Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
Lyme Update
It's been a while since I wrote a Lyme update. I had an appointment with my Lyme doctor a couple weeks ago. I typically see him in person once a year and then have phone appointments every 2-4 months depending on how I'm feeling. His office is three hours away, so phone appointments work better for me. They were a little weird at first, but I've gotten used to them. He's been treating me since November of 2010. A selfie with Dr. Bernui...
My appointments with Dr. Bernui used to be overwhelming b/c I felt so bad and had so many issues that I didn't know where to start or how to describe everything. Everything from headaches, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, neck stiffness, joint pain, eye infections, irritability, and the list went on and on. At this appointment, my biggest issues were irritated eyes, muscle soreness, and still a few random headaches. The goal is to be asymptomatic for two months. I never thought that goal would be within reach, but it is! We adjusted my treatment plan as we do after every appointment, and he decided that I needed to do the 28 day detox that I did at the beginning of treatment and again in 2012. Wah, wah. Worst news ever, but I knew he was right. It just might be the push I need to get rid of all symptoms.
I'm currently on day 16. The third time around has definitely been easier than the first two. I feel good, other than being a little weak. I'm in a two week stretch where I can't have chicken. I can have certain fish, but I detest fish. My body is starting to adjust, but the first few days as a vegetarian were rough. I wish I could choke down some fish, but I really, really do not like it. The smell alone makes me gag. This was my dinner tonight, a plain sweet potato, steamed broccoli, and meal replacement drink. Yummy, right?
Everyone always talks about how good they feel when they detox and how their cravings disappear....well, I am not one of those people. I will admit that I have felt better the last few days, but my cravings are still very much alive. I am dying for something sweet. Top of the list would be brownie batter. I do not plan to continue to eat like this after the detox, but I am considering staying 100% gluten free. I can tell for sure that cutting out gluten has made a difference. Darrin has been gluten free for over a month, so it will help if both of us are anyway. He's on a strict, healthy diet & he's rocking it. Side note, the biggest benefit to this detox is how my skin has improved. I've been working hard lately to correct some sun damage and prevent anymore from happening. Eating clean has made the most noticeable difference. That is a big motivator for me.
I'm so thankful for the progress I've made over the last five years. It's been a long, tedious road that has cost us a fortune. I still spend thousands each year on supplements, blood work, prescriptions, and appointments. 85% of my treatment is not covered by insurance. I'm so thankful that Darrin is supportive and never complains about the money we spend. The thing about autoimmune diseases is you can always relapse. You have to stay with it. It takes a lot of planning and organization, but it so worth it.
My appointments with Dr. Bernui used to be overwhelming b/c I felt so bad and had so many issues that I didn't know where to start or how to describe everything. Everything from headaches, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, neck stiffness, joint pain, eye infections, irritability, and the list went on and on. At this appointment, my biggest issues were irritated eyes, muscle soreness, and still a few random headaches. The goal is to be asymptomatic for two months. I never thought that goal would be within reach, but it is! We adjusted my treatment plan as we do after every appointment, and he decided that I needed to do the 28 day detox that I did at the beginning of treatment and again in 2012. Wah, wah. Worst news ever, but I knew he was right. It just might be the push I need to get rid of all symptoms.
I'm currently on day 16. The third time around has definitely been easier than the first two. I feel good, other than being a little weak. I'm in a two week stretch where I can't have chicken. I can have certain fish, but I detest fish. My body is starting to adjust, but the first few days as a vegetarian were rough. I wish I could choke down some fish, but I really, really do not like it. The smell alone makes me gag. This was my dinner tonight, a plain sweet potato, steamed broccoli, and meal replacement drink. Yummy, right?
Everyone always talks about how good they feel when they detox and how their cravings disappear....well, I am not one of those people. I will admit that I have felt better the last few days, but my cravings are still very much alive. I am dying for something sweet. Top of the list would be brownie batter. I do not plan to continue to eat like this after the detox, but I am considering staying 100% gluten free. I can tell for sure that cutting out gluten has made a difference. Darrin has been gluten free for over a month, so it will help if both of us are anyway. He's on a strict, healthy diet & he's rocking it. Side note, the biggest benefit to this detox is how my skin has improved. I've been working hard lately to correct some sun damage and prevent anymore from happening. Eating clean has made the most noticeable difference. That is a big motivator for me.
I'm so thankful for the progress I've made over the last five years. It's been a long, tedious road that has cost us a fortune. I still spend thousands each year on supplements, blood work, prescriptions, and appointments. 85% of my treatment is not covered by insurance. I'm so thankful that Darrin is supportive and never complains about the money we spend. The thing about autoimmune diseases is you can always relapse. You have to stay with it. It takes a lot of planning and organization, but it so worth it.
There's no doubt for me that sticking with this treatment was the right thing to do. I've wanted to give up many times along the way b/c I didn't see progress or I wanted an easier way. I've learned there are no quick fixes regarding health. As Dr. Bernui says, I didn't get sick overnight and I won't get better overnight either. I have much gratitude for my health now. I can still tell when symptoms are slowing me down, but no one else can, and they don't hold me back anymore. So thankful.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Weekend Wrap Up
The weekend started off great with a visit from my mom. She got here on Thursday, so Miles stayed home from daycare on Friday. They drew pictures, played with Legos, and put together puzzles.Yes, our heat works...he has his coat on b/c we were about to leave...
We signed Miles up for basketball this fall. More on that in another post. He had a Little Hoopstar performance Friday night at the high school and Saturday at UTM. Game face on...
Some of his friends, Thomas & Neeley, were at the game on Saturday. He was very proud of his shirt.
He used to be scared of Captain Skyhawk, but he actually gave him a high five on Saturday. He was not interested in lingering for pic though...
Miles, Thomas, and Kohen, who is also a little Hoopstar...
This is more like it...
As soon as his performance was over, we rushed home to chill in front of the fire and watch Tree House Masters, our latest obsession. Darrin was recruiting and my mom went home, so it was just the two of us. My fire building skills are improving...
Last night, Miles started sounding a little hoarse. He slept with me, as he always does when Darrin is out of town. During the night, I woke up several times to the sound of him wheezing. He wasn't struggling to get air, but it sounded like a cross between congestion and Croup.
Before I got out of bed this morning, I checked my phone. I had two texts from Darrin in the middle of the night saying he was sick and couldn't sleep. Uh oh...he was in St. Louis and had to get home. I sent him orders for Ibupropen every 4-6 hours and then got up at 6:30am to get ready for early church. I thought in the back of my mind that we probably wouldn't be going, but I didn't want to miss for no reason. When I woke Miles up a little later, he was terrible. His wheezing was so bad that I contemplated the ER. After I talked myself off the ledge, I made him go outside for some cold air and then stuck his head in the freezer. That definitely helped and I at least felt comfortable with his breathing. In the meantime, I texted a few mom friends and another friend that is a Physician's assistant, to help with a diagnosis. We all landed with a virus.
It's been an up and down kind of day. At one point, he said he felt like he was going to throw up, which is interesting b/c he's never thrown up before, so I'm not sure he knows what it would feel like. I'm proud to say that our five and a half year streak with no throw up lives on.
With the exception of right when he woke up, I haven't given him any medicine all day. His fever and energy level comes and goes. I looked in the living room at one point and he was exercising. The next minute, he looked like this...
I gave Miles a bath tonight and he started screaming a few minutes in saying that his legs were burning. I put a few essential oils in the tub, but I wouldn't think that would have bothered him. When I got him out, he had red hives on the back of his legs. I'm guessing it's from the virus and/or fever. Thankfully, both boys are resting in bed now. Darrin came home a little early. It wasn't a fun drive for him, but he made it. They are staying home together tomorrow and I, fingers crossed, am going to work to hang out with people who aren't sick. And now, my friends, I'm going to take a hot bath and watch TV. I've earned it. Good night!
We signed Miles up for basketball this fall. More on that in another post. He had a Little Hoopstar performance Friday night at the high school and Saturday at UTM. Game face on...
Some of his friends, Thomas & Neeley, were at the game on Saturday. He was very proud of his shirt.
He used to be scared of Captain Skyhawk, but he actually gave him a high five on Saturday. He was not interested in lingering for pic though...
Miles, Thomas, and Kohen, who is also a little Hoopstar...
This is more like it...
As soon as his performance was over, we rushed home to chill in front of the fire and watch Tree House Masters, our latest obsession. Darrin was recruiting and my mom went home, so it was just the two of us. My fire building skills are improving...
Last night, Miles started sounding a little hoarse. He slept with me, as he always does when Darrin is out of town. During the night, I woke up several times to the sound of him wheezing. He wasn't struggling to get air, but it sounded like a cross between congestion and Croup.
Before I got out of bed this morning, I checked my phone. I had two texts from Darrin in the middle of the night saying he was sick and couldn't sleep. Uh oh...he was in St. Louis and had to get home. I sent him orders for Ibupropen every 4-6 hours and then got up at 6:30am to get ready for early church. I thought in the back of my mind that we probably wouldn't be going, but I didn't want to miss for no reason. When I woke Miles up a little later, he was terrible. His wheezing was so bad that I contemplated the ER. After I talked myself off the ledge, I made him go outside for some cold air and then stuck his head in the freezer. That definitely helped and I at least felt comfortable with his breathing. In the meantime, I texted a few mom friends and another friend that is a Physician's assistant, to help with a diagnosis. We all landed with a virus.
It's been an up and down kind of day. At one point, he said he felt like he was going to throw up, which is interesting b/c he's never thrown up before, so I'm not sure he knows what it would feel like. I'm proud to say that our five and a half year streak with no throw up lives on.
With the exception of right when he woke up, I haven't given him any medicine all day. His fever and energy level comes and goes. I looked in the living room at one point and he was exercising. The next minute, he looked like this...
I gave Miles a bath tonight and he started screaming a few minutes in saying that his legs were burning. I put a few essential oils in the tub, but I wouldn't think that would have bothered him. When I got him out, he had red hives on the back of his legs. I'm guessing it's from the virus and/or fever. Thankfully, both boys are resting in bed now. Darrin came home a little early. It wasn't a fun drive for him, but he made it. They are staying home together tomorrow and I, fingers crossed, am going to work to hang out with people who aren't sick. And now, my friends, I'm going to take a hot bath and watch TV. I've earned it. Good night!
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Grizzlies Game
I won two tickets from work for the Memphis Grizzlies game last night. I'm not a big basketball fan, but any chance to attend a pro event like that and I'm in. Darrin took Miles to Granny & Pa's for the night. I took off a little early since we had a two hour drive to get there. The tickets also came with a parking pass in the garage connected to Fed Ex Forum. It was a sweet set up. We didn't even need jackets b/c we were steps from the arena.
I had heard the seats were good, but they happened to be amazing. We were 7 rows from the floor.
We were right behind the Raptors bench, which was cool. You could hear them talking to the refs and each other...
I'm usually not shy about asking someone to take our picture, but there were just so many people around us. We both felt stupid, so we snapped a very quick selfie instead.
The Grizzlies are playing really well, so there was a lot of excitement in the air. It was a lot of fun. We left with a minute left in the game so that we wouldn't get stuck for hours in the parking garage. I hated to leave early, but it was already going to be a late night and we couldn't risk getting stuck. We got home at midnight. Totally worth the drive and little less sleep.
I had heard the seats were good, but they happened to be amazing. We were 7 rows from the floor.
We were right behind the Raptors bench, which was cool. You could hear them talking to the refs and each other...
I'm usually not shy about asking someone to take our picture, but there were just so many people around us. We both felt stupid, so we snapped a very quick selfie instead.
The Grizzlies are playing really well, so there was a lot of excitement in the air. It was a lot of fun. We left with a minute left in the game so that we wouldn't get stuck for hours in the parking garage. I hated to leave early, but it was already going to be a late night and we couldn't risk getting stuck. We got home at midnight. Totally worth the drive and little less sleep.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Miles' Peeps
I had several pictures on my phone of Miles with some of his friends, so I thought I'd share the sweetest. Miles treats his friends much like Darrin does. He's very affectionate and tells them often that he loves them :)
Thomas, Miles, and Ansley waiting to see their new buddy, Bane, at the hospital...
Miles' first time to hold Bane...
Miles & Kohen looking sharp at church...
Miles & our pastor, Bro. Kylan, on the Sunday before Christmas...
Miles at Ava's Red Carpet birthday party. He was a little out of place, but he LOVES her, so it was all good...
Miles & Olivia...
Miles & Ansley hanging out at church...
Miles with his daycare buddies, Alli & Molly, having fun before their first Little Hoopstars performance...
Miles is fortunate to have so many cute daycare, church, and neighbor friends. No doubt he will get hurt a lot over the years b/c he puts himself out there when it comes to friends. I can see that he is the passive one in most friendships. He will put up with a lot b/c it's more important to him to be with friends than to always do what he wants or get his way. He's certainly not perfect, but I think he's going to be a good friend to many.
Thomas, Miles, and Ansley waiting to see their new buddy, Bane, at the hospital...
Miles' first time to hold Bane...
Miles & Kohen looking sharp at church...
Miles & our pastor, Bro. Kylan, on the Sunday before Christmas...
Miles at Ava's Red Carpet birthday party. He was a little out of place, but he LOVES her, so it was all good...
Miles & Olivia...
Miles & Ansley hanging out at church...
Miles with his daycare buddies, Alli & Molly, having fun before their first Little Hoopstars performance...
Miles is fortunate to have so many cute daycare, church, and neighbor friends. No doubt he will get hurt a lot over the years b/c he puts himself out there when it comes to friends. I can see that he is the passive one in most friendships. He will put up with a lot b/c it's more important to him to be with friends than to always do what he wants or get his way. He's certainly not perfect, but I think he's going to be a good friend to many.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Wait & See Kind of Mom
So late yesterday afternoon Miles started whining and crying about who knows what. There really was no reason for it. He seemed tired, but then he started crying hysterically saying his head hurt. He looked a little sickly, but mainly just tired. I could not get him to stop crying so I put him in the bath. That always worked when he was younger. He was smiling within minutes.
I've had a few questions about the glowing ball. It's the Party in the Tub. Miles saw it on a commercial months ago and Santa was nice enough to put one in his stocking. I'm a fan of bath toys in general, but this might be my favorite. Super cute.
As soon as Miles got out of the bathtub, his whining returned. This time he mentioned his ear and he felt warm. I'm not sure how this happened, but we didn't have a working thermometer in the house. I'm certain he had a low fever that broke not long after he went to bed.
He slept for a solid 12 hours and woke up happy. I thought we were in the clear, but then he started talking about his throat hurting. I never run to the doctor...I'm more of a wait & see kind of mom...b/c I'm cheap and don't like copays for no reason...but fever, headache, ear, and throat were too many symptoms for me to ignore. Plus, I was off work today anyway. When we got to the office, he was playing hopscotch on the tile floor while we waited for the doctor, and literally jumping off the exam table. Doesn't he look sick...
I'm so glad we rushed in. Clearly, he was hanging on by a thread....
And this, my friends, is why I wait and see. Of course it was viral and he's been fine since we got home. I spent the rest of my day off laying around the house, working out, eating dinner with friends, and now it's time for a bath and the Bachelor by the fire. Ahhhhh.
I've had a few questions about the glowing ball. It's the Party in the Tub. Miles saw it on a commercial months ago and Santa was nice enough to put one in his stocking. I'm a fan of bath toys in general, but this might be my favorite. Super cute.
As soon as Miles got out of the bathtub, his whining returned. This time he mentioned his ear and he felt warm. I'm not sure how this happened, but we didn't have a working thermometer in the house. I'm certain he had a low fever that broke not long after he went to bed.
He slept for a solid 12 hours and woke up happy. I thought we were in the clear, but then he started talking about his throat hurting. I never run to the doctor...I'm more of a wait & see kind of mom...b/c I'm cheap and don't like copays for no reason...but fever, headache, ear, and throat were too many symptoms for me to ignore. Plus, I was off work today anyway. When we got to the office, he was playing hopscotch on the tile floor while we waited for the doctor, and literally jumping off the exam table. Doesn't he look sick...
I'm so glad we rushed in. Clearly, he was hanging on by a thread....
And this, my friends, is why I wait and see. Of course it was viral and he's been fine since we got home. I spent the rest of my day off laying around the house, working out, eating dinner with friends, and now it's time for a bath and the Bachelor by the fire. Ahhhhh.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Maybe?
Maybe I'll start blogging again?? Could this be the day that I get back to it? We'll see. During my blogging absence, I've gotten out of the habit of taking my camera everywhere. I've been taking pics with my phone, but my email is messed up so it's been a mess getting them to my computer. And thankfully, I've also had some of these...
Without pictures, blogging isn't fun. Still, there are so many things I have to write about that I don't know where to start. So, the plan is to just write a little each night until I feel like we are caught up and I've documented all the things I want to remember one day. Here we go.
Yesterday we did a little DIY. We installed some fireplace doors to try to keep the smoke smell out of the house during the summer. It's not a problem in the winter, but it is during the summer. After two chimney sweeps and lots of research, we bought some fireplace doors on Amazon. I was against the doors b/c I liked it the way it was and thought doors might date it. So wrong.
Before...
The boys reading the directions...
...me actually working...okay, so maybe I was the right choice for crawling into the fireplace...
After...We LOVE them! You know how things never turn out like you expect? This is one project that did. We installed it in an hour, had zero arguments during the process (I think I'll write that on the review), and it actually looks better than we thought. We had a fire last night and it looked even prettier in our new doors. I'm on a mission now to decorate the mantle.
We had some of our very best friends, Rachel & Travis, over last night. After years of waiting, they welcomed their precious baby last month. As we were waiting for them to arrive, I told Darrin that I can't believe they were coming to our house with a baby & a diaper bag! We had to get a pic as soon as they pulled up. They know we are crazy...it's all good.
Miles can't get enough of Bane....
We had a fun night with lots of good music, talks, food, games, and belly laughs. We are blessed with great friends. That's all for tonight. Will I be back tomorrow?? That is the question. Good night!
Yesterday we did a little DIY. We installed some fireplace doors to try to keep the smoke smell out of the house during the summer. It's not a problem in the winter, but it is during the summer. After two chimney sweeps and lots of research, we bought some fireplace doors on Amazon. I was against the doors b/c I liked it the way it was and thought doors might date it. So wrong.
Before...
The boys reading the directions...
...me actually working...okay, so maybe I was the right choice for crawling into the fireplace...
After...We LOVE them! You know how things never turn out like you expect? This is one project that did. We installed it in an hour, had zero arguments during the process (I think I'll write that on the review), and it actually looks better than we thought. We had a fire last night and it looked even prettier in our new doors. I'm on a mission now to decorate the mantle.
We had some of our very best friends, Rachel & Travis, over last night. After years of waiting, they welcomed their precious baby last month. As we were waiting for them to arrive, I told Darrin that I can't believe they were coming to our house with a baby & a diaper bag! We had to get a pic as soon as they pulled up. They know we are crazy...it's all good.
Miles can't get enough of Bane....
We had a fun night with lots of good music, talks, food, games, and belly laughs. We are blessed with great friends. That's all for tonight. Will I be back tomorrow?? That is the question. Good night!
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