My rant for the day....I feel like I'm about 50. Not always, but definately today and more often than not. I have had calcific tendonitis in both shoulders since I was about 20 and finally had to have shoulder surgery a few years ago. It helped, but I still have to be extremely careful because that was the last possible fix for my problem. I can't do a lot of the things I should be able to do and many things that I enjoyed before. So I live with the limitations and don't let it get to me most of the time....I have learned to ask for help (not with grace just yet) when I really need it or to just find another way. Then there are my allergies....I never had them as a kid but about 6 years ago my body decided to be allergic to just about everything (except food allergies, thank God!). I am allergic to every kind of pollen which makes spring, summer and fall very challenging. I am also allergic to antihistimines...LOL. The only allergy med I can take costs 100.00 a month and works only moderately at best. Not really worth the expense as I have no health insurance. I also have skin allergies to pollen...only those who have witnessed me turning lobster red without being in the sun at all know how very bizarre it is. Its like having one large continuous hive....but it goes away when I shower so there is that. I have had to get allergy shots every few years but I have to be so careful because they cause degeneration in your hip joints and yep you guessed it, I have hip problems too. I was born with out hip sockets so I had to be in a body cast for a long time when I was little. Doctors told my mom I was lucky to be able to walk.....so I don't want to get those shots more often than every few years. I got one last year so the next few years should be interesting. FYI allgery season has already started this year! I also have bizarre skin allergies to things like neosporin and bandage adhesives. I blister and burn as if I had gotten a chemical burn. Not so much fun but I can work around that most of the time.
So last weekend I went sledding with my family and wrenched my knee. No big...I tried to rest it....really....but I had stuff to do so I ended up making the other knee and both ankles sore and swollen too. Sheesh....somebody bring me the duct tape...I'm falling apart here!! I got knee supports today and they are helping quite a bit but I am getting quite sick of just sitting with my legs up! My butt is getting sore...LOL. It is also hindering my gym habit (the sore knees, not the sore butt...hehe) which is really pissing me off because I am craving exercize! My mind is willing, my soul is ready, but my body is refusing to cooperate. If this is what its like when you get old.....somebody find me that fountain of youth...QUICK!
So joking aside, I feel pathetic. I know there are logical reasons why I am limited physically but since none of it is visually apparent, I just feel like a big whiner. Ok, so I AM whining right this second but I mean all the time. I tell people that I can't do something and they look at me like I can't be serious....I look capable enough so therefore I must be. I'm not. Some things I can do are actually harder than other things I can't do but people don't understand that either. Generally, I really don't care what other people think but there are a handfull of people whose opinions do matter to me. Sometimes, I don't even think those people understand....except my mom who also has the same type of shoulder problem and is extremely empathetic to boot. I haven't figured out how to deal with that quite yet except to avoid situations that make me feel uncomfortable or incapable. I am not crazy about that either because I tend to miss out on a lot of things just so I don't have to explain why I can't help with this or that. I'm working on an alternate solution.
Finally, I think I have an idea on how to help myself in the long run. It might not be a drastic change or even happen very fast. I might not notice it at all necessarily but I think that I would notice if I didn't do it. Eating healthy. I don't mean just watch my calorie intake but really eating healthy. I am on the Belly Fat Cure nutritional plan. As you all know, I am a research guru....I love to research things and this was no different. I understood the "how" but I wanted to know the "why" so I started researching food, ingredients and things like artificial sweetners. What I found was not only horrifying but also logical! Nearly everything I ate and drank was known to exacerbate joint pain, allergies, sinus problems, or skin sensitivity. Food didn't necessarily cause the problem but it certainly has been proven to make the symptoms worse. The list of negative side effects from the food and drinks of my former diet is huge!! On the BFC, all of the food and drink I put in my body now is natural and usually organic if I can find that. As a bonus, the food I now eat has incredible healing properties for many of the problems I am dealing with. To be clear, I don't expect my problems to go away.....eating different food is not going to repair my shoulder or make my hips normal but it can alleviate flare up of inflammation and pain and can also help prevent further degeneration in addition to improving my overall health. I have known people to be allergy free just from a change in diet but I don't really expect that (although it would be nice!). I do expect to have a stronger immune system which may well help with a lot of my problems too.
Ok, so thats the rant of the day. =0)
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