Spring Break time, family time, VOLLEYBALL and me.......

So here I thought it's been a few weeks since I've posted and when I looked I realize it's been a month already - sheesh.  Things are "Status quo" with nothing really "new" to report.  Well, one thing is new, my sister had her 2nd baby!  So we have a new family member, Ms Audrey Rose Gordon.  She is precious of course!

As most of you know I'm always on the look out for new and great things that will help with CFS/ME, Lupus and FMS symptoms.  Well I have recently found a product and I want to tell you about it because I'm excited about it's potential. It's called "Aloha" - basically it's a dried green juice powder!  SHUT UP!  I literally was just thinking about how I wish there was a product that would give the benefits of juicing in a much easier form such as a powder or pre-made but good drink that was affordable....I know, I know, in my dreams!  Or at least I thought! Then I see an ad on Facebook pop up one day that caught my eye - it was EXACTLY what I had been thinking about - weird I know!

They appear to be a relatively new company and the product is exactly what I've been looking for.  I was able to get a sample of it and so far have found it to be just as good as it seems.  I mix the powder into my daily protein smoothie because on it's own it's quite harsh tasting!  I made the mistake of mixing it with just water when I first got it - ACK - I drank it but man, I won't make that mistake again!  If you have ever had spirulina straight, that is exactly what it reminds me of - but I find mixing it with my smoothie drowns out the strong taste and it's palatable.  I'm always looking for ways to easily incorporate lots of vegetables and goodness into my daily diet and this seems like a great way to do just that without the time/money/mess it takes to juice all the same things (and then some). Don't get me wrong, I love juicing and all the amazing health benefits but it is just too time consuming for me to do it on a regular basis anymore.  For the same cost, if not less, I can get the same benefits out of a package of dried juice - easy, fast and most of all convenient.  Check it out here Aloha - The Daily Good.  As anyone who is dealing with the affliction of a chronic illness knows, the more good stuff we can put into our bodies, the better off we are all around.  I really encourage you to check it out if you are like me and want to put the good things in but just don't have the time and energy to juice 3x or more a day.  With this, you take it once a day and you are good to go. There are 14 organic ingredients that promise to help detoxify, energize, hydrate and best of all BOOST IMMUNE SYSTEM function!  The process they use to dry the ingredients doesn't take away the nutrients or fiber which a lot of the time juicing does - so there is another bonus!  I've been using it just for a few days now so I can't honestly report anything over the top with it but I do plan on continuing to use it for the internal benefits I believe it will deliver.  A strong immune system is a huge plus for me.  I can also say I have noticed a temporary increase in my energy when I take it so that is always of course a huge plus!

In other news, it's spring break for myself and my kids - very much needed I might add!  I was thoroughly exhausted by the time it came along.  Last Friday was the first day and honestly I haven't done a whole lot since.  We did have an all day volleyball tournament on Sunday, but aside from that I've pretty much been a lazy lounger......of course I'm still keeping my normal schedule of going to be around 8 or 9pm but I'm able to sleep in past 5:30 am which has been nice.  I'm finding myself getting up around 8am, still tired but unable to sleep any longer.  I also have been noticing I wake up a lot at night, which isn't uncommon and surely part of why I'm always so tired, I'm not getting restful sleep.

So I wonder how many of you feel like I do - lazy.  I often feel like my illness has made me very "lazy" for lack of a better term - I feel lazy because I just don't want to do ANYTHING most of the time.  It makes me feel bad because I know I "should" be outside enjoying the nice weather, exercising, taking the kids out to do things etc.......so I start to get on myself and negative thinking hits.  I can sit here all day in my PJ's - easy.  So I wonder, is it just me being LAZY or is it truly because it's not often that I get to do it and when the opportunity shows itself I'm all over it?  Am I lazy?  Some would say YES.  I on the other hand am not sure at this point.  While I know I'm chronically sick, it's hard to convince even myself at times.

Volleyball is coming to an end soon - this has kept us very busy and on the go most of the time.  With 3-4 practices a week and an all day "power" each Sunday we find very little time to do much else.  Early mornings and late nights tend to be our M.O. during the club season.  As of May there will be a little break in the action before the summer camps start up with the school.  My daughter loves the sport and we are so blessed to be able to give her the opportunity to play for a club and in school as well as the countless other things she gets invited to do.  My husband and I love watching her too.  Our son on the other hand, not so much.  He isn't a big fan of noises so volleyball is really something that stresses him out.  With his sensory issues it's not the most accommodating sport for him.

Now I have a question for those of you with CFS/ME and/or FMS.  What strategies have you found work for you to keep you in a good place with your illness and struggles that come with it?  I feel like I do all the "right" things most of the time but still find myself very tired - some days more than others.  Some days it's very hard to get myself through and I can't wait to get home and collapse in my rocking chair/recliner.  I'm just curious what methods or things you do that keep you on top of your illness and what things you find make you crash and burn??  Thanks in advance for sharing as I know it can be a very personal thing.

Personally, I find that every day is so different from the last, especially dependent on what I did or didn't do for myself.  Things we put into our bodies will effect how we feel in the near and sometimes not so near future.  I find it hard to stay away from sugary things though, which for me is a downfall as I'm sure that lends to a lot of my symptoms of being extra tired. I also have a very hard time managing my weight NO MATTER WHAT I DO....Since being on the Body By Vi challenge I have found it easier to maintain my weight and I enjoy the fact that I'm getting great nutrients from the protein shakes but I wish I could LOSE weight as effortlessly as it seems others do.

At any rate, I hope this finds you well and enjoying spring!  Please send me comments if you have anything to share or say about anything I've put in my blog.  Let me know you are out there!  I am beginning to feel like I'm writing to a black hole!  I'm off to get some laundry done (the never ending pile seems to get bigger by the day) and then spend the evening in the volleyball gym - it is our life for now!

To your health!

Gerri

Information overload! Where do I put it....here, that's where!

So much information is available out there on our "information highway" that it's become a bit of an overload on my brain! I can only focus on so much at one time and with all the research I've done over the past year I am finding that I am either reading the same things, just on different sites and/or finding one good bit of information on things then another site to contradict what I just read. I'm glad to be able to find information as well as information that challenges it but it starts to become blurry and confusing after a while.....frustration set in this past week as I've been looking at going "gluten-free" and dabbling with it - it's not as easy as I had thought it would be.

It turns out that really eating "gluten-free" requires the desire to cook, the desire to spend the extra money on the grocery bill and the need to know that it really does make a difference.......as of right now I don't want to cook, I don't have the desire to spend our money on these specialty products that may or may not help me feel better. I was shocked when I saw the prices of "gluten-free" bread......among other things it's not a cheap venture. So, with that, I guess it won't be a huge shock to anyone that I haven't given up gluten in my food although I am more aware of it and what I'm putting into my body.

On another note, it's now been 30 days since starting all the supplements I had talked about in July. So far I'm not really feeling a major impact from them, but I do know it takes a while to build them up in the body, so I'm not going to give up on it. I'm sure they are doing great things for me. I've made a little bit of an adjustment to what supplements I'm taking and currently. In addition to the supplements discussed back in my July posting I am taking the following on a daily basis as well:

*bee pollen (in the loose form) - if you have never heard about the benefits of bee pollen you really need to check it out! I just picked some up at the Vitamin Cottage yesterday and had my first dose today. I'm all about giving it a shot. Bee pollen has been called "natures perfect food" among other things. After reading about it I was eager to add it to my daily supplements. I believe the loose form is best as it can loose some of it's fundamental goodness through processing and manufacturing - make sure you read about it before you go out and buy a bottle of pills or something that could just be a waste of your money....know what you are looking for and getting!

*Adrenal Stress End - This supplement supports your adrenals and helps them function better - I believe part of all the madness is also adrenal stress so this addition is necessary in order to stop the cycle - this one supplement also includes 150mg Vit C, 50mg B6, 100mg Pantothenic Acid (AKA B5), 400mg Adrenal Polypeptide Fractions, 250mg Betaine (helps with digestion), 250mg L-Tyrosine (one of the 20 amino acids that are used by cells to synthesize proteins), 200mg Licorice (among it's many health benefits, licorice has gained a reputation for strengthening the body during times of stress) and 35 mg Adrenal cortex extract (helps to repair adrenal function).

*Metabolic Advantage - I added this one since I firmly believe I have thyroid problems even though my Endo Dr says otherwise - due to the nodules I have and the indicators/symptoms of hypothyroidism I'm certain this is going to be a beneficial supplement for me. This thyroid support supplement that also incorporates 100mg B12, 200mg Iodine, 200mg Magnesium, 6mg Zinc, 300mg cooper, 2.3mg manganese, 248mg L-Tyrosine...both link enclosures have great information for you to explore further.

*Turmeric - I just learned about this spice used as a supplement this week and it's another one that I was eager to get on board with. The benefits of taking this daily are great! Although nothing is scientifically "proven" the responses from people who have taken it are good. When I first went looking for this in the vitamin section I found that the entire row was gone, so people are definitely using it as supplement for health.

*DHEA - 25mg - my PCP had told me to take this a year or two ago for help with the, um, shall we say lowered libido, to which I did purchase it and take it temporarily - I found it in my cabinet so figured I would add it to the list since it does have benefits for people with FMS/CFS according to sources I've read - I can recall where I had seen it listed however, I did see it enough in my reading that I decided it was worth trying again.

So all in all I'm taking 10 pills in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and 2 in the evening - that's the ideal situation - in reality, I take my morning 10, my dose of bee pollen and usually forget the later day doses which are the additional NAC and L-glutamine doses I should take. I am working on remembering to take those though...it's all a process of getting use to taking so many pills throughout the day.

I'm still having a nice big glass of fresh juice every morning as well.

The past 2 weeks I have missed my treatments due to one thing or another - last week was because I was too sick to go and this week because I had to take the kids to the Dr which just so happened to be during my appt time. Due to the fact that my appointments take all day to and from I had to cancel and of course they were booked solid the rest of the week so I couldn't re-schedule. I do however, have my next one this coming up Monday that, as of now is a go.

The one question that is burning in everyone's mind and asked all the time is "Is all of this helping you feel better?" - usually my answer is "I don't know" because honestly, it's too soon to really say either way. I can say that I am not "SICK" in the sense of having a cold, respiratory illness or anything like that, however, each day is still unknown and each day is different - when I start having multiple days of feeling great, you'll know it because I'll be shouting about it anywhere I can! I anticipate that it will take a few more months of supplements and treatments to really get to a point where my body is functioning "normally" whatever that is.

We have to remember that it has taken many years to get to the point of bodily functions failing and falling apart so it's going to take time to fix the problems that are now labeled as "fibromyalgia", "Chronic Fatigue", "adrenal stress" - how much time is not known and is going to be different for each person...but each day we are closer to being better by the things we are learning and doing!

I hope you are doing well on your life journey and finding useful information from my journey. Everyday is a new opportunity to learn more and find the right combination of nutrients, rest and activities to help make all this work to our benefit.

I'm still here, still fighing wtih my chronic illnessES.......still

It seems like things get better then worse then better then worse - I wonder when I'll just be better!?!?! Earlier in the year I was super hopeful that I was onto getting myself better but a recent bout of extreme fatigue has just sent me back to ground zero!

It's been a bit over a month since I last updated. At that time I had been doing some pre-spring cleaning and it was great - I had some energy to get that done and felt ok overall. Since then things have taken a drastic change.

My father in law passed away on 2/14.....that ended up taking us to California to help make arrangements and be with my mother in law for that week. That also took me off course with my exercise and juicing......once we returned we got consumed with final planning for my business convention which was only 3 wks out.

I've been juicing the Dr Oz Green stuff mainly because it has the items in it that I was primarily juicing, it tastes good and is easy to purchase those ingredients to have on hand. They aren't expensive which is another plus of that particular drink. I've gone away from the fruits mainly because of the sugars in them and have just stuck with that one.

Fast forward a few weeks - we went to New Orleans over the week of 3/9 and enjoyed some time away for my annual business convention with Slumber Parties and had a great time. As usual the time there is full of tons of activities, very little sleep, a lot of walking, dancing, eating of various Cajun foods and of course the hurricanes and hand grenades! It was a great time for all!

While there I felt ok - tired but attributed it to the lack of sleep and late nights out. Upon returning home I felt ok, but ended up feeling as if my chronic fatigue symptoms really flared up towards the end of the first week home. I couldn't get enough sleep to save my life. I am sure the trip to New Orleans is the root of that flare up - it has to be the reason that my energy sank to level 0 and I couldn't get out of bed for days.

As I write today I am feeling OK - I did a party last night so I'm a bit tired from that but feeling a little better than I have, in regards to energy, than I have in the last couple weeks.

I have an appointment this week with my Endocrinologist to check my thyroid nodules - every 6 months I get those checked. I still believe that my thyroid is not functioning regardless of what she says - I'm not sure what to do though - if the blood work says all my hormone levels are "within normal range" and everything appears to be ok - how do you argue with that? I do however wish to dig deeper into these nodules and somehow figure out if they have taken over the function of my thyroid, secreting hormones and "faking out" the blood tests - I'm sure that's a possibility......or maybe I'm just reaching for something - hell I don't know.

I just wish someone, somewhere would help me feel 100% human again - I feel like I've somewhat "checked out" on life at this point. Especially when I spend an entire day of my life in my bed sleeping because I just can't wake up. That's how I spent this past Thursday......after I got my kids off to school which was a task in itself, I went back to bed and slept the rest of that day......woke up a few times but couldn't keep my eyes open. It's really sad and makes me sad that I'm missing life because of this chronic fatigue I'm suffering from - in fact I'm tearing up just writing about it because I feel like there is nothing I can do about it.......right or wrong, that's how I'm feeling right now. I need to keep searching but honestly I think I've done all the research I can on my own - I just keep finding the same things I've already read about.....is there really no more help out there?

When I think about living out the rest of my life struggling with this extreme fatigue it makes me sad because it's hard to fight it...along with being completely unfunctional at times there are also body aches/pains to deal with as well. Someone who doesn't have issues with fatigue/pain can't even imagine what it's like to always feel like you have been up for 24hrs straight, everyday - even though you have made sure you got 8hrs sleep, eat right, get your vitamins in and exercise - I'm telling you, it's terrible and I wouldn't wish this kind of illness on anyone anywhere.......

Sorry for the "downer" but this is where I am suppose to write how I feel, and there you have it........I'm just in a bad place right now with my fatigue and struggling to trust western medicine after all this time I've gone and nothing real dramatic has changed with my health. At times I feel like nothing is ever going to change - but something has to change........I know there is someone out there that can help.

There is actually a clinic here in Denver that deals with Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia however they are not "insurance approved" because the treatment methods they use are more holistic than medicinal and have not been "proven" to be eligible to be included in insurance plans. Upon checking into it they informed me that treatment is $500 a month which pretty much stopped me in my tracks there. After looking into them I really feel they might have some answers for me BUT we definitely don't have an extra $500 a month to put towards that. I'm tired of being in the hole with our medical bills so that is the last thing we need is to put ourselves more in the hole in that area. It's really a catch 22 because I think a more holistic approach is what will help me but the expense of it stops me - crazy.......

Well, I guess that's it for now.....I am thinking of doing a whole body cleanse starting this week to see if that doesn't help me in some way......honestly I think I will do ANYTHING at this point to just feel better, have just a little energy and see the light at the end of what has turned into a very long dark tunnel I'm in....

Until next time!

Morning Energizer

3-4 carrots
1/2 beetroot
1/2 lemon
1 cucumber peeled
1 inch piece gingerroot

Cut all to fit in your juicers feed tube and enjoy - don't let the blood red color fool you, this is a really mild tasting juice

This is one juice that is recommended for those who suffer from CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) as carrot juice is helpful in treating fatigue, beetroot and cucumber help cleanse the gallbladder and liver. (Especially beetroot juice)