Dry, itchy skin...ugh

Two posts ago I mentioned how my dry skin itch went away completely for the first time...ever?  Well, it's back.  I'm pretty sure I know why, though.

I mentioned that I had been slathering lotion (not just any lotion!) on my body while I was up North for the week, and when I returned home I stopped with the lotion to see if the silicea would have any effect from the inside.  I believe now, though, that the real actual root cause for my dry skin, is that I don't drink enough fluids.  At times I find it quite difficult to consume even 4 glasses of water in a day.  I'm just not that thirsty, oddly enough.

I'm not saying that the silicea isn't doing anything at all; it's just that homeopathic medicine is much more subtle than what we're used to ("Two tiny little balls?  That's it??").  It's not going to produce a miracle in my situation since I'm not keeping up my end of the most basic requirements of health.  I need to drink more fluids and I need to actually have my follow-up appointment with Helen to see what advice she has for me (other than drink more fluids, dumbass!).  THEN we have a chance of figuring out what else (if anything) I need.

In the meantime, I will go back to using the "band-aid" fix of the lotion because I can't stand being itchy all the time.  Having this rash all over me is just not acceptable. :)

In other news, I'm finding it less tedious to produce bowel movements.  That, I am VERY happy about.

Well I'll be...

Last week I was traveling for work and was visiting a client in Northern Ontario, roughly 3 hours North of Cochrane.  When I arrived at Timmins airport and stepped outside the plane, I breathed in and my nasal hairs froze instantly.  Oh boy.  From then on I breathed through my scarf.  The outside temperature was -40C every morning, warming up to about -28C in the afternoon.  Add wind chill to that and you're at -50C.  Fun stuff.

That meant that everywhere I went there was heat blasting; in the trucks, in the buildings, in the "dorm" rooms.  Upon arrival, the ambient temperature in my room was 25C.  Holy shit.  That got lowered right away to a more comfortable 23C.

In fear of an asthma attack while up North for the week, I armed myself with a new Bricanyl inhaler, the type that I'd used for many years, but haven't had the need to use for over a year now.  I didn't need it once.  I firmly believe that eating properly has just about eliminated my asthma, though I do still experience minor wheezing at times.  It's not nearly bad enough to treat with the inhaler, anyway.

So, here I was, in awful conditions for skin and lungs.  To battle the incessant blowing/electric heat and hopefully prevent my skin from drying out, I applied some serious lotion (St. Ives Intensive Relief) to my body, morning and night.  I found it really helped and I only scratched the hell out of my skin the first night.

On the Thursday, I took my second dose of silicea as directed. Now that I'm back home in "normal" winter weather (between -3C and -10C), I've eased up on the lotion application so we'll see whether the silicea helps with skin ailments as much as it's rumoured to.  I have my hopes up! :)

I noticed yesterday that for the first time in memory I was not itchy.  Anywhere.  I've always had some spot on my being needing a scratch, like as if I had fucking fleas, but suddenly there was no itch.  Could it be??!  Will see how it goes in the next couple of days since I've virtually stopped applying the lotion.

In other good news, the corn on my left foot is gone!  The last bit of hardened skin came off during my trip and I can finally walk with a normal stride.  I'd forgotten how good that feels - why the hell did I resist this treatment so long?!  Avoiding chemicals, that's why.  At times they do good things, okay? :)

Hubby and I went for a hike through a section of our closest conservation area today, and it was so nice to walk normally, even when there were tree roots and rocks underfoot.  I gave my (left!) ankle a slight twist while jogging down a hill, but other than that it was fantastic.  Yay!!

Oh!  And, as expected, I did wheeze a bit after running up and down a couple hills in the cold air, but it wasn't severe enough to use the inhaler.  I'll always make sure I have it on me just in case anyway.

It's time to take charge...AGAIN. (FAIL)

Beginning tomorrow morning, no more fucking around with my food intake.  My legs, stomach, and back are all itching like crazy and I wonder if I'll get any sleep tonight.  It's driving me nuts.

Tonight I made a nice prime rib roast and followed this recipe.  It turned out pretty damned good (thanks to the electronic meat thermometer we have) and the side of brussels sprouts were nice as well (I cooked them in a covered casserole dish in a bath of previously-made beef broth, onions and garlic).  MIL asked if there were also a side of yams and DAMMIT I didn't think of that.  One side was all I made.  Woops. :)

Anyway, for dessert we had half a cake that was bought at the grocery store last night.  A traditional, sugar-laden cake with lots of creamy frosting, chocolate shavings, and even chocolate-covered malt balls on top.  I had a tiny slice with my coffee (yes, with fucking cream in it).

As of tomorrow, no more crap.  And we're going to our friends' house for dinner, so this will get interesting.  I have no alcohol to drink, and that's just as well, because I'll be drinking water.  And I'll get ridiculed for it, because that's just the way they are; how can you be having a good time if you're not blasted on something?  Whatever.  This is the friend that works out for 2 hours a day so she can eat junk food all the time and not get fat.  This is the friend who had the lap band surgery before.  She sure as hell ain't skinny, but I guess she enjoys torturing herself.  Oh well.  That's her problem.

Welp, that's it...I'm fucked.

My sugar addiction has started to kick in again and I've been weak.  I'm back to having 18% cream in my 3 coffees a day and *shock* I just noticed that the bastards added dextrose to the cream.  Bugger.

Last week both of us were off and we decided to go see The Hunger Games.  Fearing I would pig out on movie theatre nachos and cheese (my fave snack when there...no pop!), we went to the grocery store to get "healthy" snack to sneak into the theatre.  These healthy snacks morphed into cookies and brownie squares.  Fack.  We snuck a bottle of water each in, hidden in my purse.

This week my skin feels like it's CRAWLING it's SO itchy.  Last night I had to pee at 2:30am and while I was doing so I was ripping away at my legs and it felt soooo good and yet so gawd-awful at the same time.  When I went back to bed the skin was all red and throbbing with heat.  Ugh.  This insane rash (which always seems to start in an arm pit for some reason) is making its way across my body and my taste buds better fuck off with the constant whining for sweet things!!

My mild rosacea  has returned as well.

I've also noticed that there is a lot more mucous in my nasal passages, to the point where I have to snork it back so I don't sound like I'm sick with a cold.  It's real pleasant to have to do this near co-workers while I'm on the phone with a client!  (Thankfully I have a mute button, which has served me well and prevented my firing on a daily basis.)

So, today I will start the changes to reverse this once again.  Coffee is bad when you have a yeast overgrowth problem, so I will reduce my intake (I hate caffeine withdrawal headaches!!!), will gradually revert back to using almond milk in coffee when I do have one, and will not partake in the very-sweet-looking cake we bought as dessert for tonight's dinner (his mummy's coming over).  I will hear about it from her, but I will ignore it.

Guess I won't be having bacon with our usual Sunday breakfast, either.  Grrr.

Oh wait, I do have something positive to report -- I weighed myself this morning, and after all this sugar-binging, the scale still reads 145.3.  Yay!!

That's alright...I'm okay...

I guess I'll be lost again for one more day...

Not really - it's just lyrics to a song that's in my head right now:

Love Big Wreck...anyhow, just thought I'd check in with a few random tidbits for those who want to know.

- My weight today is 145.2.  I'm happy about that, and a bit surprised since I have been inhaling a whole bag of these every day this week!  (Can you say WEAKNESSSSSSS?)

- Last night I cooked up a couple of strip loin steaks using the method that previously set off the smoke alarm and threw me into a migraine headache.  This time I was better prepared and also had the assistance of hubby.  The steaks were a little over-cooked but were still quite good.  I love how flavourful the fat turns out using this method.  Next time I'll just take them out of the oven sooner and we should be good.

- I'm finding that I really don't like the taste of coffee lately, especially with the chocolate-flavoured almond milk in it.  When I use cream (preferably 18%) it's at least a little bit more drinkable, but if it weren't a caffeine addiction I wouldn't bother with the stuff.  I do like having something warm to drink, though, which helps my stupid mouse voice become audible.

- My new desk at work is working out great - I love it to bits!  I found that I actually had it a bit too high when standing and it was causing some tingling/numbness/cold feeling in my right elbow.  Things are better now, but I really have to do something about my home computer desk, sooo...

- I ordered a GeekDesk electric height-adjustable desk base for home and it's on it's way!!  It should arrive this week (YAY!), so I really need to get my butt to Ikea to grab a table top to complete it.  My current computer chair creaks with almost every movement so that will likely be my next purchase.

- We've recently gotten into watching Sons of Anarchy (a friend gave it to us on DVD) and I can't believe how addicted I am to this show.  It's absolutely fantastic and the acting is top-notch.  We've come very close to tears on a couple of occasions already and last night I was caught off-guard with a stunner of an ending.  Christ, I hate it when major characters you like a lot are suddenly killed off.  I was traumatized!!  Ugh...  Anyway, this is just testament to how good the whole series is so far.  Next up is the second episode of the third season.  Thank GROK Monday is a holiday!!  :)

- My dad is recovering from a really bad cold and is still eating crap food.  Can't say anything about diet because my step-mom is a nutritionist.  *sigh*

Dairy

The only dairy I've consumed for three weeks has been butter, and I've recently noticed three things:

1. My sinuses are clearer than they've ever been; the only times I really need to clear them are first thing in the morning, after I sneeze, or after walking outside in the cold for a bit (wet, cold schnoz).

2. My mild rosacea has suddenly gotten a bit worse; this week I have small bumps and more redness on my cheeks. My face feels warm and flushed a lot of the time. It's NOT menopause! LOL


3. I'm getting my first pimple in a LONG time. :(

Prior to starting the YeastBusters program I didn't drink a lot of milk but I would have (higher-fat) yogourt and put cream in my coffee. I actually don't miss the yogourt (surprising, because I LOVED the really thick stuff!) and I'm fine having almond milk in coffee (unsweetened, chocolate flavoured variety preferred).

I wonder if I'll ever go back to using cream.

Update: Deodorant / Armpit Rash

Awhile back I had made my own deodorant, which was fantastic at keeping my pits smelling divine. However, because I already had a rash from my previous store-bought stick when I switched, the baking soda in the homemade stick irritated the rash enough that it wouldn't go away. It took me awhile to figure out what to do about it, aside from using nothing and stinking. Eventually I decided to try putting a dusting of corn starch on them, and nothing else for awhile.

It worked! The rash is just about gone, and once it's completely healed I'll try the homemade stick again. Should only be another week or so to be sure.

Odour-Free Pits! It works!

Instead of using deodorant after a shower, I've been trying a smidgen of coconut oil followed by a very light dusting of baking soda. After a full day at work with wet pits, NO SMELL. Yeehaw! :D

13 Pounds and Counting

After all the "diet cheating" I'd been doing over the past few weeks (a small piece of cake here, some homemade bread there), I was pleasantly surprised yesterday morning when I stepped on the scale. 152.8! Holy crap, I'm almost into the 140s again! I don't remember the last time I was in the 140s, it was so long ago! Yeehaw!

Just over a week ago I started doing small amounts of crunches and lady push-ups during my evening stretch session on the bedroom floor. I did 5 of each for a couple days, then raised it to 10, and then 20 each. I can now do all 20 of each straight without needing any rest time.

Today is Canada Day so I have the day off and I slept til 10am. The stupid cat woke me up at that point - how annoying. I hope she isn't one of those ones that will live til 28 years old...she's already at 19 and I love her but I need a break from cats for awhile.

On another note, an update on the poo-free life! The skin on my face has never been smoother and I haven't had a huge monthly zit in a couple of months (I think I've had one since returning from our vacation). My scalp was a bit smelly (at least to me) last weekend so I did a good cleaning with diluted baking soda with the ACV rinse. Aaaaaah, much better.

Otherwise, it's going pretty well. Mark Sisson at Mark's Daily Apple posted about this "way of life" and his post has a ka-jillion comments on it (it's a fascinating topic for the masses!). Someone mentioned making a deodorant from coconut oil and baking soda so I'm trying that sporadically for now. Once my deodorant stick is finished I'll re-fill it with this new mixture.

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I haven't felt much like blogging but I'll try to post more often now that I'm getting some positive results!

Itchy Update

I didn't bother to update this past Saturday because my weight was exactly the same as the previous Saturday. Boohoo.

To update on the soap/poo-free "lifestyle", I must say the condition of my skin (all over) is not one bit different -- still fucking itchy as all hell! The heat rash from our trip is still visible and is itchy again for some reason. For the past two days I've been scratching my forearms too much and now have some bigger bumps and such. I'd just trimmed my fingernails, too, so I have to scratch harder to get relief.

Dammit.

I haven't been rubbing coconut oil on myself, other than on my face, which has gone back to acne breakouts in the usual areas. Is it my pillow?? Is it because I don't sweat through my pores on a daily basis that the zits just keep re-occurring in the same damned spots?? UGH!!!

My hair, on the other hand, feels very nice and it's getting long. I haven't used shampoo since our trip (had to a couple times, to get the sea smell out) and have been brushing thoroughly with the boar bristle brush every other night or so. I barely need any aloe vera as gel, and I'm not rinsing it every day anymore, either.

It's going okay. I'd wished for better by this point. Oh well.

Back on Track

This past week was a busy one, but we still managed to stay on track with our meals and walks. This morning I weighed myself after using the washroom and was pleased with my readings:

Date	Weight	BF Weight	BF %	Body Water %	Bone Mass %
01/30/2010 02/06/2010 02/13/2010 02/20/2010	163.2 160.3 162.5 161.9	50.7 49.6 50.9 51.1	31.3 31.0 31.4 31.6	50.0 50.3 50.0 49.9	6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5

I think I'll keep 4 week's worth of data on the chart going forward.

This afternoon I did a workout in the basement; more elliptical, light weights and crunches. All while watching a Peter Gabriel concert on DVD (from the Growing Up tour). He's so awesome.

Check this out:



My itch has pretty much subsided, which I could attribute to the epsom salt baths, coconut oil, and sometimes skipping a day for showering. My hair doesn't smell so much like wet dog anymore, thankfully, but there are times where the armpits are just RANCID and in need of a wipe-down.

Other than that, things are going well. :)

AARRGGGHH!

My inner forearms are itchy as all hell and it's driving me nuts!! Hope this shea butter works...please, please work!

Update: I used coconut oil instead and it took the itch away. Now we'll see if the rash clears up!