Not even a full 3 weeks into my new year's plan to concentrate on health and wellness I have failed. I'm talking Epic. Fail. It started when I started craving carbs that didn't come in the form of fruit and veggies. Then I missed wine. Then white fudge covered oreos. You can imagine it went down hill from there for about 3 days. All the progress I made I undid. Oops.
Then, when I decided to get back on track, my respiratory track just failed me. Sneezing and itching coughing and wheezing so bad that I ended up giving myself nebulizer treatments at work. As if that's not annoying enough, I spent an entire week (and wasted a perfectly good weekend!) being so stoned on antihistamines that all I did was sleep. Was it worth it? No. I still managed to break out in a very attractive head-to-toe rash. So I'm sneezy, itchy, scratchy, blotchy, wheezy, grumpy, and sleepy. I'm like a diseased, twilight zone take on the Seven Dwarfs. Not fun. Not attractive.
Went to see my allergist today to say "hey... something's gotta give" and he was baffled by my situation. Now in fairness, it is the NP that works in his office, but still... no one I've asked can figure out how, while taking 4 antihistamines and steroids and weekly allergy shots, it can be humanly possible to have the histamine release necessary to produce a rash. I am a freak of nature. Excellent.
So, like anything else, I'll just adjust everything and do it myself. I'll start weaning off the antihistamines and wake up enough to formulate a new plan. Probably an all natural one. Don't get me wrong, I believe in the power of western pharmaceuticals when they work. When the cost me a fortune every month and just make me tired and don't provide symptom relief... not so much. I think I'm gonna be like my parents and go for the natural approach: quercitin, grapefruit seed extract, elderberry, raw local honey. Might take a couple more days to get over a common cold, but if I'm awake to enjoy my life that's worth it. And it's been suggested that I throw in some accupuncture as well. I will investigate.
After that Operation Wellness can continue. When my lung capacity will support it again, I'll go back to yoga. Then the diet will start to improve as well because let's face it, no one wants balsamic glazed fish and asparagus with cayenne when they are sick and feel awful. You want soup and sprite, neither of which are on the diet. I'll get there...
The next project is to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Back to grad school? Move and start over? (Incidentally, I never wheezed and had asthma problems like this living by the ocean. Just saying...) Am I just sitting in a rut living vicariously through my sister's life and my roommate's life? Am I still here doing the same thing because I'm too scared to go find my own way? The more questions I ask, the more confused I get. I am working on trying to be quiet-minded and listen for the answer from Him.
Hope everyone is having a great start to the new year!
Much love to you,
-Amanda
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
My New Year so far...
OK. We all know we go a little nuts during the holidays. I did. I went beyond nuts. I am the heaviest I've ever been. That even includes 1997 when I came home after my sophmore year at Tennessee and was very, uh, fluffy. So I made a resolution to get myself back together.
My friend had incredible success on this diet she got from her physician. I thought "why not?!". So I talked to her through a thousand texts and emails and made a grocery list, and went to Sprouts and Kroger many times. I planned menus and after 3 days actually started feeling better. I ate a ton of fruits and veggies and meats with no soy, gluten, dairy, or sugar of any kind. All was great. Except for one minor detail... hunger. I'm not talking about "um... I could eat" kind of hunger, but more like I'm-gonna-gnaw-off-my-arm hunger. Miserable. On the third day I had an appointment to go see her doctor. I was so excited to make a positive change and I just knew that this "comprehensive wellness" visit for new patients was going to start me in the right direction. I was going to get nutrition advice, a diet plan, see the doctor, talk about massage and accupuncture, and have a chiropractic evaluation, maybe some labs and xrays to formulate a complete wellness package for me.
The office is lovely and I went in like a kid excited to see a new gift. I was ready for wellness!
What I got was a very comprehensive chiropractic exam and instructions to go have an xray of my neck and bring my last lab values from my doctor to my next visit, which they will call me to schedule. Ummmm? I asked when I would get to see the doctor and talk about diet and nutrition and she told me "on the next visit. And then she might want you to have some more labs done depending on what you have with you". Excuse me? So what they're telling me is that I paid (actually my insurance was billed for) an office visit. Then somewhere else for an Xray. Then I'll find my own labs from my doctor and dig out the last xrays I had and bring them in... about a week from now. Then she'll probably tell me to have my thyroid and iron and blood count checked because fatigue was one of my top complaints (along with my gut which apparently gets addressed on a visit far far away...).
That's not even basic nursing. I don't know what kind of medical approach that is. We are taught Assess, Diagnose, Plan, Intervene and Evaluate. One stop shopping. Concise. Efficient. Bam. Done. That's not what was offered here... instead it was a wild goose chase.
I don't think so. If I want labs drawn, I'll call my regular doctor, where they will all be done in the same building. On the same day. If I want more xrays of my spine, I'll call my spine doctor where they'll all be done in his office and I'll get the verdict before ever leaving. I'm not driving all over town and having my insurance billed for multiple visits and diagnostic studies before I ever even talk to a physician.
As for the nutrition part, I know what to do. We all do. I've just been lazy and haven't done it. I need to get off my ass and get moving. Yoga 3 times a week. Zumba or walking the other two. Start taking the garage stairs at work again. Save the wine for weekends. I know how to eat... small meals with a protein and complex carb at every meal, with small snacks in between and nothing after 6pm. I know this. I've always known this. Somewhere along the way I lost my focus. I blame the wine and the cheetos and the convenience of laying on the couch catching up on my DVR. But no more... it's time for real change. I have to look hot in a bikini this summer, especially since I'm going somewhere new.
And no offense intended to my friend. She's had incredible success on this program with this doctor. I'm proud of her and how she is such a champion for them, because they have helped her so much. But it's not for me. I need a little carb in my diet and broccoli and fruit were only making me uncomfortable. One day I almost blew myself around the room at work. That's not attractive or comfortable.
So after trying to reinvent myself with the new and different, I came home tonight and had a bowl of fiber one cereal for dinner. I'm full for the first time in 3 days.
That's my new year so far.
My friend had incredible success on this diet she got from her physician. I thought "why not?!". So I talked to her through a thousand texts and emails and made a grocery list, and went to Sprouts and Kroger many times. I planned menus and after 3 days actually started feeling better. I ate a ton of fruits and veggies and meats with no soy, gluten, dairy, or sugar of any kind. All was great. Except for one minor detail... hunger. I'm not talking about "um... I could eat" kind of hunger, but more like I'm-gonna-gnaw-off-my-arm hunger. Miserable. On the third day I had an appointment to go see her doctor. I was so excited to make a positive change and I just knew that this "comprehensive wellness" visit for new patients was going to start me in the right direction. I was going to get nutrition advice, a diet plan, see the doctor, talk about massage and accupuncture, and have a chiropractic evaluation, maybe some labs and xrays to formulate a complete wellness package for me.
The office is lovely and I went in like a kid excited to see a new gift. I was ready for wellness!
What I got was a very comprehensive chiropractic exam and instructions to go have an xray of my neck and bring my last lab values from my doctor to my next visit, which they will call me to schedule. Ummmm? I asked when I would get to see the doctor and talk about diet and nutrition and she told me "on the next visit. And then she might want you to have some more labs done depending on what you have with you". Excuse me? So what they're telling me is that I paid (actually my insurance was billed for) an office visit. Then somewhere else for an Xray. Then I'll find my own labs from my doctor and dig out the last xrays I had and bring them in... about a week from now. Then she'll probably tell me to have my thyroid and iron and blood count checked because fatigue was one of my top complaints (along with my gut which apparently gets addressed on a visit far far away...).
That's not even basic nursing. I don't know what kind of medical approach that is. We are taught Assess, Diagnose, Plan, Intervene and Evaluate. One stop shopping. Concise. Efficient. Bam. Done. That's not what was offered here... instead it was a wild goose chase.
I don't think so. If I want labs drawn, I'll call my regular doctor, where they will all be done in the same building. On the same day. If I want more xrays of my spine, I'll call my spine doctor where they'll all be done in his office and I'll get the verdict before ever leaving. I'm not driving all over town and having my insurance billed for multiple visits and diagnostic studies before I ever even talk to a physician.
As for the nutrition part, I know what to do. We all do. I've just been lazy and haven't done it. I need to get off my ass and get moving. Yoga 3 times a week. Zumba or walking the other two. Start taking the garage stairs at work again. Save the wine for weekends. I know how to eat... small meals with a protein and complex carb at every meal, with small snacks in between and nothing after 6pm. I know this. I've always known this. Somewhere along the way I lost my focus. I blame the wine and the cheetos and the convenience of laying on the couch catching up on my DVR. But no more... it's time for real change. I have to look hot in a bikini this summer, especially since I'm going somewhere new.
And no offense intended to my friend. She's had incredible success on this program with this doctor. I'm proud of her and how she is such a champion for them, because they have helped her so much. But it's not for me. I need a little carb in my diet and broccoli and fruit were only making me uncomfortable. One day I almost blew myself around the room at work. That's not attractive or comfortable.
So after trying to reinvent myself with the new and different, I came home tonight and had a bowl of fiber one cereal for dinner. I'm full for the first time in 3 days.
That's my new year so far.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)