Friday, May 29, 2009

Ahhhhh, a good night's sleep - PRICELESS!

It was a good follow-up visit to my doctor this week. All my questions were answered and we settled on a course of treatment for now.

Regarding HRT - 3 sprays a day of Evamist; plus 10 days of progesterone every 3 months. We'll see how that goes for a year, unless I have any issues. The last 2 weeks on this dose has gone pretty well with just an occasional hot flash in the morning when I wake up, but nothing that wakes or keeps me up in the night.

Regarding night time bathroom visits - the baking soda nightly has worked wonders. I rarely get up more than once a night any more, which is wonderful. Dr. Avendano says the baking soda coats the bladder sort of like milk of magnesia for the stomach. She says I can have it 2 or 3 times a day if I think I need it. So far I don't have a problem during the day, just at night so the nightly dose is working great.

We're off for a vacation to Vancouver Island in Canada for a week. I am hoping my little female isues are tamed for now.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Foods to Avoid? You've got to be kidding

Here is the list my doctor gave me for anyone wanting to naturally reduce bladder irritation. Frankly, this list is a little scary. I mean, who is going to avoid all these things? Not me, for sure. But I read through the list and decided that I could cut some of them out of my diet for now. Not coffee, and obviously, not alcohol, but Guava for sure (what is that anyway) and citrus fruits and a few others . Between this and the baking soda before bed (1tsp in a cup of water, if you have missed my earlier posts), I am getting up normally just once a night, down from 4 or 5 times. As the commercials say, PRICELESS!

University of Washington, Dept of Urology
Foods That Can Cause Bladder Irritation

  • Grapes
  • Pineapple
  • Cranberries
  • Apple juice
  • Citrus fruits
  • Peaches
  • Plums
  • Tomatoes
  • Guava
  • Cantaloupe
  • Strawberries
  • Decaf Coffee
  • Regular Coffee
  • Tea
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • All carbonated beverages
  • Nutrasweet
  • Chilies
  • Spicy Foods
  • Onions
  • Vitamin B complex
  • Chocolate
  • Vinegar

Friday, May 22, 2009

To wine or not to wine

Last night I slept pretty well. We drank red wine with dinner, a Three Rivers blend called Rivers Red. We purchased a case of this very nice wine when we were at the Three Rivers winery just west of Walla Walla a few weeks ago.

Night before last we drank a St Michelle Reisling, one of our favorite whites, with dinner. That night I had a bad time and was very thirsty. I wonder if it was the wine. I will avoid white wine for a while and see how it goes.

Tonight we ate out at Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill at Bellevue Square. We saw the new Star Trek movie this afternoon and it was AWESOME! I had about 60% of 1 mixed drink and no other alcohol today. Hope there was not too much salt in the meal. I hope for a good night tonight.

Sat AM: YES, a great night! Slept right through and not thirsty (ok, just a little, but did not wake me up).

On our way to a wedding today. Hope there are healthy goodies at the reception.

Sun AM: Before bed last night we drank a bottle of our favorite Rivers Red wine, from Three Rivers Winery near Walla Walla, WA. I thought this would be a problem through the night but NO, it was not. Not thirsty and still only got up once in the night. Sooooo, good red wine, no problem. White wine, not so good.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Some good, some not so good

Good news! I slept great again last night, only getting up once and no hot flashes. I think this will continue and I will begin to feel better. It is nice to feel I'm on the right track.

Today was Weight Watcher weigh-in day. I gained 1 pound this week. Silly me... I guess I thought I'd done so well last week under very difficult conditions that I could loosen up a little this week. What was I thinking?!! I will never be able to "loosen up", EVER! Every time I open my mouth there is a decision to be made... yes or no, good or bad, on plan or not. Sometimes it is easy and sometimes it is very very hard.

I went to Costco yesterday and picked up a couple of new items to add variety to my menu. This always inspires me to have some interesting new food to include in my meal planning. Costco is good for having new and interesting things.

I just have to keep in mind that every food is ok, and every decision is ok. There is either a cost to pay or a reward to receive. Either way it is my decision. Here's to receiving more of those rewards this week!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

3 shall be the number

I have been using 3 sprays daily of the Evamist estrogen mist for a week now and the result is definitely better. Only one night have I had a major hot flash/night sweat. I even slept well at home last night which has been rare lately. I seem to sleep fine on the boat, and even at my parents house when we visited over a weekend. But home has been more difficult. It is definitely much cooler on the boat so last night we left the window and door open in our bedroom. I also did not drink any alcohol last night. The baking soda drink before bed has continued to work well, reducing my need to get up for the bathroom. Things are definitely looking up.

Monday, May 11, 2009

4 weeks down, 2 to go

Tomorrow I begin the next 2 weeks of 3 sprays per day of the Evamist. I think the hot flashes are better than they were last week, but still come and go.

We spent 3 nights with my parents over the weekend. I slept very well, getting up only once per night. Even the night thirst was better. Last night I was home again and got up 3 times, waking often due to thirst. What's the deal with the thirst? I did drink red wine last night. I'm sure that contributes.

Sooooo, today: ice cream no later than mid-afternoon and no wine. I will be sleeping on the boat tonight. We'll see how it goes.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Darn Hot Flashes

I am frustrated. FRUSTRATED! The Evamist does not seem to be working well yet for me. I have been on 2 sprays a day for 8 days and so far it is no better than 1 spray daily. The patch I used before worked better than the Evamist, so far. Every night I have at least 2 to 5 incidents. Sometimes it comes and goes and comes and goes.

The last 2 nights I have gotten up 3 times in the night and woke up 2 or 3 times more, thirsty. I have not had any alchohol either night. We had been out on the boat for 11 nights and these were the first 2 nights home. No doubt I sleep better on the boat, buy why? At home I have ice cream in the evening, last night at about 7:30, and nothing after that except my 1 cup of water with baking soda. Still I wake up with thirst and hot flashes and going to the bathroom. I checked the sodium levels of the ice cream and pb2 (powdered peanut butter - yum) that I eat and all together it is just over 100mg, which is nothing.

It is a puzzlement.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Lost another pound!

Wow! It has been 2 weeks since getting to Weight Watchers. It was 2 weeks of boating, eating, drinking, etc. with friends during Seattle's Opening Day of boating season. And much to my surprise, I lost 1 pound!

While this seems like some miracle or fluke of nature, I'm sure there has to be a more realistic explanation. The fact is that I did get in all my exercise and workouts at the gym. Whenever possible, which was most of the time, I cooked healthy meals on the boat. Other times I made pretty good choices, certainly much more often than I would have previously. The great thing is that I did not feel deprived at all. I drank wine and ate (a few) appetizers with friends on the dock. I ate dinner and drank a bottle of wine (with my husband) at the Seattle Yacht Club. I even had dessert.

So the bottom line is that I feel great about my lifestyle and knowing that I can have a great time and still be in control of my eating. Well, maybe that is a miracle :-)