Chronic Ama

As a woman, I am well aware that health is often measured by that nasty little digital number on the top of my scale. It is insanely hard to change that idea since we are inundated with that measurement at every turn. I remember my primary care doctor having me sign a document that had my height, weight, and BMI on it along with information about how I was overweight and at risk for diabetes, even though my bloodwork had always showed my blood sugar as being on the low side of the normal range. I remember when I was dealing with all the issues and symptoms that go along with having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and having my OBGYN at the time tell me that I needed to not worry about how I'd get diabetes, I needed to worry about when because for one, it ran in my family, and for two, I had insulin resistance which usually goes hand and hand with PCOS. I remember the first time I stepped into my GI doctor's office. The older gentleman had more than a few extra pounds around his mid

Sitting in a hotel in Tempe, Arizona this evening waiting on my husband to get back with dinner. I have to travel to see my pelvic pain specialist, as you probably know by now. I am nearing the end of my three day stay here to have my second laparoscopic surgery with this doctor. We were hoping this would be the start of figuring out my health decline. In addition to pelvic pain, I have debilitating migraines and what we think are symptoms of fibromyalgia. This is the beginning to answers and to healing that hopefully brings me a longer spell of good health.  I'm going to rewind to the beginning to December here (soon, i'd like to rapid rewind to document my female health journey). I had another follow up with Dr. Desai to discuss my worsening pain. She gave me two options. The first was pain management and physical therapy. The pain started when I was still quite active, running and walking on the treadmill as often as I could and also doing stretching and core streng

Tuesday has not been looking any better than the past few days. I cracked my damn crown last night, but luckily I see a new dentist this week. I'm pretty sure my old dentist cracked it the last time I got my teeth cleaned and it's been wearing out ever since. And if you know me, you know I love dentist visits, but hate teeth. Ugh, my skin crawled when I spit out the chipped corner of my crown. In other news, we were up most of the night with Bellini as she caught another stomach bug. This has not been her year for stomach bugs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't pass it on to Loki or me. I will also be spending time with my trusty canister of Clorox wipes today. As for my stubborn body, I woke up so damn achy today, likely from listening intently every time the bathroom door shut. I took Aleve and am currently slowly walking on the treadmill to warm up my legs for some stretching. I really need to push over the hump of this flare up so it can go aw

I set my alarm for 6pm today instead of 6am. I'd like to thank my bladder for getting me out of bed at 6:09. I made it to work early enough to set up to take care of my team today. It was a beast of a day. I ended the day with fatigue that I hadn't had in a while. My stomach was upset again too. I'm totally sure it was just being on the go all week that did me in. My Endo wasn't happy with that. I need some extra sleep and relaxation tomorrow so I don't start getting a migraine or a total flare day. I'd like to stay away from days like that all I can. As for what I ate today.... I went ahead and had some yummy Jimmy John's at work along with some chocolate chip cookies. I skipped dinner since my tummy wasn't happy. I tried to make it happy with Tums, but that didn't work. I have to plan my meals next week and I will definitely be packing lunch and making sure I take time to eat, thus preventing chicken nuggets and diet coke afternoons. To

Greetings from the pool that I have all to myself today. Music is going, got my delicious vanilla and cranberry iced tea. I should have brought a book too. It's ok, I can work on blog content while I work on my tan. That in itself is comical, because if you know me at all, I'm quite happy being pale. And I bathe in sunscreen. I keep it next to the pool too.  I'm also trying to decide what else to do today. I took off my stiletto nails this morning and I feel a little naked now. Might just leave them natural for a few days and then use the last of my UofA wraps since it's that season. You know, I start getting a little lonely when I have the house to myself. It's the social butterfly in me that needs the company. I wish my brain would just let me enjoy the break. Oh! I see a new doctor this week. My "regular" OBGYN was doubtful I still had endometriosis. I even explained that I had photos and a pathology report that proved otherwise. She also

I'm laughing pretty hard to myself right now. Not only because it's 8:15pm and I'm finally getting a break today after hitting the ground running at 5:30 this morning, but because of something odd that my son encountered at school. He was wearing a baseball cap with a skull on it and got stopped in the hall at school to be reminded to remove his hat indoors AND to be told he wasn't allowed to wear anything with skulls on it. HAHAHAHAHA!!! Wrong kid to tell that to! If only the knew my affection for skulls. My kitchen in covered in them. My bathroom too. My bedroom and my living room. And I have one tattooed on me. My daughter has name stickers with skulls on her school supplies. My son also has a Misfits button on his bag... WITH SKULLS! Why no skulls? Oh, don't worry, I emailed the assistant principal my inquiry. I anxiously await his answer. Maybe I should invite him over for tea... served in my skull cups and stirred with my skull spoon. And serve crudité on my s

Today was just so normal, I don't know what to think! Maybe I caught a break from the universe. Maybe it's my little reward for keeping with my goal plans. Nine days in and I'm feeling good! I had some leftover sausage for lunch and my cold brew for breakfast. Lots of water again. Might treat myself with a glass of wine this evening. Making some simple chicken strips for dinner since the kids are at Nana's for a bit. They have stayed on top of homework and chores this week, so this is a little break for them. I'm on the treadmill again. I can't wait for it to cool down so I can take the dog for walks outside and maybe enjoy the neighborhood park. It's just too hot still. And humid as the rain made an early appearance this week. It didn't wait for the weekend like it was supposed to. It's fine, since my plants needed water anyway. And I've been enjoying falling asleep listening to the rain. I'm going to try to set aside some time

"I was kinda getting sick of dreaming." Is a direct quote from Loki this morning as he got out of bed to get ready for his first day of second grade far earlier than he should have. Both kids were so excited for their first day of school. New school for Loki, new campus for Bellini. And when we picked them up this evening, they both said replied in unison, "AWESOME!" when asked how their day was. Made me so happy, that we needed to celebrate with burgers.  Yeah, I know, burgers really aren't on this diet plan unless they're wrapped in lettuce. It was technically the only meal I had time for today. I am NOT a breakfast person. My breakfast is usually coffee, water and my daily pill regime. Lunch is usually pretty light, but today lunch consisted of cold brew coffee with almond milk and all the pecans out of a bad of trail mix I ate while working my ass off. (Yes, most definitely busy season at work.) The point is, I refuse to get down on myself for enjoy

Greetings and salutations from my beloved treadmill! I actually dreamed last night for the first time in a long while. I usually fall asleep with so much in my mind and then fantasizing about how to make my life better. I've been great about carrying around a journal again to jot down ideas and get things out of my head. Best therapy ever for me! Loki has taken more of an interest in music lately. Yesterday he watched music videos with Mark quite intently. And then when I asked him if he wanted me to trim his hair, he said no because he had to grow it out to do his mohawk. I put the pieces together last night in that he really liked the hair style of one of the guys in a music video. It wasn't quite a mohawk, but longer hair was involved. I'll be looking for that picture to post. This morning he asked if he could put music on his tablet, so I agreed that he could have his own Spotify account. I guess I need to invest in more Bluetooth speakers for the kids rooms no

It's hot today . The kind of hot where it's nearly 8pm and still 103 out. Tomorrow's high is 110. But at least there is a slight chance of rain next weekend... 5 whole days away. Tomorrow I will be the proud parent of a second grader and a sixth grader! It's the official start of the school year! I'm excited and nervous. I also can't wait to get back into a routine. I thrive a little better in routine. And yes, there will be plenty of pictures!  I didn't get any excercise in today, but I still ate well. I have to admit that cake just isn't that great when you're so mentally focused on eating right and feeling better. Also, it was hot today. Did I mention that? It's hard to have an appetite while sweating like a whore in church and with the 120 ounces of water I dank. That's right, almost a damn gallon of water. And a giant iced tea in the afternoon because I needed something with flavor. I feel like a cow. Did you know that cows can

I'm starting to hate a job I have mostly loved. The stress feels different this season. Poor communication and exclusivity make for poor morale. Which means I'm on the treadmill again. But it's great because it gives me time to clear my head and write, even if it's a little bit of meaningless crap. Last night I splurged on some stroopwaffle cookies. I'm not beating myself up over it, though. It's pizza night for Loki and I, but I plan on making a salad with pizza toppings on top. I apparently eat a lot of salads. They're so universal, though. They're filling and so so easily low carb.  I'm also strangely optimistic about my health these last few days. I've been feeling great, with pretty much no pain. I have been using a neoprene belt when I'm on the treadmill. I read an article about how they hold in heat which helps with the back pain and belly pain I get. It's too hot to use a heating pad, so using my own body heat while I

I think in found a sort of niche blogging from treadmill. Work today was a beast, so I'm trying to destress before I work a little more this evening. It's that time of the year for me. I was on track eating well yesterday with intermittent fasting. My splurge was chunky peanut butter out of the jar. I had left over chicken tenders for lunch and I'm totally undecided about dinner except for a rogue beer I found in back of the fridge. I'm sure that will pair well with the buffalo marinated chicken I'll probably toss on the grill in a bit.  I'm hoping tomorrow I can make time to call for my medical records and to make a follow-up appointment with my pelvic pain specialist in Phoenix. I hate all these damn appointments. I also spaced my B12 shot for July, so I'll have to get that done too. Ah well, my stress I'm now in check. Time to start the grill, pour my bet and get some more work done.  Side note... one of the best compliments I

I always start over. I've tried to keep myself accountable. Let's try with with written word. Today I'm going to attempt intermittent fasting. Aside from coffee this morning, I'm only going to eat low carb options from noon to 6pm. I'm also going to attempt to detox from tramadol (which I actually don't take very often), muscle relaxers (which I have needed more of recently) and medical marijuana. I need a baseline to compare my bad days to since it's inevitable that the endo is back. I really do want to stay ahead of it this time. I have lots to look forward to the next year. I'm starting this blog from the treadmill this morning. I had a cup and a half of coffee with my usual Coffee-Mate creamer. Not a good decision if I also need to kick sugar. Slow and steady wins the race, right? It's been cup after cup of water today. No appetite, which is actually normal for coming off a migraine as well as having this upper respiratory vi

I downloaded the FitStar app via my Fitbit a few months ago. I have used the free version about 4 times so far and I really like it. The free version gives you a workout a week, which isn't much, but it definitely helps with motivation. The nice thing, for me, is that the work outs are only about 15-20 minutes long, which is about all I can handle at the moment.  Staying active has become important to me in the last few years. Well, in the last 5 years since my hysterectomy. Since then, I have still dealt with pelvic pain from ovarian cysts (until I made them remove my last ovary in 2015) and endometriosis pain in my back and legs (which was finally diagnosed properly in 2015 after being suggested time and time again since about 2009), as well as debilitating migraines. Even after my 17 minute workout this morning, I am recliner bound with the heated blanket keeping heat on my back, hip and IT band, which are the source of my latest battle with pain, that I will be victo

Let me start by saying that I DO NOT make New Years Resolutions. Why bother when most people make them, then break them. Plus, I'm all about action and not resolution. If I want to do something, I'm going to do it. I wish more people followed this mindset.  Moving on. Last Spring, I started walking. Then, come May, had surgery. But, by Summer I was walking and even running. My jeans had started to fit loose and I was happy. Then, come fall it was surgery time again and then came the hysterectomy (of which my belly still swells from). I spent the better part of 4 months in sweat pants and not because I was still running. But, since I made it clear to myself that I would be free of this mess come January, here it is, the last day of January and I'm one month free of shitty health. I'm not in pain. I'm not scared or sad. I have come to accept that I will have PCOD all my life and I just have to deal with it. It puts me at higher risk for diabetes, heart diseas