Fulenn's MS page New: before/after pics on page 15

[moonwatcher]

Fun times with rice noodles! The "easy" way I cook those is to put them in a big bowl and just pour boiling water from the tea pot over them to cover, then let them sit until they are the right consistency. Works for me anyway

Your food sounds wonderful. Right now I'm finishing a huge cabbage black bean multi-veggie "taco" salad.

moonwatcher

[fulenn]

I'll remember that cooking idea next time I make the vermicelli noodles, but I had the ones today on a hard boil the entire time they were cooking! I didn't know they could take that long. My mother gave me a spaghetti cooker a few years ago that works the way you suggested, it is a clear tube with a lid that looks like a colander; you put the spaghetti in, pour boiling water over it, wait a few minutes, flip the lid, turn upside down and drain the water, and the spaghetti is done. Basically, it just replaces the bowl and colander. I'm going to try it with the thin noodles. Thanks for mentioning that!

The taco salad sounds good--how are you using the cabbage?

Fulenn

[moonwatcher]

That is really strange about those other noodles taking so long, fulenn. I love the concept of your spaghetti cooker! You're all set to try my method out with the vermicelli.

I just chop up cabbage small (I supposed you could do it in the food processor, but I just make a thin sliced and then chop that up. I had lovely green and also red cabbage from our Farmer's Market, julienned carrots, a julienned turnip from may garden, some baby red romaine from my garden, green onion, red pepper, black beans, some frozen corn, cilantro, lovage--I think that's it. I made a dressing from straighupfood blog I love, with is 2 tbs lime juice, 1 tbs stoneground mustard (I have a no salt added one from Westbrae), and I add lime zest if I have it, and grated garlic or garlic granules. I added a tbs of tomatillo salsa today too. I am kind of in love with this type of salad right now and am eating it almost every day. I had my first tomato from the garden in one a few days ago Maybe this was more than you wanted to know!!

moonwatcher

[fulenn]

Today I walked 1.07 miles and lifted weights. I took a 2-hour nap this afternoon, but only slept 7 hours last night. 9 hours still seems to be the number that gets me through the entire day. I exercise so late at night because it is cooler out.

Food was good today--I finished the noodles for dinner and ate watermelon salad with it. Then I made my own tortilla chips and ate them with Gramma Jackie's bean dip--ff refried beans mixed with salsa. It was really good, but I did have to limit how many chips I made--I would happily have eaten 5 or 6 tortillas worth!

Fulenn

[fulenn]

Walked 1.73 miles with DH this morning--am trying to do at least part of my walking earlier than midnight.

Ate well today, but ate too much. I kept eating even after I felt satisfied physically. Not sure why I did that, but I'll be thinking about it.

I am headed to do my weight lifting now.

Made a really good vegetable and rice soup tonight, but then my oldest daughter called me over to her bowl and there was a tiny white worm in it! I looked and saw another. Turns out there are moth worms in the dry rice. Blech. It was probably there last night, too. I had already eaten mine. So glad I lived awhile in a country where I tried bugs a couple of times, this wasn't too disgusting in comparison. So I pulled out the strawberries, toast, and baked beans. So that's my gross story for, hopefully, the month.

My arm and hand are the worst symptom that I am experiencing now. Last night it was the worst it has ever been--the sensation lasted for about 2 minutes, usually it fades within 1 minute.

Fulenn

edit: It is 10:29pm and I just finished lifting weights and riding my recumbent bicycle 3.21 miles. Feels great knowing that I did some exercise this morning AND just now. I felt more awake in the morning than I have recently. Of course, I am getting back onto a normal schedule and trying to get OFF of my night owl schedule.

[fulenn]

I ate good food today, but ate a lot of it. I had a sweet potato for breakfast, lunch was watermelon and ginger hoisin rice noodles with asparagus, mushrooms, green onion, and red pepper, and another sweet potato, dinner was watermelon, more noodles, cucumbers with hummus, and watermelon for dessert.

I got on the bicycle and did 7.98 miles. I am very proud of that.

No MS problems today, the hands did not tingle during or after the bike riding, but I was inside in the air conditioning and I am wondering if that is a heat-related symptom. I'll keep writing it down when it happens and see if I can track it down.

My arm/hand problem seems to have something to do with getting up from a prone position and lying down, too. It happens most of the time in the morning when I get up, usually within 1-2 minutes. It happens occasionally when I lie down at night, also within a couple of minutes. I'll keep watching it, too.

Fulenn

[fulenn]

Today I was wanting a rueben sandwich, so for dinner I had a sandwich of rye bread, sauerkraut, and tomato slices. I cooked it panini style and it was really good. Had watermelon with it. Breakfast was hash browns and lunch was sweet potatoes.

I walked 1 mile today on a science field trip with one of my children. It was fun and I was happy to see how the teacher questioned the children, challenging them to think about the issues rather than simply issuing the information.

I had a vertigo incident today for only a couple of seconds.

Fulenn

[fulenn]

I stayed up and listened to Dr. McDougall on Coast to Coast--I only heard about 2/3 of the broadcast, but it was really good! I had fun sitting in my car with the radio on. My tuner is in my living room and my youngest daughter was sleeping on the couch tonight, soooo, my husband had the funniest look on his face when he came home from work and saw me sitting out there. I really enjoyed hearing Dr. McD. talk. He was very laid back and never said all or nothing statements; he would respond that, "I would prefer..." to questions about whether we should have dairy, or white rice. It was very inviting and presented in an I-can-do-this manner.

Now I'm off to bed.

Fulenn

[fulenn]

Breakfast: cantaloupe, oatmeal
Lunch: sweet potato, watermelon
Dinner: spaghetti, nutritional yeast, kale

Everything went well today. The children had school today, afterwards we got my oldest child signed up for several college classes, then bowling, to the store for school supplies, and the bookstore for a book for class. Busy day. But I felt good the entire time. The past couple of years, the fatigue from the MS has made it difficult to do a whole lot. I usually would schedule errands so that I didn't have to go to more than 2 places at a time. Recently, I have been able to do whatever I need to do without worrying about my energy running out too soon. This is a huge freedom that has been returned to me.

Fulenn

[fulenn]

I ran tonight!!! I haven't been able to run, however little, for a little over 3 years, but tonight I was able to run at a moderate pace for about 300 yards. I am so excited! Sometimes I dream about being able to run again and I have wanted this for a long time now. Anyway, I wanted to share this.

We went walking for 2.93 miles. I ran a bit on the track while we were walking, not so that I pushed myself. I still feel good--no horribly draining fatigue. I hope I will continue to have days like this one.

Did not lift weights tonight.

Fulenn

[moonwatcher]

hi fulenn,

For some reason I have not been getting updates about your journal, so I thought I'd check in. Glad to hear you are doing so well. Your panini style ruben sandwich sounds good! And that's so great to feel energy to returned to you to do what you need to do.

Thanks for posting your food and progress. Sounds like your symptoms are not as pronounced or long lasting. Hooray for that. And glad you got to hear Dr. McDougall!

moonwatcher

[fulenn]

Hi moonwatcher,

Nice to hear from you! How are you doing? Are you enjoying your last few weeks before school begins? I'm waiting until my current stash of food is smaller, but then I want to try your salad. I love crunchy foods and the cabbage part sounds really good.

Fulenn

[moonwatcher]

HI fulenn,

I'm doing well. I have really done better with the heat than ever. WE haven't had any triple digit weather, but still I notice I am moving around in it much more easily. And I even had an amazing ah-hah moment, as in OH. Well maybe this is what so and so means when they say they enjoy the warm weather. I also had a lipid panel done and was overjoyed to get a total cholesterol number of 134, with LDL at 80. That's great for me. Best one so far. So I guess all these whole foods we're eating really DO deliver.

I haven't taught at the university since 1996, but I AM enjoying the last few weeks before school begins anyway. I live a block from the university, and any time now, more of the college kids will return. It's nice and quiet and mellow in the summer when most of them are gone. There are some great ones that live across the street from me, though. I'll have four of five new girls next door. We'll see how that goes. The last ones were fine.

I'm looking forward to my son and his girlfriend coming from Portland to visit in a couple weeks or so. They'll be here for his birthday, looks like, which will be fun.

Had a nice day going to Farmer's Market and puttering around in the garden. Let me know how you like crunching on a cabbage salad. It's one of my favorites!

Hope all is well at your end-

moonwatcher

[fulenn]

moonwatcher, congratulations on your great lipid numbers! Hope you, your son, and his girlfriend have a great time. I visited my mother this summer and we had a good visit. It is interesting how our relationship has changed so much over the years. We both laughed about that. I know what you mean both about student neighbors and town being quiet in the summer. My father taught at a university while I was growing up and we lived 2 blocks off campus. Right now my mother has some great young men living across the street, but you really don't know until they move in what will happen each year. I'm glad they have a couple more years before moving on.

I ran again tonight! We turned on MapMyWalk and checked the distance; my actual for last night was 200 yards and tonight was 280 yards. I can live with that! I was able to run a bit faster, too, so that was nice. My legs don't feel so weird moving that way. I hope this will continue. We walked 3.09 miles tonight. One daughter joined us and that was fun. I also ran into a former student and was glad to hear how well she is doing.

My other symptoms were good, except for that left arm and hand. It seems like it might be getting better, but it has been so slow that I often go a month or more before realizing that a certain part of my arm doesn't tingle as much or as intensely as before.

Food today was boiled yellow potatoes, jasmine rice, red cargo rice, watermelon, and kale. It was a busy errand-running afternoon and I slept in today--10 hours! But it's still less than the 14-15 I was doing. Food wasn't that interesting, but it was filling, so I guess that's what counts.

Fulenn

[moonwatcher]

good morning fulenn,

it's really interesting how simple, filling food does the trick, isn't it? I'm so attached to recipes that it's taken me a while not feel apologetic about just eating out of the pan of cooked brown rice, or gobbling down a steamed potato. The simplest things are often the easiest to digest, too, which is important to me. So as time goes on, even my recipes get simpler. So no need to apologize for a day of simple food.

This is wonderful that you ran!! What a thrill, yes? My dog is a type of sight hound, and though older, when he feels like it and is off-leash in a safe place, he can really go faster than any other dog I've seen. He is a sprinter. There's no way I could keep up with him (luckily he runs wide circles around me, so I don't have to), but sometimes I run a bit to keep him going, and I am always amazed when I do even that little bit. So it must feel great to run like that. Moving releases so much tension, I think. I am so much more relaxed in general now that I feel well enough to take a walk or two a day.

It sounds like you really do understand about living in a college neighborhood! Like your mother, I am blessed with some great kids living across the street. One grew up here, and I know his Mom, and have known him since he was a little boy. They all help me out when I need it with bringing wood in and changing my water dispenser, sometimes snow shoveling. It all works out. I've had really good luck with that particular house. All groups of young people living in it over the years have been great.

I am glad you had such a good visit with your Mom this summer and could laugh about how relationships change. That sounds healing too. My son and I have always been able to laugh at ourselves, which has helped us through our ups and downs. On the whole, we have a great relationship. From the time he was 4, it was mostly just him and me, with Dad in the background and far away, and my parents helping out from afar. So we are pretty close. He and his girlfriend eat the way I do, though not as strict, and they are super supportive. So it will be fun to have meals with them. I might try and make one of those watermelon cakes for a surprise. I haven't decided yet.

I hope you have a great day today. And good you had a little extra sleep, but did not have to go back to as much as you once needed. You're doing great!

Thanks, too, for the congratulations about the lipid numbers. It means a lot coming from someone on the same path.

moonwatcher