UC Journey

 The past two weeks have been pretty rough. At the beginning of my Thanksgiving break on November 25th, my husband got sick with what we thought was the flu. With my weak immune system due to the Rinvoq medication that I am taking, I thought I was bound to catch what he had shortly. Anytime I get sick, I usually am sick for longer than the average person because of my weak immune system. This would be the absolute worst time for me to get sick. The Christmas piano recital is coming up so soon, my students need me especially now, and I am going on a trip to visit my husband's family for Christmas. If I got sick, I would be sick for a long time, and it would not be good with all these things coming up. Not to mention, I still had to take care of my sick husband. All these thoughts swirled in my head when he was very sick for that first week. So, I prayed. A lot. I prayed in the morning, in my head throughout the day, and at night asking God to be with me and somehow keep me healthy e...

  Ever since I started feeling completely healthy again, I found that I struggle with something completely different now. I have been struggling with making myself rest and taking days to relax. Now that my body doesn't force me to rest often, I have been pushing harder lately. My thoughts were, "Now that I'm feeling well and healthy again, I have no excuse to be lazy!"  So, I have been working, practicing my music, cleaning, cooking, and exercising all day every day. I feel guilty about taking a day or taking some time to rest now that I feel well. I shouldn't be lazy if there's things that need to be done, right? After a few weeks of not taking a day to rest, I finally hit a wall on Sunday earlier this week and came crashing back down. I took the evening to rest and take care of myself and felt better. I definitely don't need as much rest as I used to, to bounce back. It is strange though having to be conscious of taking breaks and time to rest after so ...

  Recently, I finally got a good exercise routine going to help with my cholesterol and overall well-being. Every morning, I do three different workouts and record how I'm doing so I can see my progress. I do push-ups, crunches, and squats. Starting out, I did sit-ups but quickly realized that I could not quite do them properly. So, I switched to crunches, and this has been much easier in the sense that it is noticeably working my core better than the sit-ups.  Day 1 (about 3 weeks ago) I could do 5 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, and 20 squats. Today I did 10 push-ups, 25 crunches, and 30 squats. The most squats I have been able to so is 40, but it depends on the day. Some days I can do more than others. But, although this is by no means impressive, it is a big improvement for me, and I can feel myself finally getting stronger. I can still only do girl push-ups with my knees on the ground, but it feels good to see some improvement. In addition to this workout routine, I also try to tak...

  [Edit: Decided to put a different picture. It's similar, but it's a picture that I took of my favorite person during a walk. 💕] The GI Appointment A couple of days ago I went to the GI doctor for a wellness check-up. Thankfully, everything is looking good so far. I didn't have to do any tests for the first time in a while, and my medications are staying the same since it seems to be working well. I got the OK from my GI doctor to have veggies again since I'm in the clear from flares for the time being. My doctor did seem to be a bit concerned about my cholesterol though because of the medicine that I am taking. So, he told me to start eating more veggies and whole grains along with doing more exercise to naturally help my cholesterol levels.  I already do a little exercise, but not consistently. I enjoy biking and walking. However, in the area I live in, I don't necessarily feel safe going out for walks alone and I need to take my bike to a park to ride without h...

  As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been feeling unusually tired all day for about a week now. I have always been more tired than most people my age, but it's been even more prominent recently. After looking over my results again a few days ago from the Simply Sensitivity test, I realized that it actually has a list of my vitamin deficiencies. My deficiencies according to my results are :  vitamin B3 vitamin D vitamin K Knowing this helped me understand why I have been feeling the way I have lately. Vitamin B3, or Niacin, is what helps convert the food you eat into energy. It gives you the energy you need. Vitamin D promotes bone health, boosts your immune system, and enhances your mood along with other benefits. Vitamin K helps with blood flow and is all around just good for your heart.  Knowing that I am low or deficient in these areas explains why I have been so tired, moody (or just sad for no reason), and why I may feel my heart race for no reason. So, I have...

  "She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25 In case you couldn't read what was on the cover of my notebook there in the picture, that's what it says. It's a great reminder to not fear the future and to trust in God's plan. This notebook was a gift that my mother-in-law gave me, and it is now my health notebook where I write all of my findings and research on my condition.  Recently I had gotten off of those antibiotics that was for my UTI. About three days later, the infection came back along with a yeast infection. So, for the past week I have been fighting a UTI and a yeast infection simultaneously and had to get back onto antibiotics. It is very frustrating to say the least. Today is my last day on the antibiotic treatment and, miraculously, I have not yet gotten a flare from two antibiotic treatments back-to-back.  I have still been doing my best to avoid things I am sensitive to, such as dairy, vege...