Marshmallow root infusion pictures

Papaya Health Benefits and Papaya in Medicine, cancer and other diseases. Paw Paw fruit.

Ahh, enzymes. How I love thee. You help with my frequently upset tummy, alleviate my allergies/sinus congestion and keep my blood thin, break up nasty clots and help soothe inflammation. What more could I ask for? Apparently, now papaya enzymes (I usually keep a bottle of Trader Joe's Papaya Enzymes on hand, not as powerful as the ones used for systemic causes, but still helpful, and yummy too, with Bromelain from Pineapple as well) it's being used to help with the side-effects of cancer treatment.

Papaya Health Benefits and Papaya in Medicine, cancer and other diseases. Paw Paw fruit.

Sinus Tachycardia & Stuff.

I realized earlier tonight, that although I believed it to be an evil term that doctors have used to dismiss my racing heartrate, I really had no idea what Sinus Tachycardia really meant! So, being me, I had to look it up. (And also being me, I can't understand how I hadn't already? Maybe I did, but in the days when my memory was REALLY bad?) As usual, Wikipedia delivered. (Remember the days when it was actually considered quite an iffy source?)It even mentions POTS in relation to it! So here that is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinus_tachycardia

Nothing much new. My heart isn't pounding as badly now that I'm back on the Beta Blocker, except for when right after I took it today, but I'm guessing that's because the Mestinon was chopped in half & released into my system more quickly then the unbroken Metoprolol pills. I did have a lot of near syncope episodes though, even after the Metoprolol should have taken effect, I think. Definitely noticed an increase in those since I started the Mestinon, although it could just be because it's close to the end of my cycle. Nasty ones, too. If they were to keep up, I think I'd have some of those nasty headaches in my future.

Well. This is going well! I was afraid it wasn't a good time to post, seeing as how I was feeling pretty cranky over not being the slightest bit sleepy. And a little bummed out that my stomach's out of sorts, because I stuffed myself with Spanokopitas a little bit ago. I tried to resist the urge to eat, but I didn't manage. I even had two, yes TWO cups of tea to try and turn off the anxiety, or quell my sweet tooth, or just put me to sleep, but nope! Well, I really didn't eat what I would call a proper dinner...I really can't decide which it was, maybe genuine hunger and then topped off with anxiety that makes me want to stuff myself silly.

Nothing much new. Well, I am doing a lot better with the holidays this year! Maybe because I've been so busy, maybe the peace of having the place to myself, maybe I'm just plain used to it not being a big deal and being broke at this point? I am about $200 in the hole this month, so that sucks, but I'm not all that worried about it. The only difference it really makes is, I feel even less inclined to make the effort to drive to L.A. for Christmas with my Mom & brother. And yes, I'm still annoyed that we can't have it here. I started decorating very nicely; managed to find where some of the decorations were stored.

The foster kitties are quite nice to have around. (Except when they start making too much noise at night, ahem, kitties, you boys had all day to play, to bed!) My allergies aren't doing nearly as bad as I'd feared.

So nice to have time to rest and not forcing myself through the motions like a zombie, trying to get to all my appointments. Last week was light, and this weekend I was just plain lazy, although I did find myself sending a fax to my attorney with some new medical records I got from a previous Primary Care Physician (For free! Yay!) as well as some input from my brother about my health and how it affects my day to day life, and Foreclosure notices for this place. Yup, they're all trying to give me the boot now. I won't budge till I have to, hopefully I'll get till Spring or Summer, so if I have to sleep in my car, I won't be freezing. I guess I'd better start finding out more about transitional housing eventually. I know there's something like that at the place where I go to the clinic, a mission, but not sure how that all works. But then, who knows what the future will bring, I'll cross that bridge when I get a little closer to it. Does that sound a bit Zen? Maybe so, I don't know why, but lately I feel quite Zen. Except when I wake up super-anxious in the mornings, but as far as the overall picture...OHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

Mestinon update

A few days on Mestinon now. BP is up actually, but heartrate is too. Somehow, even 144 didn't seem as bad as 120 usually feels. Maybe heart is pumping faster, but w/less effort due to Mestinon's effect on muscles? Face has color back, but toes and fingers feel kinda swollen. A little breathless, too, but I think it's the heartrate. Ran out of Metoprolol, so getting back on it may take care of that.

Disautonomia (Dysautonomia in Spanish!)

I am SO excited. I just found these amazing links about Dysautonomia in Spanish! They are actually better than many links & info I've found in English, they even go as far as to describe how it affects one's social life, because we can seem fine at a party and then once we're exhausted, we're kaput! So if you're bilingual or si habla espanol, share/compartanlo, por favor!

Disautonomia (This one has pics at the bottom of ways to push blood up or keep it from pooling in one's extremities, the last one kinda demonstrates how I've managed to do some of the dishes lately, lol!)

Here's a second one:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disautonom%C3%ADa

Now if my family members and Spanish speaking friends would just read this, lol. Maybe then they'd stop assuming I'm lazy, crazy, anti-social, or a pill-popper. (It's like seriously? Did you not know me at all before I got sick?) Okay, well maybe a little crazy, but aren't we all? (I didn't do well on a trip to South America to visit family, which as one of the articles points out, makes sense due to the elevation making things worse.) Some of my friends on the other hand, decided not to come to my birthday party, which I suspect is because I've missed so many of their parties the last couple of years that I've been sicker, but then, they've also made it clear that they don't believe I'm sick so...Ah well, what are you gonna do? Just keep on keepin' on...and make the best of the little things. Even if they are little tiny things. :)

New Cardiologist

I saw my new Cardiologist last week. When I left, I felt so lucky! What are the odds that I would find a Cardiologist on the county health plan who has experience treating POTS? Especially when the last one didn't even want to try even though he did acknowledge something was wrong.

So yes. New Cardiologist. She's pretty young, maybe even younger than I, but very professional. She surprised me, having the Medical Assistant take my blood pressure standing, sitting, and lying, before she even came in. Had a quick EKG, which was fine. She then gave her my records, which just took her a second to read (that always surprises me, ha!) and we went over everything. (Apparently she had my records sent from the clinic in her computer already! LOVE computerized offices!) She agreed with me the Cardiologist who did the Tilt Table Test was off in his interpretation and that it WAS in fact positive. (Victory! Ha-ha.)

Anyways, so she put me on Mestinon (what a relief, I'd half forgotten, but that was the drug I was looking at that sounded best, better known for treating Myasthenia Gravis; I'd been afraid she'd want me to take steroid-type medications. She wants me to get compression stockings, which she said should help the neuropathy in my feet and help keep blood from pooling. She wants me to stick to my vegetarian diet, as she says that's the best for POTS w/gastro symptoms, eating meat would likely make it worse (Yay! I wanted to start eating meat again, but I just couldn't!) Slow, graded exercise, ideally recumbent bike starting at 10 minutes, which was my plan, but she said that without knowing that, and a couple of other minor things. (Staying on my high salt diet, drinking at least 64 ozs of water daily, magnesium to help with symptoms during PMS...) She believes that the type of POTS I have is only temporary, and that with some work I can improve in a year or so. Which would be awesome, but not going to get my hopes up too much...

So started on the Mestinon last night...Not sure of any changes yet, except that my lips are a bit tingly, and my face is a bit flushed, which I'd read could be a side effect, but I kind of like, cuz I've been a bit pale lately and every blush I use seems to make me break out, so now I don't have to decide between blush or breakouts, haha. Now if it'll just help with that muscle weakness I've been feeling lately (can barely hold myself up sometimes!) and help my blood pressure stay up & heart rate normal, wow, that would be amazing. Stockings, I have to see if I can get those covered, although I found some online for under $20, I'm already going without a ton of stuff I need, Rx's, supplements, car registration...but hopefully I'll find the cash for that soon. So we shall see how it goes!