I’ve been trying to get on the Wii Fit every day – to at least do something.  I’ve managed to this week, and have done more strength training than anything else.  The way the Wii Fit works is that it uses your body for resistance.  I’ve found that my concentration is very bad and I’m tripping over my toes somewhat.  It’s like those toes don’t respond to what I’m telling them to do.  If there is any break in my concentration at all, I’ll trip and fall.  I’m finding even the small exercises are challenging my mental abilities just as much as my physical ones.  I blame it on the pain medication I’m on.  Although I’m better than I was in the past, it’s still exhausting by the time I’m finished.  My 10 minute session will take 1/2 hour of mental prep and up to 2 hours of rest and recovery afterwards. 

The good news is that I am seeing some results.  I made it up the stairs in our house one foot after the other today!  Being one who always tries to push things, I tried to come down the stairs the same way, but only made it halfway.  Oh well, I made it up and that’s what counts!  I’m so happy!  My knee is only a little bit sore, too.  I’m definitely feeling stronger, so I will keep trying to work on it as I can.

I’ve been drinking my aloe vera juice twice per day, and I’m feeling really good.  I feel like it’s helping my digestive system (as anyone who has been taking painkillers will know, they can mess you up horribly).  My skin is feeling smoother, too.  I will keep at it. 

Be well.

I had a good talk via text with my sister the other night.  She is concerned that I’m doing too much.  I appreciate her concern.  I can assure her that I’m only doing what I can on any given day and going with my pain.  If my hip or my knee is aching, I may skip that day, but I still try to weigh in.  If I’m only hurting a bit, I take my breakthrough pain medication and do a warm-up which is 3 minutes and see if that gets the kink out.  The workout I’m doing is by no means strenuous, It’s very very low-key and doesn’t involve any jarring.  The maximum I go is 10 minutes.  What I’ve been enjoying the most is a light ‘step’ for 3 minutes (with the basic 1″ step for Wii Fit – it’s like walking backwards and forwards and then steps to the side) and then a boxing for 4 minutes (with a punch and putting one foot or the other forward) and then the 3-minute step again.  I’ve been cleared by my doctor for 5 minutes on an elliptical machine, and I think this is much less strenuous, plus I’ve promised to stop when it hurts.  I’m doing the actual exercises about 3 to 4 days a week.  I’m adding in a couple of strength training exercises that add-on 2 minutes to try to strengthen my core muscles – as I’ve spent so much time in bed over the last 8 years or so that they are very weak.

Honestly, if I can do the 3 minute ‘step’ without breaking a sweat, after 8 years of being nearly bedridden and 5 months of being definitely so, it can’t be that strenuous!    The boxing does tire me out, there’s a lot of arm swinging, and I have weak arms!

I hope my sister doesn’t worry too much.  I know I don’t want to hurt myself and have to rest until I’m better.  Best to take a day off here and there and not have to take a whole month off when something goes wrong, I think.

Be well.

After my doctor’s visit, we stopped to pick up some groceries.  It made things very clear as to why I don’t participate in this activity.  Aside from the aches and pains, blah blah, I was glad to get in some movement, though.  The store was very cold.  Once I hit the freezer section my body was just in total spasm.  It made me think of what’s to come when the weather turns.  Things are all very sweet and I can seem to do so much more in the summer, but once the chill hits the air my body revolts and I have an even harder time with daily tasks.  I much prefer to live in denial and have that a surprise every year.  I hate to live with dread.

So, yesterday was kind of a dud, but I did get up this morning after a brief lie-in and do some time on the Wii Fit.  I did some strength training and added an extra 2 minutes of aerobic activity to make up for it, but by the time I got to the extra time my toes were getting caught on the board.  I think my legs were a bit tired.  Ah, progress!  I have made some.  I used to have to sit down between activities and now I can stand for the full 10 minutes while I do things.  That’s very good for me.  I still have to be very slow and deliberate, and likely always will be, but I can live with that.

Be well.

One thing common to all the doctors I’ve seen regarding my Endo is their belief in dietary changes to help manage the illness.  One of the most prestigious doctors I saw was just amazing.  He is a fabulous surgeon, and very dedicated to his work.  His wife lives with Endo, and he is a major proponent of dietary measures to control symptoms.  He is different, however, in that he tries each and every diet before recommending it.  Now THAT’s dedication!  The diet he was a fan of when I last saw him, before I needed an ob/gyn, was The Cancer Prevention Diet.  This diet is fantastic, but I have an allergy to both fish and soy, so I had difficulty following it.  We often clashed over whether diet was the answer.  I found that dietary measures didn’t provide as much help as I needed, but I’ve certainly cut down on caffeine and tried to cut down on sugar (which is very, very difficult for me).  My weight has been a major issue for about the past 14 years.  Even when I was able to attend the gym regularly, before the birth of my children, and before my hip and back pain became too great to do regular workouts, I had trouble keeping my weight down.  I’ve always been very careful about what I eat – I’m not a big eater at all.  In fact, my kids started to eat more than I did per meal by the time they were four. 

My diet looks a lot different these days.  My hubby prepares my meals – I’m not able to stand long enough to prepare even a sandwich.  I find it very difficult to get the items out of the cupboards and fridge as well – bending and lifting, even a bit, is right out of the question, still.  I’m trying to cut down on salt.  It’s amazing how much salt is in all of our food – in some of the strangest places!  I’ve just started drinking aloe vera juice on a daily basis.  I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.  I’m eating 5 prunes a day to keep constipation at bay.  To this end (pardon the pun) I also take a tablespoonful of PEG (Poly ethylene glycol) in my coffee every morning.  Constipation is a constant worry with the amount of painkillers I take, so it’s something I have to work to prevent every day.  Other than my morning coffee, I don’t drink any more caffeine-filled products, unless it’s as a treat, and I avoid pop unless it’s a special occasion.  I do allow myself a daily treat – either Pocky or some chocolate covered licorice (yummier than it sounds) but try to not overdo it.  The rest:  whole grains, lean meats, chicken, and following Canada’s Food Guide is very basic.  I’ve definitely improved over the past decade, but what’s made the most difference is banishing my period, and not changing my diet. 

Be well.

I did some walking through Wal-Mart yesterday morning.  I wore my pedometer and walked around for 45 minutes.  When I got out of the store I checked the pedometer and it had registered 29 steps!  I’m sure my pedometer is off now!  My back was killing me and my knees were aching by the time I finished walking around.  When I got home, I decided to do the Wii Fit and try to do some of the light, low impact aerobics to loosen up.  It felt good, but I think I need a rest.  I did a bit of the slow 1 person ‘run’ (which is actually a walk in place, or I move my hips from side to side on bad days)  and I had the worst foot cramps.  I’m drinking more water now just to try to avoid this.

I was speaking with the kids’ day camp director, and he swears by drinking 2 oz of aloe juice in water daily.  I decided to try it, so on my morning stop at Wal-Mart (good gracious, I spend an awful lot of time there) I picked some up, but I also found this lovely aloe drink that has pieces of actual aloe pulp floating in it.  It’s delicious.  So, I’m giving that a try as well.  We’ll see if that gives any benefit.  I have horribly dry skin, and I’d love it if it would help.

Today I spent with the 3 minute aerobic ‘step’ workout (gee, it sounds so much grander than it is, actually, as I mentioned, it’s the 1″ step and just stepping on and off, I’m basically trying to not trip over my feet still ) and then did 4 minutes of strength training – all on the Wii Fit of course, and then another 3 minutes of the aerobics.  I did see the ‘real’ step in the store today, it’s an actual 4-6″ step like they use in gyms.  I’d love to be able to graduate to that.  But first I have to be able to walk up and down stairs without stepping up and then bringing my other foot to the same step and then continuing like that.   I have to walk up steps a) like a normal person and b) without my cane before I can graduate!  At least I have a goal, though. 

The way I’m feeling now – my knees are aching so bad, I have to put some analgesic cream on them, and my back and hip are just out of commission.  I just want to go to sleep to escape the pain.  I did sleep a good bit this afternoon.  I think I need to take a day off and let my knees catch up with this new state of affairs.  I may be pushing them too hard.  I drank more water today and my feet weren’t cramping, which is good, but tomorrow looks like it might just be a rest day. 

Be well.

Anyhoo, I and the hubby took the kids to the movie today and planned to do some walking around the mall while we were at it.  I gladly strapped on my pedometer to see how many steps I would get in, just to have an idea.  Dr. Oz says we should aim for 10,000 steps per day – that’s not going to happen anytime soon, but I’d like to know just where I stand.  (so to speak).  We saw the movie, ate lunch and did some shopping.  My back was killing me – and I mean I had to get someone to take off my shoes when we got home because I couldn’t bend over to do it.  I’m so tired right now I can barely type.  We left the house at 11:00 a.m. and left the mall at 4:45, granted we had some sitting time (and plenty of it) but we had to have walked for at least an hour in there somewhere, right?  I peeled off my pedometer when we got home and found the number 219 on it.  I’ve walked 219 steps today.  How long do I have to go to do 10,000 steps?  OMG, I don’t even want to think about it.  The amount of breakthrough medication (ie, pain medication I have to take to bridge the gap between my regular dose and the pain I’m feeling when I’m active – endorsed by my doc of course, but within limits) I’d have to take is just frightening me. 

I’m hoping something is wrong with my pedometer, and maybe I didn’t do it right.  I’m going shopping again tomorrow as a precursor to the doctor’s appointment I have in the afternoon.  I will skip the Wii Fit workout because I will have an active enough day to fill all my requirements for activity, but I’m going to be wearing that pedometer and maybe re-read the directions.

Be well.

Today I woke up early and was going to go shopping with my hubby, but just couldn’t get going.  I was in a total physical and mental fog all day.  I managed to squeeze in 10 minutes of slow Wii Fit exercise, but I barely worked up a sweat.  I dragged myself back to bed.  I had so many things I wanted to do today, but I spent the day reading magazines and watching TV.  I just couldn’t motivate myself up for anything more.  I finally fell asleep for a three hour nap around mid afternoon again.  I wonder if it’s still the Botox, or if my body is begging for rest to repair itself.  I guess we’ll really see next week.  If this is continuing on to next week, I’ll start to worry, and maybe just push myself through it (although I’m due to visit my doc anyway, I may mention it).  It’s really disappointing, I was enjoying having a bit more energy – I was able to go for about 2 or 3 hours before needing that rest, and 1 or 2 busy days before needing that rest day.  My usual schedule was one day on and then one day off – One day to do things and one day to rest.   I do have a history of pushing myself too hard, so maybe it’s no surprise that I’m expecting a bit too much once again.  I’m so afraid of being lazy I’ll do anything to avoid it.

Be well.

In other news, I did get up and do 10 minutes on the Wii Fit again.  I was very mindful of it this morning, as I was wondering why I’m able to do this at all.  It’s very well designed.  The board, if you haven’t seen it, is only an inch and a half off the ground, and the beginner aerobic workouts are very slow and give me enough time to plant my feet, whereas with general walking I sometimes trip over myself.  I haven’t tripped too hard yet – knock wood – but have worked hard enough to build a gentle sweat.  I’m just glad to be doing something again.  It feels great. 

One thing that’s concerning me is how exhausted I am.  I was always very tired, something I put on to my medication, to being in extreme pain, to being bored – that’s why I was sleeping all the time.  Now I’m going to bed at 10:00 p.m. and waking at 9:00 a.m. and yet I’m still ready for a 3 hour nap in the afternoon.  Hell, I could go to sleep now if I stopped long enough.  Part of me is wondering if getting a bit of movement in my life (I dare not call it exercise, it hardly qualifies) is just enough to tire me out, but that doesn’t make sense.  I feel more energized when awake, but also ready for a sleep.  Will this pass when I get used to moving some more?

Be well.

After the fun, I saw the Running Room store in the hospital was open, so I perused the walking shoes.  I tried on a pair and they felt great!  I bought them right away, and I’m looking forward to using them.

I was able to get to my appointment, and had my shots.  It wasn’t as unpleasant as in the past, and my doctor mentioned he thought I might be improving!  Celebrate!  I was so happy!  I had the doctor look at my sore knee, and he thought it may be hurting due to disuse, based on the five months I was bedridden waiting for my gall bladder surgery.  I asked about rehab, and was told I could do some light exercise on my own and skip physical therapy for now (yay!  I hate PT!) as long as I promised to do only a bit at a time and not to overdo it.  That is going to be a big challenge for me.  I tend to do too much when I get going.  I remember one time when I was able to work out regularly, I had an ovarian cyst burst, and I kept on – trying to finish my workout.  I’m just a bit too focused on the numbers sometimes.

I got home after the injections and slept for the rest of the afternoon.  It felt great – they mix the Botox with some local anaesthetic, so I always get an amazing rest that day. 

I slept in this morning and did 10 minutes with the Wii Fit and broke a light sweat – I was pleased.  I didn’t overdo, and I didn’t push myself over the edge.  I really didn’t want to do anything today, and I worked mostly my arms with large motions.  I have to in order to avoid tripping.  I still don’t have great control over my legs.  Also, I played Wii Tennis with my hubby this afternoon.  We played  a couple of games standing and a couple of games sitting.  It was great fun and we laughed uproariously.  My arms are pleasantly tired and I had fun.  All in all a good day.  I’m more concerned about doing something than ‘burning calories’ and I have to keep reminding myself of that. 

I did get the doctor’s recommendation and he said it would be okay for me to look at getting an elliptical machine down the road IF I only used it for about 5 minutes at a time to start and I didn’t overdo things.  My focus is really on pacing myself, and keeping going without overdoing it.  It’s a huge challenge for me, and I don’t know if I’m really capable of it.  I have plenty of people policing me, though.  Somehow I have to find the middle ground between flat-out potato-ness and training-for-nothing mode.  Somehow my brain has lost the moderation switch along the way. 

Be well.

On July first I was treated to a long-missed surprise.  My period.  I’ve been using a Mirena IUD for either 4 or 5 years, I can’t remember – either way, I’m sure I’ve sucked the thing dry of the hormones it provides (if unfamiliar, Mirena provides an IUD component, plus a progesterone component which can and will for many women stop their periods completely.  It worked very well for me, some women have breakthrough bleeding, but I didn’t.) .  I was in agony for the Canadian long weekend.  It was a terrible reminder that I do still have endometriosis and all the symptoms therein.  I spent the Thursday to Monday in bed, clutching my abdomen, crying, moaning, trying to not move, with horrible back pain, and really, really nauseated.  I’m scheduled to see my GYN in August, so hopefully I will be able to replace the device and have some of the same early relief that I had in the beginning.  It’s no wonder that I really only had two periods between my children.  I had my first period after my daughter was born and immediately begged my husband to make the decision that if we were going to have another baby, we were going to do it RIGHT AWAY! 

In other news, I’m feeling quite well in terms of my back and the healing process from my gall bladder.  As I mentioned, my sister and her friend left their men at home and visited me for a few days, and we had a very good time.  We did some shopping, some girl stuff, like pedicures and visiting the local ice-cream shop.  I had to have hubby drive me to and from, but was able to get around and walk for up to 2 hours with occasional, but not interfering, rests.  I was quite proud. 

An interesting comment was made during this time.  My sister mentioned that her lawyer has CP and was talking about the movie Avatar – the lawyer was so moved by the scene where the wheelchair-bound hero gets his psychically-controlled Avatar and begins to run, that he began to cry – he cried even when describing it!  I told her that scene moved me, as well.  I cried when I saw it in the theatre and when I described it to my husband.  Her friend piped in “But (the lawyer) is in a wheelchair!”  to which I retorted “So that makes his tears more valid, does it?”  It got me to wondering.  Does it matter more if someone can’t use his legs at all?  Does that make him ‘more disabled’?  Is it because this woman is young, she just doesn’t get it?  I mean, I use a cane, I am never going to run again, In fact, even if I’m able to walk without a cane at some point, I will always walk with a distinctive gait – a limp, and a very noticable one, and never ever very quickly.  I’ve come to terms with that, to a certain degree.  But do people think that I’ll get better someday?  Is it because she knows me better than she knows this mythical lawyer, she can look past my physical challenges and see me as more than a disabled person?  More things to think about. 

Some really good news is that I’ve been out every day since the 5th, except the weekend, which I spent with my kids – healing and hanging around.  I’m feeling stronger and more energized.  Some bad news is that I was at the endocrinologist and finally weighed myself.  I have gained 23 lbs in the months that I was lying about waiting for surgery.  Hopefully this will work itself off now that I can move again.  My blood pressure is good, as is my cholesterol, so that’s a bonus.  I’m having the bloodwork done again, just to check.  I will be seeing my doc again to ensure I can do some physical activity and get a recommendation. 

Tomorrow is Botox day, so I will be getting the needles all over.  I’m not looking forward to it, but the good news is that I’m not in as much agony as I have been on the day before in the past, so that must be a fantastic sign.  I’m very happy.  Afterwards, there is a New Balance store in the Hospital, so I think I’ll be going to look at some fantastic walking shoes.  Very expensive, but worth it.  I’ll let you know what happens!

Be well.