What I've Learned This Week

The most important thing I've learned this week is that I hate doing a garage sale. I put way too many hours into sorting clothes (even washing and drying some of them), creating an Excel spreadsheet and setting up tables and clothing racks in an attractive fashion. I then sat out in my driveway for five hours (morning started out at 41 degrees, brr.) and only garnered $75 for my efforts. So, not worth it. However, I put two items up on EBay and within a couple of hours they were sold. In addition, one was sold at the price I was asking for at the garage sale (that people were complaining about) and the other was sold for even more than I offered it for at the sale. Guess where my time and energy is going from now on! Yep, I plan on becoming an EBay mogul.

I also learned that my son shouldn't have excessive amounts of sugar. Please note that the actual amount of sugar he has is still probably significantly below the average American child's intake. However, I have noticed that when he does have something sugary within a half hour there's a horrible mood change. He becomes hyper, belligerent and attacks his sister. When I put him in time out or ask him to stop doing whatever is wrong he hits me. The other day this angered me so much I put him in his room so that I wouldn't be tempted to smack him back. And boy was I tempted! All this bad behavior occurred because he tried a lollipop for the first time and had two homemade cookies (recipe for 24 cookies calls for 1/2 cup of sugar). So, today when I bake more cookies I'm going to halve the sugar called for and see if that improves things. I don't have to worry about lollipops today because he wasn't good enough yesterday to earn one for today. He's working on earning tomorrow's. However, other than this irritating behavior I didn't see any horrible reactions to these lollipops. I am so in love with the company who makes them, Yummy Earth. The lollipops are:
Gluten Free
Egg-free
Dairy-free
Peanut-free
Tree Nut free
Wheat-free
Soy-free
NO MSG
100% Natural Colors
No chemical dyes
Real Fruit Extracts
100% Natural Flavors
Certified Organic
Kof-K Kosher Parve
Plant: no tree nuts or peanuts.

What a relief for a parent with a food allergic child.

Stay tuned for more nuggets of wisdom from me in the coming days.

Medical Updates

I've been very busy lately in the health department lately. I've been trying to get therapy, I had an appointment with the neurologist last week and today I saw my endocrinologist and I'll be having two MRIs done tonight. Phew. I'm getting very tired of all this but maybe I'll get some answers. I did convince the endocrinologist to increase my Cytomel dosage (synthetic T3 hormone) as I'd had luck with the higher dose in the past. He wants to have my thyroid levels checked in eight weeks along with testing my vitamin D levels and my adrenal glands. I also convinced him that I should have an ultrasound done of my thyroid since I used to have that done in Northern Jersey but haven't since I moved here. He argued that it wasn't necessary since I didn't have nodules.... Um, correction buddy. The ultrasounds I had done up north did indicate there were nodules there but they were cold. I think it's important to have this done because I remember reading an article about CFS and thyroid issues that found thyroid malignancy in ME/CFS patients greatly exceeds the normal incidence of thyroid malignancy in any known subgroup. Check out a summary of the article at http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/id/8895

Anyway, the MRIs I'm having done tonight are for my brain and lower spine. Next week I'll meet with the neurologist again to go over those results and to have an EEG done. According to webmd.com an EEG is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your brain. Special sensors (electrodes) are attached to your head and hooked by wires to a computer. The computer records your brain's electrical activity on the screen or on paper as wavy lines. Certain conditions, such as seizures, can be seen by the changes in the normal pattern of the brain's electrical activity.

I don't want them to find anything scary but I'm really hoping we can find some answers here. I'm tired of the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome and the idea that it can't be cured. I don't want to just treat symptoms because that gets you on the path of taking medicines with icky side effects that sometimes are worse than the symptoms they're supposed to cure.

A bit of good news. My daughter had her 18 month appointment and she was in the 90th percentile for both height (33 inches) and weight (27 pounds, 13 ounces). My girl is HEALTHY!

I Love My Husband (No, Really!)

Our anniversary is still eight days away yet I've decided that this blog will express my appreciation for my husband because he has simply outdone himself over the past couple of days. We all went to my son's soccer game yesterday and he was a great Dad there to both kids. In the afternoon I took my son out to two festivals and when we got back there was my husband slaving over a hot oven. He made us brisket with carrots and potatoes and he threw together some knishes from scratch. That's not so easy when you can't use butter or eggs! He did a splendid job though. Today he made a special lunch for just him and me (kids got stuck with leftovers) and then he vacuumed and mopped the kitchen. I am overwhelmed. I don't know if this is all a result of my increased libido but hey I'm willing to keep that going if this is the reward! It doesn't hurt that I'm looking at my husband and thinking he's a hottie.

Of course, all these yummy foods are undermining my efforts to lose weight but I think once dear hubby returns to work on Monday I'll be able to get back on track with my diet.

We will be celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary on October 13. The traditional gifts are iron and candy and the modern is wood. I ended up buying him this beautiful wood bowl - hand carved from maple and I will also splurge on some gourmet candies. Unfortunately, I have a follow-up appointment with my neurologist that day but that won't take up the whole day and, really, what exactly can we do to celebrate the day with two young kids in tow?

Funny How Things Work Out!

The other day I was bumming. I went to see a new therapist, this time a psychologist. I explained to her my frustration with my son and how he wasn't listening to me. She suggested that he was bored and maybe if he spent some more time with boys his age he'd be a little more manageable. Problem is, I rarely have the energy to get him places where he can interact with boys his age. I've already joined a playgroup which will hopefully provide some of that for him and we're doing soccer but I really can't invest much more of my time and energy. Anyway, yesterday, he was out shopping with his Daddy and I was out for a walk with my daughter. When we came around the corner and started heading back to the house I heard laughter and saw some scampering in leaves going on. My neighbor had been outside with his 3-year-old son and, for the first time, the boys were both outside at the same time and took the opportunity to play with each other. My neighbor's son is about seven months younger but that didn't seem to matter. The two of them hit it right off. When my neighbor encouraged his son to go home so they could fix a snack for his older sister I actually suggested that his son stay a little longer and I'd watch them so they could keep playing. I was enjoying the interaction between them so much. They played about 15 minutes longer before we had to call an end to it. Unfortunately, my son was still a cheeky monkey that evening but at least we all had some fun. Anyway, I just find it really funny that we saw a need here and then, all of a sudden, a solution provided itself. My neighbor informed me that his son wasn't in preschool either and that he'd been looking for some kids his age to play with too. I like my neighbor so this may actually work out for us! Yay!

In other news, I made it to my neurologist appointment yesterday morning. After a very long wait in the waiting room I taken into her office for a discussion of my symptoms, when they showed up and we did a quick evaluation of my reactions to different things. Well, she didn't laugh me out of her office and she wants to do a bunch of tests including an MRI of my brain and lower spine and an EEG to monitor my brain waves. So, it remains to be seen if there's something going on here.

I am really eager to see the endocrinologist this week to see if my depression is due to low thyroid levels. It would be terrific if it was. A quick adjustment of my thyroid medication would set everything right and things could go back to normal.

Now, here's the weird thing about this depression I've been having - yes, I'm crying a lot and feeling pretty rotten but I'm also really eager to meet new people, try new things and I've had a libido like I haven't seen since my twenties. I laugh a lot when I'm not crying, honestly! So, it just seems like a weird kind of depression.

Well I'm off to a local festival (or two) this afternoon. I expect we'll get a lot of free stuff for my son from the fire department and perhaps I'll buy something fun for myself or the house.

Busy, busy, busy

The past few days have been super busy for me. On Sunday we drove up to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania so we could spend some time with my Mom and also visit the cemetery my Dad's buried in. We normally would've gone in August but my husband was traveling then. Anyway, although it rained most of the time it was still a good opportunity to see some leaves changing colors. I love this time of year. Sunday was very nice. We spent a lot of time with my Mom and I pigged out at this sinful restaurant called the Country Cupboard. I got the buffet and pigged out on dishes like prime rib, baked corn, mashed potatoes and cherry pie. Yes, I know I'm not supposed to be eating things like pie because of the gluten but I couldn't resist. After all, I haven't received an official diagnosis, I just think I might have celiac. Monday was a tad disappointing. After a rough night's sleep (my son had some night terrors), we reluctantly woke up around 8. We started getting the kids dressed and their breakfast ready. Just as my husband was going into the shower there was a knock on the door. My Mom had just had breakfast and decided to come over. I didn't mind since an extra pair of hands with two young kids is always appreciated. However, the surprise came when she told me she was going to get on the road soon. This was unexpected since I'd planned on all of us going to the cemetery together followed by lunch before we all hit the road. When she saw the look I gave her she explained that she always gets anxious the day she has to drive. I had a hard time understanding this because she always complains how she doesn't see the kids enough and that when she does we only spend a couple of hours with her. Now she has the opportunity to spend a few more hours with them and she's not taking it. I will never understand this woman. However, my issues with my Mom will be discussed another day. I got over the hurt and managed to enjoy the rest of the day, especially our yummy lunch at the Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport. I love their garlic fries and root beer. I'm beginning to understand how I was able to put on five pounds in two days now!

On top of all this madness and gluttony, Rosh Hashanah began Monday night after we got home. My husband and I were exhausted and chose to just order Chinese delivery and the kids had leftover chicken and french fries. So, it wasn't the holiday feast we should've had. However, I made up for that last night. I roasted a whole chicken with an apple inside it and basted it with a yummy mixture of olive oil and honey. Yummy. I also baked sweet potatoes, cooked some rice and bok choy. For dessert we had a honey cake and my husband and I enjoyed a glass of Riesling, a nice sweet wine.

I figured all this wasn't bad cooking when I had to take food allergies into concern AND I'm not Jewish. My husband is and we agreed to raise the kids Jewish so I get to enjoy all the Jewish holidays in addition to the Christian I grew up with. How this all works will be discussed in another blog. Anyway, my husband really appreciated the dinner and I think I actually got some of the symbolism right with all the sweet treats. Oh, and we had apples dipped in honey for an afternoon snack earlier in the day.

This morning I got to enjoy some one-on-one time with my son. I took him to his first mommy and me pottery class at the local art studio. We made a pencil cup out of slab clay using slip to hold it all together. He got to use a stamp to make a pattern on the cup and then he sponge painted it blue. I think it will look really nice after it gets fired in the kiln. We'll be picking it up next week. It was so nice to have that time alone with him and to do something fun like that. One thing about having more than one child you never get to spend as much time with each child as you'd like.

So, that's what I've been up to. My husband's home this week so I'm hoping to relax a bit more over the next couple of days. I have an appointment with a new therapist tomorrow night. Hopefully, she'll be more helpful than the nut I was seeing. Then, I'm going to see a neurologist on Friday to see if my memory loss, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, balance issues and headaches are caused by something other than the chronic fatigue syndrome. I really do hope we find something fixable. I'm tired of being stuck with an illness that isn't curable.