B&BW new Bubble Bath gets a HUGE THUMBS DOWN!

I got an e-mail the other day advising Bath & Body Works had $3 wallflower fragrance bulbs which was a pretty awesome deal & so I wanted to go get some.  That plus they just released a new signature collection guaranteeing the world's best fragrance & so if you purchased $10, with a coupon you could get 1 signature item for free.  I already wanted to go to Sephora for my free birthday gift, as I had 1 day or so left to get it, so I had my boyfriend cart me to the mall.

I was so excited to see that they are transitioning their wallflowers & candles to their winter scents already.  So after about 1/2 hour of sniffing all the new candles the wallflower bulbs were picked out.  My boyfriend bought those & used a 20% off coupon, making them even less than $3!  WOO!  Plus we used another coupon to get a free mini Snow Day candle!  For my coupon I got a small Cranberry Woods candle at $10 exactly & then, when looking for my free signature item I got SUPER EXCITED to see they came out with a Pink Chiffon bubble bath!  Love the scent & I think I already have everything else in that scent that they make, so the bubble bath it was for my free item!

I get home & decide I want to use it right away.  The 1st thing I notice is that the consistency is very runny.  It is also clear, not shimmery, opaque, and thick like their old bubble baths.  I dissolve it into the running water & it bubbles up, then almost immediately the bubbles start dissipating.  By the time the bath was full almost all the bubbles were dissolved.

I looked at the bottle again because I could have sworn I bought the shower gel instead of the bubble bath.  Nope.  I got the right product, or so the bottle says.  The scent is fine, doesn't seem any stronger or better than their old products.  So I'm really not understanding what they are advertising with these being so new or better.  Scent is the same, lingers the same, overall product is much, much WORSE!  And so what if the look of the bottle changed.

Just to make sure, the next night I pulled out an OLD bottle of their Carried Away bubble bath & used that.  Just as I thought.  It was thicker, it bubbled up thicker & LASTED THE WHOLE BATH!

So, here is your WARNING!  DO NOT BUY THE NEW BUBBLE BATHS FROM B&BW!  They retail $14 compared to their shower gels only at $12.50 and both are 10 oz.  You will be wasting your money when you can get the same bath experience by just tossing in a cap of the shower gel instead.  Seriously!!!  Why pay more for a product when it doesn't provide what it's supposed to & there's something else that costs less, smells the same, and will give you the same results?  I also noticed their priced had increased.  Shower gels went up by $1.50 & the bubble baths increased by $2.  I'm thinking this may have been within the last year though I'm not really sure.

I am so glad I got this for free otherwise I would have taken it back.  Whatever they did they really need to go back to how they made their old bubble baths.  I hope they do.

Now onto other things...

September is usually the month in Western NY where you start to see dramatic fluxes in temperatures and you start to anticipate the arrival of fall.  Then comes October, the temperature drops, we have cold rains, air that smells of burning fireplaces, occasionally snow (that doesn't stick), & just the perfect autumn weather.  This year we've had a few of those days that make you say, "I love this time of year!"  Oddly enough, with the leaves changing and falling, we were hitting temperatures in the 70's and even 80's.  So it feels like a never ending Indian Summer.  Even through the next week the highs are being predicted in the high 60's & low 70's.  What our average temperature should be for October are highs around 59º & lows around 43º.  I feel like I'm back in Los Angeles.

Now that I'm off the prednisone I'm still waiting for that day that I start feeling normal again.  All my doctors kept saying to me was that I'll probably start getting the results I'm (they're) looking for once I'm off of it.  It's been only a week & I still don't feel any different.  I kind of wish right off the bat, before & after the surgery, they would have told me that this recovery could take a long time.  Instead, everyone kept saying 6 to 8 weeks.  So 6 to 8 weeks was drilled into me & my expectations of this were high.  Upon talking with others who have had a thyroidectomy, some advised it shouldn't be long before I felt better, and others have been suffering the awful side effects of hypothyroidism for years.  I don't want to be one of those people.  Still trying to find my normal after years of suffering.  I've already been suffering for years being incorrectly diagnosed & treated.

I haven't really been having night sweats anymore.  Yay!  Except they have kind of become more random throughout the day.  Boo.  Still having a hell of a time getting a full night's sleep.  My patterns are all messed up.  I'm exhausted & can't seem to sleep more than a few hours at a time, though I'm sleeping all the time.  Since the day after my birthday I've felt awful.  In pain, tired, cold, hot, diarrhea, acid reflux, nausea, sneezing.  I've pretty much been confined to my couch & this is the 1st time I've really sat at my computer desk for this long.  Though the couch & another nap are calling for me right now.  Also, randomly the skin on my fingertips, no where else, decided to peel.  I have no clue if this is associated in any way to my hypothyroidism, though it's not unheard of.  It doesn't hurt or anything, it's just annoying.

Looks worse than it actually is.

I'm almost wishing the temperatures would drop here so I know what to be expecting with my hypothyroidism & the cold.  I already have a hard enough time handling food in the freezer.  It feels like my fingers get instant frostbite when I touch frozen stuff, & no I do not attribute my peeling skin on my fingers to handling frozen food.  The other day I curled up under a blanket on the couch & just couldn't get warm.  I could have sworn the temp inside my home was in the low 50's & my furnace was broken so I got up to check the thermostat.  Heat on, inside temp & set to temp the same, 69º.  What the flip!?  Now, remember how I've complained before about how 71º was too cold for me.  Ugh.  I knock the temp up a degree & am able to get a few hours of sleep, wake up, then get another hour of sleep in.

I feel like crap.

You can't love everything.

I'm still testing some stuff out from my Birchbox before I get into the post of everything I received & what I think of it.  I noticed some beauty bloggers out there tend to do posts right away when they get it & it's like, "Hey!  This is what I got!  Here are the colors (if it's makeup or nail polish).  I love the colors & they are so in right now!  I'm not wearing anything because I just opened the box.  Let me tell you about the product from what's already listed about it on the package or online, not from my personal experience because I haven't even tried it yet."  EVERYTHING is great, & they love it all already without even having used it.  Let me tell you, putting a dab of something on your hand doesn't mean it's going to look good on your face.


So there's a blog I really like called Beauty Test Dummies.  On products they give you their star rating up to 5 stars, normal retail price, the "skinny" on the product & how it worked (or didn't work) for them, if they would keep or toss it, and more information on the company & product they are reviewing like links to the company's websites or where you can buy the products.  It's kind of the direction I'd like to go with my blog though I think if there's a product out there that I personally don't like, that product had to go through a lot of initial testing in the 1st place to even make it on the market.  So even if it's not a fit for me, it has to be a fit for someone out there!  I even found a review they did for the last product I reviewed!  The Rosemary Mint shampoo.  They wouldn't buy it but I loved the stuff!  See, everyone's different, & if you're looking for good & true product reviews, instead of a blog where everything reviewed they love, love, love (all the time) you should follow them!

I've been really down the last few weeks which I have been attributing to my hypothyroidism.  I did end up calling my OBGYN about my hot flashes & possible low estrogen causing it, who said to call my endocrinologist.  I'm so sick of this back & forth.  I'm not even looking for treatment because I know things can just eventually even out once I'm off the prednisone & on the right dosing of thyroid hormones.  I just would like answers if that's really the problem or not.  As soon as any of my doctors hear that I had Graves' and a thyroidectomy, they just pass off any other symptoms I'm currently having as a possible hypothyroid problems without even really looking into it on their end.  "Talk to your endocrinologist."  Well, my endocrinologist doesn't think it has anything to do with my hypothyroidism. "It could, you need to talk to him.  We can't help you."  So, more sleepless nights to suffer though with no answers.  I just have to hope & pray it eventually goes away.

As of yesterday I started my last 2 weeks of prednisone.  Down to 5mg a day & boy am I feeling it with aches.  I go through this every time I lower the dose & it will probably be the worst when I completely go off the medication.  I like to describe the feeling as either (a) being hit by a car or (b) being beat up with a baseball bat.  I feel like I'm bruised & battered all over & it hurts to be touched.  Even my hair.

One good thing about yesterday was I got a new script for glasses!  The first thing they did was an automated perimetry visual field test.  I had to cover one eye and consistently stare at an orange dot in front of me that reminded me H.A.L. 9000, then little flashes of light would randomly come up on the screen around the orange light & if I saw them, I would use a clicker to register it.  It's very annoying & sometimes I wasn't sure if I was seeing dots that were being administered by the machine or if they were floaters.  After that came a long process of, "Put on your current glasses & cover this eye & read this line."  Then, "Cover your other eye & take off your glasses & read that line."  Then, "Is this better or worse?  Is this sharper or is this one sharper?  Which one is more clear?"  Over, and over, and over again.... until.... OMG! I can read everything CLEARLY!  Upon leaving my doctor told me that the script is quite different than what I currently have.  Surprising how much it changed in a years time.  He also joked, "The easy part is over.  Now here comes the hardest part of all this.  Shopping for glasses."

I also got my 1st Ipsy bag yesterday!  I can't wait to give everything a try.  They must get some super deal through DHL to be using them.  It took 13 days to get from NC to me in NY.  Seems kind of excessive considering it came from the same coast I'm on.  It took Ipsy 6 days after it shipped to even notify me that it had.  What really confused me though was they gave me a USPS tracking code that advised it had been already delivered to some place in CA back in August.  This was updated correctly once DHL handed it off to my post office.  I'm so used to using USPS when I ship stuff that if it's within the continental USA it's there within a week.  Well, now I know what to expect as far as a time frame with them.  Give it a full 2 weeks.

Well, lots to do today though I feel like curling up under a blanket and sleeping.  I'm sure that will happen at some point soon.  More later!

Learning more about hypothyroidism & REVIEW of De~Luxe Rosemary Mint shampoo & conditioner.

Thursday was not a good day for me.  I saw both my eye specialist and endocrinologist and I got answers to all of my questions.  These answers were very vague though and left me upset and just confused about the future of my health.  I keep trying to be optimistic about how I am being treated and it just feels like every time I'm figuring something out, or start understanding it, I end up realizing how much I don't know and become more confused and depressed about it all.

Since the surgery my eyesight has been progressively getting worse with blurring, light streaking, and double vision mostly in my left eye.  I felt like my glasses under my old script were not helping, though I realized at the eye doctor on Thursday they are helping a little.  My doctor informed me that for a year, or longer, certain antibodies from the Graves' disease can be elevated in my body, affecting my eyesight, & there's that possibility it might just get better or it could get worse also.  They've done enough they can with the steroids so I've been off the steroid eye drops & in a few weeks I'll be tapered off the prednisone.

I have an appointment next week to check my vision range & get a new script for glasses in which I will need.  He said the lenses need to be, I believe, fragmented and there's a possibility the lenses would need a new vision script every few months (depending if my vision gets worse or not).  He gave me a few eye exercises to do as much as I can (or when I remember) and I go back in a month.

I left the office in tears because everything seems so uncertain with this.  Not only that, but I've worn reading glasses for many years & my vision has only slightly changed.  My reading glasses that I got over 10 years ago finally broke 2 years ago and so I got the vision plan through my employment, got a new pair of cheap, reading glasses, then dropped the plan during (what seemed to be a very early) open enrollment last year.  A few months later I was diagnosed with Graves' and a few months after that, diagnosed with Thyroid Eye Disease.  I do have a discount plan under my current health insurance for glasses but it will hardly put a dent in what this is going to cost me considering I will need both new frames and lenses in which the lenses may need to be changed every few months.

If I know what I'm typing, or have an idea of the subject of what I'm reading, I can make out words though I still struggle.  Testing myself, reading random numbers and letters all together is a major stress on my eyes.  So, when my job consists of me reading a lot of VINs, phone numbers, e-mails and It's not like I can re-program the systems used to make the fonts super large so I can make them out just for my own sake, I NEED these glasses.  Besides the cost though, I am kind of excited to get new glasses.  Not only for the fact that I'll be able to see better but I like wearing glasses.  I'm a bit of a geek at heart!

Then I get home & learn how much people very close to me don't even understand what I'm going through.  Giving me their advice thinking that the doctors advice is bad, & being on this medication is screwing me up.  It's not the medication, it's the condition.  If I stopped the medication I'm on I would be so much worse off.  I don't have a thyroid anymore.  I don't have one that's even partially working to help control my metabolism.  If I don't take a medication or supplements to help I have NOTHING controlling my metabolism.  Just eating certain foods & exercising is not going to make me better (though I understand it can help).  At least I also understand why they wanted to put me on prednisone.  My doctor didn't extend the use of it, which he very well could have.  Even though I may be confused & frustrated about what the doctors are telling me and what their action plans are for me, from what I am reading and learning, everything they are doing & how they are doing it is the best they can do at this point in time.

Then I went to see my endocrinologist.  Some things are better but many things just seem the same.  I explain to him all my other symptoms that I've mentioned a million times on here before because nothing seems to be getting better & it's all the same thing day after day after day.  Turns out my TSH jumped.  When you have hypothyroidism TSH is usually high, hyperthyroidism it's usually low.  Going over my labs my TSH when I had Graves' was .002,  about a week after the surgery my TSH was considered normal at 2.199 and now it jumped to 7.499.  TSH is not the only thing we are looking at with my blood work but being that high it's a major reason why I feel like crap.  He explained to me how my pituitary glad is overworking due to the fact I have no thyroid proving that the medication dosage I'm on is not enough.  So my levothyroxine was upped from 125 to 150mcg.

When I was at my endocrinologist he had no clue why I was waking up at night sweating like crazy and feeling like crap.  Then, like a miracle, Stop the Thyroid Madness posted a link about sleeping disorders when suffering as hypothyroid.  I didn't know that being hypothyroid could directly effect estrogen levels causing this!  This may not be the answer to why this is happening to me as I will need further testing to determine if that's what it really is, but this information will help me with new question to ask & who to seek help from.  I may just get better after time when I find the right thyroid medication dosage, and if not, this information will help me know what I may need to test later to fix, yet another, problem.

Remember how I posted that link in my last post about the petition for endocrinologists to be up to date on the care of thyroid patients?  THAT LAST PARAGRAPH IS ANOTHER REASON WHY!  It seems so simple that I could have told my endocrinologist, "Hey, I'm waking up at all hours of the night all hot & sweating. (Though I'm freezing cold also.  I know this sounds all mixed up so imagine how I'm feeling!)  Even when I take a nap in the middle of the day I wake up all sweaty.  Sometimes I'm not even taking a naps & I get sweaty & gross."  His response shouldn't have been, "Oh, I have no clue why that's happening."  It should have been, "Well, being hypothyroid it can also cause havoc on your estrogen levels."  Then from there advised if I should have it checked out, or if it should get better once my other hormones level out, or if it doesn't what I should do.  Nope, he had no clue.  Again, PLEASE, if you have not already, SIGN THE PETITION!

I'm not even going to bring it up to him until I see him next.  I AM going to call my OBGYN though & explain everything to them because I am on a birth control that could be contributing to this & see if maybe there's something better.  Before I change anything I will request another blood test be done to see if this really is the problem though it completely makes sense that it could be!

Because I'm sick of feeling sick I ask when I should start seeing results.  Mind you, they said 6-8 weeks after surgery I could be completely better & here I am almost 7 weeks out and feeling like complete crap.  Almost feeling the same as I have been feeling since right after the surgery.  Here comes the vague, it could be days and it could be longer, maybe another month.  Month after month, they keep adding months to how long it will be before I start feeling better so I'm starting to lose faith as to when this time is going to come.  I want one week, just ONE WEEK, where I have no symptoms at all.  One week where I'm not uncomfortable in my body.  One week where I feel normal again to know that I'm finally on the right path.  Right now I can't even get a full day in of feeling normal.

So it has been depressing me.

Last night's bath consisted of:

• Rose bath bomb by tmizerek on eBay
• Daddy-O shampoo by Lush Cosmetics
• Buffy shower scrub by Lush Cosmetics
• Divine Calm body wash by The Body Shop (no longer available)
• Sister's Lavender & Vanilla Bean body butter by Mainely Cole's

With my last order to fragrancenet.com I got a small sample of Rosemary Mint shampoo and conditioner by De~Luxe SaVON.  Though I don't see it for sale on their site I did find it on drugstore.com.

They list the product as paraben free, biodegradable, synthetic fragrance free using pure essential oils, it has natural plant based ingredients, 100% pure botanical extracts, and it's cruelty free, not tested on animals!

I was able to use the samples over about a 4 day period.  The scent is very strong with both the rosemary and mint so if either of these bother you, as the scent will linger in your hair, the product may not be for you.  Having short hair, a little bit went a long way as it lathered nicely.  99% of the time I air dry my hair & these left me with a nice bounce & volume, a good clean feeling, and softness.

I would definitely buy the full sizes for myself & the cheapest I did find them were at drugstore.com.  If you are interested in doing a trial of the products before you buy, drugstore.com does sell travel sizes, currently $1.59, of both the shampoo and conditioner.

Happy bathing!

“If you don't like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes.”

First off this is VERY important to me!  Please take a moment and go to this link & sign the petition for change in the treatment of patients with thyroid disorders WORLDWIDE!  It would be even more amazing if you would SHARE it and its importance to your family, friends and even people you don't know.  I had already suffered under the care of one endocrinologist who did not treat me well, nor understand how I could still be suffering because he was basing it off of old education.  My family and I soon learned how the condition was affecting me more than he did & I found a much better doctor.  It is such a complicated condition & doctors need to be educated & treat patients individually & differently, keeping up with all the new information & medicine that can HELP US!  So, PLEASE, SIGN & SHARE!

This WILL put you on an e-mail list for Change.org but it is VERY EASY to unsubscribe.  After you sign, you should immediately get an e-mail from change.org with links at the bottom where you can choose to either update subscriptions, or unsubscribe.  It's THAT EASY! 

I got my 2nd Birchbox the other day!  Some of the products I love & some I'm still trying out so expect an update w/in the next few weeks with the reviews!

The holidays are coming and most stores have their Autumn lineup of scents out.  If you don't already know, The Body Shop will be releasing a new, limited edition line called Honeymania (If you click the link you can already see a few of the products that will be available) and you should start seeing it in your local stores & sold online by mid October with their holiday lineup.

OH how I LOVE honey!  They way it smells, the way it makes my skin feel in beauty products, the way it tastes!  I was told they will be making a bath melt with this line also.  I think it's kind of a perfect time for them to be releasing the line as it will be autumn so you will not be chased down by bees wearing this scent (at least here in NY you shouldn't).  I had that problem a while back with a honey & almond/orange product of theirs.  I'm so excited for this line to be released!

Redbook is currently having a Honeymania soap giveaway through October 14th, 2013.  There will be 10 winners & you can only enter once during the sweepstakes period.  If you do not want the free trial of the magazine please MAKE SURE you select the "CLICK HERE" in the subscription disclaimer to keep you from getting it.  Good luck if you enter!

I haven't been very motivated, nor feeling well, the past week.  I woke up the other day to the temp outside at 42º and the inside temp 70º which felt freezing to me.  I took my medication, fell asleep for about another hour on the couch curled up under 2 blankets, woke up for breakfast then fell asleep probably for another 2 hours.  I felt tired, achy, & wished it was a dark, rainy day because then I could somehow justify my laziness.  Coffee couldn't even keep me awake.  The next day my wish for rain and gloom came true & the day was wasted though I got some reading & writing done.  Yesterday the temp got up to almost 90º and my body couldn't decide if I wanted to be extremely cold or extremely hot, & today the high is supposed to be 86º.  Then on Friday the high is supposed to be only 55º.  It's THAT time of year in WNY and my hypothyroidism is NOT helping!

I've been writing this over the last few days also to get stuff out of my head.  Still frustrated with my vision & how I am feeling, I had blood taken on Monday and have 2 appointments tomorrow so I'm really hoping to have some answers as to what's going on with my body & condition.  I have a feeling I am going to need more medication adjustments.

The other day I also realized just HOW dry my hair was.  My friend was taking me out & so, while getting ready, I took my flat iron to it & that really didn't work out so well.  Even on the lowest heat setting it just seemed to singe my dry hair even more.  I have been neglecting using oil in my hair lately so I need to bring that back into my daily routine & also do a conditioning masque a few times per week.

I put a tweet out the other day that stated, Had the #muddiest, #dirtiest looking #bath ever tonight. #Tub was a complete #mess after. #Skin feels amazing! More later! :)  Here's the, "More later," part.

The last order I placed with Drugstore.com I was looking for new products to try to help with my dry skin after the thyroidectomy and I came across a line of products from a company called The Seaweed Bath Co.  Since I felt I had enough bar soaps & shower gels & am always looking for new bath additives, I noticed their Wildly Natural Seaweed Powder Bath with Hawaiian Kukui Oil & decided to get it in the Citrus scent.  It was on sale, I like seaweed & all natural products, I got another free product of theirs with it, I checked out the reviews & decided that this was my kind of product!  So I bought it.

When I received it I noticed there was a disclaimer on the product that advised to consult a doctor before use if you had a thyroid condition so I went to their facebook page and questioned it.  They responded, "The warning on the packaging is due to the naturally occurring iodine found in seaweed, which we use in all of our products. Iodine can stimulate the thyroid."  When you have a thyroid, and it is working properly, it takes iodine & processes it into T4.  So, I can understand the warning, but I don't have a thyroid anymore so it was very interesting to learn that about the seaweed!

The ingredient are: Sodium chloride (dead sea salt), Fucus vesiculosus (bladderwrack seaweed), Citrus reticulata (tangerine) essential oil, Zingiber officinalis (ginger) essential oil, Argania spinosa (organic argan) oil, Aleurites moluccana (kukui) oil, Aloe barbadensis (aloe), Tocopherol (natural vitamin E).  

I posted some pictures of my preparation and the aftermath of using this product above.  It is suggested for adults that you use 4-5 scoops (it comes with the scoop), the bath water should be a medium brown, soak for 15-30 minutes, and for best results to use 3-4 baths per week, one per day.  The container says you should get around 16 baths out of it.

The 1st time I used this product I just dumped all 4 scoops into the running water.  Because the "powder" is so dense with all the oils & seaweed, it really didn't dissolve much.  So, the 2nd time I used a trick by putting it in a nylon knee high, tied it at the top, kept it under the running water & also massaged it between my fingers to get it to dissolve.  This worked much better, though, as you can see in the pictures, still left a film on my skin & tub.  Now, imagine how it was without the nylon!

The scent of it is very earthy and considering that seaweed is the 2nd ingredient, that's what you will pick up on the most.  I didn't really pick up on the citrus scent until the 2nd bath where I got more of it to dissolve.

I have an old, ugly, plastic tub where any oily bath additive will stick to the side of it.  Like with the tub, this will stick to your skin.  I should emphasize stick!  When you are done with the bath if you just get up & on out you will have brown dots, splotches, streaks all over you.  Just taking a washcloth & water will not remove it & you will actually need a soap or soap-like product to do so.  I'm going to suggest that if you DO buy this product to also either get one of their skin soaps or body washes to maximize the effect.  I had neither so I used a regular body wash & bar soap with a washcloth & the splotches were easily removed from my skin.  Your tub will also look like a mess once you let the water out but it's extremely easy to clean up with a cleanser & you don't have to scrub hard.

I can't even begin to tell you how awesome my skin felt after using this!  So soft and moisturized.  So if you have eczema, psoriasis or very dry skin this is a product for you!  The best I have used so far!  If you think the brown splotches and clean up would deter you from buying this product, I can assure you the the benefits of what this can do for you with regular use will far outweigh a minor annoyance of a dirty looking tub!

 Until later, happy bathing!

Just want to feel normal again, whatever that is.

Good morning!  The only thing good about right now is I have a fat, purring cat on my lap.  He's temperamental though  & making it hard to type.  The last 2 days I woke up around 5am, drenched in sweat, cold & in pain.  I'm usually wide awake the rest of the day but feeling so tired & crappy.

Yesterday I took a short drive with Chris to get my car washed because, with it sitting around, it accumulated a lot of dirt.  That and I figured I'd top off the gas since I had a coupon for 5 cents off a gallon. (If you have a Delta Sonic near you USE THAT!  Today is the last day though.) With the wash ended up being, I think, 10 cents off a gallon.  My eye kept watering & I kept blinking it like crazy.  With the blurring going in & out, I got really uncomfortable so I had Chris drive home.  Never heard back from my eye specialist that I e-mailed 2 weeks ago & called on Monday & Friday last week.  Even if he is on vacation, someone still should have called me back to at least give me a time frame of when I would be able to get some answers to my questions.  Not sure if I want to try calling again today or wait until tomorrow.  I think the next best specialist is around 100 miles away.  This is frustrating & upsetting me.

At the car wash!

I actually thought going down to the 20mg a day of prednisone was going to start making me feel a little bit better.  Felt like my "moon face" & swelling maybe had been going down slightly.  This morning I look & feel as swollen as ever.  Back to looking like a Cabbage Patch Kid or Campbell's Kid.  I also can't really monitor my asthma because the prednisone is most likely helping my lungs.  I wish I were off this stuff. 

I love how it has taken me an hour to write 3 paragraphs because I had to correct a bunch of errors.  Chris is up now & the cats are on the move.  I already took my levothyroxine so I should be able to eat now.  I was close to pouring myself a glass of OJ in my morning haze but glad I didn't.  (NO food with the levothyroxine until an hour after.)  I know grapefruit juice is a big no no with this medication but I love the stuff & I think a few docs have said if I drink it later in the day or at night it's ok.  I'll have to do more research.

My neck, shoulders & fingers hurt so much right now.  Could be the weather too.  Supposed to have storms rolling through today.  I think it will be a good day for some reading, letter writing & crafts.  Maybe.

Soft nails on a chalboard.

So all yesterday I had been achy & feeling yuck.  When I get really achy I like my baths to be more herbal & potent so this was my bath for last night:

• Muscle soak by HawkMoon Soaps
• Ocean Salt by Lush
• Grass by Lush
• Daddy-O shampoo by Lush
• Wasabi soothing beeswax lotion by Red Leaf

My skin felt so soft after.  Wasn't the best mix of scents but the end result was good.

I have a lot of free time on my hands and I don't necessarily like it.  I'm trying to be routine about a lot of stuff, especially the medication I'm on.  I really need to make an effort on this.  I've been waking up around 6-7am, sometimes on my own & sometimes not, taking the levothyroxine with a glass of water, then waiting an hour to eat anything.  When I wake up I feel like I'm on a bit of a high.  I really should be monitoring my blood pressure, pulse & temperature but I hadn't & so I started this morning.  The rest of the day is pretty free.  Though I've been feeling pretty alone lately.  I'm sure listening to Depeche Mode yesterday wasn't helping with my mood.

Since I have had this free time I am doing a lot of reading on my disease.  I have to thank my doctors who just love to also keep pointing out how when I have 1 severe autoimmune disease my body is setting me up for a whole slew of other ones.  Not necessarily meaning I'll get anymore, just that I have to really pay attention to myself closely & something seems wrong or off, it could be something new.  There's always that "possibility."  They are like lawyers, telling me what these possibilities and probable outcomes can be if I do or do not do something!

With all the questions I asked & had answered at my last appointment with my endocrinologist, I'm constantly coming up with more to ask.  Until these appointments, because I don't want to keep calling my doctor when I think of something new, I write them down.  I also have been looking online but a lot of information I find is specific to treating the thyroid when you still have it!  Not after a total thyroidectomy.  Like I was reading an article about hypothyroid & salt but the thyroid uses the iodine in the salt, but I don't have a thyroid anymore so I can't take that article into consideration.  My thyroid is in some medical waste disposal somewhere or has possibly been eaten by a bird so it's not taking iodine & making T3 or T4, obviously!

When I got up yesterday my upper back and neck was sore and felt swollen.  This I know is a direct result from the prednisone I am taking.  It's all too familiar.  I was so happy I hadn't been on prednisone since August 2011!  2 whole years without this evil drug!  The lower the dosing will get, the more I will feel like I have been beaten up with a baseball bat.  I've never been on the medication for how long they prescribed it to me this time.  My ophthalmologist prescribed it before my surgery to help with the thyroid eye disease (TED) and I will not be tapered off of it until the start of October this year.  I sent an e-mail to my ophthalmologist with a few questions about what I should be expecting, if anything, as far as healing from the TED.  I'm trying to make action plans.  I think he's only in 1 day a week & they're pretty good at getting back to me within 48 hours but I also think he may be on vacation.  I can wait.  Since my anxiety is much better, waiting for answers is better.

I see my primary on Monday & received a call yesterday from this nurse who she has been working with.  She called me a few times before and after the operation & has just been super nice.  I'm almost wondering if my doctor is going to be leaving or retiring.  It's SO hard to find a good & understanding doctor these days & she has always been top notch!

My nail polish finally chipped!  So this is a good thing?  Well, it has been almost a week & with all the crafty things I have been doing with my hands that's pretty amazing considering I put it on last Saturday.  I also split my nail in the process of doing whatever I was doing though.  No clue what I did or how I did it but I most likely smacked my finger or jabbed it really hard on something.  Even with the polish & hardening coats I can still sense how soft my nails are underneath.  So, what do I do? I ordered more.

All of Rainbow Honey's double sets come with a free cuticle balm & the Sakura Matsuri collection that I got comes with it also.  The balm looks pretty convenient to use & I had left my Burt's Bees cuticle balm at work.  Plus, after butchering my cuticles this last time, it's nice to be getting a new one to try.  Their site will tell you what promos are available & how to get them when you click on the products to shop so NO forgetting to put in codes.  I also got a free Heisenberg polish!

I always find the worst part of self nail maintenance is taking the old polish off.  Such a process & hassle for me.  Once it starts chipping more severely I also tend to pull & peel as much as I can off my nails.  Bad habit!  This can cause damage or trauma to the nail.  The chemicals, even acetone free, still dry up my skin & it always feels like it takes a day or 2 to get my hands & fingers back & nourished to a normal state.  One thing I know is that as much as I also loved how acrylic & airbrushed nails looked on me, they really effed up my nail beds for a good year after I stopped having them done.  I'm also not too keen on gel polishes yet also.  I love the way they look but not into using UV rays.  Already have a melanoma in the family & I have enough health problems as it is.  Don't need another!

I want to let everyone know how personal this blog is.  I don't get free products from anyone for compensation.  All my reviews & information is truly from my own experience & heart.  This is all stuff I have picked up on my own from orders through companies I have found & became interested in, have received as gifts from people, won through giveaways or  received as samples.  Bottom line, I AM NOT PAID!  Hell, I really have enough stuff & don't even need anymore to be honest!  All my opinions are my own & truthful.  Even if something is not to my liking, there may be someone out there where it would be to theirs & I try to be open minded about that too.

Enough for now!  Happy bathing!

Her name was Lola.  She was a showgirl!