Photos - August 23, 2014

I have missed blogging. I keep blogging in my head but haven't actually done it. 

This past week has been the "week of dizziness". It started after church on Sunday and hasn't yet left. I started thinking that it was a low sugar thing and ate a lot of sugar. It made it worse. But, I did get to eat Popsicles and Swedish Fish. 

I called my doctor Monday and he said to come in for a full blood work up. Then I emailed my new doctor and told him what was happening. He said my blood work would come back fine and that dizziness was a great sign. 

And he was right. The blood work came back the next day and all my levels except one are normal. That silly low level was iron. My iron is always low. No big deal. 

So...the dizziness. I have been sweating a lot. More than I have probably ever sweated in my life. It has finally been humid which is helping me produce sweat. Also helping is this awesome little sauna from Amazon. 

Isn't it so funny looking? But, it really works. I sweat up a storm. I pop in a movie (thanks Kristen for the loan of all the DVDs!) and zip myself up.
Here is my 6'6" husband using it.

It is basically a lot of piping with a cover over it. Then you hook up the heating unit and plug it in. Does anyone else remember Pipeworks from the 1980's? We loved these as a kid! Unfortunately the sauna kit did not include wheels like Pipeworks did.
 

Also a fun little thing that has been happening...my left hand changes colors. It turns a yellow/orange color. It has been happening for the last few weeks. It goes from my fingertips into my palm.

So here is how the new doctor explained the dizziness which is, at times, pretty severe. I dream about earthquakes and the earth spinning and wake up to find that I am really dizzy.

The doctor said that RSD and Dystonia affect the nerves and nervous system. We already knew that. But my body feels the pain and slows the blood to that area. My knee gets swollen and the blood doesn't move past the area well. The same happens in my hands and wrists. 

So, basically my system has slowed the flow of blood to the area over the last year or two. Instead, it focuses on other things like digestion. In the last three weeks have really shaken up my body. There have been oxygen masks, eye exercises, electric stimulus sessions, odd Tai-Chi like movements, a lot of sweating, the withdrawal of my pain meds and so much more. My body is freaking out. It doesn't know how to deal with all of this.

It isn't use to dealing with digestion and moving the blood through my limbs. My body doesn't like it at all and so I get super dizzy. 


Here are some of my new supplements: Nitric Balance, Multi-vitamins (yes, they are like gummy candies and I don't care), Magnesium when my body tolerates it, Kapp Arest and a great probitic. The probitic will help with things like thrush. I tend to get thrush fairly often for some reason. There are only so many things I can cut out from my diet. I have not had diet soda or aspartame for three weeks. I have not had milk for longer than that. I have been decreasing the amount of gluten and sugar. Do you know how hard it is to find gum without aspartame or glycerin? Nearly impossible. Someone make good-for-you gum.

Also helping with the sweating is my fun heating pad "bonnet" and hot baths. I hate taking baths. I feel the need to shower before and after so I don't sit in my own filth. Does anyone else do this? And by the time I have showered-bathed-showered, my hands look like prunes. 

I am still using my loaned electric stimulus machine daily. I love this thing. I am so blessed that a friend of a friend lent this to me. It basically sends little shocks of electricity through my nerves. It feels so good. I crank it up and it really helps with the pain.

I have been doing a lot of shopping on Amazon. This week I got my eye cover. I have eye exercises that will hopefully strengthen my right eye and help it move back to the center. Amazon was so thoughtful to include this lovely earring in my purchase. I can now do my eye exercises dressed up like a pirate. 

Right now my "job" is to get better. That is the goal. 

My day usually looks like this: 

10pm to 4am - Sleep

4am to 6am - I'm awake since the Ambien wore off and I am trying to wean myself off of it. I went from 17.5 mg to 12.5 mg to 10 mg and tonight I am going to try 8mg. 

6am to 8am - Sleep

And then during the day I lay in the hammock, do eye exercises, arm exercises (without moving my wrists/hands), try to eat healthy and not get dizzy, sweat and read. There is lots of reading. I am going through about a book or two a day on my Nook. Thank goodness for free books!

One of those free books included a how-to make your own crafted gifts. TWO of the "gifts" included a supply of cat hair. Ummm...what?

And other photos I have taken this week...

We decided to go from two minivans to one. I sold one after listing it on my Facebook page.

My husband went to a baseball game with a good friend, the friend's niece and the friend's parents who just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary together. While there, he caught a foul ball. 

This is the couple that has been married for 60 years. Our friend, Dar, sits behind them in the gray shirt. They are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet. 

My husband and I sponsor children through Compassion. We received two new photos this week. We have been sponsoring them for about 10-11 years. 

The first is Johari. The first photo shows her in an ivory two piece dress with a plaid collar. It was taken in 2003. The new photo shows her wearing a lovely two piece dress which she made. She is taking tailoring courses in high school.

The second photo is of Princess. I remember picking Princess because of her name. Plus, how cute was she in the photo taken in 2004? She was so tiny! She is now 17.

Here is proof that my husband loves me. He took all my ebay stuff out of the office since it is just a reminder of what I cannot do right now. The office is so much bigger without all the stuff! Here he is carrying the bottom half of my mannequin. 

And last photo. Did you know ants like friend chicken more than candy corn? I did an experiment. Life gets boring hanging out in a hammock for most of the day. They attacked the chicken within a half out. They didn't touch the candy corn, even when I left it overnight. I even broke it apart for them so they could have the sugary inside.

By the way, I agree with their choice. I think fried chicken skin is the best food in the world.

A Dragon home edition 13 review is coming. I wanted to try it some more before I posted the review. Thanks for being patient :)