Archive for the Category ◊ Health ◊

20 Aug 2010 Alcoholic
Author: Charlotte |  Category: Health  | Tags: , , , , , , , ,  | Comments off

We know someone who is an alcoholic. Years ago he was really bad. He was married, had a son and his wife was pregnant with their daughter. When this guy was sober he was a really great, happy guy. When he would drink he changed into a mean, nasty, raving lunatic of a man. Back then there weren’t a lot of detox centers to choose from but one was found for him and he went in for a few months.

That place did a good job. When he got out he was back to his happy self until several years later when his wife died of cancer. He went back to drinking and the “monster” returned for a couple years. It played hell on his family. Then one day a few months ago he decided to stop hurting himself and his family and went sober again all by himself. He’s doing good so far without the help of a detox center too.

I sure hope nothing else comes along to send him back to the alcohol because we sure like this sober guy much better than the “monster”.

03 Aug 2010 I can’t do it
Author: Charlotte |  Category: Health  | Tags: , , , , , ,  | Comments off

My doctor is always after me to get a colonoscopy done and I just can’t do it. I really don’t like anyone messing around that area. Besides the fact that I would have to do a colon cleanse before hand.. not one of my favorite things to do.

I do realize that having a colonoscopy done is something that’s important to have done but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Both my parents had it done several times but I feel like a panic attack is coming on just thinking about having it done. I’ve never had any problems with that area and just want to leave well enough alone for now.

I also hate having a mammogram done too. Those things HURT! But I had no problems having 3 c-sections, a hysterectomy, a discectomy and a spinal fusion done. I know.. it makes no sense.. but that’s me. I don’t make sense a lot of times.

27 Jul 2010 What to take or not to take
Author: Charlotte |  Category: Health  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,  | Comments off

I have one of those infamous “muffin tops”. It’s not real bad but if I don’t do something about it soon it will be. I was just checking out www.sideeffectsofdietpills.net and there are some that I just won’t even try. Either they don’t work or the side effects just aren’t worth it.

Now I’m wishing I hadn’t gotten rid of the elliptical I had because I sure could use it right now. I’m thinking I’m going to start dragging Andi and the baby out during the day and take a walk up and down the street. The past couple days would have been good for that because the humidity and temperature finally dropped to a more comfortable level. Starting tomorrow the temperature and humidity levels are going up again.

Walking is good exercise and my doctor has been wanting me to get out and walk but the condo complex I lived in wasn’t exactly the best place to take a walk in alone. This is a nice, quiet street and a good place to take a walk. Even if Andi doesn’t want to go with me I’ll grab the baby and put him in the stroller and take a walk. The fresh air will be good for him and me both.

22 Jun 2010 Tired and stressed
Author: Charlotte |  Category: Health  | Tags: , , , , , ,  | Comments off

I’ve been so stressed lately trying to figure out a way to pay our storage bill and come up with the money to get my stuff moved to our new place. I haven’t been able to sleep very well. I keep waking up every couple hours or so. It’s so bad that I’ve been reading some prevera reviews to help with the bags and dark circles under my eyes.

I ran out of ideas to help come up with the money. I could sell things but everything I own is in storage so I can’t sell them until I can get them out of storage. Do you see the viscous circle I’m running in? So the only other thing I can think of is to ask for donations on my blog. I really hate doing that and it’s probably going to cause me even more stress but I have to do something. I don’t have anyone I can borrow from because most everyone I know has money problems too… *sigh*

Even though I asked in the post below, I’ll ask again. If you have a little to spare and would like to help me out click on the donate button in my sidebar. Any amount at all will help and I really appreciate any help you can give.

27 May 2010 Not having a very good couple of days
Author: Charlotte |  Category: Health, life  | Tags: , , , , , ,  | Comments off

These past 2 days haven’t been going very well. What started it off was yesterday morning. I woke up with my ankle hurting me. I have no idea what I did to it while I was asleep but it was fine when I went to bed. It still hurts and I can barely walk.

I was out of my usual Tylenol Arthritis so I went to CVS to get more and decided to try some CVS brand of Bayer Back and Body. That was a mistake. I took them according to the directions and only took 2 doses but when I went to bed last night I could barely sleep because of the ringing in my ears. I haven’t had something like that since I was little and sick. My mom would give me aspirin when I was sick and I remember laying there and having my ears ringing like crazy. I always thought it was because I was sick. I Googled ringing ears and aspirin this morning and found this:

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. An overdose of this medication can cause serious harm.

Overdose can cause ringing in your ears, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, yellowing of your skin or eyes, increased sweating, confusion, hallucinations, rapid breathing, seizure (convulsions), or coma.

I also found this:

Medicines that commonly cause tinnitus or make tinnitus worse include:

* ACE inhibitors, such as captopril (Capoten) and ramipril (Altace).
* Antibiotics, such as gentamicin, neomycin, and streptomycin.
* Antidepressant medicines, such as amitriptyline and nortriptyline (for example, Pamelor).
* Anti-inflammatory medicines, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen.
* Birth control pills (oral contraceptives).
* Blood pressure medicine, such as captopril (Capoten) and ramipril (Altace)
* Heart medicines, such as nifedipine, quinidine (for example, Quinaglute), propranolol (for example, Inderal), and verapamil.
* Local anesthetic agents, such as bupivacaine, lidocaine, and procaine.
* Medicines used to treat cancer, such as cisplatin or taxol.
* Medicine used to treat Parkinson’s disease, such as levodopa.
* Radiation therapy to the head or neck.
* Vitamins or mineral supplements, such as niacin or vitamin A.
* Water pills (diuretics), such as bumetanide (Bumex) and furosemide (Lasix).

I didn’t take more than recommended… I took the recommended dosage and even waited longer between doses than recommended.

So now I have an almost full bottle of that stuff that I can’t use and have to go back to CVS and get some Tylenol Arthritis. I’ll be sticking to that one… forget the aspirin.

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Then last night hubby was getting on my case really bad about not having a job. I do office/clerical work and I have done that all of my adult life. He wants me to go to stores and look for sales jobs so I’d be pushing buttons on POS systems all day. What he just doesn’t seem to understand is that with my spinal fusion, although my back is better it will never be 100% again, I simply cannot stand on my feet for long periods of time. Working in a store would be a huge problem for me.

It’s not that I haven’t been looking for a job.. I have.. every day I look at the Press, Craigslist (although I don’t trust have of the jobs they have advertised there) and Careerbuilder. There just isn’t much out there. Most secretarial jobs I see are at lawyer’s offices and they want a legal secretary and someone who is bi-lingual. I only speak English (and I admit that sometimes I even have trouble with that!).

I know it’s hard on hubby and our finances with him being the only one working but I can’t go out and force people to hire me.. now can I?

16 May 2010 Foot troubles
Author: Charlotte |  Category: Health  | Tags: , , , , ,  | Comments off

Both hubby and I have these red patches on our feet. His is tons worse than mine and he has tried all kinds of treatment for eczema and other stuff. It goes away for awhile and all of a sudden comes back and drives him crazy.

His is on the heel area of one foot.. the other foot is fine. I get the red patches on the insides of both feet. The spots get red and itch a bit then fade away. It shows up every couple of months or so. It really pisses me off because I get my feet looking nice so I can wear flip flops then the red patches show up and I just want to cover my feet up again. I’m so self conscious about how my feet, body, face look. I think that comes from my mom when I was little. I used to get told things like “oh don’t wear that.. it looks terrible” or when I’d ask her if I was pretty she’d say “you’ll pass in a pinch”. I never really felt pretty and was very self conscious about how I looked.

I don’t think she meant it to be mean because she was not a mean person. She might have been trying to be funny but it just didn’t come out that way.

16 May 2010 I wonder…
Author: Charlotte |  Category: Health  | Tags: , , , , , , , ,  | Comments off

I’m not what you’d call fat or overweight but I have this thing they call a “muffin top”. I have this bulge that sticks out of the top of my pants. I hate wearing snug tops because that just shows off the muffin top.

I don’t think I really need to take any apidexin or something like that. I just want that puffy stuff to vanish. Any suggestions besides starving myself or working myself into a sweaty, disgusting mess?

Maybe after we finally get a real home and I have more to do besides sit here at the computer it will go away. Unpacking boxes and getting things moved how I want them will surely help.

I just don’t like my puffy lumps and don’t want to end up looking like my mom. She carries too much weight and it puts so much strain on her knees and other joints that she has quite a bit of pain and has trouble getting up and down.

I don’t want to get where I’m a burden on anyone. I love my independence and hate to ask for help to do the simplest things.