Healthy Me

Woo hoo!  Despite the holidays, I have managed to lose another 1.2 pounds.  This is awesome.  I'm on my next leg of my weight loss goal!  Can't wait to reach my ultimate goal!

My weight loss has hit a plateau and it isn't coming off anymore (at least not in the last week).  With the holidays approaching so fast, and two of four of my kids down with the stomach flu, I am more worried about lack of sleep than my weight at the moment.  I'm hoping I don't get the flu because with four kids, I really don't have time to be sick.  As a mom, I'll put on the under eye cream and keep chugging! Cheer practices, family, xmas, xmas dinner, new year's, basketball games - I really have no time to get sick!

Actually, I think it's more like 23 but I can't remember for sure what my exact weight was at its highest.  I'll round it to 20 and be happy with that.  Now onto the last 16 pounds.  I'm ready to take them on.  It's hard to buy a lot of healthy food because it tends to be more expensive though the price of organic has come down some.  I need to cut costs around the house (like eating out, cheap car insurance, and making lunches) so a little higher grocery bill isn't breaking the bank.

A friend was talking to me about nemo tents.  I was thinking Nemo (as in Finding Nemo, the little clown fish) and that it was a tent for kids - a great christmas gift idea for my kids.  Oops.  I was wrong. 

This is one design of a Nemo tent pictured on the left (there are many different kinds of Nemo tents to choose from).  If you're a camper who wants to travel lightweight and camps in unpleasant conditions, check out the Nemo tent!  It's not a clown fish tent (boy am I silly). 

If you have thyroid disease and have tried everything to lose weight (exercise, Lipofuze, diets, etc.), you should really have your T3 hormone levels checked.  If they're not in the high normal range, you should consider raising your T3 levels (with prescription T3).  A small bump in mine has made all the difference. 

Also, most doctors don't check this, but request that your Reverse T3 be checked.  If your Reverse T3 is high, all the T4 you  are taking isn't going to help you because it's not converting into T3 correctly but instead converting into Reverse T3 (which isn't good).  If your doctor won't test your T3 or T4, and only depends on the TSH levels, you need a new doctor. 

Anybody have personal experience with acsonix? It's a natural acne mask. I'm curious if it works well or not, especially on combination skin. Perhaps I need a mask just for my nose.  At 39 years old, I really thought I would have left zits behind - like about 20 years ago!  How can my forehead and cheeks be flaking while my nose is pimpling out?  Yuck. 

I've noticed that the joint pain I've had for the last couple of years hasn't decreased yet.  I don't know if it is thyroid-related, too much time at the computer in the wrong chair, or something else not yet diagnosed.  Whenever I get up, I have to walk it off.  It takes a few steps and then it's gone.  Makes me feel old.

Perhaps I should check out www.glucosaminesulphate.org for joint pain. It's supposed to help rebuild cartilage. I wonder if that would help my TMJ (temporal mandibular joint disease - basically, I have no cartilage between my jaw bones).

I haven't found a "healthy me" yet but I am getting there in part due to my recently diagnosed gallbladder disease (gallstones...wow do those hurt) and my T3 dose increase.  I have 19.2 pounds left to go.  I am finally losing all that weight I regained back so I am back on track!  I didn't even gain any weight over Thanksgiving.

My skin is still messed up a bit - eczema in some areas, the need to visit http://www.acnewash.org/ in other areas, and then weird callus-like roughness and flaking on my right ankle (what the heck is that?).  

I'm just happy to get on the scale and see it going down again!

I first heard about this fruit, acai, a few years ago and became interested in it due to my quest to lose weight and for its antioxidant activity due to years of not eating the best of foods.  I wanted to get healthy, feel good, put up a little bit of a fight with the aging process, and get active again.  If you've not heard of acai, let me tell you a little about it.

• The acai fruit grows in Central and South America.  It is a red/purple color found on the beautiful Acai Palm trees. 
• Acai contains both anthocyanins and flavonoids.  Anthocyanins (meaning "blue" and "plant") and flavonoids are both antioxidants which gets rid of free radicals in the body (free radicals contribute to the aging process).
• Acai has been called a superfood, containing essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and phytosterols (phytosterols are known for their cholesterol-lowering qualities).
• It is also found in cosmetics for its antioxidant qualities.
• This fruit, long used by the Amazons for years, has become popular in Europe and the United States.

Products containing acai can be found at www.hollandandbarrett.com/.  You can purchase supplements in capsule form like these acai capsules from Holland and Barrett in 500 mg, 1000 mg, or 1500 mg doses:

Acai Capsules

They also offer acai juice, acai powder, and coconut water with acai and pomegranate:

Coconut Water with Acai & Pomegranate

If you are interested in trying the acai fruit, whether for it's anti-aging properties, as an antioxidant, or to help with weight loss, check out Holland & Barrett's acai products.  Holland & Barrett will ship within the United Kingdom as well as international shipping (to European countries including the Republic of Ireland and Channel Islands).  Ordering is easy - by phone, online, or via post! 

I had another gall bladder attack on Friday - worse than the first but not as bad as the second.  Thankfully, it only lasted a few hours and was over with.  A quick trip thru a drive-thru brought it on.  I knew better too but I am hypoglycemic and when I started getting nauseous while on the road, with little time to spare, I couldn't pull over to eat a salad so I ate the bad stuff while I drove.  It looks like potatoes in grease is my trigger (such as french fries, hash browns). 

I need to eat better this week so I can enjoy the five day holiday my kids have from school, plus my in-laws are coming into town.  Then, there is shopping!  I am looking forward to Cyber Monday so I can start shopping for my four kids.

I hope everybody has a Happy Thanksgiving later this week! 

I am looking for some good weight loss stories. How did you lose weight? How long did it take? Are you happier?  Why were you overweight (eating habits, medical, etc.)? 

I've struggled with my weight since I got thyroid disease nine years ago but it's been even harder for the last five years (after the birth of my last child).  It shouldn't be this hard to lose weight but boy is it ever! 

Feel free to comment!

Have you heard about the acai berry?  I am hearing good things about it and I see it a lot in juices at the store and in supplements.  I am going to look up acai reviews and see what this berry is all about!  I wonder if it can help you lose weight or perhaps it is high in antioxidants!  Either/or would be wonderful. 

I also need to look up some supplements for my teenage daughter who gets migraines during her period.  She needs something to stop the huge hormonal fluctuations that cause her migraines. Poor kid.

I've lost five pounds, my income is coming along nicely, and we are going to have a nice holiday season.  I can feel it!  I get to start Christmas shopping next week and I am excited to see what I find for our kids.  I would imagine the retail jobs are booming this time of year and I plan to take advantage and do some shopping.

It's less than a week to Thanksgiving!  Then there is Black Friday (which I avoid like the plague honestly) and then it'll be time to hit the retail stores and shop, shop, shop!

My teenage daughter has been trying on my dresses from my single days (early 20's)...and she can fit into them.  I can't believe the slinky little black evening dresses dream of mine - to one day fit into them again - is at an end. If my 13-year-old daughter can fit into them, I don't have a prayer of being able to do so ever again after four kids.  I have to be honest - hips that bore four children will never be that small ever again.  I just have to get real and face it!  What is sad is that one of them still had tags on them! 

My husband took my little Pom-Chi dog (about 3 lbs. of attitude) outside when he was changing the light bulbs in our Kichler lighting fixtures by our front door. He put my dog down because he thought she wouldn't run away. Yup, she ran...and ran...and ran. I go off running after her while she ends up stopping a van in the road. Thankfully, it stopped. Talk about being in the doghouse - it's where the husband is at.  If she'd gotten away, she wouldn't have lasted the night.  A coyote or big bird would've swooped her right up!

Getting healthy isn't going so well for me.  Apparently, I might have a gallbladder problem now if the two attacks I had over the weekend are any indication and are truly my gallbladder.  I'm 99% certain that it is my gallbladder.  The attacks were not fun.  Horrible in fact.  Pain worse than childbirth!

Thankfully, they only occurred during the night and didn't impact my day (other than being tired from lack of sleep).  I have too much to do during the day to get sidelined by illness.  Right now, I am on the hunt for baby thank you cards for a new mom whose child is going to celebrate his first birthday next week. I also have appointments to schedule and chauffeuring of my kids to do later for cheerleading. The gallbladder really needs to take a number!

If you came to this post through a gallbladder search, you might be looking for symptoms (I know I did!).  Mine were pain on the right side of my abdomen under my ribs, really bad pain around through my back, nausea, and vomiting.  I could not get comfortable in any position with some positions hurting more than others.  For my second attack, even the elastic waistband on my pajama bottoms hurt!  Both attacks came on after eating high fat meals earlier in the day.  One attack lasted 4-5 hours and the other lasted 2-1/2 hours.  They both stopped spontaneously (pain pills don't work). 

My 13-year-old daughter is going thru a heck of a time with cramps right now.  She's taking both Tylenol and Motrin just to make the pain manageable.  I remember being her age and having those cramps that badly.  I wish I could do more for her.  I know she wanted to stay home from school today but I can't let her get into that habit.  Having your period does mean the world stops for you and I don't want her to get into that habit or mindset.  I felt a bit like an ogre this morning sending her to school.

My pre-teen son is freaking out a bit.  He's wanting to know how long puberty lasts.  "Don't worry, you won't be getting those cramps.  You'll just start to squeak and announce to the world you're going to puberty every time you open your mouth."

He can just keep looking for ATV Accessories and not worry about what his sister is going through right now or what is yet to come for him. Just wait until his other two sisters join the puberty crew!  Wow will he be outnumbered by PMS'ing girls! Poor kid.

It's not even Halloween yet and there is Christmas stuff out at the stores already!  I haven't seen christmas trees yet but the decorations are out on the shelf. I don't need decorations; I need a new tree!

I want a very natural looking tree, where you can't tell it is artificial - like it just came out of the forest!  We have this skinny, pathetic looking tree right now.  We call it the Charlie Brown christmas tree.  We used to have a really nice Christmas tree but when we were flooded, the tree got soaked. 

Eventually, I'd like to get a really nice tree (before my kids are all grown up). 

Our husky has arthritis really bad through her ankles, knees and up into her spine.  We're lucky she's still with us at this point; we didn't expect her to be honestly.  We give her supplements with glucosamine and creatine in it and it does wonders for her.  I think I need to increase her dose because with the cooler nights, she's getting a bit weak in the back end again.  I've seen creatine powder and creatine is supposed to increase energy to the muscle but I've only seen human creatine powder. I'll increase her dog supplements with the creatine in it and that should help. Hopefully it gets her through the cold winter!

As long as we can keep her as comfortable as possible, we won't need to worry about her not being with us anymore. Our vet said when she stops showing interest in us or doesn't want to get up to go to the bathroom outside anymore, it'll be time to let her go humanely. That'll be a real sad time.

My husband has worked 3rd shift for almost five years now and in all that time, his body has not adjusted to the change.  He sleeps very badly and it makes him SO cranky! 

I'm looking for a natural sleep aid for him - natural, non-addicting. Perhaps a regular supplement that will help regulate the sleep cycle so he can get a good eight hours of mostly uninterrupted sleep.

I've heard that a colon cleanse can help you lose weight. Is that true?

Never having had a colon cleanse and since I am gaining the weight back that I've lost, I am curious about what works for weight loss and what doesn't. 

I don't want to be large anymore.  I want to be me again.  I just have no clue anymore how to get there. 

Animal?  Plant?  Chemical? 

Hoodia is a plant (genus of 13 species specifically).  Did you know that?  I've seen advertisements for hoodia diet pills but didn't know what hoodia was. 

The Internet is amazing in what kinds of information it can provide at the touch of your fingers like looking up Hoodia.  My kids use it (the internet, not hoodia) for school research regularly.  I use it for social networking, work, entertainment, music, family photos/videos, etc. 

...and to think when I was a kid, we played outside, read, and trolled the neighborhood giggling over boys.  Such simpler times:)

My health is declining again in terms of my thyroid (which results in weight problems, memory problems, hair loss, skin problems). My husband asked me this morning why I just didn't go back to treating my own thyroid disease because that was the only time I felt good and lost weight.

I've gained back 9 of the 18 pounds I lost. I have whiteheads and blackheads. I feel like I'm 15 instead of 39 where my skin is concerned! I didn't realize at this age I would still need to check out the best treatment for acne! My eczema is back too. That reoccurs when my thyroid hormone levels are off.

I don't know what to do! I've been seeing this doctor for all of 2010 and he's not "fixed" me yet. He's trying and he found out I had a reverse T3 problem, which nine years of doctors never diagnosed, however, I thought I would've been better by now.  I'm losing patience.

Everybody wants a beautiful head of hair with shine, bounce, and style.  With the right ghd products, a few simple steps that you should do regularly and the ghd Hairstyles Guide, you can maintain that healthy, gorgeous head of hair.

Before you wash your hair, brush your hair gently, especially if you have long or thick hair. This will make it easier to detangle when it is wet and more prone to breakage.

Cleanse and nourish your hair with ghd thermodynamics shampoos and conditioners.  Shampoo while gently massaging your scalp with the pads of your fingers, not the nails.  This will stimulate the hair follicles and relieve stress.  When you apply conditioner, apply it to the ends and work it through your hair strands.  Rinse well.

When using a hair dryer or if using other heat products, protect your tresses first with the appropriate ghd thermal protectors for normal, dry/coarse, or weak/damaged hair.  These will smooth and condition your hair, making it easier to comb.  Use a wide-tooth comb to gently comb the hair.

When ready to style, use the ghd product of your choice depending on whether you are going for straight and sleek, volume, or frizz-free.  Remember, when choosing hairstyle products, choose products that minimize the damage and maximize its uses such as the ghd IV styler that will both straighten and curl.  It has digital technology to control the temperature for faster styling, giving you the style you want in the minimum amount of time.  The ghd IV styler has received accolades for "Best Styling Tool" in the Sunday Times Style Beauty Awards 2010 and received reader's "kiss of approval" in the Cosmopolitan 2009 Awards.

ghd IV styler

If you would like to read more about ghd or their Hairstyles Guide, which gives you tutorials, the trendiest hairstyles right now, and celebrity hairstyle tips, check out hairstyles.ghdhair.com.

My nine year old says to me this morning, "I am going to turn on the tv to watch commercials so I can make my Christmas list." 

Ugh.  Her list is going to be a mile long with the commercials that are going to be starting soon for the holidays! 

My teenager wants an ipod for Christmas, the iPod Touch specifically. I would imagine my 11-year-old son will add an mp3 player onto his list as well.  They'll both be able to tune me out when I tell them to do chores with their iPod buds in their ears.  Hmmm...perhaps I should use my iPod Touch to tune them out.  Ha ha.  Actually, I'll just turn up my stereo and then I won't have to hear teenage griping.  Sounds good to me!

I've had to cancel my last two doctor appointments so I don't have any thyroid health updates.  I'm not losing any weight...in fact, it's inching up higher a little bit at a time.  I don't go now until November to see my doctor.

I worry about the move we are contemplating to another state.  It took me forever to find a decent doctor.  I'm afraid it'll be very difficult to find a good doctor after we move. 

There's just so many things on the top of my "to do" list about moving - finding a good thyroid doctor, good pediatricians, a car insurance quote because I know our insurance will probably double, schools, etc.   I will definitely shop around for the best rate.  A good thyroid doctor is just one on a list of many things for me to do.

My little pom-chi mix gets low blood sugar though I'm not sure how to distinguish between low blood sugar and that trembling that Chihuahua's do.  Her vet told me to give corn syrup to both her and our tiny toy poodle when needed because it can come on them fast and be dangerous.  I am trying to find the best weight loss products for myself (wouldn't hurt for our daschund either) but swiping corn syrup on little dog's gums or putting it in their water. It seems bad for anybody (hope their teeth don't rot) but it does stop the trembling. 

The job interviews hubby had on Friday were a no-go.  He said the places were dives and not the environment he wants to work in...and I was already furniture shopping in my mind for modern furniture. Actually, what was running through my mind was everything I'd have to do to get four kids, five dogs, two horses and a snake moved by myself because hubby would go ahead of us to start the job while I got us packed and ready to move.

So, we're still job-hunting and wanting to relocate back to our home state.  It's just going to take longer.

My little sister is in training to compete in fitness.  It's not body building.  She called it flexible something or other.  It's about being lean but in shape.  It sounded like it was about being able to build muscle without building it up so much that your shape was no longer feminine. I'm not sure that is the right word for it but that's about the only way I can think to describe it. She's eating right and using a trainer. It sounds very healthy anyway.

I just realized I forgot to eat breakfast this morning!  I'm not taking phentermine to suppress my appetite and didn't do it on purpose. I just forgot to eat! That's pretty usual for me with trying to get four kids off to school and then my husband getting home from work.  I forget!  I only remember when I start to feel nauseous from not eating - hypoglycemic. 

My husband gets upset with me when I forget. He said I need to eat breakfast to jumpstart my metabolism. I'd love to eat breakfast; not like I'm doing it on purpose.  Geez.

Yikes!  The thought of relocating and all that goes along with it is starting to get overwhelming.  I am thinking in my mind of everything that I will need to get done to get four kids, five dogs, and two horses to another state within a few weeks.  I keep finding myself getting the munchies - must be stress!  I'll have to add a visit to the web site AppetiteSuppressants.com on my "to do" list!

Take a deep breath!  Whew!  Nope, still feeling anxious.

My brother does that fitness program that everybody is talking about - p90x. He's in his 40's and more fit than most guys in their early 20's (the other guys in their 20's are probably also doing p90x). He keeps telling me I should give it a try.

Have you tried it?  Did you like it?  Did you see results?  What is the difficultly level?

I am a month away from 39!  Yikes, that's only one year away from the big 4-0!!  I can't say enough about how much that is really going to suck.  Does 40 make me middle-aged now?  I think it does.

It's not like my hair will suddenly go gray and wrinkles will suddenly sag across my face.  That actually started a few years ago. 

Will 40 scare me into a regular exercise routine?  Better eating habits?  Anti-aging cosmetics?  Anti-aging products like hgh spray? Suzanne Somers uses HGH and she raves about it.  Taking better care of myself with better eating habits and exercise isn't a bad thing.  To be honest, I bought some anti-aging cosmetics when I turned 38...guess I didn't handle turning 38 all that well either. 

I can honestly say I won't handle 39 any better.

On Friday, all the kids were finally back in school.  It was the first day since August 28, 2010 that there wasn't a child home sick.  It's been neverending illnesses around here. Right now as I type, my middle daughter has a low-grade fever so I think she's going to be home sick next.

With my first day to myself, I did some cleaning, trying to rid the house of germs, cleaned the bathroom, had a riding lesson, and soaked in a tub without a child at the door wanting something.  So, a little "domestic" stuff and a little "me" time.  I started thinking about how to decorate for Halloween - it's just around the corner now and it is my favorite holiday!  Pretty soon, it'll be time to decorate for Christmas with white led christmas lights!! 2010 sure is going fast.

Hopefully, since my kids have been hit with illnesses so hard since school started, fall and winter will breeze by.  I need to wipe down the surfaces the kids touch more often (faucets, handles, etc.) and make sure they're washing up when they come home from school, carrying germs with them.  I hesitate to use anti-bacterial cleaning solutions because they're just breeding superbugs (did you hear about that?).  It's called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase, or NDM-1.  Last year it was the swine flu.  The year before, was it MRSA? 

According to an article on Yahoo Health, Japan has found a gene in bacteria responsible for making bugs into superbugs (drug-resistant to antibiotics). Right now, the gene is widespread in India. Expect it to come to the states soon I would imagine. This gene will make antibiotic resistance a huge issue for all.

If swine flu caused massive panic last year, I think this is going to make the swine flu panic look like child's play. The wait at the doctor's office will become longer as panic over illnesses rise, antibiotics will be given less, and people will be start looking more at life insurance like at Wholesaleinsurance.net.  Despite antibiotics being over-prescribed, they are also life-saving.  Is that going to change now?

I am so not looking forward to the next health panic.

Can you believe that Christmas is already just around the corner?  School has started, summer heat is coming to an end, and pretty soon we'll see leaves falling gold and red from the trees.  From there, it's a hop, skip, and a jump to Christmas toys, family visits, overeating and snow!  Oh yeah, don't forget the coming new year too! 

2010 is really flying by.  I can't believe how fast.  Does that happen the older you get? 

With the economy still bad after so many years, what is left to invest in that will see a good return?  I know our 401K took a huge hit when the economy first tumbled and it's wheezing itself slowing back out of the negatives.  I've heard that gold is a good investment. How do you invest in gold? Gold bars? Just buy stock in a gold company?

I am a ninny when it comes to investing. As you can tell, I know nothing about it.

The kids are back in school.  It was hard to see the youngest start school, definitely had to choke back tears, but it's fine now.  In fact, after the arguing she and I do in the mornings over her shoes and brushing her teeth, and the fighting they all do over the bathroom, I'm ready to nudge her right out the front door with the rest of them for the bus and lock the door behind all of them.

Health-wise, not so good.  I am back to gaining weight.  My neck has been hurting for weeks now.  I don't know if it is thyroid-related or my TMJ since both are giving me problems at the moment. 

I thought with all the kids going to school, I'd be bored out of my mind but there is just too much to do.  It's definitely not sitting around on outdoor chaise lounges, eating bon bons or watching soap operas. I haven't seen one soap opera yet!  If there are stay-at-home moms who have the time to sit around all day and do nothing, I'd like to borrow their maids please!

There is a study that is linking pesticides to attention problems (ADD, ADHD).   You can read about it here. 

Senior year is starting for my stepdaughter, who is our oldest.  She is so geeked over senior year and senior year activities.  I wouldn't doubt if she's already looking at prom dresses for spring!

For our youngest, she is starting kindergarten.  I am sure I will cry on her first day and I really don't want to do that!!

Then the other four kids in between in elementary, junior high, and high school.  Yes, we have a lot of kids. 

I have updated all the latest on my thyroid health on my thyroid blog.  Don't forget to check it out if you have thyroid problems! 

School will be in session in two weeks.  I need to use that time with the kids all in school to increase my workload and get organized.  I should probably get organized and THEN increase my workload.  Otherwise, I'll get scattered.  I need to look at good document management software to manage everything I do since it is all on the computer. I need to be able to find a document right when I need it and not search through directories for awhile until I come across it.

Here's to getting organized and working more for more money!!

Is the automobile industry starting to look up yet?  It's been a decade.  It seems like it has to pick up soon, right?

I really thought the economy would rally faster than it has.  Companies are struggling and closing.  I wonder what kind of resources are available to smaller companies to keep afloat until things look up, perhaps like purchase order finance or something like that?

I saw a business up for lease up the road for $325/month today! I wish I had a business to put in there because at that price, I'd love to do it.

School shopping is already here. School starts in three weeks. Didn't it just let out not too long ago? Wow, the summer is flying.

I need to get my kids clothes to wear for band concerts and choir this year.  My daughter needs a new white dress blouse (the dog wet on her other one, which she didn't tell me...just found it stained in the laundry room) and my son needs men's polo shirts to go with a nice pair of dress pants.  I can't believe my "little boy" is growing into men's clothes already too! 

With school clothes, school supplies, and school fees for four kids, we are going to start hemorrhaging money this month!  They should be set for awhile though after that - until one of them has a growth spurt.  ha ha

Holy abs!  A visit to my sister's place last weekend resulted in my coming home with a Body by Jake Ab Scissor machine that they didn't have room for anymore.  I used it this morning (before breakfast to prevent breakfast purge, lol) and wow were my abs sore after use.  I am hoping for more core strength with this machine for my back pain (and flatter abs would be nice too).   

Hmmm...I should take measurements for a "before" and "after" measurement.  If I were really brave, I'd do a before and after picture...but I'm not that brave.

Oh wait, I found a good before picture:

I have lab work to get my RT3 and Free T3 tested.  My appointment isn't until August 6 to go over those results but I'm wondering if it is ok to get my lab work done a week or so early instead of waiting until right before my doctor's appointment?  I've been on the increased Armour dose since June 11, 2010 so it's been five weeks now.  I am trying to remember how long my doctor said it takes for medication to build-up for good test results.  I am thinking three weeks but now I'm now sure if it was three, four, or six weeks.

My hypothyroid symptoms are not improving.  The weight is coming back and that is REALLY bothering me.  A fat burner like apidexin is starting look real good right about now.   I am pulling hair strands off myself all day long.  I am having bad hand tremors and that may be hyper instead of hypo.  My hands have been shaky for years, but for the past few days, they've been really bad. 

I really am anxious to know what my thyroid levels are doing right now.

I have heard that having plants in your home is healthy but what do you do if you can't keep anything green alive for long?  I would love to have plants in my home.  I just can't keep them alive long enough and then I feel bad for killing a plant.

I am the Grim Reaper to plants.  When plants see me coming, they wish they could pull up their roots and run screaming.  Maybe that's why they're dying.  They're trying to yank their roots out to run and then they keel over! 

I am tentatively thinking the remnants of the pelvic inflammatory disease I was diagnosed with and hospitalized for in May is gone.  *Fingers crossed* that it is well and truly gone.  That is not an illness I'd wish on my enemy.  It was very painful. 

My hypothyroid symptoms seem to have worsened over the last couple weeks.  Hair loss, skin, and weight are problems right now.  What I wouldn't give for a good fat burner right now.  I think it is the reformulated armour that is the problem.  I am on three grains, which is the highest I've ever been on, and still having symptoms.

It could also be my low iron too though or my reverse T3 problem (though the doc thought the armour would take care of that).  Blood tests next week will tell me!

If you have thyroid disease and keep getting eczema, you might want to have a full thyroid panel done to see if any of your thyroid hormones are out of whack.  I've noticed that whenever my thyroid disease isn't managed well, I need treatment for eczema but when it is managed well, the eczema clears up quickly.

I never put it together before until this past year.  I've lived with eczema for years and years and now I know what to do when it rears its itchy head!

Well, five days later and no additional weight loss.  I've been doing push-ups, squats, and stretches just to work on flexibility, thighs, and upper arms.  I don't want any wiggle when I'm wearing tank tops and shorts.  I was told today that I looked "very pretty" while at my daughters' cheerleading practice.  It felt good.

I've not used diet pills to lose weight but if you are considering it, make sure you check reviews from companies and individuals themselves (http://www.dietpillcomparison.net/ has some information), side effects, etc.  I always check for interactions and side effects on any medication and diet pills are no different.  Definitely do your homework!

Well, I am still hoping to get my hypothyroid symptoms gone (soon, soon, soon I hope).  The doctor switched me from a compounded Armour to regular Armour a month ago and I'm having problems.  I'm not sure if it's related to the new Armour or if it is related to the C. Diff. I got after I was hospitalized in May.  I've not felt well since May 15th! 

The house painting is coming along.  It's time to move onto the downstairs bathroom to brighten it up with paint and new bathroom fixtures.  Right now, my youngest won't even use that bathroom because she doesn't like it.  When I got up at 2:00 a.m. to go to the bathroom last night and saw a HUGE spider sitting there staring at me from the floor with it's long legs all creepily situated, I wasn't liking it that much either.  I guess I'll never outgrow my fear of spiders and seeing it in a creepy bathroom while half asleep sure does wake you right up!

In case you weren't aware of it and you use tanning beds to fake bake your skin, did you know the federal government is going to tax you on your tanning bed use starting today as part of the health care bill?

Find out more here.

I came across an article today about the importance of being proactive about your own health to avoid life-threatening misdiagnosis.  Check out:

I've lost 20 pound!!  I have 11.3 pounds to go!  Once I get rid of those remaining 11.3 pounds, I'll take inventory of myself and see if I feel good at that weight or want to lose a little more.  I don't want to be stick skinny like I used to be.  I have mom curves now and I'd like to keep some of them. 

My son's birthday weekend was great.  I felt good until Sunday evening so it all went fine.  Today, I'm not feeling too hot.  I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever kick this bacteria.

Instead of going furniture shopping today, I went online window shopping since I don't feel good enough to walk around the furniture stores right now.  I am looking for a round coffee table.  I've had rectangular before but wanted to look at round coffee tables for a change. 

I found this Winsome Genoa Round Coffee Table with a Glass Top and a shelf underneath that looks like a good possibility.  The glass will prevent water stains when the kids leave their glasses on the table when I'm not around to march them back to the kitchen table.  Then again, there is a Winsome Timer Coffee Table that has both a shelf and a drawer in a rectangle shape.  I might go with a rectangular shape again but I really wanted to try something totally different.

Oh well, back to window shopping.

My son turns 11 today.  We are going to have a birthday dinner at the restaurant of his choice, movie of his choice and a party at home with a cake and ice cream (of course).  He's definitely maturing past the stage of Pokemon and stuff now because I thought he'd ask for something like a ps3 for his birthday but he asked for a Cajon instead. It's a box drum (look it up on YouTube...it's pretty cool).  Maybe he's saving the PS3 for his Christmas list.  He's probably going to hit us up for the big stuff when it comes from Santa.

We're planning a vacation this summer to visit family again.  I hope my transmission holds out for the trip because it would stink to be 300 miles away from home and have the car die.  I can't believe how expensive it is to have a transmission replaced on a vehicle.  It's not like I'm looking for Ferrari parts but still...$2000-$3000 to replace my transmission. I've never had to do it before and I'm hoping this one will hold out, rumbling and all, for a long time to come.  The mechanic said to drive it til it dies so that's what I'm doing. 

Like car problems and stress helps my health.  Geez.  It's neverending.

Well, it turns out my PID wasn't coming back.  I believe I picked up another infection through the hospital called C. difficile.  According to the Mayo Clinic:

Clostridium difficile, often called C. difficile or "C. diff," is a bacterium that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon.

You are at higher risk if:  you are in the hospital for two or more days (I was), if you take multiple antibiotics (hospital had me on Clindamycin and Gentamicin and then two others at home), and if you take Clindamycin (yup). 

At first, I thought it was just my digestive system messed up from all the antibiotics so I started taking probiotics.  That didn't give me relief and I felt like I was having IBS symptoms, which I don't have.  I had all the pain and digestive upset and was nauseous all the time.  I felt "off" all the time and anything I ate or drank had me cramping up.  Knowing I was just in the hospital and on antibiotics had me googling for information and I came across C. diff. pretty easily. 

The treatment is metronidazole (Flagyl) which I have and probiotics (which I'd already started taking because all those antibiotics messed me up).  I figured I'd try the script I already had and if I didn't feel better within a couple days, I'd go see my doctor.  Thankfully, the metronidazole is helping.  After two days, I'm improving.  Hopefully it goes away.  If it reoccurs, I'll go see my doctor.  I know I should've called him anyway but I'm just tired of doctors and the thought of any type of scopes or tools going "up there" for diagnosis - no way, no how.  I know what's wrong with me.  I don't need another big medical bill to tell me when the $700-$800 hospital bill from last month is already going to kill us.  I'm tired of being sick and doctors.

I have so much to do this summer with our four kids, hopefully a vacation next month if we can financially swing it, house painting and room updating (my oldest kid wants lockers in her room like one of her friends so I'm looking around at school furniture), and work to do, I don't have time to be sick all summer long. I've been sick for a month straight now and that's been plenty!

It's time for all these germs to take a hike!

Pains in my abdomen woke me up this morning from a sound (antiotic-induced) sleep.  Like before, I had a lot of pain and covered in sweat. 

I hope my PID isn't going to make a reoccurrence.  Once in this lifetime was more than enough for me.

Would you take a "before" picture (for weight loss) and post it on your blog for all the world to see? 

I have thought about it but I don't have the guts to do it.  Maybe if I knew that I'd for sure lose that weight or perhaps if it was going to be a quick weight loss goal because then I wouldn't have to worry that the "before" picture would be up there for so long!

I wouldn't want to see the "before" picture up there for six months.  With my problem managing my thyroid right now, it'd be my luck that it would be up there for the rest of the year and that would be just too depressing.

My husband did some more painting today in our living room.  It is about 3/4 done now for painting.  He let each kid roll a little bit so they could see what it was like.  Of course, I took pictures.  My husband wanted me to try it too (he doesn't "let" me paint because I leave big messes behind) so I did.  My daughter snapped a picture of me, in my pajamas, painting.  How awful it looked!  I looked like I should be looking up diet pill reviews instead of lazing about today reading and trying my hand at painting. Pictures tell the truth don't they? This picture was screaming: Lose some weight!!  It was just awful.

I've decided that photographs are just too honest.  I don't want my mug, or any other part of me, in a picture until the rest of this weight is gone!

What is a safe acne treatment for teenagers? I am careful about chemicals used in the house for cleaning and hygiene because my daughter and I both have asthma.  I am wondering if there is a natural acne treatment available, and inexpensive, to keep in the house for myself and my kids to use? 

I should look into making my own products.  I already do for general cleaning (vinegar and baking soda).  I wonder how hard it would be to make other household products naturally.  I've never heard of a green acne treatment but I'll bet you there is something out there.

While I was sick and my husband was off work taking care of me, he did some much-needed painting.  Here is a picture of part of our living room he just finished (ignore the pull-ups on the top of my armoire...you can tell kids live here):

Summer is unofficially here.  With the mid-80's to almost 90 temperatures are any indication, we skipped spring and went right into summer.  Sad for me because I love wearing boots and was hoping to extend my wear of them a little longer but it's just too warm. I'm not sure how my husband does it having to wear heavy, steel-toed boots to work the way he does in this heat without an air-conditioned work environment. 

I'm glad he does his own laundry for his work clothes.  I'd imagine those socks of his smell!

I don't do well in heat though so you won't catch me outside sunbathing in this sun!  I'd pass out.

My husband has been experiencing a lot of pain through his wrist up to his elbow.  They tried steriod pills and then moved to a cortisone shot (he said those hurt).  They're thinking a tennis elbow type of thing (from the repitition in his job and playing guitar most likely).  If not, it could be arthritis. 

I think he should be looking at http://www.jointsupplements.net/ to see if there are joint supplements he can take to see if they help. I'm not too crazy about repeated use of steroids. He's had cortisone shots for his knees before for pain (he used to race bicycles cross-country and then road racing and really stressed his knees out) so he's familiar with them.  I just hope it's not a cover for the problem instead of a solution.

Did you know one of the symptoms of thyroid disease is hair loss?  As a woman, this is important to know since thyroid disease affects women moreso than men.  I left behind hair everytime I showered.  Luckily, I have really thick hair so it wasn't noticeable to people in general (just my husband who hated all the hair in the shower). 

If you have hair loss that isn't attributed to thyroid disease, click here to see if there is anything that may help you. Because mine was due to my thyroid betraying me, the hair loss was helped with thyroid medications to regulate my hormones better. When my thyroid hormones get out of whack, I still can experience hair loss. It's a good indicator for me on when my thyroid needs attention and once that is taken care of, the hair loss stops.

I said I'd tell about my illness so here goes...

I was hospitalized due to a really bad case of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (due to bacterial vaginosis...NOT a sexually transmitted disease which the doctors would not believe until the cultures came back proving neither myself nor my husband cheated on each other and gave each other a disease!). The doctors actually ticked both my husband and myself off with their disbelief that one of us must have had multiple partners which one of us got an STD from and that's what gave me PID.  The tests they did proved otherwise but it took a couple days for those tests to come back. We've been faithful to each other for 15 years and having that questioned was irritating!  I'm glad I had my cell phone with me because I was able to learn more about PID and the antibiotics they were giving me on the Internet through my phone. Thank the gods for technology because the doctor was driving me batty!

I was really sick with high fever and extreme pain with the possibility of abcessing. They gave me morphine in the ER for pain, then dilaudid (I think that's how it's spelled) once admitted, then Percocet as the pain went down. Apparently, the flu I thought I had with fever for four days a few weeks ago was the start of the infection raging through my reproductive organs until they were screaming at me to get to the hospital.

Unfortunately, the antibiotics (Gentamicin and Clindamycin) they had me on had such bad side effects (dizziness, nausea, ear pain and hallucinations) that I was happy to get off them after 2-1/2 days when I got sent home. Those side effects lingered for several days after but they eventually worked their way out of my system thankfully. I think it was the Gentamicin that did all that to me. The faces flying at me in my head were bad enough (and the evil grins some of the faces gave me were downright scary) but when the Virgin Mary statue outside my hospital window turned and looked at me several times, I rang for the nurse to get me off the medications!

So that's some of what happened.  There's more to chat about (the CT scan results) but I'll do that later. 

It's been awhile since I've posted.  I was sick, then hospitalized, then sick after release.  I'm still not back at 100% yet, but hopefully within the next couple of weeks that will change. 

One positive to getting sick -  my husband had time off of work and in between taking care of me, he painted our entryway (which I've been after him to do for four years now).  He also finished a wall in the main living room as well so now after days of laying around on our old furniture, I am considering either contemporary furniture or a more traditional look. I'm just not sure yet what I want.

I'll get into the details of my illness a little later.  I have dinner on the stove so I am typing in between flipping hashbrowns right now.  Talk to you soon!

I was reading online and was looking up information on the apidexin scam but instead read that this weight loss supplement (fat burner) can also help with thyroid function. I'm not sure which ingredient in it does that though.

As you can tell, I'm still waiting for my doctor to call me back. If he had, and had changed my thyroid treatment, I wouldn't be so worried about this weight that is creeping back on.  I can feel my wedding ring getting tighter on my finger and it makes me feel claustrophobic.  Is that weird?  Anyhow, I don't want to have to take it off again.  I wish that doctor wasn't being a bonehead.

I have stressed myself into irritating my TMJ with my jaw this week.  How irritating to be irritated and then in pain on top of it because I was irritated.  Round and round we go...

My husband wanted his daughter to live here for her high school senior year because we have a program here that she could actually attend college, in place of high school, her senior year and take care of many of her core class requirements towards her college degree - for free, while in high school.  She doesn't want to leave her current school because of band camp and wanting to become squad leader.  My irritation is because band camp is NOT the most important thing in the world to her future and college plays a pretty big role in terms of her own long-term goals (graduate school).

She is going to retake her ACT test (which she could do either way), try to be squad leader and go to band camp versus getting a FREE head-start on college.  I don't understand turning this type of opportunity down at all.  I'd give anything to have an opportunity for a free year of college.  I'd love to go on and get my degree and then further by gmat prep to advance my studies.

I realize in high school, you really don't think beyond that day, that week, that month but FREE college classes?  This is SO important because neither her mother or father have money for her college tuition and this would be such a big help. 

So, I've been disappointed and upset, which means I've been clenching my jaw unknowingly.  I don't realize it until my TMJ starts to hurt.  If somebody handed me a free year of college, I'd grab it in a second! 

This morning, my husband asked me if my goiter was larger.  I've had a sore throat on and off the past few days but thought it was a cold.  When I felt my neck, yup, sure feels bigger to me.  For my husband to notice it from the other side of the room, it definitely had to change. 

I went online to look up other doctors in the area today but it took me so long to find this one, I know it'll take awhile to find another good doctor.  By the time my appointment rolls around in June, I'm going to need to lose more weight and might need some help if it just keeps rising, perhaps herbal phentermine.  I wonder if you can take diet supplements with thyroid medications?  I've never tried it before. 

My heart reacts badly to over-the-counter cold medicines now so I probably should stay away from everything unless it's necessary for treatment right now. 

Still no return phone call from my thyroid doctor!  It's been a week as of today and I've called twice in that time.  My hair is falling out again.  Anytime I run my fingers through it or move it out of my face, hair comes off in my hands.  My husband kept pulling it off my hands when he was trying to teach me something on the guitar this past weekend.  Gross. 

I am not very happy with this new doctor.  It started out so promising but now I don't know what to think!  The exhaustion makes me feel like death warmed over.  Maybe I should just get an instant life insurance quote and give up! Not! I KNOW I can feel better. I thought I had found a good doctor but he seems to be out of reach for a week now. I am irritated beyond belief!

Four pounds gained back too. Four!  GRRR!!!  It's supposed to keep coming off, not come back again.  He needs to adjust my meds.  Why isn't he returning my phone calls?!?!

Oh gosh, what am I going to do if my new doctor takes forever to manage my thyroid correctly?  I want a straight T3 or a higher dose of the compounded Armour but he wants my temperatures for five days first.  He told me at my last appointment that I'd probably need to increase my dose so why not just increase it? 

I'm getting anxious.  I don't want to get fat again.  I want to be looking for great summer clothes that show of the smaller me instead of weight loss products.  I need to be more patient.  Five days isn't that much right and it's almost over with now.  I am better than I was so baby steps then.

Patience, patience, patience.  I have never been a patient person. 

My doctor and I are still trying to get my thyroid medication dosage to the right dose.  Over the last couple weeks, I've been very cold, exhausted, and have the memory of swiss cheese.  My period went back to very heavy again too.  My doctor has me taking my morning temperatures (it has to do with my thyroid) for five days so when those five days are up, I'll call him with the results and go from there.  So far, they've been 97.2, 97.4, and 97.7 the last three mornings. 

I am worried because a pound has creeped back onto me and I don't want it to keep creeping up!  Not after losing 19 pounds and liking it!  That just makes my final weight loss goal that much further away.  I have been looking at diet pills side effects just in case.

Hopefully by the end of this week, I will have news from my doctor on our next step either here on my Thyroid Hell blog.  Hopefully it is the kind of news that clears up the brain fog and exhaustion!

I've read several of Suzanne Somers' books about staying healthy and one of them talked about how she takes human growth hormone for her health.  This is one subject that I will readily admit that I know nothing about but I know there are many people who claim benefits from it. 

Do you get this or do you know anybody who gets it?  I'm curious to know as much about it as I can find out.  I find the older I get, the less I trust mainstream doctors and tend to lean towards what is considered alternative by many.  My natural thyroid medication, while once the only medication used for thyroid disease for years and booted out of the way for the synthetic thyroid medication, is one "alternative" treatment I use.  It took me years to find a good doctor for it too!

Yesterday, I was hungry all day long.  I wanted to munch non-stop!  That's not good for my weight loss goals.  I'm not sure why I felt like that.  I craved cold pizza like you wouldn't believe.

Some of my family would be wondering if they would see baby shower invitations in the mail if they read this because we have six kids and they think we'll just keep reproducing and automatically see a sign of a food craving as pregnancy. No plans to!  My husband turns 44 this year.  He is beyond the age of wanting anymore children.  Our youngest starts kindergarten in August and neither one of us wants to start over.

CNN Health has a news report out about the Rotarix Rotavirus Vaccine.  I have never had this given to my children but I am sure many parents have or are thinking about it so it's information you should know.  Read about it here.

I have a hard time finding a good facial cleanser. It seems like most everything I use when I am looking for the best acne facewash or make-up remover irritates my sensitive skin. It actually breaks out in little bumps on my cheeks (not acne, but bumps). Then the zits around my nose that seem to appear AFTER I clean my face…isn’t 38 years old a little old to be getting pimples around my nose for a few weeks every month?

There are several vacant businesses in our small downtown area. My husband and I briefly talked (wished) about having our own business. I am not sure what the trends say for top franchises 2010 but I had this great idea the other day for a small business…and then I forgot it. Darn thyroid! Hurry up, thyroid, and get regulated so I get all my memory back.  I can't run a business if I can't remember anything!

I am still at the 19 pound weight loss mark. With my thyroid medication dosage change, my weight started to creep up again little by little until I was weighing in two pounds heavier. It’s not a big deal normally but considering I’ve gone past the halfway point for my weight loss goal, I don’t want to add more weight and have to take it all off again. My thyroid doctor thought I would have to increase my medication and he was right. Besides weight, I started having other symptoms too.

I don’t think that after four children, I will ever have a flat tummy without liposuction (which I won’t do) or some type of weight loss surgery to seriously lose more weight than I plan on losing, but it sure would be nice to lose that fat off my tummy of another pound or two. I have four kids. I have baby belly. I’m almost used to it by now.

I've been a bit emotionally drained lately.  My stepdaughter is having problems but it is one of those things where she wants my advice but doesn't want to take the advice type of situations right now.  She's not ready to deal with the issues and I understand where she's at.  Been there, done that.  It's just getting emotionally draining to have the constant texts, instant messages, and private messages asking for help but then having any ideas shot down.  She's really down right now.  I wish I could make it all better for her but I can't.  She has to do it herself.

Shopping might help boost my spirits a bit and I found a gift card for Best Buy in my purse the other day that I had forgotten I had.  I wanted to buy the Nintendo Wii Fit with the balance board so  might just use that card to put towards it.  My kids also want some hunting games so it will be one or the other.  Maybe some activity on the Wii will get my spirits up.  My husband and I are also going to start walking tomorrow morning.  The weather is warming up nicely so it should make for a nice walk.

A study I just read on Yahoo Health talks about how Vitamin D3 (not D2 which is found in most multivitamins) may help reduce flu and asthma attacks.  Speaking from personal experience, I give my kids gummy chew Vitamin D3 every day and none of them were sick through the winter months until March.  Then I ran out in March and didn't replace it right away.  Three out of four of my kids had to fight off the stomach flu TWICE EACH in one month's time when they'd avoided colds and flu all winter long prior to my running out.

I take Vitamin D3 as well and I didn't get the flu at all this winter and my asthma has been just fine as well. Even when my kids were really sick, and I was cleaning up after them and taking care of them, I didn't get it.  I really believe there is something to that study and look forward to reading about more studies in the future.

I really need to get off of here.  I get on my blogs and start messing around and forget my "to do" list.  I am supposed to be looking up an epson receipt printer for a friend. I love my regular Epson Artisan printer and I'm supposed to find out more about their receipt printers. I better get to work now!

After years of weight struggles, checking out diet pills and looking up specific pills in a diet pill review, I rewarded myself for the 19 pound weight loss with a new pair of wicked heels (they really are wicked...hurt like heck!) and expensive pair of jeans. I have never spent more than $20 or so on jeans. Not this week!  My husband couldn't wait to get the jeans ordered for me.  He pushed me to do it.  He said I never buy anything for myself. 

Now that I am starting to like what I look like again, he may be opening up a can of worms with the expensive shopping.  Expensive jeans could be a bad trend to start.  Oh well, they came today and they look great! 

13 pounds left to lose! 

Between my asthma and thyroid disease and the daily medications needed for both, I feel like I'm high-maintenance.  I felt so unhealthy, like I needed to get some more life insurance rates just in case.  I mentioned feeling high-maintenance to my hubby the other day and he said that everybody has health problems and that I'm not high-maintenance.  He's sweet.

Now that the weight is coming off and the problem with my thyroid disease is FINALLY known (shame on the other doctors who treated me for eight years incorrectly), I am feeling better, not just physically but emotionally.  I feel better about myself and have more energy.  Makes me a lot more fun too!

Our vacation is over.  It was great while it lasted.  We enjoyed it so much, my husband ended up calling into work the next work day because we didn't want it to end.  We spent six days straight with each other and we enjoyed each other so much.  The kids had a blast with family and are now enjoying the rest of their spring break.  It's great to just get away from everything for awhile.

My sister has a great house on the water and she has these windows in her house that look like glass mosaic tile...like a stained glass. I would love to do that to the octagon window over our front door (and add some glass tiles above the countertops).

We had such a good time we are going to try to go back this summer!

I never realized how important it is to be proactive about my own health until getting thyroid disease.  Because of the current treatment trend (a T4 only drug called Synthroid or its generic equivalent), too many people are left with hypothyroid symptoms and many doctors just won't listen or believe you.  That's how it was for me.  If you are currently in the same situation, please check out my thyroid blog and check out the links to different web sites that can help you.  They definitely helped me.

If insurance is a problem and you live in North Carolina, check out information for North Carolina health insurance. It is SO important that your thyroid disease be treated effectively to rid yourself of these frustrating and debilitating symptoms.  If YOU feel your body isn't healthy...if YOU feel something just isn't right...find a different doctor and keep pushing until you find one that listens. 

One way to find out if you have a doctor more willing to go outside the status quo (synthetic medications) is to call the pharmacies in your area and ask them which doctors in the area prescribe natural thyroid medication. 

I woke up this morning with the worst burning and pain in my throat I've ever felt at 2:00 a.m.  It felt like acid was burning me. This has never happened before.  I drank a bunch of water and waited until the pain went away.  Unfortunately, it meant that I was up for the rest of the night. 

How tired I am of these 2:00 a.m. wake-ups I've been having for the past couple weeks.  I thought it was over with the night before last when I slept straight through, hard.  It must've been the sleep of the exhausted though because I didn't get that little pleasure again last night.

I just updated my weight loss ticker to show another loss.  I've now lost 19 pounds!  That leaves me with 13 pounds left to lose. Maybe I'll have it all gone before summer gets here and won't feel self-conscious in summer clothes this year.  That'll be a first for me in five years.

I seem to be stuck at the 17 pound weight loss point the last couple weeks.  I was hoping to have another ten pounds gone by our vacation but seeing how that is now just 2-1/2 weeks away, I should only hope for a few more at best. 

I did get a gallon of blood drawn the other day for all the different thyroid tests.  They couldn't do the Reverse T3 though.  Apparently, the lab the hospital uses doesn't do that test.  Surprised me!  It was irritating because if they'd told me that during registration - before I was in the chair with the band around my arm and a needle poised to strike - I might have gone to the other lab in town.  I'm not big on needles and having to do it again doesn't thrill me.  Besides, the person who drew the blood wasn't that great at it.  It hurt the entire time!  It felt like she'd shoved a pencil into my arm.  I actually got woozy and dropped my head.  They had to put my feet up. 

Now I wait for results.

I wanted to make a few notes from the article for those interested:

• The International Agency for Research on Cancer has reclassified tanning devices as a definite carcinogen.  (The definition of carcinogen is "agent directly involved in the exacerbation of cancer or in the increase of its propagation.")  This isn't new news to me.  I think it is pretty common knowledge.  Knowing that, I don't understand why people would use them (and use them often in a lot of cases).  Are there health benefits to using a tanning bed?  Not for me personally.
• According to this article..."exposure to UV light can lead to melanoma, especially if you're exposed to it in your teens and/or 20s."
• Melanoma cases are even showing up in the genital area of women.  I doubt women are standing on their heads outdoors and getting sunburned there.  This is from the tanning bed.
• Is your excuse for using the tanning bed that you get Vitamin D from it?  Go stand outside a few times a week and you'll get the same benefit.  Find another source for Vitamin D.
• Do you think the tanning bed is safer than the sun? According to this article, the bulbs in the tanning beds are several times stronger than sunlight. 

I've lost 17 pounds so far since changing my thyroid medication all up.  I'm thrilled and can't wait for the rest of the 15 pounds to come off too!

I have added a weight loss ticker to my blog to keep track of my progress.  It is in the left margin.  I used to have one on here but I became frustrated when it never went anywhere so I took it off.  Now that I am finally making progress, I won't mind looking at it. 

I was just thinking last week that we were lucky this year.  We didn't have any major illnesses in the family.  We got through flu season pretty well.  We didn't have any H1N1 swine flu scares.  I spoke too soon.  I should learn to keep my mouth shut.

A stomach bug has hit our house this week.  Two of my kids are down and out with it right now.  I hope it doesn't spread to the rest of the kids.  How do you force liquid into a kid who doesn't want anything at all in their stomach?  If it was just a day or so, I wouldn't worry but we are on day four right now.  She has today left and if she's not holding anything down by this evening, she goes to see her pediatrician tomorrow.  I don't think it is a flu.  I think it is a gastroenteritis bug but if she's not better, we will find out for sure tomorrow.

I have had the headache from you know where for several days now. It must be the changes in the seasons coming up (soon I hope). I hope I don't have to put up with headaches for the next month.

Before using Advair, I had no control over my asthma attacks.  I had them frequently and used my rescue inhaler all day long.  After almost dying from an asthma attack and spending some time in a hospital, my doctor prescribed Advair.  I have not had one major asthma attack since.  In fact, I only use my rescue inhaler once every couple months on average.

Now the FDA is issuing a warning about Advair (and other long-acting beta antagonists such as Symbicort).  The main warning:

"...the agency cited studies that found that using the drugs alone can actually increase the severity of asthma, leading to hospitalizations and even death."

They go on to say:

"...The drugs should only be used for the shortest time possible, until asthma symptoms are under control, and be "discontinued, if possible, once asthma control is achieved," the agency said in a statement. People should then switch to another medication to maintain symptom control, the FDA said."

...and this:

"...most people should only require an inhaled corticosteroid to control their symptoms."

Since I have little faith in the FDA, it makes me wonder...

Is there really a problem with this medication which I know has saved my life?  Is somebody lining someone's pockets to get the FDA's warning to reduce the sale of this drug to the public (and is there another drug on the marketplace that will make the drug companies more money that they want pushed)?

I believe I'd be dead right now if not for having Advair.  My asthma was getting bad.  I came close once already to dying and don't want to get back to that point to where I'm gasping for every little bit of oxygen my siezed up airways would allow in.

Just like the FDA has messed up the distribution of natural desiccated thyroid medication that has helped thousands of people because pharmaceutical companies make more money off the synthetic crap that most doctors push, who are now left struggling and feeling bad because their thyroid disease isn't being managed properly, are there deeper motives behind the Advair warning or is it true?  I've never personally had any problem with Advair.  I can breathe again!  I don't know about the FDA, but breathing is really important to me!!!

I've been updating my thyroid changes at my blog, Thyroid Hell.  I've found a new doctor who manages my thyroid disease the way I want him to and I've also lost some weight (still have more to go but it's a good start). 

I've lost 13 pounds so far.  With the increase in my compounded armour, I am hoping the next 20 will drop off as well. I have my fingers crossed that I'm going to feel like myself again soon after more than eight years of feeling bad.