Work Life Balance - Children, Career, Marriage, Finances, Social Life

Here I am blogging about "Work Life Balance" when its been over 5 months since my last post!

As you see, I've been consumed with the demands of life especially with my 2 young children, career, finances, social life, and marriage.  My health has been good. No complaints here. Enbrel is still working and I've decreased my dosage to twice month and quarterly check ins with my specialist.  

However, some recent economic changes has led me to ask whether to decrease or increase my work load. I think this is a question, many mothers face these days. 

On one hand lies the opportunity to advance my career objectives, gain more experience, and of course more MONEY! and yet on the other hand lies the opportunity to be present with my children to nurture, teach, and lay the foundation of their lives for their future. Many women would argue that being a SAHM would be best, while others argue that financial stability would better the family's future.  There is no right answer, but I hope some of the following articles will shed some light for you as it did for me. 

Career and Motherhood - Panel Interview
I found this video very intriguing and hopeful as it shows 4 career women balancing the life of motherhood and advancing their careers. Its no doubt though that these women all have chosen and created their own environment that works for them. Career and motherhood does not have to be mutually exclusive but can be synergistic and rewarding.

Forbes Article: Why I Have Regrets About Being a Stay At Home Mom
This article reinforced my decision to continue pursuing my career, finding quality opportunities over quantity. 

Here's a summary of some tips I have found helpful

1. Be Mindful and Present  - No matter what you are doing, whether work or play, be present. Its easy to get side tracked thinking about the "got tos", or checking emails on your smart phone. Rather make each moment count by being fully present to capture each moment with your children, friends and loved ones and the same goes with work. Blocking out time to be fully present at work will lead to better productivity and efficiency. 

2. Schedule Time to Nurture and Work on Marriage - I am no expert here, but we plan date nights once a week to nurture our marriage as well as counselling once a week to work on our marriage. I believe the best thing we can provide for our children is a good model of a healthy marriage. Also a healthy marriage will be the catalyst for healthy parenting. 

3. Take Daily Time-Outs - I thought time outs were only for kids, but we need them too! Pay attention to your mood and body. If you are getting cranky or tired, best to take a time out whether it be 2 mins or 2 hours to rejuvenate. 

4. Connect with Your Friends - With both work, marriage, and children, its easy to isolate in the busyness of life without socializing with your friends. Plan a night out with just you and your friends and have some fun! If the week is too busy, even a phone call will do wonders for your soul. 

5. Use your Village - It takes a village to raise a child! Use your resources if they are available and don't be shy to ask, whether it be parents, inlaws, siblings, or even hired help. 

6. Create a Budget - It's easy to loose sight of finances especially with all the "needs" we have raising children.  Creating a budget it self is the start to controlling finances.  

7. Connect with God - Whether you believe or not, I think God is with us, guiding our circumstances, performing miracles, and blessing us along our journey.  Taking time outs to pray and/or connecting in your special way with God brings peace, guidance, assurance, and hope. 

8. Connect with Yourself - Its easy to get consumed with the demands of work, children, spouse, and leave yourself out. Your needs are just as valid and important.  Take time to nurture your own body, mind and spirit.  


I'd love to hear more, leave me your thoughts.....

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Lucas - Chicken Pox or Hand Foot and Mouth Disease?

Lucas just turned one and we took him to the doctors for his 1 year standard immunization shots.
3 weeks later, Lucas had a slight fever, nothing too serious as he was still his playful self.
But after the fever wore off, he started to get bumps all over his hands, back, behind his knees and ankles.
The spots were like blisters all consentrated in areas where his ezema usually is. 

Maurice, my husband, also started to feel very ill. He had hot cold flashes, no appetite, sore throat and was so weak, I had to feed him soup. We all went to the clinic and baby was diagnosed with chicken pox and daddy was diagnosed with either strep throat or flu. 

Ok, this is normal, I thought, every child gets chicken pox and the earlier the better I guess, so he doesn't remember it. We stayed home 3 days (rough three days for me as I had to care for a big baby and a little one) . Lucas's spots started to disapear so I brought him to his grandma's for the day. Well well well, when I picked him up, grandma seemed "tired".  Maurice's sister, also mentioned, she didn't feel very well.
BOTH Maurice's sister and Maurice started to break out in bumps all over their hands and feet.

What is going on? Maurice's sister went to the doctors and was diagnosed with hand foot and mouth disease.

As of today, Maurice has recovered and is back to work, Lucas has recovered and with his grandma, Grandma is feeling better with no break outs, and I think Maurice's sister is back to work too.

and me? I feel fine. weird. Maybe it's my autoimmune that is keeping whatever this is away.

Natural Remedies or Enbrel ? - Is there a cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Well I ended off the last post by trying to cut gluten out of my diet to see if it will help with the inflammations and that I would stay clear of Enbrel, since I read of a number of lawsuits, suing Enbrel for causing cancer.

The truth is, I couldn't last 2 days without giving myself another shot. By day 2, places that haven't hurt since 2005 started to flare, like my collar bone and shoulders, in addition to my usual wrists and feet, making it hard to lift myself out of bed.

I couldn't bare the flare ups to see if cutting out gluten would work. Also, since I have a chubby 3 month old baby, I rather be able to pick him up and feed him, than be actively flaring up and bed ridden while testing natural remedies.


Though Cutting Out Gluten does make sense. The year I was diagnosed with RA, I remember being very unhealthy, living off pretzels and coffee while attending full-time school and working nights. High stress, unhealthy diet with excessive gluten, and genetics (my aunt has RA), are probably all common factors contributing to this auto immune disease.


Cutting Out Dairy?
Has any one watched "The Corporations" documentary? It is well worth watching.
From the video, I'm considering cutting out dairy as well since milk production companies inject cows with hormones to produce more milk. Many cows then develop infections (milk ducts get blocked) and hence are also injected with antibiotics. When milking cows, the puss from the infection can get into our milk, along with the hormones and antibiotics. YUCK! The US started to do this in 2002. I'm a type to have cereal with milk for breakfast everyday! I was diagnosed with an auto immune disease in 2005. Perhaps there is a link,  because... get this....  my RA went into remission when I was in China for 4 months  !! Weird. - The milk there tasted very different.

If you are a mom, please check this out: Check out: http://www.babycenter.com/0_bovine-growth-hormone-and-milk-what-you-need-to-know_64389.bc


Next action: continue taking Enbrel, cut out gluten, cut out milk, take multi-vitamins.


My next refill of Enbrel, may not be approved by the government, which means I am responsible for $1,500 which I do not have! So, I will have no shots. So I will update you soon.
:)

Jo

Enbrel Nightmare?

I saw a commercial for the first time about Enbrel.  At first, I was actually excited to see a commercial for the drug I was using; but that quickly faded when near the end a soft spoken lady calmly lists all the possible side effects... cancer..   What? Cancer? Really?

So I went home and googled Enbrel and Cancer to see what came up. Well I found this link:
 http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/enbrel-120/   comments from 2008 - 2011 of people who have lost a loved one while taking Enbrel.  What are the chances?

Its quite the dilemma. If i don't give my self my weekly Enbrel injections, I flare! My dose was due today and I skipped it. I could already feel soreness throughout my wrists, fingers, shoulder and feet.
Time to talk to my Rheumatologists and do some serious praying.

In the meantime, I will try cutting out gluten as I read that this helped someone else with RA.

Keep you posted and please pray for me.

Xoxo,
Jo

Coping With Flare Ups While Pregnant - Physically

March 2010, I found out that I was PREGNANT!   "OMG, this is NOT the time, I thought", but apparently God's timing was and is perfect.  

Since the medication I was on, Enbrel, is a newer biologic on the market, not enough research was shown to deterimine its affects on a growing fetus. I was recommended to STOP all medication ASAP! 

Well, it didn't take long for my flare ups to start again.  If you are pregnant and can not take any medication for your pain, I hope you will find the following list helpful:

1. Hot & Cold Contrast Bath
(Dip flared area if possible in Cold Water for 30 secs, then hot for 10 secs) "Contrast baths decrease swelling, stiffness and pain, and increase movement and circulation. This is the only “heat modality” you can safely assume will not cause swelling, and in fact it is a proven method for decreasing swelling. Warm water dilates, expands or opens up the blood vessels, thereby increasing blood flow. Cold water constricts blood vessels, or makes them smaller. The alternating warm and cold water acts as a pump to get fluid out. Warm water alone may cause swelling."

2. Where protective splints / guards depending on which joints are hurting. This will protect the joints from further damage of sudden movements, or weight. There are splints meant for wearing to sleep which are comfortable and some with a cooling gel to reduce the swelling while sleeping.

3. Elevate the swelling joints / limbs by using pillows. This also reduces the swelling which inturn will reduce the pain while sleeping.

4. Castor Oil. I personally rubbed castor oil; however found it penetrated and relieved only my muscle pains rather than joints. However relieving any pain helped for me personally.

5. Camomile Tea / Sleepy Time Tea: it's a vicious cycle, the less sleep one gets the more flare ups, the more pain , and leading to lack of sleep.  I found sleepy time tea helpful. It did make me drowsy enough to dose off and get a good night sleep, but it did take me more than 1 cup that's for sure.

I hope you will find this helpful and if this is you too, I'm really sorry you have to go through this.
The good news is the disease will go into remission further along the pregnancy. It's a miracle really how this happens.  :)

What is It? First Signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis

It was the summer of 2005, when I was 25 years old, the first signs of this awful debilitating disease hit me.
My right wrist was flared one morning. (aching, red, and simply stuck)  There was limited mobility and initially I thought, I must of sprained it somehow.  A few days past and the pain got worse to a point where it was not possible to drive (manual transmission).  Dreading to go to the doctors, I went. He then sent me for  blood tests and my RA Factor came back at 300 when it should be around 90 and so there it was, on paper, my initial diagnosis.

Next step was to visit a Rheumatologists who then recommended AGRESSIVE treatment since if treated early there is a slight chance that it can fall into remission. He explained that my left wrist did not show signs of the disease yet, and RA is an auto immune disease that affects joints symetrically, so there is a possibility to send this disease into remission.

The next half a year involved mulitiple doses and combinations of medications including:
Methotrexate (oral & injection)
Sulphasazine
Plaquinil

The disease progressed and continued to spread to both wrists, shoulders, and knees.

Sorry to end here; but there is HOPE and more.. Please stay tuned....