Dear Reader,
I did it! I actually exercised today. I am vastly proud of myself, as you may have already realized. And ... I did not hurt myself and I did not overdo. I didn't pull a tendon or dislocate a joint, or bring on a inflammation response. So, yay!
I did not get a manicure because a sweetheart manicurist I have seen before returned a phone call I made and we set up a time for tomorrow. She has lupus, which is a immune system disorder in which her body thinks her own body is an invader and attacks it. My condition is just the opposite. My body thinks that EVERYTHING is an invader and launches an full-scale attack over anything. We have a great time together because we can both talk at liberty about our weird bodies without annoying anyone! Her health got bad enough at one point that she had to quit. So I am delighted to learn that she is better and back at the salon.
I did go get a "well-woman checkup" today. I've put this off for a few years, and this is part of my effort to start taking better care of myself. I'll be getting a mammogram at the end of the month. Oh, boy!
I got two pieces of good news today at the doctor's office. I learned that I have only gained three pounds since October! So this is going through three trips to New York, Thanksgiving and several Thanksgiving events, hosting guests at the President's Box during football season, giving four big Christmas parties, our actual Christmas, and New Year's. Plus all the stress of trying to make the decision about whether or not to take this job. So I am very pleased with that number, though not at all pleased with the number to which it is added! I am not trying to lose weight, per se. I am trying to lower my inflammation levels and cortisol levels. Nothing about my weight is going to change until thse two things change.
And speaking about inflammation ... I got another piece of good news at the doctor's office. There is a test that is used to determine how inflamed your body is. It is a test for a protein in your blood called the C-Reactive Protein. What this specifically measures is the degree to which the lining of your blood vessels is inflamed. You want to have a 0. If you have a 1, it means you are at a low risk of a heart attack, 2 is a moderate risk, and 3 is a high risk of a heart attack. Well, my C-RP levels are routinely 13! Yep. That is real, real bad. My doctor finally got through to me how serious this is a few months ago when he said that this means that even my BRAIN is inflamed! Now, that got my attention. The threat here is that your chances of a chunk of the lining of a blood vessel will break off and cause either a heart attack or a stroke increase with the degree of inflammation.
So, after getting the latest, very discouraging list of all of my food allergies and intolerances, I made a concentrated effort to completely avoid them. So, I learned that I was allergic to clams and crabs right before going to a conference in Maryland and another one in Seattle! But I didn't eat a single thing on my list. So, while I was at the doctor's office I picked up a copy of the test and my C-RP level was a 4.8!!! That is AMAZING for me! It's still very high and all that, but monumentally lower than it has been in years. I can't wait to see my doc in a couple of weeks. He's going to be really happy.
This morning I didn't want to get out of bed, as usual, so I got on-line and looked up morning affirmations. I found a recording that was sort of like a guided meditation. It was incredibly hokey, but you know what, it helped a little bit. I got up laughing at the speaker's injunction to repeat after him, "I'm a terrific person!" So, while that particular morning affirmation may not be for me, I saw that there are bunches of them out there. Youtube is loaded with them! I'm going to pick out one tonight to listen to in the morning and see if it helps.
So, I've had a little bit better day, and I hope you have, also. Tomorrow is a new day!
Cheers!
Lisa
No comments:
Post a Comment