Last Public Health Visit!!

Yesterday was my last public health visit!!!!

There were no balloons or streamers.  The receptionist did not light up and say "Congratulations on making it though!"  In fact, I had to remind her that this was my last visit and find out if I had to come back in.  Yes, I have to return to get my CERTIFICATE!!!  Who would have thought that I'd get a certificate out of this.

My actual meeting with my dear little nurse took about 6.25 minutes including her story about two Buddhist nuns who came to visit with her. She had my bottle of INH ready to go and already labeled...shocking.  Blood pressure: 105/79, check.  Weight, check.  Buddhist nun story, check.

"So this is my last visit," I said, trying to lead her into an exclamatory "You did it!  Let's go have a beer!"
"Yes!" was all I could pull out of her.  But she's so cute, and they way she modulated her voice was more like "Yaaaaaeeess!"
"Will I need to come back in after I finish my bottle?" I jutted out the blue-capped bottle in my hand.
"Oh...you'll need to come back in after you finish and I will need to make out your certificate." She nodded and smiled.
"What is the certificate for?  Just to say I finished all of my INH pills" and to myself I completed "for nine long months, like a good little girl."
"Yes and you'll need to sign something saying you won't take another test.  And if you have any problems in the future you can just come back to me."  Ick, I though...like if I visit a foreign country and contract TB?  What are my chances...?
"What happens with the test?  Will I contract TB if I take one?"  Terror beginning to rise...
"Oh, no.  But you will always be positive on it."

Hmmm.... The legacy of my TB is not behind me.  Every time I go to the doctor and encounter "the test" I will need to explain my nine-month gestation with latent TB.  Lovely.  But at least I'll have my certificate!

I'll have to look up more info.  I'm already setting up acupuncture appointments to help strengthen my liver, post INH.  More on that to come.

Congratulations to me!!!

Ibuprofin - Going Hardcore

Funny, how when you slide a little, it just keeps snowballing.  For me, I could live in a land of "if only's".  If only I hadn't let my no-histamine diet slide.  If only I hadn't drank that glass of wine which caused my hands to ache even more.  If only I'd kept on track I still be feeling great (I like to think).

Who really knows how that would have turned out.  But, dealing with the hear and now is the most important.  And right now, I'm operating this body at substandard levels.  As I've said in earlier posts, my hands ache, my body feels like it has grit between the bones, I'm tired much of the time and I'm suffering from allergies that have made their home base in my sinuses.

Yesterday, I awoke to a sore throat which developed into a headache.  I took some Ibu-Actin, looking for a quick fix, at a bowl of home-made applesauce and an English muffin, took my vitamins and went out into the big world.

As soon as I did, it seemed like the headache got worse - not completely a migraine, but something akin to having a pressure hose shot inside the skull.  I felt nauseous too. When I think about what I put into my belly - Ibu-Actin and Vitamins - with a very light breakfast, I can see why the nausea.

But, since I was trying to clean a rental house and get it ready for my new tenant quickly, I looked again for the quick fix.  I took two Ibuprofens.  AND, I ate green chile stew.  Ah, a slice of heaven - after 20 minutes I was actually smiling and giving orders again.  My usual self.

I've veered away from Ibuprofens, or any commercial pain reliever, simply because of the unknown quantity.  How do I know that I'm not putting undue strain on my liver with these drugs?  The warning when beginning INH was for Acetaminophen (Tylenol) due to the fact it's very hard on the liver.  The others...who knows?

I'll tell you this, it worked like magic, my quick fix.  I can see why people get hooked on quick fixes instead of doing the actual work of diet and exercise.  Who likes to work?

Ibu-Actin might have been good when I was not weighted with INH, histamines and arthritis, but now it just doesn't have the same kick.  I've had to go hardcore.

Aching Hands

Ay, my hands hurt.  It's 3:30 in the morning and I've been awake for at least 2 hours trying to get comfortable.  My hands are cramped and tight and hurt to close or open. There is a subtle pain in them that is just constant.

It could be that the two days of cleaning in my rental house did it...unusual exercise and all.  Probably not helped by the glass of wine I had before dinner (was that delicious beverage worth it?  Hmmm...).  It could be allergy season and histamines are rampant.

It could be INH exacerbating all of that.  It could be.

Missed a pill last night.  I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with it.

Ay, I can't wait to be off this stinkin' drug.

How Low Can You Go: Blood Pressure and INH

During my months in blogging darkness, I had (maybe still having) some bouts with low blood pressure.  Supposedly this isn't anything to worry about since my dear nurse didn't have any adverse reaction.  My normal BP is about 105/65.  Not bad, particularly when I'm not exercising and all that stuff.

As I mentioned in my last post, two Public Health visits ago I went in and my initial BP read 80/55.  She shifted it to the other arm and it came in at about 95/60.  So that's great, right?  Probably...However I, with my paranoid mind, have made a few ties to a couple of things.

1. The night before I went in to Public Health I felt dizzy and weak.  I don't watch much TV, and have only a single show that I try to watch.  Fell asleep in the middle of it.  Complained that I felt like my body just needed water and lots of it.

2. The day, after having my blood pressure measured I continued to be weak and almost fainted twice. I continued with the same symptoms.

Coincidence?  In my heart of hearts, I don't believe so.  Even though her final measurement was fine, I've NEVER had to have my BP taken more than once. And 95 is still low for me.

Let me list some signs and symptoms of low blood pressure:

• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Fainting (syncope)
• Lack of concentration
• Blurred vision
• Nausea
• Cold, clammy, pale skin
• Rapid, shallow breathing
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Thirst

Dizzy - check, Fainting (or almost) - check, Lack of concentration - check, Fatigue - check, Thirst - check.
Hmmm...

So let's say (hypothetically) that my blood pressure was low.  That I was suffering from hypotension.  What's the cause, is it normal, is it INH and most importantly, what kicks it back to normal?  Well, if I'd been keeping track of my food, my diet and other things like I'd started out doing, I'd probably be able to better answer this as it applies to me.  But alas, I have to go from memory, which was practically wiped clean because of my hypothetical hypotension bout.  Or at least, I can blame it on that.

I'll be pondering this more...lots more research to do...

To Vitamin or Not To Vitamin

My last visit to my dear, sweet nurse at public health went pretty much the same as usual.  I go in, we talk about her arthritis, her grandchild, my boy, she takes my blood pressure and then she gets me my bottle. Really...there's no serious questionnaire to be completed, no probing discussions.  Last month, I'd been feeling rather "odd" and she didn't really flinch when my blood pressure was 80/55.  "Let's try the other arm then."  It came back 95/60.  

I figured she must have supreme confidence in my conversational skills and my ability to plop down on the table anything that might be wrong with me.  Let's try not to think "diseased liver" or anything...keep it light.  So I said, "I've been grumpy, tired and arthritic STILL."  She put me right in my place..."So the B6 isn't working anymore?"

Ah, well, I stopped taking the B6 back in May.  In fact, I stopped doing ANYTHING good in May.  Even Vitamins went out the window, although I still got my dose of Vitamin Sun (D).  Hmmm...

Now my multivitamin is a beast - Six horse-pill sized vitamins are the daily dose.  Food-based and absolutely chock full of everything good, including plenty of B6.  I love 'em, swear by 'em, but haven't been taking them.  Aside from my own psychological problems that are keeping me from good health (yes, I know I have my fair share and lately the grab bag has been quite full) there are some basic physical tenets that I recognized when I started this blog:

1. Eat well and logically
2. Avoid histamine rich and inducing foods
3. Supplement

So when I say that I feel like crap but I'm not doing any of the above, who do I have to blame?  Yep, numero uno right here typing this in.  I hate these kinds of epiphanies.

This morning, I took three multi-vitamins.  At lunch I'll take another three.  I want to continue this through the week.  I have a sneaking suspicion that my energy levels will increase and my general well being will too.

Why do I always have to learn the hard way?

Catching Up - Month 8

Whew - eight months in and not feeling so hot.

BUT, I have myself to blame.  My diet is shot - I eat practically whatever I want.  While many people would say there is no correlation, I think that for my body and the symptoms I experience, there sure is!

Let me tell you what it's like - my neck hurts, my hands hurt, I have practically no energy and I am suffering from allergies this fall.  The arthritic symptoms in my hands are constant, I go to bed at 9:30 every day and find a general lethargy pervades my life.

Can I blame INH?  Possibly for a part of this.  But I know that if I was doing my best to eat, exercise and be healthy, I'd feel fine.  I KNOW IT.

I want to get this out on the blog because I appreciate all of your comments to me to GET IT GOING!  I want to share my remaining few months and recap the last four or five.  My slide into INH rebellion and my hopeful return.

Stay tuned, and thanks for all the prodding!

Lavender Mead Makes Me Feel Fine (Month 2, Day 50)

Over the weekend I had the rare opportunity to sample some Lavender Mead.  Actually, the tenant renting my house, now about to move out, laid out a spread of three different Meads for me to try when I arrived.  All made by him, and all very delectable.  Lavender, Orange Blossom, and one other I can't remember.  So I sipped, then licked the glass and quietly slipped the rest of the full bottle behind my back and tried to leave.  But they saw me, darn them!

Funny how simple it was to drink.  No, I didn't feel any kind of reaction, like my liver failing.  I felt great.  Pure and simple.

The problem is, he gave me a 1/2 bottle of the lavender mead, so now I have this scrumptious stuff in my house...I walk around salivating all evening trying to keep my bulging eyes in place.

I figure I'll give myself another week and then try another glass.

The Histamine diet.  I think I may be ready to add back in a few things.  My left hand still feels quite achy and the pinky and ring fingers are sore. While the anti-histamine diet may have saved me some seasonal allergies, I don't think it was the be all, end all for the arthritis.  The hunt continues for that.

I have been suffering from some headaches lately.  I'm not sure if they are allergy related or INH related.  They come on kind of like an ice cream headache, and last about as long.  Trouble is, I haven't had ice cream when I get them.   They've been happening for about 4 days, so I'm going to keep an eye on them, or at least a brain.