My mom sent me a couple of papers in the mail, from one of my previous doctors to another. Very, very interesting stuff there. I now have documents stating I started having headaches around age of 3 or 4. Knowing that is one thing, having it documented is another. These documents provided a few important things, I think. First of all, a description of my headache symptoms:
"Daily" and "Hemicranial" hmmmm.... what does that sounds like? This was in 1994, back when Hemicrania Continua wasn't very well documented so I can understand why it wasn't diagnosed, but wow. I can't believe it was right there all that time. Boy I wish I could get to the doctor to get an accurate diagnosis.
Interestingly enough, my doctor also suspected I had Muscle Contraction Headaches back then. I have to wonder what the heck he was thinking, because after looking at the symptoms, I realize I've been having daily Muscle Contraction Headaches since about 2005. I certainly wasn't having them back in 1994.
I'm looking at a list of causes of Muscle Contraction Headaches (Tension headaches). A few triggers stick out at me:
Having no close friends
Being overweight
Being a perfectionist
Not getting enough sleep
All of which are true for me. This one, also.. considering Hemicrania Continua as a possibility: Being over-extended (involved in too many activities/organizations). I'm not involved in very many things, however, with chronic pain it doesn't take much to feel over extended.
It looks like now I will have to figure out what more I can do to deal with my chronic tension headaches, and hopefully find some relief :)
Friday, May 11, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
4 more inches gone!
Here's what I've been doing the past few weeks:
Sunday - light day: Primary Back Stretch (PBS) and T-tapp Twist(TTT), then either MORE Chair or Step Away or some other combination, about 20 minutes
Monday - PBS and TTT, and as much of Hit the Floor Softer as I can do, usually about 20 -25 minutes worth
Tuesday - another light day, same as Sunday, or else do BWO+
Wednesday - same as Monday
Thursday - same as Tuesday
Friday - if it's nice outside, go for a walk. We usually walk 1 - 2 hours or more. If the weather doesn't allow, I do pretty much whatever T-tapp I'm up for. Last week we walked for about 2.5 hours; the week before I did Basic Plus Tempo and Hit the Floor Softer.
Saturday - rest day! do nothing!
I typically through some Tai Chi or Yoga in there as well if I feel I need a break from T-tapp for a day.
I've been following this general schedule for about the past 3 weeks, and here's the results:
Bust: -.5
Pecs: -.25
Ribs: +.25 (fat shift?)
Waist: -.5
Abs: -.75
Hips: -.25
Upper thigh Right: -.5
Upper thigh Left: -1 inch!
Lower thigh Right: no change
Lower thigh Left: no change
Right calf: no change
Left calf: +.25
Right arm: no change
Left arm: -.25
Total gain: +.5 inch
Total loss: - 4 inches!
Now, I tend to go up and down a little bit here and there, as you'll see by the quarter inch losses and gains. It's those big losses I'm amazed at! I've lost over 2 inches just in my left leg over the past 2 months. Almost an inch in my abs is just amazing to me; I've barely been losing in my mid section, so for me this is fantastic results.
Sunday - light day: Primary Back Stretch (PBS) and T-tapp Twist(TTT), then either MORE Chair or Step Away or some other combination, about 20 minutes
Monday - PBS and TTT, and as much of Hit the Floor Softer as I can do, usually about 20 -25 minutes worth
Tuesday - another light day, same as Sunday, or else do BWO+
Wednesday - same as Monday
Thursday - same as Tuesday
Friday - if it's nice outside, go for a walk. We usually walk 1 - 2 hours or more. If the weather doesn't allow, I do pretty much whatever T-tapp I'm up for. Last week we walked for about 2.5 hours; the week before I did Basic Plus Tempo and Hit the Floor Softer.
Saturday - rest day! do nothing!
I typically through some Tai Chi or Yoga in there as well if I feel I need a break from T-tapp for a day.
I've been following this general schedule for about the past 3 weeks, and here's the results:
Bust: -.5
Pecs: -.25
Ribs: +.25 (fat shift?)
Waist: -.5
Abs: -.75
Hips: -.25
Upper thigh Right: -.5
Upper thigh Left: -1 inch!
Lower thigh Right: no change
Lower thigh Left: no change
Right calf: no change
Left calf: +.25
Right arm: no change
Left arm: -.25
Total gain: +.5 inch
Total loss: - 4 inches!
Now, I tend to go up and down a little bit here and there, as you'll see by the quarter inch losses and gains. It's those big losses I'm amazed at! I've lost over 2 inches just in my left leg over the past 2 months. Almost an inch in my abs is just amazing to me; I've barely been losing in my mid section, so for me this is fantastic results.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Hemicrania continua... continued
The past few weeks I've been going through what I think of as my low energy periods. Simple, everyday things like doing the dishes, taking a shower, etc. seem to drain me of all of my energy before I even get started. I realized today that also, while my headaches have been worse, I think it's really just my tolerance for pain which has declined. Meanwhile, it seems like someone has cranked up the volume control on all of my senses; I'm noticing smells and tastes when I typically have very little sense of smell. Everything seems louder. No wonder my headaches seem worse.
Yesterday was the worst; the pain was making it difficult to do anything but more significantly, I just wanted it to stop. I've been through this enough times before to know I'll live on, and the pain will still be here, but I'm alive so that's better than the alternative. However, it's times like these I just wish I could get a vacation from my own head, get a vacation from the pain. Sometimes, I think 5 minutes would be enough. Most days, I wish I could just have a day. I can count on my hand the number of times in the past ten or twenty years the pain has been below a 4 or 5 on the pain scale: I can think of maybe 2 times in the past ten years. I just wish I could have a 0 for a chance.
I've been reflecting upon my short lived attempt at trying to apply for SSI a few years ago ("not disabled enough") and I realized one of the things people really don't understand is how much this pain effects your life on a minute to minute basis. On the denial for SSI, some of the comments were about my weight, and how I seem to live a very sedentary life. Exercise, weight loss, etc. were advised, essentially. Point kind of missed here, people. My life became that way because of the pain; I had very little choice in the matter. By the way, typically exercise is advised to help headaches, and it's true doing T-tapp lessens the severity of my overall pain. However, one little flaw: from my research yesterday, apparently exercise is also one of the things which makes hemicrania continua worse. So my point was, people always seem to think exercise will fix everything, which in general, that's true, but the continua in hemicrania continua is kind of important. I remember very well the days of my childhood, playing, running around, etc. I think I got a decent amount of exercise back then, and I like to think I was about as strong as any kid my age. I still had the headaches though.
Living with chronic pain isn't easy, but it's my life. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this; mostly I just need to get some of these things out of my head.
Oh, I forgot to mention the reason I mentioned the experience with SSI in the first place: from what I've read from other bloggers about hemicrania continua, they were all adults who eventually had to quit their jobs because of the pain. Not disabling, huh? I've lived with this since I was roughly ten years old; maybe longer, maybe my entire life for all I remember. I just remember being about ten and noticing my head was hurting not sometimes, but daily. I'm not really sure when it started hurting permanently. Ten years old, so I didn't have a choice, I had to go to school. I guess it made me tougher in some ways. After school, I had to work, and failed at that miserably. After a few years of doing basically nothing with my life, again, I was given the option of either working or going to school. So again, I had no choice, I had to do something regardless of whether or not I could. Apparently I could, because I excelled in my school work.
Most of the time, I wish I never had gone back to school. Yes, I could do the school work, but that doesn't mean my condition isn't disabling. My blood pressure soared during that time; I had to quit exercising because I didn't have the energy to go to school and exercise; I gained about 80 pounds which I still haven't lost all of; my anxiety levels went through the roof, and as a result, I developed the before mentioned problems as well as TMJ, chronic neck pain, and oh yeah... worse headaches which resulted in an addition to Excedrin. Oh, I also got a degree which I really don't ever want to do anything with.
But, I guess that's life, right?
I suppose my point is, I know I'm not unique; I know there are countless people in this country alone who have some kind of disabling condition, and the way our society works, you either have to get SSI, or work and suffer because of it. If you end up having to work, I bet most people end up in worse conditions than they started out. Life is tough, but the system in which we live in is broken. Everyone can contribute something, I don't care what it is: someone missing their arm can still tell stories to the old folks, or children, just like I, despite all of my problems, am still able to take care of my house, and babysit. Until the past year, I was contributing by babysitting. I'm not saying people should get paid for taking care of their homes, or for taking care of their families. I guess what I'm trying to say is, money has become such an overwhelming and important subject in our lives, and it's become too important. You need too much money to live the lifestyle shown on TV. Living healthier, happier, better lives should be more important. I wish I had an answer to all of these problems, but I just know the system is broken and I wish someone had an answer, a real answer. To be rather cliche and silly, Richard Rahl, we need you. We need someone with ideas, and someone who can see the truth, see the problems, and the solutions, and isn't afraid to do what's right.
Wow, boy did that ever get off topic.... haha.
Yesterday was the worst; the pain was making it difficult to do anything but more significantly, I just wanted it to stop. I've been through this enough times before to know I'll live on, and the pain will still be here, but I'm alive so that's better than the alternative. However, it's times like these I just wish I could get a vacation from my own head, get a vacation from the pain. Sometimes, I think 5 minutes would be enough. Most days, I wish I could just have a day. I can count on my hand the number of times in the past ten or twenty years the pain has been below a 4 or 5 on the pain scale: I can think of maybe 2 times in the past ten years. I just wish I could have a 0 for a chance.
I've been reflecting upon my short lived attempt at trying to apply for SSI a few years ago ("not disabled enough") and I realized one of the things people really don't understand is how much this pain effects your life on a minute to minute basis. On the denial for SSI, some of the comments were about my weight, and how I seem to live a very sedentary life. Exercise, weight loss, etc. were advised, essentially. Point kind of missed here, people. My life became that way because of the pain; I had very little choice in the matter. By the way, typically exercise is advised to help headaches, and it's true doing T-tapp lessens the severity of my overall pain. However, one little flaw: from my research yesterday, apparently exercise is also one of the things which makes hemicrania continua worse. So my point was, people always seem to think exercise will fix everything, which in general, that's true, but the continua in hemicrania continua is kind of important. I remember very well the days of my childhood, playing, running around, etc. I think I got a decent amount of exercise back then, and I like to think I was about as strong as any kid my age. I still had the headaches though.
Living with chronic pain isn't easy, but it's my life. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this; mostly I just need to get some of these things out of my head.
Oh, I forgot to mention the reason I mentioned the experience with SSI in the first place: from what I've read from other bloggers about hemicrania continua, they were all adults who eventually had to quit their jobs because of the pain. Not disabling, huh? I've lived with this since I was roughly ten years old; maybe longer, maybe my entire life for all I remember. I just remember being about ten and noticing my head was hurting not sometimes, but daily. I'm not really sure when it started hurting permanently. Ten years old, so I didn't have a choice, I had to go to school. I guess it made me tougher in some ways. After school, I had to work, and failed at that miserably. After a few years of doing basically nothing with my life, again, I was given the option of either working or going to school. So again, I had no choice, I had to do something regardless of whether or not I could. Apparently I could, because I excelled in my school work.
Most of the time, I wish I never had gone back to school. Yes, I could do the school work, but that doesn't mean my condition isn't disabling. My blood pressure soared during that time; I had to quit exercising because I didn't have the energy to go to school and exercise; I gained about 80 pounds which I still haven't lost all of; my anxiety levels went through the roof, and as a result, I developed the before mentioned problems as well as TMJ, chronic neck pain, and oh yeah... worse headaches which resulted in an addition to Excedrin. Oh, I also got a degree which I really don't ever want to do anything with.
But, I guess that's life, right?
I suppose my point is, I know I'm not unique; I know there are countless people in this country alone who have some kind of disabling condition, and the way our society works, you either have to get SSI, or work and suffer because of it. If you end up having to work, I bet most people end up in worse conditions than they started out. Life is tough, but the system in which we live in is broken. Everyone can contribute something, I don't care what it is: someone missing their arm can still tell stories to the old folks, or children, just like I, despite all of my problems, am still able to take care of my house, and babysit. Until the past year, I was contributing by babysitting. I'm not saying people should get paid for taking care of their homes, or for taking care of their families. I guess what I'm trying to say is, money has become such an overwhelming and important subject in our lives, and it's become too important. You need too much money to live the lifestyle shown on TV. Living healthier, happier, better lives should be more important. I wish I had an answer to all of these problems, but I just know the system is broken and I wish someone had an answer, a real answer. To be rather cliche and silly, Richard Rahl, we need you. We need someone with ideas, and someone who can see the truth, see the problems, and the solutions, and isn't afraid to do what's right.
Wow, boy did that ever get off topic.... haha.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Hemicrania continua
After spending the majority of my life in constant, permanent pain in the form of a headache, about a month ago my instincts told me to research the different types of headaches. This was just a whim, and I expected nothing to come from it. Something huge came out of, however: an answer. Two magical words: Hemicrania continua. I have ZERO doubt this is what I suffer from: after all, 22 years of permanent pain isn't exactly normal, now is it? From Wikipedia, and other Web sites all over the Web:
Main features differentiating CPH from cluster headaches (migrainous neuralgia, above) are the higher frequency and shorter duration of attacks, higher incidence in women, and the response to treatment with indomethacin. CPH is not associated with cranial nerve palsies.
2.Unilateral pain without side shift. I HAVE experienced the rare side shift, maybe a handful of times in my life and I have to tell you, those are some of the very worst. I have, in a way, gotten used to the pain being on the right side of my head. Experiencing a sudden complete shift to the left, with no pain on the right, is something you cannot prepare for.
Daily and continuous, with ZERO pain free periods.
Moderate intensity, and it does vary. Constantly.
3. On occasion, my eyes have turned pink, and I have shed tears, in only my right eye, for no apparent reason. I have chronic nasal congestion to the point I can barely smell. I've had that pretty much my entire life.
4. Number four is the big problem. I currently cannot work, therefore I have no income of my own, no insurance, etc. therefore, I cannot get to a doctor to get diagnosed. Even if I could, it would probably be more misdiagnoses, and from what I've read of indomethacin, no doctor would ever prescribe it to me: I have both epilepsy and hypertension.
So here I am back at square one: I at least now have a possible answer to my problem, but no treatment. I haven't been able to find many alternatives for indomethacin in the case of Hemicrania continua. Melatonin was one natural alternative, but I saw a report that this was only proven helpful in 3 cases. I've been taking Melatonin at 3mg for about a month. I think I'm going to start increasing the dosage and see how I do. Once again, however, I read that one has to be careful with Melatonin because it can increase the likelihood of seizures. Although, considering I've been basically seizure free for 12 years, I think it's pretty well worth the risk.
I'm having a high pain day today, so in addition to the pain, I'm feeling pretty frustrated thinking about all the doctor visits, all of the different medicines I've tried over the many years, all of the different diagnoses I've received. The answer was possibly there, long before the hypertension, long before the epilepsy, for that matter. It's a very rare disorder, so most likely all of those doctors just didn't know about it. However, it still makes me want to smack them when I think about it. I wasn't having rebound headaches 15 years before I started abusing Excedrin, thank you very much Mr. Smart Doctor. Ah well...
I did find an interesting blog today: http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/
I was just searching, trying to find some other possible help for my headaches, and instead I found another sufferer. Boy can I relate to some of these posts. It's strange, because it almost feels like I myself could have written some of them, and it's kind of good to know there's someone else in this world who knows exactly what life is like with this disorder.
I'm very thankful because I've had a lot of suggestions from people, especially in the T-tapp community over the years, trying to help me find some relief. I know their intentions were always good, but it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't have this that normal or even abnormal treatments just don't do anything. I smile or laugh every time I read someone posting that they had to take IB Profen for a headache, or they complain about having a migraine for a few days. You really don't know how fortunate you are, to have that relief. My relief is a headache which isn't completely disabling.
It's funny, I keep thinking of other things to add to this. I think one of the things most people don't understand is how much these headaches affect your life. I'm starting to think of it more as a "half-life" or "shadow life" because honestly, that's more of what it feels like to me at times. There are a lot of days when I just sit around, in too much pain to be able to do anything, and I just sit there and think of all the things I could be doing, of all the things I wish I could be doing. Fortunately, I have fewer of those days now because T-tapp has helped my headaches. It's ironic though, because boy do I ever love him, but my boyfriend honestly believes I like living like this. That is so far from the truth. I wish I could do normal things; I don't drive, due to epilepsy, I chose not to have children because I don't want my headaches or epilepsy passed along to them. Those two things are HUGE! Just those two things have greatly effected how I live. I'm lonely, because I don't get out much, and I don't have the joys of watching my children grow, nor the joy of playing with them. Even if I decided to have children, I would feel more of a burden to them as it is, I know I wouldn't be able to play with them as most people do. I think I do OK with children, but who would be there for them when I just couldn't? Who would teach them the things I couldn't because I couldn't form a coherent sentence around the pain? Anyway, I'm getting side tracked...
There are so many things I wish I could do with my life, but living with this pain really isn't living. I didn't choose this, yet I'm stuck with it. Some days, it's a blessing. Yes, it can be a blessing. There have been times in my life in which I was sick but never even knew it other than the headache. I remember the first time I had strep throat, and I didn't even have a sore throat. I had a horrible headache. The thing I remember the most about bronchitis? The headache. So over the years, it's been a blessing as a warning beacon. I have to sometimes wonder if that isn't the entire point behind my headaches - to warn me that something isn't right with my body, and I just haven't figured out what, after all these years.
Diagnostic criteria
The following diagnostic criteria are given for hemicrania continua[1]:- Headache for more than 3 months fulfilling other 3 criteria:
- All of the following characteristics:
- Unilateral pain without side-shift
- Daily and continuous, without pain-free periods
- Moderate intensity, but with exacerbations of severe pain
- At least one of the following autonomic features occurs during exacerbations and ipsilateral to the side of pain:
- Conjunctival injection and/or lacrimation
- Nasal congestion and/or rhinorrhea
- Ptosis and/or miosis
- Complete response to therapeutic doses of indomethacin
Main features differentiating CPH from cluster headaches (migrainous neuralgia, above) are the higher frequency and shorter duration of attacks, higher incidence in women, and the response to treatment with indomethacin. CPH is not associated with cranial nerve palsies.
Me:
1. Headache for 22 years, give or take2.Unilateral pain without side shift. I HAVE experienced the rare side shift, maybe a handful of times in my life and I have to tell you, those are some of the very worst. I have, in a way, gotten used to the pain being on the right side of my head. Experiencing a sudden complete shift to the left, with no pain on the right, is something you cannot prepare for.
Daily and continuous, with ZERO pain free periods.
Moderate intensity, and it does vary. Constantly.
3. On occasion, my eyes have turned pink, and I have shed tears, in only my right eye, for no apparent reason. I have chronic nasal congestion to the point I can barely smell. I've had that pretty much my entire life.
4. Number four is the big problem. I currently cannot work, therefore I have no income of my own, no insurance, etc. therefore, I cannot get to a doctor to get diagnosed. Even if I could, it would probably be more misdiagnoses, and from what I've read of indomethacin, no doctor would ever prescribe it to me: I have both epilepsy and hypertension.
So here I am back at square one: I at least now have a possible answer to my problem, but no treatment. I haven't been able to find many alternatives for indomethacin in the case of Hemicrania continua. Melatonin was one natural alternative, but I saw a report that this was only proven helpful in 3 cases. I've been taking Melatonin at 3mg for about a month. I think I'm going to start increasing the dosage and see how I do. Once again, however, I read that one has to be careful with Melatonin because it can increase the likelihood of seizures. Although, considering I've been basically seizure free for 12 years, I think it's pretty well worth the risk.
I'm having a high pain day today, so in addition to the pain, I'm feeling pretty frustrated thinking about all the doctor visits, all of the different medicines I've tried over the many years, all of the different diagnoses I've received. The answer was possibly there, long before the hypertension, long before the epilepsy, for that matter. It's a very rare disorder, so most likely all of those doctors just didn't know about it. However, it still makes me want to smack them when I think about it. I wasn't having rebound headaches 15 years before I started abusing Excedrin, thank you very much Mr. Smart Doctor. Ah well...
I did find an interesting blog today: http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/
I was just searching, trying to find some other possible help for my headaches, and instead I found another sufferer. Boy can I relate to some of these posts. It's strange, because it almost feels like I myself could have written some of them, and it's kind of good to know there's someone else in this world who knows exactly what life is like with this disorder.
I'm very thankful because I've had a lot of suggestions from people, especially in the T-tapp community over the years, trying to help me find some relief. I know their intentions were always good, but it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't have this that normal or even abnormal treatments just don't do anything. I smile or laugh every time I read someone posting that they had to take IB Profen for a headache, or they complain about having a migraine for a few days. You really don't know how fortunate you are, to have that relief. My relief is a headache which isn't completely disabling.
It's funny, I keep thinking of other things to add to this. I think one of the things most people don't understand is how much these headaches affect your life. I'm starting to think of it more as a "half-life" or "shadow life" because honestly, that's more of what it feels like to me at times. There are a lot of days when I just sit around, in too much pain to be able to do anything, and I just sit there and think of all the things I could be doing, of all the things I wish I could be doing. Fortunately, I have fewer of those days now because T-tapp has helped my headaches. It's ironic though, because boy do I ever love him, but my boyfriend honestly believes I like living like this. That is so far from the truth. I wish I could do normal things; I don't drive, due to epilepsy, I chose not to have children because I don't want my headaches or epilepsy passed along to them. Those two things are HUGE! Just those two things have greatly effected how I live. I'm lonely, because I don't get out much, and I don't have the joys of watching my children grow, nor the joy of playing with them. Even if I decided to have children, I would feel more of a burden to them as it is, I know I wouldn't be able to play with them as most people do. I think I do OK with children, but who would be there for them when I just couldn't? Who would teach them the things I couldn't because I couldn't form a coherent sentence around the pain? Anyway, I'm getting side tracked...
There are so many things I wish I could do with my life, but living with this pain really isn't living. I didn't choose this, yet I'm stuck with it. Some days, it's a blessing. Yes, it can be a blessing. There have been times in my life in which I was sick but never even knew it other than the headache. I remember the first time I had strep throat, and I didn't even have a sore throat. I had a horrible headache. The thing I remember the most about bronchitis? The headache. So over the years, it's been a blessing as a warning beacon. I have to sometimes wonder if that isn't the entire point behind my headaches - to warn me that something isn't right with my body, and I just haven't figured out what, after all these years.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Water
Today I was reminded of the benefits of drinking water, and just how important it is to our health. Consuming liquids is still very difficult for me; in the old days, years ago before I started doing T-tapp and paying attention to my health, my liquid consumption typically consisted of 1 can of pop a day. Maybe a sip of water with my medicine in the morning and at night. That was about it. 1 can of pop. Wow! Can you imagine how bad that was for my body? Well, years later, I know now. Unfortunately, I had to figure it out the hard way. About 2 years ago I started drinking mostly water, then I cut out all other liquids altogether. I rarely drink anything else. When I made the change, I started figuring out that I'm actually very sensitive to caffeine. Drinking it everyday, even in little amounts, was making me tired and causing a lot of pain. In fact, just over a year ago, I had a headache and so I tried taking some Excedrin. The next day, I threw out all of my Excedrin, and I haven't taken any since. I was in so much pain for the next few days, just from taking Excedrin once. Would you believe I used to take it 3 - 4 times a day, everyday? Again, just imagine what I was doing to myself.
So, back to water. I still have difficulty drinking the correct amount of water every day. I have a large water jug, and if I don't keep it next to me at all times, I won't think to drink enough water. Even then, I sometimes don't get in enough water throughout the day. The past few weeks have been a perfect example of that.Our bodies need water to lose weight. What happens if we're not drinking enough water? Well, if you're like me, you retain water. You may even stall your weight loss. You don't feel well, and you don't have enough energy. You can't focus. I've been feeling like that a lot these past few weeks. However, the past few days I've been watching my water consumption carefully, and I've been making sure I drink plenty. Surprise, surprise, I lost 4 pounds in the past 2 days! I didn't do anything differently than I have been doing; I just drank more water. In fact, I recall one time about a year ago, I lost about 10 pounds in less than a week because I drank more water.
Moral of the story? Pay attention to your body, and make sure you're getting enough to drink - and not just any drink, but the most important 1 - WATER!
So, back to water. I still have difficulty drinking the correct amount of water every day. I have a large water jug, and if I don't keep it next to me at all times, I won't think to drink enough water. Even then, I sometimes don't get in enough water throughout the day. The past few weeks have been a perfect example of that.Our bodies need water to lose weight. What happens if we're not drinking enough water? Well, if you're like me, you retain water. You may even stall your weight loss. You don't feel well, and you don't have enough energy. You can't focus. I've been feeling like that a lot these past few weeks. However, the past few days I've been watching my water consumption carefully, and I've been making sure I drink plenty. Surprise, surprise, I lost 4 pounds in the past 2 days! I didn't do anything differently than I have been doing; I just drank more water. In fact, I recall one time about a year ago, I lost about 10 pounds in less than a week because I drank more water.
Moral of the story? Pay attention to your body, and make sure you're getting enough to drink - and not just any drink, but the most important 1 - WATER!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Update at long last
This is just a short update which I suppose has been long overdo.
I haven't been a part of the T-tapp forum community in many, many months. In part, I decided I needed a break from it. A few months after this, my computer stopped working. I haven't tried to turn it on at all since December 2011. I'm sure I could fix it if I wanted to, but at the moment, I just don't want to.
With the breakdown of my computer, I realized I was spending too much time on it. Mostly, I was wasting too much time on it for no reason other than to play stupid Facebook games. I made up my mind that I would take a break from computers, and only get back to using them more often if I had a real goal in mind.
The result has been pretty good: I got T-tapp Step It To The Max for Christmas, and I don't know if that alone was a huge energy booster or what but my energy levels greatly increased. I went from only being able to do three 15 minutes workouts a week to 45 - 60 minutes on some days. My energy levels have been waning as of late, so it's not often I do that long of a work out now but you'll have that. However, one sign of progress is now I'm doing some form of exercise almost every day.
I'm spending more time researching health, fitness, beauty.. anything to help improve myself. I still have many days in which are not entirely productive, but slowly they are becoming more productive.
Anyway, I'm starting a new blog: Samples by Entaeyen in which I plan on writing about ways to request samples, and give sample reviews on some of the samples I receive. This is a fairly new thing for me, but I want to take some time to provide some insight as I go along in the learning process. Nothing there yet, but stay tuned.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
EP reviews, including 1 great video
I think perhaps I already posted this video, but if not I'm posting it again. I love this one. It includes 1 simple tip for losing weight: stop telling yourself you're fat!
I'm not going to post the videos, but Carol talks quite a bit about dying your hair to match your natural movement. My natural hair color is a strawberry golden blonde, almost a golden brown but with red. My eyebrows, however, a very dark, much darker than my natural hair color. I've tried a few different colors for my hair. Blue black looks pretty awful, I'm just too pale and too pink for it. Burgundy, however, seems to be truer to my nature and I believe looks best on me. I certainly feel better as a red head, even a obviously dyed one. I mention this, because I always remember in high school people thought I had also dyed my eyebrows because they seemed to match my burgundy hair. I don't dye my hair often, but I guess I was fortunate in finding the right color for my nature at an early age. I suppose at some point I should start living it. True to my 4ness, however, dye just does not stick to my hair.
This video amuses me. Little white dress on Carol? Yeah, it's not happening. I have to agree: In the world of Lady Gaga, the fashion world is broken.
In the next video, Carol answers a question from a letter. I totally agree and understand what the writer was saying: she's a type 4 so of course I get it. I'm not sure Carol does! I disagree with Carol so much in this video. The subject is makeup: whether to wear it daily or not. I completely agree, that if I wear makeup only on special occasions, it is something special which helps boost my self esteem. Logically, then it would make sense to wear makeup daily to boost self esteem. I see Carol's point, but I'm sorry it just doesn't work like that! If you wear it daily, it's no longer special and you no longer get that confidence boost. In short, yes, you may have more confidence overall, but then if you're looking for more self esteem for whatever reason you can't just go apply some makeup because it doesn't do the trick anymore. It's kind of like a druggie looking for the next fix: you build up an immunity to it, so eventually you need more and more....
Or maybe it's just us T4s who think like this and are over thinking things as usual :b
In short, it's ironic because Carol mentions that she has an inner confidence which surpasses the makeup issue. IF THAT'S TRUE, WHY ARE YOU WEARING MAKEUP? I think that's pretty much the point the writer was getting at: she already has the confidence, and doesn't have to rely on wearing makeup to make her feel better. So on special occasions, it's just a little nice extra thing to do.
I'm not going to post the videos, but Carol talks quite a bit about dying your hair to match your natural movement. My natural hair color is a strawberry golden blonde, almost a golden brown but with red. My eyebrows, however, a very dark, much darker than my natural hair color. I've tried a few different colors for my hair. Blue black looks pretty awful, I'm just too pale and too pink for it. Burgundy, however, seems to be truer to my nature and I believe looks best on me. I certainly feel better as a red head, even a obviously dyed one. I mention this, because I always remember in high school people thought I had also dyed my eyebrows because they seemed to match my burgundy hair. I don't dye my hair often, but I guess I was fortunate in finding the right color for my nature at an early age. I suppose at some point I should start living it. True to my 4ness, however, dye just does not stick to my hair.
This video amuses me. Little white dress on Carol? Yeah, it's not happening. I have to agree: In the world of Lady Gaga, the fashion world is broken.
In the next video, Carol answers a question from a letter. I totally agree and understand what the writer was saying: she's a type 4 so of course I get it. I'm not sure Carol does! I disagree with Carol so much in this video. The subject is makeup: whether to wear it daily or not. I completely agree, that if I wear makeup only on special occasions, it is something special which helps boost my self esteem. Logically, then it would make sense to wear makeup daily to boost self esteem. I see Carol's point, but I'm sorry it just doesn't work like that! If you wear it daily, it's no longer special and you no longer get that confidence boost. In short, yes, you may have more confidence overall, but then if you're looking for more self esteem for whatever reason you can't just go apply some makeup because it doesn't do the trick anymore. It's kind of like a druggie looking for the next fix: you build up an immunity to it, so eventually you need more and more....
Or maybe it's just us T4s who think like this and are over thinking things as usual :b
In short, it's ironic because Carol mentions that she has an inner confidence which surpasses the makeup issue. IF THAT'S TRUE, WHY ARE YOU WEARING MAKEUP? I think that's pretty much the point the writer was getting at: she already has the confidence, and doesn't have to rely on wearing makeup to make her feel better. So on special occasions, it's just a little nice extra thing to do.
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