Thursday, January 7, 2010

In 2010...

...I will continue to work on the things I'm always working on: Patience, patience, patience. Less time on the computer. More time in the gym. Cleaner house. Blah Blah Blah.

Top Two Goals:

I want to accomplish getting a handle on our food budget (Despite popular belief, I don't buy all organic. Organic food is not what's killing the budget. Nor is cereal, juice, granola bars, fruit snacks, candy bars, chips, crackers, cookies, ice cream, soda, bottled water, bread, etc). We spend too much money on food and I know that some of it is because I don't meal plan well. I decide the day of or two days before and end up spending more due to the lack of planning ahead. Meal plan. Meal Plan.

Secondly, I have to find a way to get the anxiety I have about my Meniere's Disease under control. Nearly every second of every waking hour, it's on my mind. I worry about when my next attack or flare up could be. Or, if I'm flared up, how long it's going to last. I wonder how much hearing I'll eventually lose. I wonder if I'll eventually struggle with daily vertigo and, possibly, lose my drivers license. I wonder how this could eventually effect my kids (I don't want to be the "sick" mom). I wonder if I'll ever get one ear ringing-free day. Just one damn day-is that too much to ask? The answer rings in my head all the time: NO!!! I don't have a silent world. Ever. I'm really angry about that. The problem with Meniere's is that stress elevates symptoms, spurs attacks and progression of the disease. When I was diagnosed, I was told this, "You can't have any stress in your life. Ever. It will progress the disease."

Husband in the military, deploying for a year (or more) at a time, moving every three years. Two kids. Yup. No stress here.

So, aside from exercise (read: stress reliever), I have to find another way to get it off my mind. It's a hard thing to do because I always have symptoms. I never have a symptom-free day. So, I'm constantly reminded. Since I don't look sick, I think it's hard for people get it. And, if you can't see it, you kinda just want the person with the problem to shut up already. I know there are several things I can do. I may turn to a therapist who deals, very specifically, with chronically ill patients. I know that I'm not alone in this. A lot of patients get regular acupuncture and weekly massage therapy. That's not going to fit into our current budget. But, I have to do something because it's affecting my quality of life. I should be enjoying all the good days I do have instead of worrying about what could happen...

Other than that, I'm hoping we have a healthy year (Meniere's-managment aside) and have a smooth move to wherever the Army sends us this summer!

4 comments:

Angie said...

A stress free life does not exist, so not great advice to not have stress, huh? I'm sorry that you are dealing with this. I hope that you have great improvements in this year.

brenda said...

I meal plan...and use a grocery list that can be found at www.grocerylists.org. I find that if I plan a two week menu and only stop for milk and fresh veggies on week two, I save around $300 per month. Try this for one month and tell me if it helps.

The Dunns said...

Great goals! I recently started using E-mealz (http://e-mealz.com) for my meal planning. It has totally taken the hassle out of my weekly meal planning. Each week, I download a meal plan for the week's dinners, complete with an itemized shopping list! I just add my extras to the list (cereal, TP...) and take the whole thing to the store with me. Piece of cake! They used a lot of packaged items, but it's super easy to convert to homemade (make homemade pizza dough instead of store bought). The meals are creative and varied. I still try to make one or two of our "favorites" each week, but this is so much easier.

Katie said...

I really hope you can find a therapist who might help you cope with the chronic illness. It sounds horrendous....

And if you figure out how to cut the grocery budget, let me know. Ours is out of control and I think it is because I love to eat.