Home Grown

Archive for the ‘Angie’ Category

The past few nights I have slept restlessly. I usually get this way at the equinox for a couple days. It is as if my body is reacting to shift of the planet. I know something is going on in the atmosphere but I don’t know what. My muscles ache and my joints are stiff. I have a headache. When I wake up I feel drugged or drunk. Also I am shakey and can’t get it together easily. Maybe the weather is shifting more toward winter. I just don’t know. Once I get moving I am good for most of the day. Despite the whatever going on I have been super productive lately.

After being sick for over a year, being on 14 different rounds of antibitotics and then dealing with the issues that over medicating causes (rashes, yeast infections, etc) coming off all meds and getting better has been like living a different life. For a while the weight loss stopped. I can only say it was in relation to the meds as they sent my blood sugar wacko.

Five days after the ear infection cleared and I was off medications of every kind my energy level sky rocketed. I put it to good use.

I am ashamed to admit this but – after a year of being sick and not feeling like doing anything most days my house was a shambles. I managed to cook and keep up with laundry and not much else.

Eleven days ago I started in the attic and I have been working my way down. I have cleaned out every drawer, every closet, mopped, shampooed area rugs, washed bed linens, put winter sheets and electric blankets on the beds – if it needed to be done Colby and I did it. We unloaded so much junk and clutter – yet to look around you’d think we didn’t. I can’t even guess how many truck loads Steve took to the dump. We have hauled bags and bags to Good Will and the Clothes Closet Charity. I also have been posting things for sale on eBay and Craig’s List. My dining room is still piled high with things waiting to be picked up or sold. (If you have girls that wear nice dresses at Christmas between the sizes of 10 and 16 shoot me an email. I have some fabulous dresses I am selling for $10 each.)

As we deep clean I have started pulling out and organizing Christmas decorations. We start up stairs and work our way down with those too.

Five full trees upstairs. Four downstairs. Plus all the extras. It is a lot of work but so worth it when I see the excitement and joy of the holidays reflected in my children’s faces.

I have my Thanksgiving dinner planned out and everything is in order.

What have you all been doing?

I feel out of touch since all I seem to be doing the last two weeks is clean and work my fingers to the bone!

My answer is no. I cannot hear you now.

For awhile now I have been having some issues with my ears. It started last September with the right year which became infected for unknown reasons off and on for a period then by April it became a full blown issue requiring several rounds of antibiotics before it cleared up. I was hoping all of that was behind me.

This past September when it all started over in the other ear it was enough to get me moving more quickly and seeking a more vigorous treatment. After a doctors visit and three different rounds of antibiotics with no success in clearing it up, and discovering my eardrum had ruptured sometime just previous to this last visit I needed to see an otolaryngologist – the fancy name for the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor or ENT.

I had been on so many heavy antibiotics that it was causing other issues. IN a word – yeast. You girls know what I am mean. And not just that. Rashes would break out under my arms, behind my knees, underneath my breasts. TMI? Sorry. BUt that is what happens when your body is over loaded on antibiotics. Then you have to deal wilth the side effects.

My primary physician tried to get me in to several offices but there were no appointments before late November and my situation I don’t think would have tolerated 4 more weeks. Also most of the appointments she found open for me were at least 50 miles away.

I took matters into my own hands, began calling around, plead my story or more unsuspecting workers in doctors office. After a few calls and a few call backs I got a 9am appointment in a local well known ENT group. This is one time I was very happy to go to the doctor. I was going to get some help, some advise, and some understanding of what was going on with my ears.

I won’t go into the gory details of my visit but I must tell you having someone investigate the opening in your head is a bit daunting. Cold metal things used to pull open your nostril while they use a head lamp and look and move around as if exploring a newly discovered cavern, probes reaching into your ears and the back of your throat are just the beginning.

As we talked about my symptoms, meds I had been on and the state of my sinus I told him how my left ear felt like a balloon was hanging off the side of my head and if I could use a vacuum and clean the ear maybe I would feel better.

You know what?

That is exactly what he did! He used this small probe instrument like a cone in my ear then he took a tiny little suctioning machine and pulled out any liquid and build up that he could see. It did not hurt though it sounds like it would. Actually it felt good. The strange feeling began to go away almost immediately and while my hearing did not improve significantly it did improve.

I have a greater understanding for people who have hearing loss. Not being able to hear is an awful experience and I don’t want to go through this again. Unless I am looking at you most times I cannot hear you. Lots of sounds and noise at once disorients me and I can’t always tell from which direction a sound is coming from. Not only is it annoying but it leaves your brain a bit confused as it tries to sort out the barrage of noises. I have a ringing in the ear as well, due to the hole, and I could hear my heart beating along with the rushing sound of an ocean. Trying to filter through the noises was trying to say the least.

I have a new antibiotic and ear drop to use. I will be returning for the vacuuming procedure once a week until the hole in my ear drum heals. I am hoping for a swift recovery but at this rate of my body defecting on me I can’t say for sure how this will play out and how many trips to the doctor I will need.

So, when you don’t see something new here on the blog you know I am sacked out on the couch seeking comfort from ear pain or napping somewhere because the antibiotic has a sleep effect. I took my medicine early this morning and right now my eyes are drooping due to the medicine.

In the process of this ear issue or maybe at the start of it I also had a sinus infection and got no relief from medicines – prescription or over the counter. My left sinus was closed. I couldn’t draw air in through my nose and zyrtec and sudafed did nothing to ease the sinus pressure or congestion.

On impulse I went to CVS and picked up a Neil Med brand neti pot. I began washing my sinus cavity several times day with the premixed sodium packets and wonder of wonders my sinus began to clear and I sit today a woman who can breath through both nostrils. I told the doctor about this. He said this was the better brand to use. He recommended it for sinus issues, post drip, continual runny nose etc. So do I. It works.

Steve was getting a head cold a week ago and I went out and bought him his own neti pot. His full blown cold was gone in 36 hours or less.

Try the sinus rinse. Don’t get the squirt bottle or the can of saline. Get the neti pot. You will be surprised at the difference in your sinus.

I am very sure this post is filled with misspellings and left out words. I’ll come back later and try to proof read it

Thank you all for the feedback and validation on my last post. Most of you heard me and know the emotions I was struggling with. Thanks for coming back day after day. Thank you for the comments you do leave. Please remember if you read here to say hi occassionally.

Sadly there were still some emails on the weight thing and those people will never get it. Never. For those people I suggest they gain 75lbs and walking around the world for six months and then come back and tell me about their mental health and body image issues.

Next month is National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo! Who is going to give it a whirl? If you decide to join in on the mass craziness you can add me to your buddy list. Click the link on my sidebar for my author profile.

What do you mean you aren’t a writer? Neither am I but I try. Come on. Exercise your mind. Free write. Just start typing anything on your mind and don’t stop until you’re past 50,000 words. Give it a try. Many published works came out of it in the past without those people really planning to write a work aimed at publishing.

Jen on the Edge wrote about the current cosmo rag on the shelf at Barnes & Noble. I saw it last week at CVS. It sits on the rack under the pharmacy pick-up counter. I covered it over with a Southern Living. I have the photo on my phone but I am too lazy to go download it.

Vodkamon wrote about being honest about what you are reading. I won’t lie to anyone about what I read. I love Stephen King and read everything he publishes. I love romance novels and have a penchant for trashy ones. I try to read what my kids are interested in. I also reread alot of classics. Currently I am reading Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

J0n G0ssel!n is a major dick. I love Kate. Always have. I don’t want to hear anything bad about her. She is the stand up parent and is the brains behind every dime that low life has spent on other women and selfishly on himself.

I don’t think my antibiotic is working. This leads me to strongly begin developing a grave dislike for the doctor I am currently seeing. Twice now he has prescribed medicines that I cannot take AND some of the most expensive medicines there are for simple issues with sinus and/or ears.

Last week Badger wrote on her anniversay:

I am introverted and egocentric and selfish and misanthropic and antisocial.
I do not play well with others, in real life.
I am a hard person to live with, and it’s hard for me to live with other people.
I need vast quantities of alone time to function.
I do not like having to depend on other people, or having other people’s decisions impact my life in a significant way.
I do not like having to consult anyone when I make a major decision.
These things do not come easily to me.

This is a portrait of me. This explains so many things that is the reality of being me.

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If you try the low carb Autumn Spice muffin recipe link back here from your blog and if you don’t have a blog leave your comments and an entry for a Autumn gift giveaway drawing on Oct. 15th.

Don’t forget about the Gone Country giveaway. Thanks to those of you who have shared your stories! Entry closes this friday and a gift recipient will be announced on Monday.