Happy New Year

As another year ends and we prepare to begin anew, let’s leave the bad stuff in the past. Face the future with a brand new optimism. Let old grievances go. 

If we can do that it will make everything brighter. I know sometimes things pop up to remind you why you have those bad feelings, but accept them and then let it go again. Like you do with pesky thoughts that intrude during meditation. 

I know I’ve said this before, but I say the Serenity Prayer in my head to remind me that I cannot change everything. It’s my mantra. 

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to accept the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference. 

I will find myself using this many times, because my brain will keep bringing up things, but I am doing my best to forgive and forget. 

I’ll focus on the people, animals, things and places that make me happy. I won’t let those other things take up residence in my head for more than a fleeting thought. 

2019 looks brighter to me and 2018 was pretty awesome. We took new adventures and will be embarking on a new journey in the spring. I will continue to find the strength within me to fight my body and head so I can enjoy my greatest adventures yet to come.

I am so lucky to have Ralph in my life. He loves me, and is beginning to understand the nature of Ménière’s Disease. We are planning many great adventures!

I hope the New Year is a happy one for you and I hope you are spin free.

Love, Peace and Light! Rita

Resolutions

This year is almost over and I am looking forward to the new year. 2019 has unlimited possibilities. While I don’t make resolutions, I do try to do things to give me peace. I wish I could say that I’m always successful, but I fail miserably.

So keeping my goal in mind I am doing my best to try to let things go. I wish I could forget, but my brain doesn’t allow me to. So I will try to let it go and forgive when applicable. Which means I am not going to discuss the past. Though I may vent about new things.

I am eating healthier out of necessity. Without the added stress of becoming ill when I eat, it’s worth it. Food allergies are no joke. My main ones are wheat and cows milk. I discovered that Yard House has a gluten free menu. It made it easier to figure out what I could eat. Don’t be afraid to make modifications to menu selections so you don’t get sick. I am lucky that my allergies just made me puke and gave me a different type of vertigo than the Ménière’s. If I accidentally ingest something I won’t die from it, but it’s still not good to be sick after eating.

As a result of eating healthier, I am losing weight. This will help with my overall well-being.  In order to help improve my balance, Ralph bought me a Simply Fit Board. This will help me get into shape as well. I want to do yoga too, but am not good at doing it on my own. 

I meditate to help me find my inner peace. It is always helpful when I follow through on it. Church has been helping by having a meditation time at the beginning of mass. And I am starting to explore my spiritual side through prayer. This should help with my letting things go.

Most of all I smile often, because even when I’m down it helps me and those around me to feel better. If I can make one person’s day by smiling then it’s worth it.

Like I said I am not always successful, but I try. I always try to be mindful and live in the moment. Do you have any New Years Resoulutions? How are you at sticking to them? 

I hope you are spin free. 

Love, Peace and Light! Rita

Procrastination

I have written about this topic before. Right now I am still in bed. I need to get up and start laundry, but I am procrastinating. At lest I shouldn’t have troubles bringing the basket downstairs this week. Last week or was it the week before, I was serious off balance and dizzy and it took all my will power and a bit of help from Ralph to get it to the laundry room. Yes, I am stubborn.

We have gotten a tree yet, but I was digging through my decorations and found my Santa hat yesterday! I’d forgotten I bought it on clearance last year after Christmas. Yes I was still in my nightgown. I’d only come downstairs because Ralph made breakfast. 

I am a big procrastinator.., I have been forever. Even a college professor (Daniel Keyes) said I’d be a better writer if I stopped putting it off until the last second. Oh my did I just name drop? It was an honor to learn from a man whose book was required high school reading. 

Oh and I get easily distracted by shiny things, which makes me procrastinate more. I am even getting distracted as I write this as you can see by my reference to the book. 

I have lots to do today, but not out of the house. It’s easier to get distracted at home than anywhere else. That’s why I often went out to write before. Yes, I was still distracted by people and things when I was out, but not as much. 

Do you procrastinate? Have you been able to overcome this habit? Let me know. 

I hope you are spin free!

Love, Peace and Light! Rita

What’s Happening?

I have been a bit quiet lately. The holidays are especially difficult for me, since my second husband died on December 20, 2012. It seems grief blocks my writing processes.

I still haven’t began writing like I used too. The words come when I sit down, but don’t drive me crazy like they used too. Yes, I heard the voices of my characters all the time clamoring for attention on the page. I had to write daily. 

The depression or grief is an ever present fiend that insinuates itself into my life. It makes me cry for no reason. I find meanings in songs I never guessed before. Like Of Monsters and Men’s song Little Talks. It made me burst out into tears one day as I realized he was dead. 

A commercial about a porcupine who was lonely... Tears flowed when his friends got him packing peanuts for his quills. Imagine what those old AT&T commercials would do to me today. 

Plus I was dealing with vertigo attacks. Not my usual  full blown attacks, but short spins multiple times a day. They were coming without warning. All my attacks do, but these were worse because of the randomness. 

Now that my ENT put me on a water pill the mini spins are almost nonexistent. I still get dizzy and off balance and the tinnitus never shuts up. And the middle of last week my hearing dropped out for a couple of hours. That was scary. Thankfully it came back. 

I got new glasses on Friday. I was so excited and happy to be able to drive myself to pick them up. Then I try them on. Suddenly the walls start going all wavy on me. The technician said it takes time to adjust to progressive lenses. I can use them some days better than others. It hasn’t been a week yet, but the days I use them is awesome, because my eyes don’t go blurry in the evening. 

I have been keeping busy. It keeps me from sinking further into a depression. We went to Big Dogs for their Christmas party. We danced and laughed. Ralph entered an Ugly Sweater Contest, but didn’t win. The little old lady with the light up sweater won! 

We’ll be going to a VGK game this week. I’ll be meeting friends beforehand and Ralph will join us when he gets off work. 

Cheers to you! I hope your days are merry and bright! And spin free!

Love, Peace and Light! Rita

Progressive Lense Glasses/Water Pills

I picked up my new glasses yesterday. I was so excited because they are progressive lenses and I would be able to see all the time. So I put them on in the shop and move my head. The walls and whatever I looked at became wavy. My stomach was a bit nauseous.

The technician told me that they can take some time to adjust to and to just try them for a bit. “Oh and by the way don’t wear them to drive until you’ve adjusted.” I can return them sometime within 30 days if I cannot handle them.

The technician also told me that some people with Vestibular issues never get used to them. I hope I can, because I love them and don’t want to switch glasses for reading and driving. Oh and they are blue light filtering with just the barest hint of yellow. This will help with lights. I have been wearing a pair of blue light filtering glasses over my regular glasses or by themselves if I’m not driving.

I wore my new glasses from the time I returned home until I went to bed. I must say that except the wavy walls & such I can see everything clearer including my phone and no eye strain from using my phone. So if I can continue to wear them all the time, I’ll definitely love them. 

I just don’t need the added stress of walls moving because of my glasses. I get enough of that from my own eyes/ears/brain without adding to it. Fortunately, I am able to recognize that this new motion isn’t caused by something internal, so it didn’t trigger anxiety which causes more issues with my inner ear. 

I won’t do bifocals, because I can’t get the UV filters. So, I will ultimately get 2 pairs of glasses if I cannot get used to the progressive lenses. 

I know it seems silly to be excited about wearing glasses all my waking hours, but I love being able to see clearly even at night when my eyes are tired. 

I almost forgot to mention the ENT put me on a diuretic. After a few shaky days, I finally was spin free yesterday and so far today. I don’t know if it’s just a good day or if the water pill is working. I hope it’s working so I can have more good days. 

It’s so difficult to find something that works for the Ménière’s.  We are trying the basic thing all ENT’s try with their patients. I tried one when I was first diagnosed, but got so sick that I had to stop. 

This time I have more information and will be getting regular blood tests to check my electrolytes. So, I am hopeful that it will work for me. I know it’s not a cure and that I will still have bad days, but I am hoping for more good days than bad. If I can get that, it will be a win. 

Wish me luck and I hope you are spin free!

Love, Peace and Light! Rita

Good Days & Bad Days

I’ve had my fair share of bad days. I am lucky to have more good days than bad days. There are days I can fake it. And there are days I cannot even get out of bed. Really there has only been one day since December of last year that I couldn’t get out of bed. See I am lucky. When this first began for me that was a weekly thing. 

Today is a bad day. Yet I am up and getting ready to fake it until I make it. My ear & throat hurts which may be contributing to my dizziness. I have a chicken to take to the strip. Meet Henrietta Henigan. She’s getting ready to make a journey around the world. I am looking forward to hearing about her adventures. 

It’s things like this that get me out of bed. Without my support group, I am not sure I’d be handling the return of my Ménière’s. Also, I may not have recognized that I may have other stuff going on too. 

Plus they make me laugh. It takes a special group of people to make me laugh. My sense of humor is a bit warped. 

I look forward to the good days and enjoy them more. I survive the really bad days and fake the rest. And I do it with a smile on my face. 

Smiling makes it easier to cope. I hope you are spin free!

Love, Peace and Light! Rita

The Healing Properties of Water

Water is good for us. Our bodies are made up of mostly water. Pink bags of water if you watched Enterprise. 60% water -I believe!

I drink mostly water. I find it helps with many of my problems. It reduces fluid in my ears, it helps with inflammation and soothes my thirst. 

When I took a boot camp exercise class, my body ached everywhere and I could barely walk, so I took a bath. Oh the relief I got from soaking in the tub was tremendous! 

So now when I overdo, which is easy, because I am out of shape. Also, with the fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis I get sore easily... so baths help restore me. 

The next time your muscles ache, instead of reaching for pain killers or a rub, try a bath, a pool, the ocean, a hot tub... It may help you. I know it helps me.