Spring Has Sprung...FINALLY! (And A Health Update)



Some birds enjoying the food finds that come with melting snow in our yard!



What a glorious sight!  Sunshine and melting snow!  I am so thrilled, I could shout and/or sing...and may or may not have done so but refuse to divulge, claiming my 5th Amendment rights. ;)

The warmer temperatures are a welcome relief, though I know we are by no means officially out of the woods where snow and cold are concerned until the end of May (though my first year in Michigan as a child we did get a dusting the morning of my 9th birthday in early June!), but the near future looks promising and super cold is turning into the exception not the rule.  We are now in the 40s and near 50s, and that has done wonders for my spirits and my Fibromyalgia.

Speaking of my Fibromyalgia, I haven't really given you an update in awhile on how I am doing.  I will say that it has been a horrible winter health-wise in my family in general.  We've had nasty viruses and ear infections and flu, especially when the temperatures outside were fluctuating so greatly (40s for a few days, then plummeting to teens or lower for weeks, repeat), so I am definitely glad for the change of season!  Other than that, though, spirits have been great and that's a plus and helped me out a lot.

As for me, specifically, I have noticed that the warmer the weather, the more sun, the better I do.  I am happier and have more energy.  I even got to take a short (because it was way too windy which made it cold) walk with my daughter today, and that was a blessing!  I have to tell myself to slow down a little so that I don't overdo, but I'd rather that than forcing myself to get out of bed.

My recent trip to the doctor's (which I will be having yet another new doctor since my current new one is going back to his old practice in a few months - this will make my 4th change in less than a year due to doctor's changing practices/specialties, not because I had a problem with them at all) resulted in me being able to go off my heart meds.  Going off of them has ended the dizziness I was facing and racing heart that broke through from time to time.  We are hopeful that it will stay this way and that there will be nothing further to worry about in regards to my heart for a long time. 

(For those of you who don't know, and I don't recall talking about this on my blog other than on my meds page, I have been on a heart med off and on for 10 years, consistently for about 5 years.  It was recently that my blood pressure started dropping too low and I began to suspect that the heart med was doing more harm (i.e. dizziness and heart racing episodes) than good because it is actually a blood pressure med that can help with arrhythmia when given in small doses which is why I was taking it.  The doctor agreed with my suspicions and agreed to remove it from my med list, and so far, so good.)

I am doing great with my vitamins, and my blood work shows that they are not causing any of my levels to go crazy (though he was concerned that my GFR was slightly lower than he'd like, but still in the normal range and no different than it's been for over a year and he told me to just avoid the anti-inflammatory drugs, which is hard to do when those are the only things that help my pain (and which I normally don't have to take), but I will be talking more with the new doc when I see him in June about it all.  We shall see how that goes.

My blood work also revealed that my cholesterol is high, though my ratio is excellent.  I know that my cholesterol is high mostly due to heredity (my dad is the same way - overall a little high but excellent ratio and in great health so the doctors don't worry about him too much in that regard) since I was still a little high even at my skinniest and in my best health but still had an amazing ratio.  I was told to try to get that number down, which I will be via trying to lose the weight I need to, and I will get it rechecked in June.  (I swear these doctors are vampires!  They love to get your blood, ya know? LOL :) )

My last bit of news is my hardest to share because it makes me feel ashamed.  My weight has been a horrible roller coaster since that whole possible miscarriage back in January.  I had a real time dealing with that emotionally, and therefore did not take as good of care of myself as I should have.  I don't know why it works that way, but it does, at least with me.

Anyway, my current weight is 222 (as of this morning) on my scale, which is about 4 lbs. heavier than my doctor's scale, so 218.  That's better than where I started at (around 240-245), but not where I was (nearly 205).  I am working on being more conscious of the food that I put into my body (more natural, whole foods that follow my rules) and (now that the weather is nice) get some more exercise and fresh air.  I think that will make a world of difference. :)

Overall, though, I have learned that the cold and winter are going to be a lot harder on my emotions than I realized.  I am going to have to work hard to keep my spirits up.  I didn't realize the weather brought me down so much until it started to get warmer and I realized how much happier I felt.  Please pray that I will find a way to beat the winter blues when they come again and that I will be able to enjoy the springtime without overdoing it.  Thanks! :)

I will try to do better about keeping you all posted on how I am doing.  I needed some time to come to terms with my emotions after January, and I just wasn't ready to share.  Now I am.  I appreciate your understanding, patience and prayers through it all. :)  It means so very much to me.

How are you doing today?

Do you have anything you would like

me to pray with you about?

Do you have any questions for me? 

Feel free to comment below or send me an email.  I'd love to hear from you!

(This post was originally posted on my original site, Fibro, Fit and Fab!)