I'm Out There, Baby!
So I went to an appointment this morning. I didn't know before I got there that it was That Appointment. I sort of hoped I'd have a couple more before it happened.
Anyway. My appointment was at 09.15 this morning. As of around 09.22, I'm no longer being treated by a fibromyalgia / chronic pain specialist. I got The Handshake, The Talk about how he's exhausted every idea he has about something that might help, The Promise that there are smart people doing progressive research in the field that might help me someday, The Good Luck Wish.
I'm out there, baby (ten points for a quasi-hilarious and entirely inappropriate Seinfeld reference). And you know what? I'm kind of okay with it this time. I'm so tired of the runaround - the constant, jarring starting-and-stopping of random therapies that doctors get all excited about (until they don't work) followed by the weeks and months in between where I'd be dropped and left on my own. Now I know that I'm on my own - plus my awesome support network of friends and family - and in some ways, it's almost like this last Doctor of Abandonment has given me permission to take control of my own health again.
Today, despite the fact that I hate chai tea and I hate soy milk, I actually enjoyed a Tazo Chai latte from Starbucks. Who knew.
And once again, I came up with a dinner that honestly and seriously tasted GOOD: mini pizzas on whole grain pitas with organic tomato sauce, chicken, red pepper, red onion, asparagus, and a little bit of cheese. Weird new diet or no weird new diet - there's nothing wrong with that meal at all :)
Labels: Adventures in Alternative Medicine, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, My Life, Recipe
Food!
Mmmm... GOOD food. With a few modifications, I managed to create a super-yummy, super-easy meal for The Boy and I this evening.
Mango Salsa:
1 cup chopped fresh mango
0.25 cup finely chopped cucumber (skin on)
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp organic balsamic & red wine dressing
1 tsp grated lime peel
I served it over tilapia fillets (browned with a tiny bit of olive oil and a some more of the balsamic dressing in the pan), with organic brown basmati rice.
I'm happily discovering SO MANY things that I can eat - that actually fill me up and taste amazing. I'm actually starting to think that this food might taste better than regular food (and I'm not just saying that to make myself feel better).
I even made my own chicken noodle soup yesterday. Insane.
Labels: Adventures in Alternative Medicine, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, My Life, Recipe
The New Plan
If you - or someone you're very close to - hasn't been sick, you won't get it. But I grew up being constantly approached by well-meaning acquaintances who were absolutely convinced that whatever they sold would fix me right up. It got to the point where I became skeptical of pretty much anything that wasn't doctor-recommended. Sad, because I probably missed out on some solid alternative therapy ideas. I just couldn't deal with it anymore.
Which is maybe why I have waited this long to trust a combination of herbal supplements and a quasi-extreme diet to keep my symptoms at bay. But after January's no-good-very-bad drug experiment, I felt like this was necessary. And so, beginning on Saturday, I have embarked on a journey scheduled to last around six months - I have committed to taking a ginormous mountain of supplements three times a day and following a strictly outlined nutrition plan, in hope that this might succeed in making me healthy.
I'll let you know how it goes. As if you had any doubt :)
By the way, if you feel like going the extra mile and supporting me in this (and if you're anticipating dining with me at some point in the near future), feel free to request The List and I'd be happy to email it to you.
Oh, and encouragement would be acceptable also. AHEM, Anja and Kari-Ann. Not that I didn't LOVE your comments about how disgusting my non-sushi meal looked compared to your Japanese delicacies last night...
Labels: Adventures in Alternative Medicine, Anja, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Kari-Ann, My Friends, My Life
The Good, The Bad - And No Ugly
How's my week going? Thanks for asking. It's 12.34 am and I'm taking a break from working on writing a massive annual media strategy for one of my clients. That's how my week is going :)
Let's see how efficiently I can catch you up, so that I can get back to my fun (I'm only being half-sarcastic for once... I actually really like writing these suckers. It just takes a heck of a lot of time that I seem to be sorely lacking lately):
THE BAD STUFF
- New herbal meds are rough. I feel icky on them. I'm taking half doses right now to try to ease myself onto them.
- I am NOT sleeping well this week (as you can tell!). Monday, Tuesday, and tonight were/are all bad nights where I was up really late. Last night, I CRASHED and actually slept for 8 or 9 hours. But now it's back to bad sleeping. I really need to fix that, and fast. I know how important it is.
- Just kind of generally feeling tired. No, scratch that. I'm exhausted. No big surprise given my first two points here, I guess :)
- My pain levels are inching back up, which I was expecting. But I'm still allowed to be a little bit frustrated, I think.
- Lots of work stress this week. Changes and decisions and all kinds of things that just kind of generally make a girl feel slightly on edge. I know that at the end of these transition periods, you always look back and are grateful that things are constantly evolving. But I still hate being in the middle of them.
- Lenny Kravitz is sick and has postponed his concert dates for Canada. I'm not changing my ticker on the side of the page here, but I will as soon as the new date is announced. It's just too depressing to take it off.
THE GOOD STUFF
- My nails are pretty again. Don't underestimate how much better that can make you feel!
- Although Geoff is working nights all weekend (that's not on my good list or my bad list - it just IS), I've planned a bunch of fun things: Cocoon Girls Night here on Saturday, and an Oscar Party here on Sunday.
- One of my suppliers surprised me with a Starbucks gift card this week. He certainly knew the way to my heart... The skinny cinnamon dolce latte was already guilt-free from a caloric perspective, but to also remove the financial guilt? Coffee has never tasted so sweet.
- Lots of emails from friends this week. The kind where you know that you're somehow just in tune with each other, because they came at EXACTLY the right time and said just what I needed to hear. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by all the amazing people who are a part of my life. This last week or two in particular, I really felt encouraged by Alison, Mel, and Emily. And - as usual - Baden managed to distract me from my own woes by dishing about his :)
It's officially Friday. So that's 'good stuff' too!
And I think that I finally decided to like my haircut. It's never taken me this long to adjust before, but I'm starting to really love it. DEFINITELY a case of better late than never. I liked it for a day, then I HATED it, then I was kind of indifferent. And now it's all good. Other than Saturday mornings when I would seriously kill for ponytail-length locks, just for an hour or two. Don't pretend you don't know what I mean.
Okay. Forget this document I'm supposed to be finishing. It's so close. And I will finish in the morning. It's time to drag my fabulous, beautifully coiffed self to bed. I'll thank me for it tomorrow :)
Labels: Adventures in Alternative Medicine, Alison, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Baden, Cocoon, Melanie, My Friends, My Life, The Boy
Up Close and Personal
Today (after spending an hour or two at the office being productive this morning), I had my blood analysis appointment. Emily graciously volunteered to come with me - these things are always a little easier when you have someone else there, and I knew from last time that they'd be throwing more info at me than I'd possibly be able to retain on my own.
It was an interesting day, that's for sure. Every medical-type person I've ever met with has a theory - whether they 'believe' in fibromyalgia or not. Today's theory actually made a little more sense than usual. Basically, they believe that all the NSAIDs and steroids I've pumped into my body since I was 10 years old have managed to eat away at the lining of my intestines, my stomach, and my bowels - resulting in a body that lets bad things 'leak' into my body and letting some of the good things (minerals and nutrients) escape. In short, my blood was a MESS. And that mess reflected a pile of issues that all added up to fibromyalgia in my case - and the list of common symptoms read like a summary of my life over the past couple of years, *exactly* all the symptoms I've been dealing with. Weird.
Anyway. I paid my hundred thousand million dollars to the nice people and went home with a new little sack of goodies - acidophilus-bifidobacterium, cat's claw, chlorophyll, marshmallow and pepsin, LB-X, vitamin D, and magnesium. Yummy.
My next appointment at the beginning of March will address any diet changes that need to happen - in the meantime, I'm keeping up with my journaling.
Labels: Adventures in Alternative Medicine, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Emily, My Friends, My Life
