Progress has been slow, but progress nonetheless. I've lost 2 inches off my waist since the last post but I haven't felt as though I've been losing weight. Perhaps it's moving around? I did get weighed at the doctor's this past week, and confirmed that I've put on 8kgs since December. Sheee-it!!! Doc is worried by the rapid gain. I've had (almost) all the brakes on for a while but it's still been climbing.
On the positive side, my TSH is on the way back down. After being 5.4 in May last year and 5.1 in December, it's now 3.82. The integrated physician I saw last year wanted me to aim for 2.0 as she uses a very narrow band (as it should be). T4 is 15.4 (don't think that's free T4, not sure I can get that tested here) . The last result I have for this is from about November 2010 at 17.8. I was just looking at the 'normal' range for T4, 9.2 to 23.9, and realised that this was borderline low in my late 20's. I remember a consultation about thyroid, and that the bottom of the range was 9.2 and I was 9.1 or 9.2. The doctor, of course, dismissed this as being in my head (how the f**k does that work?) and not a problem. It clearly was a problem.
The doc didn't retest my iron, but I been having something of a red meat fest (lean beef and chicken livers) following which my energy levels have perked up no end. I guess I was still borderline low and just needed to get on top of it. Anyway, my energy levels are rising so I actually did some exercise today. I went for a 25 minute walk and followed that up with 3 one minute run, one minute rest cycles to test out that 3 minute exercise theory. I feel really great. It feels like I have had an hour in the gym, and I've done hardly anything. Best of all, I haven't blown out my knee. Anyway, I'm going to keep up the 3 minute running thing and see how it goes, and how my knee goes.
Other dietary stuff: I forgot about sugar, rather my problem with sugar. If I have even a small amount of sugar in my diet, I can't stick to my diet. It makes me crazy with cravings. I started including a little sugar again after I had the major hypoglycaemic attack last year, but forgot to phase it out again. I've now gotten rid of most of the sugar but still have the yoghurt problem. Yoghurt here is either low fat with sugar or no sugar but full fat and often with cream in it. In fact, it's so creamy that sometimes it just tastes rotten rather than activated by probiotics. I will have to make my own. In the meantime, I'm having low fat with sugar but this is my only source of this white poison. I've taken to buying a pile of individual yoghurts and throwing them in the freezer. I turn one out and put it in a nice glass with some passionfruit drizzled over, and then it takes a good 20 minutes of attack to eat it. This has solved one of my big problems with yogurt: a portion is over so quickly it leaves me wanting more. This way by the time I've finished my brain thinks it's had a right old yogurt feast. Other mind/food games trickery I'm employing includes carrots, chewing gum, ice-cubes and green tea made into ice-cubes. Slowly I am defeating the sugar demon. A major bonus with this is that as the sugar is coming under control, my alcoholic tendencies have dried up. Another thing I had forgotten about.
I have one more month left on my 3 month lease and I've decided to move into the main part of the city. It's too isolated for me out here on the edge of town even though I love the peace and quiet and big open areas. It's important I spend more time around friends, but it's not only too far away where I am, it can also be quite dangerous at night so I avoid tuk-tuking after dark. This has severely limited my social life, and is not good for my head space. I just need to choose an apartment carefully to make sure it's quiet enough for me. Oh, and it has to have a good kitchen. I would also be very close to the riverside which is great for walking, running, outdoor exercise classes, not to mention all the cafes and restaurants and people watching - believe me, there's a hell of a lot to watch there.
Well, it's back to work tomorrow. I think I've managed to use the break time for some good. I could have been more onto things and more dedicated, but hell I'm coming back from zero motivation to actually running so I can't beat myself up for only getting to that part on the last vacation day.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Baby steps...again...
OK, so I've made a couple of small changes for some noticeable benefits. The chocolate bug bit me big time during the week so I bit back with a bit of a rum and raisin chocolate bar binge. Strangely enough, that sorted out my salt cravings, although has left me with the urge to overuse the letter 'b'. I'm back to my regular level of salt intake, which is probably more than what is recommended anyway, but then, I don't have high blood pressure, heart problems or anything else that warrants reduced salt intake. I do get low blood pressure and occasionally very low bloody sugar and an adequate salt intake seems to help keep me in some kind of balance. While living in Oz, I did pass out from low blood sugar so I'm rather keen for this not to happen again.
One small step was to stop taking the Levothyroxine from Australia and go back to the French generic stuff I used here before. One small step, one big improvement, a fraction of the price. My body actually feels like it's getting some thryoid hormone now.
I have not made it to the gym yet to try the "3 minute workout." End of term is coming up in two weeks and I'll be using that time to set in some exercise routines, including giving this one a go. I will also be buying a bicycle this pay day, which coincides nicely with the last day of term. I have some time over the break to develop the confidence/skills necessary to take on the erratically speeding SUV monster pin balls that are a feature of the traffic here. I have managed to do some walking around my neighbourhood, although in some pain. That was more than compensated for by the genuinely friendly locals and kids who greeted me on my way. Even the dogs were better behaved than in town.
Pain levels overall have reduced dramatically over the past week, except for the ongoing issue of more titanium in my body than it's comfortable with - literally. Going back to basic broken bone care i.e. staying off it, elevating it etc has sorted out most of that.
As for the weight I've put on, I feel as though I'm on the verge of going into weight loss mode. I just need to push things a bit harder in that area and I think it will slot back into place. The next two weeks provide an ideal opportunity to get back on that horse, so high-ho Silver, away!
One small step was to stop taking the Levothyroxine from Australia and go back to the French generic stuff I used here before. One small step, one big improvement, a fraction of the price. My body actually feels like it's getting some thryoid hormone now.
I have not made it to the gym yet to try the "3 minute workout." End of term is coming up in two weeks and I'll be using that time to set in some exercise routines, including giving this one a go. I will also be buying a bicycle this pay day, which coincides nicely with the last day of term. I have some time over the break to develop the confidence/skills necessary to take on the erratically speeding SUV monster pin balls that are a feature of the traffic here. I have managed to do some walking around my neighbourhood, although in some pain. That was more than compensated for by the genuinely friendly locals and kids who greeted me on my way. Even the dogs were better behaved than in town.
Pain levels overall have reduced dramatically over the past week, except for the ongoing issue of more titanium in my body than it's comfortable with - literally. Going back to basic broken bone care i.e. staying off it, elevating it etc has sorted out most of that.
As for the weight I've put on, I feel as though I'm on the verge of going into weight loss mode. I just need to push things a bit harder in that area and I think it will slot back into place. The next two weeks provide an ideal opportunity to get back on that horse, so high-ho Silver, away!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Neglect...
Neglect seems to be a theme running through my life right now. The return-with-a-vengence thyroid symptoms have been snowballing since about 6-8 weeks before I left Australia, and I feel like I'm dealing with a giant fluoride hangover. As we Hashis (or semi-Hashis, who sometimes test positive and sometimes test negative but still have symptoms - can someone please explain that one to me) know, while one is in the midst of a thyroid disaster, one forgets to do any and all of the positive things that previously had kept us on the rather straight and narrow path that is living successfully with this sucker.
We forget to do these things because the thyroid fog is so thick we can't see them anymore, and once they cease to be part of our daily mental inventory, they may as well have never existed. One of the reasons I started this blog was so that if/when I had a major relapse, I could go back to the beginning of it to remind myself just what the bloody hell I'm supposed to be doing about it. Unfortunately, I have also been neglecting the blog, so I forgot to look.
On top of whatever the hell it was that Australia did to ruin my delicately balanced constitution, there was the fact that I flew to get back to Asia, and the hell out of Oz. I don't fly well. In fact, I'm a true Kiwi, i.e. flying is just bloody unnatural. It takes me months to recover from it, which I would guess has something to do with adrenal exhaustion due to the continuous, highly stressed state I'm in while flying, even with Valium, which unfortunately, does not make me fly in any sense of the word. Bloody useless stuff that it is. And as if I wasn't already overloaded with triggers for a downwardly spiralling thyroid condition, I was living out of hotel rooms until 4 weeks ago. This meant not being able to cook, which in turn meant I wasn't eating properly.
At that point, I had completely forgotten about the results of the blood tests done just before leaving OZ; thyroid out of whack (ongoing while in Oz), salts out of whack (really need to pay attention to that one), low on B vitamins (despite taking daily), low on Vit D (despite taking daily), low on iron (despite eating chicken livers regularly). A final couple of straws: money has been a worry, rather the lack of it. This has led to some frugalities that are counter intuitive to the Hashi, as well as the fact that money worries all by themselves are generally enough to make me miserably ill. And last but by no means least, I have some really suck days at work with some really long hours. Again, completely counter-Hashi.
This all seems to be leading towards some kind of action plan, or at the least, vague promises to stop neglecting self and do something. But what?
After some considerable disruption, my sleep is returning to a normal pattern, but it's has once again become the unrefreshing variety. I was having difficulty falling asleep which is really unusual for me given that I can usually fall asleep at the drop of a hat, no matter where I am. I do sometimes have an awake period during the night when I read or watch TV. There is a school of thought that now believes this to be entirely natural and in fact, is the human default sleeping pattern: The myth of the eight hour sleep, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783 and Segmented sleep: Ten strange things people do at night, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17193783. If I start reverting to this again, I'll try to stick with it. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that the middle of the night waking period would probably be the best time to take thyroid medication.
Exercise is as usual a collosal blind spot. I am experiencing a lot of joint pain, which doesn't mean jack as I've tested negative to all arthritic conditions several times. It just means my thyroid is tricking my brain into replicating the symptoms of diseases that I don't have. Hand in hand with the joint pain is the pain at the site of every broken bone I've ever had...and there are a few. Just to ice the pain cake, I also have out of control muscle stiffness and pain. Oh, and I've put on a serious amount of weight in a short period of time. Given that I can't do a hell of a lot of exercise with my bung knee and unrepaired internal injuries, my interest was peaked by this BBC News article: Can three minutes of exercise a week help make you fit? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17177251. I think I can try to manage to fit in three minutes a week, and who knows? Maybe, I'm one of the lucky 15%.
As for diet, it is pretty much under control again - not that it was out of control. I was eating like a normal person, which of course is over eating and eating all the wrong things for a Hashi. I'm having massive salt cravings, which I indulge, and have completely lost my taste for chocolate. I tried a little the other day and felt immensely better for the rest of the day, but I haven't got the urge to rush out and hunt it down.
What I really need to do is have some follow up blood tests. Due to the expense of the only decent medical facility in town, I've been putting that off. It's becoming a pressing issue though so I guess I should aim to be stuck like a pin cushion next week. I also need to consider that something is really wrong with the levothyroxine I've been using since I arrived in Australia. Change back to the French version I was on here before. Also, get some bloody pain killers. I was raised to be stoic about pain, so I have a tendency to see pain killers as either unnecessary or the enemy, when in fact, they can be my friend. Pain killers allow me to exercise more, sleep better and enjoy a pain holiday.
Now, how many of these things will I remember to do? I'll try to remember to check back here next week to see how well I did with that.
We forget to do these things because the thyroid fog is so thick we can't see them anymore, and once they cease to be part of our daily mental inventory, they may as well have never existed. One of the reasons I started this blog was so that if/when I had a major relapse, I could go back to the beginning of it to remind myself just what the bloody hell I'm supposed to be doing about it. Unfortunately, I have also been neglecting the blog, so I forgot to look.
On top of whatever the hell it was that Australia did to ruin my delicately balanced constitution, there was the fact that I flew to get back to Asia, and the hell out of Oz. I don't fly well. In fact, I'm a true Kiwi, i.e. flying is just bloody unnatural. It takes me months to recover from it, which I would guess has something to do with adrenal exhaustion due to the continuous, highly stressed state I'm in while flying, even with Valium, which unfortunately, does not make me fly in any sense of the word. Bloody useless stuff that it is. And as if I wasn't already overloaded with triggers for a downwardly spiralling thyroid condition, I was living out of hotel rooms until 4 weeks ago. This meant not being able to cook, which in turn meant I wasn't eating properly.
At that point, I had completely forgotten about the results of the blood tests done just before leaving OZ; thyroid out of whack (ongoing while in Oz), salts out of whack (really need to pay attention to that one), low on B vitamins (despite taking daily), low on Vit D (despite taking daily), low on iron (despite eating chicken livers regularly). A final couple of straws: money has been a worry, rather the lack of it. This has led to some frugalities that are counter intuitive to the Hashi, as well as the fact that money worries all by themselves are generally enough to make me miserably ill. And last but by no means least, I have some really suck days at work with some really long hours. Again, completely counter-Hashi.
This all seems to be leading towards some kind of action plan, or at the least, vague promises to stop neglecting self and do something. But what?
After some considerable disruption, my sleep is returning to a normal pattern, but it's has once again become the unrefreshing variety. I was having difficulty falling asleep which is really unusual for me given that I can usually fall asleep at the drop of a hat, no matter where I am. I do sometimes have an awake period during the night when I read or watch TV. There is a school of thought that now believes this to be entirely natural and in fact, is the human default sleeping pattern: The myth of the eight hour sleep, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783 and Segmented sleep: Ten strange things people do at night, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17193783. If I start reverting to this again, I'll try to stick with it. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that the middle of the night waking period would probably be the best time to take thyroid medication.
Exercise is as usual a collosal blind spot. I am experiencing a lot of joint pain, which doesn't mean jack as I've tested negative to all arthritic conditions several times. It just means my thyroid is tricking my brain into replicating the symptoms of diseases that I don't have. Hand in hand with the joint pain is the pain at the site of every broken bone I've ever had...and there are a few. Just to ice the pain cake, I also have out of control muscle stiffness and pain. Oh, and I've put on a serious amount of weight in a short period of time. Given that I can't do a hell of a lot of exercise with my bung knee and unrepaired internal injuries, my interest was peaked by this BBC News article: Can three minutes of exercise a week help make you fit? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17177251. I think I can try to manage to fit in three minutes a week, and who knows? Maybe, I'm one of the lucky 15%.
As for diet, it is pretty much under control again - not that it was out of control. I was eating like a normal person, which of course is over eating and eating all the wrong things for a Hashi. I'm having massive salt cravings, which I indulge, and have completely lost my taste for chocolate. I tried a little the other day and felt immensely better for the rest of the day, but I haven't got the urge to rush out and hunt it down.
What I really need to do is have some follow up blood tests. Due to the expense of the only decent medical facility in town, I've been putting that off. It's becoming a pressing issue though so I guess I should aim to be stuck like a pin cushion next week. I also need to consider that something is really wrong with the levothyroxine I've been using since I arrived in Australia. Change back to the French version I was on here before. Also, get some bloody pain killers. I was raised to be stoic about pain, so I have a tendency to see pain killers as either unnecessary or the enemy, when in fact, they can be my friend. Pain killers allow me to exercise more, sleep better and enjoy a pain holiday.
Now, how many of these things will I remember to do? I'll try to remember to check back here next week to see how well I did with that.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Back in the Penh...
Well here I am back in Phnom Penh a year after leaving. Who would've seen that one coming, huh? I guess if I had gone pretty much anywhere in the world except Australia, it's very likely I would not be back here now. However, I did, and I am. More about that later. For now, I'm on the great accommodation hunt. To start with, I need cooking facilities, and pets must be allowed.
On Christmas Day, I found a teeny little, white-haired, blue-eyed (but not deaf) kitten in a banana tree behind my friend Terrina's house in Ho Chi Minh City. It's not every Christmas that Santa drops a kitten in a banana tree so I couldn't just leave it there. She's having her shots, and then waiting 30 days before she can be exported to Cambodia, along with T's dog Aspen which I'm inheriting as they are going back to New Zealand.
So here I am in Cambodia and I've already got a cat and a dog to think about. I also need a kitchen. If you know me, then you know why. Lunch today consisted of Rocky Chicken Gizzards (like KFC popcorn chicken) and Mixed Balls (3 mystery meat mixes of pork, fish and beef).
On Christmas Day, I found a teeny little, white-haired, blue-eyed (but not deaf) kitten in a banana tree behind my friend Terrina's house in Ho Chi Minh City. It's not every Christmas that Santa drops a kitten in a banana tree so I couldn't just leave it there. She's having her shots, and then waiting 30 days before she can be exported to Cambodia, along with T's dog Aspen which I'm inheriting as they are going back to New Zealand.
So here I am in Cambodia and I've already got a cat and a dog to think about. I also need a kitchen. If you know me, then you know why. Lunch today consisted of Rocky Chicken Gizzards (like KFC popcorn chicken) and Mixed Balls (3 mystery meat mixes of pork, fish and beef).
Sunday, December 11, 2011
I learnt something new from the doc last week
So as I'm preparing to leave Australia, and so-called civilization, to return to SE Asia, and people who do understand what civilized behaviour actually is, I went to the doctor for a few tests. The thyroid test was the most important one, but we decided to get a whole panel done as well.
Firstly, my thyroid is out of whack still, which it has been the whole time I've been in Australia. I still believe the primary reason for this is exposure to fluoride, even though I've only used bottled water here. Fluoride is still present on the fruit and veg that I buy, in any food product I use which needs water during the processing and in the water I shower in, so even though I've tried to avoid fluoride, that has not been entirely possible.
The doc I saw came up with another reason for my thyroid being out of whack, on this particular test. About 6 or 7 weeks ago, I had a quinsy, which is an abscess on a tonsil. I'm prone to nasty strep infections and get a really bad one every 3 or 4 years. I've noticed my entire life, that when I'm sick, I put on weight and continue to do so for months afterwards. The doc said that this is because we need more thyroid hormone when we are ill as well as for a period of time afterwards. In 'normal' people, their thyroid amps up production levels to compensate for the increased demand. People who take thyroid replacement hormones are on a fixed hormone intake so of course, this means the body is not getting what it needs, we put on weight, feel like shite for longer, yada yada yada. This is the first time I've heard of this, but I'm taking it on board and increasing my dose a little for the next few weeks, then repeating the test 6 weeks after the previous one.
Other interesting results were borderline low iron, low-normal vitamin D, despite taking 1000-2000 whatevers of it a day, and low B vitamins, again despite dosing myself daily. Basically, I'm going to amp up the vitamin intake and enjoy some chicken liver pate, and then get retested with the thyroid.
I'm really looking forward to my return to SE Asia, Christmas with Terrina and her family in HCMC, returning to Phnom Penh and catching up with everyone and everything there, and getting back into work that is challenging and rewarding in most senses of the word. More money would be good but we can't have everything all the time...
Firstly, my thyroid is out of whack still, which it has been the whole time I've been in Australia. I still believe the primary reason for this is exposure to fluoride, even though I've only used bottled water here. Fluoride is still present on the fruit and veg that I buy, in any food product I use which needs water during the processing and in the water I shower in, so even though I've tried to avoid fluoride, that has not been entirely possible.
The doc I saw came up with another reason for my thyroid being out of whack, on this particular test. About 6 or 7 weeks ago, I had a quinsy, which is an abscess on a tonsil. I'm prone to nasty strep infections and get a really bad one every 3 or 4 years. I've noticed my entire life, that when I'm sick, I put on weight and continue to do so for months afterwards. The doc said that this is because we need more thyroid hormone when we are ill as well as for a period of time afterwards. In 'normal' people, their thyroid amps up production levels to compensate for the increased demand. People who take thyroid replacement hormones are on a fixed hormone intake so of course, this means the body is not getting what it needs, we put on weight, feel like shite for longer, yada yada yada. This is the first time I've heard of this, but I'm taking it on board and increasing my dose a little for the next few weeks, then repeating the test 6 weeks after the previous one.
Other interesting results were borderline low iron, low-normal vitamin D, despite taking 1000-2000 whatevers of it a day, and low B vitamins, again despite dosing myself daily. Basically, I'm going to amp up the vitamin intake and enjoy some chicken liver pate, and then get retested with the thyroid.
I'm really looking forward to my return to SE Asia, Christmas with Terrina and her family in HCMC, returning to Phnom Penh and catching up with everyone and everything there, and getting back into work that is challenging and rewarding in most senses of the word. More money would be good but we can't have everything all the time...
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Weekly Weigh-in sans Weight Watchers
After the shenanigans of last weekend's Weight Watchers meeting that saw me quit - twice - I had thought to give myself a week off from the pressure of losing weight. This was also a busy week for me with two evenings out in a row (that just sounds so sad and pathetic), and I knew I wouldn't be able to do a mid-week fruit & vege top up shop. All in all, I felt it was an appropriate time to eat Easter buns with lashings of butter and to drink a couple of bottles of wine.
This morning I forced myself onto the scales to face the result of my slight slip into Bacchanalia. Just to be clear, after I bought the scales last weekend I jumped on them on Sunday morning to see how they measure against the WW ones. I was somewhat crushed to find the needle sitting at 81kgs instead of 79.4kgs, which probably fuelled the gusto with which I went at the buns. As a result, this morning I was feeling more than a little trepidation at finding out what damage I had done. Imagine my shock when the needle settled at 78kgs. Finally a result that is clearly below my 80kg mental hurdle.
Perhaps part of this sudden drop was due to the fact that I did go out two nights in a row. A little change in routine can shake things up nicely in the weight loss department. I also had a fantastic time at my flatmate's fashion and theatre show on Wednesday night. She was the fashion side of things. It was a fabulous evening of bubbles, fashion, real women, performance and a serious amount of laughter. See the flyer here, but I hope to get a couple of pics to put up http://www.velvetsushifashion.com/2011/03/fashion-show-march-30-and-march-31/. The other outing was my school's 'Surf Carnival' which involved students playing beach volley ball and teachers cooking a barbecue. I left before the dancing and serious beer drinking got under way.
I have been slowly recovering from my hypoglycaemic attack the previous week - perhaps another excuse to ease up on the dietary strictness that was making me a little miserable as it does when you are not getting the expected results. And, I have also gone back to basics to try to manage some of the many thyroid symptoms that appeared or reappeared since moving to Oz.
Although the days are still hot here, I bought a pair of winter boots. I can fit my orthotics into them, and wearing them reduces my leg pain, therefore reducing my overall daily pain load. I got a massage which stirred everything up, but now it's all settled. I discovered the cause of my daily morning headache that would become thunderous during the day. My TMJ (temporomandibular joint) was acting up severely. When I opened my jaw up fully, there was a great big knot clearly evident on one side, so I worked on it for a couple of days. This involves pushing on the knot firmly enough to cause pain but not so hard as to cause damage, and holding that for a couple of minutes. This stimulates your body to send all sorts of chemicals to the site including your natural pain killers, which all aid healing.
The next step was to figure out WHY this had happened and as severely as it did. Once the fog of the headache had cleared it was quite easy to see. I have a rather small bedroom with insufficient storage space so my little notebook computer lived on the beside table right beside where my head slept. This was also the side of my jaw with the big knot. I started putting the notebook on the floor before bed and hey presto! headache gone. This prompted me to move all the furniture around in my room and deal with the lack of space issues, which I had been avoiding as I didn't feel up to doing anything about. I have actually managed to create space, and now my notebook is well away from me and even has a place where I can use it. I also moved my bed from under the window as although it is still warm, cooler weather is on the way. This has also improved my sleep no end as the silly, rattly, vertical Venetian blinds no longer wake me up during the night. Even my tooth pain has reduced.
I found one last sleeve of Levo nicely tucked away in a cooler place, so there was the possibility that they had not been affected by the heat. I chucked the other sleeves I had been using, and started on it, and it seems to be better as my thyroid is no longer painful to the touch. Also after a timely reminder in Mary Shomon's latest newsletter - or was it on her facebook? - I am regaining control over my completely out of control coffee consumption. Note to self once again (us Hashis are slow learners), waiting that little bit of extra time in the morning between taking Levo and taking coffee is really, really important.
Now that the fog is lifting, I can see that I need to make some big decisions. I don't really like Perth, or rather, I'm not feeling it. On the one side, it's a bit too family for me, and on the other side, it's a bit too feral. Thinking of Melbourne...
This morning I forced myself onto the scales to face the result of my slight slip into Bacchanalia. Just to be clear, after I bought the scales last weekend I jumped on them on Sunday morning to see how they measure against the WW ones. I was somewhat crushed to find the needle sitting at 81kgs instead of 79.4kgs, which probably fuelled the gusto with which I went at the buns. As a result, this morning I was feeling more than a little trepidation at finding out what damage I had done. Imagine my shock when the needle settled at 78kgs. Finally a result that is clearly below my 80kg mental hurdle.
Perhaps part of this sudden drop was due to the fact that I did go out two nights in a row. A little change in routine can shake things up nicely in the weight loss department. I also had a fantastic time at my flatmate's fashion and theatre show on Wednesday night. She was the fashion side of things. It was a fabulous evening of bubbles, fashion, real women, performance and a serious amount of laughter. See the flyer here, but I hope to get a couple of pics to put up http://www.velvetsushifashion.com/2011/03/fashion-show-march-30-and-march-31/. The other outing was my school's 'Surf Carnival' which involved students playing beach volley ball and teachers cooking a barbecue. I left before the dancing and serious beer drinking got under way.
I have been slowly recovering from my hypoglycaemic attack the previous week - perhaps another excuse to ease up on the dietary strictness that was making me a little miserable as it does when you are not getting the expected results. And, I have also gone back to basics to try to manage some of the many thyroid symptoms that appeared or reappeared since moving to Oz.
Although the days are still hot here, I bought a pair of winter boots. I can fit my orthotics into them, and wearing them reduces my leg pain, therefore reducing my overall daily pain load. I got a massage which stirred everything up, but now it's all settled. I discovered the cause of my daily morning headache that would become thunderous during the day. My TMJ (temporomandibular joint) was acting up severely. When I opened my jaw up fully, there was a great big knot clearly evident on one side, so I worked on it for a couple of days. This involves pushing on the knot firmly enough to cause pain but not so hard as to cause damage, and holding that for a couple of minutes. This stimulates your body to send all sorts of chemicals to the site including your natural pain killers, which all aid healing.
The next step was to figure out WHY this had happened and as severely as it did. Once the fog of the headache had cleared it was quite easy to see. I have a rather small bedroom with insufficient storage space so my little notebook computer lived on the beside table right beside where my head slept. This was also the side of my jaw with the big knot. I started putting the notebook on the floor before bed and hey presto! headache gone. This prompted me to move all the furniture around in my room and deal with the lack of space issues, which I had been avoiding as I didn't feel up to doing anything about. I have actually managed to create space, and now my notebook is well away from me and even has a place where I can use it. I also moved my bed from under the window as although it is still warm, cooler weather is on the way. This has also improved my sleep no end as the silly, rattly, vertical Venetian blinds no longer wake me up during the night. Even my tooth pain has reduced.
I found one last sleeve of Levo nicely tucked away in a cooler place, so there was the possibility that they had not been affected by the heat. I chucked the other sleeves I had been using, and started on it, and it seems to be better as my thyroid is no longer painful to the touch. Also after a timely reminder in Mary Shomon's latest newsletter - or was it on her facebook? - I am regaining control over my completely out of control coffee consumption. Note to self once again (us Hashis are slow learners), waiting that little bit of extra time in the morning between taking Levo and taking coffee is really, really important.
Now that the fog is lifting, I can see that I need to make some big decisions. I don't really like Perth, or rather, I'm not feeling it. On the one side, it's a bit too family for me, and on the other side, it's a bit too feral. Thinking of Melbourne...
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