This week was just insane. I do have suggestions for topics to post. And I will update about the emu oil in a few days. Definitely good! It's close to a miracle but not exactly (Lily I promise I will post later! I want to give it one week)
Miles got sick this week and I am started to feel exhausted again so I think it's Ambien time tonight. I hate taking Ambien because I feel like a zombie the next day. But I have slept much better this week than usual which is awesome.
My sister and brother-in-law got my car fixed for me THANK YOU! So this weekend the boys and I are going to find something to do. Maybe a little trip to Idaho or something. I'm not sure yet. I'm still deciding.
Well, for now, I am getting off here to go clean my house for MORE THAN 20 MINUTES! WOOHOO!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
I bought Emu Oil for my Injured Back. Let the Experiment Begin!
I read a lot about the wonders of Emu Oil and was looking for some. The only one I found in Libby was so pricey that I don't care how much pain I am in... I can't afford that! I found a bottle of Emu Oil at Mountain Meadow Gifts just about a block and a half from my house. It's a half a fluid ounce for $8.99 which is still pricey. But it says to use 3 drops on the affected area. If it works, I will be back at work in no time (I hoping!) and then I can afford the pricey big bottle.
But, before I start the experiment, I wanted to document how I am doing right now without the emu oil so I can compare later with better clarity. I will do this by using the Pain Management worksheet I got in the mail for my pain specialist appointment that is on Wednesday. Here it goes...
Pain Level Right Now: 6.7 (I have a pain scale app I use)
Describe your pain: It's a burning pain that starts in my lower back and radiates around and down, all the way to the soles of my feet. It ends up turning into a stabbing sensation just in the back and has intermittent "shock" like sensations that start in the middle lower back and radiates outward to my sides (it's not daily). It's a quick shock feeling and then goes away. Every once in a while, I have this "crunchy" feeling in my lower back. It doesn't really hurt though it's just disconcerting and uncomfortable. Every once in a while I also have a "pop" feeling in my lower back (it's not daily either). Not sure what that is. It hurts for a few seconds and then subsides.
Pattern: The pain is constant. I only one or two pain free days since June 26 (and I was so excited! I thought I was better... next day, HELL NO!) It gradually builds up during the day until my legs feel like Jell-O by nighttime. It feels like someone has tied lead weights to my feet and lifting my legs becomes so difficult that I sometimes end up tripping and falling. It's like my legs don't work anymore. The pain is much worse in the evening than in the morning and any movement makes it worse also.
What relieves the pain? 3 celery stalks juiced (makes about 1 cup of celery juice) really helps. Actually it helps more than I thought it would. The problem is that with my rotation diet I can have celery juice once every 3 days. And according to research, I can't take more than 1 cup of vegetable juice daily or I will overdose on the good stuff in it. I tried drinking 1 cup each day, but eventually I was so nauseous from it that I had to stop and wait for a few days to start again.
What Causes or increases the pain? Any movement at all. Walking and sitting are horrendous. But I can't just lay around all day so I make myself walk, even though I am dying inside.
Effects of Pain
Accompanying symptoms: When it's bad enough, I start shaking uncontrollably. I get headaches from lack of sleep. Sometimes it hurts so much that I get nauseous. I haven't actually thrown up though.
Sleep: Sucks. I sleep maybe 4 hours a night. Usually I sleep for an hour at a time and wake up in pain. They gave me ambien to help me sleep. I can sleep 6 hours (sometimes) on ambien but I wake up every couple of hours miserable and then I feel out of it for the rest of the day. My sleep hasn't been solid, restful sleep for awhile now.
Appetite: I noticed I either starving or have no appetite. I'm not sure if I should count that... but before I was almost always wanting to eat something. I had to eat every 2 hours. Now, i make myself eat a few bites every couple hours and have a main meal for the day.
Physical Activity: Uhm, well, I can dress myself and bathe myself. I force myself to walk 2 blocks and back each day (sometimes more) because I am afraid my legs will atrophy and cause more problems. But I have to skip days because the pain is so intense I can barely function. I do manage to do light housework. I am up to 20 minutes about 2 to 3 times a day. I can sometimes stand long enough to cook a meal, other times I can stand long enough to microwave oatmeal.
Relationship with others: When I hurt, I am a complete bitch. I don't know how anyone can stand me sometimes. :( But I do pretty well most of the time. Although I am pretty irritable from pain a lot. I try to cope with it when people are around, especially hang out night! I usually end up going and laying down in bed so I don't start getting cranky when everyone is here. I just lay there by myself.
Emotions: When I first wake up, I am in a pretty good mood. I try to be positive as much as possible. When I really start hurting bad, I am not as chipper. I end up crying from the pain a lot. Mostly it's when I just can't take being in pain anymore. I have days where I am pretty angry about the whole thing. I have days where I just don't really want to do anything. Partly because I am exhausted and partly because I just don't want to move. If I move it hurts worse. I just want a day without intense pain.
Current Pain Medication: None.
Other Meds: Benadryl PRN for allergies, Chew Vitamins (2 daily), Ambien (not taking it though), Albuterol inhaler PRN
But, before I start the experiment, I wanted to document how I am doing right now without the emu oil so I can compare later with better clarity. I will do this by using the Pain Management worksheet I got in the mail for my pain specialist appointment that is on Wednesday. Here it goes...
Pain Level Right Now: 6.7 (I have a pain scale app I use)
Describe your pain: It's a burning pain that starts in my lower back and radiates around and down, all the way to the soles of my feet. It ends up turning into a stabbing sensation just in the back and has intermittent "shock" like sensations that start in the middle lower back and radiates outward to my sides (it's not daily). It's a quick shock feeling and then goes away. Every once in a while, I have this "crunchy" feeling in my lower back. It doesn't really hurt though it's just disconcerting and uncomfortable. Every once in a while I also have a "pop" feeling in my lower back (it's not daily either). Not sure what that is. It hurts for a few seconds and then subsides.
Pattern: The pain is constant. I only one or two pain free days since June 26 (and I was so excited! I thought I was better... next day, HELL NO!) It gradually builds up during the day until my legs feel like Jell-O by nighttime. It feels like someone has tied lead weights to my feet and lifting my legs becomes so difficult that I sometimes end up tripping and falling. It's like my legs don't work anymore. The pain is much worse in the evening than in the morning and any movement makes it worse also.
What relieves the pain? 3 celery stalks juiced (makes about 1 cup of celery juice) really helps. Actually it helps more than I thought it would. The problem is that with my rotation diet I can have celery juice once every 3 days. And according to research, I can't take more than 1 cup of vegetable juice daily or I will overdose on the good stuff in it. I tried drinking 1 cup each day, but eventually I was so nauseous from it that I had to stop and wait for a few days to start again.
What Causes or increases the pain? Any movement at all. Walking and sitting are horrendous. But I can't just lay around all day so I make myself walk, even though I am dying inside.
Effects of Pain
Accompanying symptoms: When it's bad enough, I start shaking uncontrollably. I get headaches from lack of sleep. Sometimes it hurts so much that I get nauseous. I haven't actually thrown up though.
Sleep: Sucks. I sleep maybe 4 hours a night. Usually I sleep for an hour at a time and wake up in pain. They gave me ambien to help me sleep. I can sleep 6 hours (sometimes) on ambien but I wake up every couple of hours miserable and then I feel out of it for the rest of the day. My sleep hasn't been solid, restful sleep for awhile now.
Appetite: I noticed I either starving or have no appetite. I'm not sure if I should count that... but before I was almost always wanting to eat something. I had to eat every 2 hours. Now, i make myself eat a few bites every couple hours and have a main meal for the day.
Physical Activity: Uhm, well, I can dress myself and bathe myself. I force myself to walk 2 blocks and back each day (sometimes more) because I am afraid my legs will atrophy and cause more problems. But I have to skip days because the pain is so intense I can barely function. I do manage to do light housework. I am up to 20 minutes about 2 to 3 times a day. I can sometimes stand long enough to cook a meal, other times I can stand long enough to microwave oatmeal.
Relationship with others: When I hurt, I am a complete bitch. I don't know how anyone can stand me sometimes. :( But I do pretty well most of the time. Although I am pretty irritable from pain a lot. I try to cope with it when people are around, especially hang out night! I usually end up going and laying down in bed so I don't start getting cranky when everyone is here. I just lay there by myself.
Emotions: When I first wake up, I am in a pretty good mood. I try to be positive as much as possible. When I really start hurting bad, I am not as chipper. I end up crying from the pain a lot. Mostly it's when I just can't take being in pain anymore. I have days where I am pretty angry about the whole thing. I have days where I just don't really want to do anything. Partly because I am exhausted and partly because I just don't want to move. If I move it hurts worse. I just want a day without intense pain.
Current Pain Medication: None.
Other Meds: Benadryl PRN for allergies, Chew Vitamins (2 daily), Ambien (not taking it though), Albuterol inhaler PRN
Google+ and Facebook...
I was pretty upset about the new Facebook layout last week. I actually thought about going off Facebook for about a week but then changed my mind as I played around with the new features. When I learned that Google+ went live, I was stoked since I love everything Google. I went and signed up right away.
The first thing I noticed is that the Google+ interface is pretty sweet. It's clean and organized. It lacks the enormous amount of clutter that litters my Facebook page. The very next thing I noticed was the "circles". Google+ circles are similar to Facebook's Lists in that you can group friends, family and other people into specific groups. For example, I have a list and a circle for writers, blogging, work and more.
That's about where the difference ends though. On Google+ you can post a new update like on Facebook but instead of posting to "public", "friends", etc... you can actually post to specific circles. Let's say I want to tell my family and close friends that I am traveling again, I am at a rest area in Boonies, Tx and the kids and I are fine. On Google+ I can pick to share it with my circle of Family and Close friends and no one can see it but them.
I am seeing a lot of potential for this! Sure, Facebook has something like that, but Google+ just made it easier. In fact, I just sent a private message to my friend Sara today as a test. (Yes Sara, you need to go get the android app!) I didn't have to leave the main screen at all. I love it.
While I have been oogling over Google+, it has really helped me understand the Facebook lists better. I did make one list called "Most recent" and added all my friends to it so I could have recent updates in chronological order, but I wasn't quite getting it and I am not in love with the layout of the lists. But the circles seem to be easier to get and use with the smooth Google+ layout.
I am not leaving Facebook. I still like it... but I LOVE Google+. Look me up, I am +Dotchi Latham over there. It's another cool social network toy for me to play with!
The first thing I noticed is that the Google+ interface is pretty sweet. It's clean and organized. It lacks the enormous amount of clutter that litters my Facebook page. The very next thing I noticed was the "circles". Google+ circles are similar to Facebook's Lists in that you can group friends, family and other people into specific groups. For example, I have a list and a circle for writers, blogging, work and more.
That's about where the difference ends though. On Google+ you can post a new update like on Facebook but instead of posting to "public", "friends", etc... you can actually post to specific circles. Let's say I want to tell my family and close friends that I am traveling again, I am at a rest area in Boonies, Tx and the kids and I are fine. On Google+ I can pick to share it with my circle of Family and Close friends and no one can see it but them.
I am seeing a lot of potential for this! Sure, Facebook has something like that, but Google+ just made it easier. In fact, I just sent a private message to my friend Sara today as a test. (Yes Sara, you need to go get the android app!) I didn't have to leave the main screen at all. I love it.
While I have been oogling over Google+, it has really helped me understand the Facebook lists better. I did make one list called "Most recent" and added all my friends to it so I could have recent updates in chronological order, but I wasn't quite getting it and I am not in love with the layout of the lists. But the circles seem to be easier to get and use with the smooth Google+ layout.
I am not leaving Facebook. I still like it... but I LOVE Google+. Look me up, I am +Dotchi Latham over there. It's another cool social network toy for me to play with!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Turn Off the Facebook Ticker! I hate Facebook's New Layout...
Facebook has really screwed up this time. The first thing I noticed, since I have ADD, is how ridiculous it is to have a ticker running your friends every move on Facebook right there in Facebook. That's like building a Wal*Mart inside a Wal*Mart. Now while I am IN Facebook, I see everything that is happening every second scrolling down the right hand side of my screen. My ADD and that ticker are mortal enemies. I can't freaking focus with it running all the updates. Before I could continue to analyze the Facebook layout, I HAD to figure out how to get rid of that feed!
Get Rid of the Facebook Ticker Sidebar! (one way)
- Download Google Chrome.
- Open chrome and click on the + for a new tab (at the top)
- On the new tab will be an icon for "web store", Click it.
- On the top right corner is a search box. Type in "Get rid of facebook ticker" and hit enter.
- It will show several extensions that will kill that dang blasted Facebook sidebar that I hate so much!
- Once you find the one you like, click on "Add to Chrome"... wait for it to load and then go back to facebook.
- Refresh facebook and enjoy!
I am working on another blogger post about how to get your regular feed back. That'll be later today. I am testing the instructions to make sure they are understandable.
In the meantime, Google Plus went live. Check it out! I am on there too and I like it pretty well.
P.S. No I am not giving up on Facebook... I am just waiting out the whole ARGH-ness of the new layout. I heard they are adding music... it better be optional or I am out of there.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Better Blogging: This Blog's Basics
Darren at 31 Days to Building a Better Blog made a really good point in one of the assignments. Not everyone is going to know what my blog is about. I even asked in a forum for a little help on my niche. Even the people who looked at my blog got lost after a few posts and didn't know what the blog was about. So here it is...
The Baker's Acres started out of sheer boredom... why do I feel like I already posted this???... after a hysterectomy. I used this blog to share stories of my life, my kids, our allergies, recipes I try to make, homeschool and all that good stuff.
I also use it for when I am traveling to Washington or California to update friends and family of how the trip is going. It's my baby when it comes to blogs and will always be my favorite of all my blogs.
So, hey, how did you find Baker's Acres? And how long have you been reading?
The Baker's Acres started out of sheer boredom... why do I feel like I already posted this???... after a hysterectomy. I used this blog to share stories of my life, my kids, our allergies, recipes I try to make, homeschool and all that good stuff.
I also use it for when I am traveling to Washington or California to update friends and family of how the trip is going. It's my baby when it comes to blogs and will always be my favorite of all my blogs.
So, hey, how did you find Baker's Acres? And how long have you been reading?
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