Ok, so here it is - a rare occasion! I am writing twice in one day! So - today is still a good day - I am feeling good except for a little back pain - but that's nothing.
It's 8pm and Cory and I just got in the door from doing a little bit of shopping.
I managed to put 3 hours in today on the wall mural I am doing. I must say, that 7 foot giraffe is coming along nicely. A little time consuming, but what can you expect from a guy that has a ton of spots!! I finally finished the spots today, now for the rest of his body. I will have to post pictures once it is all complete. It may take a while, but I am sure will look nice in the end.
Once I came home, I didn't go for a nap...this is great! I am loving it! I had a few tired episodes today but managed to fight it off. I had quite a nice surprise today too. As I was painting the wall mural, I heard a text message come in on my cell phone. I thought it may be Cory asking what time I would be done - but when I looked, it was my boss telling me that I got a raise today!! Yay! It was definitely an unexpected surprise, and greatly appreciated.
After getting home, I tried to tidy up a bit, checked a few emails and caught up a bit with my Aunt on the phone. Cooked some supper - and then went to get Cory at work. We arrived home, ate and got ready to run out to get a couple of things.
First, we stopped at Zellers - well - it has been a tradition lately for myself and Cory that whenever we go to that Mall, we drop by the pet store to see the puppies. So off we went before I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription vitamins. There was a little pug in the window, he was so cute. Of course, I couldn't pass by the puppy toy/treat section without getting a little something for our new arrival - so Eddie has himself another teether.
After Zellers, we went to Rona to get a few necessities. We got our newer fire alarms, a fire extinguisher, and a carbon monoxide detector. Expensive but absolutely necessary!
Then we went to Future Shop to look for a CD that Cory has been wanting, they were out of stock but I did resist the urge to go to Michael's craft store next door. I have spent enough money this week - and especially with the new insulin pump & puppy, I would like to remain frugal. We strolled over to Walmart to see if Cory's CD was there, but no luck.
And all of this without a hot flash, a dizzy spell, a low moment - it was nice, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
We came home and resisted the urge to go buy chips - a nice treat, but one neither of us need. So maybe I will surprise Cory with the last bag of popcorn that I have in my lunch bag from work. (-: Wait a minute...I can hear the clinking of a spoon on a mug...Hmm...Cory's way of eating ice cream. I hope he saves some pralines and cream for me!! ha ha I tell you, since I have started this carb counting diet - you sure don't get much for a treat! I have been doing well so far though - an occasional cheat never killed anyone *insert evil smiley here*
Well, I have some energy left and don't need a nap. I just checked my sugar and I am 6.5 - so today was a good day! If only I could have many more of these! I keep getting these little butterflies in my tummy when I think about Saturday. I can't wait to bring puppy home! I am going to have so much fun with him and Grey.
Ok, sounds like the first 25 minutes of American Idol has started - and House is on at 9pm - hopefully not a rerun. Going to sit with my Hubby for a bit.
Have a great night.
Love, Cindy
xoxo
Tuesday 29 January 2008
Today is a good day...so far!!
Hi, just thought I would stop in and write a short note as I have to do this when time and my memory permit! I had a good sleep last night and two cups of coffee later, I am awake. Not the groggy awake I normally feel, but I can actually feel my body today! Yay! I didn't wake up low this morning which is great as that normally takes a lot out of my energy reserves. I was 7.4 this morning.
The being awake part could be the switch that I have made to my thyroid medication again. Well, the thing is - about 6 weeks ago, I got quite a scare - I am not quite sure what happened to me, but I was at work and suddenly felt quite sick. The room started spinning and my heart started pounding out of my chest and I became cold and clammy. So, I had Cory come pick me up. Thank goodness he had the vehicle that day! I would not have been able to drive like that. After that incident, I thought that it could possibly be my thyroid. My past 2 blood tests have been considered "over corrected" but my endocrinologist wanted to leave me at that dosage for a while to test how I coped with it. She would rather see me over corrected than under corrected which is how I have been living the last 5 years of my life. I was supposed to see her on Friday, but they have rescheduled me for March 12th (I think) so that will give me a little bit of time to get a few other things in order.
Well, after the scare - I decided to lower my dosage again - but after 4 or 5 weeks of doing that, I realized ,when doing the math, the average dosage I was giving myself was the same as before when I was under corrected. So, this last week, I decided to go back to the original dosage that she prescribed me. I just hope I do not have any more incidents like the one I had. I have a standing order blood work requisition which requires me to test every 6 weeks for this, the other one is for every 3 months for my diabetes, plus the other tests I have here that I need to go in for to get ready for my rheumatologist appointment.
I stopped by the doctor's office yesterday while I was in the area. I am scheduled to go see the rheumatologist on February 28. Now, if only I could remember to go get the blood work done that I need to. I must sit down and write down all these appointments in my book as I have everything all on little pieces of paper. Not good for someone with a bad memory at the moment. Funny what hormones can do to the mind.
Sometimes I think an assistant would be great for all this medical crap! haha Sometimes it feels like I am running a business just trying to manage all that is going on with this body of mine - and in the meantime, I have to live life at the same time. Can be quite overwhelming at times! I am not complaining - as I am grateful for my life. Things can be frustrating at times that can bring me to tears, but all in all, it could be much worse.
Well, it is getting late. I must go for now and pack up my art supplies and get over to work on the wall mural I have been doing. We are getting our new puppy on Saturday!! (4 more days!) I must get quite a bit done on this mural as I know I am going to have to designate quite a bit of time to this puppy to train him.
Talk soon...
C
The being awake part could be the switch that I have made to my thyroid medication again. Well, the thing is - about 6 weeks ago, I got quite a scare - I am not quite sure what happened to me, but I was at work and suddenly felt quite sick. The room started spinning and my heart started pounding out of my chest and I became cold and clammy. So, I had Cory come pick me up. Thank goodness he had the vehicle that day! I would not have been able to drive like that. After that incident, I thought that it could possibly be my thyroid. My past 2 blood tests have been considered "over corrected" but my endocrinologist wanted to leave me at that dosage for a while to test how I coped with it. She would rather see me over corrected than under corrected which is how I have been living the last 5 years of my life. I was supposed to see her on Friday, but they have rescheduled me for March 12th (I think) so that will give me a little bit of time to get a few other things in order.
Well, after the scare - I decided to lower my dosage again - but after 4 or 5 weeks of doing that, I realized ,when doing the math, the average dosage I was giving myself was the same as before when I was under corrected. So, this last week, I decided to go back to the original dosage that she prescribed me. I just hope I do not have any more incidents like the one I had. I have a standing order blood work requisition which requires me to test every 6 weeks for this, the other one is for every 3 months for my diabetes, plus the other tests I have here that I need to go in for to get ready for my rheumatologist appointment.
I stopped by the doctor's office yesterday while I was in the area. I am scheduled to go see the rheumatologist on February 28. Now, if only I could remember to go get the blood work done that I need to. I must sit down and write down all these appointments in my book as I have everything all on little pieces of paper. Not good for someone with a bad memory at the moment. Funny what hormones can do to the mind.
Sometimes I think an assistant would be great for all this medical crap! haha Sometimes it feels like I am running a business just trying to manage all that is going on with this body of mine - and in the meantime, I have to live life at the same time. Can be quite overwhelming at times! I am not complaining - as I am grateful for my life. Things can be frustrating at times that can bring me to tears, but all in all, it could be much worse.
Well, it is getting late. I must go for now and pack up my art supplies and get over to work on the wall mural I have been doing. We are getting our new puppy on Saturday!! (4 more days!) I must get quite a bit done on this mural as I know I am going to have to designate quite a bit of time to this puppy to train him.
Talk soon...
C
Sunday 27 January 2008
Tired, Busy, but it's all good!
Hi Again,
Well, it sure has been a busy couple of days. I have been fighting with my computer this past week because since last Sunday night, my internet and phone have been on the blitz! I even lost a whole page of an email I was trying to send out to one of my friends to update her on the rough couple of days I was having - and *poof* it disappeared! Very frustrating...so I will keep my fingers crossed that I will get this blog published tonight.
I am tired, very tired - but it has been a positive couple of days. Worked yesterday, today, and also tomorrow, then I am off for 2 days, back to work Thursday and then I have my 4 day weekend. I love going to work - this home care thing for me is great. Some days I drag my butt to get to work as I mostly have been having my blood sugar lows occurring in the morning - which totally sucks as it makes me tired for the rest of my day. But, at work, I laugh. I love laughing. How many people can say that?
So, my day yesterday? Well, woke up at 7:15am feeling 'funny'. Thought, hmm, maybe going low, but was just too tired to fully wake and take my sugar. So my alarm goes off at 7:30am - I check my sugar, yup - 3.1 Great, here we go again. Had a juice - tried to come back to life - a little too weak to get up, so yes, I had to be to work for 9am - didn't peel myself up from the bed until 8:25am - so yes, it was a difficult one. I am proud though...I did it...I got through yesterday AND today without taking a nap! That is a big accomplishment for me! Aw, the life of accomplishments - and mine seem so simple. Some 'little' things are BIG accomplishments for some people. Even thought I sit here exhausted, I am happy. I am happy that I didn't have to waste valuable 'life' time taking a nap! (-:
Needless to say - because I have someone that I work with that is so understanding when I say "I had a low", I arrived home from work yesterday a little later than expected. It is nice though when I am able to work at the pace my body will allow me to. Some days are slower than others. Got home and started to get ready for the gala fund raiser that Cory and I had planned on attending. We arrived there at about 6:50pm - I was feeling a little on the low sugar side, but when I checked, I was at 7.4 - so I was glad dinner was going to be fairly soon. Wasn't sure how many carbs I would be eating so I waited to take my needle until I was half way through my dinner. Oops, big mistake - Shot up to 22.4! So, with that , I was feeling a bit tired as well. I had fun though as I took my new camera with me and it was my first official time getting to a function to give it a try. Got lots of pictures, but I definitely need to read the manual! Ha ha
Anyway, we arrived home around 10:20pm...Cory somehow got involved in 'instant' auction where he ended up winning a 5 day complimentary dog walking package. A dog walking package you ask? Why does he need that? We are getting a new addition to our family!!! No, we are not pregnant...we are getting the next best thing! A furbaby! D-O-G!! We pick him up in 6 days, we can't wait.
So, that leads to my day today. Went to bed last night - didn't get much sleep as the cat was crying at the door until 2am. Finally he settled down. Woke up low again this morning. This time 3.2 - well, looking forward to the changes coming my way. A little scared perhaps, since I HAVE been procrastinating, but I am going on the insulin pump in the next month or so. Now that I have it in the house, I just need to book the classes and get 'hooked up'. So, another tired day, but off to work I went, and it was a good day. Came home after work, had lunch, and went over to my cousin Cheryl's at 2pm as it was our day to go shopping for the puppies/babies!
It was so funny, we were going through the pet store together with our carts loaded down with stuff such as dog beds, toys, food, dishes etc. and the lady working there says something like "Not hard to tell you guys are new Moms!" ha ha That was nice to hear & it was a great shopping excursion as Cheryl and her husband Dario are getting two pups from the same place that we are. We spent about 3 to 4 hours shopping and then came home and I went back to work for just a short while. Had a great time telling Rob about everything I bought...well, now to just get him and Cory to stop believing that I am a crazy woman! ha ha Or, simply admit that our dog is going to be a tad bit spoiled!
Well, it has been a not so bad couple of days - I managed to get by with a few extra lows than I had hoped for, but not feeling overly miserable. Just tired. But that's okay, nothing a good night's rest can't cure. Hoping tomorrow brings another good day for me.
Anxiously awaiting our new arrival - His name is EDDIE! He is a Labradoodle. That is a cross between a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle. Such a sweetie! I am nervous, excited - all the emotions, but you know, I am happy I will have him around to take my mind off the disappointments I have had to deal with emotionally lately. I think this will be good for me and for our family as a whole. We are not sure what Grey (our cat) will think, but I am sure they will work it out in their own way. Things always have a way of working themselves out - I have to believe that with everything in this life (-:
Sleep well, hope to write more in the coming days...
Love Cindy
xoxo
Well, it sure has been a busy couple of days. I have been fighting with my computer this past week because since last Sunday night, my internet and phone have been on the blitz! I even lost a whole page of an email I was trying to send out to one of my friends to update her on the rough couple of days I was having - and *poof* it disappeared! Very frustrating...so I will keep my fingers crossed that I will get this blog published tonight.
I am tired, very tired - but it has been a positive couple of days. Worked yesterday, today, and also tomorrow, then I am off for 2 days, back to work Thursday and then I have my 4 day weekend. I love going to work - this home care thing for me is great. Some days I drag my butt to get to work as I mostly have been having my blood sugar lows occurring in the morning - which totally sucks as it makes me tired for the rest of my day. But, at work, I laugh. I love laughing. How many people can say that?
So, my day yesterday? Well, woke up at 7:15am feeling 'funny'. Thought, hmm, maybe going low, but was just too tired to fully wake and take my sugar. So my alarm goes off at 7:30am - I check my sugar, yup - 3.1 Great, here we go again. Had a juice - tried to come back to life - a little too weak to get up, so yes, I had to be to work for 9am - didn't peel myself up from the bed until 8:25am - so yes, it was a difficult one. I am proud though...I did it...I got through yesterday AND today without taking a nap! That is a big accomplishment for me! Aw, the life of accomplishments - and mine seem so simple. Some 'little' things are BIG accomplishments for some people. Even thought I sit here exhausted, I am happy. I am happy that I didn't have to waste valuable 'life' time taking a nap! (-:
Needless to say - because I have someone that I work with that is so understanding when I say "I had a low", I arrived home from work yesterday a little later than expected. It is nice though when I am able to work at the pace my body will allow me to. Some days are slower than others. Got home and started to get ready for the gala fund raiser that Cory and I had planned on attending. We arrived there at about 6:50pm - I was feeling a little on the low sugar side, but when I checked, I was at 7.4 - so I was glad dinner was going to be fairly soon. Wasn't sure how many carbs I would be eating so I waited to take my needle until I was half way through my dinner. Oops, big mistake - Shot up to 22.4! So, with that , I was feeling a bit tired as well. I had fun though as I took my new camera with me and it was my first official time getting to a function to give it a try. Got lots of pictures, but I definitely need to read the manual! Ha ha
Anyway, we arrived home around 10:20pm...Cory somehow got involved in 'instant' auction where he ended up winning a 5 day complimentary dog walking package. A dog walking package you ask? Why does he need that? We are getting a new addition to our family!!! No, we are not pregnant...we are getting the next best thing! A furbaby! D-O-G!! We pick him up in 6 days, we can't wait.
So, that leads to my day today. Went to bed last night - didn't get much sleep as the cat was crying at the door until 2am. Finally he settled down. Woke up low again this morning. This time 3.2 - well, looking forward to the changes coming my way. A little scared perhaps, since I HAVE been procrastinating, but I am going on the insulin pump in the next month or so. Now that I have it in the house, I just need to book the classes and get 'hooked up'. So, another tired day, but off to work I went, and it was a good day. Came home after work, had lunch, and went over to my cousin Cheryl's at 2pm as it was our day to go shopping for the puppies/babies!
It was so funny, we were going through the pet store together with our carts loaded down with stuff such as dog beds, toys, food, dishes etc. and the lady working there says something like "Not hard to tell you guys are new Moms!" ha ha That was nice to hear & it was a great shopping excursion as Cheryl and her husband Dario are getting two pups from the same place that we are. We spent about 3 to 4 hours shopping and then came home and I went back to work for just a short while. Had a great time telling Rob about everything I bought...well, now to just get him and Cory to stop believing that I am a crazy woman! ha ha Or, simply admit that our dog is going to be a tad bit spoiled!
Well, it has been a not so bad couple of days - I managed to get by with a few extra lows than I had hoped for, but not feeling overly miserable. Just tired. But that's okay, nothing a good night's rest can't cure. Hoping tomorrow brings another good day for me.
Anxiously awaiting our new arrival - His name is EDDIE! He is a Labradoodle. That is a cross between a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle. Such a sweetie! I am nervous, excited - all the emotions, but you know, I am happy I will have him around to take my mind off the disappointments I have had to deal with emotionally lately. I think this will be good for me and for our family as a whole. We are not sure what Grey (our cat) will think, but I am sure they will work it out in their own way. Things always have a way of working themselves out - I have to believe that with everything in this life (-:
Sleep well, hope to write more in the coming days...
Love Cindy
xoxo
Friday 25 January 2008
So I have decided to start a blog!
This is a big step for me. I have contemplated starting a blog for a long time but have never gone all the way by doing it. So, here I am. I am the old fashioned, write in your journal until your hand hurts gal. On my 'off' days, I make sure to write until I can put down my book and fall fast asleep so I won't have to think of anything else.
Well, this blog is going to be more than that for me now. This will be the journal that I can give a link to close family and friends on the days when I am having a hard time emotionally - and when I am not in my 'happy go lucky, bubbly state'. This is where they can visit on the days when they think I may have disappeared off the face of the earth, when really, all I am doing is processing. Or trying to process. What I am processing are all the incredible emotions that come with the daily life of infertility and living with a chronic illness. And as easy as that may seem, it would be wonderful to be able to filter through those emotions without the added hormones, high blood sugars, antibodies and thyroid fluctuations that come with this body that I live in. My reason for sometimes 'disappearing' and just not wanting to talk about it. Talking about it sometimes is NOT what you need. Talking only reminds you more & also takes energy when I sometimes have none. It is so much easier to explain when typing rather than come out and saying it to someone, for fear of hurting another's feelings.
So, to all of you. This is the inner me. Welcome!
My intention is to not bring you down, but to inform you of the daily things I face in my life and within me. It is so much easier for me to sit here and type off the top of my head rather than to try to contact so many people and repeat my daily experiences for all who are concerned about the tests I am currently going through. And for those of you who are there for me and want to know how I am doing, I thank you. Thank you for being a wonderful part of my life & for caring about me. It means so much.
As for the chronic illness I am talking about, I have autoimmune disease. What is autoimmune disease? Well the short version definition would be:
A condition in which the body recognizes its own tissues as foreign and directs an immune response against them.
Yes folks...this means, in even shorter terms,that my body is attacking me.
So, as a result of this autoimmune disease, I have been diagnosed with the following:
-Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (diagnosed October 1986)
-Hypothyroidism (diagnosed October 1986)
-Premature Ovarian Failure (November 2007)
I am currently going through further testing which are directed toward Lupus but not conclusive as of yet. I only have gotten 2 blood tests back that have shown positive for things, so I now have to go to a rheumatologist to complete the further testing necessary to find out what else my body has in store for me.
Today Cory and I went to Hamilton for more tests on my ovaries as my Premature Ovarian Failure is such a new diagnosis, I am still in the testing phases for that as well. Hamilton apparently has all the specialists available to us if there is any possibility of us having a baby someday. And if we do become pregnant, I will deliver there as McMaster has a neonatal unit. I would be considered a 'high risk' pregnancy, so they have to send me where they know I would be well taken care of.
Today was the fun pelvic ultrasound! A different experience that's for sure!
I woke up this morning to the sound of my cell phone as I have been using that as my alarm clock since the batteries in my clock died. I must say, the cell phone alarm is a lot louder and quite effective! I was up at 6:30am this morning to get ready. I wasn't given any instructions from the lab and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to drink water or not for my ultrasound, so I thought I'd better just to be on the safe side. I downed 32 ounces of water, ate my 30 grams of carbohydrate breakfast and then took a coffee to go. We were out of the house by approximately 8:10am and on our way to Hamilton. It was cold today, but a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the sky was so blue. Our drive was uneventful (the way I like it) and we made it to the clinic by 8:55am - not bad at all.
I first started off with my Day 3 blood work. That is where they measure my levels of hormones. And then off to the ultrasound room we went. I don't know - I just wanted Cory in the room with me. I am jealous, he got to see the screen, I didn't ha ha! Well, the procedure for the technician to count follicles on my ovaries felt like forever as I stared at the ceiling thinking "geez, they could have something more interesting to look at!" Cory sat on the other side of the room as I was poked and prodded at. It was painful at times, but not so bad. I think I had more pain once I got home. After effects I guess. So, basically, all I could get out of the technician was that she only found 3 follicles on my right ovary and had quite a difficult time finding my left ovary. I still don't know if she found it. So, to me, things do not look promising for us to have a child in our future. Such as life. For today anyway.
Well, I am tired - and I am working in the morning. I will go for now and try to keep this blog updated so that I can look back and see where the road will lead me.
Have a great night everyone! Keeping my chin up (:
Love Cindy xo
Well, this blog is going to be more than that for me now. This will be the journal that I can give a link to close family and friends on the days when I am having a hard time emotionally - and when I am not in my 'happy go lucky, bubbly state'. This is where they can visit on the days when they think I may have disappeared off the face of the earth, when really, all I am doing is processing. Or trying to process. What I am processing are all the incredible emotions that come with the daily life of infertility and living with a chronic illness. And as easy as that may seem, it would be wonderful to be able to filter through those emotions without the added hormones, high blood sugars, antibodies and thyroid fluctuations that come with this body that I live in. My reason for sometimes 'disappearing' and just not wanting to talk about it. Talking about it sometimes is NOT what you need. Talking only reminds you more & also takes energy when I sometimes have none. It is so much easier to explain when typing rather than come out and saying it to someone, for fear of hurting another's feelings.
So, to all of you. This is the inner me. Welcome!
My intention is to not bring you down, but to inform you of the daily things I face in my life and within me. It is so much easier for me to sit here and type off the top of my head rather than to try to contact so many people and repeat my daily experiences for all who are concerned about the tests I am currently going through. And for those of you who are there for me and want to know how I am doing, I thank you. Thank you for being a wonderful part of my life & for caring about me. It means so much.
As for the chronic illness I am talking about, I have autoimmune disease. What is autoimmune disease? Well the short version definition would be:
A condition in which the body recognizes its own tissues as foreign and directs an immune response against them.
Yes folks...this means, in even shorter terms,that my body is attacking me.
So, as a result of this autoimmune disease, I have been diagnosed with the following:
-Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (diagnosed October 1986)
-Hypothyroidism (diagnosed October 1986)
-Premature Ovarian Failure (November 2007)
I am currently going through further testing which are directed toward Lupus but not conclusive as of yet. I only have gotten 2 blood tests back that have shown positive for things, so I now have to go to a rheumatologist to complete the further testing necessary to find out what else my body has in store for me.
Today Cory and I went to Hamilton for more tests on my ovaries as my Premature Ovarian Failure is such a new diagnosis, I am still in the testing phases for that as well. Hamilton apparently has all the specialists available to us if there is any possibility of us having a baby someday. And if we do become pregnant, I will deliver there as McMaster has a neonatal unit. I would be considered a 'high risk' pregnancy, so they have to send me where they know I would be well taken care of.
Today was the fun pelvic ultrasound! A different experience that's for sure!
I woke up this morning to the sound of my cell phone as I have been using that as my alarm clock since the batteries in my clock died. I must say, the cell phone alarm is a lot louder and quite effective! I was up at 6:30am this morning to get ready. I wasn't given any instructions from the lab and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to drink water or not for my ultrasound, so I thought I'd better just to be on the safe side. I downed 32 ounces of water, ate my 30 grams of carbohydrate breakfast and then took a coffee to go. We were out of the house by approximately 8:10am and on our way to Hamilton. It was cold today, but a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the sky was so blue. Our drive was uneventful (the way I like it) and we made it to the clinic by 8:55am - not bad at all.
I first started off with my Day 3 blood work. That is where they measure my levels of hormones. And then off to the ultrasound room we went. I don't know - I just wanted Cory in the room with me. I am jealous, he got to see the screen, I didn't ha ha! Well, the procedure for the technician to count follicles on my ovaries felt like forever as I stared at the ceiling thinking "geez, they could have something more interesting to look at!" Cory sat on the other side of the room as I was poked and prodded at. It was painful at times, but not so bad. I think I had more pain once I got home. After effects I guess. So, basically, all I could get out of the technician was that she only found 3 follicles on my right ovary and had quite a difficult time finding my left ovary. I still don't know if she found it. So, to me, things do not look promising for us to have a child in our future. Such as life. For today anyway.
Well, I am tired - and I am working in the morning. I will go for now and try to keep this blog updated so that I can look back and see where the road will lead me.
Have a great night everyone! Keeping my chin up (:
Love Cindy xo
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