Recovery Days

I'm in my late 50s & feel like I'm in my 90s most days. It seemed that I was getting fatter and sicker the more I got treated by the doctors at the county health system.

Then of course the Obamacare nonsense came along, and I couldn't get care at all. My primary care doctor quit rather than deal with it, and I got told that I would have to apply for medicaid (braving the website & all the identity theft risks) in order to get assigned to another doctor.

This was rather a back door bit of good news, as it caused me to take a good long look at where I was getting with mainstream medicine.

I decided to kick their stuff to the curb, and I have gotten more progress in the last month than I have in the last year.

I started back up with SparkPeople only this week, and it's going very well indeed.

What Is The First Thing I Changed To Regain My Health?

There was an interesting question asked this morning on the SparkPeople discussion pages. That was "What was the first thing you changed??" While most of the responses revolved around changes to their activity level, not drinking soda, drinking more water, lowering their carb intake, etc., only a few mentioned that they had to change their attitude.

That was the first thing I had to change to take this on. I decided to feel better.

I am doing better. I was able to take the trash out yesterday, and I've been moving boxes, lifting heavy weight, and cleaning. Sure, I have to stop and catch my breath, but I have been completing tasks, and that counts for a great deal.

End Of First Month Status Report: Noticeable Improvement

We're looking for results in a few categories:

• Improved physical ability
• Improved resiliency - by which I mean my ability to handle stress and avoid getting ill
• Improved basic health

The results this month are slight, but noticeable. While out shopping today, I was able to walk at an improved pace, and I was able to walk, not waddle. This part tells me that the foot and ankle swelling is down at least a small amount. Still got short of breath, but even that was not as severe.

Last night I did some furniture moving and changed where my bed was located. This involved some fairly heavy lifting. I did have to sit down to regain my breath every few minutes. However, I was able to complete the task by myself. 

I had no problem getting all the groceries in the house by myself. Again, I did need to sit down to catch my breath before going back for the second load, but I was able to complete the task. I was also able to carry a bag of laundry to the car, and I will be going to the laundromat tomorrow by myself to get it done. 

Small improvements; sure, but where I'm heading is the ability to do heavy work. Just a few years ago I was able to walk for miles back and forth across a hay field behind a truck and trailer and toss 70 pound bales up to the person stacking. For the last two years I haven't been able to walk 100 feet with a bag of trash.

Addendum:
If you are wondering why I chose the "Round Tuit" image for this post, it is because I still have a hard time believing that I have had such a rough road to get to this point...sigh.

Finding USEFUL Online Health, Diet and Exercise Resources

There is a lot of information on the internet that has to do with diet, exercise, regaining health, and handling the effects of toxins in our lives.

The problem is that the vast majority of the information out there is not valid or useful. Some of it is totally clueless, some of it is opinion, and even worse, there are real nutcases out there that deliberately put out information designed to injure others.

When attempting to find a way to proceed to regain health and activity after long and debilitating medical mistreatment, this morass becomes doubly overwhelming. The opinions are like diapers in a nursery - everyone has one and you know what they are usually full of.

With all that said, finding a good resource is pure gold. The one I was reminded of today is www.sparkpeople.com.

I actually have been a member for several years, but I had completely forgotten about them in my search for exercise videos for using the resistance bands.

Most of what I saw on YouTube fit in the "totally clueless" category, and one even implied that using a wheelchair was tantamount to terminal laziness.

Not so with SparkPeople. The video I watched today was spot on about using the resistance bands while seated, and the written material made some excellent points about getting exercise while dealing with various disabilities.

I also spent considerable time today updating my information and goals on the various tracking tools they offer.

SparkPeople is going to be a big part of my plan to regain my basic health and resiliency.

Completing Longer To-Do Lists

Do you start the day with a mental or written list of things that need to be accomplished and then beat yourself up when you don't get a quarter of them done?

Do phrases like "over-ambition and under-application" "lazy" and "poor planning" come to mind?

What if part of the problem is that your energy and physical ability are not up to the kind of production you really feel that you should be able to do? How can this be overcome?

Simply making shorter To-Do lists when this leaves out projects that truly need to be done is not a good answer. You may feel better at getting the abbreviated list complete, but you may end up with a sink over-flowing with dirty dishes, the car breaking down because it hadn't gotten maintained, or an empty larder when the storm of the century rolls in and you hadn't done the grocery shopping.

Recognizing that we really are able, competent, motivated beings is really the first step to fixing what is off. If you weren't really able, competent and motivated, you wouldn't feel anything wrong about not getting things done. ( You also would be unlikely to be reading this, but that's another topic.)

The best answer is also the longer-term one: Get your energy and physical state into a higher condition, able to zip though your days and leave successes in your wake. We'll leave that alone for the moment and address things that can be done right now. Today.

Here's a starting exercise. Take out paper and pen and write everything you need to do. Work, Home, Personal care, School, Church, Outdoors, whatever. List it all. Need to shave your legs? Put it down. Move the furniture from the larger bedroom so you can set up a home office? Write that down. Need to call the electrician to wire the new office first? Make sure that's on there. Someone left trash in the yard that needs to be picked up? Likewise.

Now we'll take the list and categorize and prioritize.

First: YOU. Your hairdresser appointment, sleep time, shaving your legs, study time, reading a novel, exercise time.

There is a very valid reason this begins with you. If you don't have enough sleep, feel disheveled, frazzled, and unprepared, none of the rest will get accomplished.

Second: YOUR FAMILY. Keeping the family going does require attention and action. Get the dishes done, the living room cleaned, get the groceries, etc. If there are youngsters, remember that they need to be given ways to help. Delegate chores as possible.

Third: WORK Need to remind the boss that equipment needs repair or replacement? Do so. A project needs to get done this week? Be doing your work when you are supposed to be doing your work. If you've put the first two in order, this is much, much easier to keep in mind.

Then add School, Church, Outdoors, any other categories you've created for yourself.

You may feel more organized right now and try running things on priority basis for awhile and see how that works for you.

A bit more organization may be helpful in some cases. Make up lists that have to be repeated - daily, weekly - various computer calendar tools are really helpful here.

If the howling demands of everyone else wanting to be first leaves you feeling that you need a old-time lion tamer whip and chair; create a time schedule. Rough blocking out of time is really far better than going down to quarter hours.

By now, you see that you can be more productive with just the energy and physical ability you have at present. Putting a few things in their places and creating some order will allow you to get more order in place on a gradual basis.

These small successes will actually improve your energy level.

Moving the Immovable Object

Ever feel like you simply can't get up to do something? It seems that my physical deconditioning is very nearly making that thought true.

While I had received the resistance band set just before New Year's Eve, I didn't start with them until this week.

To start, I am alternating using the resistance bands with sets of ankle and knee rotations while seated. I have also been working on getting the apartment fully cleaned and re-organized. While I had a friend come over to run the rented carpet shampoo machine, I also had considerable work to do to make it possible for him to do his part.

The place does look vastly improved! And I repeatedly got my heart rate up, while not getting too out of breath.


I did feel truly worn out last night, though.

Last night, I dreamt that I was able to ice skate again. I wouldn't even be able to get skates on over my swollen feet at present. That is my first target: getting the swelling down. I may be able to move more easily if my feet and legs aren't as swollen and stiff as they are now.

There are several ways that come to mind of accomplishing this, and I plan to use them together.

• Get a "foot spa" to soak my feet and handle the dry skin. 
• Get a skin lotion that doesn't irritate the over-stressed skin of my lower legs and feet and use it daily.
• Once I get enough reduction in swelling, start using compression stockings to help it along
• Exercise my feet, ankles and knees with the resistance bands.
• Get my feet up on a stool while I am working on the computer. 
• Set aside time to use my spinning wheel every day. The treadling action on my wheel is very mild but persistent.
• Change my 1957 Singer sewing machine over to treadle operation. Also set aside time daily to sew. The treadling action for a sewing machine is different, and a bit more intense than my spinning wheel, and involves the knees more. 

The last two actions also have the benefit of getting a product.