My Kryptonite!

Living with my unwanted headguest, Meniere's, has been a lesson in patience and perserverance. Discovering what works and what doesn't work is helping me to have the best life possible with this chronic condition.

The following is a list that brings me to my knees:

1) Stress
2) Fatigue
3) Sodium
4) Flashing/Strobe lights
5) Cold/Flu
6) 3D Movies

The following is a list of what works for me:

1) Pacing myself
2) Finding joy
3) Family & Friends
4) Volunteering
5) Acupuncture, Massage & Chiropractics
6) Walking
7) Music
8) Being grateful
9) Faith

I take life one day at a time. Some days are good and some are bad. I choose to live in the light and take each day as it comes.

Wow! What Happened?

I'm dusting off the cobwebs and going to revive this old blog. Decided to not move over to Wordpress - no particular reason.

The last few years have been a period of tremendous growth spiritually, mentally and physically. I have come a long way from just a year ago. Meniere's does not control my life! I control it! 

My quality of life has increased one hundred fold. I am able to volunteer 12-15 hours a week and I have a part time job. Life is once again great! My bad days are fewer and I bounce back faster than ever. What's my secret? That's an easy one - I am putting myself first and taking care of me :-)

Still following a low sodium diet, taking a diuretic and managing my time so I get enough rest. Learning how to live with Meniere's has been a lot of trial and error. Cutting out stress and strife has been so beneficial. Most importantly - having a strong support system filled with faith, family and friends - priceless!

It feels good to be back! I have missed you all!

Transitions

I'm still in the process of moving my blog over to Wordpress - I hope to be back on track soon. Thank you for your patience.

UPDATE

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of moving my blog over to Wordpress. I hope to be up and running early November. Thanks you for all your support and kind words over the last couple of years. I look forward to getting back online and blogging about my life with Meniere's.

Will keep y'all posted :)

I Hate When They Say, "It's going to get worse before it gets better."

October has been a crazy ride! After weekly appointments of seeing a physical therapist, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist and a massage therapist, I can say without a doubt that my quality of life has taken a bit of a nosedive. The last couple of weeks have been a real challenge. My balance has been tested to it's limits and once again I am having to be ever aware of my surroundings so I don't knock things over. I have become more sensitive to light and certain noises so now I am back to desensitizing my brain to all this stimuli. I was able to do well on the standard 8 hours of sleep a night but now I am needing on average 10-12 hours (including naps). Yup things have gotten worse. Was it worth it? I will let you know the end of November. I am hoping that by shaking up my system I can reach a higher level of wellness than what I had the beginning of October. It's a long and arduous process that includes so much trial and error. So here I am - back to those baby steps!

The Learning Curve Continues

Two and a half weeks ago, after much coaxing, I decided to get some second opinions. I am now seeing a physical therapist, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist and a massage therapist. I have learned more about living with Meniere's from these four women in less than a month than I have from my doctors in the last couple of years.

At my last appointment, my physical therapist helped me put things in perspective with where I am in relation to living with Meniere's. She noted that from a clinical stand point I am doing excellent because I am not having vertigo, but as for my quality of life, I am no where near optimal. What I consider a good day isn't what she considers a good day.From her perspective I am basically just living at a minimally functional level. This means I can get through most days but if I don't pay attention to what my body is telling me I end up spending hours or days recovering from exhaustion.

Once again perspective is playing a huge part in managing this chronic condition. I figured that as long as I wasn't having vertigo and I could do my usual daily tasks, then all was good. I didn't take into account that on most days I still have to lay down a couple times a day for at least 1-2 hours to rest.  I think I have just set the bar low and maybe now is the time to re-evaluate and raise the bar a bit higher and so the journey continues.

Learning Curves

It has been one year today since I was diagnosed with Meniere's.So....what have I learned about living with a chronic dysfunctional vestibular system.

 1)  It is okay to ask for help.
 2)  Set clear boundaries with people.
 3)  Do not over schedule.
 4)  Do not invest time in toxic relationships.
 5)  Have low expectations of others.
 6)  Be realistic with expectations of myself.
 7)  Cherish the friends that enrich my life.
 8)  Don't take things personally.
 9)  Be honest with family and friends.
10) Live life.

The end result of all of these changes - a much happier me.