Living With MS- Week One Victories!

Week one off my meds and a new way of eating is in the books. The first few days off my anxiety and allergy meds were a bit of a challenge. I took a very small dose of anxiety medication to help me with my night time restless brain that sometimes comes with MS. You may be absolutely exhausted but your brain doesn’t shut down at all. When I added my ten minute evening yoga routine and a cup of chamomile tea to my mix, I didn’t have any issues. Allergies. Well I was a drippy mess for the first four days. I read this article about natural ways to help with allergies. One of which was to have a teaspoon of local honey twice a day, and of course use saline nasal drops. The other was to change your diet which I had already done and add apple cider vinegar to a glass of water in the morning. Gross right? Add the honey you have to take anyway with 8 ounces of water and its life changing. So last week I gave up pasta, breads that weren’t high fiber, sugar, and soda, dairy for the most part, read meat and cut down to one glass of wine a week. This week no alcohol, cutting down to one cup of coffee and adding more tea therapy into my mix. I made a big pitcher of ginger lemon with probiotic tea which I drink a ten ounce glass on my way into work. I have a cup of green tea with my breakfast when I get to work and ice green tea with my lunch and iced peppermint herbal tea after lunch and chamomile tea before bed. The great thing about these teas they are actually good for you and aid in digestion and flushing out all the bad stuff. In this eight days I have lost three pounds. I still feel a little bloated from some of the meds but that will take longer than three days to clear out of my system. I am having some issues with my hands since I have been off my meds but that could be because of the warmer weather, MS tends to get bad when your body overheats. As much as I love to be outside when the sun is out I have to make sure I am not over doing it in the heat. Soon I will have to move my walks into the gym on the dreamill to stay regulated on really warm days. But today was a great to walk at lunch. I have incorporated a thirty minute lunch time walk into my day. And another thirty minutes in the evening if weather permits, if not I do my yoga for an hour. I have to make sure I stay active and focused. I have been religious about using MyFitness pal for more than three years to track my eating and exercise, I have been using more of the tools available lately like tracking my sleep. Sleep is the most important to wellbeing. My dying FitBit tracks my sleep as well. I have really been mindful that I get between 7-8 hours at least per night. I also have been mindful about how much TV I am watching. I was getting really bad about binge watching everything. Even though I was working out at least 30 minutes a day, I was sitting for way to long in the evening and on the weekends. I stopped turning the TV on at all on the weekends during the day last weekend. I listened to music instead which actually got me motivated to start my days activities earlier than normal. This Sunday before 8:30 am I had already made a pot of soup, had made my breakfasts and lunches for the week and started laundry. I didn’t sit back down that day until after 4 pm. Got in way over 15,000 steps yesterday. I have set my new goal at 12,000 per day that way I know I am getting up enough. If I need a little more motivation, I got my pool pass yesterday and I have to shop for a bathing suit this weekend. So week two started yesterday and hopefully it will bring on great new changes!

Living With MS- A great weekend

had the best weekend. I didn’t do anything to note other then check off a dozen items on a to-do list and enjoy two sunny days after our six month extended winter. I had time to reassess a few things now that am I working longer hours with ninety minutes of my day in a car. Over the past six months I have been struggling with my MS. I had to go back on medication and I hadn’t really been able to be as active as I had been. Hey I gained fifteen pounds between medication and a job where I sat, a lot! Last week I did this seven day “cleanse” if you will. I gave up sugar, red meat, bread, pasta, dairy (for the most part) and alcohol (except this weekend). I got at least a thirty minute walk in and made sure that I took time to relax. I started to feel remarkably better. Over the weekend I actually went for tow half hour walks, once in the morning and one in the evening. I did some toning and some yoga. I was relaxed and full of energy but there still was something not 100%. I started to read this booklet I got at the MS Walk. It was eating for MS which I have read about and tried but I wasn’t really committed to it. I then read an article about weight gain related to the medications I was on and how weight gain can actually make your symptoms worse. Well I looked at the last few months and the progression of symptoms and all the lights went off. Sunday I didn’t take my meds. I figured I would come off everything including vitamins and allergy meds, no pain relievers no chemicals of any type. I decided to continue my eating regime but added in some high fiber sour dough bread as it was recommended in what I read, it’s good for your gut and probiotics are part of MS wellness. Totally off cow’s milk based dairy and no alcohol for a while, that isn’t for the MS that is for the calories. My house is filled with good foods. I have set up a schedule to get my workouts back to where they were prior to this relapse. Baby steps of course but I will get there. Now that I have a steady job and a set weekly schedule I can be more structured. I can make time to look at other ways to handle my MS. I have been reading up on the CBD oil which I have now had a few people tell me I should try. I am considering but I think I want to clean the junk out of my body before I start on anything like that. It will take a week for some of it and a month for the rest. I am not looking for a quick fix, I am in this for the long haul. I may not be bikini ready for pool season like I have been but that’s okay. I can’t sweat the little stuff when I have to focus on the bigger picture which is my overall wellbeing. I am however hoping for more weekends like this where I have the balance of getting things accomplished and ability to relax. I think we all need those!

Living with MS- Next steps

I was sitting in an interview yesterday and they asked me the typical questions and I gave the typical answers. Then they asked me where I saw myself in five years. In the midst of a really bad bout of my MS that question almost brought me to tears. I answered “Hopefully in my forever job succeeding” out of habit. What I really thought in that moment was “I have no idea where I will be in five years”. I know that I may be in a wheelchair at some point or using a walker. I try not to dwell on those things because I am not there yet but when asked that question at the moment when you feel your body so out of control those thoughts are quite vivid. Yesterday I had to change what I was wearing because I couldn’t fasten the button on my pants or my shirt. I had to write down every thought I had on post it notes and put them in my purse and stick them to my phone in case I forgot what I needed to do or words I needed for the interview. Last night I went home exhausted. I needed to exercise but I was too physically and mentally tired to do so. I made dinner cutting my fingers twice as I prepared it I was trying not to become to frustrated with my hands that haven’t worked well in three weeks. I ate, made a cup of tea then I sat. I refused to cry. But I did think about that question, where will I be in five years. I realized that I have to think about that. I have children and I have responsibilities. I want to live every day as they come but I am at the point where I need to plan for the what ifs. It is time to say, I have a disability and I need to plan but not be overcome with what could happen to me. I would hope in the next five years that I could find a treatment to help me or hell maybe there will be a cure for MS. That is my hope. The reality is treatments take time. There is no overnight fix for anything. Patience and planning is part of life and reminding myself every day to have a life. I can’t stop living because of this disease. That is the first rule of the living with MS club, don’t forget to live. But we sometimes have to focus on the unpleasant side of the disease and I am there now. But it is okay because it’s a part of this and you have to accept the bad with the good. I have always said and I will always say, it isn’t what happens to you in life it is how you chose to handle it that makes you who you are. I will take this next step in my journey with much research and thoughtfulness. I don’t want a quick fix, I want the right fit for me. So when I am asked again where I see myself in five years I will answer “Where I need to be”.

Twenty Eight Days of Change-Planning

After a week of focusing on the good the bad and the ugly of my life I took the past seven days to plan. I took all those post it notes that were things I need to keep up with and I put them together. The first thing I did was budgeted my time. Wait you didn’t do your financial budget first? NOPE. To me time is more important because the time you have or don’t have can cost you money. For me I have to work a day job to pay the bills and I have my craft business on the side and I am trying to start a consulting firm to replace my day job. I can’t afford to know budget my time. When I lose track of time I lose money, I lose momentum and I can’t have that. So I sat down and wrote out my day, my week, my month. I wrote down all the little things I had to do, that I wanted to do and things I really shouldn’t be doing. Then I looked at how I could do them smarter. Instead of going to the grocery store every night. I started to use the shop and click options at stores. Some you pay for but it was worth it as I saved time. I am making a chore list for the girl child, so I don’t have to clean up her messes. I looked at commuting options so that instead of driving every day I can ride and craft, see where I am going with this? Once I had my time budgeted I could do my financial budget. It was actually scary given I am making almost half of what I was once was. But I crunched the numbers and I got everything to work out. No more lattes and fancy cheese for a while but it will all be worth it to reach my goals. I even budgeted my goals. Just like when you are on a diet you break that down in smaller increments so you feel successful with every step. I did this with my goals in post it notes of course. Yes one does say “buy fancy cheese again” but that is what goals are for right?

28 Days of Change- Focus

About three days into this twenty-eight-day adventure some things happened in my world that were rather unexpected. I didn’t want to stop what I was doing I just had to take a new approach on it. So I took five days to focus. Luckily the assignment I am currently working I have more than a little free time to take think time. Not everyone has that luxury and honestly I wish I didn’t right now but I am grateful for it. The first thing I needed to focus on was my situation and what were all the things I could do right now to keep me from freaking out about it. So I took a five mile walk and thought about what little good panicking was going to do me. And then I thought about options and solutions. And when I got home I wrote down my thoughts and made a to do list but made sure it wasn’t one list it was broken into smaller “doable” lists. So I used a stack of post it notes and put five items from my master list on each post it and enough room for notes if I needed to take further action on each task. I was able to complete fifteen tasks in my pj’s on a Monday evening and it lifted about twenty-five pounds off my shoulders. The next day I took care of a few more items and some had follow up steps so I moved those aside and pushed on and created a few more post it notes for other items I needed to focus on when I got to a point I could do that. I am now focusing on what I want to be when I grow up. I am thankful for the time at temp assignments because I am getting a feel for different office environments and looking at my skill set and what I have to offer and what I need to work on. I have applied for and interviewed for a few jobs I would have loved to have but didn’t but I was able to start to see why I didn’t get them. It’s so easy just to apply for every job out of desperation without actually looking at the job description and looking into the company. So I made some more lists. What do I want to do, what am I able to do, what are my strengths and weakness since that seems to be in every interview, and what atmosphere do I want to work in? I read a job description today where I had 90% of what they wanted but the 10% I didn’t wasn’t kind of key to what they were looking. I asked myself is this something I could learn and wanted to learn and express that to them in a cover letter? Once I did more research on the company I realized that it wasn’t really a place I would want to take money to learn that skill for. Did she just say that in her situation? Yes, yes I did. Again it goes back to applying for everything out of desperation. And it comes back down to focus. As I am closing down on my five days of focus I do feel more grounded and although I still have a lot of major work to do on my to do lists I think I have a good plan moving forward. And on another note seven days into this I have lost 3 lbs and cut down on my cheese intake. The dairy industry may take a hit this twenty-eight days. But 3M stock will be up from all the Post It Notes.

28 Days of Change

So far this year isn’t turning out the way I planned. When I left my job in October I had all these big ideas of what I was going to do and how things were going to be then I fell flat on my face. I have reached the panic point and caught myself making some not so good decisions. That is no way to live I can tell you that. So I decided it was time to start a mental detox if you will. Starting on February 1st I am going to focus on changing my situation and regaining some control over my life. I am starting with something I do have control over my health and well being. I have always said and truly believe if you take good care of yourself by eating well and exercising you can find so much focus.I have some of my best ideas on the dreadmill or taking a walk outside. I actually had to start carrying a small notebook with me to write things down. My MS brain doesn’t always allow me to remember long term. So goal one for the month of February is self health which will lead to goal two which is focus. I need to focus on what my wants and needs are. Putting my love of cheese and tater tots aside, I am talking about tangible wants and needs not edible. What do I want out of life? I want to make my business successful. I have just gone about it in the wrong way. My game plan was very flawed but I have been taking time while unemployed to educate myself by looking at successful small business owners and entrepreneurs. I am attending a work at home summit that I have to tell you has opened my eyes in so many ways. I filled an entire notebook in a day and a half. I still have four more days to go better get more notebooks. But I now know that my wants have to take care of my needs. I may want to be a business owner but can I afford that the way I want to do it? In this month I need to look at the how. How to make the want meet my needs. I realized when I left my actual job and started working temp assignments that I can no longer work in a regular office environment. It isn’t that I don’t want to it is that my body will no longer let me. As much as I hate to admit that my MS has reached that point it has. These temp assignments have been good as I have been able to have a break between assignments but the breaks mean no paychecks. That isn’t good. And that is why I am in a panic now. So I need to look at goal three which is a back up plan. Hmm can I get all this covered in 28 days? You betcha. It takes 28 days to make or break a habit. I don’t have any notions that in 28 days I will have all the answers but I will have a plan, a plan for change which I will take with me for the next twenty eights days and the twenty eight days after that until its time to revisit that plan.

The little things

At forty five I never thought in a two year period I would be divorced, diagnosed with MS and now for the most part unemployed and my former mister has put us in a financial pickle. And despite all this I am still happier then I have been in so long. Because I know things will work out the way they were meant to be and my life is mine. I have never been a things person I have always been an experience person. And in this past two years I have experienced things both good and bad that have helped me to grow as a person and realize what is truly important. Good experiences cause memories, memories don’t need batteries nor do they need to be upgraded with a new model. I would much rather have that then things. Not to say I don’t like a nice pair of shoes now and then, come on! But the endless memories of things I’ve done, seen etc. will always trump things. As 2017 thankfully leaves us I will go into 2018 in pursuit of as many experiences as the year brings.