Have you ever heard that laughing is actually good for you? It is a proven fact that watching comedy’s and laughing is a great cure for illnesses. Cincinnati’s Natural Awakenings has a total edition almost totally dedicated to the issue.
Pg 9 Children Playing Outside Laugh More
Pg 12 Laugh More~Why feeling tickled is good for us
Pg14 Yoga Laughter Exercises~Catalyst for laughing alone
Pg 21 Ten Ways To Create Humor In Your Life
Pg 22 Good Humor~Foods that make us smile
Pg24 may I Have Your Tension, Please?!
On page 12, Enda Junkins writes,
LAUGH TO:
Relieve Stree
Resolve Conflict
Enhance Communications
Enrich Relationships
Have Fun
Why is that once we become adults, we feel like we can no longer play and laugh? It’s childish or not professional. Worried about what others may think or that you may not be taken seriously? You may just worry yourself right into illness and despair. Are there times when one needs to be serious? Sure. It doesn’t have to be all of the time though even at work!
Every day stresses cause different hormones and stress chemicals to get into our blood stream causing problems with our biochemistry functions. According to Donna Eden (Pg 24), “We are left feeling more fearful or anxious or angry or aggressive than the situation warrants.” I know this for a fact in my own experiences and that of those around me. I used to make myself sick and stay awake all night thinking about it until I started to tell myself “there’s nothing I can do about it right now”. Set aside time to think about it, write it down and make a plan and then let that be that!
Here’s a good one for you. Dr. William Fry at Stanford University, found that laughing 200 times burns off the same amount of calories as 10 minutes on a rowing machine! So what if you went to see a really funny movie that lasts around 90 minutes? Perhaps you could even have a small theatre popcorn?
Laughing can lower blood pressure, relax your muscles and work your major bodily systems (circulatory, respiratory and immune system). There is a website dedicated to researching laughing and how it effects illness and pain.
Dr. Lee Berk of California…says laughter makes the immune system grow stronger-it’s like your internal army.
It’s a fact of life that once you get a transplant, mine being a kidney, that you will need to take medication for the rest of it’s life so that your own body doesn’t reject it. The medications used for this fall under one of the following categories: Azathioprine~Imuran, manufactured by Prometheus Laboratories, Inc.
Basilizimab~ Simulext, manufactured by Novartis
Cyclosporine~Neoral, manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceudicals Sandimmune, manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceudicals
Muromanab-CD3~Zenapax, manufactured by Roche Laboratory Inc.
Mycophenolic Acid~myfortic®, manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Mycophenolate Mofetil~CellCept, manufactured by Roche Laboratories Inc.
Prednisone~Deltasone, manufactured by Upjohn
Meticorten, manufactured by Schering
Orasone, manufactured by Solvay
Sirolimus~Rapamune, manufactured by Wyeth
Tacrolimus~Prograf, manufactured by Astellas Pharma US, Inc.
Writing this post, I have actually learned a lot about the medicines that I am taking. It’s amazing how long I have been taking some of these meds and am just now finding this out. Shame on me!
I take Prograf, Cellcept and Prednisone (for the Lupus). The Predisone I have taken for many years, even quite a few years prior to the transplant. The Prograf and Cellcept are new since the transplant. I am so excited that my nephrologist has dropped the amount of Prograf that I am taking again to two in the morning and two in the evening. I wish that he would drop the Cellcept because those are really big pills compared to the Prograf.
Here’s my confusion though. I was diagnosed with SLE when I was 17 and have spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals since then. Over the past year, I find that this may be “simply” an intolerance to gluten. I do believe this to an extent because if I stay away from the stuff, I feel better, have a lot less headaches, pain and strange bathroom experiences. Now the kicker…I read the list of side effects (yes, the lovely side effects) of the transplant medications I am on and they list the same stuff as the gluten intolerance list.
What’s a girl to believe? Personally I go for results. If I stop eating gluten and feel better then why wouldn’t I so just that? Since I have been told that I will have to take this medication for the rest of my kidney’s life, I might as well just do what I can to diminish the side effects.
What do you do to have a better quality of life while taking these medications?
Let’s be honest here. These days with everything that is going on in this world, it would take an incredible person to not be depressed at least some times. Add in some serious health problems that one has dealt with for over half of their life and it’s almost a guarantee.
I decided a while ago that I wanted some help even if it was only for a short time. My physician had prescribed Paxil. I was only on it for a few months before I finally realized I had gained 12 pounds. I was actually eating better so how is it possible that I was gaining weight? After much research and talking to others who had taken or were taking Paxil, the weight gain was a given. This anti-depressant was not for me! Another one of my doctors wanted me to keep taking it for another month. The only problem is that I was not going to fit into my work pants if I stayed on it for any longer since I already couldn’t breath. I weaned myself off of it. This is NOT something that I recommend for just anyone!
The first full day that I wasn’t on it, I felt as if I could pass out at any time on and off throughout the day. I went from crying over a commercial to hitting myself in the head in fits of rage. Needless to say, I couldn’t stand to be in my own skin.
Paxil is one of the worst anti-depressants to come off of once you have been taking it, with vicious side effects that could affect everyone in a different way so do so with caution. I still think it was worth it since it really wasn’t doing it’s job anyway.
Now, I am taking Cymbalta and I could notice a difference almost immediately. No more ups and downs . Even my family can notice a difference and say it’s like night and day.
I am not as happy with today’s physical therapy as Monday’s. Perhaps it’s because I had the weekend off to rest before Monday’s appointment but I went down two degrees today to 123. The problem I think is that my hamstring behind my leg was so tight that if felt like someone was ripping the back out of my leg if I bent it too far.
When I was on my back lifting my leg up for a count of three times 30, I used the opportunity to work on my abs. Control your stomach while lifting your shoulders off of the ground and hold as you lift your leg. Very good burn!
I still have my goal of getting back to work by Valentine’s Day so that I can complete my yearly testing on the 15th and overnight in Cancun, Mexico later that week. We’ll see. That’s not that far away and I am still terrified to go down the stairs unassisted. What happens if I do not get the jet bridge that day or a pilot that is not going to carry my bags down the stairs? I suppose I could just throw the bag down first or leave it at home all together. Or, Not.
Please keep me in your prayers as I keep you in mine and have a great week.
Today through some casual talk about kids, babies and health with a new friend, it came up that her breast milk was turning sour after only one day in the fridge. How could this be? Perhaps something she was eating?
Actually no. The breast milk is turning quickly due to an over production of Lipase (pronounced with a long I and a long A).
Lipase is a protein that breaks down the fat in the breast milk to make it easier to digest. However, too much lipase obviously breaks it down even faster, which causes it to spoil faster. In order to slow down the process, you would need to scald the milk first and then freeze it. With that, it should be double bagged, bags put in glass jars (for easier re-heating) and placed in to a pan with baking soda to absorb any odors in the freezer. Keep the bottles at least one inch from all sides of the freezer and off of the door. It should be used within 2 weeks according to another Mom at parents.berkeley.edu.
This is actually someone making Mozzarella but you get the idea.
So, what causes the excess lipase enzymes or hyperlipasemia? Your pancreas is what actually makes the Lipase as well as Amylase. Digestion of food requires both of these enzymes. The Amylase enzyme is used to break down the carbohydrates, while the Lipase is used to break down the fats. an over production can mean problems with your pancreas.
Causes of hyperlipasemia (high lipase levels) may include:
Pancreatitis – also known as inflammation of the pancreas, can cause amylase and lipase levels to be increased up to 3 times normal. Both values should be increased, in order to carry the diagnosis of pancreatitis.
Lipase may be increased in tumors of the pancreas, or stomach certain stomach conditions. These conditions are usually painful.
Gall bladder infection – Inflammation of the gall bladder (cholecystitis), may cause increased lipase levels (hyperlipasemia).
Kidney failure can cause hyperlipasemia.
Your doctor or health care provider will diagnose hyperlipasemia by drawing a tube of blood. If there is a suspicion of gall bladder, pancreas or kidney problems, an ultrasound of the gall bladder or pancreas, or a CAT scan of your abdomen, may also be performed.
There may not be any symptoms of high Lipase enzymes however, if it is due to pancreatitis then you may feel lower abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting.
If your pancreas is inflamed due to pancreatitis, and your pancreas is unable to produce insulin, you may have symptoms of diabetes, which include excessive thirst, frequent urination, exhaustion and weight loss. This is often temporary. Symptoms of pancreatitis may include nausea, sweating and weakness. You may also notice pain in the middle of your chest, which may move or radiate to your back.
This is definitely something to call your doctor about. You must remain well hydrated, do not drink alcohol, and eat a diet low in fat and red meat but high in fiber. There is a wealth of information online so read all you can. I found some great info at http://parents.berkeley.edu
I joked around about a month ago wishing that I could spend the night in the hospital so that I could get some rest. What the hell was I thining? I am now in the hospital and it sucks. What is worse is this damn headache that won’t go away and the weight gain I am putting on from this constant saline drip. Ugh.
Since they cannot figure out exacly what is wrong, I have gone back and thought about everything hoping to figure out this issue myself.
I had the knee surgery on the 5th and last week (after the hubbie’s turn) I was up all night in the bathroom with the double ended ailments. :p I haven’t really been sick since then until Tuesday morning. I hadn’t slept all night because I was in so much pain that even if I did fall alseep for a minute, I would quickly awake again. I finally got up around 4am and took a couple of Vicadin. When I finally did get up, I initially felt just fine. I had some breakfast, got my son ready and off to school, came back home and collapsed on the bed. The lack of sleep that night caught up to me quickly. I thought perhaps a nap. When I woke up again, I hurt so bad again that even my skin hurt.
TIP: When you get a massage, make sure to drink a lot of water to rinse away the toxins or they will simply settle to your skin and cause you to feel like you have a horrible sunburn.
What worried me the worst though is when I noticed that the area above my kidney transplant was very sore and warm. I was also very tired so I layed down and went to sleet for a while. When I woke back up around 8pm, I felt terribly hot so I asked M to get me the thermometer. 104.4 Time to go to the E.R..
When I first got to the hospital I was terrified that I may have lost my kidney. I am not sure that I am strong enough to go through that again. Where would they put the port acess now that my fistula is dead and the tube in my other arm is no longer in there? If my friend Shannon reads this, you are my hero! Personally, I cannot believe that said friend has been through all she has but she is my inspiration.
After days of pain, no sleep and no food, partially because I couldn’t stay awake long enough and some of this time I was in the hospital waiting for a test (because they are coming any minute to take me down eventhough that turned into hours later). I only had a small bowl of jello on Wednesday. And yet I gained 7 pounds that day. What was in that jello? Actually, it’s just the 150ml/hr of saline that has been pumped through my IV since I got to the room at around 4am on Wednesday morning.
Thursday started out as liquid diet day. I had more jello and some coffee for breakfast. Then, as soon as the doctor came in, I told him that I loved the jello but would like to try some scrambled eggs. I think that I called before he got the full work yes out of his mouth. And yet, I found them discusting and only ate 2 bites. I then ordered some cream of rice, pears and coffee. The pears are always a good choice if you enjoy canned pears. The cream of rice, not so much. I really prefer Bob’s Red Mill GF Hot Cereal. Even if you don’t eat GF but enjoy cream of wheat, this stuff is awesome. The hot coffee was nice too.
My head still felt like it was going to explode. The pain medications that the nurse would add to my IV helped a little if not knocked me out so that I didn’t actually know that I had a headache.
For lunch, I ordered a fresh fruit plate and chicken noodle soup. The fruit plate was beautiful with grapes, sliced apples and pineapple. I was able to eat some of the fruit but the soup was cold and bland and I can’t eat the noodles anyway. Forgive me for wasting this food. I have been trying to find something I can tolerate without throwing it back up. It wasn’t until later that night when night when I saw my son and husband that I hit the jackpot. They had visited Wendy’s prior to coming upstairs and it was M’s french fries that worked their magic. In less than an hour I started to feel great. The pain in my abdomen didn’t stop however, my head stopped hurting, my neck felt a lot better and I was finally awake and lighter feeling. As soon as I returned to my room (children under 14 are not allowed to visit in the room until after flu season) I ordered rice and green beans, a side salad and a piece of cheescake. Yes, I felt so much better I thought I would like to enjoy one of my favorite deserts.
The cheesecake was terrible! It was great when I tried it the last time my husband was here so it’s definitely me.
I ate half of the rice and green beans and a couple of hours later, half of the salad.
Last night, I asked the nurse for a sleeping pill and am so greatful for the sleep. It’s never uninterupted in the hospital though because they take your vitals (blood pressure, temperature and oxygen readings) throughout the night. I still slept better for the first time in a week. Thank you.
Today, Friday, I woke up at around 6am fully rested and ready to go. So, that’s what I did. Otherwise I may have slept all day like I have for days. Ooh it’s going to be a good day. For breakfast today, I ordered a mushroom and onion omelet and ate all of it. Coffee with french vanilla creamer. Yum!
I saw the Doctor early this morning and he had decent news if only because it wasn’t anything bad. It would be good if they could figure out the why. Have you ever had a problem with your car yet when you take it to the mechanic he cannot get the car to reproduce the problem? Well, apparently I am the car in this scenario.
Ooh, lets get back to the food.
For lunch and since it was already after 2pm, I ordered Talapia with fruit salsa and a Gluten-Free Italian dinner roll. I just found out about that they offer a GF menu. I also got a chocolate Ensure shake for later since I have not exactly eaten well this past week.
Random Question: How can something be lactose free if there’s milk in it?
I am not sure what I will order later to eat. Perhaps the roasted vegetable salad. Mmmn.
I went to physical therapy on Wednesday, exactly one day after one week and surprisingly, it went well. I hadn’t really had that much pain the first week after the surgery while I was in an immobilizer. It could also be the two Vicodin that I took about half an hour before therapy. My bend was good for not using it all week and it actually felt amazing to get it out of that contraption. I was at around 92degrees bend.
Then, the drugs wore off!
I haven’t had physical therapy since then and it’s now Monday. I will be coming here three times a week for 4 weeks. I have been doing my exercises at home though and I am in some real pain now, Ugh! I hate this part. At least this time around, I know that either I endure and suffer through the pain NOW or for the rest of my life, including no child’s pose for me. I am so hoping that I can do that pose again.
Today was my second time with Rick and he was very impressed with my will. I reached 117degrees of bend today! Woo Hoo! My knee still hurts and burns like crazy and it feels bruised in more than one area. I am guessing that’s where they removed the scar tissue. Not sure but I know I have to keep going and ice is my friend.
I am so sorry that I have not been updating anyone who cares about my knee. (insert laugh here) I think that on top of the surgery, there is something going on around here. First my husband was up all night with vomiting, then a day later the boy and yet a day later me and now him again. I told him to please not be offended but I planned on spending more time downstairs until this demon exits the house!
Please pray for him so that he feels better soon.
As far as the knee, it’s going much better than I expected so far. Of course, I do not start physical therapy until the 13th so check back then. The knee revision was outpatient so, no chance to check out the food at Good Samaritan. I am in some pain but again, not like I imagined. I think that it’s mostly the incision. When I went to the follow up appointment, Dr. Snyder asked if I wanted to see pictures of what he took out. Uh, yeah! Gross and cool all at the same time. Two large chunks that he claimed to be about an inch or so each. He did shave off part of the bone that was protruding and the rest scar tissue. Hopefully once I can take off this immobilizer and bend my knee, I will have a better bend than I have had in over a year.
I wish that I could have gotten a copy of the pics to put here on the blog for you or better yet, the one of me attempting to try on some things I got at the V.S. Semi Annual Sale. Now that’s Hot! Oh, not really.
If you are sad, does that mean that you are depressed? Probably not. If you are truly depressed though, how do you know if it’s “standard” depression or bi-polar depression?
I have a medical problems. Systemic Lupus with Kidney Failure, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia, at least. I am tired all of the time and hurt more minutes than not. At the young age of 36, I have already had a kidney transplant, a knee replacement and now a knee revision (to remove scar tissue and test for allergy only). And the list goes on. When going through the list with the pre-surgery staff of past surgeries, I thought to myself, “no wonder I am depressed”! This is my reality on top of the list of medicines that I take each day just to keep it all going.
After the transplant, I was spared a couple of other surgeries, given better eye sight and no longer need to take high blood pressure meds. That makes me happy. The fact that this latest surgery might help the extreme pain that I was left with after the knee replacement makes me happy. Why is it not enough?
Why do I find myself “fine” and happy one minute and ready to cry the next? Some things set me off so quickly into rage that it’s ruining my marriage. Why is this happening to me? I recently took myself off of Paxil due to extreme weight gain (12 pounds in a couple of months that I cannot contribute to holiday goodies) and the fact that it was not even helping. This is not the first time that I have complained about this particular anti-depressant and I am telling everyone within earshot not to take it! That is unless you do not mind gaining lots of weight like everyone else I have talked to that has experience with the drug.
But, am I back at square one? Am I as irritable and bitchy as I was before I stopped? In this self debate, I have seen commercials for bi-polar depression. Now, I am not a hypochondriac and I do not usually believe everything I see on TV, not that I believe it now. What I do know however, is that one minute I am happy as can be and the next something sends me into a fit of anger. I am trying to pay attention to the triggers so that I can more thoroughly talk to the doctor about it.
One thing I have noticed is that I do not like to have to repeat myself. This also makes me wonder, what makes me so righteous? I have the worst memory ever and always have to ask for the person to repeat themselves. I also know that it doesn’t always bother me. So, I wonder if it’s a certain time of the day, a particular subject or perhaps an overload due to other situations going on at the same time? I will have to check in to this one.
What seems to be the biggest trigger of all is when I am not organized or cannot do something correctly. A big issue for me is my memory, or lack there of. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to change my passwords on line because I cannot remember them. Or, I put something somewhere so that I do not lose it and then cannot remember where it is! I will more often than not wind up cursing myself for being so stupid. I promise to become more organize or change the password to something I would never forget until of course the next time comes. What’s even more frustrating is when I enter a password one, two times with no luck and then perhaps that third time works. Or, I change the password to the same exact thing that I was just trying that didn’t work and the very next time that I try to sign on it doesn’t work again. If I were rich, I could see me throwing a lot of computers out of the window. Instead, I have to bite my tongue and try again even it’s in tears. Probably sounds like I should just avoid the computer but I cannot.
I cannot think of any other triggers at the moment but I do know that I have been blamed for being more friendly at work versus home. This is often the case however, we can all name a reason there and my work is not in an office or 9-5 so the stimuli is different a lot of the time. The problem with this situation is that even that’s not a constant any more. I have found myself with a lot less patience for these strangers lately too. I am better able to tolerate it because it’s my job and necessary if I want said job. Still, it’s not normal and I do not know how much longer I can withstand the issues. Hopefully, it is simply a pain situation and the recent surgery will fix that.
What are your triggers and how do you handle them?
If I were on a deserted island, what’s the one thing I would want to have with me? Food.
Since then, at Trader Joe’s in Cincinnati, I found an Aloe Vera Drink! Similar to the one I found a picture of on Flickr.com (jonas_l’s)———————————->
The one that I found isn’t grape flavor though.
I absolutely loved it! The drink has a somewhat chunky because it does have some aloe bits in it. The texture was not a problem and the flavor was quite refreshing. With the health benefits and the wonderful taste, this is something that I will easily continue through out the new year.
The Aloe plant is used both in it’s natural form from the plant and in a bottle or jar as a topical for burns and cuts. When I found the canned aloe, I was really excited. After doing research, I found out that it is good for the stomach and intestines as it heals and protects. This makes it good for Crohn’s sufferers and those with IBS. I also find now that it’s good for weight loss, immune system, diabetes, high blood pressure and more.
I cannot wait to get back to my Trader Joe’s for some more!
This is actually someone making Mozzarella but you get the idea.
