Monday, April 20, 2015

under the weather

IMG_4768

IMG_4783

IMG_4791

IMG_4773

I think this is one of those posts that I'm writing more for me than for you. I'm writing it for future reference, as a record and to try and get it out of my head and into my computer. So please, feel free to skip this one, it's not going to be very exciting or uplifting. Hopefully I'll be back here later in the week with something a bit more fun.

So basically I've been feeling crappy for quite some time now. Crappy physically but not emotionally. About six or eight weeks ago, almost exactly a year to the date of my left breast saga, I got the same infection on the other side. This time it was quickly diagnosed and treated and within a few days of starting an antibiotic course it was history.

But I mustn't have started taking acidophilous in time because next thing I knew I had a rather itchy situation. Too much information? Sorry.

All of the above knocked me around a bit but after a few days I was back to running around like usual. Until one Saturday evening I discovered that everything I ate or drank tasted like poo. This went on for a few days resulting in a complete loss of appetite, many conversations about what poo actually tastes like, me having to convince the girls that I am definitely not pregnant, and of course lots of googling.

I think the poo-taste thing lasted for about two weeks and then gradually disappeared. Only to appear in the mouths of a couple of school parents who must have asked google much better questions, I know they used the words battery acid rather than poo, and discovered a little thing called pine-mouth. Pine mouth!!!!! After all that pesto I'd been making and all those pine nuts I'd been sneaking, of course it was.

The diagnosis brought relief but also the feeling that we have to stay truer to our only buy organic and Australian grown or don't buy it at all rule. Pesto filled with dodgy Chinese pine nuts? No thanks. From now on I think we'll use almonds.

After that was cleared up for some reason I stopped sleeping. For what felt like three years but was possibly only a week or two, I just stopped sleeping. At the start I didn't mind so much. The nights are so quiet and I got lots of reading and thinking and looking at Facebook done, but unfortunately the days after the nights spent awake were a disaster. I was fragile and impatient and shivery and felt like my brain was full of a ton of wool.

Are you sick of me yet? I am.

Then of course I got a shocking head cold that two weeks later I still haven't completely shaken. Blah!

Then not last Saturday but the Saturday before as we were doing the rounds visiting our bee hives, I was stung four times. This in itself is not such a big deal, we keep bees and occasionally we get stung. But the fact that I got stung in my suit is weird and has never happened before and also I had some sort of reaction to the bites that I've never had before. In the past they've stung for a few seconds, maybe a minute and then nothing for a few days until they've itched like crazy and then disappeared. This time my bites swelled up until they were enormous. The ones on my ankle were so big I couldn't put my shoe on and the one on my thigh was the size of a small plate. And they burned. The only thing that calmed them down was a bicarb paste. Gosh they were nasty. A week later and you can still see the shadow of them like they are bruises.

And lastly, gosh how I hope it's the last of it anyway, my old shoulder injury has flared up and is travelling right up my neck, into my teeth and all the way up to my head. What even??!! I'm having a treatment with my pilates teacher in the morning and I have a whole range of exercises to do, so I'm hopeful that this will be short lived.

I know they're all just little things and I'm trying to see the bigger picture and not let them get the better of me, but sometimes it's just trying. I accept that I'm run down and my immune is low but I can't work out the reason why. I live on an organic farm, my work is pretty active, I eat a fresh and organic diet, most of which we've grown here, and I love what I do, who I do it with and how we're doing it.

I hate to complain partly because I know there are so many who are doing it so much tougher and I hate to complain because I HATE BEING THE SICK ONE!!! It's driving me cuckoo. Like I said at the start, it's just boring.

Lucky I have the apple picking, the preserving, the farm stall, the girls, farmer Bren, my knitting, stripey tights, a big pot of lentil bolognaise on the stove, linen sheets on my bed, a great book, big travel plans and the kitchen garden to take my mind off it all.

I hope you are well and happy and have lots of nice things going on.

Big love xx





59 comments:

  1. I am sending you healing wishes, Kate. I don't mind reading about your tough time: it reminds me that we all have them and it helps to just release the feelings somehow, in voice, word, or tears.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Kate, you managed to get me into tears. Sorry, not for you, but for the simple fact that there is in any case one more person on this whole world who understands how I feel sometimes. Thank you for sharing!
    Wishing you strength.

    Love from Holland

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope you are feeling better soon Kate, feeling crappy is the pits! How weird is that pine mouth! I've never heard of anything like that! The world is full of strange things isn't it. Big hugs to you! Julie xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Kate,ou poor thing! What a terrible run you have had. Maybe you need a trip to the doctors just to check blood levels etc ( just to be safe) I know I've suffered low iron before and that's really crappy,
    With regards to the bees, sorry, but it olds like you have developed an allergic reaction to them, I am allergic to bees and swell up, have huge black bruise like shapes and the pain!! Ouch. I have to take antihistamine if I am stung and have been told o be careful as it will probably get worse with every sting, so I my one day need an epipen (adrenaline)
    Take care of yourself xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry you're feeling crappy Kate, such a series of inflictiions would get anyone down. I hope this week is the start of an upturn for you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Kate sorry you have had such a crappy time it's awfull to feel so low
    Take care and be kind to yourself xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's so hard sometimes to be the one who can't get sick. I often find my immune system becomes complete garbage during times of stress, and it usually manifests itself in skin problems like eczema, eye infections, rashes, etc. Take care of yourself and feel better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sending you love and healing thoughts. I was sick for the last half of last year, constant flu, throat infections, conjunctivitis and I think I was suffering from Adrenal Fatigue...... worth a look perhaps for you. I hope you feel better soon. Take care of yourself xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  9. It sounds like you might need a few days or more complete break to build up strength and let your immune system do its thing.
    Also, if the reactions to bee stings are much worse than before, you should go see your GP to see about maybe getting an epi-pen to carry around with you in case of anaphylactic shock in the future.

    Bug hugs Kate xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BIG!!!!! You don't need BUGS as well ;-p

      Delete
  10. poor you! hoping you get a stretch of good health now!

    I echo the sentiment above; do check your iron levels if you haven't recently.

    we had hives on our property as a kid and my dad over time developed an allergy to stings as also mentioned above.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ah you poor thing, feeling bad is never easy especially if you are the wife, mother and daughter, you have so many roles to play. Take good care of yourself, rest when you can and just breathe, it helps. I hope you feel loads better soon and thank you for being real, I will take a real blog any day.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm so sorry, Kate. Being sick is the absolute worst! I have struggled with yeast infections for years (once I was afflicted for 18 months! It was agony!) Most recently, the last time I got one I decided to try the anti-candida diet, cutting out all grains, sugars, fruit (the hardest of all to eliminate!), starchy veggies, dairy, etc etc and it was really challenging. But it worked! And I decided to stay off wheat and added sugars, it's been almost two months and I feel amazing. Thank you for talking about your afflictions, because I think it's important that we have an open dialogue about health. It is so important! I have never heard of pine mouth, sounds terrible, and I'm glad I know about it now. Wishing you a super long period of health and happiness in the coming months.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Strong women are allowed to feel sick too. Sending you a hug all the way from Portugal :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gosh I hope you feel better and find some answers soon! Please don't feel bad about sharing the bad or boring bits. We all have bad or boring bits (or both even!), we are all human, we all feel and we all have the right to express it. Xx

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh Kate, poor you, it really has been one thing after another. I think sometimes little things but lots of them one after another can be as wearing as one bigger thing.I really hope you have a better time with your health now!
    Do take care around your bees, my brother-in-law kept bees but after a while started to react to the stings and each time it got worse so his Uncle took them over and the same thing happened to him, they both have to carry epi pens now.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Be well soon, you poor schnook! Being run down and sick and sleepless is the least kind of fun. May you find your bounce soon. May we have lunch soon, too? x

    ReplyDelete
  17. oh Kate, poor you, i'm tired out but you sound much worse, so now I feel a bit better - that sounded better in my head than it does on the screen! Take it easy and get well soon x

    ReplyDelete
  18. That sounds just just awful, but at the risk of sounding like a hideous troll it made me laugh because I have been having the same kind of thing happening-- illness, allergies,sleep deprivation, and a broken toe. I have been feeling too cruddy blog and I did not want to whine. Thank you for letting me know that everyone has those times and for being brave enough to blog about it.
    hugs and get well soon

    ReplyDelete
  19. How horrible! ((Hugs)) I hope so much you feel better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Not enough rest and time out???? Kate I haven't read the comments above yet, but this is what it sounds like to me. We can eat the right foods, be with the right people etc etc, but we also need rest and time out. You have just come through a busy summer time on the farm and now we are entering a new season.....the perfect time to be a bit run down and to get sick. I also think, as women, we don't honor our monthly cycle enough......days where we have more energy, days when we need to be quiet and rest.

    Maybe a bit of quiet and rest is needed. Echinacea maybe or something to boost your immunity. Possibly some quiet moments to tune into your own intuition......your body knows what it needs.

    Hugs Kate. We are all allowed to have a bit of a complain from time to time. Hope you feel better soon. I am also going through some minor health issues at the moment......things that I haven't addressed before, but things that are preventing me from being at my best all the time. I suppose we are human and we are all flawed......so frustrating though......I want to be at my best all the time!!! xxoo Julie xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  21. Man you've had a rough trot! Thanks for posting about the boring, annoying, frustrating things. Life isn't perfect, and it's good to see that reflected in blogs too. It does sound like your body is trying to tell you something (trust me, I'm not a doctor!) Sounds like you've got a few things on the list that'll have you heading in the right direction soon... but get some rest!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Goodness, you need a big hug, girl! I'd be frustrated if so many things had happened over the course of weeks.
    Have you tried Bowen Therapy? I find the gentle muscle manipulation to be very good, I have occasional neck spasms too! Give it a go.
    I hope things are soon back on an even keel for you. Take care,

    Joolz xx

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh Kate!! It sounds to me like you need a good detox and some time out.
    Being sick is the worst, and having a run like you've had is dreadful!
    I don't know how you feel about herbal treatments, but burdock and nettles are excellent immune builders and blood purifiers...just a thought.

    Hope you're feeling better soon,
    Sarah xox

    ReplyDelete
  24. Goodness me you have been in the wars haven't you. I agree with an earlier comment and that is to go and get a full blood work up just to check all your levels as a precaution. As for the bees maybe because you are run down and usually our bodies are trying to tell us something and we just have to listen. Hopefully you'll be on the mend soon. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane

    ReplyDelete
  25. sounds like a tough time Kate. Take care of yourself
    cheers Kate

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Kate actually this post is very relevant to women/mothers of our age so it's good to share. I have similar issues with shoulder/neck pain and I am an organic shopper/cook and if I go slightly off the path I get so sick! Sometimes there are other past exposures (beyond our control) that catches up with us too or change in hormones. Totally understand where you are coming from. Big hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hey Kate, you poor lady! This is only an idea, but a lot is coming out now about gut health relating to inflammation in the body, you could try doing a little research into "leaky gut" and see if that sounds like you - there are lots of options to heal it. Anyway, I hope you feel better! Kellie xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly what I was thinking Kel!

      Hope you pick up soon poor love. Sounds like the pits.

      xoxo

      Delete
  28. Oh lovely Kate this all sounds really shitty! I too hate being the "sick one" & I get very cross at my body when it lets me down.
    I'm sure you've heard all the things on what to take & what to do so I'll just send you love & a hug xx

    ReplyDelete
  29. I don't know if this story might help you, but eating too organic can be the problem ! You are not used to the worlds poison any longer ! We know people who ate organic and after some time the two of them became quite sick. So They discovered that they had to keep up with some non organic food to avoid falling sick when not eating organic... I don't have the fool details but you are no longer immuned against this polluted world ! :( doesn't ir sound horrible ? These people loved going on journeys and they qould be so sick... So now they make sure to eat not all organic ! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hope you are feeling much better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Kate I think when we get sick it is time for the universe to slow down around us, or us to slow down around the universe. I have been sick with a virus which lasted a week (thank goodness) and then Sunday I got sinusitis which was the most unpleasant thing I have had for a long time, feeling nauseous and light headed does not sit well with me. I do not think I would like the poo thing either Kate, how horrible. It does show lately how many things are not as they seem with food prep doesnt it, and we dont know what we are buying really. I hope you feel better soon, bright and happy just as you should be.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Don't worry about people having it worse, your own issues will always affect you slightly more than the ones of others because you have to live in them and often it's the not being able to help others that bothers people who are ill. I have lowered immune system, it can be so frustrating not being able to plan because you don't know if you'll be well enough. I hope you taking care of yourself and doing all those good things means you recover quickly and get a break in the bad luck so your body can recuperate. hugs and cake xxx

    ReplyDelete
  33. Sometimes, at least for me, I have to commit the crap to paper to see that, yes, this really is a crappy situation, not just a poor attitude. Once I accept that the suck is real, it's a lot easier to give myself permission to tread water until things sort themselves out, instead of beating myself up for not being better. I hope that the treatment for your neck et al. works and your physical health returns. It sounds like you have a great support system and a they can carry you through this as I'm sure you've carried them through trying times. God bless!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I'm so sorry you've been feeling crappy, Kate. I'd like to tell you something that might provide an extra distraction from the crappy stuff.
    I loaned my copy of "Vantastic" to a lovely workmate who is getting ready to head off caravanning around Australia with her family. Just today she was telling me how much she loves your book, and how useful it is...
    Sending you good wishes xx

    ReplyDelete
  35. Sorry to hear about the rough time. Here's hoping it will pass swiftly! Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  36. my mum had pine mouth a couple of years ago and now refuses to eat pine nuts. its an odd thing that seems to be caused by certain batches of pine nuts rather than anything being 'off' we had never heard of it either but she visited the doctors to find out what it was!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Oh Kate, bugger bugger bugger, I hope this is IT for you before winter! I have one thing to say though because I have had a similar experience over the last 6 months, and high doses of vitamin D have turned me around - I had a blood test and my levels were really low depsite all the walking, riding, gardening I've been doing over the summer!? It took two days on Vitamin D for me to feel like a completely new person. Apparently this happens a lot! Even chronic hip pain that has left me unable to walk properly - gone!
    Anyway, whatever it is you need, may you receive it in abundance and be sleeping like a baby, and brimful of chi before you know it! xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  38. P.S. I'm finally doing the Grannie Hottie crochet along from last year! A serious love affair with Grannie Squares has over come me. So thank you!! x

    ReplyDelete
  39. Being run down is the worst kind of rut, Kate, and everything that would normally skip you seems to stick. I hope you get some rest and calm and your body gets back to its normal strong self very soon..and so much good to look forward to you lucky duck! x

    ReplyDelete
  40. Oh, that is a crappy time of it! I recommend Bowen Therapy to balance everything again. I had a shocking shoulder/neck problem that physios tried to right by trying to pull my head off (I'm not joking!) It just wouldn't realign so, in desperation, I got some Bowen treatment done and it came good pretty quickly. Now, I don't hesitate to get a Bowen tune up!

    ReplyDelete
  41. I hope you are feeling a lot better soon. I hate being sick, especially when it's a whole lot of weird things one after another. I had blood tests and found my iron was very low and I have been having trouble staying asleep for ages and I feel run down despite taking an iron supplement. And who would have thought there could be something called Pine Mouth!!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Aw, Kate. I know that technically we aren't old but, as I said to someone the other day, I didn't think that I'd feel so old as part of the process of growing older. All the things that used to work perfectly are maybe a bit dodgy and the confidence in ignoring some symptom like we did in our 20s is lacking. It depresses me that I am past my prime- because I don't think I know that I was there at the time.
    Still, all those little things should resolve themselves but what a poo (pun intended) to have such a time of it. Hopefully you have paid your dues for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Oh lovely one - what cr*ppy, sh*ty, f***ed up p** is this!!?? Yuck and double yuck. Being sick is just the absolute pits but a relentless barrage of awful festering t*rd creeks is NOT GOOD.
    Light and love and more light and love and possibly cashews for a creamy pesto (?) and maybe even more cheekily suggested - oregano oil (helped me ENORMOULSY!) and then some more light and love - all for you. xx♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

    ReplyDelete
  44. Sorry to hear you feel so rubbish Kate! I can't believe that poo taste thing! Yick!
    I've just been through about a year of rubbish things, but the rubbish certainly makes you feel lovely about the normal, the average and just feeling like yourself. We are all aiming for happiness, but it's only when you feel like rubbish, that you realise that feeling normal is feeling happy... well for me anyway. hmm not sure that makes any sense now.... Hopefully you understand what I mean.

    I think you should read Pip Lincolne's new book and maybe listen to some Courtney Barnett... both of those things are making me feel great right now. xx

    ReplyDelete
  45. Oh gosh you poor thing! I agree that maybe it would help to have a full blood test done. A few years ago I was in a real bad way until my underractive thyroid was diagnosed. Also, those bee stings sound more like wasp stings. I had one get inside my top once and unlike bees one wasp can sting repeatedly. The bites turned into huge welts that stung and itched for days.

    I hope you are able to find some answers soon. xo

    ReplyDelete
  46. Kate, so sorry for your troubles. I agree with the earlier commenter about adrenal fatigue. I could so relate with your story. It sounds just like mine from a couple of years ago. I sought medical attention many times and just kept getting rounds of antibiotics which helped for awhile and then didn't. Eventually, out of desperation, I found a Naturopathic Doctor and she immediately tested my adrenal glands and gave me a supplement (Ribes) and also supplement my thyroid (even though my TSH levels were within normal range), the adrenals and thyroid go together in a well functioning body. I also adopted a gluten free, dairy free and sugar free diet. It was difficult at first but the benefits were so immense that I have not looked back. I am not prone to sharing personal details with just anyone but I hope it helps. Be well. Carla

    ReplyDelete
  47. Kate, I felt I needed to add a few more things. It's a very complicated issue. With recurring yeast infections, there is likely Candida. Also leaky gut syndrome is a probability and so are nutrient deficiencies. So I would recommend a starting place is to get blood work done. And ask for extensive, iron, B vitamins, magnesium, etc. Also all of your thyroid levels including TPO (antibodies) and then at least you will be armed with some info to begin. If at all possible, I would then see an alternative Doctor. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  48. I had pine mouth too! It was terrible! I thought I had a brain tumor or something because I constantly tasted metal and cigarettes! I feel for you and hope you feel better from all of the discomforts you have suffered lately. *hugs*

    ReplyDelete
  49. I had pine mouth too! It was terrible! I thought I had a brain tumor or something because I constantly tasted metal and cigarettes! I feel for you and hope you feel better from all of the discomforts you have suffered lately. *hugs*

    ReplyDelete
  50. Hope you're feeling a lot better soon. I got stung by our bees a couple of years ago. A total of 18 stings at once. I had the same sort of reaction that you've described plus felt like I had the flu. Definitely not nice!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Oh man, those apples are picture perfect! I'm sorry to hear about your head cold. I've been suffering the same, although I'm not sure if it's allergies or something more. Hope you feel better.

    ReplyDelete
  52. All will pass. It will get better.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Ooh gosh. That bee business doesn't sound good. My son was stung quite a bit last summer, and each time it swelled more. The final time he came out in hives so off we went to see the allergist. He did a blood test and yup- now we have an epipen just in case. Please take care.

    ReplyDelete
  54. I am sorry for you, and I have no good advice - others have far more interesting and potentially helpful comments to offer. But, thanks, for helping me by describing a less than perfect life. It's actually quite affirming to hear that others have bad days, weeks too!

    ReplyDelete
  55. It's late and I am catching up... hope you're recovering and food has again become your flavorful friend. I am suspicious of all food these days, so much of it causes reactions of one form or another when eaten. I like your goal of eating what you grow as much as possible and the almond versus foreign pine nuts debate seems solved without any hassle. Your almonds must be the most flavorful, organically grown and harvested with love.

    Happy Weekend, Kate, best to all the girls and farmer Bren too.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Oh, I read your newer post and then this older one, I hope everything is fine with you now. Sometimes the little things just get together and amount to so much that one cannot bear it all. And then we start being annoyed and annoying :) Hope you are well now. Hugs

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for stopping by...

I do read every single comment you leave and appreciate it very much, but I should let you know that I can be a wee bit on the useless side when replying to comments, that's just me, everyday life sometimes gets in the way....so I'll apologise now, just in case.

Kate XX

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Visit my other blog.