It's been a while

It's been a while since I have blogged. But I guess I will update you.

I am feeling a lot better. The hot flashes have decreased enormously and the swelling in my ankles has decreased somewhat. However, the one thing that I cannot seem to shake is the insomnia. I think I only slept approximately 4 hours last night. Sleep seems like it does not want to come and when it does, it doesn't stay for long. I have heard of Graves patients taking Ambien to help with the sleeping, however, I have heard many negative things about it.
Last night I tried taking a tylenol pm to see if it would help put me to sleep, however, it did not work to my advantage.
A hairdresser told me of a vitamin to take that starts with an "m" that is supposed to be a natural sleep aid. I just cannot remember the name.
One of the most important things that a Graves patient must remember is that they should try to reduce their amount of stress to practically nothing. This has not been easy at all. Reading my bible and talking to my friends have been helping quite a bit. There seems to be something so relaxing about sitting down and reading a book for pleasure. I have been able to do so simply because of school and as most people know, my personal life which I shall not discuss here at all.
In regards to me going organic..
My mom has been such a help in buying the organic groceries because they are quite a bit more expensive.
     -For dinner tonight I had a can of reduced sodium creamy tomato soup along with a pb&j (organic crunchy peanut butter with organic blackberry preserves on organic spelt bread)
-My body is really adjusting to the change in food. My stomach is becoming more and more upset when I eat/drink non-organic foods/liquids
-Mexican on Saturday night was especially difficult to digest.
-I do understand that some of it has to do with my IBS as well as the amount of alcohol I have been drinking
-Alcohol really agitates my stomach now, However, I did drink vodka with organic raspberry lemonade and it did not upset it quite as much. DO NOT drink alcohol before or at least one hour after you take your medication for Graves. It causes the medicine to not quite work as well as it would usually. (I would consult with your doctor concerning consumption of alcohol) It also helps if you limit/reduce your alcohol consumption. The more you drink it the less it works.
-For snacks today I had:
     -organic celery washed and cut into 3 in pieces with organic non-fat ranch vegetable dip
     -organic mixed berry frosted toaster pastries--These are especially sweet and much softer than normal pop-tarts and are quite delicious
-I recently bought some organic lowfat chocolate milk. It definitely is not very good. It first tastes like regular lowfat chocolate milk but then has a dirt aftertaste. Maybe it is just something that I need to get used to
-I also purchased a block of organic Colby cheese--it is so delicious! I definitely recommend it!
-For lunch today I had a turkey sandwich :) A good-old fashioned classic! I had organic honey maple turkey with a slice of organic colby cheese on organic spelt bread with organic yellow mustard and organic mayonnaise. It is definitely something I recommend. It tastes the same as a regular turkey sandwich. The only difference is that the organic spelt bread is a little tougher than regular bread
-Saturday morning I made some organic waffles with organic blueberries and some with some semisweet chocolate chips and they were so good!
-I have been eating some non-organic foods that my roommate has been cooking. She is such an amazing cook, but sometimes I have to resist because she doesn't usually cook with organic or natural products.
-My newest obsession is EarthFare's organic chocolate truffles!--They are absolutely to die for! So smooth!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, especially regarding organic foods (although I am no expert at all but I can let you know about taste!) or if you have any questions regarding Graves Disease (again I am NO expert but I can let you know some symptoms as well as some amazing doctors!)