So far so good.

So the steroids seem to be working but the best part is that I haven’t had to take any of the antacid meds that my doctor gave me as well.  So far my daily routine is to drink a glass of cranberry/pomegranate juice mixed with some RepairVite and a tbsp of apple cider vinegar.  I drink that along with my bone broth and eat some sort of protein.  Be it left over hamburgers or chicken.  Then I take my 6 Prednisone and wash it down with a banana.  That all seems to be doing the trick!

Last night I felt great! For the first time in like 3 weeks.  I was actually able to get a bunch of work down around the house after I came home from a meeting.  In fact I wasn’t even sure if I was even going to make it to the meeting! I didn’t think I would be able to stay sitting for the couple of hours I needed to.  But in the end I felt pretty ok, and even was up for going to the grocery store.  Which was great because I was so behind on it.  It just isn’t the same having to send your husband out to get the things you know you need but he doesn’t know what brands and stuff, you know?

Maybe it was some of that euphoria that is a side effect of the steroids, who knows but I was able to do a load of laundry, clean the kitchen  load the dishwasher and mop up parts of the kitchen floor (well just with a rag and my foot) and then I still did my stretches and exercises for the day.  I may not have gone to bed until 1am, but it just felt so good to DO something for a change.

This afternoon I have a friend of mine coming over to help watch my daughter.  I think I’m going to take the time to head out to the gym where they have a hot tub and heated pool.  I would just do it here, but I’m locked out the pool area for the next couple of days.  Long story.  And I really felt like the water was helping.

Lower back pain and Prednisone

With my back hurting as much as it does I finally got my MRI and then an appointment to see a neurosurgeon.  According my MRI my L5 nerve is pinched to the left side.  But interestingly it’s my right leg that hurst the most and is the one that feels numb and tingly.  When the neurosurgeon examined me it was also my right leg that showed weakness  So this was challenging for him to decide what to do.  In the end I didn’t mind that he said I didn’t need surgery.  Heck! I didn’t want it in the first place!  But then I was told I would have to wait another 2 weeks to see the Pain management and rehab doctor to even DISCUSS gover etting an epidural steroid shot.

That was when the whole thing was overwhelming for me.  I mean I’ve already dealt with this pain for so long.  I’ve put my life on hold for this pain for over 2 weeks now.  There was NO WAY I could do it for another 2 weeks!  I would go insane!  Thankfully I now have an amazing doctor (she has done more for me in 2 weeks than my doctor on Kaiser ever did in 18 months!) and she took the time to speak with me on the phone after the appointment and try to work out how I am going to cope over the next two weeks.

The result?  Oral steroids. I tried as hard as I could to stay away from those crazy things for as long as I’ve had this back pain but it seems as though they’ve finally caught up with me.  I don’t seem to have any other choice though.  Currently I’m taking Tumeric, reveratrol, 10mg hydro, 1000 acet, and 10gm flexeril. (Man looking at it that way, that’s a lot!) in addition to eating a pretty strict auto immune paleo diet to keep my inflammation down, along with my morning cup of bone broth, my fclo 2x a day.  I’m still averaging out around a 5-6 in pain when I’m trying to lead a normal life.  Yes I can get my pain down to a 1 even a 0 when I’m laying down.  But honestly I can’t live like this much longer.

So starting tomorrow I’m going to be taking Prednisone for 14 days.  It’s quite a crazy and complicated schedule.  I have to take 6 pills for 5 days each and then gradually take less.  I’m not looking forward to the side effects.  They can include weight gain from an increased appetite, insomnia, acne, swelling (which I find funny since it’s an anti inflammatory) and stomach problems which is an issue with me and my IBD.

My doctor also gave me some sort of antacid to take with my Pred but I’d rather not take it so have decided instead to go the ACV route and do a tbsp before each meal and see how I feel. It shouldn’t hurt, and maybe will keep my appetite in check as well.  I intend to make sure I’m getting plenty of protein and calcium.  Since I don’t do dairy my calcium will come from my chicken broth (brewed with egg shells for more calcium!), and my veggies.  I know a lot of the weight gain will come from water retention so I’m going to drink extra water and stay away from take aways (even if they are paleo approved Thai cuisine).

I’m going to try an document how I feel through out the course of the steroids.  I think it will be good for me to look back on and see how they made me feel.  Both for my own personal records and to discuss further treatment with my doctors.  I’m kind of hoping though that it’s just enough to get my disc back in place so I can move on with my life.  Let’s just say I will not be playing volleyball or going on any retreats any time soon!

My new normal

Ok so my back has been KILLING me over the last few weeks.  I’m pretty sure it all started when I went to some retreat with the women from my church.  It was a great experience and all but I realized then that my back is just not cut out for bad bunk beds, hikes, and sitting indian style.  From that weekend onwards there’s always been a bit of pain that I couldn’t seem to shift.  And then WHAM!  One day after seeing my chiropractor it all just gave out and I had to drive my car the 15 min it takes to get home in extreme pain and agony.  Like deep moaning during labor pain.

Well today while I was still in pain and basically can do nothing but lay in bed I realized that actually I’m doing SO MUCH MORE than just laying in bed.  I’m laying there having a complete pity party on myself when my husband stops me and says “What do you call all that downstairs cooking? Because I don’t call that nothing”  And then I realized in spite of all my pain I still managed to cook a beef heart stew, make chicken broth and render down the fat from the heart to get some tallow.  Not to mention I still took the time to soak oatmeal for tomorrow and make more homemade coconut milk kefir…WHAT?!

When did this happen that whipping up a stew with organ meat is so normal to me now that whilst doing it I felt like I was doing nothing!  I mean even just a year ago I swear putting in a Stouffer’s lasagna in the oven was hard work.  Wow I really need to get off my own back and realize the progress I’ve made over the last few years.  So what that the house is a mess?  So what if my daughter is maybe watching one too many Elmo’s since I can’t play with her.  I’m in a season in my life right now where I just have to survive.  And again if I’m surviving off home made organ meats, broth and tallow then I think life is going to be alright.

21 DSD – 8lbs lost in 3 weeks.

So today is the first day post detox.  I seem to be crazy hungry today and I’m not quite sure why.  Where as usually a cup of broth or tea is just fine for breakfast today I was ravished!  So I made some breakfast for a change!! I had 2 eggs scrambled, a couple sausages and then I had the most delicious tasting mandarine ever! hahaha.  I found these gems at the farmers market on Sunday and bought a few looking forward to being able to eat them starting today.

I weighed in this morning still at 227. That puts me at a total of 8lbs for the 3 weeks.  A part of me was really upset by that though.  I mean COME ON!  No sugar and awesome eating for a whole week and no loss?! But then I realize when I have thoughts like that, that I’m not healed from my past disorders. This detox wasn’t about losing weight it was about getting myself right with God.  About knowing that I didn’t need sugar for fulfillment I need Him.  I thought I had gotten there but apparently I still have a lot of  growing to do.

So I put up my scale and I’m going to allow myself some fruit until Feb 4th.  That’s when another round of the 21 DSD starts up and this time I’m going to try and move up a level.  I still have a desire to be a goal weight by my birthday (June).  And maybe that’s not ok, maybe I need to pray about that. I need to be happy with being a healthier me.

You know what the problem is though? I don’t feel healthier.  Just yesterday my back was killing me! I couldn’t sit or stand without getting comfortable, my bowel movements are horrible again and I’ve been getting stomach aches after eating.  For the last couple of dinner it’s barely been 30 min until I have RUN to the bathroom. And just this morning after breakfast I felt ill.  So I still have a lot of discovering to do.

I have been incorporating more exercises yesterday and today in the hopes of helping out with my back pain.  I had gotten a bit bored with the 21 DSD workouts so I decided to mix it up a bit.  My goal now is to try and run a mile a few times a week and see how my times are doing.  Today I “ran” a mile in 16:10.  I remember when I was in highschool I could run a mile in just under 13 min, and when I was 21 and first lost all my weight I could just about reach that if I killed myself.  So I always have 13 as my magic number.  After the running I still do a lot of the strength training that was in the 21 DSD workout guide, just put in my own order and routine.

It’s my pity party, and I’ll cry if I want to.

Ugh this weekend sucks.  There’s no other way to put it, it just does.  First it started with my daughter potentially having hand foot and mouth disease which means we may not be able to even fly out to see my family.  Then when I was at church on Saturday night I got a text from my mom telling me my grandma was in the hospital and on life support.  That’s a big doozy to get while you’re trying to listen to a sermon.  And then on Saturday night while I was cleaning up the kitchen and hubby was giving our baby girl a bath I pulled my back!  Give me a break!

So yes now I’m hulled up in bed, my daughter has a fever, and my grandma is about to die.  Not much to be thankful for at the moment.  So I will just have my bitter, pity party and get on with it.