Hit almost 6k steps today… not on purpose but because I had to do quite a bit of running around getting signatures for a grant.
I am really, really hurting from the waist down. The joints hurt, the muscles hurt, everything hurts. I don’t think I’m overexerting. I’m also starting to cough and have lost my appetite- I really, really hope I’m not getting sick(er) with a cold or something.
I have an appointment with my PCP on Wednesday. Still no luck with the requests to get a Rheumy referral but a few more days isn’t going to make a difference- the appointment probably still won’t be for a few months anyway
On the bright side, I found a very funny (and serious but usually with a funny tone) Lupus blog that I flipped through yesterday. It made me feel a lot better because it was a way of poking fun at something that can be very serious. Being chronically ill my whole life, I learned a long time ago that being able to make fun of yourself and your symptoms/conditions makes everything a heck of a lot easier. (Which isn’t generally that hard with me as many of my symptoms are funny. Like did you know it was possible to be allergic to the cold?)
Romani, glad that you tackle your health challenges with a positive attitude. I hope you get a referral to a specialist who can help you get your problems under control.
My fitness brag of the day: my white cat lost a pound. As Mr. Trump would say, it is HUUUUUGE!
You have to. Too easy to get overly frustrated if you don’t.
My personal favorite symptom to joke about is when my hands turn blue. Not just my fingers like in typical Raynaud’s but my entire hands. I have scared more than one of my friends by “freaking out” about turning into Nightcrawler or the blueberry girl from Willie Wonka.
Unfortunately, that’s one of those things that you can only use once
@romanigypsyeyes, don’t you leave your PCP’s office without that referral! It sucks when you need to be such a forceful advocate for yourself when you’re already spending your energy, both psychic and physical, just dealing with your disease on a daily basis. My family member who has scleroderma had to change doctors several years ago because she wasn’t getting the level of responsiveness she wanted. It’s very frustrating! Hopefully, your PCP will give you the referral without delay when you meet face to face. Sometimes office staff can be a real pain in the ass because they view themselves a bit too much as the “guardians of the gates” in a managed care environment.
The Reynauds really can be bizarre to see. My family member gets Reynauds episodes all the time during the winter. I also have primary Reynauds that affects my hands and I can come back from a winter bike ride and have an episode while I’m in the shower or if I’m just walking to my office in the winter even with gloves on.
Attitude sure makes a difference! Do you think the joints/muscles would hurt even if you weren’t getting those steps in? What is the protocol for your disease/symptoms - to exercise gently or to avoid too much exercise?
I had a great run yesterday after my fall off the wagon & a few days of wallowing. I’m not sure what that pity party was about, but it seems to have gone away finally.
Instead of my normal 90/30 run walk ratio, I did 30 sec running, 30 sec running faster, 30 sec running & 30 sec walking. It felt good to let fly & sprint a bit. Now I’m sore, but looking forward to doing it again.
DH, DD and I are headed to NYC late next week for a few days of indulging our love of Broadway & museums. 5 shows & at least 2 museums planned. I’m hoping the weather will allow for some outdoor running as well. If not, the hotel has a treadmill.
I did 4.5 fast miles early this morning. It was cold, but no wind so that was great. I started volunteering with Back on My Feet a couple months ago and run with them on Friday mornings. It’s a wonderful organization and I’m really enjoying being a part of it.
1214mom-I am right there with you on the nutrition. I know I should do better. Processed microwaveable food is a real problem for me also. I eat very healthy breakfast and lunch because those are easy, but dinner is not a good story. By the time I get home from work and then run or do a workout, it is pretty late. So it is much easier to heat up something from Trader Joes or Costco for dinner rather than actually cooking. And I really don’t like to cook anyway. I’m trying to improve nutrition this year and am making small changes at a time. Hoping I can get better at this!
Romani-sorry to hear about your achiness and soreness. I hope you can get some relief. Good luck with your PCP appointment next week and I hope you’re able to get the referral.
BunsenBurner-I think a 1 lb loss in a cat is worthy of a 5 lb party! (Thinking along the lines of dog years…)
I must be in the minority, but I do enjoy cooking. Something that helped me get away from processed dinners was cooking in advance over the weekend. Preparing items like brown rice etc. that require a lengthy cooking time ahead helps dinner come together much more easily. You can actually make quite a few crockpot meals as well that don’t rely on all canned items, adding fresh vegetables near the end of cooking to finish it up. Once you get in the habit of doing it you will lose your taste for microwaveable meals and all the additives that come with them.
Mr. Sabaray doesn’t know it yet, but here’s a new treat he’ll be enjoying this weekend during the game.
I think a lot of times Mr. Sabaray craves certain foods because of texture - he wants something crispy with a dip - so instead of chips and dip, we’ll try these. I love spicy/highly seasoned foods - so I am going to make Buffalo cauliflower. Old favorite flavors in new combinations.
Wow, sabaray, those sound good! Even though we don’t have a hawk in this fight, we will be watching. I need to plan healthy munchies and hide the booze and cheese!
Gertrude, I usually don’t have the patience for elaborate meals in the evenings, especially after exercise. So I fix very simple homemade fare: reheated soup (which I make during the prior weekend), grilled steak and MW-steamed broccoli, oven-baked salmon with some steamed veggie side, salads with lots of fixings (sometimes I use the leftover grilled meat or chicken from the prior night’s grilling), a stir-fry with tofu or chicken which cooks in 15 min, or occasionally I buy minimally processed dumplings (or make a ton of my own and freeze a bunch). It does require planning and some prep. We usually eat within 30 min of me getting home or coming off the treadmill.
Good news- referral was approved. Apparently she sent a referral for the Rheumy the same day she did one for the Dermatologist but for some reason the paperwork they sent me only had the Derm request. So now I wait for U of M to call me and make an appointment.
Over/under on me getting an appointment before May?
@MichaelNKat have you heard of the Raynaud’s gloves? I’ve seen info about them floating around but I’ve never really looked into them.
@abasket yes I think I’d still be sore without the steps. I’m devoting this whole weekend to resting my body with only some very light walking and stretching to see if it makes a difference. Not sure what the protocol is but I’m going to bring up these issues with my doc on Wednesday. I do have 800 mg Ibuprofen that I was prescribed and that seems to be helping.
My roommate really wants to start a podcast with me called “Diseased.” It would be about everything medical related including history, public health, mental health, invisible illnesses, global health, etc. We’ll see lol.
I don’t like to cook either. Honestly we stock up on Progresso soups when they are on sale and I microwave one, eat part of it, wrap up the rest and that’s that. We also have some of the Amy’s frozen meals that I’ll eat. Otherwise, give me yogurt or cereal or string cheese or whatever and I’m fine.
Gertrude, I always add butter or olive oil when cooking rice - I leave a little moisture at the end and refrigerate. I will either reheat on the stovetop or microwave individual portions, adding water or broth if I think it needs it. A lot of my meals now that I am running more again are definitely grain based and it’s easier to adhere to that if I have the major component prepared ahead of time! I think rice counts as a grain!
