Month: November 2009

Living with Meniere’s

~ thedailydish ~ 32 Comments

I get a lot of hits on this blog. Some of you visiting are my friends and family, but others of you are strangers desperate for answers.  Whether you’ve found me through a google search, or have clicked through from The Daily Dish, it is for you that I write this post.  You have been drawn here b/c you, like me, suffer from Meniere’s Disease.

I don’t talk about Meniere’s very often, mostly b/c it’s so damn depressing, but today I am breaking the silence.  Yesterday the dizziness came out of nowhere.  One minute I was fine, the next – nearly on the floor.  Why?  Good question.  It could be a myriad of things, from food to motion to emotion.  But often it’s simply a change in the weather.  Barometric pressure can do funny things to a girl.  And as fun as it might sound to be a human barometer, it’s really not.  Right now I am practically strapped to my chair.  I walk the hallway, steadying myself with the walls.  Living w/ Meniere’s Disease is a literal roller coaster, and most often I try to ignore it away.  But today I can’t.  On days like this, the best I can do is stay calm.

What is it like, one of these episodes? Well. For me, they vary. Take today. I feel dizzy. Unbelievably so. There’s an intense pressure in my head, which gets worse if I move a certain way, or stiffen up, or cough or sneeze or chew – or pretty much do anything. I feel like a top that’s been wound too tight, about to spiral off into the universe.  I am trapped inside my own body.  Like a prisoner, I have no control.  So here I sit. Feeling sorry for myself. I know these episodes pass. It’s not forever.  But it’s hard to reason w/ yourself when you’re feeling so bad. Today it’s the dizziness. Other times, it’s my hearing. First comes the pressure.  I try to coax my ear from its hissy fit.  With increasing desperation, I try to keep it open.  I pop it, over and over.. but it’s no use.  Soon my ear closes off to the world.  The tinnitus grows, my hearing recedes.  Once again, I am half-deaf.  I am alone again, inside.

The doctors try, but they can’t do anything for me. Really. It’s amazing how medicine has made such strides, but so much remains unknown.  I get very philosophical when I’m like this. Forgive me. But I can’t stop thinking about it all.

Welcome to our next project!

~ thedailydish ~ 17 Comments

Re-tiling the upstairs bath.  A before shot:

upstairs hall bath

Not bad, huh?  Unfortunately, the 50s asbestos tile is falling into serious disrepair, particularly adjacent the tub.  The bath mat hides an awful lot.

bath mat masking ISSUES

beneath the mat the floor is falling apart

Several of the tiles are cracking and the bathroom sub-floor is beginning to rot.  My husband & I don’t want to risk more serious issues arising (like stepping out of the tub and falling through to the first floor vestibule).  Although we have a lot going on, this floor is getting worse by the day and cannot be put off any longer.  Lucky for us, we have already done the downstairs bath w/ mosaic tile, an inaugural project which was much more involved.  This bathroom should be a breeze by comparison.  (Famous last words.)

We only have the one tub, so we need to get this project done QUICKLY.  In our favor: It’s cold now, so we have a few days before we all start to smell.  Against us: we are going to need to bathe by next week.  Bottom line: We’re going to have to PUSH this project over the weekend.  Today’s agenda?  Removing the old tile.  And, once my husband returns from his day job, replacing the floor if necessary, and laying the backer board.  We’ve selected 12 inch black & white ceramic tile to replace what’s currently there.  Stay tuned for progress reports.  Wish us luck!

Sip A Bowl – where have you BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!!

~ thedailydish ~ 16 Comments

When I was a kid, I liked to eat ice cream.  I liked to eat it in front of the TV sometimes, watching the Flintstones or Bugs Bunny.  I would devour the scoops & jimmies first, and when I was done I would lick the bowl clean like an animal.  It was fun, but it always left my face a little dirty.  And for those of us w/out any couth at all (like my sister) it was more of a full contact sport.

The other night my younger daughter announced that she needed a can of yellow waxed beans for school the next day.  Not that you care, but her class was making soup.  So I checked in the cabinet, and of course we have black, garbanzo, pinto, kidney and green – but NO yellow waxed.  My husband hustled off to Shaws and returned shortly w/ the aforementioned beans, plus the two most SPECTACULAR BOWLS I had ever seen.

BEHOLD!!  The Sip-a-Bowl.

sip a bowl

straw bowl

My daughter may appear skeptical but I assure you, one use & she was HOOKED.  This sip-a-bowl is amazing!  No more liquidy mess all over my leather couch.  No nasty sticky glop on the coffee table. Fewer brown stains on the tee shirts.  Hooray!  Next up: cereal w/ milk.  Yogurt w/ whipped cream.  Applesauce.  Cream of soup.  Whatever else we can puree and suck down w/ a straw.  Somebody – quick! SEND MORE BOWLS!!!