Bronchitis

I haven't posted in over two months because not long after I found out my tests were okay, I came down with bronchitis.  It really knocked me out.  I had two rounds of antibiotics, two rounds of an oral steroid and a steroid inhaler as well as a rescue inhaler.  It took over eight weeks to get over it.  I was healthy for about a week when I came down with another cold.  More fluid in my ears and all the stuff that goes with bad head colds. 

I've started adding more probiotics and coconut oil into my diet hoping I can at least avoid a yeast infection--that culprit that often accompanies antibiotics. 

I'm feeling decent today, so I'm finally catching up.  A lot of things have happened during these two months, so I'll be posting short snipets to catch up.

That's all for now.  Have a great Monday! 

Health Concerns for Me (And Being More Proactive)

I saw my primary care doctor recently for an infection I had.  I have a tendency to get this type of infection. She looked at my lab work and we talked for a bit.  I've previously been anemic (usually during a pregnancy), I've had thinning hair since my last baby was born, an my cheeks are redder than usual (I had an aesthetician tell me she thought it looked like early rosacea, though it admittedly looks a bit butterfly shaped).  There are 11 diagnosis criteria for Lupus, and you must have four of them to be considered as having Lupus.  These things plus my reoccurring infections and family history, she decided to check my ANA levels.

This week I got a phone message asking me to call back at my earliest convenience and the hours they are in the office.  This had me worried.  I've given them permission to leave messages on my home phone.  Usually when my blood work turns out okay, I get a message to that effect.  I got the message after the office had closed, so I had several hours to ponder the "call us back at your earliest convenience."

The tone of the nurses voice, and the request to call back instead of leaving a "everything is fine" message had my husband and I checking out the Internet for things I might do with my diet and activities to support a healthy lifestyle with Lupus.

It turns out my tests were in the normal range.

I'm immensely relieved at this point.  My family history is not the greatest, and I realize that even without a diagnosis, I need to take better care of myself, so I can take care of my family.  I'm glad my doctor is thorough and careful and wants to make sure she knows exactly how my health is. 

So today I will encourage all who come across this blog to take a look at your own health.  Do you have baseline levels for cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure?  If you are a woman do you do your breast self-exam each month?  Do you get your yearly mammogram?  Are you getting regular exercise?  (I've recently let my exercise regimen slip and I'm feeling it).  Do you eat healthy (and preferably non-starchy) vegetables?  Do you get adequate sleep? 

I admittedly fall short in some of these areas, but I do already have my mammogram scheduled in the coming months.  Let's start our New Year's Resolution now and try and be a bit healthier through the holidays. 

Take care.

Race and Racing Heart

This last spring my sister challenged me to run a half marathon with her in the fall.  It was 19 weeks away at the time, and I began a couch to half marathon program that left little wiggle room.  I started training and things went well enough at first, but then I had a couple of days when because of the baby waking early (I was still nursing) or something or other the other kids needed in the middle of the night, I wasn't able to get out before the heat of the day kicked in.  I was convinced it was a conspiracy of my family to keep me from running since things only seemed to happen on training days.

My training really fell off the mark, so I settled for the idea that I would run the 10k instead of half.  I kept training as much as I could, but I admittedly lost steam. 

I also ran into an issue when I trained in strong heat and humidity.  My heart would do a weird tap dance and it would cause my breath to be taken away.

I went to my primary care , and she referred me to a cardiologist.  I had several heart tests done and even wore a Holter vest for 24 hours.  Nothing turned up and I proceeded to get ready for my race.  Of course the day after I turned in the monitor was when my heart did its tap dance.

I happened to mention the heart/breath thing to my allergist and he told me he thought it sounded like exercise-induced bronchial spasms.  He prescribed me an inhaler to try ten minutes before my runs to see if it would make a difference.  It seemed to help.

As much as I had done, I was unprepared.  I hadn't trained much with hills, and the course had been changed last minute to a hillier one.  I finished it though.  It was one of the hardest things I've ever done.  I think I pulled something in my legs, since I feel weak even claiming stairs at this point.  My awesome sister who has run half marathons, stayed with me the whole time.  She had a pouch in the back of her shirt where we kept my inhaler.  It was a good thing we kept it.  I had an asthma attack in the middle of the race and needed it.  The hills made it harder than I thought it would, but I finished!  Me the girl who had to pretend she was running for her life to get a decent grade in gym (let me dance for hours instead any day), finished a 10k race!  

Still recovering for the race, but I'm really happy I did it.  A couple of years ago I didn't know if I could run three miles.  Now I've run a six mile race.  My sister wants us to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in a year or two.  Thankfully I know Orlando, and it's pretty darn flat.  New Goal to look forward to!

Trying to Create Some Order In My Life

I'm a pack rat. Income from a long line of pack rats. I have a difficult time letting go of things. Some times it is because of sentimental value, and sometimes it is because I think I might need it someday.

I read recently that scientist may have found a gene that is responsible for my hoarding behavior.

Even if there is a gene, I have the power to choose whether or not I keep things at all. 

At any rate, it means in my 40 some odd years of life I have accumulated a lot of stuff. Some of it is worthless, some of it is waiting to be passed down to the next child. Some of it should get passed on, some should get scrapbooked,and some should be thrown out or given away. 

The problem lies in the time it takes to go through and determine which is which. I'm not the type that can look at a whole box and just say "It's trash."  I have that compulsion to look at each item and assess value.  I've been watching lots of episodes of hoarders and it has made me realize these things about myself and given me motivation to purge and make decisions quickly about items I'm touching.

Additionally, I'm trying to be better at not even bringing things into my home unless I need them. I have put a moratorium on buying any new scrapbook supplies until I use up the ones I have. I'm trying to find a few minutes here and there where I can get through old projects and either get rid of them or finish them.

More Goals

I confess, I'm putting off more housework while I write this blog. I at least have the dishwasher running while I write, but I have laundry to do and the piles of papers on my dining table and the stuff to clear away from the basement wall, and a to-do list that has completely filled up the space on my Franklin-Covey compact planner.

I'm taking this time though because one of my goals this year: aside from losing the inches around my waist, arms and legs I mentioned is to write on a more regular basis and improve my writing skills.

I love to write. I really do, and I have an inkling of an idea for a story I'd like to develop, but I know that like muscles, that you need to regularly flex and work, you need to regularly stretch your writing skills as well. So I'm stretching just a bit as I wait for my dishwasher's cycle to be complete.

My goals:
1) Record what I eat on a daily basis (posted yesterday).
2) Exercise at least 4x /week with strength training at least 2-3x. (Didn't clarify that one did I?)
3) Write a couple of paragraphs every day on this blog (at the minimum).
4) Spend 3 hours a week writing on various stories. That works out to be about 1/2 hour per day. (With Sunday off). Try to finish of one of my stories by July 31.

Will post more later. Train boy (C5) is done with his game and needs mommy time.

Wake time:
Breakfast time:
snack
Lunch time:
snack
Dinner:

Exercise:

Moving Forward

So now that I'm letting go, I'm ready to move forward. I've posted goals for myself on my fridge so if I am tempted to go sneaking unhealthy food, they are staring me in the face. One of my goals is to tone up and lose some inches around my waist, arms and legs. (I'm not going to focus on the pounds, but I'm hoping to build more muscle mass which weighs more anyway). I have pictures of myself before C5 was born and I was more tone then. I'm using that as motivation. I do not unrealistically expect to get back to my pre-kid size, (the hips are just too darn wide), but I can expect that I will treat myself well and give myself the best chance possible for a long and healthy life.

My good friend D, who recently completed her Personal Trainer certification has been urging me to write down what I eat and how much. I recently read an article where people who held themselves accountable on their blogs for what they ate, lost a lot of inches and pounds.

So in that spirit I'll be trying to record what I eat and how much and I'm putting it out there for all to see so I hold myself more accountable.

I've got to go to the store now since I've finished off both my baby carrots and my baby spinach. I've got an eggplant I plan on roasting for dinner along with some shrimp. \


Wake up time: 7:00 am
Breakfast time 8:30 am 1 whole egg, 1 egg white 3-4 carrot sticks
snacking on 4-5 carrot sticks throughout the morning.
Lunch: 11:40 am 1 c white rice (I know it should be brown, but I have white cooked and on hand!) 1/2 c chicken sauce 1 big handful of baby spinach.
Dinner:

Exercise: Umm, cleaning the house?

I ran a 5k!

I ran my 5k race!  I hit my goal time which is very good for me.  I didn't run constantly, but did the walk, run, walk, run thing. 

I feel good.  I look forward to running again next year!