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Health Update – 12-2-16

2 Dec

Happy December friends! Thanks for stopping by SGL today, I’m so glad you’re here! Once a month, I review how I’ve been feeling – how the treatment for my Lyme Disease is going, and all the other fun things I’ve got going on.

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November was a month of contradictions. For the majority of it, I felt really beyond awful. But when I felt good – I felt really good! There wasn’t much in between for me. I had some ‘fun’ new symptoms start/kick it up a notch and my migraines tended to last an average of 55 hours. Yep. 55 HOURS. If that’s not fun, I don’t know what fun is. Stores are still places of pure torture wrapped in spikes and crocodiles.

For a quick report from my migraine app – Migraine Buddy –  88% happened on weekdays, 12% weekends. Average pain level was 7.6 , high was 9 and low 6. My top Auras were fatigue/achiness and muscle stiffness. My top 3 triggers were neck pain, interrupted sleep, pre cycle. Top 3 symptoms were neck pain, fatigue and throbbing pain. Frequent start positions were temples, eyes, jaw and neck. Reliefs that seem to work consistently are : clonidine, oils, belladonna/pulsatilla and heat pad.

Overall Health: Much the same as October, ROUGH. Like I said, fun fun symptoms to keep me guessing. Lights and sounds started hurting bad again. Constant calf cramping (literally 24/7) along with severe random cramps no matter what I am doing. A harsh cough a few times a week (you know that deep, painful cough you get when you’re sick? yeah. that.) Daily fatigue/achiness.  Ringing in ears off and on.  Some nausea when I move. I lost a few pounds, only to promptly gain them back.

Due to the calf cramps, sleeping has been difficult. For a few weeks, I wrapped up in my cozy electric blanket most every night – it was the only way to ease the pain so I could sleep. I’ve started soaking my feet more often, hoping the epsom salts helps.

Treatment: I have backed off the garlic pills, to just one a day and have added back in the Xiao Chai Hu Tang. I started with one pill a day and have gone up to 2 a day this week to see how I do. Otherwise, I am on everything my doctor put me on last time I was there.

Migraines:  So, on one hand I feel they are getting better. On the other – 55 hours. I’ll take what I can get but aren’t they supposed to get shorter too????

Digestion and TMJ :  digestion has been touch and go – what with feeling so poorly it was hard to cook (read: pasta and french fries) and juicing pretty consistently…. I definitely digest better when I stay away from breads/pastas/etc, and drink at least 3 glasses of juice a day. (juice being kale, cucumber, celery, carrots, lemon, ginger and apple). My jaw hasn’t been good. often it’s been an indicator that pain/migraine was on its way.

Sleep: My app says I’ve been getting about 7 hours a night but I certainly don’t feel like it! I am still waking up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom, and sometimes can’t go back to sleep the last time. I’ve been taking a lot of long naps lately – but still am exhausted by late evening.

Memory: this might actually be improving – or at least it stopped its downward spiral. Being in Bend for a week with family and friends, I noticed I wasn’t saying ‘um’ as much, or searching for the correct word. Granted, I still did it but I was able to carry on a coherent conversation and that wasn’t the case a few months ago.

Daily Vitamins/Supplements:

Clonidine – averaging 2 a day (although many, many days these past few weeks I’ve needed 3, and sometimes 4 to get through them. ugh)

Pulsatilla and Belladonna – I’d run out of one in time to replace it before I went on vacation and then promptly ran out of the other. oy.

1 each of B complex, B2, Calcium, D3, Fish oil, Copper, Garlic (trying 2 every other day of garlic)

2 each of Magnesium, Olive Leaf Extract, Vitamin E

3 Evening Primrose Oil

6 EHB

on Days 15-28, 1 each of Horse Chestnut Extract and Chaste Tree Berry

1/2 tsp Silver nano ( 2x a day)

1 TB Apple Cider Vinegar in a glass of water in the mornings

 

That’s all I can think of. I am feeling like this Lyme Disease is kicking my butt right now, so it’s probably good timing that I’m going in to my dr. tomorrow morning to get some motivation and encouragement (yep, she’s that awesome) along with some acupuncture. I don’t know if some of this is herxing or what, but I’m done.

*on a purely fun side note, I won nanowrimo!!! i’ll tell you more what that means next week! *

~Laura

Feel free to check out my other health updates here on my Chronic Pain page!

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Health Update – 10-31-2016

31 Oct

Note to self: Don’t ever run out of EHB. you’ll regret it.  also, take gelsimium frequently, that stuff is miraculous.

fightinglymemigraines

 

Overall Health:  This month was rough. The pain levels were either at a 7/above or were nonexistent. My new migraine tracking app, Migraine Buddy, says my migraines last an average of 20 hrs; pain starts mainly in temples and back of neck; triggers are too much activity, interrupted sleep and neck pain; main symptoms are fatigue, neck pain and throbbing pain and that the combo of clonidine, heat pad and sleep always help ease the pain. In other words, I’m enjoying the new app but it isn’t completely accurate on a few things. I have pushed myself and gotten out with the dogs more this month. I was also able to survive almost all of the celebrations of the High Holy Days this month without collapsing or leaving service early like I did/had to last year.

 

Treatment:  I have been on all the added supplements/vitamins for 3 weeks now. Aside from starting to smell like GARLIC all the time, there haven’t been any adverse reactions. I  did end up buying Garlitrin from Integrative Therapeutics, here’s a part of their description , ” Enteric-coated tablets reach the small intestine, so you get garlic where you need it, and avoid garlic breath.”. So far, my OH hasn’t said anything about how I smell like garlic, so I’m really hoping these do the trick, because I am supposed to be taking 4 of them a day!

 

Migraines: Severe. Like my app said, 20 hrs is the average. The most ‘exciting’ was the one that lasted 5 days. oh yeah. that’s how I like to spend my days. mmhmm. (NOT)

Digestion and TMJ:  Digestion has improved marginally. Jaw was doing better before this past week.

Sleep:  It’s improved since last month.  I still don’t feel like I’m sleeping well but I seem to be averaging 7/8 hrs a night – with waking up 2 or 3 times. Now if I could only be sleeping deeply enough to wake refreshed…naps aren’t daily but still frequent

Memory:  I haven’t noticed it worsening, honestly I tend to forget (haha) that it’s as bad as it is until I’m in conversation with someone and then it hits me.

Daily Vitamins:

Clonidine – probably averaging 2 a day

Pulsatilla and Belladonna – the more often I remember to take them, the better they work, shocking, I know

1 each of B complex, B2, Calcium, D3, Fish oil, Copper, Garlic (trying to up to 2 a day of garlic)

2 each of Magnesium, Olive Leaf Extract, Vitamin E

3 Evening Primrose Oil

6 EHB

on Days 15-28, 1 each of Horse Chestnut Extract and Chaste Tree Berry

1/2 tsp Silver nano ( 2x a day)

All that adds up to one very full weekly pill box, let me tell you! I recently found a website where I can buy what I need – and they don’t charge shipping! I’ve only ordered EHB and the Garlic from there but they seem to be legit and are very prompt in filling their orders!

Stick around and check out my other health updates!

9/23/16

8/23/16

Symptoms of my Lyme

7/27/16

Fighting Lyme and Migraines

The Big Health Update

 

Come back Friday to hear how my first week of Nanowrimo went!

~Laura

 

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Health Update – 9/23/2016

23 Sep

How in the world can September already be almost over?! Although, the coming of all things pumpkin and fall does help ease the shock of it 😉

 

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Overall Health: since getting back on the majority of my vitamins/supplements I’ve been better – comparably. For about a week I was stuck on the couch due to unbelievable weakness and exhaustion. I haven’t been quite so negative. I haven’t had to nap so often lately, but sleeping at night has been really rough. I’ve been able to walk the dogs a few times a week, which benefits all 3 of us.

Treatment: I went in to my doctor the beginning of this week and we changed up what I’ve been taking, and she sent me home with several new things to start! I am currently off the Xiao Chai Hu Tang (possibly the cause of my extreme exhaustion last week) and have started taking Silver. (yes, silver! apparently while it’s very gentle on you, it kills things, who knew?) Tomorrow I start taking EHB, then if I don’t react negatively to that, 3 days later I start Garlic pills (oh joy). 3 days later, Vitamin E and then, you guessed it, 3 days after that, Copper pills. She’s also told me to start drinking 1 TB Apple Cider Vinegar in the mornings.

Migraines: Killer. They have been going from a 5 to an 8 (or higher) in the blink of an eye, making thinking (and anything else really) incredibly difficult.

Digestion and TMJ: Neither have changed here-which means they aren’t that good… but while my jaw has been hurting a lot, it doesn’t pop as much as it used to! Silver lining right there!

Mood: It’s been better overall this past month, thank goodness. I feel like I mostly am back to myself although I do still feel a tad anti-social

Sleep: Except for the past few nights, it’s been atrocious. Of course, the nights I do sleep better I have nightmares..sigh.

Memory: Once again, it hasn’t improved but aside from freaking out late one night because I couldn’t remember words to songs that I’ve known for ages, I haven’t noticed any worsening.

Daily Vitamins:

Clonidine – for most of this month I was taking 3 a day but since Sunday it’s backed off to 1 or 2 !!!!!

off the Xiao Chai Hu Tang

Pulsatilla and Belladonna – finally got some more of these amazing tinctures!!!

Here’s a full list  – although I will have to update this next month!

Stick around and check out my other health updates!

8/23/16

Symptoms of my Lyme

7/27/16

Fighting Lyme and Migraines

The Big Health Update

 

Next week is the monthly Book Review, come back and check it out!

Have a fabulous Fall weekend,

Laura

 

 

 

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Short Story Sharing – My story

6 Sep

This is sort of a short story sharing/chronic pain post.

I just found this on my laptop – I vaguely recall starting to write my pain-journey down soon after I married OH… and here it is! This is just a snippet of it =)

I have recently read these termed as invisible illness.  Something that you live with daily but the average person can’t see or tell that they are there.  Living with them has made me more compassionate toward others. They have taught me to be able to look past the obvious and search for the meaning behind their negative words, hurtful actions and painful silence.  They have taken my dreams and then taught me to learn to dream again. I have grown stronger in my sense of who I am through these years. I have learned to speak up, to share my opinion and to believe that I have a right to be heard.

I am more than my health issues.

Now before you start worrying that this is a story of a rise to egotism, let me reassure you that I am still the girl next door –happiest-in-the-country-than-the-city that I always have been. This is a story of faith, family and overcoming obstacles I never dreamed of as a young girl in pigtails and overalls.

When I was young, we lived on acreage that my parents owned, passed down from my grandparents. All five of us kids grew up climbing the trees, playing hide and seek and running between houses to see our extended relatives on this land. I have always loved that fact. I can remember staying the night at my grandparents’ house that they built themselves; and a skip away my great aunt would teach me crotchet and embroidery in a house they also built.  My great grandma also lived in that house for a time.

I would daydream about who I would become – teacher? Stay-at-home mom?  Business exec? Jumping horses in the Olympics?  My dreams were all over the board. It changed from year to year, but always I knew that I would be successful and able to take on any challenge thrown my way. By the time I reached high school, my dreams had shrunk a little, the way that everyone’s do I imagine. I was lucky to have a group of friends to help me transition to the world of hard teachers, overblown emotions and bad cafeteria food.  In that time, one of my ‘invisible diseases’ slowly started.  I, completely unaware what it would come to mean in a few years’ time, shrugged it off and continued ahead in my life.

 

Graduation came and I was relieved at finally getting to move ahead with my future. I had, by this time, no idea what I truly wanted to do and held a great deal of fear inside at failing.  I hid it well and congratulated my friends as they each in their turn headed out of town or state to attend one college or another. I decided to take a year off of school until I had a clearer idea of what I wanted to dedicate my life to and ended up working low-level jobs that barely offer enough money to spend and save.

By the end of that year, I was no closer to a plan than I had been in the beginning but I signed up for classes at our local community college. I remember being so scared of doing this on my own that I cried as I drove there that first morning. I took the required prerequisite classes, really only enjoying  that moment when the day of school was done. I made a few friends but my shyness was well developed by that time and I stuck to the back of the class.

About a year into prerequisite classes, I struggled and struggled with making the decision to attend the culinary institute on campus. I loved the thought of learning more about baking  so I finally screwed up my courage and signed up for culinary. The hardest thing I’ve done in my life up to that point was to show up every day and try my best.  It was during this time of intense stress, lack of sleep and confidence, that my first invisible disease accelerated its appearance.  Advil and Ibuprofen became a companion of mine to get through some days. The pain escalated as I fought to keep up with the others in my class. Lack of concentration, ability to find the right words and the feeling of living in a fog all came crashing down on me and I wasn’t sure what had happened to who I had been. The struggle that class had been before, had just doubled and some days, tripled. A kitchen is where you must be at your best, ready to run your own legs off to prepare a meal for someone else. You have to be able to multi-task several times over – and that ability had just been taken from me.

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Letting go and Moving on

28 Dec

I’ve shared here on SGL before that dealing with these migraines for over 10 years now has changed me – for better or worse, it has. It’s bound to, really.

What’s been plaguing me for quite a while is the sadness that comes with that fact – who I used to be was someone I liked well, overall. She was a bit too timid to try new things and lacking in self-confidence but I liked her.

lettinggomovingon

The next thing that would naturally follow that thinking was ‘who would i be if i never had these migraines?’ Of course I’d like to believe that I would be some business owner ( go bakery!) by now, or perhaps high up in whatever other career I had chosen.

This is all fruitless wondering of course, because no one really knows where they would be had they taken a different path, one chosen or chosen for them.  So while I was ‘wool-gathering’ in this manner the other day, I had a thought that changed these questions for me.

Who was I?

Who am I now?

Who am I going to be because of who I am now?

See the difference? I tend to put so much weight on how these long years of blasted pain have affected me (in the negative) that anything I have learned gets shoved aside which I’m thinking is a good way to keep myself from doing any more growing. It’s hard to describe just what chronic pain does to you, I tried HERE,  and I am frequently wishing my OH could have known me before all these physical limitations that often leave me frustrated. But, I am so blessed despite these issues, and I have breaks where I am able to do some cleaning, working here on my blog, or writing on one of my multiple stories.

(Abby insists on attention no matter how I’m feeling)

Really the last two questions are the ones I want to think over and work toward the woman I want to be.

No matter what we wish – we know we can’t change the past but we can change the future by how we live today. While I may feel like giving up and just spending each and every day curled up on the couch, that’s not exactly how I want to spend the rest of my life, or even the precedent I want, when I hit some overwhelming obstacle. 

It-Doesnt-Matter-Its-In-The-Past-Lion-Kings-Rafiki-Quote-Gif

I am reading one of my favorite novels and last night I read this and knew I had to share it.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned in the past year, it’s that no matter how much you wish, you can never change the past. The only thing you can do is change the present.”

So. I’m working on letting go of the past and what I wished for it. As for the present, my OH frequently tells me ‘ I don’t know what you’re expecting of yourself.” That might sound strange but it brings me back from whatever road I’m wandering down that leads to pity or frustration. If I have these physical restrictions, I shouldn’t be telling myself I can clean the house, walk the dogs, make dinner and who knows what else – all in one day. To you maybe that’s easy, a cinch, no problem and that’s awesome. I haven’t been able to do that much in a day in a long while, unless I push myself… and pay for it later….

Let me get back on track a little bit.

The past is, well, the past. And whether we like what it holds or not, we have got to let it go. Otherwise we can’t be fully here, in this moment. And we can’t point ourselves toward the future that we want either.

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So, friends, keep your chins up and a smile on your face, but don’t be afraid to burrow under the covers for a good cry every once in a while. Just remember to come back out.

~Laura

(I resisted using an image of Elsa singing Let it Go….just so you know…)

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Pinterest Workout Challenge

12 Aug

14 day challenge

Today, I am starting a new series “Pinterest Workout Challenge”   Where I am going to pick from the numerous workouts on my Pinterest board and, well, do them! Because we all do it – we pin these great workouts that promise outstanding results and then. . . .look at them a few months later and think, “I really should do this.” So, while I’ve been thinking this series idea over, I hadn’t set a date of when to start it until I got up this morning and did this workout! 

14 Day Lean Legs Challenge

Now, when I was younger, it was rare to see me wear shorts. Ever. If I did, they were long…. to my knees. I hated my legs. They were/are blind-you-every-time-you-look-at-them white and the opposite of what my friend terms her legs as ‘chicken legs’. I have always been super sensitive about  the fact that I have stretch marks on my thighs and that when I sit down, my thighs look twice as big as they actually are. These past few summers I have gotten better about wearing shorts – realizing that I’m the only one who sees my legs in such a negative way.  Driving around with my OH over the weekend, I told him I want ‘runner’s legs.’ Now, while I had to explain what that meant to him, I’m sure all you ladies understand what I mean by that. Firm. Shaped. Fit. Tanned. I know I might have to give up that last description but that’s my goal!  I want to be fit overall but for this next two weeks I am going to focus on my legs. 

Our house has no carpet, only linoleum so I try to avoid workouts that require laying down. . .which limits me of course. But I am excited to commit myself to this challenge!  Check out the workout – it’s super easy – I will say I’m not too keen on some of the photos on this site (while they aren’t horrible, they show a little too much for my taste)  but I just scroll down away from the photo. 

To check out my pinterest board, click  here. If you want to join me, that’d be great! Ok, here’s the hard part, I’m going to show you a photo of day 1, so I (we) can see if anything changes by the end of the two weeks! Day 1

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When Chronic Pain Steals Your Joy

23 Jan

Pain.

We’ve all felt it in one degree or another throughout our lifetimes. Stubbing a toe. Smashing a finger. Or one that I am constantly doing -running my hip into the corner of our washing machine (i’m convinced the thing moves every now and then…)

But chronic pain is another thing entirely. This is an excerpt from webmd.com –

                  “Tens of millions of Americans suffer from chronic pain — pain that lasts longer than six months.

Chronic pain can be mild or excruciating, episodic or continuous,

merely inconvenient or totally incapacitating.

                      With chronic pain, signals of pain remain active in the nervous system for weeks, months, or even years.

This can take both a physical and emotional toll on a person.”

Over the last almost nine years of dealing with migraines and other health problems,  I have felt my share of the ’emotional toll’ that this pain causes. I am glad to say that I have been able to keep a positive attitude and outlook on life overall but the days when it feels like the world is about to crash and I can’t do anything to stop it? Yeah, those days aren’t fun.

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Take today for instance, I just got back from an impromptu lunch date with my OH but feel like I could just curl up in bed and not move until he comes home. Not only does the sleep sound divine (!) but there’s something about. . . sigh. Chronic pain sucks the life out of you at times. What do you do about it? Let it take you under and hold you there? Not a good choice, as appealing as that can sound sometimes. Here’s some of what I do to get me out of the black-vortex-life-sucking-negativity-thinking:

1 – get involved in an interesting story – be it a book, tv show, movie – getting your thoughts off the pain and the question “when will it end?’ is key.

2 – surf Pinterest for fun crafts or recipes or whatever interests you – but don’t go to the ‘exercise’ area…that might just make it worse.

3 – have your friend (or mom or relative! – anyone who you feel comfortable being in pain in front of) come over and just sit and talk. About what books you’re reading. What you want to do this summer.What the kiddos are up to. Whatever comes up. just relax.

4 – Take a nap! -This one is huge. Whether it’s a short one or a long one – whatever you can fit in. Take one. Sleep improves attitude ( have you been around young kids late in the afternoon recently? yeah. it’s a fact. sleep helps mood)

5 – Tell your spouse – this is one that I don’t do quiiiite as well at as I should. I can tell him I’m in pain but admitting my optimism is wavering? For some reason, that one’s harder. But it makes all the difference! Once they know, they know. You feel better for having told someone and they know not to say-that-one-thing-that-just-might-make-you-bawl-all-night. Just saying.

6 – This one should have been at the top honestly, but PRAY about it. God knows what we each are going through. And what better comforter could we have than the One who created us and loves us unconditionally?

7- Treat yourself – a hot bath, a special cup of tea/hot chocolate/coffee, pedi/mani. Whatever makes you smile, do it.

8- Remember it’s just how you’re feeling. Not reality. Honestly, this is a big one. It can be so easy to let our emotions take us wherever they lead, but they are often (read: quite often) wrong. Remind yourself that this is just a moment of doubt and frustration.

9 – Count Your Blessings. I love this one. I do it a lot when I’m in pain and am relegated to the couch once again. I have a wonderful husband. I am part of a crazy and big family. I have a warm and dry – and cute!- place to live. I have a cute puppy (all 80odd lbs of her) that takes naps with me. etc…etc…

10 – Do what you can to get rid of the pain – Again, this one should have been higher on the list…. You know what you can do to at least ease the pain. Do it! Even if it seems too much of an effort – it’s worth it. I drink tea, use essential oils, have eye/forehead pillows that all help alleviate the migraine.

It is a fact that long-term pain affects all aspects of the body. the mind/body link can actually make the pain worse. In my case, as one who suffers with migraines, sometimes the dreaded anticipation of one coming on can actually bring a migraine on. It’s a horrible cycle but it’s true. Another excerpt from webmd:

“Anxiety, stress, depression, anger, and fatigue interact in complex ways with chronic pain

and may decrease the body’s production of natural painkillers;

moreover, such negative feelings may increase the level of substances that amplify sensations of pain,

causing a vicious cycle of pain for the person. Even the body’s most basic defenses may be compromised:

There is considerable evidence that unrelenting pain can suppress the immune system.”

All this to say – don’t give in to the emotions that drag you down. It will, really, only make it all a whole lot worse. Stay positive, stay focused on what you’ve been blessed with – and please, eat a bit of chocolate for me?

I hope this helps friends. I know that chronic pain is something that affects a lot of us – and if you ever need a listening ear, I’m just a click away.

~Laura

* here is where I got the info from webmd : http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/understanding-pain-management-chronic-pain

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