Anxiety, depression, laziness...Can the nameless wonder change? page 188

[namelesswonder]

Stupid hormones. Brain is in baby-mode again. Maybe when my digestive stuff is sorted out, I'll start looking into hormones and when baby-mode coincides with various points in my cycle (ie. find out when I ovulate). Seems like a good thing to know.

[jenn26point2]

Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great book to buy if you're interested in learning about your cycle. I used the techniques suggested in the book both times Brad and I decided to get pregnant and it worked like a charm. Pregnant the first month both times. Maybe have been luck, too, but I won't discount the fact that I know exactly what day and time I got pregnant with both my kids, all because I read that book and tracked like it said to.

In regard to digestive health... have you read Primal Body Primal Mind? I know you commented on it on my journal so I think you probably have, but if not, check it out and read chapter 5 on digestion. From reading that and reading about all the attempts you're making at fixing your digestion, maybe the problem is low acid levels in your stomach. In Chapter 5 she mentions that if the stomach doesn't have a low enough pH (0.8 for digestion to progress) then H. pylori, a bacteria that's necessary for digestion but can easily get out of control, might have too high of numbers? Maybe review the chapter and see what she says about correcting that bacteria. Maybe that'll help? Idk... drawing at straws at this point b/c I hate to see you continue to struggle with this and want to see you get better.

[jenn26point2]

HEY! Grabbed this for a friend on facebook who is complaining about heartburn and her buddy with acid reflux said he takes Prilosec every day and has for 10 years and because of the meds no longer suffers from acid reflux... but then I started reading it and the symptoms sang your name to me. Goes back to my suggestion of increasing stomach acid...

Why you want more stomach acid, not less. | Balanced Bites | Holistic & Paleo Nutrition Education

[namelesswonder]

My stomach is fine, it's all my intestines. I have issues with regularity, not acidity or anything. I get occasional heartburn, but I can usually figure out what I ate. Fiber Menace is all about digestion, I am pretty sure I don't have enough gut bacteria right now, or an overgrowth of something bad. A stool sample would probably prove this, but I'm just going to do my best with probiotics and Vitamin C (to keep things moving) for now. If I'm still jacked up in a few weeks, I'll see the doctor I saw earlier this year about it.

[edit] Read the link. I'm not convinced it's an acidity issue... But I do take ACV before breakfast, along with L-Glutamine, Vitamin C, and grapefruit seed extract. I think I'm doing everything right from what that link recommends, except I've never tried bitters/hcl.

[namelesswonder]

Sorry, had to do something at work. I haven't read PBPM, have had it recommended to me though. At this point, I don't feel like it would teach me anything new (that Mood Cure and Fiber Menace haven't already taught me). I'm more interested in 21 Day Sugar Detox.

[namelesswonder]

[EXTRA EXTRA TMI] My gut is still messed up. I'm still waiting it out. I resorted to using epsom salts (much less disgusting when I cut the water with apple cider or a tsp of ACV) two nights ago and yesterday evening. Within a few hours each time, I had an elimination, but yesterday was diarrhea. I'm not surprised, but I WAS surprised to have a very normal (but large in quantity) BM this morning. WTF, body. WTF. Anyway, no more epsom salts for now, we'll see if this helped clear the slate, so to speak. I'm taking my super strong probiotics on an empty stomach with other supps in the morning, trying to decide if there'd be any harm in taking it twice a day with my post-work/pre-dinner supps. Also, my cycle is thrown off. I should have gotten my period on Saturday (took a test just in case, no bebe), but I guess the spotting I had a couple weeks ago messed things up. I'm not sure now when I'll get my period again because I forget when the spotting started, but I'm guessing it'll be during the last week of the month.

Sleep: Sleep is still iffy. I could not fall asleep last night. It was probably the ice cream (Boyfriend treated, I was not willing to say no). I ended up swapping to the (more comfortable) guest bed and probably got in about 5 hrs of sleep. I've been having a lot of nightmares lately. I wonder if the Tryptophan will make/is making that better or worse (Prozac and Lexapro often gave me vivid, scary dreams). I talked to Boyfriend about the dreams and he suggested taking a self defense course so my subconscious has some legitimate moves to work with. If I can find one at a good time/price, I think I would do it, but I know the major things to remember are: go for the groin, and if you can't get there, go for the eyes or nose, and use your elbows wherever possible.

Probably sleep related: I keep getting headaches lately. I don't want to take anything for them and I know I'm hydrated enough, so I'm kind of stuck just waiting them out. A couple definitely classified as migraines. Pleh.

Mood/brain: After some reflection, and finding that some Tryptophan in the morning/mid-morning seems to help my mood pretty well lately, I stocked up on some more at Vitamin Shoppe (Vitacost would be cheaper, but I collect points through VS so I can get a discount later in the year, most likely, and it's convenient to be able to shop in person). I also bought DLPA, which I've read in a few places is good for focus and memory. Today is my first day with that, I'm not sure if I'll really be able to notice a difference since I generally feel very high-functioning when my mood is up (with the right levels of Vit D and Tryptophan, natural or supplemented, basically). I thought I'd be more disappointed that I "have to" go back on a mood support supplement, but I'm really not. I'm just relieved that I have something very natural that works. Amino acids FTW! If DLPA doesn't seem to do anything for me, I'll pass it on to my mom. She's trying out Tyrosine again. I get all my executive function issues from her. I hope I can help find her something that works.

Exercise: A little wary about ditching biking last week, but I've been sore for the past 3 days straight. Thanks, kettlebell? Also probably the chiropractor had something to do with that. He gave me some more stretches to do, for quads, hamstrings, and hips. I've forgotten to do them since I did them first on Saturday >< Since I don't always need to make lunch in the morning, and I've been getting up earlier, at 6:30 AM (leaving for work around 7:45 usually), I have time for some exercise in the morning, which I think I prefer to post-work. I don't know if I'll be able to heave my ass out of bed for biking that early (and get back by 7AM so I can make shower, make breakfast, get ready, and let the scooter warm up for a few), but I can definitely do some kettlebell routines! I had some opportunities to lift heavy things over the weekend, as my dad did some more work on my mom's desk. It's almost done! I'll have pictures on the blog when it's finished, but there are some on Facebook already (I think Jenn is my only MDA FB pal though).

I had a fun chat with my mom and sister about our exercise habits on Saturday. I found some Youtube videos for my mom with good guides on how to do the KB swing.

Culinary experiments: No photos yet, but batch #3 of yogurt came out wonderfully. I used the whole, grass-fed milk that I used when I made the first batch, but used the stock pot again and my thermometer. It retained a light layer of cream on top that mixes in beautifully. Super tasty! It's much like Stonyfield's cream-top plain yogurt, which I love. My mom bought me some apples (kind of weirded out by how much she's willing to spend on me right now, she bought me THESE AWESOME MUGS too), so I am gonig to make some applesauce soon (maybe tonight?). First, I'll find a method/combination that I like. Then, I will hopefully get up to Maine soon (maybe this weekend, and I want to look into orchard locations so if Boyfriend comes, we can go apple picking) to get Baba's canning supplies (and see her new kitty!). THEN. Canning. Hoo boy.

I think next month, I will splurge on some kefir grains. They're only about $15 at most places I've seen online.

Relationships: I had a very busy weekend, but it was overall really great. I had some low mood points, but the higher points made up for it by a long shot. I had a really great discussion with my sister, and we resolved a minor conflict in a really mature and productive way. It felt good. It felt REALLY good to hear about how well she's doing right now. I still worry about her, but I feel like I am able to put less of a burden on myself by worrying about her. At least she now has a wonderful full-time nannying gig and is really happy with her beau. I also had some more bonding time with my parents over the weekend. My therapist will love to hear all of this later in the week, and I'm looking forward to boasting a bit to her. It feels great to open up with my family about how I'm really feeling, but it definitely makes me think more about how I can open up with my friends. There is one other chick in our group of friends (originally from my college) that I think I'd like to hang out with more. She's artsy, so I'm wondering if we could meet up some time to go to free/cheap exhibit somewhere, or do something crafty.

In other news, I'm totally going to scope out the Halloween selections at the local party supply store during my lunch break today. I'm hoping that since it's now September, they'll have more. Boyfriend really wants to be Castiel from Supernatural, but that means I need to find time to find a decently fitting tan trench coat and blue suit for him. If I was going to be Anna, the costume pieces would be pretty easy to find, but I don't really want to buy a long-haired, red wig just for this costume, and I don't want to dye my hair red either.

[naiadknight]

As short as your hair is, the red hair spray paint should work well. Washes out the next day, supposedly. If you can msg me your fb name, I'll hunt you down and add you (I intentionally make myself invisible to the majority of fb.)

[namelesswonder]

Ramblings, Ravings and Rants.: Hallowe’en prep

Good call on the spray-on stuff. I'm not sure what color my hair is going to be by Hallowe'en. My friend is getting married on October 26th, and I'm intending on leaving the color up to her, as I'll need to touch-up right before then anyway. It might be time to bring in the purple.

[WarlordBlade]

Hooray for Halloween stuff showing up in stores finally! Unfortunately just like every year we don't have enough money to go all out like we'd want to. We are slowly building up more Pirate-themed display stuff for our house

Also no idea what we want to do for costumes - our boys want us to be a Phineas and Ferb themed family... Could be fun.
Good luck on your costumes!

Also Kakes and I might have to befriend you on the FB.

[naiadknight]

I'm angling for an anime character this year, probably Excel or Winry Rockbell. I don't really want to do Winry this year though, because we don't have time to get SWG a suit of armor, Geek an arm, or Evil a related costume. At least Excel I'd be willing to do solo. I may do Persephone, Hades, and Cerberus with Geek and Froot Loop (need to look into hair color.)