of Nike+ shoes that has a slot in the inside sole of one of the shoes to place the sensor during workout.
Before buying, I’d checked with my cousin’s son who has been using the gadget for a while. He said the shoes were not compulsory, the sensor works fine with any workout shoes, just slip it inside one of the shoes. And that was where the problem laid.
Because Nike expected everyone to buy the special Nike+ shoes to complete the kit, they did not include information on how to place the sensor inside a regular pair of shoes. The first time I used the Sportband and sensor, it showed I’d walked a measly 0.34 km. I knew that was not right, as I’d previously mapped the route online and saw that it was 0.7km, which I walk 4 times. The second time was even worse – 0.02km!!
Had I purchased a faulty sensor?
So I went to the Nike forums and did a search. And found that I was not the only user with a “faulty” sensor. I found that it was not the sensor that was faulty. The problem was in the way the sensor is placed in the shoe.
Apparently, this was a problem Nike had not anticipated because someone from Nike participated in one of the discussions (yes, there was more than one discussion) at the Nike forums and helped to figure out what was wrong.
This is how the sensor should be placed in a non Nike+ shoe:
parallel to the road and face up, with the Nike Swoosh logo “facing the sky”
I’m guessing that this placement problem never came up with the proper Nike+ shoes. I’m guessing if a user had placed the sensor “upside down” in the slot, it would not have been a perfect fit, so the user would’ve simply taken it out and placed it correctly. After all, there are only two ways to place the sensor in the slot – the logo side facing upward or inside the slot.
So, after finding the solution on the Nike forums, I placed the sensor correctly this morning and recalibrated it with the recommended 0.4km walk. I then did my usual walk and was glad to see the distance toting up nicely as I walked. By the end of my walk, the distance shown was an encouraging 3.94km.
To stop the sensor from slipping and sliding inside the sock, I’d placed a bit of Blu Tack on the bottom of the sensor and stuck it to the top of my right foot before putting on the sock.
No more problems. Well, not exactly. I’d like to get a holder for the sensor. Nazley has a DIY holder, but I’m a lousy DIYer so I googled and found various products. All well and good, except they’re not available in Malaysia. I know, because I’d gone into four sports shops (including Nike Women) at a shopping mall to ask, and all I got in return were funny stares like I’m not from this planet.
Now I need to figure out how to get one from the States.
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Posted on 28 August 2009 @ 08:36 in Health
It’s raining. If not, I would be out there on my morning walk. If I were, this would be the first time I achieve the three-times-a-week routine I’m supposed to do. So far, it has been either twice or even just once a week, usually the latter. Some weeks, there were none.
Of couse, I could go and use the walking machine in the gym on the ground floor of my apartment block. I’ve used that before. But ever since I got into the semi-habit of walking outdoors, the indoor alternative has not seemed attractive at all.
This is for my own good. For my health, in general, but specifically, for my bones. It’s what my rheumatologist says I have to do.
Back in March this year, I took the bone mass density test. The last time I had it done was maybe 2 years ago. The results, when compared to the last set of tests, showed that my bones had deteriorated about 8% over the last 2 years.
I could immediately think of the reason for it. Steroids. Prednisolone. It’s one of the two main meds for my lupus condition. Not a big dose, just one 5mg tablet every other day, but over 15 years (with higher doses some months during those years due to a flare in my lupus), it adds up.
But there is another reason for the bone deterioration. Menopause. This is supposed to be a major milestone for women, complete with mood swings, hot flushes and whatnots. For me, it was a quiet transition to the next stage of my life. Actually, I’m assuming I’ve gone thro menopause. There is one less item on my shopping list, which accounts for this assumption. But I digress …
Rheumie also said bone changes are at the highest in the couple of years after menopause. Couple that with my long-term prednisolone use, and that explains the 8% bone deterioration.
Was there anything I could do to put a brake on this?
Yes, there were two items. One was imposed from the outside, the other from the inside, requiring self-discipline.
The outside imposed item was an addition to my meds in the form of a weekly Fosamax dose. I was familiar with Fosamax, having helped to give it to my mother quite a few years ago when she needed it. It’s used to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis, and according to the official website, “the only treatment with Vitamin D, which helps absorb calcium and build strong, healthy bone”.
Prior to this, I had been taking Caltrade to maintain my bone’s health, supplemented with Rocaltrol for the Vitamin D to absorb the calcium. Apparently, the combination was not enough.
Taking Fosamax requires some self-discipline. It’s a once-a-week dose to be taken on the same day, and to be taken first thing in the morning, before food, and after it’s taken, I cannot eat and must remain in an upright position – no going back to bed – for 30 minutes. So far, I’ve been good with this, I even brought along the required dose for my trip to see my pandas in May. I only managed to forget once. When I did, I checked the instructions and found that I could take it the following morning. But I forgot to take it the following morning, and was in a bit of a dilemma until I realised that the following-following morning would still be another 5 days to the next official dose, so by my own reasoning, was still okay to take, better than not taking at all.
The second item ordered by my rheumie was more exercise, particularly a weight-bearing exercise that would get me moving and my bones acting, or re-acting. The easiest weight-bearing exercise, believe it or not, is walking. It is also the least likely to cause injury. I can’t run, or even jog, because the impact would affect my weakened bones. So, I had to walk. And I had to want to walk. That’s where the self-discipline comes in.
It took a while before I settled on my current routine. Initially, I used to go for evening walks around the school field near my sister’s house. But it was a difficult routine to keep; some evenings, I would be late getting there, and if the rest of the family were already home, I couldn’t very well say, wait, let me go for my walk and then we can have dinner. So it was an erratic walking schedule.
Next, I tried indoor walking, inspired by a short story by Preeta Samarasan in the MPH collection, Urban Odysseys. It was fun because I got to look at the window displays as I walked past the shops. But indoor walking just didn’t cut it for me.
Finally, I decided to try the path across the road from my apartment complex. So simple. It was right there in my own “backyard”, but I’d resisted it, mainly out of embarrassment – what would people think? Actually, what do I care what people think – my health is more important.
So now, my walking routine is established, and just needs to be boosted and maintained at three-times-a-week. I even have a little side-routine to get the most out of each walk. I’d read up about it, and have learned to check my pulse before and after each walk, to see if my walking rate is sufficient to keep my heart pumping within an acceptable range – it is. I also wear a simple digital pedometer to help me count my steps on each walk. There’s one more thing I do – I use the stopwatch function in my handphone (mobile / cell) to time each walk. So far, I’ve averaged 35 minutes and 4,000 over steps each walk. Oh yes, there’s one more thing I do – I keep a walking log on my Evernote account, so at a glance, I know how many times I walked each month, and how I fared each time.
Walking. It’s so simple. And inexpensive. And I can say it’s made a difference to my previous sedentary lifestyle. Especially when done in the morning before the rest of the day catches up and drags me down. It may not be much, especially when there are lots of other more exciting ways to keep and stay fit – swimming, jogging, running a marathon, hiking, mountain climbing … But different ways to keep and stay fit for different people, and for me, walking is my way.
Tree-lined and with a rocky side on the left, this walking path across from my apartment complex is shaded against the sun and helps keep my lupus in check
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Posted on 3 April 2009 @ 14:39 in Family, Health
Mother turned 83 on Monday. I’d promised her ice cream, but then remembered she was having quite a bad cough so I brought her a slice of White Chocolate Macadamia cake from Secret Recipe. I did tell her I would still get her ice cream when she has recovered from the cough.
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I was preparing to send Darren a text message when I noticed father’s number is still listed in the contact list. So is my niece WY’s. It’s been a few years since they left us, and I haven’t deleted their numbers from my handphone yet. It’s not like I expect to hear from them (!). Maybe it’s my way of remembering them? But a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of them, especially WY. It’s interesting that I should think of them together today of all days – today, 3 April, is sandwiched between the two dates when they left us, WY on 31 March 2006 and father on 15 April 2005.
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The three of us (sister, brother and I) have just gone through some health scares. My brother was the last to get a review of his situation (I just received a text message from him about the results, and it’s good).
All three of us cleared our respective health hurdles. Mine has the most lingering effect. The latest set of bone density test results showed a deterioration in my hips, a loss of 8% over 2 years, which is more than what is allowed for someone my age.
My rheumatologist thinks it’s due to a combination of my use of prednisolone for my lupus and the fact that I just passed menopause. She said bone loss will be most noticeable between 3 to 5 years of menopause. To combat the deterioration, she’s put me on Fosamax, which has been proven to help build bone mass. It’s just one tablet a week, but must be taken on the same day every week, first thing in the morning, and no food or lying down for 30 minutes after that.
I also think the bone loss is due to my lack of mobility (read: exercise). To combat that, I have started (well, resumed, since I’ve done this before) a mild form of regular exercise, which I need to be regular about!
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Posted on 14 March 2009 @ 22:07 in Health
My dear friend Val has posted some pictures from our lunch back in November 2008. The pictures included 2 of me holding her nephew, Remy. Looking at the second of the two pictures, I realised how much my left forearm had cleared since the minor lupus flare back in May 2007.
Left forearm in November 2008
Same forearm back in May 2007
Trully, if a picture paints a thousand words, then the first picture shows the good health I’m enjoying now that I’m no longer in a 9-to-5 job but working on my own with the luxury of choosing my own projects.
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Posted on 30 November 2008 @ 16:35 in Family, Health, Tech Stuff
My lupus meds are quite boring. They’re the same colour, white. Well, except for the Rocaltro which is white and orange, but it’s not really a lupus med, but a supplement. And it’s in a white foil pack until I pop two to take every other day.
In contrast, mother’s various meds include two whites that come in foil packs in their own branded boxes (so there’s no worry about getting them mixed up), as well as two other meds that are refilled loose from a bulk supply from a medical centre – Lasix, which is white, and Digoxin, which is blue. To help me differentiate the two so I don’t refill the wrong med in the wrong transparent bottle at the nursing home, I use a blue tablet container for the Digoxin (same colour) and a yellow for the Lasix (cuz there’s no white container in the set, only pink, blue, green and yellow). To make doubly sure I don’t mix up the two meds, I used my Brother labeller to make name labels to put on the containers. Like this …
It’s one of my tasks to liaise with the nursing home regarding mother’s medications. Whenever they run low, they would give me a call to bring a refill the next time I visit mother. I used to give them the full refill but the person previously in charge of medication would call to let me know only when there were very few tablets left. Some of mother’s meds require special orders, and there was at least one instance when we nearly couldn’t refill on time to make sure there was no interruption in the supply. Now, what I do is keep about two weeks’ supply on standby at home, so that when it’s time to refill, I give the nursing home the standby meds and then call the pharmacy to refill the prescription. As for the Lasix and Digoxin, I would get a three-month refill from the medical centre but give the nursing home a month’s supply at a time, so as to keep track of the meds; it’s more for my own peace of mind.
Meds are not the only area I use colours to help me manage. I also use different coloured inks for my handwritten notes. This is so that when I flip through my notes to look for something, the different ink colours help me find what I’m looking for faster. I use blue for my work notes, purple for personal notes, brown for family notes, and red for expenses.
But instead of having individual pens for each colour, I have found a multiple pen that contains three different coloured inks, and have two, the first one containing red, blue and black inks, adn the second containing purple, brown and green inks. Such pens have been available for a long time – as far back as when I was still in school – but recently, I found one with gel inks that I prefer over fountain pen or regular ballpoint pen inks.
The pen, a Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto, is quite environmentally friendly as it uses refills and has a flip top that allows for the refills to be changed quite easily.
Best of all, the pen barrels and refills are available locally; I’ve seen them in two bookshops, Popular in IKANO and my preferred supplier, Cziplee in Bangsar.
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