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Roller Coaster Withdrawal

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Smile....and don't shoot the messenger

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Lifestyle Changes


15 years ago 0 456 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
hello Furgittit.
 
Weellll, it is nice to know the cocktail of junk I swallow everynite (and If I forget, my two young children force me to gag them down)  is working!  I am bipolar.  And regardless of what I do I have a whole bunch of normal days, a few days days and I live in fear of the moment I become manic and become the ***** I was at 15 or I believe I am immortal.  That is another story...
 
Have you thought that rather than eating healthy ... healthier  might be a goal for ... 6 months? 
If a recipie takes 4 cups of flour, use 3.5 cups of white all porpose and 0.5 cup of whole wheat.  It will add just a bit of taste, a bit of fibre but will not overwhelm a recipie.  It will not change the colour nor texture nor smell. 
 
I am with you on that artificial stuff, it tastes like licking an old pop can - metalic and acidic.  Even the sucralose Made from sugar!!!   Just thinking what it does to the poor rats and the ADHD kids.  THe artificial stuff is very addictive and causes chemical imbalances like many other addictions. 
 
I thought of something.  I was talking to an older co-worker who is losing a lot of her bounce in one foot because of Arthitis because of my lame foot (I had a bad break in feb 2007).  She uses capsules of shark cartelage that does not interfer with her stomach meds.  I have spoken to another, younger person foe whom the shark cartelege did nothing after 6 months and she is on the low dose of aspirine with some success.  And in out cold Humid climate... that is good.  I am trying the accupuncture for the circulation and swelling in my lame foot.  The first appointment was a shock!
 
 
15 years ago 0 910 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Wow that is a good question, I will have to think on that!
15 years ago 0 1693 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0

Good question furgittit! I of course would choose a mix between the two!

Members, what do you think?

Breanne, Bilingual Health Educator

15 years ago 0 271 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Ashley,
 
Thanks for the suggestions, just to let you know that the websites and "healthy" recipes entails me having to use items that I cannot eat, smell etc.  Whole wheat gross, nothing like eating really dry cardboard with sand in it.  Fruit in the muffins only if it is banana.  "Healthy" granola bars tend to have nuts and dried fruits which I cannot eat.  So great suggestion for someone else but thanks anyway.
 
My way of eating will not change the congenital heart disease, mitral valve regurgitation, arrythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, congenital high blood pressure, or congenital high cholesterol, or arthritis.  I made the lifestyle changes (the eating and exercise) in hopes to avoid medications and as my luck would have it not going to happen.  I have spoken with my doctors and they say, eat healthy, exercise, take the medications and you will live longer.  None of them ever say eat healthy, exercise, take medications and you will live happier and longer.  Happiness is not the priority longevity is.
 
My lifestyle changes occurred around the same time I noticed my depression worsening.  So progressively as the changes to eating and exercise got more and more, my depression got worse and worse.  I feel so much better when I don't do anything and eating what I want.  But then I feel bad because I am not supposed to enjoy not doing anything or eating what I want.
 
I would prefer to live my life happy (or at least as close to it as possible) and not healthy (in the eyes of the professionals).  Ultimately, which is better happy and unhealthy or healthy and miserable?
 
Which would you prefer, if you only had the two options?
15 years ago 0 11226 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Baking can help with the health problems and weight as you can choose recipes that are healthy and "cleaner" then store bought processed foods.  When I say cleaner I mean less preservatives and additives.  There are tons of great websites that offer baking suggestions for granola bars, whole wheat fruit muffins and more. You can look into it if interested. 
The pool is an excellent idea.  Swimming can be so relaxing. 
 
Something that can be uplifting is having some friends or loved ones have a "care and share".  This sounds kinda fluffy and it is, but it can be so heart warming.  Everyone in the group (the group can be 2-100 people, 5 people is ideal) writes a letter to each member telling them how much they mean to them, their good qualities, what they admire about each other, what activities they like to do with that person, what their favorite memories are with the other person, the list can go on and on.  You can make a round robin game of it.  This normally leads to lots of positive feelings and support.  Its an idea anyways maybe for the next get together .
 
Well thats my idea for today I will try to think of some more for next week.
 
 
 
 
Ashley, Health Educator
15 years ago 0 271 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Wildcate,
 
You would think that I was a super smeller (especially since I quite smoking 7 months ago).  I can now smell a person smoking a dumaurier cigarette from 100 yards and it smells oh so good, but the players smoke ewwwwww!  I don't like hot drinks unless they are completely loaded with sugar (hot chocolate), it has to be real sugar, because the "sweeteners" are absolutely nauseating and to use honey would be a waste of a 1 litre of honey that could have been used for Granny's honey cookies.
 
The arthritis is not fun, if only it were in my hands or feet, it is in my spine, not in just one or two spots (like the physiotherapist said it should be) but throughout the entire spine.  I cannot use the pills for arthritis as they will adversely react with my blood pressure and heart medications.  So I get to use a topical gel/sand mixture, great for exfoliation but crap for pain.  Some days obviously are better than other. 
 
I plug away at the pool (now that it has reopened from their reno's, 2 months down) that my husband can use as it is wheelchair accessible.  It doesn't make me "feel better", I do it for my husband to get him out and about.  It isn't easy to lift his chair in and out of the van, it isn't easy to push him in and out of places (he is a very big man).  I am only 35 and I feel like I am 100.
 
You are a conundrum, here you are being uplifting and optimistic (by the way that was how I used to be a long, long time ago) yet you have joined a website for depression.  I guess in a sense it is sometimes better to realize that others problems are worse than yours (that's why I used to love my job (mostly handled divorce and family matters) now it seems that even those families have it better than I do.
 
I do enjoy the baking thing, but because of my husband's weight and my myriad of health problems, I cannot bake as often as I would like.  As the only income earner in my home, I do not have time to arrange a bake sale, let alone afford the cost to make yummies.
 
Just to let others know they can jump in to our conversation at anytime as I would appreciate as many "personal opinions" and "personal successess" as possible.  It can be uplifting to hear what has worked for others with "personal experiences" to share.
15 years ago 0 456 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
ah-ha!  now I understand...
 
i am in canada and lived with two farm raised grandmothers who were "picky" I knew them as having something like Selective Eating Disorder, and another family member as having an intolerance that no one believed....  So food issues of this sort are familiar!!  
Have you looked into the notion that you might have more smell cell than the average person - like the wine people. Those who are super smellers have a hard time with hot and strong food because it is overwhelming ( my daughter - she refuses to eat ANYTHING if there is fish in the house, it contaminates everything.  It is 6 months now she has begun to accept cheese at 6 years old.)
A nice experiment in a new taste might be an weak infusion. A mild taste of flowers and sunshine is camomile with hunny - and at first you start more honny and work your way down to the taste of camomile flowers. 
 
Arthritis is a painful illness and make all movements difficult.  No wonder that exercise is a chore and it seems like there is no progress.  All you are doing is maintaining a status quo and dealing with pain on a regular basis.  People who do this over long periods of time are prone to depression.  Have you looked into specific exercises that are not stressful to you particular joints ?  Like yoga and stretching?  or exercises in a heated pool - I used to belong to a women's gym with a nice 4 ft one with 6 classes a day with 4 given by instructors who specialised in "aging populations".  (Arthritis starting at age 6, is not old but the body ages faster... ). 
 
Is your husband the one who need the wheelchair ramp?  And you have children  -  plural to care for with little time to call your own.  Furgittit,  hope is one of the things that pushes us to look at tomorrow.  If we can live in the moment and yet hope that some day in the future we will be better, we will be.  So those little moments from time to time are important. THey break the routein and allow you daydream and relax. They allow you heal the spirit and build reserves of hope.  Maybe that is why right now your whole being is screeming for sleep?  It might need time to allow for a physical healing.   And it might need time away from the stresses that are pounding you inside and out. 
 
All I can suggest is please becareful with the milk products. Some calcium is good but too much and the body will use it to make more deposits in the joints.
15 years ago 0 406 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Furgittit,
 
Sounds like you enjoy cooking and baking.  Perhaps, you can put on a bake sale for a charity of your choice.  That'll sure help make you feel better and provide a sense of accomplishment!  What do you think?
 
Karen, Health Educator
15 years ago 0 271 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Sorry the following was cut off from my previous post.
 
My perfect life (today) would consist of sleeping till whenever, getting up and doing the morning routine, doing things if I want to and not doing things that other people want me to (work, cooking, cleaning, shopping, driving, exercising, eating, drinking etc.) read a book, or watch TV.  Not talk to anyone and not see anyone.  If I could do this for a week (or a month, which would be better), I believe this would provide me with the rest I need in order to make it through the rest of my life.  Right now I am just so darned sick and tired of doing for everyone and being for everyone that I just want to sleep forever (or until I decide to get up).
 
Ah!!! to fantasize (something I have been unable to do for quite some time). A vacation (or a day) is not feasable or affordable and to get everyone else out of the house for 24 hours is out of the question (husband can't drive, none of his family has a wheelchair ramp, he doesn't want to go anywhere without me (my big sucky baby))  The kids would be the easiest because you say get lost and boom they are gone, you just have to wait for the dust to settle to make sure they are truly gone.
 
Thanks again for listening and I look forward to any personal responses and suggestions.
15 years ago 0 271 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi everyone,
 
Last night the rest of my evening went as usual, drive here, drive there, wash the van, come home, clean up, take some pills, go to bed.  Slept through the alarm this morning, so I was late for work today.
 
Not sure what suggestions of Wildcats to try.  I do not have a "medical condition" that cause me to vomit food.  I have what is called in the UK Selective Eating Disorder, in North America the medical profession says shut up and eat what we tell you because you are just being picky and nothing is going to happen if you do eat what we tell you, because you don't know anything and we know everything.
 
As a child I went to my aunt's farm, and learnt where all the usual comes from, mostly from disgusting places like dirt and poo.  
 
My favourite meal consists of  green beans (boiled down to a soggy gooey mess, yummy), whipped red skinned potatos (made with 1% milk and real butter), creamed chicken (thighs, basically, fried chicken with whipping cream tossed in) and homemade white buns.  Of course I don't eat this all the time (if I did I would probably be a jiggly blob rolling around, he he).  I do enjoy the regular, regular beef (not lean and not extra lean as I find this to be too stringy and dry), pork, and chicken.  The vegetables vary, as well as the side dishes.  Breads that are dry or sand like get stuck and come back out.  I prefer regular white bread (not the fake white bread, as the texture is no where near the regular white bread).
 
I make a killer chocolate cake with whipped cream icing.  This is a recipe that was past down from generation to generation of my ex-step-mother's family, which I took and perfected the cake to my satisfaction and created my own whipped cream icing (as the butter icing her family put on it was way to sweet and sickly tasting). A little horn tooting here, everyone who trys it asks for my recipe (of course I oblige). 
 
My children have always gone shopping with me (no-one else to take care of them and now I need their help with the lifting due to my arthritis).  The children have always gotten to pick foods that they wanted (with some exceptions such as fish because the smell makes me sick and you can't get the stench out of the house ever).  The family gets their peanut butter, but can only eat it with the windows open when I am not at home (again the smell).
 
I am trying to find small moments in the day to be "selfish" (as I view it). I just tend to think that if something tangible (result driven) isn't being accomplished then it is not worth my time, cooking, cleaning, stuff for others.  As for stuff for myself (except bathing and regular hygiene things) is not worth doing as it has the smallest impact (ie. just for me and not for everyone's satisfaction). 
 
At this point, I truly do not know what would truly make me happy or even moderately satisfied on a day to day basis.  I do know what I don't like (and that seems to be alot).  Trying new things tends to scare the daylights out of me because of the what if's.  I cannot let go of that (control freak). 
 
My perfect life (today) would consist of sleeping till whenever, getting up and doing the morning routine, doing things if I want to and not doing things that other people want me to (work, cooking, cleaning, shopping, driving, exercising, eating, drinking etc.) read a book, or watch TV.  Not talk to anyone and not see anyone.  If I could do this for a week (or a month, which would be better), I believe this would provide me with the rest I need in order to

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