Health and Fitness November, 2012

[Nancy]

Today's exercise included Walk, Yard work 4 mi. on the ex. bike
did not get any yesterday so today I had to get to it.
Thinking how relieved to not have turkey day here all the excess calories around to deal with yea! Also how unhealthy the traditional meal is as well.

[Harriet]

Basic Workout for me this evening. When I nap, it suits me to use that "second wind" about an hour after awakening for some strenuous or ambitious things and exercise can be one. I know in theory morning exercise may be best, but I have SO many things to do in the morning.

OKay, remember it is not a full day that must be successful to count ourselves a success. One meal can be a stand-alone success of which we can be proud. One session of exercise is a victory. If the meals were a blur, but we got the water in, there is success in that, too! The "all or nothing" mentality is unnecessary! We can start again with a clean slate at any time of day and do our best from there.

Harmony, I don't know how long it is supposed to take before meds help hypothyroid condition. Did your dr give you a timetable at all? I know you are frustrated. Tweaking your diet so that you improve acid reflux and even lose a bit of weight has got to be a plus for general daily well-being.

HRH is very proud of himself for correcting a gout attack quickly with a minimum of meds. The only meat he has had has been a simple roast chicken. He's added in fresh blackberries and apple in addition to the dried and preserved cherries. He thinks immediately stopping any drink except water was the most help. He did have one cup of coffee today.

Smiling at Kathryn's treadmill laundry woes. I have a couple of odd spots in the house that I know are in the breeze from a heat vent and when I really need something to air dry fast I situate it there on a hangar overnight. Another trick I use is to hang it on a man's plastic suit hangar (very wide) or two side-by-side hangars, so that there is more air flow.

[Nancy]

Did a short walk last night and 1 mi. on the ex. bike figured some was better than none. B.S. was awesome today yea!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

This is the fourth day I've got on the treadmill this week although two of those were shorter times (1.5 miles instead of 2) because of time constraints.

Yesterday, for some reason, my step count was only 2500. I didn't do the treadmill (too congested from cold) but I did vacuum and dust two levels of the house and damp mopped the floors. So the low, low, number surprised me. It was 1000 lower than Sunday when I just went to church and then napped all afternoon and spent the evening talking with ds. The pedometer was in my bra both days so that wasn't the reason for the contrary readings.

I made it over 10,000 of Saturday but most days I'm lucky if I hit 7000. So I'm obviously using the most energy effective ways of doing my housework/daily living.

Today will be busier than planned because it turns out dh wants to leave in the morning tomorrow due to the thread of freezing rain in the afternoon. I had envisioned us leaving for Ithaca around 3 in the afternoon (and me napping in the car) but I appear to be losing 5 hours out of tomorrow. That would be prime productivity hours for me, too. And I lose all Sunday and all Monday (we'll get back here for mid afternoon but even if I nap then, I have choir in the evening so lose productivity time then.

Wow, losing three days of productivity just makes me feel like crying. I'm so far behind now and Christmas is looming. I can't make decisions about that (dd wants us to drive her to Toronto and we do the pantomime and dh is OK with spending the $$$$ for 8 tickets but that also means a night of hotel for at least 4 people, 5 if ds can come too. Although, I just realized there is an affordable hotel 3 blocks from the theatre so that works better than usually does because we usually stay out in the suburbs near dh's sisters.

The inability to make decisions is really scary for me. Don't know if it is directly related to the liver disorder (exhaustion affects brain) or if it is just the unknown - will I need naps in 7 weeks? Although, I've pretty given up hope the specialist will be right and I'll be fine by Christmas. If anything, I've back-slid in the last few weeks since I kicked up my effort to do housework AND church work. And paperwork isn't a part of my life, yet.

BTW: my blood work numbers came back and liver enzymes are back to normal and my red blood counts, etc, are just fine (after all the bleeding in October, I wondered) but two kidney numbers are out of whack and no logical explanation. So I'll go back for followup in two weeks to see if the results were outliers.

[Nancy]

Got my 4 mi. on the ex. bike yesterday.

[Harmony]

Dr. didn't tell me several things. She didn't tell me not to take it with my calcium (wait at least 4 hours) she didn't tell me how long to wait to eat after I take it (1 hour) and she didn't tell me how long before I get over symptoms.

I found those things on the internet. One place, I saw 10 days till the medicine kicks in, then a few others said up to 6 weeks. I read that it takes a little while for it to build up in your system. Then it takes a bit longer to get rid of symptoms.

I am definitely better than I was, getting a bit more done around here, but still it's a long way from normal. What was your experience with it? I had a friend who takes synthroid say as soon as she got on it she felt better, instantly. I wonder if our natural kind is slower? Oh, and by the way, does yours smell as horrible as mine? Yeck, it smells terrible.

[Harriet]

Smell? From the tiny little white pills? No, I've never even thought about a smell. To my mind, these pills would no more carry an odor than aspirins would... ...?? Are yours little off-white pills that look like aspirins, only half-size? With a capital A stamped on for Armour? I went and sniffed mine and I think I smell the plastic of the container, really, that's all.

I understood not to eat for 1/2 hour, but you're not the first person I've heard say 1 hour, so I'm not 100 percent positive about that. This is why I was torn about having breakfast the way that Dr. Oz show with Tim Ferriss recommended, getting protein in within a half-hour of arising. For a while I tried to take the pill instantly upon awakening and then watch the clock and have breakfast exactly 30 mins later. Eventually I decided it just couldn't be that important when you got your protein and I dropped the idea.

Lynlee had mentioned that calcium shouldn't be taken near thyroid supplements. I don't take a calcium supplement but am aware there is some in my multi, just like there is iron. I take the multi late in the day. Therein a problem - sometimes lately I forget it.

I've never heard that there is a quick effect. Stands to reason it should take some time. I was looking for help for my hair and maybe some weight loss, and for numbers when the dr did blood work that would make him stop bugging me, lol. There was nothing quick for me to look for. If I got more energy, I didn't notice so it must have been gradual.

I fished out my pharmacy literature and it says "usually once daily on an empty stomach 30 minutes to 1 hour before breakfast" and lists iron, calcium carbonate and antacids under "certain medications" that should be separated from it by 4 hours. So does that mean calcium supplements with a different type of calcium, like calcium citrate (sp) , are not a problem? Don't know.

[Nancy]

I shopped for my walk for exercise today.

[Lynlee]

Harriet - If you are still not eating 3 hours before bedtime you could take the Thyroide meds then.
I delay my calcium and mineral type til lunch and dinner time - I have todays sups boxed on my counter so hopefully I don't forget too often. - taking Tmeds first thing here. Harmony - at first I was just told to take the tmeds before breakfast so just did that - took an age to learn there was meant to be 30min - then later read 60min delay. It certainly has changed my morning.

[Nancy]

I raked leaves in the front yd., walked one mi. and rode ex. bike 2 mi. today for my exercise.