Tag: health

A Gluten-Free, Low-Sodium Thanksgiving in Slow Cookers

On By WendyIn RecipeLeave a comment

As I’m sure you all know, I will be recuperating from my spinal cord patch on Thanksgiving day, so I’m making plans to cook almost everything in Slow Cookers.

I’m borrowing 3 cookers from my friends, and I have one 3.5 quart and a 1.5 quart of my own.

Everything on our Thanksgiving Menu will be made in Slow Cookers except, the Mashed Potatoes and Gravy will be store-bought, and the Cheese Biscuits are from Whole Foods Bake House.

This is how I plan on cooking everything….well, actually I’ll just get it all ready and my husband will cook everything.
**Turkey in the Slow Cooker**

  • Bone In Turkey Breast – about 6 pounds.  (Ours will be from a free range, organic Turkey)
  • Olive Oil, or Butter
  • Seasonings (this is completely your choice.  You can use Poultry Seasoning, or a mixture of herbs and spices, such as Rosemary, Sage, Thyme…)
  • Onion sliced
  • Apple or Lemon sliced

We will be using a 4qt slow cooker for this, because I think that’s the biggest one I’ll have. I may use my 3.5 qt. crock, since it is oval, if the breast will fit in it.

I will cut any excess skin from the turkey . Pat the breast dry.  Oil the breast with olive oil, or coat with butter. Season the breast with Poultry Seasoning.  (or your desired seasoning, like thyme, sage, rosemary, garlic and herb…)  I may mix the seasoning with the butter before rubbing the turkey down.

I’ll put some onion on the bottom of the crock….and…. I was going to add some lemon zest, or even put some lemon rind or slices on the bottom, because I’ve put a lemon in a chicken and a turkey before when roasting and it make it so juicy, but not too lemony.  However, since the breast doesn’t have a cavity, I don’t think I’ll use lemon…..maybe some apple.  The apple should give it a nice smooth flavor and give it a little more moisture.

Add the Breast to the crock Breast side Down.  Put some more onion and apple (or lemon) around the sides and in the rib cavity.

I won’t add any liquid because the vegetables and the bone and skin of the breast will add a lot of liquid to this dish, and I want a roasted Turkey breast, not Turkey Stew.

Cook on high for 3 hours and check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer.  It should be over 140F to be out of the danger zone.  Cover, and probably cook for 1 or 2 more hours, you need to have an internal temp of at least 170F in a few places to make sure it’s done.  You can cook it longer if you want, or if you need to keep it warm.

Carefully remove the turkey from the crock, wait about 15 minutes before carving.  If the turkey doesn’t look as browned on the outside as you would like, simply transfer it to a baking pan and broil it for a few minutes.  **now I haven’t done this before, but from what I’ve read on the Butterball site and on Stephanie’s A Year of Slow Cooking site, this should work.

**GF Stuffing** (or I guess I should say dressing since it’s not going to be in the turkey)

  • I love using the Sundried Tomato with Roasted Garlic Bread from Whole Foods Bake House.  However, you can use any dense bread you may have. 1 large sweet onion chopped
  • 1/2 Cup Butter
  • 1 small bunch celery with leaves chopped
  • 3 TBS of Fresh Sage minced  (or 3 teaspoons dry)
  • 1/4 cup chopped chives
  • 1 TBS Fresh thyme minced (or 1 teaspoon dry)
  • Poultry seasoning
  • 1 Cup gluten-free low sodium chicken broth (I use Kitchen Basics Unsalted)

I’ll probably be using a 4 quart crock pot for this one, because that’s the biggest one I think I’ll have around.  I may make a smaller batch of stuffing than I usually do, I want to make sure it can be stirred while it’s cooking so it won’t be all soggy in the middle.

First, you have to toast the bread, just put the slices on a cookie sheet and broil until dry, but not too brown.  (or you can bake it at 300F)  Then turn over and do it again.  I won’t say how long this takes, because it varies depending on what type of bread you use, and what your cookie sheet is like.

Cut the toast into about 1/2 inch cubes.  You can do this early and put in a zip lock bag if you want.  (I plan to have this done before hand, and store in the fridge because it is GF bread after all, my husband may have to spread the cubes on a cookie sheet and heat for just a little bit to make sure it’s nice and dry.)

I plan to have all my veggies cut up and ready before Thanksgiving day,  If you are doing this on the day, just cut everything up while the bread is toasting, but if you do that, I suggest you bake the bread instead of broil…broiling always seems to sneak up on you and will burn in just a second if you aren’t watching.  (remember non-GF bread toast faster than GF bread)

Add the vegetables, seasoning and melted butter to the slow cooker. Stir well. Add toasted bread cubes to crock and mix well.  When the bread is coated nicely add Chicken Stock a little at a time while mixing with bread mixture. Cook on High for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

If the mixture is dryer than you like add a more stock a Tablespoon at a time.  You don’t want it soggy. The edges and top will be drier than the center, it make it more uniform make sure to stir it while it is cooking.  This should keep warm for about 2 more hours.  Or you can warm it up later if needed.
**Cranberry Sauce**
Last year I made home-made cranberry sauce for the first time, I used Elana’s recipe from Elana’s Pantry.  I plan to use the same recipe this year, but I might substitute of orange juice for some of the water, and as I did last year I will add more Agave than she calls for.  I don’t know how much I added, I had a squirt bottle and just kept adding until I thought it was sweet enough to satisfy my guests.  : ) I plan to make this the day before my procedure since it needs to be chilled.  Last time I just made it the night before we ate it and it was delicious.  I’m sure one more day won’t hurt.

I plan on making a smaller batch than the original recipe calls for, and I’ll be cooking it in the 2qt. crock.
**Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar and Red Onion**

  • 2-3 Cups Brussels Sprouts (preferably organic)
  • 3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • Red Onion – thinly sliced Cut the Brussels Sprouts in half.

Cut the Brussels Sprouts in half.   Add to slow cooker.  Mix with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar.  Add the thinly sliced red onion.  Mix well. Cook on High for about 2 hours.  Stirring occasionally, so they will cook evenly.  Cook longer if necessary.

I will use either a 3qt or 4qt crock for this.

**Roasted Green Beans and Garlic**

  • 1 lb Fresh Green Beans  (preferably organic)
  • Roasted or Raw Minced Garlic – I didn’t put an amount because people really like different amounts of garlic in things.  We like a lot of garlic, so I’ll probably add 3-4 Tablespoons.  I am roasting some garlic, and I may simply add some cloves of roasted garlic to the beans instead of using minced garlic.  (when I made a small batch of this today I used the minced garlic and it was very good, but the garlic was still crunchy when the beans were done)
  • Olive Oil – just enough to coat the beans.  (a couple of tablespoons should do.)

Cut the end off of the green beans.  I try to make the all about the same size so they cook at an even rate.  Add the Green Beans, Olive Oil, and Garlic to the crock.  Mix well.  Cook on High. The small batch I did today in the 1.5 quart crock took less than an hour.  You want the beans to still have a little crunch.  I’m sure since I’ll be cooking a larger amount in a larger crock they will probably still take only about an hour.  I did stir these about every 15 – 20 minutes.  They turned out very good.
**Crock Pot Cheesecake**
This recipe will come straight from Stephanie’s A Year of Slow Cooking.  Crock Pot Cheese Cake Recipe.

I’m really looking forward to trying this!

So there’s my menu, and how we plan to have a real Thanksgiving Dinner, the day after I have a spinal patch.

Our dear friend Vincent will be joining us on Thanksgiving, and helping Stuart pull everything off.  (You are one of the things I’m most Thankful for this year, I love you my friend.)

Ear Doctor Apt. and exercise.

On By WendyIn Meniere's Disease8 Comments

 

cartoon courtesy of Joe Kohl

 

 

I saw Dr. Kaylie today.  He is such a nice doctor, he really listens, will joke around with you, and just has a great bed side manner.  It’s so refreshing after some of the doctor’s I’ve seen.  Here’s a link to a story about the Vestibular Testing that they do at Duke I thought you might find interesting, it also mentions a bit about Dr. Kaylie.  I went through all of the Vestibular testing except for the test where they run warm and cold water in your ears (I had tubes in my ears so that test wouldn’t have worked).

I had a few questions for him about the procedure I’ll be having on November 24th, (the Cerebral Spinal Fluid Patch), and I found out a few things that are different about my case.

I wanted to know how soon I should feel a difference after the patch.  He said if Dr. Gray “tops me off” with the artificial CSF I will feel immediate improvement.  However, even if she doesn’t our bodies are always making new CSF so I should feel improvement within hours of the procedure.  That’s exciting.  But I’m trying so hard not to get my hopes too high.  As he said, even if it will slow the vertigo, or get rid of it, and stop the hearing loss, that will be great.  Because if the hearing loss is halted or improved a little, I could get hearing aids since it wouldn’t be fluctuating any more.  The best we can hope for is, no more vertigo, hearing restored, and no more migraines.  But I am just hoping to stop the vertigo, and make it where I can hear again.

There are 2 things about my case that are different from other Meniere’s patients he has seen.  1- I developed bilateral Meniere’s almost 15 years after my first attack.  He said I’m the first person he’s ever seen that it has taken that long.  If a patient is going to get bilateral Meniere’s it usually happens within the first 5 years.  2- I’m the first Meniere’s patient that they’ve done the CFS pressure test on that has low pressure.  Of course, there haven’t been many yet, so he can’t say I’m an anomaly, but so far I’m different.

Usually, Meniere’s patients have high spinal fluid pressure, that can be treated with a drug.  It makes sense since Meniere’s is thought to be caused by too much fluid in the ear.

I asked him if I should stop taking the diuretic since I have low pressure and at first he said yes, then he said maybe we shouldn’t change too many things at one time.  I can understand that, we want to make sure my progress is because of the CFS patch and not something else.

Stuart asked Dr. Kaylie about my hearing voices when I’m having vertigo, and he said it’s not too unusual.  He said he has one patient who hears music, and not just little bits of music like I do, she hears a whole orchestra.  Unfortunately, she hears the same song most of the time.  Talk about having a song stuck in your head!  I bet you never thought you would hear of someone who could say that literally.  : )

I have decided that I should email Dr. Gray and ask her how I’m going to feel the day after this procedure.  It is Thanksgiving after all.  We are invited to friends’ house to celebrate, but I’m not sure if I’ll feel like the 30 minute drive, and then sitting around with people.  If not, I’ll whip up a nice Thanksgiving meal for Stuart and I the day before my procedure (I refuse to call it surgery), and we can eat it on Turkey day.

I am so proud of myself today!  First Stuart and I went to the little Mall near us on the way home from the clinic, and we had a nice little walk before eating a small dinner.  Then we went to Whole Foods – I found Coconut Secret’s Amino Acids.  This is a gluten free and soy free sauce that is a soy sauce substitute.  I can’t wait to try it!  I really think I’m having trouble with soy, but I just can’t stay away from Tamari.  I love stir fry’s and just soy sauce flavor in general.  This not only has no soy or gluten, it also has significantly less sodium.  I also found Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten Free Quick Oats, I’ve tried their GF Rolled Oats before, but it just seemed to have too many hulls in it.  (I didn’t feel like the quality control was very good.)  I usually put those in the blender first for a little while before I use them.  (Oh, and the Quick Oats were cheaper than the Rolled Oats! Score!)

Mainly I’m proud of myself because I did more exercise than I’ve done in a long time.  I did about 20 reps of each of the following:

  • partial push-ups *this was very hard for me, I was surprised and embarrassed with myself.
  • outer leg lifts
  • inner leg lifts
  • bridge
  • clam shell
  • rear leg lifts (to help with  the glutes)
  • tricep curls

Then I did some yoga stretches.  In all I worked out for about 30 minutes.  I didn’t realize it was this long until I noticed a whole program of Cash Cab had come and gone and I missed reading any of the questions.  I didn’t do great with my diet today, but I was still running to the bathroom so much I was just happy to get something in me that didn’t hurt, and would stay in.

I think the hearing in my left ear is coming back a little, but often that is more annoying than when I can’t hear anything out of it.  It is so tinny sounding until it comes back more.  If I put the amplifier that I have in that ear, everything sounds high pitched and down in a barrel.  It’s horrible.  But wearing the amplifier in my right ear all day gets sore after a while.  So I just mute the TV and read the captions, or I get on the computer, or read.

What do you do when you can’t hear?

Do you feel awkward about other people?

Do you feel left out of things because of your disease?  Not necessarily because you aren’t invited to things, but because you feel like you can’t go.

 

Oh no, I think I got Glutened.

On By WendyIn Recipe1 Comment

Stuart and I decided to go out for lunch on Saturday.  We went to this little Mexican/El Salvadorian restaurant.  We’ve been there before and I haven’t had a problem. but I ate something different this time.  I still can’t figure out what may have had the gluten in it.

I had a bean enchilada, something I’ve had there before, with no problems.  (they are made with corn tortillas).   I also had a Pupusa, this is something I haven’t had before, but the waitress assured me that it was made completely from corn.  After reading the description on Wikipedia, it also says that the batter is corn.  It looks like a polenta pocket with a filling inside.  I had beans inside.

 

Pupusa with Curtido - photo courtesy of Wikipedia

 

“Pupusas are similar to corn tortillas, only thicker and stuffed with cheese, beans or meat. The pupusa originated in El Salvador, but it is also popular in neighboring Honduras.” – whats for eats.com

“Pupusas are typically served with curtido (lightly fermented cabbage slaw with red chilies and vinegar) and a watery tomato salsa.” – Wikipedia

Both the Pupusas and the curtido were very good.  The enchilada was good too.  The only other thing I ate were some of the tortilla chips, and a little salsa.  Their chips have always been 100% corn, but I didn’t ask this time, so maybe they changed them.

All I know is that as soon as I got home I was running to the bathroom with the worst cramping and you know…..  However, the way my GI track has been acting lately maybe I wasn’t glutened.  Maybe it just didn’t like something else.  The biggest reason I was pretty sure it was gluten was because of the pain.  All the other GI problems I’ve been having haven’t caused pain.  However, every time I get glutened it hurts.  The reason I think I may not have been glutened is because it didn’t last long.  Curiouser, and curiouser.

I know I should go on the elimination diet, but it is so hard.  I think I need help.  I can’t imagine cooking for my husband or watching him eat all this good food, and I have such a limited palette.   I have found that soy milk really bothers me.  High fat dairy bothers me.  Although, I can eat most cheese.  And I’ve found that really anything with much fat bothers me a lot.  I’m trying to slowly stop eating meat.  (for 2 reasons, 1- most of it seems to make me feel bad., and 2- for ethical reasons.)  However, I decided I needed to clean out the freezer of all the meat we had in there first.  Mostly it’s just some chicken, and some sausage left.

This weekend I made an 11 bean and sausage soup.  (I will insert a picture later)

I found an 11 bean soup bag that is gluten free at Whole Foods.  It says to add a whole lot of meat to it: ham hock, sausage, chicken breast…    I didn’t do all of that.

11 Bean and Sausage Soup

  • 1 bag 11 Bean Soup mixture with seasoning packet (the seasoning were mostly italian seasonings)
  • 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (or you can do what I did, I had some crushed tomatoes and some spaghetti sauce in the refrigerator and I mixed that together so I wouldn’t waste it)
  • 1 package (4 sausages sliced into about 1″ sections) Aidell’s Italian Style with Mozzarella cheese.  (you could use any sausage you want here, including one of the many meatless sausages.  There is a soy chirizo from Trader Joes’s that is meat and wheat free.)
  • 1 medium sized onion chopped (large pieces are fine)
  • about 4-5 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2-3 cups unsalted Chicken Stock (or Vegetable Stock)  I use Kitchen Basics unsalted stocks.
  • 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
  • You will need to add more water as this cooks.

This soup turned out to be very good.  But I made a very major mistake.  I didn’t soak my beans.  I thought since they were going to be cooking for so long that I really didn’t need to.  All I can say is: Soak Your Beans!

I put all of the ingredients in my slow cooker and cranked it up on high, thinking we could eat in 4 maybe 6 hours.  Well, That was at noon and at 8pm the beans still weren’t done.  We decided to turn it off and start again in the morning.  At about 8am my husband turned it back on, but low this time, and it cooked until nearly noon.  Finally, the soup was ready and really good.  My husband loved it.  I ate around the sausage.  I thought the beans were delicious without.  Of course, the flavors from the sausage were in there, but hopefully  I didn’t get as much fat.

I don’t salt anything.  I’m on a low salt diet, and I find I’ve started really enjoying the flavor of the foods I eat without salt.  So the only salt in this recipe came from the sausage.

This made about 12 servings, 1 cup each.  It will probably be about 8 servings for us.   We ate on it Sunday, I put a container in the refrigerator for left overs, and I put a pint in the freezer for later.

My Slow Cooker is such a saving grace on days I simply can not stand up long enough to cook a meal.  If I don’t feel like standing up long enough to put things in the slow cooker, I can usually talk my husband through that one.  He tries hard to make life as easy as possible for me with all that has been going on.

The Importance of Organ Donation

On By WendyIn Meniere's DiseaseLeave a comment

As you may have noticed I added a Social Vibe Badge to my blog.  If you participate through my blog you will be helping to educate people about organ and tissue donation.

I signed up to be an organ donor years ago.  Why?  That’s simple, there are many people who will not survive if they don’t receive a new organ.  If I die, and any of my organs are healthy enough to help a person survive, I think it would a miraculous thing.  All you have to do in most states is register when you get or renew your driver’s license.  Or you can go to Donate Life.net to find out more about organ donation and how to register in your state.

There is one thing that anyone with Meniere’s should consider donating.  Your Temporal Bone.

The following information comes from the  NIDCD (National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders) National Temporal Bone Hearing and Balance Pathology Research Registry.

“Millions of people have a hearing or balance disorder. The Registry is a non-profit research organization seeking new knowledge to help such individuals. You can help to find new treatments and cures for ear problems by donating your ears (temporal bones) to scientific research.”  – 

“Millions of people are affected by hearing loss and other ear problems.  Research into the causes of these problems is difficult.  That’s because our hearing and balance organs are found deep within the skull, hidden and protected inside the temporal bones.  For researchers trying to learn about ear problems, it is not easy to examine these hidden organs directly in living people.  So, studying donated temporal bones after death is one of the best ways to learn about the causes of ear disorders, and to devise new treatments and cures.”

How had Temporal Bone Donation Helped with Meniere’s Research?

“People with Meniere’s disease suffer from bouts of dizziness, ringing in the ears, and hearing loss that comes and goes.  In studying temporal bones donated by people with Meniere’s disease, researchers found the condition was caused by an increase in the amount of fluid in the inner ear.  This knowledge has led to several medical and surgical approaches to relieve the symptoms of this disease.”

Donation of your temporal bone is easy.  You simply fill out a few forms and the Registry does the rest.  Please take the time to look into the possibility to donating your Temporal Bone.  Here’s the link to The NIDCD National Temporal Bone, Hearing and Balance Pathology Resource Registry, you can find out information about donation there, and you can find out about all the ways donating your Temporal Bone can help with the research of Hearing and Balance Disorders.

I haven’t filled out my paperwork to register to donate my Temporal Bone yet, but I vow to get this done by the end of the week.

Won’t you join me and help researchers find help for people with Hearing and Balance Disorders?  Sign the Registry to donate your Temporal Bone.

Also please consider signing up to donate needed organs when you no longer need them.  Go to Donate Life.net for more information, and read some very inspirational stories.

How I made it a better day.

On By WendyIn Meniere's Disease, Recipe, whole nutrition1 Comment

One of the things I do when I’m having a down day is create.  Sometimes I work on my artwork, other times, like today, I create in the kitchen.

Organic Kale from Durham's Farmer's Market

It all started with a bunch of Kale.  I decided I’d try my hand at Kale Chips.  I’ve heard so much about them but I’ve never tried any.

Simply tear the Kale into small pieces, and arrange them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.  I then sprayed them with olive oil.  (I used one of my favorite products, Pampered Chef’s Spritzer)

Bake them at 350F for about 10 minutes.  You want them crisp, but not brown.   I found if I put a little bit larger pieces around the edges and smaller pieces in the middle of the sheet they get ready about the same timeSprinkle them with your flavoring of choice.  Many people just use salt, but you know I don’t eat much salt, so I used a mixture of Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and a little of regular Mrs. Dash.  Even Stuart liked these, and he has an aversion to most things green.  : )

Then I decided to start a batch of Raw Sauerkraut.  I got the recipe from my new Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook.

It’s really very easy, and I hope it turns out.  I’ll let you know in a few days.

Here’s the mess I was making while getting the cabbage the way I wanted it.   You have to pound shredded cabbage and make the juice come out to make Sauerkraut.   I started doing this in a bowl, and decided this was just way to hard for me.  So I decided to try putting the plastic blade in my food processor and let it do some pounding for me.  Then I transferred it to my jar.

I used the mortar from my mortar and pestle to pound the cabbage down in the jar.

I was so surprised at how much liquid there was in this cabbage.

It only takes cabbage and a little salt to make sauerkraut.   I didn’t use as much salt as they called for in the recipe, I hope my cabbage ferments well and turns into some wonderful sauerkraut.

Then came time to fix dinner.  I had some chicken left over from cooking some Split Chicken Breasts with about 30 cloves of garlic in the slow cooker this weekend.   All I did there was oil my crock, then I put the breast in skin side down and threw in all the peeled cloves I got out of one big head of garlic.  Put the cooker on low for a little over 6 hours and that’s it.  The chicken just fell off the bone.

I decided to stir fry up some veggies with San-J Gluten Free Asian BBQ sauce.

I threw these plus some onion and garlic in a wok with the left over chicken and the San-J Gluten Free Asian BBQ Sauce.

We had this over brown rice.  I wasn’t very impressed the Asian BBQ Sauce.  It tasted like I had a stir fry with regular BBQ sauce on it.  It was ok, but it wasn’t the Asian flavor I was looking for.  I don’t think I’ll bother with this sauce again.

After a day of not only feeling creative but also productive, I feel much better than I did at the beginning of the day.

I was very lucky today that I was able to work in the kitchen.  When I have these feelings and I can’t get around enough to really work them out, it makes things much harder.  On those days, I try to write, or read.  Usually, even when I’m not able to walk, if I focus on something up close to me I can usually accomplish something.  Those are the days I’m so grateful I have a laptop, and that I love to read.

What do you do to help when you are having a bad day?

 

 

 

Guess where I spent last night.

On By WendyIn Meniere's Disease6 Comments

Ok, can you guess where I spent from 9:10pm to about 1:00am last night?

 

Mr. Pumkin Head

You may have guessed, “A great Halloween Party?”, or possibly “Sound asleep in your comfy bed?”, or maybe even “Having Wild Monkey Love with your hubby?”   Well all of those would be wrong.  Darn it!  The Wile Monkey Love sounded kinda interesting.

 

I was at:

Duke Hospital Emergency Room

At 8:45pm last night, after giving out candy and other treats to over 30 some odd trick-or-treaters, I sat down in my living room and I started feeling funny.  I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest.  When I tried to take my pulse my heart was beating so fast I couldn’t count it.  I couldn’t take a deep breath without excruciating pain.  It hurt all up my jaw line on both sides of my face, and the tightness in my chest was nearly unbearable.  So my dear husband rushes me to the emergency room.  I wouldn’t let him call an ambulance, because it cost too much.  Of course, about the time we get there I’m feeling much better.

(I should put in that I have had these episodes before, but this one lasted much longer than the others have.  They don’t happen very often.  My doctor had me wear a heart monitor for a week and, of course, it didn’t happen.  I did have some times when my heart would flutter, but she said most people have that happen, usually they don’t even notice.)

My heart was still a bit fast when they hooked me up to the heart monitor, about 120 beats per minute.  Now I usually have a fairly high heart rate, it’s usually in the high 80’s and into the 90’s, occasionally it’s even been a little over 100 when I’ve been to see the doctor, but only when I was too hot and too nervous.  My blood pressure was a little high too, which is surprising because my blood pressure is usually on the low side.

So they had to take lab work.  This is much easier said than done on me sometimes.  The poor nurses could not find a good vein.  They finally got an IV started in my right inner wrist.  Let me tell you, that is a very painful place to have someone stick you.  I said words I try very hard not to say, especially when someone is only trying to help me.  But, oh my goodness, that did hurt.

Of course, then the world started to spin.  They didn’t like it at all that my husband gave me a Valium right then, instead of waiting for them to order one from their pharmacy and giving it to me themselves.  We explained by the time it came I would be having total vertigo with vomiting and it wouldn’t stop until it ran its course.  They decided they really didn’t want to deal with that too.

All of my blood work came back normal.  My heart was beating a little fast while I was there, but it had a steady rhythm.  After they gave me a bag of fluids, my heart rate came down a little.  Probably, because it was so cold.  So after being poked and prodded once again, the doctors come in and tell me that they found nothing wrong.  All of my blood work came back normal.  Everything was just find.

My diagnosis?  1. Chest pain (Unspecified)  2. Tachycardia (Unspecified)

It appears that some people have an abnormally rapid heart rate (Tachycardia) occasionally for no known reason.  If it last for a long period of time it can be very dangerous, but if you just have it happen now and then, it’s not supposed to be a big deal.  Especially, since I don’t have any of the other risk factors for heart problems.

Then she gave me a prescription for anti-reflux medication.  This makes no sense to me.  If they don’t think I was having heartburn why give me a prescription for a drug to prevent it?  I think most people think doctors have to give them a prescription and so they just hand them out.  I told her, I don’t take anti-heartburn or reflux medications.  I think the  risk from the side effects are simply too high.  If I have a little indigestion I eat something that is alkaline and that takes care of it.

So I left the ER with these instructions:

“Make a follow-up appointment with your regular doctor within 3-5 days.”  Well, I have a Lumbar Puncture scheduled for Wednesday, and I see the Digestive Health Specialist (I’m not sure why.) on Friday.  Oh, and I go to see my ear doctor on Monday.  When is my husband supposed to take another few hours off work to take me to the doctor for a follow-up from this ER visit that showed nothing?

Emmmm.  Can we hear the negativity in my voice?

I try, I try so hard to keep a positive attitude, but sometimes, it just isn’t there.

Today is one of those days.

Warning,  I’m having a very hard day today and the following is a harsh view into how I’m feeling.

Continue reading “Guess where I spent last night.” →

What?

On By WendyIn Meniere's Disease1 Comment

I thought I was feeling better today.  I woke up ready to face the day.  I got up and started making pancakes, after about 4 I realized I hadn’t put an egg in the mix.  Yuck.  I tell you my husband will eat anything.  Burnt?  He loves it.  Ingredients left out?  He doesn’t really notice.  (Sometimes it makes me wonder if I really am a good cook.)  : )

So I started my pancakes over, of course I can’t make just 2 so there are 4 in the refrigerator for later.  Luckily, they are good warmed up.

Then I settled down to read a little email, and look up something I was wondering about on the internet.  I was reading an email from a good friend when all of a sudden the words moved.  Well, here we go again.

The attack right now is really hard for me because I love Halloween.  But now it seems there will be no Jack-O-Lantern carved, no costume, no party.  I’ll be lucky if I get my traditional treat bags ready to give to my trick-or-treaters.  Kids love coming to our house, we usually have the front all decorated, we are in costume, and I give out treat bags full of goodies like spider rings, crayons, Halloween themed coloring pages, glow sticks….  Fun things they can play with and if they have a food allergy no worries.  We also have a tub of candy for them to choose from, but if they can’t have some of it they don’t feel left out.  I remember wondering if they really appreciated the little treat bags, then a little boy came to our house and I gave him his treats, he turned to his mother and screamed, “MOM! I got a bag!”  That made it all worth it.

We’ve had a party at our house the past 2 years, but friends of ours got a new house and they wanted to have the party there this year.  I guess it’s for the best since I’m feeling so out of it.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to even attend this year.  Oh well, we always have next year!

Today on Fleetly Dreaming’s Blog by Nicki, she asks “What CAN you do?”  She challenges us to stop thinking about what we can’t do because of Meniere’s, but think about what it is we still can do.  I decided to take the challenge and list  some of the things that I CAN do, and things I’m grateful for.

  1. I’m grateful that I have such a wonderful doctor who wants to help me live as normal as possible, and who isn’t satisfied with just treating Meniere’s, but he also wants to find the cause.  (Thank you Dr. Kaylie, thanks to you, I CAN have hope.)
  2. I CAN still keep in touch with my friends and family because of  the wonderful world of the internet.
  3. I CAN still hear, something.  That is better than living in complete silence.  (Sometimes it’s much better than others.)
  4. I may not always be able to hear my husband when he enters a room, even if he’s talking to me, but I CAN hear him tell me he loves me.  (He just has to look me straight in the face, and speak loudly.)
  5. I CAN hear much more during my bad episodes since I bought one of those little ear amplifiers that look like a blue tooth.  It’s not perfect, but at least I can hear something.
  6. Some days I CAN hear out of my left ear.  I’m very grateful for those days.  I CAN still hear the birds, I CAN hear water flowing, I CAN hear my friends talking to me on the phone…
  7. Some days I CAN keep my balance.   I’m very grateful for those days.  On those days I CAN cook,  go for a walk, dance with my husband, laugh so hard it hurts, play with my dog and cat, and simply enjoy life.
  8. I CAN still be creative.  Not every day, but some days I CAN work in my studio, I CAN paint, draw, take pictures and even work in my fused glass studio.
  9. On days I can’t work in my studio, I CAN often still work on the computer.   I can write, and even draw thanks to a great friend for giving me Photoshop.
  10. Even on my bad days I CAN usually cuddle with my dog, and cat.  They always seem to know when I’m not feeling well and will pay me much more attention.
  11. On the days when all I can do is throw up, I CAN still be grateful to my wonderful husband that I don’t have to go through this alone.

Thank you to Nicki, for making me remember all the things I CAN still do, and many of the things I’m grateful for.

I did get out and do some things today.  My husband took half a day off so we loaded up the Element with things to go to charity.  We dropped those off by the mission, and then had lunch out.  We picked up things at Petco for Sandy and Max.  Picked up a prescription for me (no not at the same place), and headed home.

I was pretty tired after all that so my husband started dinner.  He warmed up  some mariana sauce and put on a pot of Tinkyada noodles.  While the noodles were cooking I decided we needed more vegetables.

I cut up some zucchini, and some collard greens then sautéed them up with grape seed oil and garlic with a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end to deglaze the pan. I’ve never really eaten collard greens cooked any way but the old Southern way of boiling them with fat back and then seasoning them with vinegar.  Sauteing them was so much better.

The Meaning of Health.

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Health, Life2 Comments

One of the first things I need to do on my journey to better my health is to define the meaning of Health. Look at each part of the definition, and see if I already fit in to it, or decide what I need to do to get to it.

Most people define Health as the absence of disease. If you aren’t sick, you are healthy.
However, according to the World Health Organization:
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

The American Holistic Health Association describes 4 aspects of one self and each aspect must work in harmony for the whole to be healthy.

  • The physical you requires good nutrition, appropriate weight, beneficial exercise and adequate rest.
  • The emotional you needs to give and receive forgiveness, love and compassion; needs to laugh and experience happiness; needs joyful relationships with yourself and others.
  • The mental you needs self-supportive attitudes, positive thoughts and viewpoints and a positive self-image.
  • The spiritual you requires inner calmness, openness to your creativity, and trust in your inner knowing.

We are responsible for our own health! So many of us have grown up believing that our health is in direct correlation with the health care we receive.  However, we are the only one who can make the lifestyle decisions that create well-being (or health).

The American Holistic Health Association has developed a quiz to help you determine your current degree of wellness.  (Let’s see how I do?)

Wellness Quiz

  1. Do you wake up with enthusiasm for the day ahead? (very often not.  I often wake up and think, what’s the point.  I can’t do anything….but I try, every day, I try.)
  2. Do you have the high energy you need to do what you want? (very rarely)
  3. Do you laugh easily and often, especially at yourself? (yes, most of the time I find it easy to laugh at myself and other silly things in my life.  This is why I watch cartoons.)
  4. Do you confidently find solutions for the challenges in your life? (I’m trying very hard to do this.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed, but I’m trying.)
  5. Do you feel valued and appreciated? (I feel loved.  Valued and Appreciated?  I don’t know.  I think my husband feels these things for me, I just often don’t see why.)
  6. Do you appreciate others and let them know it? (I do try my best to let others know how much I appreciate them and care for them.)
  7. Do you have a circle of warm, caring friends? (I think so, but lately I’ve been feeling like that circle is getting smaller.)
  8. Do the choices you make every day get you what you want? (I don’t know.  Sometimes I think they do, other days, no I don’t think so.  So I’d have to say, the choices I make on some days get me closer to what I want.)

“If you answered “no” to any of these questions, congratulations! You have identified areas in your life that you may want to change. This can be valuable information.”

So I have some work to do.  Of course, that’s why I’m here.

Any Suggestions?

I enjoyed reading and getting much of this information from AHHA web site. I’m sure I will refer to it many times in the future.


A good and very bad Sunday.

On By WendyIn Meniere's Disease, whole nutritionLeave a comment

The day started out well.  I still couldn’t hear, but I was feeling ok.  So we decided to take a trip to the NC State Farmer’s Market.  We were on a quest for pumpkins!  We spent nearly an hour and a half picking out the perfect pumpkins for us to decorate, or just use as decoration.  It was much fun.

Since there isn’t any organic produce at this farmer’s market, after we got our pumpkins we decided to make a run to Whole Foods.  Look at the wonderful produce we picked up.  The winter squash came from the farmer’s market, the rest came from Whole Foods.  Most are organic and local, some are just organic, and well, a few are grown conventionally.

On the way home from Whole Foods I started having a vertigo attack.  At the first sign of dizziness I took my medication, but it didn’t really help.  The swaying and bumping in the car was horrible on our 40+ minute drive home.  I will never go that far from home when I’m having Meniere’s trouble.  I should have known better.

Shortly after we got home I started throwing up.  The attack started around 4:30pm and finally stopped around 7:00pm.  Actually this was a fairly short attack, considering I’ve had them last over 8 hours before.   However, it was particularly violent.  I’m so sore and tired today.  I will have to just rest and recover.

Doctors, Stir fry, and Hearing

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Gluten-Free, RecipeLeave a comment

The Digestive Health doctor called to let me know my results from the “procedure” (colonoscopy) I had done on Tuesday.  However, I was unable to answer the when they called.  She called at 1:09pm and left a message that she wanted to discuss the findings with me.  She said not to worry “it’s not bad”, but she still wanted to talk with me and for me to call her back.  Today is Friday, their office closes at 1:00pm on Fridays, how was I supposed to call her back?  Now I have to wait until Monday to find out what the findings were.

I did make an appointment with a Naturopathic and Holistic physician for next Wednesday.  The first appointment if for one hour and thirty minutes.  Hopefully, she can give me some guidance.  I guess it will depend on what the results from my procedure turn out to be.  I do feel like this is a move it the right direction.

Last night I made a really good stir fry.  I love how you can just throw some stuff in the wok with a little sauce and in just a few minutes it turns into a wonderful meal.  I already had rice made so all I had to do was warm that up.  I didn’t have a lot of on hand so I scrounged the kitchen and found a bag of frozen Thai style vegetables, a can of black beans, garlic, San-J Gluten Free Tamari Sauce and heated up a little olive oil and then threw everything in the wok.  I was very pleased with the outcome.

I did another stir fry recently with black beans, fresh veggies, tamari, garlic, onions, and a splash of Mirin.   I served this stir fry over Mung Bean Fettuccine Noodles.  I like these noodles, but I actually like them better in a cold salad.  They are great left over, and make a wonderful pasta salad.  However, when we’ve eaten them in hot dishes they just seem a little off.  The texture doesn’t seem quite right.  Don’t get me wrong, the dish was still good, but I think I would have liked it better with either rice, or a different type noodle.

We went to our therapist today for the first time in 3 months.  (We started going to see her when I was having such a hard time being disabled from the Meniere’s disease.)  Now that I’ve so much going on again I decided it would be a good idea to start going back to see her.  It’s much better to voice my anger there than to take it out on my husband all the time.  Stuart is wonderful and very understanding about when I get so grumpy and everything starts to get on my nerves.  He understands I’m not really mad at him, I’m just so mad at life.  I still don’t think it’s right for me to be mean to him, but it is nice that we can talk about it and that he understands that my anger is displaced.

Unfortunately, I’m having increased Meniere’s symptoms.  It started this afternoon, I noticed I couldn’t hear everything that was said.  Then tonight I couldn’t hear Stuart unless he was looking at me and there was no other noise in the room.  The tinnitus is so loud it’s very hard to hear over it.  The fullness in my ears is worse.  Now, all I have left is the vertigo.  I really hope it doesn’t start, but I won’t be surprised if it does.

Exercise for the day:

We took our dog, Sandy, for another walk around the block, this time we went clockwise instead of counter-clockwise and there is much more of an incline that way.  My hip was not fond of that at all, but I kept going, and kept my heart rate up for most of the walk.  I also worked in the little gardening area in the front of the house.  I dug up old plants, and worked with the dirt some.  It needs much more work, but I didn’t have what I needed to finish the rest.