Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Healthy Changes

 I'm thinking about healthy changes in my life...


Anyone with me?

Friday, March 9, 2018

Oh Yeah...

Yeah... this made me laugh really hard.


 

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Does He Know?

Each morning and evening, I brush my daughter's teeth and I remember her dentist's advice... have her try to brush them herself, but then also brush them for her until she can write in cursive.

Does he know that very few schools still teach cursive?

 

Thursday, January 15, 2015

How's Your Heart?

I am in intense person.  I feel intensely, I cheer intensely, I grieve intensely, I love intensely, and I live intensely.  I'm still not entirely sure how my husband and I work so well because he is a very easy-going, "shake it off" kind of man.

All of my close friends are not close.  That is to say, they live hundreds, and even thousands of miles away from me.  Our means of keeping in touch for years is through sporadic phone calls, facebook updates, texts, and emails.

This means when we actually see each other, which can be once every few years, or once every ten years, we have to make the most of the time together. 

I have found that the best use of our time is to ask one question,
"How's your heart?"

That simple question, "How's your heart?" covers everything.

When I ask "How's your heart?" it includes:
  •  How is the health of your heart?
  • What is on your mind these days?
  • What are you feeling blessed by?
  • What are you struggling with?
  • How is God challenging you right now?
  • What are you hoping and praying for right now?
  • What is your greatest joy right now?
When a friend asks me "How is your heart?" I know I am safe in the conversation.  I know this friend is a place where all guard can be dropped and I can honestly confide whatever is going on.  For me, there is no sweeter, of love-filled question than this.

So, How is YOUR heart?

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Friday, October 3, 2014

The Cure Is Motherhood

I have had headaches since middle school -- similar to the ones my mom had from time to time.

When I was in college, my mom learned that she was suffering from migraines at which point I realized that, since I had the same kind of headaches, I was having migraines too.

My migraines were never debilitating -- they are rough, some are worse than others, a dark silent room is always my best friend, but I have never had blurred vision or crippling nausea.  I always just dealt with them.

Throughout college and graduate school I would have occasional migraines.  My parents always told me that I should keep track of them in case there was a pattern, or certain triggers.  I never kept close track of them... but I figured out that alcohol, caffeine, stress, and lack of sleep could be triggers, if I wasn't careful.

Once Chris and I were married, the migraines became much more frequent -- several a month instead of once every few months, and I couldn't pair them with caffeine, alcohol, stress, or lack of sleep.  Why was marriage causing such horrible headaches?

It took a few years, but, in time, I realized that the migraines were related to my birth control pills.  My migraines became predictable and miserable -- every 3 weeks, for 3 days at a time like clockwork (with an occasional additional migraine thrown in there due to other factors).

Once Chris and I realized the cause, we prayed about what to do, and felt led that I would go off of "the pill."  For as many women feel that it is the greatest thing on earth -- sexual relations without pregnancy, we realized first-hand how unnatural it is to mess with a women's hormones, and "the pill" is certainly not without side affects or consequences.

Immediately after stopping "the pill", my migraines decreased.  Suddenly, even the headaches I had when triggered by caffeine or alcohol were less intense and lasted a shorter amount of time.

In time, I became pregnant and discontinued my consumption of alcohol, and significantly decreased my consumption of caffeine.  The migraines all put disappeared.

It is sad that it took becoming pregnant for me to cut out alcohol and caffeine, especially when I knew they could be migraine triggers, but, for me, that is what it took.

So, for me, the cure to migraines is motherhood  --
step 1: go off birth control
step 2: cut out alcohol and caffeine due to pregnancy and nursing

Now the headaches are all but gone.

I went from 1-2 headaches a month, each of which lasted 3 full days to 3-4 headaches a year, each of which lasts 36 hours maximum.  I still have to be careful when I am stressed, over-tired, or strain my neck and arm muscles, but we are Praising God, and loving life without consistent and miserable headaches.

For me, the cure is motherhood.

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