Resting

This time it's me that's actually resting, I'm not just blogging about it!  The last few days have been tough.  I caught a nasty cold that my son and husband had.  It knocked me to my knees for a couple of days.  I sat at the computer and tried to take care of stuff but I was pretty dumb and unable to form coherent sentences or even do sudoku properly.  I probably should have upped my HC and didn't since my brain wasn't working. 

The last few evenings I've spent watching reality TV bundled up in blankets!  I haven't run since Monday and actually, I haven't even cared.   I will get on the treadmill today.

Zane turned 15 yesterday, time flies.  Wahoo!

Injectable Solucortef reminder

Upon inspecting my Solucortef emergency injection kit, I realized the Solucortef that I've been carrying around, counting on having  for an emergency, was in no shape to be used AND out of date.

If you've got Addison's, you need an emergency injection kit with injectable steroids.  If your doctor tells you that you don't need it, your doctor doesn't care about you and you should get another doctor.  MOST AMBULANCES DO NOT CARRY INJECTABLE STEROIDS.  Check with your local hospital to see if they do.  Even if they do, there's no guarantee they'll know to inject you or have the permission to do so.

If your doc won't prescribe injectable steroids, ask why.  Is he or she concerned that you'll want to "shoot up" all the time?  Big whoop if you did it once when you didn't need to (like you're going to).  Most people I know don't want to get ravenously hungry and have trouble sleeping and possibly have hallucinations for fun.  I doubt there's anyone who will shoot HC for fun.  More importantly, do you travel by car?  Are you physically capable of vomiting?  Do you travel out of state?  Out of the country?  Hike?  Ride a bike?  Go camping?  Live in a state where ambulances don't carry injectable steroids (most of them in the US)?  If you answered yes to even one of these questions, you need to have an emergency injection kit.

My injection kit was both out of date and was useless due to how much I had carried it around.  I would recommend if you've got an out of date Acto-vial, try it out.  I was extremely surprised at how difficult it was to pop the Acto-vial and mix the powdered HC with the fluid.  It was a good learning experience.  I'm glad I wasn't in an emergency situation when I was trying this out.

What I carry for emergencies.  If you have more adipose tissue on your thigh than 1" of needle will get through, you might need a longer needle.

Please inspect your emergency injection kit.  

• See if your needles and alcohol pads are in good condition.
• Is you Solu-Cortef expired?  Has it been exposed to extreme heat or cold?
• Is your emergency information up to date?
• Are your injection directions legible?
• Do you have a basic idea of how to give yourself a shot if you need to?  If not, review!

Steven T's Rocky Raccoon pic

Steven T did Rocky Raccoon also and he took some awesome pictures of the trail and race.  

Run, rest and Addison's Disease

Too much snow!

Hey all,  today's post is a combo of pictures from yesterday's run and a discussion about rest and Addison's disease.  My newly diagnosed friend Sue spurred this one!  

I think people might have the wrong idea about me.  They think I go and go and go.  Well, that's a big NO!  I don't go and go and go.  I go and rest, go and rest.  Perhaps people without Addison's disease can go like the Energizer Bunny I sure can't.  When I do, I get sick, fatigued and or lathargic (like when I worked the ultra stage races this summer).  Doing too much literally makes me sick.

MY OPINION ONLY:  With Addison's disease, I feel like I've only got so much energy to expend.  See the Spoon Theory for an excellent analogy for expendable energy.  My cortisol is completely regulated manually so if I'm tired, I never know, Should I up my HC or is this "normal tired"?  Very often, I try to fit in my running and being tired without upping my HC for being tired.  If I'm exhausted, I'll either go to bed or do work on the computer (if my brain can function).  Our bodies need to repair themselves and they do that when we sleep.  Sleep is so important!

If you've been sick for years and get diagnosed with a disease, you can't expect your body to bounce right back.  Maybe it will but for many of us, years of being undiagnosed and missing vital hormones takes a toll on our bodies.  If you try to do too much too fast on a body that's been ravaged by disease, you're asking for trouble.  Your asking to get sick, pull a muscle, get pneumonia or just be fatigued so that you can't do anything for weeks.  LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.  If it says it's tired, rest, relax, sleep.  

One of my coping mechanisms is to tell people that I can't always be counted on.  I do a lot of volunteer work and I often say "No" to new requests.  Sometimes I call and say I can't come in if I have too much going on.  I cut down my volunteer time if I'm too tired.

Another thing I do is not socialize unless people can be flexible enough to join me on my terms.  This usually means predawn or daylight hours.  As soon as the sun sets, forget it.  I'm too tired!  Around the winter solstice, I'm pathetic, 5pm I'm ready to go to bed!

PLEASE BE NICE TO YOUR BODY SO IT WILL BE NICE TO YOU!  Feed it well and consistently, take your meds consistently, sleep regularly.  Here's a post that might be helpful:  

Addison's:  Consistency is the path to feeling well.

I think acceptance is vitally important to getting healthy too.

BE CONSISTENT AND PERSISTENT AFTER YOU SET YOUR GOALS, YOU'LL GET WHERE EVER YOU'RE GOING!!  Then rest!

The Grand Teton (13,000+ feet in elevation) sticking up in the background.  I don't know what this thing is but it's lound and men get paid to stand around in overalls and watch it work.

Monster teeth sticking out of the snow

Only in Idaho would you have this!

A treasure?

Ice fishing.  Ick.

I like this sign

I tried not to stop on the road where snow slides could occur!

Luckily, the road was still open and i didn't have to turn back

Beautiful sunset.  I love the elk weather vein on top of the barn.  If you look in the shadows on the right hand side of the barn, you can see some horses and mules.

My run on Saturday was good.  24 miles and 2,500 feet of vertical elevation gain.  Unfortunately, It was all on the side of the highway.  Even more unfortunate, I didn't find one penny!  I intentionally routed the parts of my run through town through parking lots and past bars.  No money!!  Today I'll do another long run but probably on the treadmill.  I'm sore from all the downhill of yesterday.