I have never been very "in-tune" with my body. I know people that seem to be able to track their food from the moment it enters their mouth to the moment it exits and everywhere in between. I definitely cannot feel my digestion happening. I am more often surprised by things my body does which seem to me to be without warning (noises and such).
Since my diagnosis with Gilbert's Syndrome back in September, I've been doing some reading on Gilbert's Syndrome (gilbertssyndrome.com and other places) and I am excited that what I am reading confirms what I had already figured out. I've been saying for several years that my body doesn't process toxins well. When I get on a health-kick and drink a lot of water, my skin gets worse. I have felt for a long time that my body passes toxins out through my skin. ( I have mentioned this to a couple of dermatologists who made me feel silly for even thinking it.) For a while I took "alli" for weight loss. The idea is that it binds on to the fat and passes it out through your excretory system. I was in a study group and participated in an online support group. Many people reported unpleasant experiences in the bathroom. Not me - I just had horrible acne breakouts.
So now that I've been reading about my new friend Gilbert I've learned that it's not just bilirubin but in general my body (liver) only processes toxins at a level 25% - 30% of people without this syndrome. So as much as 70% of the toxins I internalize through normal life are still hanging around inside me looking for a way out. Other sites say put the numbers conversely that my body processes 30% less than others. So - I figure, split the difference and say I only process half of the toxins that people without this syndrome do.
Because I had this toxin theory I started analyzing my diet last summer and made some significant changes so that I can consume less toxins. I focused on pH because it kept popping up in conversations with people. Turns out the changes I made are right in line with what is recommended and what others with Gilbert's are finding effective.
I am just so impressed with myself that I listened to my body and figured this out on my own.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
I'm a Wimp
I've said before that I'd rather lose a limb or a sense than have cancer. Currently I'm recovering from a frozen shoulder. It started during the night on a Wednesday night and I didn't get to the doctor to get a Cortisone shot until Monday afternoon. Through several long, painful nights I have learned - I am not good with pain.
Maybe nobody is - it is PAIN after all. Certainly cancer has its painful moments so I'm not rethinking my wish list. Just seeing it in a new light. Losing a limb is something that, eventually, I'd adapt to - but the process would definitely be painful.
Situations such as temporary injuries always provide enlightenment. You take for granted simple things like putting on shoes or brushing teeth or combing hair or steering the car and holding a drink.
I said a lot of prayers during those most painful nights - which also made me reflective.
I begged, I bargained, I questioned.
God did provide momentary relief - but it didn't last long.
Which led me to question why I was suffering through this - I've already had this experience with the other shoulder seven years ago and I don't think I learned anything different.
But apparently God places as little importance on daily exercise as I do. Because I offered to exercise daily if He would only end the pain.
That's going to be an interesting conversation next time my doctor asks me how often I am exercising!
Maybe nobody is - it is PAIN after all. Certainly cancer has its painful moments so I'm not rethinking my wish list. Just seeing it in a new light. Losing a limb is something that, eventually, I'd adapt to - but the process would definitely be painful.
Situations such as temporary injuries always provide enlightenment. You take for granted simple things like putting on shoes or brushing teeth or combing hair or steering the car and holding a drink.
I said a lot of prayers during those most painful nights - which also made me reflective.
I begged, I bargained, I questioned.
God did provide momentary relief - but it didn't last long.
Which led me to question why I was suffering through this - I've already had this experience with the other shoulder seven years ago and I don't think I learned anything different.
But apparently God places as little importance on daily exercise as I do. Because I offered to exercise daily if He would only end the pain.
That's going to be an interesting conversation next time my doctor asks me how often I am exercising!
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
A Fresh Start
I think it is human nature to see the January 1st as a time for a fresh start. That's why all the diet products and exercise equipment get on sale and promoted at that time of year. The whole New Year's Resolution - I'm gonna loose weight thing.
It occurs to me that this is another fantastic benefit of working for a school district.
Because, let's face it, sometimes those fresh starts don't take. The weight doesn't come off or the bad habits continue. So, for those of us in the school district world, there could be a fresh start in June, or in August as well.
Three chances in 12 months to make those positive lifestyle changes - awesome!
Or, sometimes you think 2014 was a hard year; so-and-so died, the dog ran away, the house burned down, my best friend had cancer - whew, glad all that is behind us and we can start 2015 fresh. But then your car gets stolen and your parent has a stroke and you say, "okay, maybe this is a tough school year but there's only a few more months until summer break".
It occurs to me that this is another fantastic benefit of working for a school district.
Because, let's face it, sometimes those fresh starts don't take. The weight doesn't come off or the bad habits continue. So, for those of us in the school district world, there could be a fresh start in June, or in August as well.
Three chances in 12 months to make those positive lifestyle changes - awesome!
Or, sometimes you think 2014 was a hard year; so-and-so died, the dog ran away, the house burned down, my best friend had cancer - whew, glad all that is behind us and we can start 2015 fresh. But then your car gets stolen and your parent has a stroke and you say, "okay, maybe this is a tough school year but there's only a few more months until summer break".
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Reflections
In December of 2012, my second year working for a school district, I decided to have a semi-elective surgery over the Christmas break. It was a standard procedure and two weeks should have been plenty of recovery time to return to a desk job. This was not a life-or-death procedure, but it wasn't a nose job either. I had a condition that would cause me pain and discomfort one or two days a month. On those days my lifestyle was affected - I didn't like to leave the house on those days. At the time my youngest was 7 and I wanted to be free to be fully his mother and go anywhere anytime.
So I took two extra days off from work, checked into the hospital on a Thursday morning and expected to be released Thursday night. My surgery started late but when the doctor came to visit me beforehand he said I'd be released on Friday. "Friday!" I said. Now-a-days hospitals are always trying to rush the patients out the door so I was surprised that I was staying overnight.
During the night the nurse kept changing my dressing and tried not to let on that she was concerned about the frequency that she was changing it. My husband called me in the morning and it was all I could do to have a three-minute conversation with him. I hung up the phone exhausted and worn out. Then my doctor's colleague came to see me. (Turns out my doctor had gone on vacation!) While she examined me she told me to cough. That wound up loosening a blood clot and before I knew it I was going back for a second surgery - this time an emergency. Apparently there was a problem with some internal stitches.
I stayed in the hospital for two more days. I finally made it home Sunday night - and here I thought I'd have been able to attend church Sunday morning. One of the ladies in my book club brought me Communion and I felt really bad for being so selfish as to have a surgery to correct an inconvenience so close to the holidays. I had lost so much blood - something ridiculous like 60% of the blood in my body. I was much closer to death than I like to recognize and certainly more than the doctors want to admit. If I had died my children would have forever remembered the anniversary of my death just a few days before Christmas - what terrible timing (not that there is ever a good time).
A lot of people think that near-death experiences change their outlook on life - and maybe it does, for a while. For me I was a bit more humble for a while. But the only lasting effects were a vow to never have another surgery unless it is required to keep on living. And, if I ever did have the luxury to schedule a life-saving surgery, I would not do it near the holidays. I would also ensure that the doctor was not going on vacation the next day. Part of me wonders if he was in a hurry to catch a plane - since we had already started late. Maybe if he hadn't been in a hurry he wouldn't have missed a stitch.
I did a lot of laying around on the sofa at the end of 2012. On New Year's Eve I drug myself to the house of some friends. It was just a couple of families with children the same age getting together for a backyard fireworks show. I laid on the chaise lounge and watched the spectacular. I found myself at the same house on New Year's Eve 2014 and, as I did at other times during the Christmas season 2013 and 2014, I reflected on how near death I had come and how nice it was to be alive. I suspect I will have the same recollections at the end of 2015 and 2016. After that...God only knows.
So I took two extra days off from work, checked into the hospital on a Thursday morning and expected to be released Thursday night. My surgery started late but when the doctor came to visit me beforehand he said I'd be released on Friday. "Friday!" I said. Now-a-days hospitals are always trying to rush the patients out the door so I was surprised that I was staying overnight.
During the night the nurse kept changing my dressing and tried not to let on that she was concerned about the frequency that she was changing it. My husband called me in the morning and it was all I could do to have a three-minute conversation with him. I hung up the phone exhausted and worn out. Then my doctor's colleague came to see me. (Turns out my doctor had gone on vacation!) While she examined me she told me to cough. That wound up loosening a blood clot and before I knew it I was going back for a second surgery - this time an emergency. Apparently there was a problem with some internal stitches.
I stayed in the hospital for two more days. I finally made it home Sunday night - and here I thought I'd have been able to attend church Sunday morning. One of the ladies in my book club brought me Communion and I felt really bad for being so selfish as to have a surgery to correct an inconvenience so close to the holidays. I had lost so much blood - something ridiculous like 60% of the blood in my body. I was much closer to death than I like to recognize and certainly more than the doctors want to admit. If I had died my children would have forever remembered the anniversary of my death just a few days before Christmas - what terrible timing (not that there is ever a good time).
A lot of people think that near-death experiences change their outlook on life - and maybe it does, for a while. For me I was a bit more humble for a while. But the only lasting effects were a vow to never have another surgery unless it is required to keep on living. And, if I ever did have the luxury to schedule a life-saving surgery, I would not do it near the holidays. I would also ensure that the doctor was not going on vacation the next day. Part of me wonders if he was in a hurry to catch a plane - since we had already started late. Maybe if he hadn't been in a hurry he wouldn't have missed a stitch.
I did a lot of laying around on the sofa at the end of 2012. On New Year's Eve I drug myself to the house of some friends. It was just a couple of families with children the same age getting together for a backyard fireworks show. I laid on the chaise lounge and watched the spectacular. I found myself at the same house on New Year's Eve 2014 and, as I did at other times during the Christmas season 2013 and 2014, I reflected on how near death I had come and how nice it was to be alive. I suspect I will have the same recollections at the end of 2015 and 2016. After that...God only knows.
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