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1000 Rep Challenge

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Last Monday night our workout was a 1000 rep challenge.  It is a timed workout (not quite sure how much time).  You compete against yourself to complete.  I completed 7 rounds or 700 exercises.  Not too bad since I couldn’t do the jumping jacks (my knee is bothering me) – so I did butt kicks (instead of 10 I did 20 to make sure it was even).  I know that cost me some time.  🙂

The workout is below – it is one you can do when traveling – just need weights from the hotel gym (and if you don’t have access to weights you can substitute other other exercises).  Enjoy!

  • 10 each Mountain Climbers
  • 10 Plie with Calf Raise
  • 10 Jumping Jacks
  • 5 each Supermans
  • 10 Deadlifts
  • 5 each small band tricep (make sure tight to your arm or you could end up launching it like a rubber band – that is what I did). 🙂
  • 10 rocking plank
  • 10 chest flyes
  • 10 glute bridges
  • 10 bent over rows

Experimenting with Protein Powder

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

For the past few years, I’ve been using Prograde Protein Powder (Vanilla) for my pre workout snack.  I rarely use it as a meal repleacement.  Imagine my surprise and disappointment to find they are using soy lecithin – I try to steer clear of soy – so I now have two containers of this protein mix that are moved to th ‘back shelf’.  Part of my disapointment in finding this out has to to do with the fact that it tastes pretty good and really doesn’t have any other ‘crap or fillers’ in their protein mix.  I just sent them an email asking how much soy is truly in it, why and do they plan to remove (sent over the weekend and haven’t heard back yet).  This protein mix is gluten and GMO free – two important things to me.

Since my go to Protein powder is taking a backseat – now off to find some others to try.  I decided to try a plant-based protein mix to see if I could tolerate the taste and if it would help me with my workouts (in the past I’ve not been a fan of plant-based protein mixes).  The one that was recommended to me as being very good – both for my body and great tasting was Sun Warrior – Warrior Blend – Raw Protein – I opted for the chocolate.  This mix is gluten, soy and dairy free and non-GMO.  My standard pre workout shake is really easy – 4 ozs Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Almond Milk, 4 ozs of water and a scoop of protein mix – put all in a shaker bottle and mix it up.  Well to say I didn’t like it is an understatement – blah.  However, I found a fix – adding a tablespoon of Trader Joe’s Organic Peanut Butter – throwing it all in my vitamx and I’m able to drink it.   I’ve been given a sample of the vanilla to try and I will get around to it to see if that makes a difference (as I do believe sometimes the chocolate is what I’m having an issue with).  I feel pretty good during my workouts too.

Since I wasn’t satisfied with the plant-based protein, I really wanted to find an organic whey protein powder to see if I could find something that works for me.  You really have to do your research – the first one I found (and was planning to order) – the company was sued in a class action lawsuit becauce some of their labeling (aka marketing wasn’t true).  Here are the two I ended up buying since they both received very favorable reviews – both are organic, soy and gluten free – one is raw (meaning the whey isn’t cooked at high temperatures.)  Raw Orgnic Whey has 20 grams of protein and The Organic Whey only has 15 grams of protein.  These protein mixes require other ingredients though which is a bit of a let-down.

I started with the Raw Organic Whey with 4 tbsps of protein, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tbsp raw cacao powder (mayan superfood), 4 ozs almond milk and 4 ozs of water – put it all in the vitamix – blend it all up – tasted it – wasn’t sweet enough so I added 5 drops of sweet leaf stevia.  It tasted pretty good and I had good energy with my workout (still a bit of blah – again I think it might be the cacao).

Nutritional Information (using 4 oz water and 4 oz unsweetened almond milk):

Prograde (vanilla) (I’ve only ever used 1 scoop – it calls for two) Protein Shake:  Total Calories:    87.5  Protein:  12.5g     Sugar:  .5.  If you use the 2 full scoops:  Total Calories:  152.5  Protein:  24.5g  Sugar:  1g.  Note:  Protein Powder Calories Only:  130 (2 scoops)

SunWarrior (Chocolate) Protein Shake:  Total Calories:  201.5   Protein:   20.5   Sugar:  1.4 g   Note:  Protein Powder Calories Only:  84 (1 scoop)

Organic Whey (with ingredients mentioned above) Protein Shake:  Total Calories:  275  Protein:  27.5g   Sugar:  2.5 (this probably could be a meal replacement with a salad) – you can cut about 30 calories by only using 1 TBSP of the Cacao.  This is high to me for a pre workout snack so I’m going to have to work at modifying – maybe use a vanilla stevia and remove the cacao and peanut butter.  Note:  Protein Powder Calories Only:  97.5 (5 TBSPs)

The Organic Whey (with same ingredients as Organic Whey) Protein Shake:  Total Calories:  259.5;  Protein:  20.5g;  Sugar:  1.5 g (this probably could be a meal replacement with a salad) – you can cut about 30 calories by only using 1 TBSP of the Cacao.  This is high to me for a pre workout snack so I’m going to have to work at modifying – maybe use a vanilla stevia and remove the cacao and peanut butter.  NOTE:  I haven’t tried this one yet.  Protein Powder Calorie only:  82 (4 TBSPs)

I hadn’t really done the calorie count on this pre workout shakes until this post – imagine my surprise how high the calories were on the organic whey shakes (one I’ve made; one I’ve not).  Like I mentioned – I need to look into stevia flavors to cut about 155 calories.

I think for my pre workout protein shake I will be sticking with the Sun Warrior protein since I’m not looking for a meal replacement (until I can perfect the organic whey to be lower in calories – I’m not giving up on it).  I will definately be using the organic whey when I need to make a protein shake for breakfast – Cinnamon Roll Smoothier – YUM!

And I’m not giving up on Prograde either – It is great for travel as I don’t need to have any additives – plus it is GMO free – which means even if it has soy – it is GMO free (I will make my final decision once I hear back from them).

Looks like I’ll have another post about protein powder / shakes very soon as I continue my experiments.

PS:  I do have to say I love the fact that with the Organic Whey protein powders – I know the name of all the ingredients – both ‘Organic Whey Protein – 80% concentrate’  And I’m in control of all the ingredients for those shakes so again that makes me happy!

FIG – Vodka, Sauce, Salad, App…

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

So what made you click on this post today?  Was it the thought of Fig Vodka, a Sauce, Salad or an App?

I really enjoy figs – my Dad has some really great recipes – one is an appetizer with a balsamic reduction – note to self – get recipe.  I have FIG(s) on the brain today.

A friend shared with me a new vodka – it is Figenza Vodka – I’m looking forward to trying the Fig Mojito – 3 ozs of Fig Vodka, 2 ozs of Club Soda, muddled mint and lime (this is their June cocktail).  I could also try the Sunkiss – 3 ozs of Fig Vodka, 1 oz of Club Soda and muddled oranges (this is their July cocktail) – this is definately on the list for vacation.  I’ll let you know what I think of it.

In December, I hosted Christmas and due to the size of my house (and the age of my oven), we normally celebrate ‘Easter’ at Christmas – which means Ham.  I get an awesome Spiral Cut Ham from Kansas City Steaks.  I decided this year to try a different sauce.  At first I was going to make a fig sauce but found on Pinterest a sauce I could purchase that was just a good.  It was Stonewall Kitchen’s Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce – it was a hit.  I think it would great on a nice pork loin or chicken too – I have one bottle left and I see this as a grilling option real soon.

Since I don’t have my Dad’s recipe for the appetizers – thought I would try this recipe – Roasted Balsami Fig Salad – Blue Cheese.  Looks easy and delicious.

So now for the true reason for this post – the FIG Wellness App – available on iOS and Android.  I had a work/life balance lunch and learn for my team with my trainer, Lindsay Vastola.  The feedback from my team was fabulous.  And the interesting thing was a lot of the feedback was that they had the work/life balance, but didn’t have the life/life balance.  I wanted to figure out a way to  reinforce what we learned, but I also wanted to help my team have overall balance.  I’m a true believer that a well balance employee – is a productive employee.  I rolled out a little voluntary incentive for my team – 21 Day Challenge (pre-vacation for my team) – the objective of the incentive – set a goal, track results and share your findings.  The incentive is all about participation – each week they participate the get a ‘ticket’ for a drawing and if they particpate all 3 weeks – they get another ‘ticket’.  There will be two winners of some fabulous prizes.  I wanted to find something to help us track results, keep each other accountable and I wanted us to be mobile.

It was easy to search for some wellness apps – I found FIG to have the best ratings.  We started yesterday – I like it so far – you can create goals and activities.  Some of the activity categories are related to eating, exercise, refresh (sleep, relaxation), connect (family, friendship, community), feel (awareness, gratitude) and go further (faith, longevity).  I thought this was perfect because it wasn’t just focusing on eating and exercise – it focuses on the entire being.  You can invite participants to be your ‘friends’ so you can see how everyone is doing – lend a ‘cheer’, ‘assist’ or ‘rally’ your friends with words of encouragement.  You can track your items very quickly.  My week 1 goals are drink 10 glasses of water per day and do my Hard Body workouts 3xs per week.  I made my water goal yesterday and got a nice YELLOW Star!!  The only thing I don’t like is that everyone has to invite each other vs. a one time invite from me.  I think I can get over that.  So far so good and I think I will use this post our 21 Day Challenge.

I’m off to drink a glass of water!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game…

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

You know how the rest of the song goes (you are singing it right?)…

Monday night I took my nephew to the Phillies vs. Marlins game as part of his baseball association’s night out at the ballpark. I had gone last year with my brother and nephew and it was a lot of fun. My brother was traveling for work and asked if I could take him. Of course, the answer was YES!

We had to get to the ballpark early because part of the evening included a walk around the stadium. Last year, my nephew walked with the team and one of the coaches. This year he was on a new team and I was a little nervous as I didn’t know any of the parents or the coaches. I befriended one of the Mom’s and she encouraged me to go on the field – which is exactly what I did. I don’t know who enjoyed walking on the field more – the kids or the adults?  We were all walking around use our cellphones – snapping pictures.

Here are some of the fun shots I got on the field:

Local group playing the theme to Rocky as we walked around the Ballpark

Local group playing the theme to Rocky as we walked around the Ballpark

Getting the infield ready

Getting the infield ready

The Home Team's helmets

The Home Team’s helmets

Approaching the left field wall.

Approaching the left field wall.

On Deck Circle

On Deck Circle

I asked my nephew if he wanted to get a photo of the two of us on the field together – the answer was NO – but he did allow me to take a photo of him on the field (I won’t be sharing though since his parents aren’t on social media – so his photos won’t be either).

So after some ballpark grub – hot dogs, a few fries, water and our bag of peanuts – off we went to our seats in the upper deck behind home plate.  Here are a few shots from our seats:

Thougtht this was a cool shote with the Phillies sign and the city in the background.

Thougtht this was a cool shote with the Phillies sign and the city in the background.

Zoomed in view from our seats via my iPhone.

Zoomed in view from our seats via my iPhone.

View from our seats.

View from our seats.

The start of the game wasn’t great – it didn’t get interesting until late in the game – just right before we had to leave – the fun started with a home run by  catcher.  The little boy next to me got so excited he spilled a nice portion of his Phillie red italian ice on my side – good thing it matched my shirt!  It was great to see the team hit the ball and get some runs – it was 5-2 when we left and 7-2 by the time we got to our car – it was great hearing the roar of the crowd as we walked to the car – we knew our team was doing great.  It was an awesome ending to a fantastic day at the ballpark.

I wanted to share this story because I think sometimes we are always so busy in our daily lives we don’t take the time and really enjoy some of the simple things in life.  I hope I created a fond memory for my nephew – I know I created one for myself.

PS:  I did get him to agree on a self-portrait of the two of us in our seats!

The Art of Thank You

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

When was the last time you wrote a Thank You note?  I spent about an hour writing Thank You notes as part of a customer retention initiative at work on Friday.  I wrote about 10 of them.  I do this every month – it was something my company started last year and something I believe is important and unique.  Our company target is 5 per mont – I’ve asked my team to complete 10 per month.  I often wonder what the people on the other end think when they receive a thank you note from me or one of my co-workers?

When I was writing on Friday, I took some time in between writing (and giving my hand a rest – you get writers cramp since we spend so much time on computers now) to reflect on how was feeling – I’ll have to say pretty darn good.  It was nice to sit down and personally write out the Thank You notes to our customers.  Life seems to be moving so fast now adays – (I can’t believe it is already June) – that we don’t stop to appreciate the people around us.  I have an opportunity in my life to change that…

I’ve been writing Thank You notes for as long as I can remember – a rule in our house growing up was you had to send a Thank You note for any gifts you received.  As I got older I wasn’t made to do it, but my Mom definately had it ingrained in me (in case you are wondering I think this is a great thing).  As I write this I recall Thank You notes my Mom would receive from her Uncle Ted – he learned to say Thank You on his mother’s knee (he wrote this at least once).  I have fond family memories when Uncle Ted would join us for family events at Easter and Thanksgiving.  He was a kind, sweet, old fashioned man who was very good to my Mom and her sisters growing up.

Back to the Thank You notes – I don’t recall when, but my Mom gave me a book called The Thank You Book by Robyn Freedman Spizman and I haven’t ever really looked at it.  I pulled it out this morning and was leafing through it.  I plan on adding it to my reading list this week – it is a short read.  I’ll share with you what I learn.

My goal for summer of 2013 (adding to my Summer Bucket List) is to write 2 Thank You notes per week for the people who have done a great job at work, helped me or done something nice.  Ideally these will be handwritten Thank You notes vs. sending an email.  I think it means so much more receiving it something in the mail vs. all the junk mail and bills we all receive everyday – a little gem.

“One can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay ‘in kind’ somewhere else in life” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Ice Cream, Ice Cream, We all SCREAM for ICE CREAM

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

I have loved ice cream for as long as I can remember. When I would go to my Mom-Mom’s and Pop-Pop’s – there was always a 1/2 gallon of REAL Breyer’s Vanilla ice cream.   For years, our house only had Breyer’s ice cream in it – we branched out and tried other flavors beside vanilla too.  🙂

Fast forward to 2013 and it is hot as blazes for June 1st – feels more like August 1st. I’ve been doing ‘chores’ all day and wanted some ice cream tonight.  I was originally going to hit the drive-thru at Dairy Queen for a Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard (small).  I decided I’d go get some Breyer’s Ice Cream with peanut butter cup, chocolate cookie dough or chocolate chip – since I would know the ingredients.  Boy was I wrong!  I find the Breyer’s with peanut butter cup and it says it is made with Light Ice Cream (and lots of other stuff) – there are so many ingregdients in it – there was the mention of Sugar – 11xs!  So then I decided to look at the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Chocolate Chip – both made with Frozen Dairy Dessert – with both having at least 3 types of Sugars.  Needless to say I was disgusted and disappointed in Breyer’s.  What has happened to Breyer’s?

Off I went to the Turkey Hill section – they had ice cream with similar ingredients until I spied Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream – I picked the Salted Caramel – 6 ingredients:  cream, milk, sugar, caramel, vanilla and salt!  The sugar content is higher than I normally get – next time I’ll try the Coffee – 3 less grams of sugar.

So how was the ice cream?  It was yummy (a touch sweeter than it needed to be – but still yummy)!  I enjoyed it as I watched the opening of Libeled Lady (1936) on TCM.

And in case you haven’t figured it out – I will be purchasing the Turkey Hill All Natural from now on.

Stay cool!

Road Warriors

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

I was traveling last week to Chicago. I’m in awe of Road Warriors. What is a Road Warrior? Per a Google search – 75% travel is equal to the road warrior being away from home all week days except Friday; 50% travel is equal to 2.5 days of the 5 day work week. However, an easier calculation is simply on average there are 20 work days in a month, divide that into the number of days you are not at home.

Why am I in awe of them?  I’m in awe of the ones who have figured out how to balance staying in a hotel, eating healthy and getting workouts in consistently.  I was a bit of a Road Warrior from 2001 – 2003 and I’ll be honest I never could figure out the balance.

Nowadays, I travel once a week every few months (more the first part of the year).  I am diligent in packing my workout clothes; however, many times my workout on my trip is carrying the extra clothes and sneakers in my bag.  For example, the big kick-off meeting I run every March – I was in Chicago for almost an entire week – I never saw the inside of the hotel gym – I was working 14+ hours  / day – so sleep was my priority!

So once again last week, I packed my workout clothes and sneakers.  The first day I walked a lot in the airport – so I sort of chalked that up as my ‘workout’.   The next day it didn’t happen.  I was committed on Day 3 to get my workout in and I succeeded!  I was down in the teeny hotel gym bright and early with a great interval training session (a bit longer version of a HIIT workout) – it was awesome.  Then I did some arms and ab work.  It was a nice soaking workout.  I will chalk this up as a WIN for me!  Better late then never.  🙂

Workout DONE!

Workout DONE!

Near the end of my workout, a co-worker of mine comes in to get her workout in for the day (and she is a Road Warrior – and she worked out the day before too!) The kicker to this little side story was before our meeting started she mentioned that it was great seeing me in the gym and I was ‘sweating like a man‘ (note:  I believe we were the only two in the group at that hotel that made it to the gym that morning!) – I was a touch embarrassed and a little proud (as I worked pretty darn hard) (and actually didn’t lug my stuff around for nothing)!

So off to O’Hare I went to try and fly standby (post meeting) – I did not have the luck of the Irish that day, but thought I would share how I relaxed while waiting (trying to take it a little bit like a ‘Road Warrior’) (note:  not lugging the sneakers in the bag this time either).

Chillaxin' at ORD

Chillaxin’ at ORD

I think if I ever become a ‘Road Warrior’ again – I know I would do so much better with everything I’ve put in place the last few years.   If it took me time to figure out the balance –  at least I’d get some sort of a workout lugging the extra workout clothes around! 🙂

Have a great Friday!

The Great Imitator – Part 2

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Good morning! Sorry it has been awhile from my last post. Time just seems to be getting away from me lately.

As May comes to an end – I thought I’d give you an update on my Lyme Disease.  So I’ve had some questions answered and I have more now that I’ve looked at my results a bit more.

Here is what I learned at my appointment – I was probably infected within 6 months of my diagnosis since the Western Blot came back positive.  So I was infected sometime between May and November.  I’m going to find out at my next nutritionist appointment when I first reported my exhaustion – I think it was early on when I started going and we chalked it up to my food changes.

I’m pleased to announce that the Western Blot test came back Negative – so according to the CDC – I’m cured!  However, as I’ve look at my test results a bit more – I have more questions.

  • November Test Results:
    • Lyme Ab Interp, EIA:  Positive
    • Lyme Disease Ab, Quant, Igm:  1.60H (Positive is > 1.09)
    • I don’t have the page for the Western Blot – and I need to get the rest of this report
  • April Test Results:
    • Lyme AB Interp, EIA;  Positive Abnormal  
    • Lyme Disease Ab, Quant, IgM:  1.47H (Positive is >1.09) – but it is going down!
    • Lyme IgM WB (Western Blot):  Negative – and positive for some of the Borrelia-specific bands – I wonder is there something to do for this or it will run its course?

The actual diagnosis states the following:  An equivocal or positive EIA result followed by a negative Western Blot (WB) result is considered NEGATIVE – so that is where the NEGATIVE comes in.

Why am I skeptical?  A couple of things: I’ve read quite a bit of information from different sources, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of research being doing on this (and some of the things I’ve seen on chronic lyme scares the you know what out of me; however, I think my risk for this is very, very low) and lastly the thing that really bothers me is my exhaustion level.  Here is my most recent example:  I was traveling last week for work – I wasn’t out late any of the evenings except the night I traveled back home (got home around midnight) – it took me most of the 3 day weekend to recover – that isn’t normal!

I guess time will tell – part of me wonders if this will be like Mono (yes I’ve had that before too) – will it just have to run its course out of my body – I sure hope that is what it is.  Something that makes me believe this is I can’t donate blood for a year past my diagnosis – found that out last night (though if you have Chronic Lyme – they don’t want you to donate).

I will repeat from my first Great Imitator post why I’m sharing:  AWARENESS!  May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month!  It is all about PREVENTION:  http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/ or http://www.lymedisease.org/lyme101/prevention/lyme_prevention.html as there isn’t a lot of understanding or support on the long term effects of Lyme Disease by the Health Care Industry .  So please be extra careful this spring, summer and fall since we did not have a very cold winter – there are a lot more deer ticks since they weren’t killed off with the cold.

Bucket List – Summer 2013

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

On this drizzly Sunday afternoon, I thought I’d put together a Summer Bucket List 2013 since the unofficial start of summer stars next weekend!  (some are already planned so I should be able have some items crossed off my list) 🙂

  • 2 Week Jersey Shore Vacation – Booked
  • Kohr’s Vanilla Custard with chocolate sprinkles – (this is a given!!) (I should probably put a limit on the # of times)
  • Phillies Baseball Game – Planned
  • Carnival Rides – Planned
  • Camden Riversharks Baseball Game
  • Statue of Liberty or Bronx Zoo 
  • Island Beach State Park
  • Go to a Drive-in or an Outdoor Movie Event
  • Go to an Outdoor Play or Summer Concert
  • Go canoeing or kayaking (something new)
  • Lobster Bisque at the Lobster House in Cape May, NJ
  • Make S’Mores
  • Hang at the Lazy B
  • PSU vs. Syracuse Game at Giant’s Stadium — Planned
  • Read The Great Gatsby (just have to since it is now a movie), Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the Ernest Hemingway books I bought last summer and lastly Forever (just because) (I read it when I was in middle school – like to see it from an adult’s POV).
  • Play Miniature Golf (been a long time since I’ve played)
  • Spend time with Family and Friends
  • Take more pictures of said bucket list items (with people in them too)

I’ll keep you posted throughout the summer on how I’m doing.  Anything special you have planned for the summer?

The Great Imitator

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

***Warning:  Long Post*** 

The Monday after Thanksgiving last year, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease (aka The Great Imitator). It was both a relief and a fear of the unknown.  I’ve decided to share my story in hopes that it prevents others from getting it as it is preventable.

It was a relief as I finally knew why I was so tired and having problems concentrating (two of the symptoms).  And the fear factor was – I had no idea when I got it and how long I’ve had it (which is scary considering the longer I’ve had it the more likely for long-term effects).  As my brother stated when I told him – “It isn’t as if you are a hiker”.  I’m really not an outdoorsy person anymore – I much prefer a nice hotel with a spa vs. camping (been there done that as a Girl Scout).  Additionally, I never had the tell-tale bullseye rash and I found out that 40% of the people diagnosed with Lyme Disease never get it.

As I sit back and look at 2012 – when did I get it? – I’m starting to pinpoint sometime in the summer (time will tell).  I originally thought I’ve had it since the Spring, but the more and more tests I get done for other things the more I think I got it the end of May or June.

I started seeing my nutritionist in May 2012 and I remember going back a month later complaining about being tired – so exhausted all I could do when I was finished with work was sleep for an hour or so.  It wasn’t every day so we both thought it was adding sandwiches with real bread not sprouted back to my lunch of choice.  As I look back on it now – it makes me wonder if I was feeling the effects of Lyme.   I seemed to feel better in July but I was also on vacation for two weeks – although I do recall not really staying up late and sleeping in a little more.  Fall was just plain crazy both work and personally – I went to 5 PSU home games – 4 of which I stayed the whole weekend up there.  As I look back, I did keep those crazy college hours though (a change from the past).  And work was just super busy working on 2013 planning.  And I was TIRED!

So how did I ultimately find out I had Lyme Disease?  I had a 4 month follow-up with my Doctor (I saw her in July and all my blood work was normal – no lyme test though) (which is also why I think I may not have gotten it until the summer) the Monday before Thanksgiving.  I planned on talking to her about how tired I was – just the day before I had breakfast with my extended and family and all I could do on Sunday was sleep on the couch (and I don’t mean a nap – full blown exhaustion).  I honestly thought it was thyroid related – due to being tired and my ongoing struggle losing weight. Test results = no thyroid issue.  Although some of my other numbers spiked and by quite a lot (this is why I think I got somewhere between June and November).  It still didn’t explain my exhaustion.  The comment I received was for me to just make myself get up and move around (and honestly that ticked me off as I was still working out).  So I pushed and explained what happened the day before.  Reluctantly (and I truly believe this) she wrote out a script for more lab work.  I didn’t have to fast so I could get it done very quickly.  I went the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  I knew one test was for a Vitamin B deficiency and I had figured out one was for Lupus.  I put the test out of my mind for the remainder of the Thanksgiving holiday – until Monday morning.  Bottomline – you know your body better than anyone else – keep pushing your Doctor for the answers!

Monday morning I was anxious.  I made the mistake of getting on WebMD – I was searching my symptoms and Lupus kept popping up.  I was SCARED.  Monday afternoon, I received a phone from the Doctor’s office to schedule an appointment for the next day.  The assistant could hear the anxiety in my voice – she asked me if I wanted to know what I had – of course I said YES – I just couldn’t wait!  She told me I had Lyme Disease and I whooped with relief since it wasn’t Lupus.

I had heard of Lyme Disease, knew you got it from a deer tick (virtually impossible to see), but never really knew what it entailed.  And did not know it was an Auto Immune disease that will stay with me the rest of my life.  So for the next 30 days I took 500 mg of antibiotics 3 times a day.  I know the saying goes the ‘cure is in the last dosage’ and I can tell you I was hoping for that, because midway through my treatment (the day after Christmas – and it was a laid back Christmas) – I was exhausted.  I love doing things with my extended family and I had to pass that day.  In my opinion, the cure wasn’t in the last dose.

I don’t recall the exact date, but I remember waking up one day and I was like – WOW – I feel normal.  But I’ve also noticed that if I stay out late (sans adult beverages too) – I’m beat for the next two days – that just isn’t normal.  I’m hoping this is like mono (yes I’ve had that before too) and it will run its course.  I’ve done some research of late on Lyme Disease and it is just scary what it can do to you long term if left untreated.  I’m fairly confident mine was caught early.  I go back to my Doctor’s this Monday to find out my blood work and there was an additional test added for Lyme Disease.  Fingers crossed the levels are low!

So why the super long post – AWARENESS!  May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month!  It is all about PREVENTION:  http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/ or http://www.lymedisease.org/lyme101/prevention/lyme_prevention.html as there isn’t a lot of understanding or support on the long term effects of Lyme Disease by the Health Care Industry (I’ve read how the later stages (where it wasn’t caught soon enough) and it is debilitating).  So please be extra careful this spring, summer and fall since we did not have a very cold winter – there are a lot more deer ticks since they weren’t killed off with the cold.

I really do think mine was caught in time; however, seeing my results on Monday will help reassure me! 🙂  And I hope this post was helpful in preventing you or your family contracting Lyme Disease!