Set Free from Sunburn (for today at least)

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am constantly muttering about the difficulties of finding the right sunscreen for the summer months. Not only does the medication for my condition make me sensitive to sun, but I start sweating like nobody's business as soon as I step foot in the brutal rays of the sun.

This summer I am trying something new. Banana Boat Clear Ultramist UVB SPF 30 Continuous Spray Sunscreen.  I found mine at Walmart, but I think you can get it anywhere.  Some people mock and aggravate me about the price I pay for good sunscreen, but the way I see it - it is definitely worth the price.  Some say that we shouldn't use are-sol spray sunscreens, but I am cautious about not breathing it in and its the only way I can make sure that I get every inch of my (exposed) body.  After doing some research and talking to my physician, I am learning that if you have the UVA and UVB protections you don't have to splurge as much on a higher SPF.  This is really the first summer that I have used a lower SPF so I was curious about how it would work out.


Luckily, I had a plan!  I went into the events of the holiday making sure that I could keep an eye on the clock. While it may sound a bit dull, I reapplied the sunscreen every 90 minutes.  Yes, I climbed out of the pool and dried off every 90 minutes, spraying myself with the sunscreen and massaging some onto my face.  The coolest part was that my 5yr old niece climbed out of the pool with me - and I went ahead and slathered her up too.  It's never too early to teach sun protection and skin care!


Well guess who DIDN'T burn!!  That's right, ME!!!  In the pool for hours during the hottest part of the day and while I did get a little bit of color - no lobster-red burns for me this year!   




Happy Independence Day!

For more FAQ about sunscreen, check out the American Melanoma Foundation.

The 4-1-1 on Supplements

I have to admit that I never really took any over the counter supplements until I started getting sick.  I have many healthy friends who take vitamins, mineral boosters, and various other supplements to help maintain their health.  I know even more chronically sick individuals who rely heavily on their supplements to have the best day possible.  This morning as I was checking my email, I ran across this Yahoo! Video and thought it was interesting. 

Or if you are unable to watch the video, you can read the article here.

Luckily, when I first started taking vitamins and supplements, I was going to a holistic doctor who helped me ease into this world of nutritional additives slowly.  I only take a few, but I have been taking them for a while now and definitely can see the difference they make. 

Here is my list:

1. CoQ10 - helps give me energy during the day, also good for my heart.
2. B-12 - helps give me energy long term.
3. Magnesium Oxide - a prescription that helps with my asthma.  
4. Centrum's ProNutrients Omega3 EPA/DHA (mini gels) - heart, eye, and brain health.  I take these because I rarely eat fish.
5. Vitamin D - I am a major sunscreen user, every inch of exposed skin is protected from the harmful rays - but that also seals out much needed Vitamin D.  Your doctor can run a blood test to see if this would help with chronic pain and how much your body needs. 

What do you take?

Budget Friendly Budget Secrets: Starring Michelle Phan!

Like so many others on YouTube, I am a faithful fan of Michelle Phan's videos.  I'm not one for wearing a lot of make-up and things, but I do enjoy her homemade skin care secrets.


For example, Michelle walks us through making an exfoliating scrub out of three things that can be found in anyone's kitchen.  This is definitely on my "to do" list!!





In this video, Michelle shows how to use an organic egg to give yourself a facial can tighten and boost your skin's appearance.  I haven't tried it yet, but I am considering it..  :)

Here Michelle walks the viewer through making homemade pore strips!

Here are the links to a few other low budget homemade tricks that she clues us in on: 

Do It Yourself Cucumber Eye Pads- Reduce dark circles and puffiness 

Creating kissable cheeks with hot chocolate

 Homemade lip scrub to get pucker worthy soft lips

Turn extra eye shadow into beautiful lipstick in just a few minutes

How to salvage your lip-gloss, lower your waste

Snow White's Secret for Skin Care

Snow White is the very first movie I remember seeing in a movie theater, it has always held a special place in my heart.  Imagine my smile when I heard that my niece also enjoys this movie!  This part always makes me laugh, yet this time it reminded me how important it is to have healthy skin and a good skin care regime. 

Being a spoonie, like many others, I have to be aware of my energy levels and am often not feeling up to do most of the things I should.  But taking a hint from my sister, Jennifer, I have a small tote that contains my essential skin care items, I keep it within easy reach of my bed.  




My tote contains:

• Equate Micro-Exfoliating Daily Cleansing Cloths,  they remove makeup, dirt, and anything else that may be lurking after the day.  I love these!  I truly feel that these cloths are a good substitute for those days I don't have the energy to properly wash my face before going to bed. 
• Biore Triple Action Astringent and generic cotton facial pads (or cotton balls, depending on your preference).  I definitely make sure that I use astringent on my neck, around the back of my neck and in the front, because of how badly I have night sweats.  
• Equate Complete Beauty Lotion with Vitamin E for Sensitive Skin that includes sunscreen.
• A new item I have added to my tote is a container of Simple Vital Vitamin Night Cream.  It was a bit of a splurge ($9) but I'm eager to see how it does with helping my face and neck stay moisturized at night without the blemishes.  
• I also keep my favorite body lotion by my bed and lather it on as often as possible!  

Yes I have other things for my skin, but those are when I have the luxury extra energy - stored in the shower so I can reach it easily.  But to be honest, this tote is for doing the minimum.  I wouldn't exactly say the minimum, because it beats doing nothing at all.  :)

Perco-huh?

Like many other in Spoonieville, I am having a rough flare up week.  Tennessee's temperatures have dropped pretty drastically and we have had several days of cold rain.  Luckily, my Aunt turned me onto Percogesic, which I can take at work and it brings just enough relief that I am still able to function.  I was speaking with a Nursing friend who laughed and said that percogesic is nothing more than aspirin and benadryl, however I am not knocking what seems to be helping me right now.


So if you are curious what is currently in my survival kit?  It would be a container of Percogesic, a tube of Aspercreme, and my fake smile that I plaster on as I pull into my job's parking lot.  

I keep reminding myself that I am very blessed to have a job to have to force-a-smile through, because it provides me with insurance for treatment and money for survival.  So all in all, I am a truly blessed spoonie.

Win a FREE Acupressure Mat from Always Sick Chick

A twitter friend of mine, Always Sick Chick, is having an amazing giveaway!  She shared on her blog about her experience with one of those fancy smancy Heavenly Acupressure Mats that I've been hearing about.  Let's just say I couldn't read her review fast enough!  Not only did she say that it helped (YAY it might help me!) but she is also giving away one for absolutely FREE!  How great is that?!  Woohoo  

Click on the link below to share in her experience with the mat and enter for a chance to win your own, for FREE!  Everything's better when its FREE! lol

Enter to Win a FREE Acupressure Mat: Heavenly Acupressure Mat Review and Giveaway!

-beep beep- Coming Through!

Most people who know me professionally will tell you that I am always busy and rarely find myself with very much downtime. Those who know me personally know that I struggle with fatigue. I think that is one of the Fibro symptoms that is the hardest for me to navigate around. Before I started seeing my current PCP (Primary Care Physician) I was going to a doctor more focused on holistic treatment. He suggested that I experiment taking Coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10. At the time, I didn’t try them because I had other things going on that I felt would make it hard to judge if they worked or not. 


 About three weeks ago, I touched base with my current Physician- she said she did not feel the supplement would take anything away from my current treatment plans. So I picked up a bottle of CoQ10 liquid caps and thought I would give them a whirl. 

While filling my pill boxes for the week, I added one 100mg CoQ10 pill to each of my morning doses. I could tell a difference almost immediately! Within 30-40 minutes of taking the pill I began to feel more awake and within an additional hour I had more energy than I have had in several days. It was as though I had drunk one of those 5 hour Energy Shot drinks again – except I didn’t crash (mentally) afterwards at all and I didn't talk four-hundred words a minute either! lol  I did, however, get very hungry several hours after taking the supplement. Over the last three weeks I have learned that if I eat a good breakfast before taking the CoQ10 I don’t get hungry after.

For me, taking CoQ10 works. I can feel the energy boost for a while too, if I start to pick up my activity later on in the afternoon I can feel that energy surge slowly filtering through my body. I’m kind of kicking myself for not trying it earlier.

As with anything else discussed on this blog, please touch base with your Doctor or Health Provider before altering your routine, medications, etc.

Sickie Challenge: Fibro Friendliness in Nine Products

Thank you Monique for developing the 10 Day Sickie Challenge! For more information on how you too can take part in this experience, get more information here.

Nine Products that Make my Life Fibro-Friendly

1. Handheld showerhead – for days that I need a hot water massage on my back or am too sore to bend very much.  I love how independent I feel using the hand held, even on bad pain days.

2. Crest Spin brush – for days my shoulders/hands/back hurts too bad to brush my teeth on my own.

3. Easy Feet foot scrubber/massager – This feels amazing no matter how I’m feeling! Sitting on the side of the tub, this dandy little thing scrubs my feet from tiptoes to the back of my heel.  Absolutely worth more than the $10 that it sells for!!

4. Blackberry / Google Calendar – Not only does this keep up with work deadlines, family birth dates, and my schedule, it also keeps me in contact with my coworkers, family, and friends via text messages, twitter, facebook, email, etc. I feel totally lost without my blackberry.

5. Icy Hot Spray and Banana Boat's Spray on Sunscreen – Thank God for these inventions!  I am single, so I don't have the helpful hands of a spouse at my disposal when it comes to either putting on soothing muscle rub on my aches and pains, or even protecting my skin in those places pain will not let me reach with sunblock.  While some say aresol sprays are bad for the environment, they are a welcomed assistance in my world.  

6. Canvas Tote Bags for groceries – Find out more here

7. Facial Wipes – I try to be as skin-health conscious as possible, which includes not going to sleep with a dirty face. This wipes are a blessing! Even on bad days, I can save some pain by cleaning my face with a wipe.

8. Electric Blanket – I’m a good sized girl, tall and curvy. So an average heating pad will not cut it during muscle spasms that last all night long. I have discovered that an electric blanket is an excellent alternative!

9. Post it Notes – Fibro fog anyone? These little miracles save my life at work! This may not be a product I use at home very often but from grocery lists to reminding me to stop by the bank, they are amazing!

Cooking with Sheryl Crow!

A big special thank you to Ashley for hosting a wonderful contest to win Sheryl Crow's new cookbook "If It Makes you Healthy".  And I'm so excited to announce that I won! 


This silver lining could not have came at a better time!  This week has been flare-up central and the fogginess and cramps had become overwhelming.  I cannot thank you enough Ashley!


I can't wait to get cookin'!


PS Check out Ashley on twitter! 

Getting A Fibro Friendly Makeover

In the earlier part of February, Extreme Home Makeover came to the Chattanooga Tennessee area to grant the wish of a local family who were in desperate need of a new house! The family selected truly needed the home makeover; the son is adorable and so upbeat – despite having extremely fragile bones. Traffic on that side of the city came to a screeching halt as the entire city and surrounding areas were abuzz with the opportunity to help this deserving family.

This got me thinking... if I could give myself a complete home makeover (with unlimited funds), what I would request to make my house fibro-friendly? At first I wanted to suggest things I always wanted: Olympic sized indoor heated swimming pool, a gazebo under a big shade tree with tons of bird feeders, a domestic staff to allow me to rest, a beautiful lush backyard for Molly to run openly and wildly in, and of course a hunky yard guy to tend to the outdoors. But then I got to thinking about what I truly needed, that would help with my most frustrating symptoms.

 Here is what I came up with:

1. A larger bath tub with a hand railing so that I could take a hot bath and long soak on days I need it. 
2. A very powerful air conditioning unit that also has the ability to heat. 
3. One room in the house with sound proof walls, so outside noise is blocked out, dark curtains to keep the light out, and a small fridge of my favorite beverages.  I would also want the phone extension in the room to light up instead of ring so if I'm asleep I'm not disturbed. 
4. A doggy door that leads into a large fenced in back yard so that my babies can go in and out as they need to and please without me having to carry them back and forth on bad days.  
5. A roomy kitchen with a fridge that has an ice maker, a bottom shelf freezer, and a microwave that is on the counter and not overhead.
6. A large heated indoor pool for when I need to stretch and work my muscles out, water therapy is the best way (and most fun) to accomplish it safely.  

As I have been thinking about this, I began to realize the adaptations I have made to my current house to make things more fibro-friendly.

1. We have a rolly (office) chair in the kitchen that makes it easier to do everything from dishes to preparing food while in pain. I cant stand for long periods on bad days, and thanks to the smooth floor and rolly chair, now I don’t have to.  
2. I have blankets hung up over my windows in the bedroom to block out the chill of the night and the brightness of the sun.   
3. I have a back scratcher that allows me to either scratch an itch, or brush the cool bamboo over a part of my back that is alive with nerves.  I can also put a sock on the end or wrap paper towels around the end to apply lotion. 
4. I am addicted to Icy Hot in the spray can, it soothes sore muscles without stretching me out too much trying to apply the cream.  For large muscle aches, the patch works too 
5. I use an electric blanket as a full body sized heating pad.
6. I have small red wagon outside, to help get groceries and supplies in the house when I’m not able to do a lot of lifting/carrying.

I am truly blessed because my employer has also given me tools to help me continue to do my job, no matter what my health brings. I am granted the honor of working from home on days I am unable to go into the office. I am so very thankful for that.

So all in all, I didn't really need an Extreme Home Makeover, I just needed A Perspective Makeover :)

Here are a few things that make my life a little more fibro-friendly: 

• HON Height-Adjustable T-Arms for Volt Series Task Chair, Black
• 17.5" Bamboo Back Scratcher Backscratcher
• Icy Hot Medicated Pain Relief Spray 4 fl oz (118 ml)
• Icy Hot Medicated Patch, Extra Strength, XL Back & Large Areas, 3 Patches (Pack of 2)
• Sunbeam Full Imperial Nights Electric Heated Warming Heating Blanket Marine Blue
• Radio Flyer Classic Red Wagon
• DII Natural Canvas Grocery Bag, Set of 3

Five Hour Energy

 I have a few people at work that have been talking about the 5 Hour Energy Drinks and how much they help.  


11a.  This morning started off to be a fairly good morning, low pain but also moderate level of energy.  I knew I had a lot to do at work today and things to do after work so I thought I would give the 5 Hour Energy Drinks a shot.  So at 11.25a this morning, I drank a grape one.  


12p.  The taste was semi-nasty, yes, and it took a few seconds to really get it down.  But within fifteen minutes I could definitely feel a pick-me-up.  and by noon I was talking non-stop!  


3.47p.  I have had a great day, I feel good, I have energy, I am talking a lot and laughing like I haven't in a long time.  As of this moment, I would definitely recommend this for those days of absolutely no energy when you need to get things done.  I am strongly considering making another purchase (or two) so I will be prepared for days of low energy.  I am very curious about how I will begin to feel as the drink wears off.  I wonder if I will be very tired, if I will be sore, or if I will just slowly run out of juice.


5.40p.  The drink has definitely worn off, I don't feel any different than I felt this morning before drinking it.  I feel as though I have been more productive which gives me a good feeling, but I am starting to get tired. 


10.30p.  I'm exhausted, but still feel that I was productive today.  Nothing really feels out of the ordinary. 


There was no crash, no dropping of mood or focus, just a slow decline in energy.  Before I knew it, I was talking at normal speed and thinking about a nap.  Just like I would be around that time of the day anyway. :)