Healthy Habits #5 Taking Control of My Life...Again

 Degenerative or Osteoarthritis

I have now been to three doctors in the last few weeks and have one more appointment in June. Things are progressing forward as I work to take my life back from pain. My family doctor diagnosed me with Osteoarthritis. Yesterday, I saw the orthopedic doctor who gave me an arthritis steroid shot in my hip. I have had cortisone shots in my hip for bursitis, but not steroid shots for arthritis. The pain was easily cut in half, but some still exists. According to the physical therapist  today, the pain that is left is being caused by the bursitis.

These shots are band-aids that can last for months or a year. They do not fix the problem. Degenerative or Osteoarthritis is a condition that involves the chronic breakdown of cartilage in the joints leading to painful joint inflammation. It is common with old age, but even more common if you have had issues caused from car accidents, improper cheer leading, and some of my other falls and injuries. 

The bursa is a fluid-filled sac that functions as a gliding surface to reduce friction between moving tissues of the body. There are two major bursae in the hip. Bursitis, or inflammation of a bursa, is usually not infectious, but the bursa can become infected. Unfortunately, both of my hip bursae are inflamed.

I was given the all clear to go do my 5K walks. The first one is tomorrow. I am not doing any permanent damage to the bursa or the arthritis by working it, but I am making it really mad so that it inflames or causes pain. The physical therapist said that cold or hot compresses are fine. So use what feels the best. They would like to see me do some swimming since that is the least impact on the area, but my elliptical and bike are also fine. 


Although the actual cause of osteoarthritis and bursitis are unknown and incurable, there are a lot of things you can do to ease the pain. The low impact exercise is one area to focus on. Another is to strengthen the core and the muscles around the area. Finally lose weight and take omega 3's. These will all help, but in the end when the pain gets too unbearable it will be hip replacement time. 

At least I know I am not causing more damage when I down the ibuprofen and push through the pain. So now I have 1 stretch and 3 exercises to do at home until my appointment next week. I am also going to see someone that is a Certified Bowenwork Practitioner. It is a unique form of neuromuscular re-patterning. It works primarily through the nervous system on both structural and energetic levels.

By taking control I am hoping to be able to alleviate some of the pain I have.  Especially the pain at night that causes havoc and keeps me awake. My advice to the younger generation: take care of yourself now so you don't have to go through what I am!

Enjoying Exercise #4 The Catch 22

I am overweight and I need to exercise. When exercising, I have a lot of hip, leg, and back pain. So how do I exercise to help with the weight and not aggravate the pains? This dilemma has been plaguing me for years. After a 2002 car accident, I went through years of off and on physical therapy and chiropractic work. I have dealt with pains from sciatica, the sacroiliac, and bursitis.  Cortisone shots have helped but you can only do that so many times. I have an elliptical and a recumbent stationary bike to minimize pain but lately they even  hurt to use.

So I went to the doctor today to see what he thought was going on. After x-rays, the doctor informed me that I have bad arthritis in my hip. I now have a physical therapy appointment  and an appointment with a specialist in non-operative treatment of orthopedic injuries. Maybe something here will help. I hope so because my first 5K of the summer is in less than two weeks!

On to the exercising. The best way to exercise is to make it fun and be with friends! I love to walk 5K's with a little jog every now and then. With my hip and knee issues, walking is best for me. This is the time to start looking for what is in your area. Then invite your family and friends to join in the fun. Such a healthy way to spend time together instead of socializing around a table of food. These 5K walks are fun and are a good way to bring family and friends together. Last year I survived my 2nd Dirty Dash and my 1st Hit and Run. Not bad for a 56 year old that is out of shape! The cost of doing these walks is worth the money. I have saved by not having a gym membership and you get a cool t-shirt!

This is what I have planned for the summer so far:

May - Color Me Rad 5K  (tons of fun with lots of color!)
June - Still looking but there is a run in my area put on by the local hospital
July -  Bubble Run (this one looks wet and wild with soap bubbles)
August - The Color Run (another 5K filled with color)
September - Obstacles of Obesity (we run the 5K in blow up suits)
September - The Walk for Suicide Prevention  (this is a fund raiser and I will post the link)


Having lost my husband to suicide, this walk is dear to my heart. I wish I had the support of a group that taught suicide education and prevention. If it was out there, I didn't know it. More people need to be aware of the helps available. That is what this fundraiser helps with. Please contribute to my goal of raising $1000. Every $5 or $10 dollar donation helps. Thanks

http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=738997

What ever you choose to do, get out there and have fun! Here is hoping that I find a solution to my catch 22 and exercising won't hurt and I can lose some weight.

Sometimes Life Happens!

I have know Corinne since I was 3 years old!

I appoligize for not posting in a very long time, but sometimes life happens and we get very busy. I don't blog for money so the need to post often isn't a high priority. What is a high priority is the fan requests :) I get from my friends!

Life has been busy since last September. I have had one daughter's family move out of the basement to Oregon and another daughter's family move in the basement. At lease now I get to see the 6 month old twins more often!  I love being a grandmother and seeing the next generation grow and develop. I am so proud of the way my children are raising my grandchildren. I am actually working on my third book that will be interesting to all so being watching for future updates.

Iguazu Falls, Argentina

So what has happened in the last seven months? Well, I put on a mega reunion for my high school in California, traveled with my childhood best friend to LA and Vegas, the grand twins Boston and Lyla were born, I traveled with my travel buddy to Antarctica, Argentina, and Chile, and lost 5 pounds then gained 15! Life is so fun and full of changes.

Iceberg in Antarctica

                                                                      Since I like to focus on healthy living, lets look at the weight issue first. I love food and have a few food items I cannot control myself around. One of them is chocolate milk with Nestle's Quick. It is the bane of my existence. I cannot have it in the house because I will drink 2-3 glasses a day. I cannot say it is the reason for all the weight gain, but I traveled for almost the entire month of January and didn't gain any weight! I was eating out for a month. After arriving home, I have downed two large containers of Nestle's Quick and a lot more milk than I usually drink so what else could it be? Maybe the fact my exercise has been sporadic? Maybe because I only get 4-5 hours of sleep a night?

Healthy Habits and Enjoying Exercise:
Whatever the cause this has to stop because I have what I call my pain threshold. It is a specific weight that if I go above all the pain intensives by triple. I have more hip issues, more numbness in my toes, more back issues, and need a new wardrobe! So how do you take the first step to change? I started by signing up for a 5K for every month starting this month. I have actually gone to bed twice this week before midnight, and I am back in the books studying nutrition. I am way behind in my college independent study course on nutrition. It saddens me when my friends look at themselves in the mirror and see fat when I look at them and see beauty. I guess I need to apply that to myself because all I see is fat right now. With the weather so nice a good walk outside is one of the best things to do. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be healthy.

Fun Food:
I am totalling enjoying the meal situation here. I buy the groceries and my daughter cooks the dinners. She is a great cook and is trying new and healthy foods all the time. I think she needs to start a food blog. She has a great blog on her adventures with the blessing of her twins. Look her up at: http://littleivielane.blogspot.com/

So be watching for weekly blogs, I hope, on healthy habits, enjoying exercise, and fun foods. Maybe my daughter will  even let me share a few of her recipes. Better yet follow her on Pinterest, she has a board on the recipes she tries. Have a great week and remember "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page"        St Augustine

My beautiful twin grand babies!

Healthy Habits #4 AND Enjoying Exersice #3

Since I am planning a major event in California in October, my time has been drawn away from writing. Hopefully I will get back to more frequent posts soon.

I have watched "Fed Up" three times this week. I still shake my head in disbelief and learn something from it each time. If you haven't seen it, it is a must see. Have you ever noticed that the FDA, who controls putting labels on food, has deliberately chosen to leave off the percentage of daily recommenced sugar intake? The government & other groups say to those of us over weight that we need more discipline and we need to exercise, while they continue to lie to the American people about what they are putting in our foods.

By the time you have had a bowl of most cereals, glass of juice, and a piece of fruit for breakfast, you have already surpassed your daily recommend percentage of sugar. The food industry surrounds us with unhealthy processed foods at the check out stands, in our school, and places of work and then tells us it is our own fault for gaining weight. The line of 'calorie in = calorie out' isn't so equal. The people who made this documentary are selling nothing and gain nothing, so why would they lie? The challenge?
For 10 days:
1.  don't eat any unnatural sugar (fruits & vegies are fine)
2. Don't eat any processed foods, you know things in a box, fast food, etc
3. COOK! Actually cook fresh foods.

Personally, I am trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup, sodium nitrate, and anything I can't say on a label! Interesting fact, my weight gain corresponds with the years they started changing foods and adding crap, and entering the work world where cooking became a chore instead of a time to spend with family cooking.

Now on to the fun part of my week! I bought an elliptical and have actually used it 4 times in a week! I also talked my daughter into doing the 'Obsticles of Obesity' 5K. On this one we had to do the course in a blow up suit so the thinner people in the crowd could see how had some things were to do. This was my 6th 5K this summer and I have two more I want to do! It has been a lot of fun doing these crazy 5Ks. I am not a runner, so this has been great. Find something you enjoy doing and go do it!

Enjoying Exercise #1 - First 5K of the Summer Done!

I can walk but I can't run. Jogging is even pushing it for me. It doesn't help when you're top heavy and try to jog either, if you get the picture. So to have fun with exercising and get my family involved, I started doing 5K Walks.

My daughter, six year old grandson, and I just finished the Electro Dash. It is a fun night run with lots of lights and music. We were a bit out of shape for the first one this season, but we did it! It took my daughter and grandson about an hour and 15 minutes. I did it in about 55 minutes. We were thankful that her husband came alone for the ride and to cheer us on. When we got to the half-way point, they were out of water. So we texted my son-in-law to meet us with water bottles. He was a life savor!

We had a good time with all our glow sticks and the positive atmosphere around us. Walking is one of the best exercises you can do. It only takes 1/2 hour 3-4 times a week. Start slow but walk!

Now it is time to get ready for our next 5K The Dirty Dash. This one is going to wipe me out.