Cat's Exercise Diary

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Well good luck with that Cat.Being the age that I am I tend to swerve techno stuff.I'm quite intelligent, but I feel things are going too fast and I don't need it.I've used a pedometer and we had a thing on the bikes that told us distance,speed etc.but it got wet and we haven't replaced it.And of course,who hasn't got a sat-nav ? Hubby has often had a few choice words with "her".
 
Some fitbits are pretty basic and really only track steps like a pedometer would. My old fitbit, the one I lost, was fairly basic. It tracked my steps and also counted how many flights of stairs I walked up, which was a neat feature. We put that to good use in Japan - we walked all of Fushimi Inari, which is the shrine in Kyoto that has 10,000 orange torii gates. What they don't tell you is that when you walk all of Fushimi Inari, you're walking to the top of a small mountain and back down again. It looked flat on the map, but it was definitely steep in real life! It felt like we just went up, up, up. After that walk, my fitbit said we walked up the equivalent of about 70 flights of stairs. So that was cool to know, to put a number to how far up we walked.

My new fitbit is more fancy. It tracks my heart rate and can supposedly recognize various different types of exercise, like if I'm lifting weights, or bicycling, it supposedly can tell what I'm doing. I'm skeptical of how accurate that might be, so I manually tell it when I'm lifting weights or whatever. It did automatically recognize that I took a walk yesterday, but considering that it's really just a fancy pedometer, that's not surprising. :p

I'm going to the gym in a little while to do a weights session, so we'll see what my fitbit has to say about that. Tomorrow, I don't have a workout planned, but I do have to help a co-worker with some things. We ordered a whole bunch of stuff for work, so we have hundreds of boxes now. And the boxes were all labeled and organized by me, but now we have to start taking things out of the boxes and sending them out. So I'll be lifting and moving boxes around tomorrow.

The tentative plan for Saturday is getting a bit full at the moment - ideally, I'd like to get up, eat a mid-morning snack, walk the dog, lift weights, then go visit my grandma. That might be too much all at once, though. It'll depend on how I'm feeling and how energetic I am that day. I'm definitely going to visit my grandma, as she's on borrowed time and my priority is to see her as often as I can while she's still around. But something else might get dropped off the agenda if I'm not feeling up to both walking the dog and lifting weights.

Sunday, I think will be a rest day. I haven't had a rest day yet this week. I may walk Lily if the weather is nice, but other than that I won't do anything active. My Green Bay Packers are in the playoffs, and they play on Sunday afternoon, so during the game I will be on the couch glued to the game. :)

Monday I have the day off of work for the holiday (MLK Jr Day). Hubby is also off that day. I'm hoping I can get him to work out with me - he usually hates going to the gym, but sometimes I can drag him along for a workout, and he always thanks me afterwards. I haven't been to the big paid membership gym in months, and although I'm guessing it'll be still quite busy with New Year's resolutioners, I'd still love to go to that gym. It's huge and has tons of equipment and I can always get a really good, full workout there. (Well, as long as resolutioners aren't hogging any of the machines!) So maybe we'll go there. If not, I'll work out at home again.

I don't have plans past that except for a tentative idea for next week Friday. That's inauguration day, and I feel like I should treat it like a national day of mourning. I'm not going to be online at all that day and no TV except for Netflix. I refuse to give that horrible man even one iota of attention that day. My hope is that the weather is decent that day - if so, I'm going to take Lily and go off into the woods for as long as I can. Just get away from everyone and everything. Hubby is off of work as well so maybe I can convince him to go hiking with me. And when I'm not hiking, I'll do whatever else I can at home that involves no TV and no internet and avoiding people. Sewing, crocheting, listening to records (yes, I have records and a record player, and sometimes when I'm in a certain mood I'll dig them out and listen to them).
 
I just got back from the gym. I had a really great workout! No stamina issues at all today - I easily did my warm-up on the stationary bike and felt like I could do more, at no point did I feel winded or like I wanted to quit. I also took a couple more Tums than usual, and I had a few belches, but no other reflux symptoms at all. No acidy taste in my mouth like I'd had the past couple of weights workouts. Progress! :) I feel really good, very pleased with my workout.
 
I did help my co-worker with boxes today and got a bit sweaty doing so, I think that counts as doing a workout. My co-worker recently had surgery and she's not supposed to lift heavy things, so I did most of the lifting and moving of the boxes.

Will see what I'm capable of doing tomorrow. I might just be crazy enough to do everything in the plan - walk Lily, lift weights, then go visit my grandma. I'm feeling pretty well today, so if I'm feeling like this tomorrow, I think I can do it all. And will then of course take it easier on Sunday!
 
Well done that girl,BUT don't over do it !!! It's good that you're doing so well but watch out for "The Wall".My plans for today are very simple.Having coloured my hair (hubby hasn't noticed yet) what's new hahaha,prep'd lunch and done the floors,we're going to walk down to the Saturday market,through the park over the road,then back along the river.Then I'm going to slob out with my book.It's very cold 2c,but sunny and still.Not a bike day though.Sun's too low in the sky.
 
I think I'm okay enough to do the full plan today. I got up, made myself eat a light breakfast (I'm usually not a breakfast person at all, it tends to make me nauseous to eat too early in the day, but I want to get an early-ish workout in before I go visit my grandma, so I needed to eat at a certain time so that I can work out 2 hours afterwards). Fortunately breakfast went fine, just the slightest bit of nausea but nothing bad. I'm planning to walk Lily shortly and then come home and lift weights, then zip over to where my grandma lives and have a nice visit with her.

Part of me is slightly dreading visiting with my grandma. I know she doesn't have much time left, and I'm sort of scared that this will be my last time seeing her. That's a scary and sad thought. But hopefully my workout will somewhat insulate me from those emotions - exercise usually helps me feel so much better mentally & emotionally, at least in the short-term, which is another big part of why I want to work out right before I go to see her!

Hah, I haven't colored my hair in a bit, but my hubby never notices either. He doesn't notice when I get a hair cut, or when I get new glasses, or anything really. :p I probably could get a tattoo on my face and he wouldn't notice it, ha ha.
 
Men in general are funny creatures eh? I take great pleasure in telling him "weeks ago"
when he does eventually notice stuff.I don't take offence 'cos I know he's not alone.They're in a world of their own most of the time.
I hope your visit with Gran goes as you want it too.You really need to stop torturing yourself about what will be.It's natural to worry but it won't change anything.Hugs.
 
I did everything in the plan! I walked Lily - it was cold out but not bitterly cold, and the sun was shining and melting some of the ice. The dog park was very icy, I had to walk carefully in some spots because it was so slippery. Then I lifted weights when I got home. That felt great, I felt really good afterwards. Got in my car and headed to visit my grandma. I know she doesn't mean to do it, but she's very draining sometimes. When I have to repeat the same thing to her 27 times (not even really an exaggeration), it is draining to me. I still like seeing her, of course, but I feel like I need a rest break after that. So I felt great on the way to grandma's and drained and a bit sad on the way home. Sad because her dementia is getting worse and obviously her physical health is failing too, I know she won't be around much longer.

Well, I tried to make her happy in the time she has left. I mentioned previously that I was bringing her a pashmina scarf because she liked mine so much. Mine was blue, and I thought that pink was her favorite color so I got her a pink one. Well, she said at our visit today that blue is her favorite color. I guess I was wrong about pink! So I ended up just giving her both scarves (they weren't expensive). And because she's my grandma, she insisted on paying me for both. :p That's one of the things I had to tell her 27 times, she wrote me a check for the scarves and then the rest of our visit she kept asking if she paid me and if she gave me enough money and how much money did she give me and was that REALLY enough because those scarves must cost more than $10 apiece and I kept saying, yes, you paid me, yes, you paid me enough, please put your checkbook away, you already wrote me a check, yes, they really were $10 (and pulling up the link on my phone to show her how much they cost). So that was draining. But hopefully she is happy.
 
Ah,bless her.And you sweetheart.I'm like you and not religious,but I can see the goodness in people,and you've got it in spades.Glad you're work outs are going to plan.
 
Thank you, Carol. :) I do feel slightly bad because I won't be able to visit my grandma again for at least a couple more weeks. This coming Saturday, there's a women's march in my city (it's a sister march to the big one in Washington DC, which is of course to protest those horrible men coming into office). So I'd like to participate in that. And the following Saturday, I'm going eagle-watching and wine tasting with my parents and brother - there's a spot here where bald eagles congregate each January, and there's a winery right near there, so we do that every January. So my Saturdays are a bit busy for the next couple weeks!

Fitness-wise, I've been doing well. I walked Lily on Saturday and Sunday. Monday, it was a day off of work because of the holiday, but we got a bad ice storm so everything was very icy and we didn't leave the house at all that day. Saturday and Monday I did weights workouts at home. Sunday I only walked Lily and that was it, although the football game did get my heart rate up! My team, the Green Bay Packers, are in the playoffs, and they were playing the Dallas Cowboys, who were ranked as the #1 team this year. It was a very close game which was won by the Packers in the last seconds of the game. So we're going on to the next game in the playoffs, and if we win that one, then the Packers go to the superbowl! So I'm sure that this coming Sunday's game is going to be very stressful as well!

Today's a rest day - it's still too icy out to walk Lily, and I lifted weights yesterday, so I can't lift again today (I need at least one day in between weights workouts so that I don't injure myself). I might take a brief walk on my treadmill if I'm feeling antsy, but other than that, no workouts planned today. Tomorrow, I'm going to head to the little gym in the basement of my workplace on my lunch hour for another weights workout. Thursday, it's supposed to be quite warm out for this time of year - upper 40s F! So if it's not raining that day, I think I'll take a walk on the paved path through the woods. Friday, I am off of work and that's inauguration day, so I'm hoping to get out into the woods for some proper hiking. They are predicting rain for that day, though, so the backup plan is to do a weights workout at home. And then Saturday is the women's march - it's looking again like it will be upper 40s F, so if it's not raining I plan to ride my bike downtown and then participate in the march and then ride home. Sunday, I'd love to go to the big paid membership gym and do a nice long workout prior to watching the football game. So that's my tentative fitness plans for the week.
 
Looks like another busy weekend for you Cat,and interesting.If you get on the march I'll be right beside you and wine tasting and eagle watching,well,what's not to like.We're busy redecorating the kitchen,but after a mornings painting and clearing up managed an hour or two on the bikes.It's a lot warmer than last week,9c,but over cast so no low sun burning the eyeballs out.Going to get some leggings tomorrow while they're in stock,after a mornings wallpapering.I'd rather go eagle watching.Enjoy the rest of your day.It's 7pm here and PJs are on.
 
Carol, sounds like your weather is very similar to what ours is about to be - I googled, and 9 c is about 48 F, which is what it's going to be on Thursday through at least Sunday. So yeah, it is going to be bicycling weather, which I cannot believe because it is January in Wisconsin so it is supposed to be frigid and snowy! Not warmish and rainy. It's been a really odd winter here, weather-wise. Not that I'm complaining about upper 40s F, mind you. I'm looking forward to getting on my bike and riding down to the women's march! Although the eagle-watching may be sort of a bust because of the weather. The eagles like it when it's very cold, then they tend to congregate in one spot along a river to do their fishing (because typically the other parts of the river are frozen over, but the spot near a dam is always open). If it's warmer, then the eagles have their choice of where to go fishing and don't need to all congregate near that one spot. So it's actually a bad thing for eagle-watching, though I am still likely to see a few (on warm years like this, I'll probably see maybe 5-10 tops, and on a very cold year we sometimes see 40+ eagles). Oh well, we can still go to the wine tasting! ;) That's always good no matter what the weather is like.
 
I got 2 pairs of leggings,1 black and 1 navy blue.I wear a lot of those colours (UK spell.) and I like to be co-ordinated.Black trousers,top,shoes etc.even my underwear is matched.(in case you were wondering hahaha)I have never,to my knowledge worn mis-matched bra & pants.Got the wallpapering finished in the kitchen so might get out on the bikes tomorrow.I envy your eagle adventure.We only have wild Golden and Sea Eagles in Scotland.Plenty of hawks and falcons and kites in the countryside though,if you actively look for them.
 
I love buying new workout clothes. :) I am not nearly as color-coordinated as you, though! Usually it's black or grey workout capris and a brightly colored top. I seem to own a lot of bright pink workout tops. My workout shoes have bright pink shoelaces, so I guess I'm color-coordinated there. :p It's completely accidental coordination though! As for underwear, ha ha, no comment! As long as it doesn't have stains/holes then I'm good, hah.

As for birds of prey, we get a lot of hawks here in the city, mostly red-tailed hawks. They're quite common here. Bald eagles we typically only see in January, although rarely we do see them at other times of year. They seem to like to go further north in the summers, and only come down here in the dead of winter to fish and roost for a short time. So as a result, eagle-watching in January has become very popular in this area! There are even bus tours that go to the best spots. We won't go on the bus, we already know where the best spots are and can drive to them all ourselves.

The latest weather report is saying that it's going to be 53 degrees F on Saturday! That's springtime weather, not January weather. But hey, I'll take it. Should be very nice weather for bicycling downtown and participating in the women's march.

I'm heading down to the little gym shortly to lift weights. I just re-vamped my workout playlist, I took out some music that was sounding stale and I added in some fresh new music. So that should keep me pumped up in the gym, I love it when I can add new music to my workout mix, it really invigorates me. Unfortunately, 2 of my favorite music groups are basically done now (one broke up permanently, the other just began what will be a very long hiatus) so now I'm going to have to seek out some new groups/singers to listen to!
 
Just got back from the gym a little while ago. I definitely was not color-coordinated today! Black workout capris, blue workout top, and orange socks. :p Oops, ha ha. Didn't feel like digging through my gym bag looking for coordinating socks. I did have a good workout and that's the important thing. The new music kept me going. I do feel quite tired now though! And even though I didn't do any abdominal exercises, my ab muscles feel quite tired now. It feels like I did about 200 crunches but I didn't do any. I think that's just an IBD thing? I try to go easy on my abdominal area but it likes to yell at me a bit anyway. Oh well. It's not pain or anything, it's just sort of a general muscle fatigue feeling.
 
It looks like a walk is not happening today, rain in the forecast yet again. That's okay, because I remembered that today is one of my favorite days - it's $2 pants day! There's a cute little upscale thrift shop in town, and they run different sales every Thursday. The $2 pants sale is my favorite. I've gotten some brand-new, designer pants there. So I'm going bargain hunting instead of forest walking today. :)

I won't be online at all tomorrow - no TV and no internet for me, I don't want to give any attention to that horrible man. And Saturday I'll be at the march, protesting the horrible man. So I'll probably be back online Sunday or Monday.
 
That horrible man will be on our TV at 4pm tomorrow,but I won't be watching.Trouble is it will be on all the news progs.and in all the papers so there'll be no escaping it for weeks to come.As to my colour co-ordination,Ha !! it's not a virtue,I've got nothing better to think about and I can be very particular about silly things.Luckily my typical untidy hubby stops me getting out of line.And I do wear colourful tops and scarves with my dark basics.
 
I know I can't avoid the horrible man altogether, but it feels like the right thing to do to avoid him tomorrow. The only TV/internet I'm allowing myself tomorrow is Netflix, and even then obviously nothing political. I don't subscribe to any newspapers, and I won't even turn on my computer tomorrow. I'm taking the day off from work, and hopefully will go hiking if the weather behaves (it's looking iffy right now).
 
Our daily paper has him on the front page today.I don't think he's well supported here,people are just interested / concerned what it will mean for you,us,and the world in general.
Was planning a ride today but I'm not having a good start to the day,hopefully by lunchtime.
 
He's honestly terrifying. I just read that there's now some bill that congress introduced that would remove the US from the UN??!! Um, what! Every day is now like a nightmare!

I didn't go hiking and I didn't go to the march. It was too rainy to go hiking on Friday, so I stayed in. And then on Saturday morning, I just couldn't stop crying. I had felt this impending sense of doom all day on Friday, and on Saturday I woke up and remembered that we have a new president, and I just couldn't stop the tears. I could not pull myself together and I just wanted to be alone, so I stayed home from the march.

Today I'm trying to be a functional person again and that involves forcing myself to go to the gym. I still feel somewhat weepy, but better than I was yesterday. I'm planning to go to the big paid membership gym around lunchtime, then watch my Packers play and hopefully win - if they win then they go to the Superbowl, so that would be one good thing out of this miserable weekend.

I think I mentioned that one of my favorite music groups broke up recently. Well, 3 of the 4 members got back together in secret to record a goodbye song. I've been listening to it on repeat all weekend and that hasn't exactly helped me to stop crying. It's a sad song. It's a pretty song, too, though. You can turn on English captions to understand what they're saying. The phrase they keep repeating - "Annyeong, annyeong" - means "goodbye" (can also mean hello) in Korean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEkLHC7l25w
 
I did go to the big paid membership gym yesterday. That gym has a ton of equipment, so as a result I tend to have a longer and more strenuous workout when I go there. Translation: I'm sore today! :p My body isn't used to doing so much in the gym. It's a good thing, though. It makes me want to go back and go regularly so that my body adjusts and so that I get better workouts more regularly.

Hubby is a gym fail, though. I can't seem to get him to go to that gym with me anymore. He's been working as a chef, meaning long hours on his feet, and he's exhausted when he gets home from work and the last thing he wants to do is work out. He has lost weight since becoming a chef, just because he's on his feet so much and so busy & active at work. But, he's not gaining muscle, he's just lost some weight. It's not necessarily a healthy thing, you know? And fitness is all about health, at least for me it is. But I can't convince him to go with me to the gym anymore. I used to be able to drag him along - he never wanted to go, but in the past he'd go as long as I was going, although he wasn't happy about going. And after we were done working out, he'd always thank me and say that he did feel better after a workout, so I know he was getting something beneficial from going to the gym. He's just too tired now though I guess. Hmph. He told me that he's fine with us canceling his gym membership and upgrading mine. I might do that, with the upgraded membership then I could bring him with me as a guest if he decided he does want to go to the gym.

At least he's been using the punching bag at home. He told me he wanted his own set of boxing gloves (I guess he didn't want to wear mine, as they're pink!). So I got him his own pair (not pink, red) and he's been using that more than I have. So that's good, at any rate.

Today's plans are to go for a walk on the forest path. I'm so sore from yesterday's workout, but I think a walk will do me good and loosen things up a bit. Tomorrow I'd like to go to the gym again, will probably go to the little gym at work on my lunch hour. Wednesday I have a dentist appointment so no workout that lunch hour, and it'll probably end up being a rest day which is fine. Thurs I have stuff going on at work at odd hours, but I'm hoping to head to the big paid membership gym after work that day for a longer workout in the evening. Friday, not sure yet. The weather has been above freezing so the outdoor ice rinks have all melted & closed temporarily. But, the weather is supposed to get colder and snowier later in the week, so I'm hoping that I might be able to ice skate by Friday. It doesn't sound like there will be enough snow to go snowshoeing, but maybe I can skate. If it's still too warm then I'll probably just take another walk. Saturday is the eagle-watching and wine-tasting day, but I'm hoping to sneak in a workout in the evening that day. If I can't fit it in, then I'll go to the gym on Sunday instead. Those are my tentative plans for the week.
 
I think it's better to do an extensive workout every other day.I used to do Mon.morn,tues eve.and thurs.pm.Just do something gentle on the other days.
It's no good trying to encourage hubby if he's not keen,he works long and hard so it's not as though he's a couch potato and he does make an effort to do his own thing.It's nice to do things together though.We've been busy finishing off the painting etc.so haven't done much else.Hope to get out on little blackie tomorrow or Wednesday.
 
I agree, from everything I've read, rest days are necessary and there needs to be at least a day in between weight lifting sessions. Some people get around this by doing legs one day, arms the next, back the next, and so on. I'm not a fan of that, I like to go all out and do a whole body weights workout and then either have a rest day or a gentle exercise day such as walking the next day to let my body recover from doing weights. So I try to do weights every other day with either rest or something else on the days I'm not lifting.

The thing is, hubby pretty much is a couch potato when he's not working. He spends most of his evenings parked in front of the TV and/or computer. I get that he's tired, but I'm tired too - I work full-time myself, plus he's healthy while I'm still clawing my way towards remission. Yes, my job mainly involves sitting at a desk, while his job involves being on his feet all day, so I'm sure he is physically tired at the end of the day. It's just not healthy, though. He's only lost weight because he's eating less, and what he does eat seems to be food at his restaurant, which is not healthy food - it's all high fat, fried foods. (The restaurant is a brewpub so they serve what I'd call upscale bar food - like, instead of just french fries, they serve poutine, and they serve a lot of hamburgers with fancy toppings, many fried appetizers, etc.) It's not healthy. Maybe I'm a bit skewed in my view, because at this point I've pretty much come to view weight loss as unhealthy - when I'm at my sickest is when I lose weight, and when I'm getting healthy again is when I gain, and maybe I project that onto others as well. Maybe it's just my perspective. But I do feel like he needs to make fitness more of a priority than it is. I guess he's the only one who can decide that for himself, though.

I'm still going to cancel his gym membership and upgrade mine, though. The big paid membership gym is a chain, and my current membership allows me to only go to my "home" location and not other locations within the chain. But if I upgrade, I can go to other locations too. My "home" location is near my house, but there's another one not far from my work, and one in the city where my parents live, etc. I would have more workout options if I upgraded, so I'm going to (it'll be the same cost for one upgraded membership as it is for my and hubby's basic memberships, so win-win!).
 
I had my walk on the forest path, it was mostly nice. The paved part of the path was fine. I went a bit further today, there's a point where the paved path turns into a gravel path and that part has been icy for awhile now so I've avoided it up for the most part. Today it was more slushy than icy and I was wearing my boots, so I wandered down it for a bit. And I stumbled onto something odd! Well into the woods, fairly far from houses or roads, right in the middle of the path, was a large... thing. It was like a giant ball made from ice and snow and gravel and mud, I think. Like the base of a huge snowman but also containing a lot of gravel and mud. It was gigantic and just sitting smack dab in the middle of the path. I presume either teenagers or gigantic dung beetles made it. :p I took a photo of it (I always bring my camera on walks just in case) because it was so odd!

My favorite singer and one of my personal heroes is Utada Hikaru, and awhile back she had temporarily walked away from her music career because she had no independence. She was super sheltered by her record agency from her teen years onward, and by the time she was nearly 30, she realized she really had no idea how to be an adult or how to do a lot of normal things. She was talking in an interview about how the straw that broke the camel's back was that she had gone on vacation. She went out to the countryside, and she had no idea what to do while she was out there. So she asked some people, and she was told that it's nice to take a walk in the country. So every day, she took a walk, and every day she had a new experience on her walks, it was like a new adventure every day. She had never done that before, she had never just gone for a walk before, and she said that it was such a simple thing that most people take for granted, but for her it was something new and it showed her that she had to learn what other things there were to being an adult and to go out and have other adventures and become an independent adult. So I always think of Utada when I walk (and usually listen to her music on my ipod too), but I especially think of her when I see odd things on my walks like that giant slush-mud-gravel ball! I think she'd be proud of me and my little adventure today, ha ha. :)

She has a song called "Nijikan dake no vacance" which means "A 2-hour vacation". I love that thought - just get away for a couple of hours, away from humanity, go out into the woods for a long walk. A couple hours (or even one hour) is all you really need to refresh yourself and your mind. I try to go on a nijikan dake no vacance whenever I get the chance.
 
I totally agree Cat...I love nature and wildlife and the complete silence except for birds and maybe a babbling brook.I don't mind hubby being there because we're on the same wavelength.
 
I'm not feeling great this morning. I had a different supplement drink this morning than usual and I think it upset me (I usually do ProNourish but I ran out today and had Boost instead). I took a zofran which has kicked in now and I'm doing better than I was earlier, but still not feeling quite like my normal self. I'm still aiming to go to the gym today. If I'm not feeling well enough by mid-day then I'll scrap the lunch hour workout and aim to do an evening workout instead. And in the meantime I'm being gentle on myself, going to eat lightly and blandly and drink as much water as I can, etc.
 
Ughh. I might be feeling worse (at least not any better) as the day has gone on. Definitely skipping the gym today, and I came home sick from work after a few hours too. Trying to rest with my heating pad but it's just making me feel overheated. Still no pain, so I still don't think it's a pred taper fail. But I'm also questioning whether it's more than just Boost upsetting me at this point. A co-worker said she was also not feeling well today so maybe there's a bug going around? I don't know, it doesn't really feel like a bug either. It just feels like #$%& IBD rearing its ugly head for whatever reason. I'm frustrated! I don't know why this is happening and I like to have a reason for things. And I hate skipping going to the gym when I've been doing so well. Ugh!
 
So my theory now is that this is my adrenal glands grumbling at me (and the adrenals can also cause belly issues) because of the pred taper. My adrenal glands haven't had to work in months, and now that I'm down to 5 mg pred, they've had to start producing some cortisol again and they're unhappy about that, hence the symptoms and tiredness. That makes more sense to me than taper fail, a bug, or Boost causing this. I slept really well last night but still feel tired today, so it makes sense to me that it might be my adrenals doing this.

At any rate, I'm staying home today and resting some more, and won't exercise for a little while. Will listen to my body and give it what it needs, which right now is rest. I am less frustrated today with not exercising, because at least now I feel like I am on the right track of knowing what is causing this and what to do to recover. I need to taper very carefully now - I might give myself more than a week from here on out to taper down, so that I don't stress out my adrenal glands too much. I see my GI next week so I will discuss this with him then. I'll start back up with some gentle exercise (walking) when I am feeling better and up for it. In the meantime I'll rest and skip workouts for now.
 
At this point it seems like it most likely is a taper fail, as I'm still feeling awful. So I went back up to 6 mg today. I see my GI on Monday and am going to ask him about how to taper without symptoms (if such a thing is even possible).

I've been off sick since Tuesday morning and in my pajamas the whole time. Fitness has been far from my mind as I'm just trying to recover from this taper fail. I love pred but I also hate it so much! I just want to be off of it. I feel like I'm so close and yet so far. Just like everything else in my life, I'm in limbo. Close to being off of pred but still on it. Close to remission but still flaring when I have a taper fail. Close to a diagnosis but still undiagnosed. Just ugh. I'm so frustrated.
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
At this point it seems like it most likely is a taper fail, as I'm still feeling awful. So I went back up to 6 mg today. I see my GI on Monday and am going to ask him about how to taper without symptoms (if such a thing is even possible).

I've been off sick since Tuesday morning and in my pajamas the whole time. Fitness has been far from my mind as I'm just trying to recover from this taper fail. I love pred but I also hate it so much! I just want to be off of it. I feel like I'm so close and yet so far. Just like everything else in my life, I'm in limbo. Close to being off of pred but still on it. Close to remission but still flaring when I have a taper fail. Close to a diagnosis but still undiagnosed. Just ugh. I'm so frustrated.
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We could be sick buddies, seriously. I had my tonsils taken out thru scheduled surgery on Tuesday morning at 8:30am and have been feeling horrible ever since. As if the abdominal surgery in October wasn't bad enough, this affects how I eat, drink, swallow, and talk. I'm on FMLA for 2 weeks but I'm thinking, at this point, that it will probably take longer than that so I may have to extend the FMLA period. I know it might be a bit premature, but I know my own body and 1 week for the last surgery wasn't long enough so I extended it to 2 weeks. I'm thinking 3 weeks might be the best.

Anyway, I hate that the prednisone taper is making you feel so yucky. I used to hate being on steroids for my asthma (also prednisone) and outright refused it when my PCP asked if I wanted to try steroids (thankfully, the Singulair I requested did the trick). I hope your GI will work with you and find a good plan. It seems ironic, doesn't it? The LDN was doing such a good job before and now your body has to play catch-up. You might want to see if your doctor thinks it's OK to take a supplement like AdrenaSense. It contains herbs so make sure it doesn't interact with your medications. Being on steroids for a long time can push you into Cushing's Syndrome so it might be a good idea if your doctor checks to see how much cortisol is in your bloodstream. Too much can make you sick and cause fatigue.

I hope you feel better soon. :)
 
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Thanks, MissLeopard. I hope you feel better soon too. I've been eating very lightly and blandly (yesterday I had toast and a few animal crackers, so far today I've had a few bites of mac & cheese and a few potato chips) and I think that's helping. Mornings are worse for me when I'm having symptoms, the bulk of my nausea and bathroom trips and just feeling unwell seem to happen during the morning hours. So now that it's afternoon, I'm feeling a bit better. I presume that going back up to 6 mg pred is helping as well. I did go back to work today, and it's been so busy that I've been at least somewhat distracted from my guts by how busy I've been.

I seem to recall that Jennifer had her tonsils taken out not too long ago so I just searched and found her thread about that. Scroll down to post #25 and that's where she starts talking about her experience. She didn't have totally smooth sailing with her experience either so maybe her thread will give you some hope that feeling this poorly shouldn't last too much longer.

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=43407

And yeah, I am familiar with Cushing's and its counterpart Addison's disease - when I was first sick, my GI had me tested for Addison's as some of my symptoms fit and I had a really good response to a low dose of pred (10 mg) - apparently Addison's can cause some digestive symptoms and weight loss, and the ideal dose of pred for it is something like 7.5 mg, but it turns out I do not have Addison's. I definitely know that I don't want to be on steroids for longer than necessary and my GI agrees, now we just have to get my stupid broken body to agree with us too. ;) A girl who used to be active on the forum, she's my friend on facebook and she's on pred for Behcet's disease. She told me that she's been tapering her pred like this - she'd do 6 mg one day, 5 mg the next, then 6 again, then 5, and so on, alternating for a few weeks before going down to 5 and staying there. Then alternating between 5 and 4, and so on. She said that's been working much better for her than just going from 6 mg to 5. And then Jennifer chimed in and suggested that I try cutting my 1 mg tablets in half and going from 6 mg to 5.5. So those are both feasible options and I'm going to ask my GI about that at my appointment on Monday. I'll ask about that supplement, too, I haven't heard of that one before.

In the meantime, the plan is to rest. I don't have any plans at all for the weekend and I had hubby hook up the playstation 3 so that I can play Katamari Forever. :) If I'm feeling better then I will probably take the dog out for a short walk, but I'm not going to push myself at all. The most strenuous thing I'll do all weekend probably is grocery shop.
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
I seem to recall that Jennifer had her tonsils taken out not too long ago so I just searched and found her thread about that. Scroll down to post #25 and that's where she starts talking about her experience. She didn't have totally smooth sailing with her experience either so maybe her thread will give you some hope that feeling this poorly shouldn't last too much longer.

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=43407
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The day that the tonsillectomy was performed was terrible. I threw up 3 times which is agony on an already sore throat. I think it was because of the anesthesia, Dilaudid in the PACU, and the Hycet my doctor gave me for post-surgery pain (liquid Vicodin - combo Tylenol and Hydrocodone). Vicodin did wonders for my last surgery in October, so I'm glad this doctor gave me the same thing, but I notice when I am almost due for another dose as my throat gets REALLY sore and it's difficult to swallow. I combat it with a Sucret drop and an ice pack on the throat. I've been trying to sleep with a humidifier, too, so my throat stays nice and moist. Dehydration increases the chance of bleeding.

Yesterday was the worst in terms of pain, which was to be expected, because the scabs started to form. Today, however, was the first time I ran a fever of 100.2. It fortunately went back down after taking the Hycet dose (it was due) and sleeping some more. There is definitely no shortage of sleep in my recovery. The Hycet is so strong that about 30 minutes after taking it, it's difficult to keep my eyes open. I bought stuff before the surgery to keep myself busy with and haven't done a thing because I cannot concentrate long enough (I have Perler beads, cross-stitch kits, a paint-by-numbers set, coloring books, etc) but that's normal.

Anyway, I'm glad I had those nasty tonsils out. The ENT doctor told my mom afterward that they were FULL of stones, even though I couldn't see them. I know they had horrible looking wart-like growths on them and were full of holes, but I had been drinking carbonated beverages to keep them as clear as possible. They had been causing problems for almost 2 years but I recently got health insurance in the last year. The first ENT I saw didn't even care what was going on so my PCP sent me to another ENT for a 2nd opinion. He said we should get rid of them since antibiotics didn't help and my tonsils were enlarged (he wrote hypertrophic tonsils on the diagnosis sheet). I'm hoping this will help with the chronic coughing and trying to clear my throat.
 
I'm doing better, the 6 mg pred has definitely kicked back in. The weekend was slightly rough, particularly Saturday - we were going to drive about 45 mins each way to drop off a sewing machine for my niece. I knew I had to eat something beforehand. So I had a small bowl of oatmeal with some kiwi fruit. My guts were very unsure about digesting that, and as a result, I had cramps the whole drive there (they finally let up on the way home). Same thing with dinner, I had some salmon and my guts gave me some cramping after that too. But, the cramping didn't lead to urgency nor bathroom trips. It was just standalone cramps.

Sunday I felt better, I had a slight bit of cramping when I first woke up in the morning, but after having a bowel movement, I didn't have any further cramps and I was able to eat without issue. I also was able to walk the dog, which felt great. It was quite cold out, it was maybe 20 F and breezy so the wind felt very cold. Lily of course loved it though, she loves the cold weather and snow.

Today no cramps, although I felt a little iffy when I woke up - some mornings I have nausea, I guess it's like having morning sickness without being pregnant? That fortunately has passed though and I was able to eat a small snack (banana) with no issue. I see my GI this afternoon and we will discuss what to do about my pred taper. Hubby is making a potato dish for dinner which I know is belly-friendly for me. It's supposed to snow, but if the snow hasn't started when I get home from my appointment, then I might take Lily out for a quick walk. I'm hoping to start lifting weights again this week, I just want to make sure I have a plan of attack for the pred taper first and give myself another day or two to recover from the taper fail before I try hitting the gym. In the meantime I'm just going to walk when I can.
 
I've felt a bit iffy too this weekend.Just goes to show that we can't take this darn disease for granted.We had a good afternoon on the bikes on Thursday,but sooo cold,I was glad to get home.We went along the coast again today.Thought we'd make the most of it as the weather is threatening to change for the worst in the next few days.I hope you're appointment goes as you want it to.I know you'll keep us updated.That potato dish sounds tasty,I might google some recipes.
 
I can give you the basics of our potato dish - we take some potatoes (enough to fill a glass baking dish) and peel them and cut them up. Sprinkle with shredded cheese - I use goat cheese as I can't do cow's dairy. Add cooked ground meat - I usually do ground turkey as I don't do beef, but tonight we're adding ground lamb, yum. We also add cooked turkey bacon that we cut up into little bits, and sometimes we add broccoli. And you can add whatever else you like, such as cooked onions if you can handle them, etc. Bake that all until the potatoes are done, add sour cream if you like, and enjoy! It's like a baked potato casserole.

I'm freaking out because there are shakeups at work that I was just told of today, and now nobody knows if we're going to have jobs anymore. We won't find out more until after April 1st so I'm trying to just be calm until then, but I was literally just told of this so currently I'm freaked out and trying not to cry. Hubby and I were planning to do some basement renovations soon (to add a 2nd bathroom to our basement, because our house currently only has one bathroom) but I just texted him and told him to put that on hold as we need to save our money. Ugh ugh ugh. I really hate this. I need my job. Not just for the paycheck but I need my health insurance too!

I know that stressing will only make me feel worse, and as my boss said, there's nothing we can do right now to change anything. So I'm going to do something active tonight to relieve some stress, even if I just end up walking on my treadmill. I'm really hoping to get Lily out for a walk though. I just feel like I need to get outside and away from all this! First though I have to go for my GI appointment. I have to get through that and then I can go home and cry and walk and punch my punching bag and do whatever else I need to do.

It's past 2 PM and I haven't eaten lunch yet. Suddenly I find I have no appetite. Hopefully the lovely smell of baked potato casserole will revive my hunger tonight.
 
That potato dish sounds delish hahaha.Will def.try it soon.
Not good news re: work though,and what a long time to wait with that hanging over you like the sword of Damacles.Sensible not to spend though.
 
Hah, it actually seems to me like a very short time to wait. I've worked for the same company for 14+ years now. About a year after I started working here, the department I was originally in was told that we were being downsized. It took a full 18 months for them to actually downsize us though. So a couple months wait seems like nothing compared to a year and a half that I waited back then.

I'm still nervous, but I feel better today than I did yesterday. I did take Lily on a walk yesterday after my GI appointment. It was snowy and a bit icy, she and I both slipped and slid a bit but fortunately neither of us fell. I'm planning to walk on the forest path today on my lunch hour. I must have slept funny on my left knee, as it's aching today (I suspect I have a bit of arthritis in that knee). But walking doesn't seem to make it worse, so I will walk. I need to get away to the forest for even a brief amount of time. Really looking forward to that!

My GI appointment went mostly fine. We briefly discussed my pred taper and what our goals are (get me off of pred and fully into remission and staying on Lialda and LDN as my maintenance meds) and how to accomplish the pred taper successfully (alternating doses every other day is the plan we're going to try). We were both in agreement about our goals and what to do from here so it was a pretty brief discussion. He saw that we still had more time, so rather than end the appointment early, he said, "How's the rest of your life going? How's work?" Well, of course I had just gotten the news a few hours earlier that we might be losing our jobs, so I immediately started crying. Ugh. My GI is a good doctor, don't get me wrong, but he's typically a very stoic, by the books type of guy. He deals with the gut symptoms and nothing else, he has made it clear in the past by his actions and words that he does not deal with the emotional side of things. But yesterday, he actually leaned in and was like, "What's wrong?" He was genuinely concerned. So I told him a bit and he actually listened, he's never done that before. And he actually tried to help, too - he asked about my skillsets and said that surely I could find another job in a similar company, and I said that I do have some former co-workers at another company and sometimes they even try to recruit me there, so yes, I could go work there if I had to. I think my GI just likes having problems to solve, ha ha. It did make me feel better that he was concerned and wanted to help, he usually just ignores me when I cry in front of him (I've done that many times, I cry pretty easily).

I'm feeling better and better every day and am recovering well from last week's taper flare, and my GI encouraged me to exercise as much as I can. So today's plan is to walk as it's supposed to be a relatively warm day (mid 30s F and no rain). Tomorrow I plan to lift weights, probably in the little gym in the basement at work (I may as well use that gym as much as I can while I still have access, ugh). I don't want to plan things too far in advance just yet, but that's the plan for now.

Oh, and I forgot to add - I did end up going eagle-watching after all, although just briefly. When we drove on Saturday to drop off the sewing machine for my nieces, we drove through the area where the eagles tend to congregate, so we briefly had a look. The river was not frozen over at all, so eagles were nowhere to be seen. As we were leaving town, though, we saw one immature bald eagle perched in a tree (they don't get the white head until they're about 5 years old, they're sort of a mottled dark brown for the first few years and that's known as their immature phase/coloring). So I did see one eagle, yay!
 
That was a good appointment eh.? It's nice that you're both on the same wavelength too.
Have'nt you got grips to put on the soles of your shoes/boots ? They're not very good for impacted shiney ice though,and I don't think they do them for dogs.
I'm glad you've calmed down a wee bit re: your employment.You know what worry and stress do to you and there's not much you can do about the out come.8 wks plus is to long to worry.
 
Hubby has some ice tread things for his boots but I don't like walking with them, they're a bit awkward (I walk awkwardly enough already, I'm a big klutz!). And the ice was pretty shiny. The big issue with the ice was that it was patchy and a light layer of snow had covered everything, so it was hard to see where the ice was. You'd think you were just walking on snow that was on top of pavement, but then there'd be a sneaky patch of ice and suddenly everything was slippery. Poor Lily is awkward at walking as well (corgis are awkward at everything) so we were both skidding around a bit.

And no, Lily wouldn't be caught dead in boots. :p She hates wearing anything aside from her collar, which she loves. When I take her collar off to brush her, she sometimes will pick it up in her mouth and try to get me to put it back on her, ha ha. But she hates wearing anything like dog clothes or shoes. She doesn't even like wearing her harness, although with her odd body shape she needs to wear a harness in order to go on walks. So she will tolerate me putting her harness on but she lowers her head and ears and has the saddest eyes ever as I'm putting it on her. When she was much younger, she got a small wound/infection in her foot that needed to be surgically cleaned out and have a few stitches put in, so we had to keep the foot wrapped up and in a boot for about a week while her incision healed. That was a very challenging week! She had the cone on but she still managed to get the boot and wrapping off about 10 times per day. Fortunately it healed fine and all is well now, but oh my, that was a very frustrating time.

Yeah, I have calmed down, I haven't cried all day today and I'm not even thinking about it that much anymore. Worrying now won't do me any good so I'm just trying to put it out of my mind at least for the time being. I'm going to go on my forest walk shortly and really looking forward to that. Although I'm still planning on only spending money on the essentials for now (groceries, toilet paper, and of course bills such as mortgage, etc). I don't want to buy anything non-essential until the dust settles in a couple months. I know that's going to be a challenge for me as I really enjoy shopping and buying myself treats, but I think I can do it. I just want to sock away as much money as I can right now, that's more important than treats. I feel a bit like a squirrel and there may or may not be a harsh winter coming, so I've got to hoard all my nuts just in case.
 
Of course you have to buy toilet paper hahaha,that's top of the list.
I know you were upset when you first learned of the up and coming work thing,but it's better to talk about it and get it out of your system.Which is why you feel better today (yesterday).You know how valuable the forum is for getting stuff off your chest.
Alfie hated wearing a coat but it was important when he got old and sick.I was so fed up with his miserable face one day,I took it off and hung it on the fence at the local golf course.It was still there two days later so I brought it home,washed it and gave it to the dogs charity.
 
Yes, and I'm still going to buy good quality soft toilet paper, too. Even though I'm trying not to spend, I still refuse to buy cheap thin TP. :p And yeah, I know venting helps me a lot! I think telling my GI about it helped too. And we're working on solutions already - hubby ideally should have a job that offers health insurance, so that we could both be on his insurance if I do lose my job. So he's been applying for some jobs.

Hopefully Lily won't have to wear a coat when she's old. Her fur is very thick, she is one of those dogs that has a "double coat" (thick undercoat and thick overcoat of fur). She sheds like mad year-round but cold never seems to bother her, she loves snow and winter and cold - conversely, she hates summer and heat. Sometimes I have to drag her along on walks in the summer, but in the winter she's running all around in the snow with pure joy. Oddly enough she originally is from California! She lived there with her original owners for the first two years of her life, then they moved here and couldn't keep her and she became my dog. Our first winter with her was the first time she saw snow, and that year we had a blizzard and about 18 inches of snow fell in that storm. The snow was almost as high as she is tall, but she loved it anyway and sort of "swam" through the deep snow. She didn't need a coat in that, so I am hoping she won't ever need one.

My fitness plans have changed slightly. Instead of going to the gym for weights today, I'm heading outdoors for some ice skating. It's one of those ideal days - my local outdoor rink is open (and it's always free), and the weather looks perfect for skating. The high temp today is about 28 F, so not too cold and also not quite warm enough for the ice to be melty. So I've got my skates in the car and I'm going to zip over there for some skating today. I'll do weights tomorrow instead.
 
Yeah, and tomorrow is supposed to be colder, so that'll be a better day to stay indoors anyway. I'm wondering though if I'm coming down with a cold - I've been a bit stuffy and coughing a little bit this morning. Hopefully it's just the dry winter air. I've got some vitamin C drops and some ginger tea, so I'll have some vit C and some tea - I've even got a travel tea mug, so I could bring it with me to the ice rink. Although with my luck I'd fall on the ice and spill hot tea all over myself, eek! :p
 
Okayyy, so, the weather today might have gone a bit past ideal. I swear when I checked the weather report this morning, it said a high temp of 28 F and overcast skies. Well, that was a lie. :p It's now about 35 F so things are getting slightly melty, and there are blue skies and the sun is out. Hmmm. Well, I'm still going skating anyway. As long as the ice doesn't get too melty it should be fine. The ice rink is still open today, in spite of the warmer and sunnier than expected weather.
 
Ahh. I got back from skating a little while ago and I feel quite good now. It sure doesn't feel like 35 F out there, there's a very brisk wind which made everything feel colder and made it a bit challenging to skate! But I did skate and didn't fall, so that's a definite success. I was concerned about how the condition of the ice was going to be - the free outdoor rinks can sometimes be quite iffy. And it's only been below freezing for a short time, so I wasn't sure if the ice had enough time to set properly (it's a flooded field, not a frozen pond, so at least I don't have to worry about falling through the ice). Well, there are 2 rinks at the park that I go to, there's a smaller rink and a larger one. The smaller rink was almost in pristine condition, the ice was great! Which is good, because the larger rink looked horrendous. I don't think I could have skated on it at all, the ice looked very choppy and broken up into big chunks, it looked un-skate-able. But I was fine with sticking to the smaller rink, especially since I was the only person there (it can get a bit crowded with multiple people!). I'm not sure how it was that the small rink was so good and the large rink was so bad - they are literally only like 2 feet away from each other. And they're maintained by the same organization. Who knows! But I'm glad the small rink was so nice for skating today.

My legs did feel a little tired while skating, and feel quite tired now, which makes sense because I've been walking every day without a break. I think I do need a rest day. I am still planning to lift weights tomorrow, and will focus more on arms than legs, and will take a rest day on Friday. Saturday I am thinking I will go to the big paid membership gym, hopefully with hubby, and lift weights. While we're there, we can upgrade my membership and cancel his (I can still bring him along as a guest with the upgraded membership, and it's the same cost). Sunday, it's looking like it'll be nice weather (they're currently saying 36 F and sunny) and I'd love to go on a longer hike. There's a 4.2 mile loop as part of the forest path that I've been wanting to try, there are at least 2 restrooms along that path, and dogs are allowed - sounds good to me. So I'll bring Lily for sure, and maybe I can convince hubby to come too (he did not sound at all enthusiastic about it when I mentioned it to him yesterday).
 
Walking Alfie in the woods used to be a huge part of our lives.Probably because we were born and bred at the coast,we take it for granted.In good weather the coast is always far to busy,so we keep away.It's exciting to go and watch the waves crashing when there's a winter storm though.Glad you enjoyed your skating.It doesn't take long for unused muscles to complain.
 
I'm nowhere near the coast, I live in the upper Midwest so I'm near-ish to the great lakes (it's about a 90 minute drive to the nearest one, Lake Michigan). But I'm at least 1,000 miles away from the ocean on either side. So I've never really been a coast person, but definitely am a forest person. :)

I didn't want to tell my parents about the shakeups at work, because I knew they'd just worry and try to give me money (they're already giving my brother money plus food and room & board, he still is unemployed and lives with them). But then my mom said she wanted to come down and do fun things and go shopping this weekend, so I had to tell her no and explain why I am not spending any money at the moment. Ugh. So now she's worrying and I'm sure she told my dad and he's worrying too.

The fitness plan is still on. My legs feel better today and I still plan to take a rest day tomorrow (with no fitness and no shopping, what am I going to do with myself tomorrow??). Heading to the little gym today on my lunch break for a quickie weights session. Hubby expressed more interest in my weekend workout plans, so maybe I can drag him along with me after all. And he's on board with the no spending money thing, too (he said he thinks he might need to remind me of not spending, and I told him I'm counting on him to remind me of that at key times!).
 
I'm tired now. :p Just got back from the gym. I honestly wasn't really feeling it beforehand. You know when you have a workout planned and you just have to sort of "fake it till you make it"? Like, just make yourself do the workout even though you're not feeling like it. That's how today was. I do feel good now, I'm happy that I worked out, but I wasn't feeling it going in. I'm very glad that tomorrow is a rest day, I need a bit of rest. I'm still wondering if I'm coming down with a cold, I've been blowing my nose more than usual and I've needed a couple throat lozenges today, and I'm just a bit tired. Hopefully tomorrow's rest day will get me feeling more energetic for Saturday's workout!

I'm still doing well on not spending any money, but it is difficult. I keep looking at the calendar, like, when can I spend again? Still two months, huh? Ughhh. I need to find some distractions for myself from spending money. I should have enough yarn and fabric to get me through 2 months, and I just downloaded a bunch of free books to my kindle, that's a good start. Shopping and buying myself treats is my way of cheering myself up, though, so I need to find a new outlet for that specifically. Hmmm.
 
Like you,I always feel better when I've done something.And I know the feeling of "making the effort" very well.If I don't get out every day I feel awful,both physically and mentally.
Except when I'm having a "sick" day and all I want to do is snuggle down with a book.
As for your non spending......If you DO lose your job you'll be glad you've been careful,and if you DON'T lose your job you'll have something saved to have a splurge......Yaaaaay !!!
 
Yeah, I really need to start looking for a newer car, so adding money to my savings will mean that I can maybe buy a slightly nicer car than I've currently budgeted for (I'm definitely putting the car shopping on hold until I know what my job situation is though!). My current car is 16 years old with over 200,000 miles on the odometer, and although she's still running fine at the moment, she's obviously getting older and I don't know how much longer she'll last. So once the dust settles and I either find myself still with a job or find a new job, then I can start looking for a newer car.

Today's a "sick" day for me, I'm quite headachey this morning and still feel like I might have a slight cold. Definitely a good day for a rest day.
 
We've been doing home decorating and finished the gloss painting at lunchtime.I didn't get out yesterday at all so we hopped on the bikes and had a run along the coast.I was getting headachey with the fumes,though they weren't really that bad.Just got back and I really would like a shower or bath,but can't until the paint dries,hubby says.I can enjoy a wash down at the sink for now.Trying not to touch the wet paint as we pass is proving a real problem, how people with kids manage,I do not know.
 
I don't know how people with kids accomplish anything! :p My sister-in-law has 5 kids between the ages of 3 and 13, and it's always complete, uncontrolled chaos at her house. I wouldn't be able to do anything (except maybe have a nervous breakdown) in a setting like that. It makes me appreciate my calm, quiet house so very much.

We might soon do some painting as well. We have some paint leftover from when we painted our living room and kitchen (so we wouldn't have to spend any money on paint/supplies), so we might paint the sewing room as it really needs a coat of paint. It sounds like a big job though because we'd have to move everything out of that room first! That part would be a bigger job than the actual painting!

I think I've definitely got a cold, ugh. I wasn't sure the past couple of days, because I always get an increase in gut symptoms when I catch a cold - it's like, when my immune system turns on to fight the cold/virus, it also attacks my guts a little bit while it's on, because that's just what it does. I didn't have any tummy symptoms for the past couple of days, but today I've got some nausea and I've been to the bathroom 4 times already. So yeah, it's a cold. It still seems quite mild. And I had read that it's still okay to work out as long as all the cold symptoms stay above the shoulders - meaning, if you've got a sore throat and/or sinus congestion, but no symptoms like cough or chest congestion, then it's okay to work out. And I don't have a cough, although I'm not sure if my gut symptoms count or not. All my "classic" cold symptoms are above the shoulders, though - headache, sinus congestion, and just a slightly sore/tickly throat. For now I'm going to play it by ear and see how I'm feeling tomorrow. If I'm still nauseous & having bathroom trips then I'll skip the gym, but if that part is over with (the gut symptoms usually don't last very long), then I might still try a workout. We'll see. For the time being, I took some zofran which brought the nausea down to a more tolerable level, and zofran also tends to back me up a bit, so that should slow things down and prevent me from using the bathroom quite so much.
 
I didn't end up going to the gym during the weekend - I've got just enough lingering cold symptoms that I decided it was better to stay home instead. We did paint on Saturday, so we got that accomplished anyway. And that is sort of a workout, like squatting down to paint the lower parts of the wall and reaching up to paint the ceiling, etc.

Sunday morning, I woke up with a sore lower back. Not sure if I tweaked it while painting, or if I slept on it wrong, or what. It was fairly painful for the first half of the day, as I walked around the pain gradually eased up. But I didn't go to the gym that day either for fear of making it worse. We did walk Lily and that seemed to help my back. It's feeling normal today, no pain.

Today's plan is to go to the little gym on my lunch hour. It looks like a very nice day out, I'm very tempted to take a walk, but I walked yesterday and I really need to have a weights day. Tomorrow looks like it should be good for walking also, so I'll walk then. The tentative plan this week is weights Mon-Wed-Fri, walking Tues, and not sure about Thurs. It's supposed to get colder again on Thurs, so possibly ice skating, or maybe a rest day. Saturday it's supposed to rain, so I might skip exercise that day and go visit my grandma. I haven't seen her in a few weeks, so a visit would be very nice.
 
Bleh! I'm in a taper fail. Got hit with cramping and nausea a short while ago - literally while I was halfway through eating my oatmeal. I felt fine while eating it and suddenly I felt not fine. Because of this, I'm not going to lift weights today after all. I think I might take a walk if I'm feeling up to it. Mostly I'm feeling very frustrated. Before LDN, I couldn't get below 10 mg of pred without symptoms (I tried multiple times). Now I cannot get below 6 mg pred, have failed at that twice now. Ugh ugh ugh. So frustrating! I just want to taper off of pred without flaring up again or having symptoms! So not happy right now. I really hate my stupid broken body and I hate pred too.
 
Didn't end up walking nor going to the gym. Still working my way back to feeling better. I had to ask hubby to come by my work and drop off my 1 mg pred tablets so that I could get myself back up to 6 mg (fortunately he doesn't work Mondays). So I'm starting to feel better now that I've taken an extra 1 mg and am back up to my 6 mg. My body just doesn't like being at 5 mg. I emailed my GI asking what to do. I'm wondering now if I could try going from 6 to 5.5 mg. My 1 mg tablets are tiny, but they do have a line down the middle to theoretically I could try splitting one in half. Pred is so powdery though that it might just disintegrate. But it's worth a try I think. Maybe going from 6 to 5.5 to 5 will work better.

So all my fitness plans are up in the air now. I'm resting today and will see how I'm feeling tomorrow and go from there. Ugh. Stupid pred, stupid body.
 
Still having taper fail symptoms today. Ugh. I've been to the bathroom I think 4 times already this morning (the same thing happened at my last taper fail) and had to take some zofran for the nausea. Mornings are usually worst for me anyway, though, so I'm hoping that I improve as the day goes on.

I'm thinking that today is going to be a rest day even if I do improve later today. My body needs rest and healing right now. I'm just going to play it by ear each day and see how I'm feeling. It's raining today so I wouldn't be able to do a walk nor go ice skating anyway. I did drag myself in to work but I'm not sure if I'm going to make it through the whole work day. I think the zofran is helping though so I'm at least semi-functional today.
 
That's the best plan.Just see what each day brings rather than plan ahead.It was raining this morning so we had a drive out to a little market town for a mooch around the shops.Of course the sun came out and the temp.rose to 8c.It would have been a good day for a bike ride.The forecast isn't good for the fore- seeable so it could be a while before we get out.
 
I ended up going home sick from work yesterday and staying home sick today. It's like a mini-flare every time I have a taper fail, with bathroom trips and cramps and fatigue and nausea. I've lost 3 lbs because I've had no appetite. I just hate this! I emailed my GI asking for help with my taper, and he was like, "Did you try zofran for the nausea?" Um, yes, it takes the edge off but I still feel like crap so please help me! (That was the gist of my response to him anyway.)

So yeah, fitness is still on hold, I'm resting with my heating pad on today. I'll start with taking walks again once I'm feeling better. In the meantime it's rest for me.
 
I'm so sorry Cat.I know you want to get off pred.but you're not having much luck are you ? I don't know what the solution is.Look after yourself and put exercise on hold for the present.It won't take you long to get back into it, but please make sure you're fully recovered first.
 
I'm definitely determined to get off of pred. I seem to have trouble just going from 6 mg to 5, and for this taper fail I had tried alternating the dose (6 mg one day, 5 the next, 6, 5, and so on) but that's failed me as well. So my next thought is that maybe I could try going from 6 mg to 5.5. I've emailed and asked my GI if pred comes in 0.5 mg tablets, he hasn't responded yet. I can try to cut my 1 mg tablets in half, although they're tiny, so I'm not sure how well that is going to work. For the time being, I'm staying at 6 mg for at least a week or two to recover from this before I try again to taper.

I'm feeling overwhelmed at the moment. Between the job stuff and not being able to get off of pred and feeling pretty awful at the moment, I'm just a weepy mess. Of course, exercise is my stress-relief and my antidepressant, and when I'm not well enough to exercise, I quickly start to feel much worse mentally. I'm trying to eat toast but I'm crying on my toast. I seem to just get further behind in my illness and my finances. I'm not giving up, but sometimes it's all very overwhelming.
 
Ah me darlin',it will pass,you know it will.Stop trying so hard to be perfect.

On the subject of halving pills,you can get pill cutters.I got one at the vets when I had to halve Alfies tramadol so I expect the pharmacy will have them too.
Now,try to concentrate on all the GOOD things in your life,because you do have them,you know. Hugs.
 
I do have a pill cutter - I've been using that to cut my 10 mg pred tablets in half. But even that is a bit messy and uneven, the tablet never seems to cut perfectly down the middle and it's always sort of powdery and disintegrates slightly in the cutter. And that's the 10 mg tablets, so I'm guessing it will be similar for the 1 mg tablets but even more difficult as they are so tiny. So that's why I'm hoping my GI can track down some 0.5 mg tablets for me, if they even exist.

You are very wise. :) I know I have a lot of good things in my life. Sometimes though, the bad things seem to yell the loudest for my attention - sort of like certain politicians, ha ha. And I sometimes forget that my feelings are liars and that the bad things feel permanent, but they're not. I read this essay awhile back and it definitely spoke to me. Here's the link:

http://www.epbot.com/2016/03/writing-my-way-out.html
 
Oh believe me, bad stuff and thoughts get to all of us sometimes.I just tell myself that there are millions worse off in the world and it usually works.This time next year you'll have forgotten all about it.Have a good day.
 
I'm feeling more positive and doing a bit better today. Only been to the bathroom 3x instead of 4 so far this morning. :p I did drag myself in to work today, and I got some good news - it sounds like my department is safe, my boss told my co-worker that it doesn't sound like there will be layoffs in my dept. Phew! I know it's not official and things could change, but it was still really promising to hear that. And it's a load of stress off of my back! I was crying in the car on my way to work, but now I don't feel like crying. (I cry so much when I'm flaring or when my guts are acting up, it's ridiculous.)

I'm still not going to do any exercise today. I'm pretty weak, I've lost 4 lbs this week, I haven't had much appetite and haven't eaten much (maybe that's why I only had 3 bathroom trips?). Yesterday I had some toast and some french fries, and then I was naughty - hubby was eating strawberries and they looked wonderful, so I ate 2 or 3. Well, my bathroom trips this morning have included a few chunks of red, I know it's undigested strawberries. Oops. I need to play it safer with food until I fully recover from this taper fail.

If I'm feeling up to it, tomorrow's weather looks like it's going to be lovely, and I'd really like to take a walk if I can. I won't if I'm still feeling like I am now, though. The weather might be nice on the weekend as well, temps in the 40s F which sounds great to me! So if I can't walk tomorrow, I'll see if I can take a walk at some point during the weekend.

Oh, and my GI got back to me about pred - he said they do not make 0.5 mg tablets, but they do make 2.5 mg tablets. So I could use that to taper from 6 mg down to 5.5 mg - I'd take 3x 1 mg tablets and one 2.5 tablet to equal 5.5 - I hope that will work. For now I'm staying at 6 mg for another week or two to let my body recover, I need a slight break before I try again to taper.
 
I definitely do feel more relaxed. And I even engaged in my favorite non-fitness activity: Shopping! :D I didn't go overboard, but there's always a sale at a local thrift store on Thursdays so I went to check it out. It was supposed to just be purses and shoes that were on sale, but they also spontaneously put all clothes on sale! Since I've gained a few too many lbs thanks to pred, I've gone from a size small to a size medium and from a pants size 6 to a size 8, so new clothes that actually fit are something that I need right now.

My eye is always drawn to blue, and I ended up buying 3 things, all of them blue. :p I got a cute new turquoise workout top, name brand with the built-in sports bra and it seems brand-new. I also got a cute bright blue workout jacket, it's got a special pocket for my ipod (which is also blue!). And I got a really cute navy blue jacket for springtime. I feel soooo much better after shopping! And I only spent $15 on all 3 things.

So yeah, new clothes, especially blue workout clothes, make me very happy. But it also motivates me which might not be the best thing right now - I really want to hit the gym in my new clothes right away, but of course that's not wise at the moment (plus I have to wash them first anyway). So I will wait until I'm feeling better.
 
I love a bargain.We have lots of charity shops over here,Heart,Cancer,Aged,Hospice,etc etc.They're all run as boutique type shops,clean,light and good changing rooms.I get much more satisfaction buying from them,than I do buying new.Things I haven't worn for a while all go back to them.I got my hubby two pairs of Paul Smith jeans for £1 a pair.I think they're about £80 new.I get his casual T's for knocking about in for £1 too,then I don't have to worry about grease and oils stains etc.'cos he is a mucky pup at times.
 
Yes, this was a thrift shop benefiting Hospice, with all volunteers working there and all the proceeds going to people in Hospice, so I always feel good shopping there. And like you said, it's clean and nice like a boutique. And I always donate my old clothes back to them too. I love bargains too, this particular shop sometimes has a $2 pants sale and that's like xmas for me. :p Pretty much all my pants - jeans, business trousers, sweat pants, workout pants, and even skirts - have all come from the $2 pants sale. I love it! I've gotten some name-brand bargains there as well, I never know how much things cost brand new but sometimes the women working there will tell me things like, "Oh, this is a very good brand and would cost over $100 if you had bought it new!" and I take them at their word. And then I think to myself, who on earth would pay $100 for one pair of pants?? Not me!

Hah, "mucky pup", that's a new phrase for me! My hubby is similar. He'll think nothing of making a huge mess, then is surprised later when his shirt has stains (or the countertop, or the rug, or wherever/whatever project he was doing!).

I'm feeling better day by day. I think I could take a walk today, but I did have some cramping and d earlier today, so I'm not going to risk it just yet. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I'm now hoping to do a walk on Sunday.
 
I walked both weekend days. Saturday, I took Lily out for a quick walk before lunch, as my parents were coming down and they wanted to take us out to lunch. That walk went fine.

Yesterday, I decided to take Lily on a longer hike. That ended up being not so great, but we got through it. There's a longer (not paved) forest path which makes a loop and it's about 4 miles total, and I'd been wanting to walk it. Sunday, the weather looked nice. It was sunny and in the 40s F. But it was super windy! I figured we'd be in the forest, so the trees would act as a wind break. And they did, for the parts where we were in the forest. But the path didn't end up staying in the forest the whole time, there was a large chunk where it was in the prairie/open field, so there was nothing in those areas to stop the wind. Also, the paths had previously been full of ice/snow, but with the temps above freezing, the paths turned into a watery, slushy mess. My hiking shoes quickly started letting water in, so my socks and feet got a bit soaked. I know Lily wasn't happy about that either (she loves snow but hates water). By the end of that hike, Lily was not happy, she was dragging behind when usually she's trotting out in front of me. And this morning she was moving a bit more slowly and stiffly, so I think the walk wore her out and maybe the wind & cold meltwater affected her joints a bit. She's 8 so I have to remember that she's getting older and isn't quite as spry as she used to be. Next time, we'll take an easier hike.

Oh, and I also at one point stepped wrong and rolled my ankle. I didn't injure it, but it was close - I very easily could have sprained or even broken it. It was a little tender after that.

I'm sore and tired today. Today is definitely a rest day. Will re-assess tomorrow and see what I'm feeling up for. I'm also a bit nauseous this morning, but that's typical for me, I'm often nauseous in the mornings, and Monday mornings are sometimes worse - my routine gets thrown off by the weekend, as I sleep in and then take my meds at a later time than usual and I'm not eating at the same times as normal and I forget to take my psyllium, etc. So today's a recovery day, both from the hike and from the weekend in general.
 
Well even if you didn't enjoy your walk so much,at least you made the effort.
I haven't been very far for the last few days because of cold miserable weather and stomach problems.We got halfway through the park yesterday,on the way to the craft market,and I had to come home.Today I walked into town and around the shops and felt better.I was going stir crazy.Our temps are to rise into double figures as the week goes on,so I'll be on little blackie at the first opportunity.
 
I hate when that happens, when you push yourself to get out but then your stomach forces you to turn around and go home. I feel like I should get credit for making the effort, so my stomach should just quiet down and let me enjoy the thing that I pushed myself to get out and do! But of course IBD doesn't work that way. It's frustrating. Hopefully your stomach will allow you to enjoy the nicer weather.

We're supposed to get nicer weather as well. It's still in the 40s and sunny, and the wind has quieted down. And it might get as warm as 60 F by the end of the week! That's springtime weather for sure. It already sort of feels like springtime out now! So maybe I'll get to go on a bike ride as well if it truly is that warm!

My fitness plans are all up in the air, no plans at the moment other than a rest day today and will re-assess tomorrow how I'm feeling. Ice skating is definitely not happening this week! :p And ice skating might be done for the season if it stays this warm. 32 F is freezing and it's supposedly going to be warmer than that for at least this week. All the snow is melting and surely the outdoor ice rink will melt too, so unless things get quite cold again for at least a little while, I think skating is done for the season. That's a bit sad. But it does open up other possibilities, like bicycling.

This coming Saturday, hubby is scheduled to work, so I get a weekend day to myself. I'm hoping to go visit my grandma that day, presuming she and I are both well enough for a visit. My parents said that she had the flu just recently. So hopefully she's well enough for me to visit.
 
I'm doing a little better today than yesterday. The nausea seems to be mostly gone, thank goodness. I had a bunch of cramping first thing this morning, but after about 5 bathroom trips, the cramping seems to have subsided. I'm still feeling a little "off", I don't have much appetite and I feel a little weak and run-down.

Because of the cramping and feeling "off", I'm not going to do any exercise today. I don't want to make my body angry all over again. It's slightly frustrating having to take multiple rest days in a row, but I know that's the wise thing to do.

If I'm doing better tomorrow then I'll probably try a walk. If I'm still feeling like this then I'll rest, again. It all depends on what my body decides to throw at me. The good news is that everything is continuing to melt, so by the time I can take walks again, the walking paths should be much clearer of snow, ice, slush, etc.
 
Well,I had a bad start to the day but felt well enough by 11am to go for the weekly shop.Had to leave the trolley and run to the toilet TWICE.Anyway managed ok and cooked Les's lunch while putting the shopping away.Had a walk along the river and back for 1hr and a half, but I was almost on my knees with back ache by the time we got home.I never have any bother while cycling.I was a keen walker but I think those days are over now.I will still do local walks though,use it or lose it.
 
Oh, I hate having to leave the cart and use the bathroom at the grocery store! Although I will say, my local grocery store always has about 6 or 8 full rolls of toilet paper in each stall, and it's the soft, 2-ply stuff. They don't skimp on TP, they have both quantity and quality, so at least when I have to use their bathroom it's not horrible. I certainly can't say that about every public restroom! (Especially in Japan, where sometimes I'd encounter a squat toilet - those were just a nightmare, even if you only had to pee - I ended up peeing on my shoe at least once, while standing in a puddle of other people's pee. Ew! Thank goodness for machine washable shoes!)

I'm feeling gradually better as the day goes on. No further cramping nor bathroom trips. I think eating high sodium is helping right now, too. So I'm planning my meals around making sure that I'm getting a lot of sodium (heading to the store on my lunch break to buy some small bags of chips). The weather is looking better and better every day - it's going to be 30 F tomorrow, 40 on Thurs, 50 on Fri, and maybe as warm as 60 on Saturday! If it's really that warm, I'm going to pack a book and a picnic blanket. When I go to visit my grandma that day, I can go by my grandpa's grave afterwards and sit and read a book. His favorite book was Winnie the Pooh, so sometimes I go sit by his grave and read one of the Pooh stories. That's my small way of staying connected with the memory of my grandpa. I haven't been able to sit by his grave all winter, but now that it's spring-like weather, I can again.

I'm tentatively thinking about walking tomorrow, presuming that I continue to feel better. And if I can do that and that goes well, then I might try lifting weights on Thursday.
 
Hah, I did more shopping. :p I went to another local thrift shop and I found a super cute dress. It was only $7. It's like a short sweater dress. It's a really cute shape and the fabric feels very high quality (sometimes sweater dresses feel cheap and don't hold their shape very well, but this one holds its shape and feels like very good quality). It's going to look adorable with leggings and boots, I can't wait to wear it. Oh, and the best part? It has pockets!! I absolutely love it when dresses have pockets! :)

That really cheered me up. I was in a pretty foul mood this morning, I'm never happy when my guts dictate what I can and can't do (and especially when I can't exercise). Thank goodness I don't have expensive taste and am happy with a bargain!
 
It's almost 10am and we're just about to go down to the coast on the bikes.Have to make the most of it.Talking toilets.When in Australia we went for a forest walk.I wasn't very happy as there are far to many things that kill you over there.Needed to pee,wooden shed with W.C.(water closet) painted on the door.A very very deep hole dug into bare earth.No seat,paper.And the smell was indescribable.But when you gotta go,you gotta go.Now that's squatting.I also shared a cubicle with a 2ft lizard one time.But it was asleep.
 
My grandma has a great story about a WC/outhouse. This was in the early 1950s, she was recently married to my grandpa and she was pregnant with my dad. My grandpa was in the army and he got stationed in France. I'm not sure of the details why, but my grandma didn't go to France to join him right away, so he already had a house to stay in when she got to France. So she just arrived in France, literally just got off the plane, and being pregnant she really had to pee. So my grandpa got her to the house and directed her to the back yard of the house where there were a couple of outhouses, they didn't have indoor plumbing at this house. She said that my grandpa surely must have known what would happen but he didn't warn her. So she goes out back, and opens the first outhouse door - and it goes, gobble gobble gobble! She said she nearly peed her pants with shock. It turns out that their French landlord kept a live turkey in the first outhouse! :p Fortunately she was able to use the other outhouse without incident.

I hope you have a good bike ride and that your guts don't force you to make any pit stops (or that you don't encounter any turkeys if you do have to stop and use the bathroom!). My guts are still feeling a bit iffy, but I've only had 2 bathroom trips so far this morning, which is better than the 5 I had yesterday. I'm not sure if I should walk today or take another day to recover. I'm sort of thinking that I'll just walk around a couple of stores, so as to be near a bathroom just in case. And since it's Feb 15th, there should be sales on leftover valentine chocolates, ha ha, so I might do a bit of chocolate shopping! ;)
 
I'm still feeling just slightly iffy today. Have had 2 BMs so far today, no urgency and only minimal cramping, so I'm still improving, but not quite where I'd like to be just yet. I'm thinking I'm okay for a walk, so I'll try that. Will re-assess tomorrow and see if I'm up for weight lifting or maybe just another walk.

I need to start paying better attention to my diet, too. When I'm feeling unwell, I don't feel like cooking, so I turn to convenient foods like chips or candy, and that's obviously not good. I need to make myself pack healthier lunches and I need to cook more. I'm going to go to the Korean market after work and pick up some kimchi, because I know that does good things for me. My friend who is Korean-American told me that sometimes when she's just a little bit nauseous, eating something spicy like kimchi helps her - I tried that, and it seems to help me too. In general I need to eat more of an Asian/Japanese style diet - I felt so good when I was in Japan, I think it was partly diet and partly all the walking I did. So I need to re-affirm my goals - I need to walk more and eat better.
 
My diet's pretty limited but it suits me.It's something that has evolved over the last 18mth or so.I rarely eat meat or any type of dinner/lunch type food.It's basically fruit,porridge,yoghurt,raw nuts,occassional eggs or sardines on toast.Sometimes a healthy ready meal which I never finish.I do have a high nutrient powder with chia seed,and supplements and green tea daily,and chocolate.
Had a good run out on the bike today,but it was very gusty and I almost lost my ball cap a couple of times.I don't have a cold but my nose was running with the wind,that's where fleece gloves come in handy hahaha.saves stopping.
 
Ha, I also wipe my nose on my fleece mittens regularly when I'm walking Lily on cold days. And if I'm in the gym and nobody else is there or nobody is looking in my direction, I'll wipe my nose on my shirt sleeve. :p My nose drips a lot when I work out so I have to be a little gross sometimes. (I always wash my mittens, shirt, etc after a workout so it's not too gross for long, it gets washed right away.)

I used to love sardines, but they seem to rile up my GERD nowadays. I get very fishy burps/fishy tasting reflux from sardines. So I sadly have to avoid them now. I eat a lot of eggs, and I know those are very easy on my belly. My lunch today is a wrap consisting of scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and avocado. I can't do raw nuts, even if I chew them very well I still seem to be able to feel them as they pass through me, it's not pleasant. I can do nut butters and nut milks though, sometimes I have almond butter and I have almond milk almost daily. Chia seeds in my oatmeal with almond milk is my usual go-to for my mid-morning snack. I put the almond milk in first thing in the morning so that it has a few hours for the oatmeal and chia seeds to soak up the almond milk, then it's nice and mushy (the only way I can tolerate it) by the time I eat it.

I don't eat much meat either. I cannot digest beef and I have never liked pork, so I don't do either of those. I do a lot of fish and some poultry, and on occasion I'll have some lamb or bison. Mostly though I stay away from red meat and stick to fish and some poultry. And by poultry I mean mainly chicken and turkey - duck is too fatty for me, it gives me horrendous gas. The last time I ate duck, I kept having a feeling of needing to use the bathroom urgently, but when I tried to go, I'd just have a ridiculously long fart. So now I avoid duck as I don't want to do that again.

What types of fruit do you eat? I'm trying to be better about eating more fruit, as I do seem to tolerate a fair amount of fruits. Today I had a kiwi with my oatmeal, and I've got a banana and a clementine for a snack later. I've also found I can tolerate peaches as long as I remove the skin, I can tolerate most berries, and I can even have strawberries when I'm feeling well (but when I'm not feeling well, I need to avoid strawberries). Grapes are my one big issue when it comes to fruit, I have to remove the skins in order to eat grapes, but that's such a pain to do. The last time I tried eating grapes, I didn't remove the skins, and then a day or two later I had a rather uncomfortable bowel movement and it looked like I had pooped out a bunch of contact lenses - it was grape skins! They really do look like contact lenses when they go through you undigested. :p
 
Basic fruits at this time of year,Peeled apples (with a chunk of hard cheese and a handful of cheese and onion crisps (chips),tangerines or same type,bananas,prunes.black grapes occasionally,prunes when needed,and most canned fruit in juice,drained.In summer I have strawberries,nectarines etc.I always (mostly) cook healthy meals for Les,but never fancy what he's having,so instead of cooking separately for myself,I end up taking the easy option.Our car's in for it's MOT (road worthy.cert ?) and when we get it back at lunchtime we're loading the bikes up and going further up the coast.There are cycle paths on the dunes and a really good fish and chip shop for Les's lunch.No cooking today.Yaaaay
 
Gosh, prunes sound dangerous to me! Do they help your digestion, do they cause you anything like cramping? Do you just eat one? I haven't done dried fruits since being sick, as I had read that things like raisins are really hard to break down and can cause blockages (and since I know I can't digest grape skins, I think raisins would be even harder for me to digest). I don't think I'm brave enough to try prunes!

I do have a lot of canned fruits, and I drain the liquid too. They're super easy, it's like peaches or pears with the skins already removed for me so I don't have to do any work. And I'm excited that it will soon be strawberry season. Last year I was in Japan just as strawberry season started, and we ended up eating strawberries almost every day. They were extremely delicious! Even on the bullet train, looking out the window at Mt. Fuji, I was eating strawberries. So now strawberries remind me of Japan.

Ooh, fish and chips sounds delicious. I don't think we have road worthiness inspections here - I've never had to take my car in for anything like that (and it wouldn't pass, my car has some emissions issues).

Hah, on the subject of cars - this morning hubby and I were talking about money. We had an extra $200 that I was going to put into the savings account, but then hubby's cell phone broke and of course a new phone is going to cost - can you guess how much? - yep, $200. So I was saying that I'd still like to put some money into our savings, and then in the same breath hubby and I both said what we'd like to use some of our savings on - he said vacation and I said new car. :p I was like, objection, overruled! I need a car more than we need a vacation. My current car is 16 years old - literally, my car is old enough to drive a car, ha ha. And she's got over 200,000 miles on the odometer, and she's had a few more quirks lately and sometimes needs pricey repairs. Hubby's got a newer car so now it's my turn. I don't want a brand-new car, just a newer car and nothing fancy.

I should give a fitness update. Yesterday was pretty frustrating. I took a walk but it was a challenge. My legs felt weak and tired and a few times I felt like I might either fall over due to lack of strength in my legs, or I felt like I might just pass out. It was disconcerting. Fortunately I didn't fall nor pass out, but it was not pleasant to feel like I might. And I'm not even sure why I was feeling like that - my guts weren't stellar yesterday but they weren't bad either. I have been eating and drinking so it wasn't like I was dehydrated or malnourished. I do think that my ears were a bit plugged up though, which can sometimes cause me dizziness or balance issues, so I'm thinking that might be the culprit.

Because yesterday was such a challenge, I'm thinking I'm going to not do any exercise today. I'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow and go from there.
 
That's the trouble with outdoor exercise,it takes you away from your comfort zone.Especially when you're on your own and maybe there are not to many people around.I hope you always have your cell phone with you.
Prunes I need when, for no apparent reason ,I stop going to the bathroom numerous times a morning.I usually have 5-6 well chewed,lots of water,stool softeners and a couple of laxatives at bedtime.It usually does the trick,but does make me quite ill for a while.I have a phobia about having a blockage.Temps got up to 11c,enjoyed our ride and shared fish and chips.Les is happy to share because I only have a little bit.I couldn't eat a whole portion to myself now,though I used to have a good appetite.
 
Ah, I see, that makes sense about the prunes helping you go. I usually just increase my psyllium and/or eat more oatmeal if I am going less than I should be, that usually does the trick for me. It seems like 2x BMs daily is ideal for me - once in the morning and once in the evening. That's about how often I go when I'm truly in remission, so I try to aim for that. Last weekend I hardly went at all, like at most once per day and I think there was a day where I didn't go at all. Then, this week, I've been going too much again, averaging about 4x BMs daily. Which is not too bad, considering that in a bad flare I can easily go 10 or even 20+ times per day. My record is 35 times in a day, and I was definitely going about 20 times during the worst of my flare back in July/August. So 4x per day isn't so bad compared to that! But I'm still aiming for remission of course.

Yes, I definitely always bring my cell phone with me. Sometimes I get nervous, because I don't get good cell reception in certain areas, particularly the little gym in the basement at work. So I usually will tell a co-worker when I go to that gym, so that they can come looking for me if I don't come back at my usual time. That's definitely a big worry for me, if I got injured in that gym and couldn't move, I'd really be in a bad situation. I don't get cell phone service down there, there isn't a landline phone down there, and I'm usually the only person in that gym. And if I were to go unconscious in that gym, the lights in there are motion-activated, so if I was still for longer than a few minutes, the lights would go off and then I wouldn't be found for who knows how long! So yeah, I always try to tell somebody before I go to that gym, so that they can come find me if something awful should happen to me in there. And of course I always take my cell phone on walks, and I try to tell someone where I'll be going, too. As a woman, you never know who might attack you when you're out walking by yourself. When I walk Lily, I have a pepper spray that I keep in my bag (I don't think Lily is big or scary enough to defend me), and when I'm hiking, I carry a small swiss army knife. I hate guns so I refuse to own or carry a gun (hubby does own a couple of long guns - I always forget if they're rifles or shotguns - but he only uses them for clay pigeon target shooting and he keeps no ammo in the house, so we technically do have guns but no ammo). So hopefully I'd be able to defend myself and/or call for help if need be while I'm out exercising - hopefully I'll never have to be in that situation to find out, though.

That's how hubby and I are, too, I usually eat what I can manage and then he eats the rest. He can eat his portion and mine. He's not a big guy but he can definitely eat a lot! Which has always been good for me because I've never been a big eater, and of course I tend to have very little/no appetite when I'm flaring or feeling ill.
 
Diet-wise I'm already doing better. As long as I put a little planning and forethought into it, I do okay. I just have to not be lazy about it. I stopped at the Korean market yesterday and got some kimchi, and I think that's helping already (maybe because it's fermented so it has probiotics? Or maybe it's the spices? I know some spices can be anti-inflammatory). I had some kimchi with rice and some squid salad yesterday for dinner and that sat very well with me. For lunch today I did another wrap, with scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, goat feta cheese, and a mixture of kimchi & mayonnaise - the mayo makes it creamy and cuts the spice a bit, so it's really yummy. Dinner will be leftover turkey and avocado - just because we have a lot of leftover turkey (we cooked a whole turkey a few days ago) and we have a couple of avocados that are ripe now and need to be eaten up. So I'm not sure if we'll make that into sandwiches or what, but we need to make something with those ingredients.

I'm going to try to eat a bit of kimchi every day - it seems to help my guts. And I know I don't need to eat much - I can't eat a lot of it anyway, it's too spicy to eat very much of. I got a big jar of it at the local Korean market so that should last me quite awhile.
 
Your diet sounds very tasty,my sort of food.We live in a small town and they're not into stuff like the big cities.I have read that Kimchi is good for digestion.I quite fancy trying it but if I asked for it here they'd think I was an alien.Glad you take your safety seriously.Some women allow themselves to get into bad situations don't they.I'm not blaming them mind you,but you can't trust anyone now,sad as it is.Enjoy your weekend.
 
Oh yeah, I know that I have to take my personal safety seriously. I've never been attacked, but I've been followed by guys, and that alone is terrifying. I've been followed at least twice at the big gym, and I've been followed while hiking. The guy who had been following me while hiking, I thought I lost him, but after I was done hiking and I got into my car and left the park, he apparently had been waiting in his car and followed me in his car as I drove out of the park! Now that was really scary. I drove super fast and managed to lose him. I have read that if you're being followed in your car, don't drive home, drive to a police station, so I was about to go to the police but fortunately I lost the guy at a red light and I managed to get away from him. So yeah, I know to take my safety seriously. I don't know what these guys want, when they follow me like that. At the gym they probably just want to ask me out and I'm obviously not interested, but what was the car guy thinking? Was he going to kidnap me, rape me, murder me? I sure don't want to find out but I'm guessing the answer isn't anything good.

I've decided that today I'm not going to visit my grandma after all. She had the flu recently, and since residents of her unit don't get to leave, I'm sure the flu is spreading in there like wildfire. I had my flu shot, but I've read that statistically about 50% of the people who got the flu shot are catching the flu anyway this year, it's really spreading like crazy right now in my state. I don't want to risk catching the flu, so I'm going to wait at least another week before I go visit her.

That frees up some time for me to do what I want. Hubby is at work today so it's me time! It's already 55 degrees F and it's supposed to get up into the low 60s today, which is springtime weather for sure. Like, I might not even need a jacket to walk Lily! So walking her and maybe a bike ride are on the agenda for today. I'll see how I feel after walking her, how tired my legs feel, and will decide from there whether or not to take a short bike ride. It's supposed to be equally nice weather tomorrow, with no rain until Monday, so if I can't ride today then I'll try for tomorrow.
 
I walked Lily yesterday, did not go on a bike ride. Was hoping to do that today. But then, yesterday evening, I got hit with some pretty bad nausea. It came on rather suddenly and strongly, so I was worried that it was a virus. I nearly vomited but didn't (I'm one of those stubborn people who absolutely refuses to vomit unless I'm given no choice in the matter, I hate vomiting more than anything else). Some zofran and my heating pad got it under control. I got really bad chills as well - I was shivering and my teeth were chattering - but my heating pad also helped with that. Today I'm a bit crampy and don't have much appetite, but the nausea and chills seem to be gone. I didn't eat anything weird yesterday so I really don't know the cause of the nausea & chills, maybe it is a virus? At any rate, my stupid broken body is keeping me from exercising, yet again. So frustrated but not much I can do about it.
 
That doesn't sound good Cat.I'm glad you did the right thing and didn't exercise or visit Gran.I know you feel frustrated by it all, but that's what we have to put up with.You'll have a "good"day soon,and you'll enjoy it.
 
Still having bad days so far. Yesterday I rested, barely ate anything, but still felt rough. This morning, the same. So I've upped my pred dose from 6 mg to 8 because I don't know what else to do. I haven't felt well in over a week and the past few days have been hard. I'll go up to 10 mg if 8 doesn't do the trick. I emailed my GI to let him know I'm doing this (he lets me deal with my taper my way). So frustrated. I want to be off of pred and I want to just feel reasonably well. Apparently that's too much to ask for on either front. Ugh. I'm really depressed today. If I'm honest, I've been depressed for awhile now. I'm starting to think I need to ask my GP for some help, an antidepressant or something. I already take 25 mg amitriptyline for my migraines, but I might need to be on a full dose of something else if it's not contraindicated with my amitriptyline. (I can't take a higher dose of ami, I once tried 40 mg and my migraines came right back.) It's a double-edged sword, though. If I go to my GP and say I'm depressed, that will go in my file and then forever doctors will say, oh, you have undiagnosed gut issues? Clearly it's just because of your depression. (When really it's the other way around - I'm depressed because of my gut issues, I don't have gut issues because of depression!)

So I don't know what to do other than cry. Does crying count as exercise? That's all the exercise I'm going to get for today. Ugh ugh ugh.
 
I'm so sorry Cat.Nothing I say will help.I'm sorry you're having to increase the pred.especially,because I know how badly you want to be done with it.It's OK to feel sorry for yourself and cry if you need to.Don't push yourself,and snuggle down every opportunity you get.Sending hugs.
 
Thank you, Carol. It does help just knowing somebody's listening. I'm feeling a little better now that the 8 mg has had most of the day to kick in. I was able to eat a little bit of toast and now I'm having tea. I feel a bit less awful than I was earlier.

I sure do have a difficult time with pred, it seems to get more difficult every time I have a taper fail (and this time I wasn't even trying to taper!). It's just becoming a seemingly never-ending thing at this point so I get more and more frustrated. I started flaring in July, was put on Entocort at that time, Entocort did nothing, I was hospitalized in August, put on IV steroids while in the hospital, and put on pred when I was released from the hospital. I've been on pred ever since. I know it's helped a ton, but I also hate it. And I hate how my body reacts when it doesn't get quite enough pred for its liking.

My aunt with Crohn's, she's been on 10 mg pred for ages and she's planning to stay on 10 mg pred forever. I was shocked when she told me that, now I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be similar just because I can't get off of the stupid stuff.
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
Thank you, Carol. It does help just knowing somebody's listening. I'm feeling a little better now that the 8 mg has had most of the day to kick in. I was able to eat a little bit of toast and now I'm having tea. I feel a bit less awful than I was earlier.

I sure do have a difficult time with pred, it seems to get more difficult every time I have a taper fail (and this time I wasn't even trying to taper!). It's just becoming a seemingly never-ending thing at this point so I get more and more frustrated. I started flaring in July, was put on Entocort at that time, Entocort did nothing, I was hospitalized in August, put on IV steroids while in the hospital, and put on pred when I was released from the hospital. I've been on pred ever since. I know it's helped a ton, but I also hate it. And I hate how my body reacts when it doesn't get quite enough pred for its liking.

My aunt with Crohn's, she's been on 10 mg pred for ages and she's planning to stay on 10 mg pred forever. I was shocked when she told me that, now I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be similar just because I can't get off of the stupid stuff.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear your prednisone taper is not going well. I know you want nothing more than to get off it. Because I have no experience with flares, I did some reading and the CCFA website suggests that prednisone does little to prevent flares - they are only used in the acute stages of the disease. It seems to me that because your flare has been about 8 months long, it would suggest it has moved from "acute" to "chronic" and that's why the prednisone is not working so well anymore? It could also be that your body has gotten so tolerant of the steroids that it automatically shifts into "flare mode" when you go down. It's just an idea but I'm no doctor. I'm not certain what you and your doctor have tried, but I'm wondering if it might be a good idea for you to seek another opinion to see if someone else might be able to help you balance out your flares so you can finally get off the prednisone.

I understand what you mean about the depression. I've struggled with chronic depression (aka persistent depressive disorder) since I was 16 years old (I will be 34 this year). Because you are having health problems, I think it's only natural that you would be feeling a little blue. I would consider yours more of a "situational" problem. If it persists longer than 2-3 weeks, then I would consider seeing your GP for advice. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have depression - everyone gets a little down now and then. It also doesn't necessarily mean that you need to be on medication. Your GP may recommend that you talk to someone for therapy (I strongly recommend the CBT route if you are interested in therapy). If you work for a large company, they might have an employee assistance program where you could have a certain number of sessions for free. Your employer is not at liberty to gain access to this information - it's a HIPAA violation - so no worries about your boss finding out. We have an EAP where I work but I haven't had to use it.

Also remember that your gut makes 90% of the serotonin in your body. I don't know if you have tried probiotics (I know they do not cure IBD and they don't work in all people) but it might be a good idea to see if that brings up the good bacteria. :)

http://bodyecology.com/articles/your-gut-can-influence-how-you-feel-it-all-starts-with-serotonin
 
Thanks, MissLeopard. I should clarify, about the depression. I've suffered from depression since I was about 12 years old - I've never been formally diagnosed, but I remember wanting to not live anymore when I was 12 and nothing made me happy, I was depressed all the time for much of my adolescence. It sort of went away on its own around age 16 when I traded up for an eating disorder. I was anorexic from about ages 16 - 19. I'm sure there was some depression mixed in with that, you can't hate yourself that much without also being at least a little depressed, but the eating disorder definitely had center stage during those years.

As an adult I've been through periods of depression but nothing too bad, until IBD came into my life. But then I discovered that working on my fitness is the best anti-depressant for me - it heals my body and my mind. Being in the gym, especially lifting weights, just chases all the negative feelings away. But at times like this, when I'm too ill to even take a walk, let alone lift weights - I get depressed super easily and quickly. I'm sure it's part of the flare itself, I cry so much during flares. I cry at nothing sometimes. I'm sure if I could just get things under better control guts-wise, the depression would ease up too. I had almost no depression for the 2 years that I was in remission (spring 2011 - spring 2013). I exercised so much during that time and felt great the whole time. But then they stopped making my maintenance med, Asacol, and I struggled to find another maintenance med that worked as well, and I haven't felt that well ever since.

And yes, I do have 2 maintenance meds right now which I had hoped would keep me in remission once I got off of the pred, but now I'm not so sure. I'm on Lialda, I've been on that for years. I don't think it does much, but it's not hurting anything either. And I'm on low dose Naltrexone, have been on that for a few months now. At first I was sure that LDN was helping, but I don't know if it's enough to keep me from flaring. And I'm basically out of med options, being undiagnosed. My GI won't put me on anything like biologics nor immunosuppressants. So I'm stuck, I'm really stuck.

I have read that, that changes in the gut bacteria can affect serotonin, although I don't know that I fully understand the science of it. Before this latest episode of feeling poorly, I had just started having kimchi every day, as that's got both spices (anti-inflammatory) and is fermented, so probiotics. But my stomach can't handle much of anything now, it gurgled like crazy yesterday after I ate some toast, so I think kimchi would probably hurt very much right now. I've tried probiotic capsules before, they didn't seem to do much for my guts but they seemed to make my GERD worse, go figure. I think I'm one of those people for whom probiotics don't make a whole lot of difference.

So yeah, in a nutshell, when I'm well I'm really well - exercising and eating my kimchi and feeling great. But when I'm unwell, I'm really unwell, depressed and crying and feeling horrendous. I'd love to just be normal! I'd gladly give up the highs if I could just have fewer lows, you know?
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
Thanks, MissLeopard. I should clarify, about the depression. I've suffered from depression since I was about 12 years old - I've never been formally diagnosed, but I remember wanting to not live anymore when I was 12 and nothing made me happy, I was depressed all the time for much of my adolescence. It sort of went away on its own around age 16 when I traded up for an eating disorder. I was anorexic from about ages 16 - 19. I'm sure there was some depression mixed in with that, you can't hate yourself that much without also being at least a little depressed, but the eating disorder definitely had center stage during those years.

As an adult I've been through periods of depression but nothing too bad, until IBD came into my life. But then I discovered that working on my fitness is the best anti-depressant for me - it heals my body and my mind. Being in the gym, especially lifting weights, just chases all the negative feelings away. But at times like this, when I'm too ill to even take a walk, let alone lift weights - I get depressed super easily and quickly. I'm sure it's part of the flare itself, I cry so much during flares. I cry at nothing sometimes. I'm sure if I could just get things under better control guts-wise, the depression would ease up too. I had almost no depression for the 2 years that I was in remission (spring 2011 - spring 2013). I exercised so much during that time and felt great the whole time. But then they stopped making my maintenance med, Asacol, and I struggled to find another maintenance med that worked as well, and I haven't felt that well ever since.

And yes, I do have 2 maintenance meds right now which I had hoped would keep me in remission once I got off of the pred, but now I'm not so sure. I'm on Lialda, I've been on that for years. I don't think it does much, but it's not hurting anything either. And I'm on low dose Naltrexone, have been on that for a few months now. At first I was sure that LDN was helping, but I don't know if it's enough to keep me from flaring. And I'm basically out of med options, being undiagnosed. My GI won't put me on anything like biologics nor immunosuppressants. So I'm stuck, I'm really stuck.

I have read that, that changes in the gut bacteria can affect serotonin, although I don't know that I fully understand the science of it. Before this latest episode of feeling poorly, I had just started having kimchi every day, as that's got both spices (anti-inflammatory) and is fermented, so probiotics. But my stomach can't handle much of anything now, it gurgled like crazy yesterday after I ate some toast, so I think kimchi would probably hurt very much right now. I've tried probiotic capsules before, they didn't seem to do much for my guts but they seemed to make my GERD worse, go figure. I think I'm one of those people for whom probiotics don't make a whole lot of difference.

So yeah, in a nutshell, when I'm well I'm really well - exercising and eating my kimchi and feeling great. But when I'm unwell, I'm really unwell, depressed and crying and feeling horrendous. I'd love to just be normal! I'd gladly give up the highs if I could just have fewer lows, you know?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. I was kind of iffy about posting above because I don't want to seem like the type that goes "take A, B, or C and you will be cured" kind of person. I had someone say something like that to me about my depression and I wanted to smack them.

I have GERD, too, and I know what you mean about things affecting it. I've never had probiotics affect it though. Just curious - have you ever tried taking a probiotic that was specifically made to open up in the intestine? If it's not coated right, it will open in your stomach and many probiotics are made with lactose so it could affect your GERD. I know of a really good brand that I used before and didn't affect me - Natren Healthy Start (green box). They have probiotics that are dairy-free (I believe I remember that dairy doesn't do well on your gut). I'm sure there are other dairy-free probiotics, but I know this one bypasses the stomach for maximum absorption. They also have a good product called Healthy Trinity which are also dairy-free. Hope this helps.

Also, I wonder if the reason why kimchi is affecting you is because of the high fiber content? It's actually a prebiotic which sets up a good environment for probiotics to thrive in. All prebiotics are high in fiber which might be a good thing to avoid if it's bothering you. I, myself, cannot handle spices very well. I've never tried kimchi, but I don't think I could handle it either.

I wish I could help with your diagnosis. It stinks when you don't have a definitive answer as to what ails you. I know I breathed a heavy sigh of relief when they found out what I had last year. Is this the only doctor you are able to see? I know, last year, I was planning to switch to an IBD specialist in a group that is very highly rated, but didn't need it. I wonder if a research hospital such as Mayo Clinic might be able to provide more answers?
 
You remembered correctly, dairy is not my friend. I've been lactose intolerant since my early 20s (years before IBD came into the picture). I honestly don't remember what brand or type of probiotics I had taken as this was a few years ago. I seem to recall trying a few different types (including the more expensive refrigerated ones) and didn't have success with any of them, so I sort of gave up on probiotics. Maybe that's something to revisit at some point soon as I know my body is sort of ever-changing. I know every flare for me is a little different and my trigger foods have changed over time, so maybe I'd react to probiotics differently now too.

I can see other doctors, but I'm hesitant to switch right now. There are shakeups at work, and although it sounds like my job will probably be safe, I want to be absolutely sure. We were told we'll know more in April (we're being absorbed by another part of the company and getting a new president, and that transition happens in April). So after that I might be more comfortable with switching doctors, but for the time being I'm staying put. I'd hate to start out with a new doctor and then lose my insurance and be out of luck. At least sticking with my current GI, I can email him and he knows my history (and he knows what a pain in the ass I am). Even if I lose my job and my insurance, I could still pester my current GI via email. That would still suck, but it'd be better than having a new doctor I think.

I'm not sure if I could go to Mayo Clinic or not on my insurance. I'm guessing not. And they're pretty far away, I think it's something like 4 or 5 hours to drive to the Twin Cities from here and I'm not even exactly sure where Mayo is in Minnesota. It might be something to look into once the dust settles on my job situation.

I didn't mean that kimchi is affecting me all the time - I just meant, right now most foods are not my friend because I have no appetite and some nausea and diarrhea. But when I'm feeling okay, I can do kimchi just fine. My friend who is Korean-American suggested that I try it, she had a rough pregnancy a couple years ago and she said that when she was just a little nauseous, she'd eat something spicy and that would help with the mild nausea. So I've been trying that and it's been working, as long as the nausea is mild. I wouldn't want to try eating kimchi with moderate or severe nausea! And when my guts are upset in general I avoid all spices and fiber too. I only eat it when I'm reasonably well.

As for getting a diagnosis, I'm usually not that upset about not having one. It's been over 7 years now so I'm not exactly holding my breath. I used to think that I'd have a big party once I got diagnosed, but my party planning went by the wayside years ago. :p At this point, I'll probably just die of shock if I actually get diagnosed. But it does limit me at times like this. I just have to find new, creative ways to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
 
Hope you're feeling better Cat.I meant to mention yesterday that I had ordered Matcha green tea from our local health store.I'll collect it later today.Did you sample some while in Japan ? It has loads of benefits and I like green tea so I thought I'd go a step further.To do it right I will need a bamboo whisk,but hopefully the directions on the tub will be simpler and I won't need to do the full ceremony hahaha.I hope I like it as it wasn't cheap,and it was buy one get one half price,so I did that.I'll let you know how I get on.Have a better day.
 
Carol, I didn't try matcha, because I cannot tolerate caffeine. It gives me migraines. :( I can have a few small pieces of chocolate per day (sometimes even that's enough to give me a headache). Any more caffeine than that, even a small amount like in tea, and I'll get a migraine with aura. My mother also cannot tolerate caffeine but in a different way, it gives her cysts, so neither of us had matcha while in Japan. We encountered it everywhere, it's extremely popular there - it was at every sushi bar, we found matcha ice cream and buns filled with matcha cream (that looked gross, it looked like the bun was barfing green goo!). But we couldn't have any because of migraines and cysts. We did see a tea ceremony as well but didn't participate.

I'm feeling a little better today, guts are calmer and nausea seems to be gone. My bladder is now acting up, though, because apparently I always have to have some sort of stupid issue happening with my body. :p I've been drinking lots of water, but as of yesterday evening I'm barely peeing. I don't know if my colon is siphoning all my water or what. I feel like I'm on the brink of getting a bladder infection, bladder feels pretty irritated right now, so I'm just trying to drink as much as possible and I'm taking extra cranberry capsules to try to stave that off.

If I'm feeling okay at lunchtime, I'm planning to take a walk on the forest path. Today's weather looks like it'll be the nicest day of the year so far. Almost 70 degrees F! That's not just springtime weather, that's summer weather! I can't stay indoors on a day like that, so I'm really going to try for a walk. Even if it's a short, slow walk, I still want to get out and enjoy this day. I think I can do it.
 
A walk should be ok,if you feel up to it.Drink lots of water to try to flush out your bladder.Of course I know you'll be doing that.
I got the Matcha and also some matcha and seaweed tea bags which were new in.They're really nice.Haven't tried the powdered stuff yet.
 

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