This is the first Monday since I started Crockpot Monday that I do not have a crockpot recipe for you!
I wanted to talk a little about my health, which I haven’t talked about for a while! The last time, I had mentioned I was going to give up dairy and see if that helped my stomach issues. That was really hard for me! I was eating yogurt pretty much everyday, and a lot of cheese. I don’t drink cow’s milk – when I need milk, I pretty much have almond milk. I came up with a substitute for non dairy yogurt, but cheese still was my weakness!
Just this last week, I have been adding back in some dairy. I think there are certain things I can have, but certain things (like yogurt) still seem to bother me! I’m trying not to go crazy with it, but I am having some cheese when I want it.
Salads! The perfect time to add some cheese, right?
This last month has been rough on me. A dear friend of mine passed away, work has been stressful, and on top of that I have been having my own health struggles. For the last 3-4 weeks, I have been experiencing a ringing in my ears. It is constant – ir is there when I wake up, there when I go to sleep – and while it isn’t physically painful, it sure is annoying! This last week it either started to get worse, or I just noticed it more. If I am in a loud room, I won’t notice it as much, but when I come home at night or am by myself, it seems so much louder.
I finally went to the doctor to have it checked out, and it was diagnosed as tinnitus – a ringing or buzzing in the ears. It isn’t a disease, more of a condition. There really isn’t a lot known about it, because it is rather subjective – for example, I can hear the buzzing, but no one else can. Tinnitus can be caused by many different things – loud noises, medication, medical conditions, etc. There is no cure, but there are ways for dealing with it. I do feel very lucky – so many people have health issues that are painful and make it different to live a normal life. I am blessed to be able to work out, work at my job, move around, and still do the things I love to do. Like cooking!! And I have a wonderfully supportive husband
Sometimes I get tired of thinking about it – is it still ringing? Which ear is it ringing in? Is it louder than it was before? The doctor gave me an exercise that I can do that involves lying down and moving your head in different angles; however, after you do the exercise you can’t lie down for 24 hours.
That means sleeping sitting up. I tried it, and the sleeping part was miserable, and I didn’t feel it really helped the ringing.
I am going to try some herbal treatments – tinnitus is said to be caused by poor circulation around the ears, and ginkgo is a wondering herb to assist with circulation. I have started taking a ginkgo tincture, as well as different forms of the herb. I’ll have to see if that has any impact!
Another thing that has helped me is my eye pillow! I usually don’t have problems falling asleep, but this last week I have! I use it every night on my pillow to help me fall asleep. I love it! I sure made it at the right time! I have also been making this sleepy tea before I go to bed.
My tinnitus does seem to get worse in stressful situations, so I try to stay calm and take it easy. (yeah right!!!) When I was at the doctors, they also gave me a tetanus shot because I haven’t had one … oh since I probably was 14.
I forgot how bad that shot hurts! It didn’t hurt so much the day of the shot, but all weekend long I was pretty much useless! Besides not sleeping the night I got the shot (because of the exercise I did for my ear circulation), I was so tired and sore, and I am guessing it was from the shot. At least I hope so! I tried so hard to get things accomplished this weekend, and it just wasn’t happening! I would start a project, and then have to go lie down because I was so exhausted. My husband told me I would go go go until I really could not even stand anymore, and then I would wake up 30 minutes later and try to get some more accomplished I finally realized that my body was trying to tell me “JANE!!! Take it easy!!” I put a message on my facebook page that I wasn’t feeling well and just shut myself off! Or tried to. It really is difficult for me just to not do anything!Then I started to get worried that I hadn’t cooked anything, and I needed at least to get some food prepared for lunches this week! I am not the kind of person – ever really – to buy frozen meals, although I did consider buying a rotisserie chicken for about 2 seconds .. then I realized how expensive it was, and how tiny the chicken was! So I bought a whole chicking, and got up at 6am on Saturday, and put a chicken in the oven
No wonder I’m tired all the time!So where does this leave me? I have some things to work through, that is for sure. The paperwork I got from the doctors office said that tinnitus can lead to depression … you think? I have been kinda down and depressed thinking that I am in my 30s and too young to be losing my hearing! I don’t know for sure that I have hearing loss, but that does accompany tinnitus. I’m trying to focus on the positive, and how blessed and lucky I really am to have 2 boys (one dog, one human) that love me so much.
One bonus – every time I went to bed this weekend in the middle of the day, I had a partner! Sammy is like … you are sleeping in the middle of the day? I wanna come!!
I had to rely on quick meals this week, because I just didn’t have the motivation to make anything to eat.
Kayln’s tuna salad made an appearance – this is so good and easy to make!
I have also been eating a ton of guacamole. I love the stuff! I like mine simple: 1 mashed avocado, a little red onion, 1/2 a lime (juiced), and some salt and pepper. Sometimes, I will add a tomato.
I love this stuff! On salads, by itself, or with Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato chips – my fav! I also found some chicken sausages that we both LOVE, and grilling those has been quick and easy. I’m trying not to feel too bad – summer is a good time to take it easy food wise, I think!
Question: Did you have a good weekend? I hope so!
I have tinnitus too—it’s been about 3 years for me, and it gets better and worse at different times…and like you said, it’s not really noticeable sometimes when surroundings are noisy, but laying in bed at night seems to be the worst!
I haven’t ever investigated it with the doctor, but I get really frustrated about it sometimes. I don’t think I have any hearing loss (yet!)…
Lisa recently posted..Juil Flip Flops and a Kid Friendly Road Trip
ahh thanks for letting me know. My mother in law had a ringing in her ear and loss of balance (which I also have), and it turned out to be a tumor, so I wanted to be sure!
Oh, I’m sorry to hear you have to deal with this! I can definitely see why that would lead to depression, stress, overall frustration. I’m glad you’ve found a few ways to manage it, and hopefully there are some more lasting answers out there too. In the meantime, I say guac is a pretty good solution–what won’t chips dunked in avocado solve??
Allie recently posted..Purple Vegetables
agreed ….. I love guac! And thank you – so many people have to deal with this, so I know I am not alone.
I am sorry I missed the post about your friend – she looked so young! Sorry about your ear problems too, I hope there is a way that herbal stuff may help? Hugs!
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Thanks Biz … she was 35, way too young! I hope the herbal stuff helps too! My husband just told me his boss has tinnitus, and has a white noise app on his iphone, so I am going to look into that! Other than that, I think I have to just get used to it. But at least I still can hear!
Hi Jane! I’ve had tinnitus since I became deaf, so that’s been almost fourty years. After a while it becomes just part of the white noise. Sometimes, people with high blood pressure get it, so maybe it’s worse when you are under stress because your blood pressure rises. A funny incident happened to me when I was having my hearing tested. I was supposed to respond when the audiologist made high frequency noises, so I was sitting in one room while he was in the other looking straight ahead. I was responding “yes” several times when I turned my head and noticed he was standing in the room! Those noises were my tinnitus! Don’t know how he ever got an accurate reading of my deafness.
Jane recently posted..A BOUQUET OF DILL
wow crazy! I guess I learn something new about you every day
I know what you mean … even though I have only had this a short time, sometimes I wonder what it would be like not to have this buzzing! Tinnitus is the new normal! I am very thankful for my hearing though!
I’m so sorry to hear about you having tinnitus! My SIL was diagnosed about a year and a half ago and I know it would drive me nuts from the descriptions you both give of the constant ringing. You have a good attitude because there are worse things (even other things that don’t cause pain/death can be worse, like I know a lady that lost her sense of taste and has not been able to taste food for FIVE YEARS!), but this still is no fun! I really hope you are able to find some relief naturally and will be interested to follow your progress so I can help my SIL as well. I wish you much luck!
BTW, Sammy is CRAZY ADORABLE and I adore guacamole too. YUM!
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thank you
I think having no taste would be way worse!!! I love eating too much! Without taste … wouldn’t it just be chewing??
I’m so sorry you are having a tough time girl! I will be praying for you and your tinnitus! I have no idea what that must be like. Please take it easy. I’m always here if you need someone. Love ya!
Brittany (Delights and Delectables) recently posted..MIMM I’m 27 Today!
Thank you so much!!! Sometimes I’m ok with it, sometimes I just want to cover my head with a pillow and cry! And it still doesn’t go away
But my MIL had ringing in her ears and it was a tumor, so thankfully mine isn’t that serious!
Sorry about your health issues, but hopefully the two guys, the taking it easy and the guacamole!!!! will make everything better.
Thanks
They really do help. And the guac, except when I made this batch of guacamole, I cut my finger pretty bad! lol I can be such a klutz in the kitchen sometimes! Sometimes me and a knife can be dangerous 
I sometimes notice ringing in my ears at night. I hope your tincture helps alleviate the ringing.
Sammy is adorable as always. Please tell him he has a fan in Pennsylvania.
And rest is okay–you are a beautiful person and need to take restful breaks sometimes.
Vanessa recently posted..Chilled Carrot Soup with Dilled Orzo and Mussels in Herbed White Wine Sauce
Hi Jane. I came over from the other Jane’s blog. I hope you find out what is causing your problems. We are like puzzles aren’t we?! I had dry skin problems for many years…I kept going to my dermatologist….and then one day at my family dr’s office, she noticed the ring around my neck, and could tell immediately (and later confirmed with a blood test) that I had hypothyroidism. My dry skin was one symptom! So, I really appreciate it if a dr. can find the root to my problems and not just treat a symptom!
My oldest daughter is 32 and had years of indigestion problems. She discovered her gall bladder was not functioning properly (and my grandmother had the same problem) and had it removed and now she feel perfect. Sometimes it is just a matter of the dr. discovering your problem, as the meds to treat indigestion were only effective for short-term.
Your receipts look very healthy! I will have to look them all over. love,andrea
Andrea recently posted..Philanthropy of Long Ago
Thank you so much Andrea! You are so right … they often treat the symptoms, and not the cause of the problem. In some ways, I felt the doctor was just saying …oh it is tinnitus … but she did check my ears and said they looked good. Our bodies are a mystery sometimes!! Thanks for coming over!
(I am recreating this comment as it couldn’t post so forgive me if it posts twice!)
Yes, Jane is wonderful isn’t she!
That would’ve been so neat if you moved into a mansion when you were young! I used to read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights when I was young and wish I lived in a mansion and was an only child also..(I have 6 siblings). Now I read Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility…well I watch actually…and Downton Abbey, which are even more interesting. I suppose mansions would be expensive to heat though!
I am so sorry your friend passed away. (I read that post after) I will say a prayer for her. I pray everyday for my relatives, my parents, grandparents, and I know they really appreciate it when we think/pray for them. love,andrea
Andrea recently posted..Philanthropy of Long Ago
Dear Jane, I am sorry to hear about your health problems, it is dreadful indeed. Take your husband’s and doctor’s advice and take it easy. Do it for yourself as no one else can do it for you. Hope you feel better soon, dear.
Marina@ Picnic at Marina recently posted..New York? New York… New York!!!
Thank you
Awww….hope you feel better soon Jane. We have a friend who is suffering from the same thing, and sometimes, it drives him CRAZY. Big hugs, and yay for your boys. Take care!!!
So sorry to read about your tinnitus! My sister was diagnosed with that several years ago and was given some type of treatment. She hasn’t mentioned it for quite a while so something must be helping her. I ask her next time we talk. I’m glad to see that you are getting some support from others that have it. It’s so wonderful when people share their experiences and provide information on things that have helped them. I hope you find that perfect something that helps you!
mjskit recently posted..Cooking en Papillote (in Parchment): July 2012 Daring Cooks’ Challenge
Thanks MJ! I was considering not posting this, so I am really glad I did! Here in Colorado, they have a Tinnitus Institute, and they give you a device that you have to wear, and it is basically retraining your brain to not think the buzzing sound is annoying … they retrain your brain to think it is a pleasant sound. I don’t know if I would want to go through with that. They say the device is the size of a mobile phone, and you have to wear it for a couple years! Last night, I found this white noise app for my phone to help me fall asleep … I found a boat crashing against the waves sound with seagulls in the background … so relaxing! I love it!
Little behind my my reading…hope you are feeling better. Sorry to hear you are dealing with this, no FUN! I used to have ringing and swooshing in my ears constantly and it really got to me. After going to a few specialist they all had the same advise, get a massage it is just stress. It happens only frequently now. Hope your symptoms ease up.
Jacky recently posted..Small Plates {Smoky Frittata}
oooo a massage sounds like a good idea
Thank you – really sleeping is the hardest part for me now! I really hope it gets better!
the world of tinnitus, it’s likely been 5 years since the culprit showed up in my neighbourhood. Family doctor and specialist said no cure, dental appliance no help. Frustration and tears. One day I visited a chiropractor that came highly recommended through the church where I attend. Turned out a nasty problem with TMJ was causing the tinnitus. He began to gently manipulate and put into alignment my jaw and spine. It’s been 2 years since I began going with much relief from the intruding noise. Sometimes it begins to come back and I know my jaw is not in proper alignment. There is hope!!
Interesting! I’m glad they found out the cause of it for you!