Healthy Me

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.