Amy said,

Excellent advice. I keep thinking I have to completely change my habits starting Monday,or the first of the month, etc. Never happens.Saw the cover of People magazine today.Valerie Bertnelli in a bikini at age 49. (Botoxed to the hilt, which I don’t find attractive.)

I look at her picture and I think, I’ll never be able to achieve that because I can’t stay on any diet longer than a week! But small changes, I can manage. I am not so apt to rebel.

I hope your doctor’s visit went well. It really brings tears to my eyes, what you are going through. You are one tough, healthy hot mama! 

Amy if you expect too much of yourself in one step, you are setting yourself up for failure. If you drink soda, start with knocking that out of your diet. Once you have gone a couple weeks, choose another sugary/fattening food to eliminate. Each time you eliminate something just be sure you do not add something equally unhealthy to your diet.

After a couple of weeks you will find that you will have lost a couple of pounds and you will feel better. This will entice you to want to get into more. The bigger the sacrifice you make, the harder it is to stick to it. You can do it!

I would bet Valerie has had more than botox, but that’s another story.  They tried to say there isn’t much airbrushing.  How you can lose all that weight and not sport one stretch mark is beyond me.  I do think she looks great, just wish they were more realistic about her success.  It gives people false hopes.  No matter how much a 49 year old diets, they will still have extra skin and stretch marks.  The body does not bounce back like that at her age.  That being said, I do find her story inspiring.  I think it is great she was so determined to take back her health.  It goes to show you, it doesn’t matter your age, you can make positive life changes.

 My doctor’s appointment did not go as good as I had hoped. I was hoping for some relief from the noise problem I have. I did get a diagnoses, which I guess is a step in the right direction. I have what is known as hyperacusis. It is supposed to be a pretty rare problem and affects some head injury patients. The doctor explained it as an inability to handle sound. My ear is now hyper sensitive, so I hear noises most people don’t notice, but the problem is I can’t shut the noise off. It is like someone constantly yelling in your ear. It makes it very difficult to talk when you hear so much noise. It is also difficult to concentrate on what others are saying. Using the internet is definitely the easiest form of communication for me. I can take my time and think out what I want to say while the noise is going in my ear.

The doctor thinks I may have tinnitus in my other ear because I cannot hear anything out of it, except a whistle noise sometimes.

He also told me he is concerned that I am having so much pain still and set me up for a bunch more tests. I don’t care what I have to go through if they can fix the problem. I told him I would rather be deaf the rest of my life than to have this noise going on all the time. It is way worse than not being able to hear at all.

Thank you for your thoughts and concern. I will let you know what happens.