Hot Flashes!! Here comes another one!!

Oh...when will it end?  I have the most severe hot flashes and night sweats.  I've been told by many they DO go away.  It's been 7 years and some months are light but most are unbearable.  My sleep deprivation has the most significant impact on my life.  It affects my health, my immune system, my mood, my ability to do my work and day to day things required of me.  I'm writing about this today not to go on and on about menopause or complain (Although I really want to) but to tell you how I hurt myself trying to cool off. 
I was so hot last night (the temperature was in the low 30's outside) but I could not get comfortable no matter how many covers and clothes I took off.  I finally opened the window.  The cold flew in and gave me some comfort.  I know others in the house were in disbelief and suffered.  I felt badly but anyone who has experienced this will know it's like "survival instinct" kicks in and "no one is going to touch that thermostat"!!!  To my dismay I woke up with the worst sore throat and feeling like I have the flu.  Mind you....I got a flu shot this year.  Some will say there is no way the cold coming in the window gave me a virus.  I intellectually know this but feel that I should not have let that freezing air get into my throat and lungs while I slept or attempted to sleep.  It seems the longer my body is beaten up by the ravages of "menopause" the weaker my immune system gets.
I do juice, take vitamins, exercise, eat right, use other herbs and natural/organic things to keep me healthy.  But if we don't get SLEEP everything good we are doing gets cancelled out.
I am drinking my mixture of Green and Sleepytime tea (chamomile being the key ingredient for relaxing and helping me go to sleep) and raw honey and going to try to sleep.  According to my cousin I have 3 years left.  I don't want to believe that.  I say "I am not sick.  I am not in menopause".  I will keep telling myself that!!
I will drift off tonight hoping my sore throat goes away.  Sore throats are the worst symptom of a virus.  In my whole life I don't ever remember getting a sore throat.  Now I know what my poor babies went through when they got strep throat.

Remembering to encourage each other today!

I was inspired by these Bible verses and the comment below them when I read them over at A Quiet Gracious Life:

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom,

neither shall fruit be in the vines;

the labour of the olive shall fail,

and the fields shall yield no meat;

the flock shall be cut off from the fold,

and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will joy in the God of my salvation."

~Habakkuk 3:17-18

I think these verses are a timely reminder during these difficult economic times; and I thought it might be a good idea for us all to encourage one another with them.

Praying for those who are suffering...

I hope Thanksgiving day and the holidays in general will be a blessed time for everyone!  We have a lot to be thankful for even though sometimes it doesn't feel like it. I am in a time of life where the smallest things can bring the greatest joy to me.  I pray for all the families who have suffered tremendous loss during this economy.  This may be a sad and hard time for them.  May they feel the grace and mercy of God wash over them and heal their pain.

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten--the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm--my great army that I sent among you.  Joel 2:25

Remembering to slow down

I find myself this day realizing that I haven't written in my blog for a while but couldn't believe it has been so long. The months are just flying by.  I can barely keep up. My lower and upper back were really hurting.  "I hate getting old" I would say to myself.  Then I would remember what I did at the gym that day.  I am finished shopping for Thanksgiving.  I am going to my brother's house because everyone else in my family will be out of town visiting in-laws.  We all get so busy this time of year and maybe forget to breathe.  My plate has been definitely been full.  I decided to stop and do something for me which is blog-surfing and enjoying the beautiful things I see.  There are so many talented people in blog world.  I am in awe most of the time and get such great ideas.  I also like to go through my own pictures, forgetting what I have added to my collection lately.  I came across the above picture I took while in my doctors office one day.  It called to me today so I am sharing it with you in case you need a reminder to Slow Down!!!!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

I am a Gramma

A nice thing happened to me today.  I was in a store and found the cutest sign about Grammas.  I said "Yes that's for me".  The clerk said "No Way".  Needless to say, he made my day!!!

I am a gramma!  My step-daughter Melissa has a beautiful little girl.  Her name is Mikayla.  She lives in Colorado and I miss her so much it hurts.  I am grateful for Facebook as I watch her grow up on there.  She does remember me and I hope to be making a trip to see her this year.

Precious Angel!

Little blessings

I have a funny and awesome story to tell about My Wishboard.  I had a picture on my board of a shed I loved and hoped to have one day.  It had been on the board above my desk for about a year.  My mother is a treasure hunter like me.  So when she came by my house one day with the most adorable porch table with two folding chairs I did not realize something very cool. 

I set it up on my porch and enjoyed it on warm summer mornings.  One evening after work I was looking at my board and out popped the chair that is in the fore-front of the picture of my shed I want.  I almost fell out of my chair. 

There in the picture was THE exact chair my mom had purchased with the cute little porch set; folding legs and red....just like the picture. It's not like most chairs - very unique.  I was awestruck!  I didn't have the shed yet but I got the chair I wasn't even focusing on.  Awesome how things turn out.  I felt the little twinge of God's whisper saying I'm here. Ask and you shall receive. It's the little blessings that WOW us.

Quiet in thought

And down the river’s dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance -
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.
- Alfred Lord Tennyson

Remebering to be Grateful Always!

Relax

The beginning of the month always seems to bring me a bit of anxiety.  It's bill paying time.  At least the major ones like the mortgage or rent, utilities, groceries. You know.....all those "Necessities we must have to ensure a roof over our heads and hot running water (which I never take for granted)".  I do my monthly budget, organize my coupons and GO!  It's always crunch time at work at this time of the month.  We are closing the month before in the first 2 weeks of the following month.  Needless to say I'm juggling personal and work "money".  And we all know when dealing with money: check, check and re-check.  No mistakes.  Well maybe 1 but it is usually caught pretty quickly by me or my very understanding boss. Make that 2 bosses - my controller at work and ME at home.  Double Jeopardy!

This month has been especially stressful since my 80 year old mother's 94 year old sister fell a few weeks ago and we put mom on a plane to go be with her. My mom is the youngest of ten children.  Her sister is almost like a mother to her.  She is struggling with how to tell her it is not safe for her to be alone in her house anymore. Aunt Connie is inactive because her heart is bad.  This keeps her muscles weak and atrophied. So she falls sometimes.  I'll keep you posted on where she ends up - in a home near her where there are lots of people who would love to listen to her vibrant stories of her long life or here, far from home where she would not even have her own room.  I have been handling my mother's finances as well as mine while she is away.  Foreshadowing of times to come???

When under stress I LOVE to shop. Bargain shopping is the most fun. What new treasure can I find today and not break my budget?
Today's treasure:

Ahhhhhh. Now I'm Happy!!!!

Dream Big!

Lucky Me!

I have had a series of doctor's appointments for the past month and have one left.  My medical "issue" started with a required bone density test back in 2005.  I was in my mid 40's and all of a sudden my doctor's are telling me I have to get a bone density test, a colonoscopy, my usual mammorgrams and other "female" check-ups.  Oh fun!!
My bone density turned out to be a big surprise for me. I had mild osteoporosis - NOT Osteopenia which is what comes before osteoporosis.  The doctor said to start "boniva", take calcium and call me in the morning!
OK. So I started.  After researching Boniva I did some research and didn't like what I was finding out about this drug.  So I stopped and just took extra calcium while eating lots of calcium rich foods.
Then my visit to the Osteoporosis doctor revealed low Vitamin D.  He prescribed 10,000 units a week forever. Wow. I thought Vitamin D was fat soluble.  I am told in order to utilize it and get enough of it some of us have to take more. OK.
This doctor did another bone density (this is a year later mind you).  He wanted me on the newest drug "Forteo". This is a self-given shot once a day for a year.  Some people do 2 years but after a year I heard about a once a year shot.  I hated those daily shots.  My doctor wanted to see if my body could tolerate the shot so he wanted me to begin a series of Boniva shots once every 3 months for a year.  I complied.
Another bone density test was done and my numbers were'nt changing.  We agreed on the "Reclast" shot once a year.
Another bone density test and my numbers were worse.
Lucky me!  As it turns out I am in the 1% of people whose bones do not respond to these drugs.
I set out on a mission to find some alternatives to add to what the doctors were prescribing.  I found a supplement called Osteo K that I heard about at a wonderful site run by Sean Croxton called Underground Wellness.  I decided it couldn't hurt to start taking it.  My doctor approved.
I walk, do yoga, work with weights at the gym and eat lots of calcium rich foods.
My doctor said I am doing everything and "the more I beat up my body the better".  I was relieved to hear I am not at risk for a fracture at this time.
Now he wants to start me on a new drug that is designed for people like me who don't respond to the other drugs.  It is called "prolia".  I don't think I have much of a choice but to try it along with my Osteo K.  The side effects are minimal and as long as I keep trying I know I will increase bone density.
What is so interesting to me is that for years I have noticed that I don't respond to medications the way other people do.  I have had to figure this out on my own with doctors not usually believing me until I make them.  This new information proves that my body chemistry is "one of  a kind". It is important that we all know we are created uniquely and need to be our own advocates with our medical doctors.  If your doctor does not listen to you move on!  Ask your friends and everyone you meet who they see.  You'll have to bounce around but it will be worth it in the end when you find that "medical professional" who is just right for you.
We all do this for our children and parents.  It's time we do it for ourselves!  I did and I'm so happy with the doctors I have now.  It was stressful and time consuming but I have a lot of years left and I want them to be full and wonderful.  Here's to your health!!