Fighting Sinusitis - Day 23

I feel like I must start every post about health in the same manner. Everyone is different and I am not a health professional. Please see your doctor if you have any health concerns.

With that out of the way, I can now, with confidence, say that I managed to avoid a sinus infection! It's the first time in fifteen years that I have managed to just have a cold, so I'm pretty excited about it.

There were quite a few things that were different from my last cold, both in my environment and the in the at-home treatments I tried.

1. There was no cat in the house. Unfortunately, our cat went AWOL back in April just before Easter. He managed to get out of the house while my husband was grilling some fish on Good Friday. He was spotted a week and a half later, but ran off. We haven't seen him since. We've had at least one cat in the house ever since I started getting these sinus issues and I believe that may have been a factor in my issues. We didn't want to get rid of them, but we've also concluded that we shouldn't bring home any more.

2. I used a sinus rinse twice a day. This was an uncomfortable process, especially at first, but I stuck with it because I've heard how great they are and I ran into a WebMD slideshow that did a great job of explaining to me how they work.  I just had to make sure I was using the Neti Pot in a safe way as they can cause more problems if used incorrectly. I'm sold on the process and will continue using it on a daily basis now that I'm feeling better.

3. I slept with my head raised. The Sleep Number bed we purchased a few months ago came in really handy here. During my first and worst week of the cold when I was feeling a lot of fatigue, I slept better than I have in months.

4. I changed my allergy medication. I've been using Zyrtec for years now on my doctor's recommendation. It's my understanding, though, that different products work differently for each person. If my allergies are so out of control that I'm getting sick three times a year, I figured it was time to switch. I made the switch to Clariton.

5. My resolution had been made. I hadn't been doing a great job with it, but something is better than nothing. I was exercising more and eating healthier prior to getting sick and I think that really helped boost my immune system.

These are the steps I took along with the usual plenty of rest and water. I took a pain reliever only once and that was during the first week when the sinus pressure had given me a massive headache.

I'll take these steps again the next time I start to see cold symptoms. My hope is that I've figured a way to reduce both the severity and duration of my symptoms and that it wasn't just a fluke!

Fighting Sinusitis - Day Eleven

It's officially day eleven of my sinusitis which means I'm out of the 7 - 10 day range of "just a cold". However, and I hope I don't jinx it, compared to other colds and bouts of sinusitis I've had, this one has been mild.

My sinusitis issues usually come with an up and down effect. I'll have a good day and then, according to my husband, overdo it. The next day I can hardly move due to an inability to breathe. Yesterday, I ran errands for most of the day despite my better judgement. This morning, I'm feeling the usual sinus pressure I've been getting every morning for the last eleven days, but nothing severe.

I'm still hoping that I've found a way to keep my sinusitis from affecting my schedule.

Fighting Sinusitis - Day Six

It's day six of my sinusitis and by now the sinus pressure and congestion are making me miserable. I've decided to keep a log to track progress of the inevitable infection to bring to my doctor once this is over, or if I decide to go in for treatment.

I end up with sinusitis about three times a year. There's not a pattern as there always seems to be some allergen in the air. For me, it does not discriminate between winter, summer, fall, or spring.

When I get sinusitis, it hangs on for about four weeks. Some days are better than others and the last week usually is residual coughing and congestion, but it's still there.

So, with all that said, I did the math. If I get sinusitis three times a year for about four weeks, that means I'm sick for almost a quarter of the year. This, to me folks, is unacceptable. Something has to improve. Of course, you knew that already. It's the entire reason I started this blog (believe it or not, it wasn't about Stitch Fix). I want to be held accountable and stay motivated to live a healthier life.

I'm not a doctor, I'm just a mom who has a lot on her plate and doesn't have time to be sick for a quarter of the year. I'm simply passing on my own experiences.

Always talk to your doctor if you have concerns about your health.

Fighting Sinusitis - Day One

It's been a little over four months since I felt fully recovered from my last sinus infection, so, naturally, I started showing signs of a cold this morning.  My husband recently had a cold and my youngest son is currently dealing with one.

It's too late for me to prevent the cold. The first symptom I usually get is laryngitis and it set in shortly after church this morning. However, my hope is that it isn't too late to prevent sinusitis. I'll be taking the usual steps of plenty of water and as much rest as I can get, but this time, I'm going to try a Neti pot to clean out my sinuses twice a day with saline solution. I'll be using NeilMed's NasaFlo and will update the blog with my review once I know if it helped or not.

Here's to defeating recurrent acute sinusitis!

Two Month Wellness Update

It's been about two months since I became motivated and finished making adjustments to my daily life in order to become healthier. I figured now was a good time to give my blog a bit of an update.

Unfortunately, it's not a great one. My Fitbit has been sitting on a shelf in my closet, my elliptical machine hasn't become a clothes hanger yet, but is dangerously close, my personal blender is getting a lot of use ... thanks to my husband, and I'm dangerously close to becoming the "mayor" of the closest Steak 'n Shake on Foursquare. So, it's time to get re-motivated, step it up, and eat better.

I've managed to avoid any sinus infections this Spring, so far, but I'm sure that's luck and has nothing to do with a healthier lifestyle.

Sleep Number - A New Bed

In my opinion, one of the overlooked areas of fitness is sleep. Sleep is an important way to stay healthy and boost the immune system, but we often focus so much on diet and exercise, that we forget to sleep.

My husband and I had the same mattress for over fifteen years. We decided to buy a new one and to go big or go home when shopping. We understood that we spend a third of our lives sleeping and that we needed something great to help us in this area. We went with a Sleep Number i8.

Although it was delivered to us a couple of weeks ago, the jury is still out on the bed. We're waiting for our bodies to adjust to see if we start seeing a difference in our sleep patterns and the tired feeling we get during the day.

I do feel like I should mention that thus far, the customer service has not been great. When the bed was delivered, the installers couldn't figure out how to get the remotes that adjust our bed up and down to work. Once they left, after promising we'd get a call from customer service, my husband was able to figure it out right away. We never got the call we were promised and then we realized that the under-bed lighting was missing. A call to customer service resulted in yet another scheduled install with a large time window, but they did get it done.

First Exercise Goal Achieved!

Since in my past I haven't exercised much at all, when I decided to make my lifestyle changes, I promised myself I would take it easy at first and slowly increase time and intensity as I go in order to keep me from getting sick (which has happened in the past). I started by excercising for 15 minutes a day with the goal to grow to 30 minutes a day.

I would like to announce that I have now reached that goal of 30 minutes! Next, I will work on increasing the intensity of my workouts.

Elliptical Machine

After acquiring my Fitbit One, it became obvious just how much exercise I wasn't getting. As a woman who gets sick far too often, I'm a bit of a germaphobe. Therefore, the idea of going to a gym is out. I also have a slightly twisted tibia bone, which makes it hard to find running shoes that will keep my knees from taking a beating if I try running. So, I had to bring the gym to me.

After some research and reading a lot of reviews, I decided to get the Sole Fitness E35 Elliptical Machine. I ordered it on Amazon and got free delivery. However, when they delivered it, due to insurance reasons (or so they said), they wouldn't take the 215 lb monstrosity beyond the garage.

Bless my poor husband and my friend Brandon. They had to haul the heavy equipment still in its box up a flight of stairs and into our bedroom. Once that was done, my husband spent a few hours putting it together.

Once it was together, I was very impressed by how quiet the machine was. The last one we had was pretty clunky, so I can appreciate a smooth and quiet stride. After it had some continual use, however, it got a little noisier. There's a slight clunking noise and some squeakiness to it.

I've used it every weekday so far and on most Saturdays since I've had it. I haven't seen much of a result weight wise, yet, but I'm keeping my exercise routine simple and easy right now and slowly increasing the intensity and length. I want to do this right and I know that a slow start is the way to go.

Fitbit

Now that I had a personal blender to help me get more antioxidants in my diet, it was time to move towards fixing my lack of exercise issue. My first step was to go to my local Target and buy a Fitbit.

Fitbit is a series of devices that you clip onto clothing or strap to your wrist and it tracks your steps throughout the day. We've all heard of these types of pedometers, so what makes this one so special?

I went for the Fitbit One. It can clip to my belt or slip into my pocket and is small enough that I don't really notice it. There are some watch options, but I don't really like wearing items on my wrist because they usually end up at my elbow.

This pedometer, however, doesn't just count your steps. It calculates how many calories you've burned throughout the day and even tracks any restlessness during your sleep. Since sleep is also an area I'm looking to improve, this was definitely the device for me.

iPhone screenshot

The Fitbit takes all the date it collects and the syncs it with your computer and an app you can install on your phone. It will also let you see the progress of your friends (if they allow that in their settings) so that you can see how you compare and how your friends are doing.

After only having the Fitbit One for a week, I went back to the store and picked up a Fitbit Aria. This is a scale that syncs with the Fitbit dashboard so I can track both devices in one place.

I've had my Fitbit devices now for over a month and so far they have confirmed what I already knew, I don't get enough exercise. As I work to change this, the Fitbit will be a great tool to track how much I've progressed.

Chrome screenshot

Personal Blenders

As I made my resolution to become more healthy, one of the areas I knew I needed to focus on was my diet. I love fast food and eating out. It's convenient, it's saves time, and I don't have to turn my oven or stove on in the summer. It's no secret, though, that fast food is bad, bad, and bad.

When I wasn't eating fast food, I was snacking on chips, drinking Diet Pepsi, and munching on Ramen. More badness all around. Fruits and vegetables were rarely ever to be seen on my plate.

One area I can say I was doing well in was avoiding sugary snacks. As another health issue reared its ugly head, sugar had to be greatly reduced. I've cut sugar out of my diet now for over twenty months and don't intend on going back.

Nutrition was key here. If I no longer want to get sick, I needed more antioxidants in my food so that I could boost my immune system. I decided I would try a personal blender to help me mush up some fruits to my liking.

The first blender I bought was a Farberware 17-Piece Rocket Blender. It cost me $20 at Walmart. I didn't expect a lot from this blender, but I wanted to make sure that I was going to actually use it before buying something a bit more costly. As expected, I got what I paid for. The blender left big chunks of fruit, including whole blackberries, untouched. It left my smoothies a bit chunkier than I would like. Despite the blenders lack of quality, I still used it daily.

My husband took to the machine as well. We found that we started making more trips to the grocery store for some fresh fruit and both found different recipes that we liked. So, I decided to go ahead and purchase the NutriBullet 900 Pro Series personal blender.

The NutriBullet 900 Pro was a bit more pricey, but my husband and I now knew we'd used and figured we should put some money into our health. I found it for $149.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond and we've been using it on a daily basis. It grinds up the fruits really well, including the spinach I throw into mine.

After purchasing these personal blenders, my diet has already changed. I'm eating foods now with more vitamins and antioxidants than I ever have before. It was the first step to a healthier me.

A New Beginning

I have been inspired to make a lot of lifestyle changes lately. It all started back in November when I became sick. It's not uncommon for me these days; hasn't been since I developed pneumonia several years ago. I catch a cold or suffer from seasonal allergies and then, WHAM! Sinusitis. Once it hits, it sticks around for at least three weeks.

I managed to get better just in time for Thanksgiving, but it didn't last long. On Christmas Eve I was sick again, this time for four weeks. Just as I started feeling better toward the end of January, I was hit with a stomach bug.

No, I'm not a hypochondriac ... at least I don't think I am and no has ever accused me of being one, at least not to my face. It's just that I always feel sick. After three months of being sick, I realized I had to make some changes to my lifestyle. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired all of the time. It was time to change my diet, exercise routine (or lack thereof), and the way I sleep.

I've already made some changes in the last few weeks and I plan to write about those here. The purpose of this blog, partially, is to share my journey with the world, or at least the occasional web surfer who trips upon my blog. Truly, however, I hope it will keep me inspired and motivated to see this through. I hope this will serve as a timeline so that in the future I can look back and see how far I've come.

I won't only be writing about these healthy lifestyle changes, but also some other topics such as family, religion, and life in general. I hope you'll find my rantings interesting enough to come back every once in a while.