Just what is Self Care Health Care? It sounds just like a tongue twister to me.Self care speaks of taking responsibility for your health and well being. Self directed Healthcare might be a better way of putting it. Because of my history, Mom of 5 children with limited monetary funds, I felt I constantly had to think about how to keep my family safe and healthy. Accidents do happen. Minor ones can be taken care of at home (If you know how),slightly more acute injuries might need an expert hand and should be taken to your DR/Healthcare Provider and of course acute injuries should be taken to the Emergency Room.
I think I was very fortunate to have a Mom who taught me how to assess the everyday ouies and boo boos that come along. She taught me not only to assess these but how to treat them at home to decrease the possibility of infection and then how to treat infection if it did develop. As an ER Nurse I have often said that "We all need a Mommy hotline". It is amazing how many things can be prevented but then also treated very effectively at home.
Outside of injuries, which you have only a modicum of control, general health is the piece of health that you can have enormous affect on, not only for yourself but also for others in your household like spouse/partner, children and/or other family members. Yep, Mom helped me out there too. She was very aware of how important a healthy diet was. At one point she sold vitamins "Nutrilite". This was one of the first vitamin companies around. So as a kid I learned that what I ate was very important to keeping me healthy. I have continued to build on that knowledge by reading almost everything I can get my hands on and have the time to read that talks about health,healing and dealing with chronic diseases.
Bottom line, taking responsibility for you and your family's health, takes a commitment, motivation, a few skills and knowledge. Why bother? You might say "All this sounds really great but it is so out of reach. I mean, taking care of the house,laundry as well as the outside job is a tremendous drain on my time. Add a family in there if you have one and it all seems very overwhelming! I don't have time for all that learning!" You might also say "You'd have to be a nurse to know all that. I don't want to be a nurse. I just want to be healthy and help those around me be healthy."
Gosh, I just realized I am talking to those people who don't "get it". If you are reading this blog, you "get it". You already take responsibility for you health and it's care. You "get" that knowledge is power and you "get" that you can do so many base level things to get and stay healthy. You also already know how to take care of the minor stuff yourself at home. When you get the fact that you are responsible for your health whether or not you recognize it, the next step is to decide to not be passive about it, you then search for answers.
Mom's for centuries have been the nurse. They had no formal training. They learned from their Mom. Much of that knowledge has been lost since Mom's went to work outside the home. They became stressed and more limited with their time. Now we have one or two generations who have not had the advantage of learning simple self care.
Mostly this post is about getting back to that basic. Moms and Dads teach. I encourage all the readers of this silly little blog to know your value! Your desire to keep healthy and your search for the knowledge with which to do this is the stone in the pond that can cause a ripple effect. It's all about one step at a time, one small change at a time. That's why I love my moto "Small changes BIG results".
Next post is going to be about water. You can't get more simple than that.
Until then Hope you keep coming back. Drop a comment if you would like to know something specific. I really am a real person and am eager to share my knowledge. I don't know it all, but love to do research.
Later,
Healthbug
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Friday, July 12, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
New Beginnings!
I am sitting here contemplating how to get back into the swing of things. To be honest, I am actually contemplating how to establish a new habit. It is April 19, 2013 and I think it is time for a "New Years Resolution"!
I really don't believe in "New Year Resolutions" but I do believe in allowing myself the right to start each day anew. Which means I don't beat myself up for not doing what I have wanted or needed to do. Each action or non-action on my part is simply a learning experience. How do I motivate myself to do what I think I "want"/"need" to do? What is not working? What do I need to do to quite procrastinating? Is it really procrastination that is standing in my way or is it some other mental block?
The new habit I want to establish is writing consistently in my blog. As I contemplate this, I realize what is needed to accomplish my goal is similar to what I need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yes, even though I preach it and teach it, I sometimes have motivational issues with doing the things I need to do to heal and stay healthy. I realize it is not about the knowledge base so much as it is about the motivation to do what I already know I want/need to do.
Motivation is all about emotions and attitude. Dis-empowering emotions and attitudes arise from negative self talk. "Why should I _____________ I'll only fail and then I'll feel like a failure and I have failed so many times before. I will never be able to succeed." Fill in the blank with anything that seems to be whipping your butt at the moment.
Other negative self-talk that comes up is "I'm too busy.I don't have time." I'll quit in the middle and thus feel like a failure AGAIN!" "Oh well, so many other people have the same difficulty following through. Why should I bother being different?" These and many more negative statements fill my conscious and unconscious mind while I "think" I am "trying" to accomplish my goal. It is easy to see how I am working against myself. Just realizing this is very powerful?
By putting all that out there, it becomes much clearer what I can do to help empower myself to accomplish that which I want/need to do.It makes sense that a change of attitude starts with a change of self talk. A change of self talk will bring about a change of attitude which hopefully will empower me to accomplish my goals!
Viewing "not accomplishing my goal" as a failure, changes to "Failure is simply another step toward success. Each time I do not accomplish my goal is a stepping stone to the success I so desperately desire." As I say this to myself the "failure" becomes a learning experience instead of a "failure". The important part here is to not ignore the non success but to analyze it as you would a learning experience. Why didn't I reach my goal? "I didn't have the healthy foods in the house. I let myself get too hungry before eating. I went shopping hungry. I've been eating just a little sugar every day and now I crave it. I didn't plan ahead for healthy meals." Some of the harder excuses are "I guess I was too lazy to do what I new I wanted/needed to do." I got to get over it and grow up.
Keeping my eyes on the goal is also very helpful!
Visualize what it will feel like to reach my goal can also be very helpful. Visualization is a huge subject in and of itself and best left for another post.
Thanks for reading this.
Be kind and love yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to if you persist!
Until next time.
Healthbug
I really don't believe in "New Year Resolutions" but I do believe in allowing myself the right to start each day anew. Which means I don't beat myself up for not doing what I have wanted or needed to do. Each action or non-action on my part is simply a learning experience. How do I motivate myself to do what I think I "want"/"need" to do? What is not working? What do I need to do to quite procrastinating? Is it really procrastination that is standing in my way or is it some other mental block?
The new habit I want to establish is writing consistently in my blog. As I contemplate this, I realize what is needed to accomplish my goal is similar to what I need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yes, even though I preach it and teach it, I sometimes have motivational issues with doing the things I need to do to heal and stay healthy. I realize it is not about the knowledge base so much as it is about the motivation to do what I already know I want/need to do.
Motivation is all about emotions and attitude. Dis-empowering emotions and attitudes arise from negative self talk. "Why should I _____________ I'll only fail and then I'll feel like a failure and I have failed so many times before. I will never be able to succeed." Fill in the blank with anything that seems to be whipping your butt at the moment.
Other negative self-talk that comes up is "I'm too busy.I don't have time." I'll quit in the middle and thus feel like a failure AGAIN!" "Oh well, so many other people have the same difficulty following through. Why should I bother being different?" These and many more negative statements fill my conscious and unconscious mind while I "think" I am "trying" to accomplish my goal. It is easy to see how I am working against myself. Just realizing this is very powerful?
By putting all that out there, it becomes much clearer what I can do to help empower myself to accomplish that which I want/need to do.It makes sense that a change of attitude starts with a change of self talk. A change of self talk will bring about a change of attitude which hopefully will empower me to accomplish my goals!
Viewing "not accomplishing my goal" as a failure, changes to "Failure is simply another step toward success. Each time I do not accomplish my goal is a stepping stone to the success I so desperately desire." As I say this to myself the "failure" becomes a learning experience instead of a "failure". The important part here is to not ignore the non success but to analyze it as you would a learning experience. Why didn't I reach my goal? "I didn't have the healthy foods in the house. I let myself get too hungry before eating. I went shopping hungry. I've been eating just a little sugar every day and now I crave it. I didn't plan ahead for healthy meals." Some of the harder excuses are "I guess I was too lazy to do what I new I wanted/needed to do." I got to get over it and grow up.
Keeping my eyes on the goal is also very helpful!
Visualize what it will feel like to reach my goal can also be very helpful. Visualization is a huge subject in and of itself and best left for another post.
Thanks for reading this.
Be kind and love yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to if you persist!
Until next time.
Healthbug
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Responsibility
Wow! I've really taken a break from posting. But not from learning as well as thinking about things I'd like to post. I start with a new commitment to blog more consistently!
As I have been thinking about how to motivate people to take charge of their own health, I realize that taking responsibility of our health goes hand in hand with motivation.
You've heard the old saying "No decision, is a decision!" Responsibility for our health does fall upon our own shoulders whether we give that power to some health care professional or whether we choose to maintain that power. My own health is still my responsibility. Sure, Mom's are responsible for their children, but in that case a Mom who passes off that responsibility to someone else for themselves will pass off their responsibility for their own children to someone else.
The truth is, we and we alone hold the key to being the healthiest we can be. Gosh, I think I may have touched on this before. Well anyway, it is so important for us to realize just how much we can do for ourselves to get healthy and stay healthy. Once a person gets a clear picture of the powerful influence they have on their own health (and that of their immediate family), they can and will begin to see where they can make a huge difference in their health.
My question to myself is, can and will people be motivated to do what they can to get and stay healthy by knowing that they have that responsibility whether they acknowledge/use that power or not?
I hope so, but don't know. I believe knowledge is power and the reason more people don't take charge of their own health is because they don't realize what power they have in making a difference in their own health!
Maybe you disagree? Let me know some of your thoughts. I love to learn and finding out where people come from is very rewarding.
Till next time,
your friendly
Health Bug
As I have been thinking about how to motivate people to take charge of their own health, I realize that taking responsibility of our health goes hand in hand with motivation.
You've heard the old saying "No decision, is a decision!" Responsibility for our health does fall upon our own shoulders whether we give that power to some health care professional or whether we choose to maintain that power. My own health is still my responsibility. Sure, Mom's are responsible for their children, but in that case a Mom who passes off that responsibility to someone else for themselves will pass off their responsibility for their own children to someone else.
The truth is, we and we alone hold the key to being the healthiest we can be. Gosh, I think I may have touched on this before. Well anyway, it is so important for us to realize just how much we can do for ourselves to get healthy and stay healthy. Once a person gets a clear picture of the powerful influence they have on their own health (and that of their immediate family), they can and will begin to see where they can make a huge difference in their health.
My question to myself is, can and will people be motivated to do what they can to get and stay healthy by knowing that they have that responsibility whether they acknowledge/use that power or not?
I hope so, but don't know. I believe knowledge is power and the reason more people don't take charge of their own health is because they don't realize what power they have in making a difference in their own health!
Maybe you disagree? Let me know some of your thoughts. I love to learn and finding out where people come from is very rewarding.
Till next time,
your friendly
Health Bug
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Motivation
Well I am finally back from a great trip to Colorado to attend a cousin's wedding in the beautiful scenic Rocky Mountains. Also, I have the pleasure of having my granddaughter with me for a few weeks.
In my travels my mind kept returning to motivation. Motivation is a tough one. Or at least I have found it so in my life. You would think knowledge and desire would be enough to convince someone (i.e. myself) to change lifestyle habits etc. This has not been so in my life and I have not found it so in my observations of other peoples lives. Look at the number of healthcare professionals who drink alcohol to excess, smoke, eat a bunch of junk and get little to no exercise. Now you know these people have the knowledge. Or at least you would hope they do. Even dietitians can know how to eat and live healthy but not follow through with their own lives.
What is up with that? In my own life, I had to believe I could succeed, continually focus on the health benefits of succeeding, and keep encouraging myself each step of the way.
My most recent victory has been a loss of 48 pounds! I thought I would never loose that excess weight! When I was younger I tried everything, but just seemed to keep gaining back what I painfully lost, plus some. Whew. That was really discouraging! I finally resolved I would be heavy the rest of my life. As a nurse, that hurt, but I just couldn't do hunger or stay away from foods I loved. That contentment only lasted until I started gaining weight again without any change up in my diet. Boy was I scared. I was pushing 200 pounds! Even worse, I was getting older (59) and had border-line low thyroid function. I was convinced I would fail at anything I tried. I felt desperate.
Fortunately a coworker insisted I look at, "Let's Do Lunch". It is really not a diet. It is a way of eating. Wow! I was amazed. I have lost the weight and kept it off for almost 2 years now! If you are interested check out www.letsdolunch.com. I had to continually encourage myself in the beginning but as the weight kept coming off I knew It was only a matter of time before I reached .......... my high school weight!!!! I am still amazed that I lost so much weight. I am even more amazed that I still enjoy all the wonderful delicious foods that I lost my weight on. The message board on the website is full of a ton of people who have been successful with this way of eating and are there to encourage others who are going through what they went through. My story is under Hopefull. Because I was only hopefull that I would be able to loose weight, not sure. Woohoo! It worked!
What is so different about Let's Do Lunch"? The rules. Eat till full every time you are hungry is a must. Eat only foods you love! When you are hungry for sweets eat fruit. When you are hungry for carbs eat all the beans, peas, and corn you want. Lots of delicious healthy food. Initially I did not believe it would work for me. But hey, anytime I can be on plan by eating till full, I was game to give it an honest try! I am laughing here. Like I said, I did not believe this would work.
I have yet to find an exercise program that I am motivated to stay with. Usually I get going, overdo, then quit either out of too much pain or boredom. Motivation, still is a bit of a mystery, however, I believe whatever we are trying to change must really be important to us and seen as something we can do, no one likes failure.
Until next time,
Health Bug
In my travels my mind kept returning to motivation. Motivation is a tough one. Or at least I have found it so in my life. You would think knowledge and desire would be enough to convince someone (i.e. myself) to change lifestyle habits etc. This has not been so in my life and I have not found it so in my observations of other peoples lives. Look at the number of healthcare professionals who drink alcohol to excess, smoke, eat a bunch of junk and get little to no exercise. Now you know these people have the knowledge. Or at least you would hope they do. Even dietitians can know how to eat and live healthy but not follow through with their own lives.
What is up with that? In my own life, I had to believe I could succeed, continually focus on the health benefits of succeeding, and keep encouraging myself each step of the way.
My most recent victory has been a loss of 48 pounds! I thought I would never loose that excess weight! When I was younger I tried everything, but just seemed to keep gaining back what I painfully lost, plus some. Whew. That was really discouraging! I finally resolved I would be heavy the rest of my life. As a nurse, that hurt, but I just couldn't do hunger or stay away from foods I loved. That contentment only lasted until I started gaining weight again without any change up in my diet. Boy was I scared. I was pushing 200 pounds! Even worse, I was getting older (59) and had border-line low thyroid function. I was convinced I would fail at anything I tried. I felt desperate.
Fortunately a coworker insisted I look at, "Let's Do Lunch". It is really not a diet. It is a way of eating. Wow! I was amazed. I have lost the weight and kept it off for almost 2 years now! If you are interested check out www.letsdolunch.com. I had to continually encourage myself in the beginning but as the weight kept coming off I knew It was only a matter of time before I reached .......... my high school weight!!!! I am still amazed that I lost so much weight. I am even more amazed that I still enjoy all the wonderful delicious foods that I lost my weight on. The message board on the website is full of a ton of people who have been successful with this way of eating and are there to encourage others who are going through what they went through. My story is under Hopefull. Because I was only hopefull that I would be able to loose weight, not sure. Woohoo! It worked!
What is so different about Let's Do Lunch"? The rules. Eat till full every time you are hungry is a must. Eat only foods you love! When you are hungry for sweets eat fruit. When you are hungry for carbs eat all the beans, peas, and corn you want. Lots of delicious healthy food. Initially I did not believe it would work for me. But hey, anytime I can be on plan by eating till full, I was game to give it an honest try! I am laughing here. Like I said, I did not believe this would work.
I have yet to find an exercise program that I am motivated to stay with. Usually I get going, overdo, then quit either out of too much pain or boredom. Motivation, still is a bit of a mystery, however, I believe whatever we are trying to change must really be important to us and seen as something we can do, no one likes failure.
Until next time,
Health Bug
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Health Insurance
One of my pet peeves is the idea that health insurance for everyone will lower/control the cost of healthcare! Let's take a look at what health insurance is. It is a pay system for healthcare. Opps, I am sorry, really it is a pay system for disease care. Think about it! Even if everyone could get free care at your Doctor/hospital/ER, would that help people be healthier? Whether it is healthcare or disease care, what we are talking about is paying for someone else to take care of you AFTER you get sick! How can that possibly lower the cost of providing that care?
I had a nurse make the following statement to me one day. "I don't know why I am still sick, I go to the Dr. all the time." This statement indicates that this person thinks the Dr is the one that makes her well. Yes, the medical professionals help foster that line of thinking. "Don't take x without consulting your Dr first! Don't do X without consulting your Dr first"
What about paying attention to yourself, your body and how you respond to food, exercise, vitamins, medication. If you have just starting taking or doing X and you start having adverse symptoms then maybe you need to stop taking/doing whatever it is. Pay attention! Know yourself.Of course some things take much more thought and figuring out than "I do this and that happens" Sometimes food you eat doesn't affect you until 24-36 hours later. This really complicates the issue,however, you are still more apt to figure it out if you apply yourself than someone else. Again, know yourself.
I've been tending a lot of garden plants lately. This has always been a tedious but very rewarding activity for me. The mundane activity seems to always lend itself to thinking on a deeper level. Yesterday I noticed a sunflower plant that had been half mowed over by the neighbor, the plant was still green and determined to live, even though it was bent over at the ground level and it's stem was lying parallel to the ground. It struck me how determined plants are to survive. Weeds are sprayed with chemicals, hacked on, pulled out yet they will struggle to survive irregardless of the onslaught.
We are the same. Stress, bad food, poisons, radiation all are negative influences on our health and well being. You get a cut, it is almost impossible to stop it from healing, stitches or not. I know there are times for the ER but expecting a Dr to heal you is asking for the impossible. They may facilitate, but they can not heal you,even in the ER. Your body is the healer! Thus, it is you who can make the biggest impact on your health with your lifestyle and food choices and knowing that you hold the keys to your health!
So wrapping this up, my healthcare is my responsibility. I choose who I go to for advice about my health and I choose what to do with that advice. In my opinion, Health Insurance will simply make Insurance Companies wealthier. Another, "think about it", if our present system of "healthcare" was working, we would not have the increase in every major chronic disease out there like we do. If what we have was working, we would be getting healthier as a nation. We are not. I believe the answer lies in helping people be informed, take responsibility for themselves, know themselves as only they can and trust their body and themselves to be in charge of that health and healing.
Until next time, Be healthy!
Healthbug
I had a nurse make the following statement to me one day. "I don't know why I am still sick, I go to the Dr. all the time." This statement indicates that this person thinks the Dr is the one that makes her well. Yes, the medical professionals help foster that line of thinking. "Don't take x without consulting your Dr first! Don't do X without consulting your Dr first"
What about paying attention to yourself, your body and how you respond to food, exercise, vitamins, medication. If you have just starting taking or doing X and you start having adverse symptoms then maybe you need to stop taking/doing whatever it is. Pay attention! Know yourself.Of course some things take much more thought and figuring out than "I do this and that happens" Sometimes food you eat doesn't affect you until 24-36 hours later. This really complicates the issue,however, you are still more apt to figure it out if you apply yourself than someone else. Again, know yourself.
I've been tending a lot of garden plants lately. This has always been a tedious but very rewarding activity for me. The mundane activity seems to always lend itself to thinking on a deeper level. Yesterday I noticed a sunflower plant that had been half mowed over by the neighbor, the plant was still green and determined to live, even though it was bent over at the ground level and it's stem was lying parallel to the ground. It struck me how determined plants are to survive. Weeds are sprayed with chemicals, hacked on, pulled out yet they will struggle to survive irregardless of the onslaught.
We are the same. Stress, bad food, poisons, radiation all are negative influences on our health and well being. You get a cut, it is almost impossible to stop it from healing, stitches or not. I know there are times for the ER but expecting a Dr to heal you is asking for the impossible. They may facilitate, but they can not heal you,even in the ER. Your body is the healer! Thus, it is you who can make the biggest impact on your health with your lifestyle and food choices and knowing that you hold the keys to your health!
So wrapping this up, my healthcare is my responsibility. I choose who I go to for advice about my health and I choose what to do with that advice. In my opinion, Health Insurance will simply make Insurance Companies wealthier. Another, "think about it", if our present system of "healthcare" was working, we would not have the increase in every major chronic disease out there like we do. If what we have was working, we would be getting healthier as a nation. We are not. I believe the answer lies in helping people be informed, take responsibility for themselves, know themselves as only they can and trust their body and themselves to be in charge of that health and healing.
Until next time, Be healthy!
Healthbug
Friday, June 24, 2011
Baby steps
One of my favorite sayings is small changes = BIG results. One of the first and easiest things a person can do is talk kindly to ourselves. "What!" you say, "That's not healthcare, that's self-esteam issues." Bear with me for a moment.
Health is our well-being, that means every aspect of us, physical, spiritual, and yes mental. In fact, it is a well know fact that there is a mental component to 75 to 85% of every illness! Does that mean that your mind makes you sick? Maybe! The important thing is that we know it is a component, a very integral part of our health. If we do not address how we think and most especially our attitudes, we are missing a very important component that we can have some control over.
Thinking positive and having an attitude of gratitude can improve ones outlook on life. Happy people live longer and enjoy life more. It can be an easy first baby step to taking responsibility for those things that you can take charge of.
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a very helpful tool to use to get over some of our more deeply intrenched negative thinking habits. Check out this website. http://www.emofree.com/ There is lots of free information there to ponder.
Until Later,
Healthbug
Health is our well-being, that means every aspect of us, physical, spiritual, and yes mental. In fact, it is a well know fact that there is a mental component to 75 to 85% of every illness! Does that mean that your mind makes you sick? Maybe! The important thing is that we know it is a component, a very integral part of our health. If we do not address how we think and most especially our attitudes, we are missing a very important component that we can have some control over.
Thinking positive and having an attitude of gratitude can improve ones outlook on life. Happy people live longer and enjoy life more. It can be an easy first baby step to taking responsibility for those things that you can take charge of.
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a very helpful tool to use to get over some of our more deeply intrenched negative thinking habits. Check out this website. http://www.emofree.com/ There is lots of free information there to ponder.
Until Later,
Healthbug
Saturday, June 18, 2011
We know more than we think!
One of the stoppers of consciously taking charge of our health, is feeling like we just don't have enough knowledge to fill that role. In truth we really do know more than we think we do.
For instance, I know I get a rash every time you eat watermelon. I know that I have heartburn if I eat too late at night. My left leg hurts if I walk more than a mile a day. Certain vitamins make me nauseated if I take them on an empty stomach. "Of course I know that stuff!" you exclaim with a grunt of disgust. I guess I should have said "What we know is more important than we think!". These seemingly "little" things are the stuff that the HCP uses to try to figure out what is going wrong with our health. Notice how the first thing they do is ask a lot of questions?
Thats right, you have it. They use the answers to these questions to come up with what they think might be the problem. What I am positing here is that, maybe we just need to ask ourselves more questions to come up with the answers ourselves. At the very least, if we ask ourself more questions, the more in-depth answers will be of great help to you HCP.
A big stumbling block when in search of "Just what is going on with my health?", is my own prejudices. Case in point: At one point I had been drink lots of diet pop. My treat to myself as I was on the Atkins Diet and was rewarding myself for "sticking to the diet". Gradually, my legs began to really ache and then hurt. The pain would fluctuate between a 3 and a 6 (you know, the ole pain scale that rates the worst pain you ever had at a 10?) As the days went on, I began thinking I had arthritis and that the fluctuation was the weather. I just couldn't figure it out. In fact I had begun to accept that I was going to be crippled and unable to walk without a walker by the time I was 60 or even younger as at the time I was in my mid 40's.
One of my co-workers did a lot of research (as I did) and suggested my problem just might be the aspartame in the diet pop I was drinking. My prejudice (I just loved that pop. In fact was addicted to it. How could I do without it?) So I kept on drinking the diet pop.
About the time I was beginning to think I already needed a walker to get around with, my co-worker given an information sheet about the side effects of aspartame. Begrudgingly,I decided,since aspartame is a neurotoxin, I should probably stop drinking the stuff anyway. But, hey, I am human and I wanted my fix. in order to prove that it wasn't the aspartame in the diet pop, I would have to stop drinking it for at least a week. After one week off diet pop, I was feeling much better so I thought as all rational people would think, "Oh, the weather has been better, it must have been the weather why I was feeling better!"
You guessed it, I had myself a big glass of diet pop. Oh how I had missed it. The convincer came that night. I was in agony. My legs hurt so bad, I shed tears. Since then, I have found that even gun with tiny amounts of hidden aspartame in it causes my legs to hurt. Yep, I am now convinced, I'd best not touch the stuff.
Until later,
Healthbug
For instance, I know I get a rash every time you eat watermelon. I know that I have heartburn if I eat too late at night. My left leg hurts if I walk more than a mile a day. Certain vitamins make me nauseated if I take them on an empty stomach. "Of course I know that stuff!" you exclaim with a grunt of disgust. I guess I should have said "What we know is more important than we think!". These seemingly "little" things are the stuff that the HCP uses to try to figure out what is going wrong with our health. Notice how the first thing they do is ask a lot of questions?
Thats right, you have it. They use the answers to these questions to come up with what they think might be the problem. What I am positing here is that, maybe we just need to ask ourselves more questions to come up with the answers ourselves. At the very least, if we ask ourself more questions, the more in-depth answers will be of great help to you HCP.
A big stumbling block when in search of "Just what is going on with my health?", is my own prejudices. Case in point: At one point I had been drink lots of diet pop. My treat to myself as I was on the Atkins Diet and was rewarding myself for "sticking to the diet". Gradually, my legs began to really ache and then hurt. The pain would fluctuate between a 3 and a 6 (you know, the ole pain scale that rates the worst pain you ever had at a 10?) As the days went on, I began thinking I had arthritis and that the fluctuation was the weather. I just couldn't figure it out. In fact I had begun to accept that I was going to be crippled and unable to walk without a walker by the time I was 60 or even younger as at the time I was in my mid 40's.
One of my co-workers did a lot of research (as I did) and suggested my problem just might be the aspartame in the diet pop I was drinking. My prejudice (I just loved that pop. In fact was addicted to it. How could I do without it?) So I kept on drinking the diet pop.
About the time I was beginning to think I already needed a walker to get around with, my co-worker given an information sheet about the side effects of aspartame. Begrudgingly,I decided,since aspartame is a neurotoxin, I should probably stop drinking the stuff anyway. But, hey, I am human and I wanted my fix. in order to prove that it wasn't the aspartame in the diet pop, I would have to stop drinking it for at least a week. After one week off diet pop, I was feeling much better so I thought as all rational people would think, "Oh, the weather has been better, it must have been the weather why I was feeling better!"
You guessed it, I had myself a big glass of diet pop. Oh how I had missed it. The convincer came that night. I was in agony. My legs hurt so bad, I shed tears. Since then, I have found that even gun with tiny amounts of hidden aspartame in it causes my legs to hurt. Yep, I am now convinced, I'd best not touch the stuff.
Until later,
Healthbug
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