Tag: Health

I Suppose The Air Could Be Fresher & Nightmare Hiccups.

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz33 Comments

The other day I was driving down the road and noticed a gentleman driving a convertible with the top down while wearing a mask. He was alone. He was not an uber driver. Yet, he was wearing a mask. Outside. Alone. Me thinks he might be on the weird side.

After I pondered on it for a minute, I decided I should NOT be so judgmental. Perhaps he’s afraid of the pollen that has taken over the South.

I’ve been getting these alerts on the daily.

I also get these alerts regarding our place in the GA mountains. What UP Mother Nature?

Hiccups. Literal hiccups.

Last Wednesday the Coach arrived home from exercising around 8am. Shortly thereafter, he had a case of the hiccups. We all get them, right?

I’m not sure what he did wrong that the universe felt like punishing him, but his case lasted around 38 hours.

He puts in a full day of work running our empire business and has softball practice each night. He’s a BUSY BEE. He was drinking lots of water all day long, and that paused the hiccups for a few minutes, but they would come back. So, when we went to sleep Wednesday, they would slow down, but as soon as he got up to empty his full bladder, they would rear their ugly head again.

A vicious cycle.

To say he was exhausted is an understatement; Ya’ll he tried every remedy known to man and the internet.

Thursday late afternoon he threw in the towel and called Teledoc. After a conference with the Dr. he was given an RX for Prilosec. The Doc said that hopefully this was just a type of acid reflux that instead of affecting you in a form of heartburn or indigestion, it was affecting his diaphragm. The Dr. said that if two doses of this didn’t affect it, he would need to go to the hospital for some sort of IV that would help.

Luckily, the first dose stopped them for about 40 minutes. And over the course of the night, he was having more ‘breaks’. Do you remember timing contractions; he was kind of like that: 30 minutes since the last one. 45 minutes since the last one...He went to bed at 9:30 Thursday, exhausted from it all and he was able to get about 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Friday he took his second dose and things were starting to get better. He was afraid to eat though; thinking that anything that added/changed the acidity in his belly would bring back the hiccups. He was having a bit of PTSD if he felt one coming on. I felt so bad for him. By Saturday all seemed to be back to normal, but wow.

What a weird ordeal.

It’s Monday and I’ve enlightened your life with weird mask habits and weird hiccups. How’s it looking from your corner of the world?

XOXO

If It’s A Numbers Game, Do I Want To Be A Winner Or A Loser?

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz31 Comments

Do you enjoy reading good news? I hope so, even if that good news solely pertains to ME. 

Do you recall back in November when I had my bloodwork tested, and my cholesterol numbers had shot up by 41 points? I can 100% blame the pandemic and my slacking because of said pandemic. Well, I vented about it to all of you and, you guys, being the best of the best, had some kind & encouraging words to say about it. 

Thank you, thank you and, thank you. 

I was terrified of going on statins. Honestly, I just can’t imagine being on medication daily. Listen, I know many people NEED to be on medication, and it’s not a big deal, but for me, it felt like a big deal. Therefore, I buckled down as I’ve never buckled down. 

Here are the things that I was ingesting either on the daily or several times a week that I gave up and how I adjusted, if you care to know:

  • Cheese-GONE (A few slices of cheese used to be a favorite afternoon snack)
  • Cottage cheese-GONE. (Oh, how I loved cottage cheese for breakfast)
  • Bacon-(Coach still prepares it 3-4 times a week, and I think I’ve had 4 pieces over the last 4 months)
  • Dairy creamer-GONE (I don’t even miss it. I love the vanilla Silk Oat creamer.)
  • Red meat & pork-GONE. 
  • Eggs with yolks-GONE. ( I DO prepare egg whites with veggies about 3-4x a week for breakfast)
  • Yogurt-GONE. (I loved greek yogurt.)
  • Butter-GONE. (I wasn’t a big butter user before, but now I ONLY use olive oil for cooking or this for spreading)

I also started eating more fruit, which I used to fear because of SUGAR. Fear no more. 

I’ve adjusted my meals so much, and at first, it felt weird, but now it’s the norm. Here’s one thing about me, and maybe you were this way too. For many, many years, I had a fear of carbs. Carbs are bad. Carbs come from satan himself. Now? I do have some carbs because I’m so limited elsewhere. I’ve added Raisin Cinnamon English muffins to most of my morning meals, and I freaking love them. Why was I so scared of bread? Pasta? Potatoes? Now, I don’t go overboard, but I do make a bit of pasta here and there, and we both enjoy a sweet potato (or rice) with dinner. It took some time to get rid of this fear of carbs, and I feel effing liberated. 

Can we go all Cher and turn back time for a minute? I meant to share this back in December when it occurred, but I didn’t. The Coach insisted I go and get a full-body scan. This is a proactive step and not ordered by my Dr. (we paid out of pocket, but it wasn’t as crazy as I thought it would cost). They checked me from my brain to my toes; with a CT scan of my heart. (Spoiler alert: it’s lovely) My heart shows NO calcium buildup, which is what usually occurs when people have high cholesterol. 

They also told me I have ovarian cysts & fibroids in my uterus. {BTW: NO PRIVACY with this scan even if I was FULLY dressed} This is not unusual for me, though. I’m continually growing all sorts of barnacles inside. I’ve since had a follow-up ultrasound, and all is well. This test also confirmed my suspicion that I HAVE A HERNIA; I didn’t really want to acknowledge this, but alas, it is there, and there it will stay. I’m sure it happened when the Coach made me carry something heavy. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

I had bloodwork done again last week, and then I visited my Dr. this week, and let me tell you, I was ANXIOUS. I kept telling Coach: If my numbers have not gone down after ALL the changes I’ve made, well, then I’m done like dinner. Give me an RX ’cause there is nothing else I can do. 

Guess what. 

Can you guess?

But it’s fun to guess!

My overall cholesterol number went from 259 to 225 in just over four months.

And my good cholesterol was excellent; I’m practically an overachiever at this point. 

That change with the fact that there is NO calcium around my pretty heart, well I can forge on, hope to improve even more and, NOT go on medication. 

Also, I did not gain weight with my dietary changes; I’m down about 5lbs. 

If you could see me now, I’m doing A Happy Dance. Well, I’m glad you can’t see me, though, because this bra I’m wearing is NOT made for happy dancing. 

WHY do I love that silly movie so much?

 

So. Are you happy for me enough to share some good news from your end?

If you need me, I’ll be out in the garden dancing like no one is watching because they aren’t.

XOXO

The One Where I Want You To Commiserate With Me.

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz29 Comments

*This is not a typical silly Suzanne post. Sorry, just keeping it real.

Last week I had bloodwork done per the orders of my Lady Dr. I’d postponed this from August because I was afraid; not only was she checking on the status of my menopause, (still Peri) we needed an updated count on my cholesterol.

Last October (2019) I was bragging that I’d dropped my overall numbers by 27 points over a six month period. Then pandemic; I slacked off big time. I upped my numbers by 41. FORTY ONE!

Photo by Kat Jayne on Pexels.com

Why would I share something so personal and embarrassing? I don’t know. A warning perhaps.

Did I just break HIPAA rules?

I knew I was on a slippery slope when I started baking cookies for no apparent reason, having wine with lunch dinner, not getting in my cardio as often, ingesting the bacon that the Coach cooks many days of the week, (FYI, his numbers are ALWAYS GOOD!)and generally eating whatever seemed to make me happy at the moment. My weight didn’t get out of control, but apparently my arteries were not appreciating it at all.

Lady Dr. called and gave me the bad news. She said I need to get into my regular Dr. and probably start on medication. I don’t want medication! This hit me hard. I’m down. (but not out yet) I feel like a loser which is ironic since I’m a gainer, not a loser.

I will do anything to not be on medication, so I’ve taken this extremely serious. If it has cholesterol in it, I’m not putting it in my mouth. I did 60-70 minutes of cardio both Saturday and Sunday; I have training three days this week with my fitness coach.

Does high cholesterol run in my family? I really don’t know. My Dad died at 52, (not from heart disease) so I have no clue and my Mom always had higher triglycerides, but I don’t think she had high cholesterol.

If only I’d contintued with the ‘beach sand diet’ I’d not be in this mess.

Anyone else struggle with this? I look like I’ve got it all together on the outside, but I feel like my insides are a ticking time bomb.

XO