As a mother we never stop to pay attention to the hints our bodies try to give us, we are always too concerned with our children, their needs and wants. We forget that we need to take care of ourselves. The past week I have had to slow down and remember that I need to set some time aside for me and my health.
Last Thursday started out like any other Thursday. I had classes at the college campus, the boys had Karate, we had a house that needed some cleaning and then out of the blue I started to feel very dizzy and faint. However since it was in the evening I thought maybe I was just over tired or that my blood sugar dropped a little too low, so I had a glass of juice and went to bed.
Friday I woke up and felt fine and never thought twice about the night before. So I just went about my normal Friday routine - shopping, cleaning, homework, entertaining the kids, etc. By the time dinner was done I started to feel very tired, and very light headed, so I decided to slow things down and cuddle on the couch with my boys to watch movies on Netflix. That's whenever started to get worse. The slightest head movement sent my world spinning. I couldn't stand up without falling right back down. Every time I tried to walk down the hallway I would start to lean to m right and almost fall. Again thinking it was a blood sugar thing I decided to have a glass of juice, and yet again this made no difference. However I pushed my symptoms aside for the night until I got my boys to bed.
Once they were in bed I started to gain some concern when the symptoms weren't letting up but getting worse. Now it didn't matter if I was standing, sitting, moving my head or not, my world was nonstop spinning. This when I started to think about my weight. I am currently 324 lbs. I had lost 26 lbs over the last 4 or 5 months, however because I get swept up in my school work and caring for the boys, I have once again strayed from my focus of dieting and becoming active. So I became nervous that just maybe the lightheadedness was due to lack of blood flow to my brain (meaning blood clot or blockage somewhere). Now being the big girl that I am, this is a realistic thought and fear.
On Saturday I headed to Urgent Care to see what was wrong with me, and in hopes that my neglect and abuse of my body wasn't going to leave my children motherless. What I found out from the Doctor is that I have Labyrinthitis (an ear disorder that involves irritation and swelling of the inner ear)... basically it’s an ear infection due to my allergies, and it is causing my dizziness/lightheadedness. I need to take some Antihistamines, reduce my smoking, and keep still and rest when symptoms occur, avoid sudden position changes, etc, etc. The doctor said that my symptoms can last up to a month; however they will lessen with each passing day. This is very true; some days are better than others, however it is getting much better. So I am super excited I am not dying, however I see this as that reminder that I do need to keep my health as a priority.
I am focusing on ensuring we keep eating healthier. Got lots of salad stuff and veggies to munch on, bought some low calorie yogurts and puddings for snacks, and stocked up on some chicken since that is a healthier choice of meat. I still haven't been able to get back into exercising yet, since I still have some lightheadedness, however I am hoping by this weekend I can start again. Meanwhile since I can’t workout I have decided to focus on some house cleaning. Again, can’t do too much since bending over still makes my world spin, however I can do a little at a time, and the boys have been helping me out (the best that a 9 and 10 year old can ..lol)
Now on top of all of this happening, Brendan got sent home from school with pink eye yesterday. I had some drops in the house, however as me and him were sitting here I could hear some wheezing and started to gain some concern. Like me, Brendan has horrible allergies and has been suffering even with taking some Antihistamines. I took him to see his doctor, and yes he had pink eye, along with an upper respiratory infection. The upper respiratory infection they said was caused from taking the Antihistamines for his allergies. They were suppressing the nasal congestion so much that it settled in his chest. So we got some eye drops for his pink eye, an antibiotic for the upper respiratory infection, and some albuterol inhaler to help with the wheezing. Well the antibiotic made Brendan have diarrhea which prevented him from being able to partake in his Karate class. Then when got home from our running around (getting prescriptions filled, grocery shopping, Joshua's Karate class, etc) Brendan vomited. The antibiotics don't agree with his stomach :( So Brendan had a rough night of sleep and feels worse today than he did when sent home from school yesterday. My little man had to stay home from school today.
Between me and Brendan getting issues from our allergies, Joshua has stepped up to take care of us and the house. Can I tell you how super proud I am of my little 9 year old man. Joshua has assisted me in making dinners, getting laundry done, taking out the garbage, putting groceries away and picking up the living room floor. He hasn't complained once since he knows everyone else doesn't feel well. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful children, and this is why I need to ensure I take care of myself so that I can be there for them. So mom's let take time out for our selves to focus on our health needs ... we owe it to our families!!!
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