Tag Archives: house cleaning

Doing Pretty Good

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 5

I’ve been consciously not allowing myself to get upset each time the blood glucose reading is too high. If the doctor is satisfied with my results, and I picked him because he’s an aggressive Diabetes doctor, then the thing for me to do is just write down the numbers and quit stewing over them. I’ve been pleased so far with my efforts to be more nonchalant about it all. I’ll still use the higher numbers to help me decide if there is something I ate that might have touched it off, but when it’s the same thing I’ve been eating with good test results sometimes, and bad on others, I’ll just ignore it.

I’m also doing much better about exercising than I had been. Doing them every other day seems to have worked out pretty well, and I think it kick started my weight loss again, too. And that’s a good thing. That long month staring at the same number on the scale was no fun, since I knew I was being careful about calories. I’ve never been on an extended diet like this before, so I really didn’t realize that plateaus could last a whole month, but obviously they can.

I’ve spent the last few days rearranging one of our storage rooms for our plush toys. It’s been hard work, but it’s beginning to look better now. I’ve added a few more things to the Yard Sale box, too, which means they won’t be coming back in the house. That’s a good thing. We’re both pack rats, and that’s a bad combination! It’s somehow easier to put something in the Yard Sale stack than it is to put it in the donation box. Doesn’t seem quite as “gone”, if that makes any sense at all.

We almost had a yard sale this last weekend, but the Alabama game came on early, and hubby didn’t want to miss it – of course. So we’ll wait for another pretty weekend, now that it’s cooler.

Now if we could just get all those storage tubs down to the basement … I might have a house back! That part of the job will have to be when hubby gets in the mood and finds room for them downstairs. It wouldn’t be safe for me to try to walk down the steps carrying a big storage tub. I walk much better than I used to, but my balance is still a little unpredictable. Better safe than sorry.

So, all in all, I’m feeling very good about where I am right now. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving, and having all our family here, too. That’s helping me to do the cleaning I’ve been procrastinating about, and I’m getting more exercise, too!

Went to my Neurologist yesterday

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I saw my Neurologist for my 6 month checkup yesterday and got a few questions answered. I was right that my brain fog is coming from the Primidone, and not from the EM itself. He was also quick to agree with me that the Neurontin had caused the terrible nightmares and grogginess that led me to go back on the Primidone. He said there’s really nothing better that I could take that might not constipate me so badly, and was surprised to see all that I take each day just to keep my digestive system working properly.

I described some specific problems I am having defecating, and he said I am experiencing Dystonia.

We told him how exhausted I get by early evening, and I asked for a prescription for some Physical Therapy, which he quickly gave, so that I could be monitored while I try to increase my exercise level. I may not have a doctor watching me all the time the way they do on the Biggest Loser, but at least I won’t be so scared that I am doing myself harm and will be more likely to push myself a little harder. I have an appointment next week for an evaluation and expect to go several times and then wait several weeks and check in. I’d like to do that all this year if my insurance will allow it.

I did forget to ask him about the dry skin situation I deal with year round, and there’s something else I meant to ask him about, but now I can’t even think of it! LOL!! It will pop into my head when it’s good and ready.

We went out to eat afterward, but it started sleeting just as we got to the restaurant, so we came straight home after we ate.

I’ve gotten behind posting requests for help on the Search Service, since we went to see our younger daughter and her family this weekend. I enjoy seeing them all, and really miss having both our daughters close to us, but trying to sleep anywhere but in a recliner is a real problem for me. It’s taken me the last few days to get my back and neck settled down again. I cut back on my exercises the last few days, since I was waking up with so much back spasm going on. But I did 2 sets of 10 of everything today and used the mini trampoline yesterday and today. Two steps forward and one step back seems to be the norm these days.

So today I have been trying to catch back up with the posts on the Search Service, but it will take awhile to get caught up. I don’t know about other retired people, but I seem to stay busy all day long. I’m not complaining, mind you, as I would be bored out of my skull with nothing to do.

I continue to add to my house cleaning routine, and some parts of the house are actually staying straight most of the time now. Well, notice I said “some”! Certain places seem to be the dumping ground for things I straighten up from other rooms, but don’t know what to do with yet. So some parts are getting consistently cleaner, and others are getting progressively worse. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?? It took years to make this mess, and it’s going to take time to correct it all.

I’m feeling good about the progress I am making on several fronts, and looking forward to seeing the Physical Therapist next week. Now let me get back to posting!

Getting Better I Hope!

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 4

I’ve been faithful with the Prune Juice/Miralax cocktail every afternoon and the constipation is getting better, thank goodness. I’ve noticed just a little bit of hand jerking when I mean to single click on the computer, but not as much as I was doing it on the Neurontin. One thing I am doing differently this time is to continue to use the suppositories, even if my digestive tract is behaving itself. At least for now I am pleased with my progress with those problems.

We continue to be busy with our toy sales, and I stay busy every day trying to keep up with the Lost Toys Search Service. Ever since I changed the routine to give me more time on the requests and less on the searches themselves I have managed to stay caught up most days. That’s quite a contrast to the 60 or so requests I was behind on before I decided I had to make a change.

The Search Service is a way to help people in an unselfish way, and that positive energy helps me through most days in a good frame of mind.

The house is bit by tiny bit getting straightened back up, with a bunch more stuff going out to the garage for our next sale. We may not have pretty weather again until Spring, but with Alabama weather you just never know what you’ll get on any given day.

I never have been into Feng Shui, or however it is spelled, but I can testify that it’s easier to get work done in an uncluttered environment. So I keep chipping away at the clutter and all those piles and stashes that have taken up residence with us. Each one conquered leaves me feeling that much better about myself.

I know that some people get more depressed as the Holidays approach, but thank goodness I thoroughly enjoy each ritual and family tradition. I can’t say I enjoy shopping, but we have such a small family that there’s not much of that to do anyway. Most of our time is spent finding all kinds of odds and ends to go in everyone’s stockings, big kids’ and children’s, too. And the wonderful music is the best of all.

I look forward to being with all our family at our grandchildren’s house this year, as always. Just thinking about it makes me smile.

My First Day on Neurontin (Gabapentin)

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 4

I got through my first day on Gabapentin fairly well. I did not have any jerks or tics, although my walk was again like being on a ship. The room did not spin, but my balance was way off. I felt drugged much of the day. We’ll see how I do today, because the Primidone should be completely out of my system by now.

I continue to clean the house and took on one of those “stacks” that seem so easy to pile things on in the beginning and so hard to get rid of when they have grown. This was the place where we pile Sunday School books, bulletins, etc. and it had grown to be a monster. I found quarterlies as far back as 2004!!! A stack of really neat Holman commentaries on the Sunday School lessons will be given to a friend who is a part time bi-vocational preacher. A stack of Christian magazines will end up in some of my doctor’s waiting rooms, and much of it will be added to our local recycling bin. With that stack gone the dining room looks better already.

My Tai Chi attempts are improving, though pitiful looking to anyone who might see me. And I continue to do the morning exercises for my legs and neck that the therapist put me on last year. My strength is returning little my little.

It’s so much easier to set goals and work toward them now that I am off the Clonazepam and feeling better. I’m very thankful to be feeling motivated again instead of so apathetic!

Speaking of goals, I passed the 1,000 item mark on our online Catalog. I had set that as a goal to reach by the end of this year, and I met it a whole month in advance. I hope to have another thousand listed by the end of next year. The Search Service and our sales keep me plenty busy at the computer, which still serves as a way to break up my physical activity.

All in all I can say I am doing very well, and I thank God for his many blessings.

YARD SALE today!!

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 7

Well, I’ve worked myself ragged this week helping move things out to the garage for our big yard sale, and now comes the moment of truth! Did we set the prices too high? Are they too low?? Should be a fun day, with beautiful weather.

Once hubby decided it was time to have one he really got busy, and there’s no way I could have done this on my own. I’m pretty sore from helping to move furniture around, plus lots more walking and lifting than I have been used to. It’s been good for me, as long as I didn’t over do it. Only time will tell on that one.

We managed to get quite a few of the boxes from my parents’ house out there, so that will free up some space in the house. Anything to cut down on the clutter will make it easier to get the rest of the last couple of years accumulation of stuff under control. I just have not felt like cleaning, and poor hubby has been doing the best he could to take care of me and take care of the house. I won. House lost. I’m sure not complaining, as he has done all the laundry for years, fixes meals, and waits on me like I was a princess. He’s the love of my life, and no one could ask for a better helpmete.

We swapped out recliners, bringing my mother’s recliner in the house and putting mine in the yard sale. Hers is a much smaller frame chair and really opened up the living room. I’ve slept in that recliner for several years taking care of Mama and Daddy, so I know how comfortable it is. It was a chore to make the swap with such bulky furniture, but I am glad we did. That is as along as our backs don’t complain too much!

We went to the dentist this week for our regular cleaning appointment, and this was the first time I had been back since the new meds and new diagnosis. I was fine until the next day, when I woke up with a very sore jaw. The muscles on both sides were aching from keeping my mouth open so long. At one point yesterday the right side started up with spasms. It was weird, because it made my eyeglasses move! I yawned some big yawns and did some exaggerated mouth stretches and managed to get it to stop, but that was another first for me. I hate to think what it would have been like if I were not on the Primidone. I probably would have bitten her hand off right there in the dentist chair!!

I’m back to the early rising again, and the change from Daylight Savings Time tomorrow is going to play havoc with my sleep for awhile, too. I get a lot done in the wee hours of the morning, but it sure makes me sleepy early in the evening. I’m like a baby getting my days and nights mixed up. But no amount of just laying there will help me go back to sleep, so I might as well get something productive done with my time, right?

One other thought before I put this rambling post away. I made the signs for the Yard Sale, and was very pleased with the results. It’s amazing how steady my hand is now compared to the way it was before the Primidone. I took drafting for 3 years in high school and taught handwriting in elementary school, so neat printing is something I used to be very good at. I had reached the point that my handwriting was difficult to read, let alone pretty. But this week I was able to free hand draw the letters and then go over the lines with a Sharpie and keep the ink where I wanted it!!! It was a wonderful moment for me, because it says so much about how much I have improved over the last few months.

Well, I’ve rambled on – not too surprising considering I’ve been up since 2AM – but feeling really good about my accomplishments this week. It may take a year, but I am going to win out over this messy house!

Praise GOD from Whom All BLESSINGS Flow!!!

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by  

I can’t praise God enough for how I’ve been lately. I really am doing great, and it’s wonderful to be able to say that. Some days I don’t have any abnormal movements at all, and on others I have only tolerable ones. I have been on cloud nine now for a couple of weeks, and it looks like I’m here to stay.

I have noticed that as I become more active and expend more muscle effort that the medicine wears off sooner in the evenings. The Movement Disorder doctor said to call him back in two weeks, and he would discuss raising the daytime dose maybe a half pill at that time. Sounds good to me. He just doesn’t want me to zombie out on the Primidone, and I don’t want that, either. He mentioned physical therapy to help with the slow walking, but that just does not seem necessary to me. I know how to be safe, and as I feel better I am naturally increasing my physical activity. I’m so used to listening to what my body is telling me that I can judge pretty well when it’s time to quit.

My house certainly appreciates the extra attention I have been able to give it lately! There’s plenty more to do, though. I have about two years of clutter to wade through. When you feel as bad as I have and as unsteady as I have it’s just easier and safer to ignore a lot. Hubby has kept us in good meals and clean clothes, but the “stuff” has piled up.

We celebrated our 44th Wedding Anniversary yesterday. I wrote a long post about it on our Yesterday’s Memories blog, so I won’t repeat that here. The fantastic thing is that even though I was exhausted at night from all we did during the day the last two days, I feel fine today. My muscles are definitely adjusting to more activity.

So I leave this post with a positive outlook and a heart full of thanksgiving!!

Praise God from who all blessings flow! Whooopppieeeeeeeeee!!!

Less Computer Time = Getting other things done!

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 15

Well, I have pretty much stuck to my intention to stay away from places where PWP are describing their symptoms. I have visited the PLM site a few times, and even made a few comments, but I have been cautious about the type of posts I opened, to avoid reading about anything tremor related. I have not done any research on PD, either, other than to try to find a correlation between heavy steroid use with Parkinson’s. This was not for my benefit, but for one of my readers, who asked some interesting questions.

My neck continues to be very stiff and painful, but I can put up with it, knowing I will be getting help next week when I start Physical Therapy.

I am pretty much caught up with posting requests for help on the Plush Memories Lost Toys Search Service, and we are over the Christmas rush on eBay. I still need to put a new post on our Yesterday’s Memories blog, and there is always work to do on the BLOG VILLAGE TopList that I run.

So, I have been getting some much needed house clutter cleaning done, but there is plenty more that needs to be done. I would like to have the house straight for the New Year. At least it can start that way LOL.

We did have a great Christmas, seeing all of our family all at once, and enjoying being with our grandchildren. It looks like we actually managed to buy them some things they will enjoy, and that’s not easy to do when they hit those preteen and teen years. They all have birthdays right after Christmas, so we will be seeing them again real soon, too.

Hubby gave me a blender for Christmas, so now I can learn how to make Raw Foods Smoothies, something I have been wanting to try for some time now. Jackie, from The Vegan Diet, clued me into The Raw Food Coach, and since we eat a lot of raw foods, anyway, I have been learning as much as I can about what foods are the best for me. I have been doing a lot of research on the high anti-oxidant Super Foods, and we are gradually changing our diet to include lots of them daily.

We have had a lot of fun at our house of late with trying to get our very spoiled (neurotic) inside cat to accept our two outside cats as occasional inside visitors. They are too young to leave outside all night when it is freezing, so we bought a pet cage for them. They don’t mind being in it at all, which surprised us, but it sure makes going out of town easier. We keep our inside cat in the hall bathroom when we are gone, and now we can keep the outside cats protected, too. Our only problem is that Miss Queen Fluffy doesn’t like having them inside. There have been quite a few fights between Fluffy and Mr. Salt. Miss Pepper stays out of the rough stuff, as she has some kind of nerve damage to one of her hind legs. She is the main reason we decided to bring them in on cold nights and when we are out of town. Fluffy surprised us last night and behaved the whole time they were in the house. Maybe she’s finally adjusting to them, I hope.

One of my anonymous readers has given me a clue as to what my diagnosis might be, if it’s not Parkinson’s. So, I have started doing some research on Dystonia. Also, there was a new post today on PLM discussing Ataxia, and that sounds familiar, too. I already feel better, knowing that there are other conditions that my symptoms seem to fit. It makes me feel less like this is all going to turn out to be psychosomatic. I can’t bear the thought that my body has been going through all this due to an emotional problem. With other possibilities in sight, I am in a much better frame of mind than I was yesterday, thank goodness. So, Marion, the glass is looking more and more like it’s half full, again.

As always, I appreciate your prayers and concern, and love to hear from you, even if it’s just to say HI!

No Such Thing as Status Quo with Me

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 4

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with our whole family. Our older daughter and her hubby both love to cook. So they went overboard with the food, but it was important to them, as their first big family meal in their new home. I could tell she was getting all stressed, which is not good for her at all, but I sure was glad I didn’t have to have them all at my house. Don’t get me wrong, I love being around all of them… but I get way too panicky at the thought of having that big a group all at once.

Plus now, my house is not clean enough for me to feel comfortable entertaining. I have started trying to unclutter some parts of the house, but it took it several years to get in this mess, and it’s not going to be clean overnight. Hubby says to just ignore it …. something he seems to be able to do quite well. It bothers me, though. Every time I try to tackle it, I get worn out before I’ve made a dent! LOL

Anyway, I did have an appointment with my Gastroenterologist this week. I am still having lots of belching and gas, although the elimination difficulties have improved considerably since he put me on the Bentyl. I had read some things on the Internet that made me ask about the Metamucil and Glycolax, as far as were they contributing to the gas problem. I gave him the printout showing the times I was taking my meds, thinking he might see something that I needed to change. He was flabberghasted. He said he had no idea I was taking the Metamucil and Glycolax in the morning – that I should be taking them at night!

He also said the loud belches were from swallowing air. I told him I knew I did that when I took my meds with a big gulp, because I had trouble swallowing them. He suggested I take them in applesauce, instead of water. And …. it works! I do have a little trouble getting the swallow to come, though, thanks to my uncooperative tongue.

My tongue has started some kind of tic. I’m lip licking, or lip sucking, or moving my tongue around, rubbing against my teeth almost constantly now. I mentioned this new quirk in the PLM forum, and one of the Parkies said she had been rubbing the back of her dentures with her tongue for 14 years! She’s actually worn a hole in the back side of two of her teeth!

Speaking of the TAP, I am continuing to get 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep each night. My alarm watch is waking me up now to start my meds at 5:00AM. If I could just stay awake later at night, I would change the time of the first meds. But it’s all I can do most nights to stay awake until 9. I’m toying with the idea of taking a short afternoon nap, but I will wait awhile longer before I try that, to be sure I have the sleep habit well established.

I am out of the muscle relaxer meds now, but they really didn’t help a whole lot to ease the soreness and stiffness in my neck. So I’ll be calling my Orthopedist this next week.

I’m still having a lot more tremors than I had before my trip to the ER. The tremor in my right hand is unpredictable, but strikes often and hard. If I stand still for even a few moments, my right leg starts a little dance all by itself, making my whole body bounce, and sometimes now it starts up even when I am sitting down. That was only happening at church before, where I was blaming it on being cold and the seat being uncomfortable. Now it’s pretty much a given that if I’m standing, I’m dancing, and if I’m the least bit tired or upset, I’m jiggling as I sit. And walking still feels like I’m on Jello. I’m using the cane all the time when we go somewhere now, except for church. I’m still stubbornly holding out on that, as it puts too much attention on me.

I am going to have to keep track of the times of the day that all these tremors start and stop, so I can tell if it has anything to do with my meds wearing off.

So today, I can give my sleep problems an A, elimination difficulties a B-, stiff and sore neck a D, and tremors a D.

Just When I Start Sleeping Later … THE TIME CHANGES!!

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 4

I can’t win for losing! LOL!! I was finally putting together a string of days when I slept until close to 5:00AM, a real accomplishment for me, when the Daylight Savings Time changed on me this morning. So, I’ve been up since “3:30AM”, even though my brain thinks I slept until 4:30AM. I am very pleased that I slept over 7 hours, but I know that I always have a hard time adjusting to these time changes. My appetite gets off schedule, and it has always taken me quite a while to adjust to the different sleep times. Plus, I have my Sleep Study this week. Not the best timing in the world, but it will have to do.

My neck is much better this morning, with pain and stiffness only when I try to turn almost all the way to the sides. I have been very careful with this spasm episode, trying to be very cautious with any stretches, trying to move just to the point of pain, but no further. I have not tried to advance the TAP screw any, since this spasm hit, but I am sleeping with the dental appliance every night.

I have reached an amount of extension of my lower jaw that makes it harder to get the pieces in my mouth. Now, I have to connect the two pieces before they go in my mouth, and then jut my lower jaw forward to meet the mouthpiece. Before, I could put the two halves in separately, and jut my jaw forward to hook them together. I can’t unhook them in my mouth any more in the mornings, either. I have to break the seal with them still hooked together. That’s not an easy thing to do, as they really fit tight. Of course, it’s because they fit my teeth so perfectly that this contraption doesn’t hurt, so I’m not complaining.

I exercise my jaws with the chewing pieces every morning while I’m on the computer, and don’t even really have to think about it. It’s about like chewing gum, really. Then, I also do a series of facial grimacing and stretching exercises for my Parkinson’s, to delay the time when I will lose facial expression. The chewing strengthens my jaw, and should actually help delay the “Mask of Parkinson’s”.

I am in a better mood generally since I started taking the Bentyl, which is an antidepressant as well as an antispasmodic. I’m taking it to soothe my spastic colon, but I’ll take any mood improvement I can get! I’ve managed to get started on several projects that I was previously just overwhelmed by, so that’s a good thing. I even managed to put something new on eBay several days in a row, and posted some new requests for people searching for lost loveys on our Plush Memories blog. I’m still way behind on that, though. But I’m completely caught up on the BLOG VILLAGE membership screenings. The house is still chaotic, but that’s nothing new. I never was a very good housekeeper, sad to say. I do love it when it’s all uncluttered, but I never have been able to find the gumption to keep it that way. All in all, though, I can tell that I’m getting out of the doldrums I’ve been in for some time, and that’s a very good sign!!

Sleep Continues to Be Scarce

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 4

The insomnia is continuing to bother me just about like it has been for several months now. I’m still having constipation problems, too. I’ve been on the Miralax continually now, but when I had to stop taking the Zelnorm, it began to gradually give me trouble again. I’ve been using the glycerin suppositories regularly now for the last week, but the problem isn’t resolved yet. I’m already on a Metamucil capsule every day, besides the Miralax, so I hate to add any more oral medicine for it, for fear it will suddenly work too well. The only other Parkinson’s thing that is going on with me right now is a very stiff neck. I have had like a crick in my neck now for several days, from a very tight muscle, that I just don’t seem to be able to stretch out or limber up. I’ll just have to keep exercising it, and hope for the best.

We had an absolutely glorious drizzly rain all day long yesterday, and I thank God for that. We need about a week of that kind of rain to make a dent in our drought situation, but it’s better than nothing. Our grass finally looks like grass again.

They are supposed to come finish the garage tomorrow, but it looks like it might be raining. That’s OK. We need the rain worse than we need the garage to be finished. We need to put another coat of water sealer down on the garage floor, anyway, before we start putting stuff in it.

Once we can use the garage for storage, we’ll start bringing the furniture that our DD does not want to keep from their house down here. Also, we have stuff in our basement that we can’t get to because it’s in such a mess. Once we have a place to store it elsewhere, we can start emptying the basement of things and get the good stuff out of our way temporarily. Then we’re going to have to make several trips to the dump!! We used to have a landfill dump here in our town, but it was moved to the other side of the county a long time ago.

That wouldn’t have been so bad, but our town garbage collection rules call for household garbage only. They won’t pick up anything that won’t fit in a garbage bag. So, over the years, as things broke, like the washing machine, it just got stuck in the basement. Now we can hardly move down there. Oh, and the nearest Thrift Store won’t pick up the appliances, either. There are certain disadvantages to living out in the boonies, that’s for sure.

DH won’t let me go down in the basement, as he’s afraid I will trip over something or lose my balance trying to walk around all the stuff. I really do think he’s being over protective, but I’ve done as he asked, and stayed out of it. I’m itching to get it cleaned out, though, and it bothers me that I can’t just go down there and work on it if I want to. As it is, I’m stuck with his idea of when it will get done, and his timetable is a lot slower than mine LOL!! C’est la vie. That’s what being married is all about – the give and take of blending two different people’s habits and problem solving techniques together. I just need to work on my patience a little more, that’s all.