Not long after my last post a friend commented that I would probably have the same amount of energy if I took a 5-hour Energy drink once or twice a day as I get from taking DE in the mornings. I have tried 5-hour Energy before, and it does work, but not the same as DE. Still, I decided to try going a week without DE, and just using the energy shots instead.
My fiancee and I (yes, we are now officially engaged!) went to Costco, and I bought a case of Kirkland's version of 5-hour Energy - which from this point forward will be referred to simply as energy shots to make things easier. The next morning I took an energy shot before breakfast instead of my usual dose of DE. It seemed to work okay, but by early afternoon - about 5 hours after I had the morning energy shot - I was feeling worn down and very low energy. I took a second shot at about 3 in the afternoon, and felt good enough to get some housework done, and get dinner ready. By bedtime, I was tired, restless, and cranky, but was unable to get to sleep until about 2am.
I took another energy shot at breakfast the next day, and once again I had energy until sometime around 3pm at which point I took another energy shot. This time my energy was not as high as the day before, and I was extremely tired, cranky, and restless by bedtime (around midnight). This time I slept through the night.
The remainder of the week followed the same pattern - two energy shots needed to give me energy throughout the day, and I was totally worn out by bedtime. By the end of the week, the energy shots were not working as well as they had been at the beginning of the week.
During my time of taking the energy shots instead of DE I noticed several things - except for that second night it was difficult to get to sleep at night, and it was difficult to get out of bed in the mornings. My moods were dropping, and I was being very snippy towards my fiancee. My back started feeling worse, my left knee was aching a lot more, and my energy was steadily decreasing the longer I used the energy shots instead of DE.
I stayed away from DE for 8 days total - and by the end of that time I was miserable!
After the 8th day, I happily returned to my morning dose of DE - along with an energy shot just to make sure I could get through the work day as I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. I noticed only a slight improvement that day, and no change in my sleep that night. But the next morning it was much easier to get out of bed, and I was in a better frame of mind. After only a few days of taking DE, I had a noticeable improvement in both energy and mood! Not only that, but I sleep much better at night, and my back and knee are both feeling better.
I think that the experiment with the energy shots in place of the DE has pretty much proven that DE is more effective for me than the energy shots in more ways than one. I still take the energy shots when I want an extra boost, but I will never again use the energy shots to replace DE.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Getting Better
Still taking DE pretty much regularly, though some days I take two doses, and other days I only take one. There were two days where I missed because there was a lot going on, and I simply forgot to take it, and on those days I had a noticeable drop in energy. I don't know if this was because I realized I had forgotten to take my morning dose of DE (I was at work at the time) or if it was truly the effects of not having it.
So far it seems the DE is helping me just like it did before. I find myself getting more done around the house, and I have more energy at work. My knees are feeling better, and I have lost some weight - the scales have weighed me at 156 for two days in a row! I know this is only a three pound loss, but I have not changed my eating habits much, and the problems with the eye keep me from feeling like doing any real exercise other than housework or yardwork.
Speaking of yardwork, code enforcement decided to start harassing the entire block again, and they had a huge list of so-called violations that we have to correct - despite the fact that my boyfriend is keeping the yard looking nice. Among other things, apparently we are not allowed to have chairs and a table outside so we can sit and enjoy our front yard because they don't approve of the type of chairs or table we have, we are not allowed to have any room for the cars to turn around in the dirt driveway - only a straight path from the gate to the garage despite the fact that it has been that way for over 40 years and code enforcement has never had a problem with it before, and we cannot store anything at all in the front yard - not even the bbq that has been there for years (code enforcement has never complained about this before either). They even cited us for the ice chest that we had set outside to dry out! Thankfully, my energy and motivation are still high enough for me to get the stuff done outside, and my knee has not bothered me at all while I am doing yardwork.
So far it seems the DE is helping me just like it did before. I find myself getting more done around the house, and I have more energy at work. My knees are feeling better, and I have lost some weight - the scales have weighed me at 156 for two days in a row! I know this is only a three pound loss, but I have not changed my eating habits much, and the problems with the eye keep me from feeling like doing any real exercise other than housework or yardwork.
Speaking of yardwork, code enforcement decided to start harassing the entire block again, and they had a huge list of so-called violations that we have to correct - despite the fact that my boyfriend is keeping the yard looking nice. Among other things, apparently we are not allowed to have chairs and a table outside so we can sit and enjoy our front yard because they don't approve of the type of chairs or table we have, we are not allowed to have any room for the cars to turn around in the dirt driveway - only a straight path from the gate to the garage despite the fact that it has been that way for over 40 years and code enforcement has never had a problem with it before, and we cannot store anything at all in the front yard - not even the bbq that has been there for years (code enforcement has never complained about this before either). They even cited us for the ice chest that we had set outside to dry out! Thankfully, my energy and motivation are still high enough for me to get the stuff done outside, and my knee has not bothered me at all while I am doing yardwork.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
There Are Some Things DE Can't Help With
Last Friday I noticed that my left eye was feeling a little sore - specifically the top eyelid. I didn't think much of it because I had just started wearing makeup again, and figured that it was just a little irritated. Well, that little irritation slowly got worse until it turned into a hideously swollen eyelid that is so large that I cannot keep that eye open. I am on antibiotics, and I have a special ointment to put into the eye now. Hopefully this thing will quickly resolve itself.
When it first started swelling I was searching desperately for home remedies to bring this to a head, but nothing worked. Then I had what could only be described as an insane idea - you probably know what I am thinking, and no I did not do it. I knew that DE had worked to draw out infection in a cat bite on my hand, and in a cut on my finger. So for one moment I wondered... then I quickly reminded myself (more like I said to myself, "What are you thinking!!??) that DE is not good for eyes. I did toy around with the idea of putting some DE in a coffee filter, but that would definitely be too dangerous . So I have tried other remedies I have read about before finally getting antibiotics. So far things look like I might have my eye back soon.
Last post I mentioned how it seemed that DE was helping my moods. I am still not sure if the DE is actually affecting my moods outright or if it is the energy the stuff gives me that is helping. I am still feeling much better on all levels even with the eye problem. Energy is still up, and my appetite is still down a bit. My weight is still the same, and I have not taken my blood pressure yet. My knees are feeling a bit better, but my back is still having some problems. I am really hoping that I will get the same results with my back and knees that I got the first time I was taking DE steadily.
When it first started swelling I was searching desperately for home remedies to bring this to a head, but nothing worked. Then I had what could only be described as an insane idea - you probably know what I am thinking, and no I did not do it. I knew that DE had worked to draw out infection in a cat bite on my hand, and in a cut on my finger. So for one moment I wondered... then I quickly reminded myself (more like I said to myself, "What are you thinking!!??) that DE is not good for eyes. I did toy around with the idea of putting some DE in a coffee filter, but that would definitely be too dangerous . So I have tried other remedies I have read about before finally getting antibiotics. So far things look like I might have my eye back soon.
Last post I mentioned how it seemed that DE was helping my moods. I am still not sure if the DE is actually affecting my moods outright or if it is the energy the stuff gives me that is helping. I am still feeling much better on all levels even with the eye problem. Energy is still up, and my appetite is still down a bit. My weight is still the same, and I have not taken my blood pressure yet. My knees are feeling a bit better, but my back is still having some problems. I am really hoping that I will get the same results with my back and knees that I got the first time I was taking DE steadily.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Still Moving Forward
It's been a very busy day for me today, but I was able to deal with it far better than I would have before starting DE up again. I got through a difficult housecleaning job, drove my boyfriend out to the hospital for the tests his doctor wanted, and waited for over an hour and a half without feeling like falling asleep, did a quick grocery shopping trip, made dinner, and listed some items on ebay without feeling tired - though I did take a quick nap before making dinner. Just two weeks ago I would have been too tired after work to do anything except take a long nap the minute I got home from work.
My appetite is finally decreasing. I had a difficult time making myself eat breakfast this morning, and my desire to snack was pretty much gone today. The lady whose house I cleaned this morning said that it looked like I am losing weight, though the scales don't show any difference yet. Last time I weighed myself the scales showed 257.7, which is pretty much the same as I weighed a few days ago.
My moods have remained very stable even in situations that would normally put me in a bad mood. My boyfriend suggested that maybe the change in mood is simply because I am feeling better physically. He might be right about that because pain, and overall lack of energy, will take away one's motivation, and bring a person's mood down. But what I was going through seemed like more than just dealing with low level pain and lack of energy. Anybody else have any thoughts on this or noticed mood changes after taking DE?
My appetite is finally decreasing. I had a difficult time making myself eat breakfast this morning, and my desire to snack was pretty much gone today. The lady whose house I cleaned this morning said that it looked like I am losing weight, though the scales don't show any difference yet. Last time I weighed myself the scales showed 257.7, which is pretty much the same as I weighed a few days ago.
My moods have remained very stable even in situations that would normally put me in a bad mood. My boyfriend suggested that maybe the change in mood is simply because I am feeling better physically. He might be right about that because pain, and overall lack of energy, will take away one's motivation, and bring a person's mood down. But what I was going through seemed like more than just dealing with low level pain and lack of energy. Anybody else have any thoughts on this or noticed mood changes after taking DE?
Monday, March 26, 2012
DE Affecting Moods?
I had a very difficult time getting to sleep last night. My stomach was very upset, and I could not get it to settle down. I thought about trying DE to calm the indigestion, but I was worried that I would be too restless after taking it. So I only got about 4 hours sleep. Which brings me to the reason for my update today.
Over the last few months when I haven't been taking DE I have had quite a few nights where I didn't get enough sleep - whether I was just too restless or upset stomach - I only averaged about 3 - 4 hours sleep during those nights. The mornings after rough nights like those tend to be difficult at best. My moods range from grouch to depressed to almost impossible to deal with, and make life very difficult for my boyfriend who gets the worst of my ----. But this morning was completely different. Yes I was tired, and a little grouchy at first - but nothing like those other mornings. In fact, after taking my morning dose of DE I felt great. My motivation to get things done lagged a bit, but my energy was fairly high considering, and my mood was actually good.
My boyfriend was happily surprised at the difference in me.
This brings me to something else I've noticed. My moods are much better over the last two or three days. I hadn't really thought about it until now, but I am definitely feeling better emotionally. During these last few months away from DE I have been going through periods of intense depression. I realize that there have been many changes in my life over the last year and a half - I have lost three people I love (the pastor from my church, my housemate, and my aunt), I spent several months living alone for the first time in my life, and I got into a new relationship. These things alone can take a huge emotional toll on a person. But the mood swings I was dealing with were, for lack of a better way of putting it, not me. A day or so after starting the DE again I started feeling like myself again.
The increase in motivation that I have always felt when taking DE could be the DE affecting my moods, but I never really felt this kind of effect from it before. Maybe I just never noticed it because I wasn't dealing with these kinds of mood swings and depression before. All I know for certain is that I feel better, and more able to cope with things.
Over the last few months when I haven't been taking DE I have had quite a few nights where I didn't get enough sleep - whether I was just too restless or upset stomach - I only averaged about 3 - 4 hours sleep during those nights. The mornings after rough nights like those tend to be difficult at best. My moods range from grouch to depressed to almost impossible to deal with, and make life very difficult for my boyfriend who gets the worst of my ----. But this morning was completely different. Yes I was tired, and a little grouchy at first - but nothing like those other mornings. In fact, after taking my morning dose of DE I felt great. My motivation to get things done lagged a bit, but my energy was fairly high considering, and my mood was actually good.
My boyfriend was happily surprised at the difference in me.
This brings me to something else I've noticed. My moods are much better over the last two or three days. I hadn't really thought about it until now, but I am definitely feeling better emotionally. During these last few months away from DE I have been going through periods of intense depression. I realize that there have been many changes in my life over the last year and a half - I have lost three people I love (the pastor from my church, my housemate, and my aunt), I spent several months living alone for the first time in my life, and I got into a new relationship. These things alone can take a huge emotional toll on a person. But the mood swings I was dealing with were, for lack of a better way of putting it, not me. A day or so after starting the DE again I started feeling like myself again.
The increase in motivation that I have always felt when taking DE could be the DE affecting my moods, but I never really felt this kind of effect from it before. Maybe I just never noticed it because I wasn't dealing with these kinds of mood swings and depression before. All I know for certain is that I feel better, and more able to cope with things.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Starting Over (Again)
I cannot believe I nearly forgot about this blog. So much has happened in my life, and it has taken time to adjust to all of the changes that have taken place since I first started this blog.
First things first, let me fill everybody in on what has happened since my last post. I had renters for a month and a half during last August and part of September staying in the room that used to belong to my roommate/housemate. During that time I pretty much forgot about taking DE as I was getting readjusted to sharing my house with other people. Then in September, while they were still here, my boyfriend moved down here to stay. I should point out that this was a huge leap of faith for both of us because we had never met face to face, but we had been spending several hours a day on the phone with each other so we had gotten to know one another quite well. Still, that's not the same as getting to know each other face to face. But we hit it off wonderfully from the moment he got here, and the animals adopted him almost immediately - which is very unusual because they aren't very friendly with strangers.
So, between getting used to a new relationship, and a new living situation while still recovering from the grief I was dealing with, I kind of forgot about a lot of things - like taking DE regularly, and updating this blog.
This is why I have titled this post, 'Starting Over.' I just started taking DE again two days ago, and I intend to keep taking it regularly from this point on. While I was away from DE, I noticed a huge drop in energy (this could be attributed to the things I was going through, but I think being away from DE also played a huge part), my back and knees have been giving me a lot of trouble, my weight has gone up a bit - not much, but it is still a gain, and last time I took my blood pressure it was 160/115. Also, I have not been sleeping as well as I was when taking DE, and my appetite has skyrocketed to the point where I want to nibble on snacks constantly. Motivation to do anything was almost zero during the time I was away from DE as well.
As I mentioned, I started taking DE again just two days ago, and this is what I have noticed so far. My energy is coming back, and I feel motivated to get things done. I just feel 'brighter' somehow - to the point where my boyfriend has noticed the change over the last couple of days, and has told me that he will make sure I continue to take DE on a daily basis! I am sleeping better - two nights of solid, comfortable sleep instead of waking up during the night and not being able to get back to sleep.
My appetite is still there, but not quite as bad. I weighed myself tonight - 258, so I know that I haven't gained a huge amount of weight, but I am hoping that the DE will help me start getting rid of it again. There has been no change in the joint and back pain yet, but that will take some time. I am hoping to get up the courage to take my blood pressure again in a day or two so I can monitor whether or not the DE is helping with that.
Well, that's all for now. It's late and I am getting sleepy. Hopefully, I will be posting regularly again from this point forward.
First things first, let me fill everybody in on what has happened since my last post. I had renters for a month and a half during last August and part of September staying in the room that used to belong to my roommate/housemate. During that time I pretty much forgot about taking DE as I was getting readjusted to sharing my house with other people. Then in September, while they were still here, my boyfriend moved down here to stay. I should point out that this was a huge leap of faith for both of us because we had never met face to face, but we had been spending several hours a day on the phone with each other so we had gotten to know one another quite well. Still, that's not the same as getting to know each other face to face. But we hit it off wonderfully from the moment he got here, and the animals adopted him almost immediately - which is very unusual because they aren't very friendly with strangers.
So, between getting used to a new relationship, and a new living situation while still recovering from the grief I was dealing with, I kind of forgot about a lot of things - like taking DE regularly, and updating this blog.
This is why I have titled this post, 'Starting Over.' I just started taking DE again two days ago, and I intend to keep taking it regularly from this point on. While I was away from DE, I noticed a huge drop in energy (this could be attributed to the things I was going through, but I think being away from DE also played a huge part), my back and knees have been giving me a lot of trouble, my weight has gone up a bit - not much, but it is still a gain, and last time I took my blood pressure it was 160/115. Also, I have not been sleeping as well as I was when taking DE, and my appetite has skyrocketed to the point where I want to nibble on snacks constantly. Motivation to do anything was almost zero during the time I was away from DE as well.
As I mentioned, I started taking DE again just two days ago, and this is what I have noticed so far. My energy is coming back, and I feel motivated to get things done. I just feel 'brighter' somehow - to the point where my boyfriend has noticed the change over the last couple of days, and has told me that he will make sure I continue to take DE on a daily basis! I am sleeping better - two nights of solid, comfortable sleep instead of waking up during the night and not being able to get back to sleep.
My appetite is still there, but not quite as bad. I weighed myself tonight - 258, so I know that I haven't gained a huge amount of weight, but I am hoping that the DE will help me start getting rid of it again. There has been no change in the joint and back pain yet, but that will take some time. I am hoping to get up the courage to take my blood pressure again in a day or two so I can monitor whether or not the DE is helping with that.
Well, that's all for now. It's late and I am getting sleepy. Hopefully, I will be posting regularly again from this point forward.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Reasons for My Absence
I have received several comments asking how I am doing, and if I am okay. I realize it has been a long time since I have been back here.
The main reason I have been gone so long is that I have not been taking DE regularly, so there is really nothing to report. I don't know why, but I just keep forgetting to take it every morning. Though I do notice that, when I do remember to take it I feel better overall and my energy and motivation are generally up. Unfortunately, it seems I only take it once or twice a week.
The only changes I have noticed when not taking DE, other than my energy being a bit lower, is that I have put on a few pounds. I am averaging about 255, and I had been down to about 245 at one point. My blood pressure was 145/101 last time I took it, so not having the DE regularly does not seem to be having any effect on it at the moment. Both of my knees are pretty much back to normal, and not taking DE regularly does not seem to be having any negative effect on them either. I guess once they finally healed, they don't necessarily need the DE to stay healed.
In other areas of my life, I am still recovering from losing my roommate (I can't believe that it has already been 10 months since he died) and my aunt. I pretty much failed the entire last semester in school, and I really don't know when I will be going back. Hopefully next semester, but I will have to wait and see about that.
The best thing that has happened for me though is that the friend I spoke of in my last post is now my boyfriend. We live in different states at the moment, but are working on visiting each other in the near future, and hopefully he will be moving down here not long after that. It is a huge change in both of our lives, so this is something we are taking slowly and working on carefully.
Other than that, not much to tell. I am going to try to get back into the habit of taking DE regularly, so I will probably be back soon to post any results I get from taking DE again.
The main reason I have been gone so long is that I have not been taking DE regularly, so there is really nothing to report. I don't know why, but I just keep forgetting to take it every morning. Though I do notice that, when I do remember to take it I feel better overall and my energy and motivation are generally up. Unfortunately, it seems I only take it once or twice a week.
The only changes I have noticed when not taking DE, other than my energy being a bit lower, is that I have put on a few pounds. I am averaging about 255, and I had been down to about 245 at one point. My blood pressure was 145/101 last time I took it, so not having the DE regularly does not seem to be having any effect on it at the moment. Both of my knees are pretty much back to normal, and not taking DE regularly does not seem to be having any negative effect on them either. I guess once they finally healed, they don't necessarily need the DE to stay healed.
In other areas of my life, I am still recovering from losing my roommate (I can't believe that it has already been 10 months since he died) and my aunt. I pretty much failed the entire last semester in school, and I really don't know when I will be going back. Hopefully next semester, but I will have to wait and see about that.
The best thing that has happened for me though is that the friend I spoke of in my last post is now my boyfriend. We live in different states at the moment, but are working on visiting each other in the near future, and hopefully he will be moving down here not long after that. It is a huge change in both of our lives, so this is something we are taking slowly and working on carefully.
Other than that, not much to tell. I am going to try to get back into the habit of taking DE regularly, so I will probably be back soon to post any results I get from taking DE again.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Checking In
School, another death in the family, and a new friend (maybe more on that later) have kept me away from this blog for longer than I had intended to stay away.
I was starting to recover from the devastating loss of my roommate, when my aunt, the one person who was there for me when my roommate passed away, had a massive stroke on Christmas Eve. She passed away on January 7th. In the midst of my grief, a friend I met on the internet reached out to me, and has helped me keep my sanity. His friendship is one of the things getting me through these rough times.
School has started again, which is also helping me to move forward, though it is still difficult for me to truly concentrate on my classes.
The good news is that I have lost the weight I had gained over the holidays - down to 249 now, and my blood pressure was 148/101 this afternoon. Energy is still way up, and I am having almost no trouble with my knees now. Seems like the D.E. is back to working again.
Well, that's all I have time for right now. I will hopefully get back to posting regularly again soon.
I was starting to recover from the devastating loss of my roommate, when my aunt, the one person who was there for me when my roommate passed away, had a massive stroke on Christmas Eve. She passed away on January 7th. In the midst of my grief, a friend I met on the internet reached out to me, and has helped me keep my sanity. His friendship is one of the things getting me through these rough times.
School has started again, which is also helping me to move forward, though it is still difficult for me to truly concentrate on my classes.
The good news is that I have lost the weight I had gained over the holidays - down to 249 now, and my blood pressure was 148/101 this afternoon. Energy is still way up, and I am having almost no trouble with my knees now. Seems like the D.E. is back to working again.
Well, that's all I have time for right now. I will hopefully get back to posting regularly again soon.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Back on track.
I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted. Besides dealing with grief and getting used to being on my own for the first time in my life, I have been working hard to catch back up in school and pass the two computer classes I was taking.
I have been taking D.E. steadily over the last month or two, but the results I have been getting are mixed. My energy is way up along with my motivation, I have lost some weight, and both knees are pretty much back to the way they should be. However, my blood pressure is running very high - 156/112 last time I took it, which was a few days ago.
The blood pressure could be due to the stress of school, which I was really struggling with over the last month. I was originally taking four classes, but dropped my beginning piano class because I felt I should concentrate on my two computer classes. I had intended to stay in my intermediate algebra class and get as much out of it as I could, then drop the class to avoid getting an F as there was no way I could possibly pass the class as far behind as I was. But I was way too distracted with everything else I was dealing with, and I did not drop the class in time so I now have an F in the algebra class. Because of that F I needed at least B's in the two computer classes - Office Application Development, and Data Management Systems. The first class dealt with Visual Basic for Applications, and the second class dealt with SQL. Two classes that deal with writing code are the perfect combination for stress, and I have learned my lesson - I will never take two classes like that at the same time again!
At one point I told my neighbors not to worry if they saw a computer fly out the window, that I was just doing my homework. I was 12 assignments behind in the VBA class, and struggling to keep up in the SQL class, but I am proud to say that I have at least a B in the VBA class, and probably have a B in the SQL class. Now that the semester is finally over, a huge amount of stress is gone, and I am hoping that my blood pressure drops.
Another thing that should bring my blood pressure down is that I am actively working on losing weight. I now have a scale so I can keep better track of my weight without having to depend upon the scales at the houses I clean. The scale I have been using at the one house I clean weighed me at 152 last Friday, while my home scale weighed me at 155 this morning. I am getting a lot more exercise than I was getting when my knees were bad, and I am being much more careful about what I eat. I am hoping that I can keep myself on track through the remainder of the holiday season, especially since my customers like to give us candy for Christmas, and my roommate is no longer here to help me eat it. I do realize I could give the candy away, but my love of chocolate does not allow me to do this! Still, thanks to the fact that D.E. works wonders for keeping my appetite at bay, I think I can keep myself from overindulging with the holiday treats.
I have been taking D.E. steadily over the last month or two, but the results I have been getting are mixed. My energy is way up along with my motivation, I have lost some weight, and both knees are pretty much back to the way they should be. However, my blood pressure is running very high - 156/112 last time I took it, which was a few days ago.
The blood pressure could be due to the stress of school, which I was really struggling with over the last month. I was originally taking four classes, but dropped my beginning piano class because I felt I should concentrate on my two computer classes. I had intended to stay in my intermediate algebra class and get as much out of it as I could, then drop the class to avoid getting an F as there was no way I could possibly pass the class as far behind as I was. But I was way too distracted with everything else I was dealing with, and I did not drop the class in time so I now have an F in the algebra class. Because of that F I needed at least B's in the two computer classes - Office Application Development, and Data Management Systems. The first class dealt with Visual Basic for Applications, and the second class dealt with SQL. Two classes that deal with writing code are the perfect combination for stress, and I have learned my lesson - I will never take two classes like that at the same time again!
At one point I told my neighbors not to worry if they saw a computer fly out the window, that I was just doing my homework. I was 12 assignments behind in the VBA class, and struggling to keep up in the SQL class, but I am proud to say that I have at least a B in the VBA class, and probably have a B in the SQL class. Now that the semester is finally over, a huge amount of stress is gone, and I am hoping that my blood pressure drops.
Another thing that should bring my blood pressure down is that I am actively working on losing weight. I now have a scale so I can keep better track of my weight without having to depend upon the scales at the houses I clean. The scale I have been using at the one house I clean weighed me at 152 last Friday, while my home scale weighed me at 155 this morning. I am getting a lot more exercise than I was getting when my knees were bad, and I am being much more careful about what I eat. I am hoping that I can keep myself on track through the remainder of the holiday season, especially since my customers like to give us candy for Christmas, and my roommate is no longer here to help me eat it. I do realize I could give the candy away, but my love of chocolate does not allow me to do this! Still, thanks to the fact that D.E. works wonders for keeping my appetite at bay, I think I can keep myself from overindulging with the holiday treats.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Energy Returning
Since I last posted a few days ago, I have been taking DE regularly - 1 heaping tablespoon (maybe more since I don't really measure it) twice a day. I have noticed that, even with the struggle I am having with grief and severe depression, my energy level has improved dramatically along with my motivation to get things done.
Yesterday I managed to get a huge amount of the dishes that had piled up washed and put away. I don't have a dishwasher so I have to do everything by hand, which makes doing the mountain of dishes that had piled up a huge undertaking. Both sinks were full of dirty dishes, the counter was piled up with dirty dishes, and the stove is full of dirty pots and pans. There was not a single clean plate, bowl, or piece of silverware in the house. But now there are only a few plastic containers in one sink, and two dirty pans along with their lids on the stove. I did these dishes at night, which is another huge step forward for me as I usually shut down completely if I am at home when the sun goes down.
As I write this, the second load of laundry is in the washing machine, and I have put up several items on eBay. I also spent some time outside talking with a neighbor instead of wanting to hide away inside the house. Overall, I feel better in many ways. It's the same way I felt when I first started taking DE - energy and motivation way up from where they were before.
Another expected result of taking DE regularly again is that my appetite has decreased dramatically. Over the last month, I have been eating an unhealthy amount of food. I had been constantly craving sweets and comfort food, and since I have been too wrapped up in grief to really care, my diet has been extremely unhealthy consisting of sweets, fast food, lots and lots of cola, junk food, frozen dinners, chips, and canned pasta. At times I have added vegetables, but since I was too depressed to do dishes, my meals mainly consisted of what I could make using the least amount of dishes and silverware possible.
But over the last couple of days, I have cooked my breakfast - 2 eggs with two slices of turkey bacon and one glass of cola (compared to the nearly half of a two liter bottle that I have been having with breakfast for the last month). Last night I had a frozen meal for dinner, but that was before I did the dishes, so I really had no way of making anything healthier. This afternoon, I think I will make some biscuits and tuna salad for lunch and drink apple juice instead of cola. Tonight I am planning on making homemade burritos. Overall, much healthier meals than I have become accustomed to. I really have no desire for sweets at the moment.
Unfortunately, my blood pressure has not come down. It was averaging 155/109 earlier. Just have to be patient with that. I think it took nine or ten days before DE had any effect on my blood pressure when I first started taking it.
Yesterday I managed to get a huge amount of the dishes that had piled up washed and put away. I don't have a dishwasher so I have to do everything by hand, which makes doing the mountain of dishes that had piled up a huge undertaking. Both sinks were full of dirty dishes, the counter was piled up with dirty dishes, and the stove is full of dirty pots and pans. There was not a single clean plate, bowl, or piece of silverware in the house. But now there are only a few plastic containers in one sink, and two dirty pans along with their lids on the stove. I did these dishes at night, which is another huge step forward for me as I usually shut down completely if I am at home when the sun goes down.
As I write this, the second load of laundry is in the washing machine, and I have put up several items on eBay. I also spent some time outside talking with a neighbor instead of wanting to hide away inside the house. Overall, I feel better in many ways. It's the same way I felt when I first started taking DE - energy and motivation way up from where they were before.
Another expected result of taking DE regularly again is that my appetite has decreased dramatically. Over the last month, I have been eating an unhealthy amount of food. I had been constantly craving sweets and comfort food, and since I have been too wrapped up in grief to really care, my diet has been extremely unhealthy consisting of sweets, fast food, lots and lots of cola, junk food, frozen dinners, chips, and canned pasta. At times I have added vegetables, but since I was too depressed to do dishes, my meals mainly consisted of what I could make using the least amount of dishes and silverware possible.
But over the last couple of days, I have cooked my breakfast - 2 eggs with two slices of turkey bacon and one glass of cola (compared to the nearly half of a two liter bottle that I have been having with breakfast for the last month). Last night I had a frozen meal for dinner, but that was before I did the dishes, so I really had no way of making anything healthier. This afternoon, I think I will make some biscuits and tuna salad for lunch and drink apple juice instead of cola. Tonight I am planning on making homemade burritos. Overall, much healthier meals than I have become accustomed to. I really have no desire for sweets at the moment.
Unfortunately, my blood pressure has not come down. It was averaging 155/109 earlier. Just have to be patient with that. I think it took nine or ten days before DE had any effect on my blood pressure when I first started taking it.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Starting Over
It has been just over a month since my roommate passed away and about month since I last posted. First of all, I would like to thank all of the people who were so supportive in their comments. I have found that the kindness of other people has lifted me up during some extremely dark moments. It has been so difficult to even function these last few weeks. The house is so unbelievably lonely, even with the dog and cats to keep me company. Except for one aunt, I pretty much have no family that I keep in touch with, so I feel very alone through all this. If it weren't for my aunt, and a handful of close friends, I would not have made it.
During this time, I have been very sporadic in my use of diatomaceous earth, taking it once every other day or so. It's just been difficult to make myself do anything at all. The dishes had piled up, the house has gotten filthy again after a friend had cleaned it for me, and I have gotten way behind in all of my classes.
But today has been a better day. I got some laundry done, I did some dishes, and I went to class tonight. I also took D.E. this morning and this afternoon. But I am pretty much back to square one with my health with two exceptions - my knees are pretty much healed, and I have actually kept my weight where it was even though my diet has been horrible. For the first week, my aunt kept me fed by taking me out to eat morning, noon, and night. She also bought candy bars for us to snack on while cleaning the house. After she went back to her house, I found myself buying cookies and candy to snack on. I also spent some of the money that others gave me on fast food because I could not make myself cook, but then again once the dishes built back up in the sink, I had nothing to cook with or eat off of.
So thanks to all of that and not taking D.E., my blood pressure is averaging 165/108 again, and my energy level is nonexistent. My motivation level is also nonexistent. Of course I am still extremely depressed much of the time, and I still have problems with severe anxiety.
I am now hoping to get myself back into taking D.E. regularly, and get myself back into some sort of routine. I am hoping to be able to make myself post more often, though with everything else I am dealing with, I cannot promise to be posting regularly yet, but that will hopefully change as I get through this dark time and begin healing.
During this time, I have been very sporadic in my use of diatomaceous earth, taking it once every other day or so. It's just been difficult to make myself do anything at all. The dishes had piled up, the house has gotten filthy again after a friend had cleaned it for me, and I have gotten way behind in all of my classes.
But today has been a better day. I got some laundry done, I did some dishes, and I went to class tonight. I also took D.E. this morning and this afternoon. But I am pretty much back to square one with my health with two exceptions - my knees are pretty much healed, and I have actually kept my weight where it was even though my diet has been horrible. For the first week, my aunt kept me fed by taking me out to eat morning, noon, and night. She also bought candy bars for us to snack on while cleaning the house. After she went back to her house, I found myself buying cookies and candy to snack on. I also spent some of the money that others gave me on fast food because I could not make myself cook, but then again once the dishes built back up in the sink, I had nothing to cook with or eat off of.
So thanks to all of that and not taking D.E., my blood pressure is averaging 165/108 again, and my energy level is nonexistent. My motivation level is also nonexistent. Of course I am still extremely depressed much of the time, and I still have problems with severe anxiety.
I am now hoping to get myself back into taking D.E. regularly, and get myself back into some sort of routine. I am hoping to be able to make myself post more often, though with everything else I am dealing with, I cannot promise to be posting regularly yet, but that will hopefully change as I get through this dark time and begin healing.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Day 104
This has been such a difficult time for me, I don't know where to start. In my last post, I mentioned that I had been sick. Sadly, my roommate, who was somebody that I loved more than words can express, caught the cold from me. He had asthma and was having difficulty with his breathing before he caught the cold. I recovered quickly from the cold... he did not. On Tuesday, September 7th, I came home from my aunt's house to find my roommate slumped over in his desk chair. He had died from what appeared to be an asthma attack.
I am still having an incredibly difficult time dealing with his loss. We were together as a couple, then friends who were more like family for over 20 years. Needless to say, I have not been taking any of my vitamins or diatomaceous earth on a regular basis lately. It is everything I can do just to make myself function. I have not been back to work or school since this happened, and I do not know when I will get back to any sort of regular routine.
Once I have gotten myself back into some sort of functional state of mind, I will begin posting on this blog regularly again.
I am still having an incredibly difficult time dealing with his loss. We were together as a couple, then friends who were more like family for over 20 years. Needless to say, I have not been taking any of my vitamins or diatomaceous earth on a regular basis lately. It is everything I can do just to make myself function. I have not been back to work or school since this happened, and I do not know when I will get back to any sort of regular routine.
Once I have gotten myself back into some sort of functional state of mind, I will begin posting on this blog regularly again.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Day 91
Between dealing with my pastor's passing, and a horrible cold that caused me to miss a week of work and school, I have no desire to go anywhere near a computer except to check my email. I think the cold is finally going away now, and my thoughts are finally becoming less jumbled so I can write a coherent post.
During my absence, two things have happened that have given me perspective on D.E. - both as an insecticide, and as a nutritional supplement.
We adopted a kitten several weeks ago, and have been bathing her to keep the fleas in check as it seemed D.E. wasn't really effective at killing the fleas. But with both of us sick, we did not feel like dealing with the injuries we generally receive when bathing the kitty. So one night when the poor thing could not take two steps without scratching and biting, we dusted her thoroughly with D.E., but we didn't notice any difference that night. The next morning, however, she was barely scratching at all, and I didn't see any fleas anywhere on her. It would seem that D.E. really is effective on an indoor animal.
The other thing that happened was that I quit taking D.E. for about 6 days while I was sick. This was not a conscious decision - I just wasn't feeling well, and I was spending most of my time sleeping, so I really did not think about it. But one night as I was trying desperately to focus on catching up with some of the homework I needed to get done, I noticed both that my energy and mental focus were extremely low. I had noticed the low energy the day before, but attributed that to being sick and taking cold medicine. But on this day I hadn't taken any medicine. I was still feeling rough, but I should not have been that tired and out of focus. That was when I realized that I had not taken D.E. in several days.
I went into the kitchen and took a tablespoon full of D.E., and after about an hour I noticed some improvement in my mental energy. Physical energy stayed low for a couple of days after that though. I have now been taking D.E. again for about four days and find my energy is returning, and I am able to focus much better when doing my homework. Today, I find my motivation to get things done is also returning.
Other things I had noticed, but hadn't attributed it to not taking D.E. until now, is that I was having trouble sleeping for the three days that I was not taking the cold medicine. At first I thought it was because I had gotten used to having the night-time cold medicine after taking it for a couple of days. But I don't think that having something to make me sleep for two or three days would make it so difficult to sleep three days later. The second night after I started taking D.E. again, I slept soundly, and I slept well last night too.
My appetite, which should have been low due to being sick, went crazy on me for a few days. There were at least two days where all I wanted to do was snack, and I found myself eating more at mealtimes as well. But my appetite seems to be back under control again now. The last couple of days I have not snacked much at all. Come to think of it, I barely had anything to eat at all yesterday, and today I only had a two-egg omelet with chile verde for breakfast, and a slice of cheese with lunchmeat for lunch. I haven't even wanted a snack this afternoon.
My left knee was suffering as well during my time without D.E. I had noticed it was hurting, but just didn't think about why it was hurting. It is feeling better today. It doesn't hurt as much when I walk, and it wasn't aching at all last night.
One last thing that I am not sure whether it could be attributed to not taking D.E., is that my skin has gotten very dry over these last few days even though I put lotion on at least every other day. The skin on my heels, which had actually stopped cracking so much, is so bad I can barely walk even though I have put something on them to heal the dry skin, and I am wearing socks.
All of these things let me know, beyond any doubts that I may have had before, that the D.E. is making a difference in my health.
During my absence, two things have happened that have given me perspective on D.E. - both as an insecticide, and as a nutritional supplement.
We adopted a kitten several weeks ago, and have been bathing her to keep the fleas in check as it seemed D.E. wasn't really effective at killing the fleas. But with both of us sick, we did not feel like dealing with the injuries we generally receive when bathing the kitty. So one night when the poor thing could not take two steps without scratching and biting, we dusted her thoroughly with D.E., but we didn't notice any difference that night. The next morning, however, she was barely scratching at all, and I didn't see any fleas anywhere on her. It would seem that D.E. really is effective on an indoor animal.
The other thing that happened was that I quit taking D.E. for about 6 days while I was sick. This was not a conscious decision - I just wasn't feeling well, and I was spending most of my time sleeping, so I really did not think about it. But one night as I was trying desperately to focus on catching up with some of the homework I needed to get done, I noticed both that my energy and mental focus were extremely low. I had noticed the low energy the day before, but attributed that to being sick and taking cold medicine. But on this day I hadn't taken any medicine. I was still feeling rough, but I should not have been that tired and out of focus. That was when I realized that I had not taken D.E. in several days.
I went into the kitchen and took a tablespoon full of D.E., and after about an hour I noticed some improvement in my mental energy. Physical energy stayed low for a couple of days after that though. I have now been taking D.E. again for about four days and find my energy is returning, and I am able to focus much better when doing my homework. Today, I find my motivation to get things done is also returning.
Other things I had noticed, but hadn't attributed it to not taking D.E. until now, is that I was having trouble sleeping for the three days that I was not taking the cold medicine. At first I thought it was because I had gotten used to having the night-time cold medicine after taking it for a couple of days. But I don't think that having something to make me sleep for two or three days would make it so difficult to sleep three days later. The second night after I started taking D.E. again, I slept soundly, and I slept well last night too.
My appetite, which should have been low due to being sick, went crazy on me for a few days. There were at least two days where all I wanted to do was snack, and I found myself eating more at mealtimes as well. But my appetite seems to be back under control again now. The last couple of days I have not snacked much at all. Come to think of it, I barely had anything to eat at all yesterday, and today I only had a two-egg omelet with chile verde for breakfast, and a slice of cheese with lunchmeat for lunch. I haven't even wanted a snack this afternoon.
My left knee was suffering as well during my time without D.E. I had noticed it was hurting, but just didn't think about why it was hurting. It is feeling better today. It doesn't hurt as much when I walk, and it wasn't aching at all last night.
One last thing that I am not sure whether it could be attributed to not taking D.E., is that my skin has gotten very dry over these last few days even though I put lotion on at least every other day. The skin on my heels, which had actually stopped cracking so much, is so bad I can barely walk even though I have put something on them to heal the dry skin, and I am wearing socks.
All of these things let me know, beyond any doubts that I may have had before, that the D.E. is making a difference in my health.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Day 86
It has been a while since I have posted. My absence has been due to several things - school has started and I am taking 4 classes at the community college this semester, I have had a lot of jobs over the last two weeks, and a good friend - and former pastor of the church I go to - passed away a few days ago.
Though I have been keeping busy with work, it has not been the kind of housework that keeps me moving - I spent two six hour days doing nothing but washing dishes by hand. Time at home has been spent staying off my feet to rest the bad knee, and the depression over losing my friend has brought me to a standstill.
There have been few positive changes in my health - but there has been no negative changes from the lack of exercise either. Up until the last week, my left knee has been giving me a lot of problems, and my time away from work and my two on-campus classes has been spent sitting around and snacking more than usual. Even with the added stress and lack of exercise, my blood pressure has pretty much remained in the area of 138/98, and I am still only taking DE without any of the other supplements to lower the blood pressure.
One thing that has totally amazed me though, is that even with dealing with the grief and depression of losing my friend, my energy levels for work and school have remained high. The first day of working a temporary job cleaning a house that is covered in dust from renovations, I drank a 5-hour energy drink at the beginning of the day and got through a 7-hour day with no other caffeine needed once the energy drink wore off. That day was basic housecleaning and it was not an easy day.
The next week, school started, my friend passed away, and the work schedule went nuts. Even with a lack of sleep, I got through the remaining work and school days only drinking coffee in the mornings and cola later in the day. No energy drinks needed. Most of the time I drank water during work and school, and nothing else to keep me going. Still, my energy level was high enough to keep me going under circumstances that would have had me rushing for the energy drinks before I started taking DE.
As I type this, my right knee is back to being pretty much normal, and my left knee is much improved. No brace or bandage needed, and I am not limping. I do have to be careful when lifting heavy objects though, and I need to hold onto something when coming up the steps into the house. I still would not even dream of going up a flight of stairs, and if the elevators at the school quit working, there is no way I would be able to get to my classes. But I can walk all the way across the campus without problems.
Though I have been keeping busy with work, it has not been the kind of housework that keeps me moving - I spent two six hour days doing nothing but washing dishes by hand. Time at home has been spent staying off my feet to rest the bad knee, and the depression over losing my friend has brought me to a standstill.
There have been few positive changes in my health - but there has been no negative changes from the lack of exercise either. Up until the last week, my left knee has been giving me a lot of problems, and my time away from work and my two on-campus classes has been spent sitting around and snacking more than usual. Even with the added stress and lack of exercise, my blood pressure has pretty much remained in the area of 138/98, and I am still only taking DE without any of the other supplements to lower the blood pressure.
One thing that has totally amazed me though, is that even with dealing with the grief and depression of losing my friend, my energy levels for work and school have remained high. The first day of working a temporary job cleaning a house that is covered in dust from renovations, I drank a 5-hour energy drink at the beginning of the day and got through a 7-hour day with no other caffeine needed once the energy drink wore off. That day was basic housecleaning and it was not an easy day.
The next week, school started, my friend passed away, and the work schedule went nuts. Even with a lack of sleep, I got through the remaining work and school days only drinking coffee in the mornings and cola later in the day. No energy drinks needed. Most of the time I drank water during work and school, and nothing else to keep me going. Still, my energy level was high enough to keep me going under circumstances that would have had me rushing for the energy drinks before I started taking DE.
As I type this, my right knee is back to being pretty much normal, and my left knee is much improved. No brace or bandage needed, and I am not limping. I do have to be careful when lifting heavy objects though, and I need to hold onto something when coming up the steps into the house. I still would not even dream of going up a flight of stairs, and if the elevators at the school quit working, there is no way I would be able to get to my classes. But I can walk all the way across the campus without problems.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Day 69
I have been taking DE for over two months now, and my knees are still giving me problems. After seeing me limping today, a friend who is very skeptical about all the claims that DE is a "cure all" and thinks I am crazy for taking the stuff, asked me if I really thought that DE had done anything at all for my health since it didn't seem that my knees were doing any better. I told her that DE had done a lot for my health, and that I was glad I had started taking it. Of course there was the usual argument that it seemed I was in just as much pain as before, and so forth, with me defending DE and all the things it has done for me.
Later on, after thinking about the conversation I had with my friend, I decided to make comparison of how I was doing before DE and how I am doing now. Here is what I came up with:
Before DE
After DE for just over 2 months
Looking at the before and after, I would say that DE has done wonders for me. I just wish my stupid knees would make up their minds to heal once and for all.
Later on, after thinking about the conversation I had with my friend, I decided to make comparison of how I was doing before DE and how I am doing now. Here is what I came up with:
Before DE
- Weight approx. 270 pounds
- Blood pressure average reading 165/111
- Energy - extremely low to the point of needing energy drinks just to function at work
- Motivation to get things done is almost non-existent
- Appetite - somewhat out of control
- Suffering from back pain and sciatica
- Unable to walk at times because of the pain in my knees at times needing bandages and brace just to walk from room to room
- Difficulty sleeping at night, difficulty focusing during the daytime
After DE for just over 2 months
- Weight approx. 259 pounds
- Blood pressure average reading 137/98 - without taking any other supplements to lower it
- Energy - generally high rarely needing any kind of energy drink to get going
- Motivation to get things done is high
- Appetite - cut in half, at times need to force myself to eat breakfast
- Back pain is gone, though I still have problems with sciatica
- Knees are sore, though my right knee feels almost normal at times. Left knee is still giving me problems and holding me back from doing as much as I would like to do. Brace and bandages rarely needed.
- Sleeping much better at night, focus much better in the daytime
Looking at the before and after, I would say that DE has done wonders for me. I just wish my stupid knees would make up their minds to heal once and for all.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Day 63
I have waited to post again on this blog until I had good news to post. The last few days have been difficult as I thought my right knee was back to normal, but it has been very painful and slightly swollen. It was suggested by a friend that maybe I used it too much too soon, that just because the pain was gone did not mean it was strong enough to use normally. All I know is that it pops when I move just wrong on it (or sometimes when I am just walking normally), and it is sore enough that I am worried about going to work with it like this. Next week I will be working every day of the week. Monday and Tuesday will be nightmarish with one eight-hour day of housecleaning, followed by two housecleaning jobs on Tuesday. The rest of the week will be easier with one job a day - not counting the day I help to tidy up the church. I just hope my knee gets through it as I still have to get out and do as much yard work as possible since we need to have our yard nice and green for code enforcement. I cannot believe they can fine people for not having green yards, while the city is harassing people about using too much water.
The good news is my blood pressure is back to reading me at around 138/99 - this is a steady average reading over the last couple of days. Hopefully once I get the stress of the yard dealt with, my blood pressure will go lower.
More good news is that, when I weighed myself at the house I cleaned today, my weight had dropped 4 pounds from what it was three weeks ago when I used those scales. Considering I had dropped 1/2 when I weighed myself on the other scales last Friday, it would appear that I have dropped another 3 1/2 pounds during this week. I won't know for sure what my weight is until I get back to the other ( every other Friday) house and use those scales as they are the ones I have been using to get an accurate measure of how much I weight I put on or drop off.
My energy is basically about the same - fairly high most of the time. My appetite is pretty much the same too. Sometimes I want to eat more, but other times a couple of celery sticks and some cauliflower with a little bit of cottage cheese is all I want for breakfast or lunch. Last night I would have had a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter for dinner if my roommate hadn't made one of those skillet pasta meals and shared it with me. Just not feeling like eating a lot.
The good news is my blood pressure is back to reading me at around 138/99 - this is a steady average reading over the last couple of days. Hopefully once I get the stress of the yard dealt with, my blood pressure will go lower.
More good news is that, when I weighed myself at the house I cleaned today, my weight had dropped 4 pounds from what it was three weeks ago when I used those scales. Considering I had dropped 1/2 when I weighed myself on the other scales last Friday, it would appear that I have dropped another 3 1/2 pounds during this week. I won't know for sure what my weight is until I get back to the other ( every other Friday) house and use those scales as they are the ones I have been using to get an accurate measure of how much I weight I put on or drop off.
My energy is basically about the same - fairly high most of the time. My appetite is pretty much the same too. Sometimes I want to eat more, but other times a couple of celery sticks and some cauliflower with a little bit of cottage cheese is all I want for breakfast or lunch. Last night I would have had a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter for dinner if my roommate hadn't made one of those skillet pasta meals and shared it with me. Just not feeling like eating a lot.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Day 57
I am now beginning to question whether DE helps with blood pressure in the long run. When I first started taking DE, I noticed a significant drop in my blood pressure. But the readings I have had over the last few days - ranging from 170/110 to 135/100 - make me wonder if the DE is really working.
To be fair, I have had a very stressful week dealing with a lot of personal issues. I realize that, even with prescription medicine, it is difficult to keep blood pressure down when dealing with this kind of stress. Only time will tell.
I am still having some problems with the left knee as well. Sometimes it feels great, but it only takes one misstep for it to pop in a very painful way and start hurting again. Still, I have not had to use the brace on it except when exercising.
Three things that have remained steady is the lower appetite, the weight loss, and the energy. I got on the scales today and found that I had lost 1/2 pound since using those scales two weeks ago. Even though I have only lost 1/2 pound, I am not discouraged. The weight is still going down, and I am getting some muscle back in my stomach, arms, and legs. My energy is down a bit today, but was high yesterday.
Overall, I am still feeling much better than I did before starting DE, and I have no plans to discontinue taking it.
To be fair, I have had a very stressful week dealing with a lot of personal issues. I realize that, even with prescription medicine, it is difficult to keep blood pressure down when dealing with this kind of stress. Only time will tell.
I am still having some problems with the left knee as well. Sometimes it feels great, but it only takes one misstep for it to pop in a very painful way and start hurting again. Still, I have not had to use the brace on it except when exercising.
Three things that have remained steady is the lower appetite, the weight loss, and the energy. I got on the scales today and found that I had lost 1/2 pound since using those scales two weeks ago. Even though I have only lost 1/2 pound, I am not discouraged. The weight is still going down, and I am getting some muscle back in my stomach, arms, and legs. My energy is down a bit today, but was high yesterday.
Overall, I am still feeling much better than I did before starting DE, and I have no plans to discontinue taking it.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Day 53
Last Friday, I had what I thought was going to be a serious setback. I was bringing several bags of groceries up to the house, carrying all of them in my left hand - which was not a good idea in the first place since my knee is still not as strong as it should be. Without thinking, I went up the steps - left foot first - without using the bricks at the side of the porch to lean on and help me up the steps. As I was bringing my right foot up, I heard and felt a sickening snap/pop in my left knee, followed by a shooting pain then weakness. I managed to get up the steps, but my knee was in a lot of pain at that point. Still, it was not as bad as I had feared it would be. The knee was weak, and it hurt to bend it or to get up from a seated position for the rest of Friday and most of Saturday. But by Saturday night I was able to go walking through the store with my roommate when he needed to buy some clothes, and Sunday I had very little problems when I went to church then to the grocery store afterward. The knee is a little painful at times today, but I was able to do some exercise without making things worse. The right knee is still feeling as if nothing had ever happened to it.
That is one thing that really amazes me - before I started taking DE, if my did something stupid like I did on Friday (actually, I wouldn't even think of trying to carry groceries up the steps before I started taking DE), my knee would be in serious pain and I would need to stay off of it for several days, and brace it before going to work. As far as exercising three days later goes, the thought would never even enter my mind. It just seems that the knee gets over things like that so quickly now.
One of the things I have been asked is, where is the best place to buy DE? As I am trying to keep this blog completely unbiased, I will not recommend a specific store or seller. I bought mine at an online store as I could not find anywhere to buy it where I live. With shipping, 10 pounds of DE cost me $30 - just over $14 for the DE and just over $15 for shipping. I was checking eBay this afternoon and found I could have bought the same amount of DE for $25 with shipping from one of the sellers. With the amount of sellers and the varying amounts of DE that can be bought on eBay at very competitive prices, I will more than likely get my next bag of DE from one of the sellers on eBay. One thing I do not recommend is buying from a health food store as, from what I have seen, the prices are much higher at health food stores. Instead, look around for the best price, as there is little difference in the DE from a health food store that costs $7.99 for 1/4 pound and the DE bought elsewhere at 10 pounds for $15.
Another thing I am often asked is, "how much do you think I should buy?" The answer to that depends upon whether or not you will continue to use DE, and how you will use it. The next time I buy some (which depends solely upon my financial situation), I am hoping to be able to get a 50 pound bag, which can be purchased for as little as $45(with shipping) off of eBay. Now, while it seems almost impossible to use that much DE in a household where only one person takes it as a dietary supplement, I do go through it very quickly, and it would save me a lot of money to buy that much. The 10 pound bag I bought is nearly gone now. Of course I have given at least a pound or two away to others who have wanted to try it. But I have found that it works so well for so many different things that I would probably use a lot more of it if I had it.
That is one thing that really amazes me - before I started taking DE, if my did something stupid like I did on Friday (actually, I wouldn't even think of trying to carry groceries up the steps before I started taking DE), my knee would be in serious pain and I would need to stay off of it for several days, and brace it before going to work. As far as exercising three days later goes, the thought would never even enter my mind. It just seems that the knee gets over things like that so quickly now.
One of the things I have been asked is, where is the best place to buy DE? As I am trying to keep this blog completely unbiased, I will not recommend a specific store or seller. I bought mine at an online store as I could not find anywhere to buy it where I live. With shipping, 10 pounds of DE cost me $30 - just over $14 for the DE and just over $15 for shipping. I was checking eBay this afternoon and found I could have bought the same amount of DE for $25 with shipping from one of the sellers. With the amount of sellers and the varying amounts of DE that can be bought on eBay at very competitive prices, I will more than likely get my next bag of DE from one of the sellers on eBay. One thing I do not recommend is buying from a health food store as, from what I have seen, the prices are much higher at health food stores. Instead, look around for the best price, as there is little difference in the DE from a health food store that costs $7.99 for 1/4 pound and the DE bought elsewhere at 10 pounds for $15.
Another thing I am often asked is, "how much do you think I should buy?" The answer to that depends upon whether or not you will continue to use DE, and how you will use it. The next time I buy some (which depends solely upon my financial situation), I am hoping to be able to get a 50 pound bag, which can be purchased for as little as $45(with shipping) off of eBay. Now, while it seems almost impossible to use that much DE in a household where only one person takes it as a dietary supplement, I do go through it very quickly, and it would save me a lot of money to buy that much. The 10 pound bag I bought is nearly gone now. Of course I have given at least a pound or two away to others who have wanted to try it. But I have found that it works so well for so many different things that I would probably use a lot more of it if I had it.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Day 49
I was sick for two days with a bad headache and upset stomach. I was so grateful when the headache finally went away yesterday, and I felt like I could function again.
While I had the headache, I checked my blood pressure regularly and found that it went up to 140/100. I think the headache probably caused the blood pressure to go up and not the other way around. I haven't taken my blood pressure yesterday or today because of the heatwave we have had. My blood pressure tends to be higher when I am not comfortable. Temperatures were up above 100 yesterday, and up to 104 today with a high humidity that renders our swamp cooler next to useless. Actually, the cooler does cool things down enough to make things almost bearable.
Luckily, the house we worked in today had the air conditioning going full blast. I had my iPod on and was doing a lot of dancing while working - to the point where I was working up quite a sweat. I was grateful for the opportunity to exercise at work because I could not exercise at home - not even while standing directly in front of the cooler. As I type this, it is still 87 degrees outside at 9:45pm.
So far, my energy is still very high even with the house being so warm. I found this out last night when the fleas launched another attack, and I had to fight back by vacuuming the entire living room, spraying the couches, and putting DE under the rugs. I started at around 6:30pm and finished at around 9:30. Unfortunately, the fleas are still going insane. My roommate is going to spray the entire yard with something to kill the fleas, which is something I was hoping we could avoid as it will kill everything else. But we have to do something. The cats and dog are miserable.
At work today, I spoke with the customer who I had recommended DE to. Unfortunately, after taking it for 3 weeks, the only thing she noticed was that she had more energy. I was hoping it would help her with her back pain the way it has helped me, but it didn't do much for her at all. Maybe she would need to take it for a longer period of time to notice anything, or maybe it just doesn't help with the problem she has.
I am still seeing some great results however. My left knee is almost back to normal! At times, I find myself going up and down the front steps without leaning on the bricks beside the steps! I am also having little to no pain during and after work. I have also noticed something totally unexpected recently. I have had bad toenail fungus on one of my toes, and nothing I did would get rid of it. The toenail was extremely thick - nearly half an inch in the middle, and it looked horrible. I try to use toenail clippers to get rid of the excess, but it all just grows back. I noticed yesterday that the toenail is getting much thinner, and at the base it appears healthy. I looked it up online and found that DE is supposed to get rid of fungus. This is a wonderful surprise as I was so self-conscious when wearing sandals. Now I am not so worried about people seeing that toe anymore.
While I had the headache, I checked my blood pressure regularly and found that it went up to 140/100. I think the headache probably caused the blood pressure to go up and not the other way around. I haven't taken my blood pressure yesterday or today because of the heatwave we have had. My blood pressure tends to be higher when I am not comfortable. Temperatures were up above 100 yesterday, and up to 104 today with a high humidity that renders our swamp cooler next to useless. Actually, the cooler does cool things down enough to make things almost bearable.
Luckily, the house we worked in today had the air conditioning going full blast. I had my iPod on and was doing a lot of dancing while working - to the point where I was working up quite a sweat. I was grateful for the opportunity to exercise at work because I could not exercise at home - not even while standing directly in front of the cooler. As I type this, it is still 87 degrees outside at 9:45pm.
So far, my energy is still very high even with the house being so warm. I found this out last night when the fleas launched another attack, and I had to fight back by vacuuming the entire living room, spraying the couches, and putting DE under the rugs. I started at around 6:30pm and finished at around 9:30. Unfortunately, the fleas are still going insane. My roommate is going to spray the entire yard with something to kill the fleas, which is something I was hoping we could avoid as it will kill everything else. But we have to do something. The cats and dog are miserable.
At work today, I spoke with the customer who I had recommended DE to. Unfortunately, after taking it for 3 weeks, the only thing she noticed was that she had more energy. I was hoping it would help her with her back pain the way it has helped me, but it didn't do much for her at all. Maybe she would need to take it for a longer period of time to notice anything, or maybe it just doesn't help with the problem she has.
I am still seeing some great results however. My left knee is almost back to normal! At times, I find myself going up and down the front steps without leaning on the bricks beside the steps! I am also having little to no pain during and after work. I have also noticed something totally unexpected recently. I have had bad toenail fungus on one of my toes, and nothing I did would get rid of it. The toenail was extremely thick - nearly half an inch in the middle, and it looked horrible. I try to use toenail clippers to get rid of the excess, but it all just grows back. I noticed yesterday that the toenail is getting much thinner, and at the base it appears healthy. I looked it up online and found that DE is supposed to get rid of fungus. This is a wonderful surprise as I was so self-conscious when wearing sandals. Now I am not so worried about people seeing that toe anymore.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Day 44
The slow but steady weight loss continues - I am down two more pounds to 261. I have also noticed that a pair of shorts that used to fit fairly snugly are now comfortably loose - and this is right after washing them!
I have been continuing my exercise, though I sometimes do my dancing while doing dishes or while at work. Yesterday, I was wearing my iPod while cleaning the only house we had, and I managed to work up a sweat dancing while I cleaned. My energy level was so high that I found myself doing an extra good job all while practically bouncing off the walls to the music. My knees didn't seem to mind the workout at all, and held up fairly well as I did my grocery shopping after work.
Not only has my energy been very high over the last couple of days, my blood pressure averaged 140/94 yesterday with the lowest of the three readings being 136/91!
But I have saved the best news for last. Last night after dinner, I found myself feeling very restless and wanting to just get out and do something. My roommate reminded me that he had one of those glow-in-the-dark frisbees, and we decided to go outside and play frisbee. While I knew that I couldn't actually chase the frisbee, I felt that it wouldn't hurt to throw and catch. But I forgot one thing - I am left handed and throwing the frisbee means that I step forward with my left foot, putting pressure on my left knee. The knee held up quite well, and I was able to play for at least 20 minutes! I played frisbee for at least 20 minutes last night - something I was worried I would never be able to do again!
Afterwards, my left knee was sore and worn out, but it feels great today, and there is no sign that anything was ever wrong with the right knee.
I have been continuing my exercise, though I sometimes do my dancing while doing dishes or while at work. Yesterday, I was wearing my iPod while cleaning the only house we had, and I managed to work up a sweat dancing while I cleaned. My energy level was so high that I found myself doing an extra good job all while practically bouncing off the walls to the music. My knees didn't seem to mind the workout at all, and held up fairly well as I did my grocery shopping after work.
Not only has my energy been very high over the last couple of days, my blood pressure averaged 140/94 yesterday with the lowest of the three readings being 136/91!
But I have saved the best news for last. Last night after dinner, I found myself feeling very restless and wanting to just get out and do something. My roommate reminded me that he had one of those glow-in-the-dark frisbees, and we decided to go outside and play frisbee. While I knew that I couldn't actually chase the frisbee, I felt that it wouldn't hurt to throw and catch. But I forgot one thing - I am left handed and throwing the frisbee means that I step forward with my left foot, putting pressure on my left knee. The knee held up quite well, and I was able to play for at least 20 minutes! I played frisbee for at least 20 minutes last night - something I was worried I would never be able to do again!
Afterwards, my left knee was sore and worn out, but it feels great today, and there is no sign that anything was ever wrong with the right knee.
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