A Young Wife's Tale » Swimming http://youngwifestale.com/blog Hand me another Diet Coke. Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:46:17 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 I Was Right or David is Staying Gluten Free http://youngwifestale.com/blog/homemaking/i-was-right-or-david-is-staying-gluten-free/ http://youngwifestale.com/blog/homemaking/i-was-right-or-david-is-staying-gluten-free/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:32:21 +0000 Young Wife http://youngwifestale.com/blog/?p=1910

I was right. I knew it.

David got sick after eating pizza Wednesday. Whether it’s a gluten allergy or Celiac Disease, we don’t know, and we won’t be finding out until we get better health insurance.

David is doing pretty well. He’s continuing to lose weight, and he’s gone from swimming at the gym for 15-20 minutes at a time to 30-40 minutes.

It’s hard to know whether it’s the gluten free diet or the Humira starting to work that’s making him feel better. Whatever it is, we’ll take it!

David has two interviews next week, so keep him in your prayers.

Love,
A Young Wife

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]]> http://youngwifestale.com/blog/homemaking/i-was-right-or-david-is-staying-gluten-free/feed/ 7 Acupuncture or Relief! http://youngwifestale.com/blog/chronicillness/arthritis-blogpost/acupuncture-or-relief/ http://youngwifestale.com/blog/chronicillness/arthritis-blogpost/acupuncture-or-relief/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:40:55 +0000 Young Wife http://youngwifestale.com/blog/?p=1062

David went to an acupuncturist for the first time Saturday. No one in our area could recommend a good acupuncturist, but several people recommended it for pain management. I just happened to walk by an acupuncture clinic last week. I went inside and got a little information.

A chiropractor (not our regular chiropractor) had mentioned that she prefers the traditional, Eastern medicine acupuncturists. This man was definitely that. English is not his first language. Chinese magazines covered one of the counters. There were dozens of jars of herbs all along one wall.

He told us he was 72, but we thought he was in his fifties. He showed us his driver’s license. He’s really 72. We thought that was a good sign. He must be pretty healthy to look that good at 72!

The treatment took a lot longer than we anticipated. They don’t just stick the needles in your back and take them out. The acupuncturist left them in for about forty minutes.

Oh, there was one thing I thought was very interesting. He had me watch as he put the first two needles in. It wasn’t just a needle he picked up and placed in David’s back. It was in a little plastic tube or sheath, and the part of the needle stuck out of the top of the tube. He put the tube on David’s skin, and then gently tapped the needle down. David said it didn’t hurt. There were a few uncomfortable moments but not what you’d call painful.

While David was lying on the table, the acupuncturist came out to the waiting room and told me, “I’ve never treated anyone this bad!” This man has been practicing acupuncture for 47 years. Yikes!

After the treatment, the acupuncturist had David walk around the office for about ten minutes. David said his lower back and neck felt pretty good.

Let me explain how huge this is. David loves being adjusted by our chiropractor. But he has never ever, after any treatment for his arthritis, whether medication or massage or whatever, said that any part of his spine felt pretty good.

The acupuncturist warned David that the effects would wear off, and they did. However, a few hours of relief was incredible. David’s going to go as often as he has the time and money. The acupuncturist thinks that over the course of several treatments, David’s chronic pain will decrease significantly.

He was also very pleased to hear that David is swimming. He told David the same things our chiropractor (and all the regular doctors) have been saying: eat lots of fruits and vegetables, nothing fried and limit your meat consumption.

If we could afford to buy the acupuncturist’s supplements we would. It is such a blessing for David to finally get some relief. I think we’d stand on our heads if he told us it would help!

Praise the Lord for David’s success with acupuncture!

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]]> http://youngwifestale.com/blog/chronicillness/arthritis-blogpost/acupuncture-or-relief/feed/ 6 Status Update http://youngwifestale.com/blog/ayoungwifestale/status-update/ http://youngwifestale.com/blog/ayoungwifestale/status-update/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:22:29 +0000 Young Wife http://youngwifestale.com/blog/?p=1041

Our house is off the market! David and I wish it would have sold, but we’re just so thankful not to have to keep the house staged all the times. Our realtor asked if we wanted to keep it on the market for another month since the first time homebuyers’ tax incentive expires in December. We said no. It’s been on the market since March. It’s been a long six months keeping the house super clean all the time.

A little side note: I bought a bunch of pumpkins and have them decorating our kitchen and dining room. They look so cute against the black and white in the kitchen and the blue in the dining room. Now I’m thinking those cute pumpkins could have sold the house! I’ll take pictures in the daylight and post them.

We’re not really sure what we should do now. We need a one story house so David doesn’t have to climb the stairs. But now that he’s started taking Humira, maybe in a few months he’ll be in remission. Or, in a few months we’ll have a cold snap and David’s Psoriatic Arthritis will flare and he’ll be bedridden and I’ll be calling the realtor saying, “Get me out of this house!” We could rent the house out. We’ll see. For now we’re just enjoying our house again.

The Humira hasn’t started working yet. It could take up to six months, but I’m hoping and praying for David’s arthritis to be in remission by Thanksgiving. David just got a gym membership so he can continue swimming this winter in an indoor, heated pool. Soaking in the gym’s hot tub is also very nice!

Thank you all for reading and praying for us!

Love,
A Young Wife

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]]> http://youngwifestale.com/blog/ayoungwifestale/status-update/feed/ 3 How you can help David http://youngwifestale.com/blog/chronicillness/arthritis-blogpost/how-you-can-help-david/ http://youngwifestale.com/blog/chronicillness/arthritis-blogpost/how-you-can-help-david/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:07:25 +0000 Young Wife http://youngwifestale.com/blog/?p=400

Okay, I have totally been inspired by Lisa J. Copen’s new book, Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend. I highly encourage you to read it. Even I got some great ideas and tips!

So, here’s a list of things you can do specifically for David’s situation.

  1. Play video games with him. It’s David’s favorite thing to do.
  2. Invite him over to your house to play video games or come over to our house and play games with him. XBox Live is great, but actually sitting next to someone, sharing a bowl of popcorn is so much better.
  3. If you’re like me and you don’t like video games, play board games or cards with David.
  4. If you hear of something going on in our area that doesn’t involve walking or sitting for too long, tell him about it. It’s hard for us to find things we can do.
  5. Swim with him. Swimming is the easiest exercise for his joints. Take him to your gym on a day pass. Then he can soak in the hot tub afterwards which eases the pain a little.
  6. Send him a card to let him know you’re praying for him.
  7. Wash and/or vacuum out his car.
  8. This is really more for me, but on the days he goes to the doctor, we spend an hour or more in the car and about four hours in the doctor’s office. Bringing us a healthy dinner would be much appreciated.
  9. Another one for me. If you have a great vegetarian recipe that even meat lovers like, send it to me. David is supposed to limit his animal protein consumption.
  10. Pray for him every time the weather changes.
  11. When David has a flare up, call him and ask if you can stop by and see him.
  12. If you come to our house (and you feel comfortable doing this) ask David if you can use the back massager on him. David’s parents bought him this great massager that he likes, but it’s on the heavy side and I can’t use it on him for very long.
  13. Ask David if you can trim our trees or do some other project around the house.
  14. When we sell our house, help us move.
  15. Buy him a giant bag of Epsom Salts. He soaks in a hot bath with Epsom Salts at least twice a day. We’re constantly running out.

Love,

A Young Wife

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