Exercise In Unexpected Places

Today I got out of the house & walked down to the grocery store!

You might think this isn't such a big deal, so why the exclaimation point?  Well, let me tell you my usual exercise routine:

• Monday: head to Curves for an intense 25 mins workout & 5 minutes of stretching.
• Tuesday: meet up with my walking partner (yo Maria!!) and head to the track for a 1 hour brisk walk.
• Wednesday: repeat Monday.
• Thursday: repeat Tuesday.
• Friday: repeat Wednesday repeating Monday.

So, why would a 10 minute walk to the grocery store, walking around aforementioned grocery store, & a 10 minute walk back home be anything other than not worth mentioning??  Because, for just over a week & a half I've not been able to walk very far without severe pain in my right leg & intensifying numbness in my right foot. (Read previous blogs for full details.)

So, why exercise in unexpected places?? (This is the fun part!)

I walked, with my "sexy" limp down to the store. I must admit that two senior citizen ladies passed me because I was going too slow! I bought around 10 lbs of groceries & walked back. En route, I was switching my heavy bag to my other hand when a thought struck me: Doctor has prescribed light activity. I'm walking: light activity? Check! So I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  I'm also carrying a heavy bag... Now, if I were to curl the bag I could work on my biceps, while doing light activity!!! I had to carry the bag anyways!! I could get a bit of a workout in while walking home!

I curled the (approx. 10lb) bag for 3 sets of 10 reps on each arm! I'm so pround of myself for finding a way to get some extra exercise. As I'm not to put any extra pressure on my lower back it's been very difficult to get any exercise. Believe me, I've been thinking...  My oldest son, also a personal trainer, has nixed every thought I've had.  So, this one today?? Got approval! Yeah for me!

All His best to you as you too find exercise in unexpected places!


Lea
Sent from my iPhone

Feb 15-24th, 2010, Medications and My Observations

I not only want to keep track of what's been going on but possibly this will help another going through the same thing. These were recorded on my iPhone App Meds Log. This is my first week on Oxycodone pills. I've been taking 1 pill every 6 hours and then 1/2 a pill on the 3 hr mark between the 1 pill times.

Date	Time	Med	Dose	Notes/Overall Condition
15-Feb	10:16 PM	T3		Took 2. Side of calf starting to pulsate as I try to sleep. When I doze off leg pulsates!
16-Feb	11:02 PM	T3		Better but when I relax my buttocks, leg hurts down to ankle.
17-Feb	06:07 PM	Flexeril	½ a pill
19-Feb	07:30 AM	Oxy	½ a pill	Could feel burning intensify in my leg as well as numb foot. Took 1/2 pill to try to tame the pain. It never left but stopped being all I could feel.
	09:10 AM		1 pill	Foot is more numb than yesterday. Buttocks difficult to impossible to relax to go potty. Leg is burning. Lower back has seized up. Flexibility is close to zero.
	06:23 PM		½ a pill	Able to go #1 w/no problem. :) Leg is burning down to just below knee. Foot quite numb. Period should be starting soon. Must gain some flexibility back to deal with it. :( Right butt cheek quite painful getting out of bed. Back of knee quite tender. CT Scan tomorrow @ RCH. Had almost an hour nap 5-6pm.
20-Feb	12:00 AM		½ a pill	Back of right leg burning. Butt & spine sore. Foot numb. Able to go #1 no problem. Excited for CT Scan. Hope it shows what needs to be shown!
	09:00 AM		1 pill	Drove to & from CT Scan. No affect on driving. Got close to home & close to 9am when leg started burning. Wanted to get out & walk just so I didn't have to sit on it.
	12:01 PM		½ a pill	Was taking a nap.
	09:09 PM		1 pill	Outside & underside of leg hurting. Right side of right foot quite numb. Feeling quite low tonight. Wish my future wasn't so uncertain. :'(
21-Feb	12:01 PM		½ a pill	Leg achy. Heel feeling cold.
22-Feb	06:00 PM		1 pill	Took a whole pill by accident. :(
	09:11 PM		1 pill	Took whole pill @ 6:00pm by accident. Didn't want to mess w/my schedule so took a full one @ 9pm. *sigh
24-Feb	03:04 PM		1 pill	Took 1/2 a pill to see what the pain level is as Dr wants me on less pills by Tuesday next. Right leg has been quite sore today. Pain similar to previous pains that feel like a hollow in the hip. Also hip flexors feel strained but I can't think of anything I've done to strain them.

Lose It! A great application for the iPhone!

Back in the summer 2009 I weighed in at 196 lbs!!  I was miserable!

I'd been on the Jenny Craig program twice and both times lost between 50-70lbs.  I'd been able to keep it off for a few years each time but as I was an emotional eater...  Once the stability of my situation disappeared... so did my slim waistline.

Well, this time I couldn't afford to go back and I was beginning to tire of the foreign foods.  There had to be a way for me to lose weight eating healthy on my own, but how could I do this without the accountability and support of my Jenny Craig consultant???  That's when I found Lose It! on iTunes app store.

I love this program!  It has tracked my progress, and even though it isn't a person I meet with each week, it keeps me on track!  It has a database of regular foods and such but what I like is it has the ability for you to enter in your recipes.  You tell it how many servings you got out of your recipe and it tells you how many calories there are per serving.  Then, when you make it again, you'll know how much you can eat...  Without the guilt.

Not only does it track your food but it also tracks your exercises and activities of the day and takes these calories burned into account for your daily intake.  Have I mentioned that I love this program??  ;)

If you have an iPhone I highly recommend you get this app and see where it can lead you!  It also allows you to connect with friends who also use this application and you can motivate each other.  And, if you've seen my Facebook or Twitter accounts you'll see that there's the option to have it update your status with pounds lost and calories burned.

If you do happen to get this app, please contact me so that we can put each other in as motivators in our journey to lose weight and get into shape!  Thus far I've lost 45.5 lbs since the summer of 2009.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't all I did to lose this much.  I also joined Curves and then one week later I broke my left ankle.  I didn't allow this to stop the momentum I had started of going to the gym Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  I still went to Curves but I worked only on my upper body.  I stayed away from the leg machines and the recovery stations and did double duty on all the upper body machines.  :)  Once I was able to walk without pain I got myself a walking partner (Hi Maria!!) and on Tuesdays and Thursdays we were at the Bear Creek Park track walking for an hour each day.  It was so very nice to spend time with a friend and get to know her better... to have someone to talk to about life, hers and mine...  Godly women's friendships are very important.  I'm really missing my walks right about now.  I wonder if they fall into the category of "light activity"??  Hmmm...  Maybe, maybe not...  ;)

So, if you want to know anything about the Lose It! application, ask away!!

His best to you!!

Lea

ps. Before I joined Curves I had lower lumbar strain and was wearing a back brace.  I'd had this pain for a number of years (6 to be more exact) and was told that my back muscles were especially weak.  About a month ago I realized that this pain was completely gone!!  Curves' machines target your core and they helped me to build up my core and back muscles.  I highly recommend going to Curves because it worked so well for me.

LB

What Happened... Last Week...

Update:


Monday 1am, I awoke screaming as my right leg felt like it was on fire. Took two T3s and it finally settled after 90 minutes of crying and yelling.


Wednesday 10pm, took 2xT3s and went to sleep. Woke screaming @ 12:00am. Doctor on call told me to call 911. I waited... Around 2:30am pain had subsided but I could feel it returning. I called 911.


When at SMH emergency they gave me a shot of morphine which only made me sleepy, it didn't touch the pain.  We were finally given a little room w/a bed and a chair to wait for Dr to make his rounds. I tried to stay awake but couldn't. We fell asleep. They forgot about me and I missed seeing the Doctor when he did his rounds. :'(


I woke at 7:15am and immediately got in a wheelchair to go potty. En route, as I passed nurses station, pain came back full force. I told them that I need something for the pain & proceded to cry & scream in agony. (Not my best moment. :( So many people around too. Probably scared some of the patients but I couldn't help it.)  Husband took me back to my room & nurse came in angrily asking what they needed to do to help? I had no idea! I told her that T3s & morphine didn't touch the pain & that I had no idea what to do. Doctor gave nurse approval for Demerol. 30 mins after the shot the pain subsided. I was finally pain free! First time in over a year!  We left the hospital around 9am.

I got to see my doctor that afternoon. Prescription for Oxycoton (or some such painkiller) & told that I have to stop going to school, gym & cannot work for 2-3 months. (Son took me to Dr and has been very kind & helpful throughout. Wish he were like this all the time...)


Friday: the prescription is for 1-2 pills every 6 hrs. Since Thursday I'd been taking 1 every 6 hrs but when I woke up that morning, which was at the 3 hr mark, there was the beginning of the burning down my leg & my right foot was number (I know that looks like number but it's numb with more intensity. :) ) than it was the day before & I could hardly bear my weight on it.


I wasn't able to go to the washroom because I couldn't put any weight on my right side; I could not relax enough to go. :(


I finally took 1/2 a pill & the pain became bearable & less frightening again. So, for now, I'm taking 1 pill every 6 hrs & 1/2 a pill at the halfway mark, every 6 hrs.


Next doctor's appt. is on Tuesday to see how it's going.


It's been so very terrifying as I can do nothing when the pain hits, nothing. It's very scary.


When I originally wrote up this update I received a call from Dr's office: CT Scan set for Saturday morning @ 7:45am!!! PTL!!!


My doctor had tried to get me one before Christmas but was told that an MRI was preferred by the RCH. A few weeks ago I was finally given the date for the MRI: June 25th, 2011!  18 months away!!


Since seeing me Thursday she was able to raise the urgency level & it seems to have worked!


I've not only been on our church's prayer list but on an international one I found through Twitter. Prayer is covetted as my hands are tied as have been my doctor's. Any prayer lists you are aware of? Please add my name to it!!

Thanks,

Lea

Doctor's Visit Today

I had my follow-up visit to my doctor after Thursday AM's fiasco at the Surrey Memorial Hospital.


Doctor said I was in a lot less pain than the last time she saw me on Thursday. This was an odd thing for her to say because when I saw her on Thursday I was feeling no pain! I'd had a shot of Demerol a few hours before seeing her and I really felt like everything was moving in slow motion. So, it wasn't pain that I was in the last time we saw each other. I was more alert, if nothing else. I know, for sure, I was in more pain today than I was last Thursday.


The results from the CT Scan are not back yet so we are still in the dark as to the cause of this pain. I have another appointment next week so we should have some idea by then.


She gave me another prescription for painkillers but was very adament that by my next appointment she wanted me to have cut back on the amount I'm taking (1.5 pills/6 hrs). Not looking forward to that activity. :( I don't like anything that brings me closer to THAT pain!


I'm still not to go to the gym. I'm allowed light activity, that's all. I wish this could be more specific... Does this mean that I can repeatedly climb the stairs in order to work my leg muscles? I don't know... I've got a 5lb weight next to my bed so that when I'm laying down I can at least work my arms a little bit. Too much pressure on my back if I were to do it sitting up so I've improvised. :) A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!


As much as I don't want the pain I really want to have the feeling back in my right foot. I can't tell if it's warm or cold... It's just very uncomfortable.


Doctor said that, similar to when I was dealing with a pinched nerve in my neck, as the pressure eases on this sciatic nerve, the feeling in my foot should come back and the pain will slowly creep back up to the hip. Yeah!! Can't wait till I only have a pain in my butt again! ;)


I guess that's all the excitement of my Doctor's Visit Today.


All His best to you,


Lea

Low Cal High Fiber Breakfast Alternative

If you're tired of giving away 200-300 calories for a bowl of healthy cereal in the morning, but don't want to compromise nutrition and that healthy fiber, take a look at the Curves Chewy Granola Bar. 100 calories each plus 5 grams of fiber & only 5 grams of suger too!  Very yummy!

The only other bar that comes close that I've seen, is a Fiber One 90 Calorie Bar that I found in the States. It tasted a bit like puffed wheat with chocolate added. Quite tasty too!

I eat one of these bars as I am driving to Curves.  It gives me enough energy for my workout.  On days when I'm not working out, I eat one for breaky and it lasts me until lunch.  The hunger and the pounds start melting away.  :)

Don't get me wrong, sometimes I crave that bowl of cereal with a chopped up apple on it... but... I don't give up those calories lightly!

Bon Appetit!


Lea B
Sent from my iPhone

Welcome to my growth through pain.

Last week my pain-in-the-butt sciatica was feeling a little under appreciated and decided that it needed to be front and center in my life.

My life is now completely on hold.  I had to stop going to school, the gym, and to work.  Thank goodness my school was understanding and is allowing me to continue my studies at a later date when I hope that this pain will allow me to attend.

I now walk with a sexy limp.  Well, if I don't call it sexy, people may make fun of me... but if it's "sexy" then perhaps others will take up this limp and I won't feel so embarassed by it.  :)

I will post more about last week in a bit.  Currently my laptop is getting hot and needs a time-out to recompose itself and I could use some breaky in order to replenish myself.

Thanks for looking in and I hope that you will return and learn with me.

All His best to you,

Lea