Here’s the view down the lane from me this morning – I took a chilly walk with Kimi. Snow is coming in a
little while. I did all the things I should this morning, stretched, meditated, ate a light healthy breakfast, took my supplements and meds, stayed calm. Planned my day, did some work, took a walk. A morning of living healthy. (Go ahead, give me a gold star!) I’ll do that a few times and then I’ll think I don’t have to any more. Anyone else out there like me?
I’ve been thinking about what it takes to live healthy. Like everyone, I’ve been secretly hoping for the magic pill. Where do we get that fantasy from? Is it from fairy tales, a constant wish for the magic wand that banishes all ills, or the knight on the white horse to take us away, or is it pharmaceutical commercials (potential side-effects include loss of common sense, temporary irresponsibility…)?
But wouldn’t it be nice? Just give me the magic pill (once, mind you, I’m not interested in something I have to do every day, or refill prescriptions for, or pay co-pays ad nauseum…) and then I can live like everybody else.
Oh, like everybody else, huh? What does my fantasy mean by that? Hmm well I imagine everybody else can stay up as late as they want, as often as they want. They can eat sugar without getting hooked on it. They can drink coffee without revving their systems up so much they get migraines. They can live without exercise. They can drink alcohol. They can be around cigarette smoke. They stay calm cool and collected. They certainly never ever have to meditate, or breathe deep, or stretch. They don’t have to go to the chiropractor every two weeks, they never need a nap, they have abundant energy all day, their houses are tidy and clean… How much of the human race have I eliminated by now? I guess there may be one or two paragons like this somewhere, but I know I haven’t met many! Funny thing is, to live healthy with my conditions, mostly I have to do what common wisdom and the medical profession tells us we all need to be doing. The main difference seems to be: for those of us with chronic illness, the breakdown comes faster. We don’t have to wait 30 years for the heart attack – we get the migraine attack right now!
Living healthy with migraine disease, and chronic fatigue, and a chronic sinus condition, seasonal allergies, allergies to pain meds, and irritable bowel syndrome, hypothyroidism, periodic anxiety and depression, looks like this for me:
1) regular and sufficient sleep
2) a diet high in fiber, organic foods, fruits and vegetables, and low in dairy, refined sugar and flour and food additives
3) vitamins, minerals and nutritional supplements
4) thyroid supplements
5) natural, bio-identical hormone replacement therapy
6) antihistamines
7) a humidified house
8) flushing my sinuses with a neti pot a couple of times a week
9) triptans for migraine attacks
10) daily stretching
11) daily meditation and relaxation practice
12) journaling
13) keeping a detailed wellness diary
14) regular exercise – at least 5 times a week
15) chiropractic visits every other week
16) a life coach to help me stay on track
17) keeping in touch with my medical team about what’s working, what’s changing, what’s next
18) keeping a regular work schedule and managing my time and projects to keep my anxiety level low
19) other stuff I can’t think of at the moment…
If I do all this, I am less likely to get a migraine. I am less likely to catch every cold that comes down the pike and turn it into a sinus infection. I am unlikely to have an ibs flare-up and I don’t fatigue easily and I feel serene… and then I think I’m cured. I think somewhere in all that was a magic pill and I can have a great big cup of coffee with a cheese danish and stay up half the night and work without breaks… until the migraine slams me down again.
Or even worse, I get sick anyway, even though I did everything right, or nearly everything right, and then I think, what’s the use of working so hard to stay healthy?
So, here’s my commitment: One day at a time, I will live healthy. I will do it for the rest of 
today. Tomorrow all bets are off… (just kidding!)
Oh, it just started snowing!
Live well and prosper!
pill image courtesy of [O*] 'BharaT
checklist courtesy of Jon-Eric Melsaeter
snowflakes courtesy of Lin Pernille
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oh, don't even get me started. wait, you did! I can't do half the stuff you mentioned. not to mention the drugs; allergic to triptans, and too many others to mention.
I love the sttement; "loss of common-sense and temporary irresponsibility" LOL. totally relate.
you did; however, forget to mention the incredible side effects of, sorry, hard as rock poo from the meds!
Posted by: deborah | January 25, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Sounds like a full-time job, doesn't it? No, I didn't go into side-effects - that's another post for another time... we've got sensitive systems, then we get these strong drugs and we're sensitive to them - well, duh!
- megs
Posted by: Megan Oltman | January 25, 2008 at 02:13 PM