Tag Archives: Brain

Delicious!

By Posted in Other Stuff Tagged , , , , , , 2 Comments

gluten-intoleranceFor health reasons, starting maybe six weeks ago, I am now on a gluten-free diet. Actually it’s for health-ish (what a tongue twister) reasons. Starting next month I am enrolled in a trial for a new physical therapy technique. Don’t ask me to give you the science, but it has to do with inflammation in the brain blocking blood flow.

Good news: I don’t understand it, but I have had a few treatments before the actual trial started. It really works!

Now to the diet. It has been an adjustment. Every one of my favorite foods contains gluten! Luckily, Sarah’s boyfriend’s mom is gluten free so Sarah gave me some tips and a list of foods his mom eats. Plus, with gluten-free being so popular, Sprouts and Trader Joe’s have lots of choices.

As I said, just the couple treatments in and I’ve already felt this new therapy work. Nothing huge—I’m not walking or talking—but I am more comfortable. If this continues, I can do without wheat.

I had gluten-free brownies at lunch today that were simply delicious! Who knew?

A Long Road

By Posted in Rants and Raves Tagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

Courtesy zenpsychiatry.com

I love my brain. It allowed me to graduate high school number 30 in a class of over 500. It allowed me to receive my AA and even take online classes to this day (I’m actually enrolled in a creative writing class as we speak). On the other hand, my ?!#$%ing brain (I’m too much of a lady) is my nemesis.

My condition is very similar to multiple sclerosis: the white matter in my brain was destroyed. But as MS is a gradual process, my damage happened all at once. The best doctors in the country are still scratching their heads. I went from being a high school freshman in a prestigious honors program to being in a coma a few hours later.

I think the most frustrating part is that I remember exactly how to do everything. Walking, for instance: you simply (ha ha) bring up your calf, bend your knee, and bring your hamstring forward. I remember how, it’s just my !#$% brain who forgot.

I still have physical therapy, and as anyone with MS will tell you everyday is different. I have therapy on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Tuesday could be a good day, where I do everything perfectly, then I can’t do anything on Thursday. You get the point.

On my bad days, I tend to beat myself up. But something just clicked with me. I have no idea why it came so late on this journey, but I finally realized it’s not ME doing things wrong, it’s my bleeping brain.

That’s good news. I guess.

It’s All in Your Head

By Posted in Other Stuff Tagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

This is me. Exactly.

Let me tell you how awkward this post is going to make me feel, as it’s not my personality at all. But I said I was going to speak my mind!

I don’t think I get embarrassed easily. Especially when I am reliant on other people for absolutely everything. I have help in the shower, while aides I know only on a superficial level wash the most personal of areas. You get the idea. I don’t know if I have just gotten used to it or what, but it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it used to.

What truly bothers me is TV and commercials! It’s like with TV the networks try to outdo each other with the references to sex and they would be just as funny without them. I thought it was a new thing, but I started watching “Friends” reruns on Netflix last night, from ‘96. It’s a very funny show, and I will definitely watch it again, but let me tell you, if I were watching with someone else I would have turned it off. Why is that?

According to Time.com, I can blame my brain! I’m no neurologist, so I will let them do the explaining, but next time you see someone come out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to their shoe or watch a kid make a basket for the wrong team (my one and only basket in my youth basketball league), imagine how their brains are working!

Image: Jokideo.com