Healthy Me

My daughter has been having a lot of headaches and dizzy spells this week. She doesn't have a fever. I'm thinking either sinus infection or dehydration (they practice cheerleading for two hours a day and I doubt she's drinking enough water). I kept her home from school today so she could rest. If they keep up, she'll have to go see her pediatrician.

Since school started, I've had a couple respiratory infections and the flu. On Monday, I came down with a stomach bug - you know the symptoms: vomiting, chills, feeling miserable. By the worst of it, it hurt to inhale too. That was the most worrisome part to me. It was pretty miserable. My two oldest kids also had it but they just had vomiting and then they bounced back and were fine. I'm not sure why it hit me harder.

So "healthy me" hasn't been so healthy lately! At least it doesn't seem like it was H1N1, more like a seasonal flu. I'm taking vitamins, washing regularly...why do I keep getting sick? Maybe I should go to the doctor and get a check-up. Of course, that would mean having to find a doctor to begin with since I don't want to go back to the one I was using. I want a doctor who listens. I don't think because doctors wear lab coats that they're always right. My family doctor was more like a robot, only willing to go with the status quo instead of thinking for herself (and listening to what I was saying about how I felt).

Save me from teenage hormonal upheavals, tones of voice that say "you're stupid and I'm not listening to you" when your child speaks to you, and kids who think they know more than you do. Was I this bad when I was a teenager? Is there a family guide book that can save me from hormones and attitude?

My oldest will be a teenager really soon and she's been showing the signs of it more and more this past year. Since school started, oh boy have the signs hit me over the head. That tone of voice teens use on you is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I go from zero to irritated it 1.3 seconds!

Since stress is bad for my thyroid and adrenals, I need to learn to manage stress because I doubt it is going to get any easier for the next...14 years. Oh.my.gosh!

My eyes are highly sensitive to light. I can remember being about 11 - 12 years old and all of a sudden, the light was excruciating on my eyes. I couldn't open them. There was no reason that I knew of that I had tears running down my face and needed to call out for help. My father came to see what was wrong and gave me the oddest look as I stood there crying - like I was crazy. He didn't know what was wrong with me. I couldn't open them; it hurt so much. That sensitivity never went away. Every once in awhile, it happens to me just like that. It's bad when I'm driving and that happens so I always have sunglasses available to wear to cut the glare. I've seen it referred to as photophobia but I've never gone to a doctor for a diagnosis.

With winter coming, a lot of people don't think about what effect the sun can still have on you. For me personally, I still have to wear sunglasses during the winter months because the glare off the snow literally hurts my eyes. It makes it heard to see to drive with tears pouring from them. Polarized Sunglasses are designed to cut that glare from the snow (water, grass, and asphalt too). Sunglasses are a good investment. They protect the inner eye from sun damage. Plus they protect the skin around your eye - if you're squinting all the time, you'll get wrinkles!

If you get the flu vaccine, and then get the flu from the vaccine, it is supposed to be a milder form. What happens if the other people in your household couldn't or wouldn't get the vaccine and they catch this flu from you...their experience will NOT be the milder form correct?