Random Update

1. As it is March, I realize it seems rather late to be stating New Year's Resolutions, so these will just be goals for this year. And these goals actually seem like goals that I'll finish this year. Goal #1 is that I will have an RN this year. Goal #2 is that I will have lost > 25 pounds this year. And goal #3 is that I will have run a 5 K this year. WOOHOO! LOL

So I've been writing about my journey in nursing school, and I'm in the middle of my next to last semester now! I graduate in July so I can FINALLY see a small light at the end of the tunnel. :-) Hooray!

The weight loss thing sort of happened by accident. I've been so desperate to get my headaches under control and I HATE the pain medicates so badly. My goal is to be off all pain meds completely, so I started reading up on foods that trigger headaches. Sadly enough, it was foods that I loved. You know, chocolate, tea, coffee, tomatoes, fatty greasy stuff, etc. Also there is a link to exercise and headache improvement (hence the running the 5K).

So I joined Weight Watchers with my mom and I have absolutely LOVED it! Since October I have lost 22 pounds and it's been so easy. I have completely changed the way that I eat, and while I am not off of pain meds, I do take pain meds a lot less frequently. My blood pressure has decreased and I've dropped 4 pants sizes! Another plus, I think the pain meds had caused some bowel problems, but eating healthy has totally (and I mean totally) taken care of that! It's been great!

Exercising hasn't been very easy. My brain tumor affected the part of my brain that controls my breathing, and the cells that are left in my brain are still in that same part of my brain. I don't know if it's just a mental thing or what, but I am having the hardest time with my breathing. The furthest I've run so far is 7 minutes and then suddenly my breathing gets crazy and I feel panicked. But I'm not going to give up. By the end of this year, I am determined to run a 5K with my husband. Also, I'm not so sure about excercing helping with headaches. A lot of days, after a good workout, I get home and end up needing a pain pill. :-( But maybe once the workouts get a little easier???

In other news, I had reported a new onset of these crazy awful headaches occuring like I'd been rammed in the eye with an ice pick. They are called cluster headaches and are unrelated to the tumor. They typically occur in women my age and appear to be seasonal. As if I needed more headaches! LOL - Oh well, the more the merrier!

My neurologist did some more medication adjustments on my last visit, but literally tells me that the only thing that he thinks will help me is graduating from nursing school and taking a break from the stress of school. LOL - I find that funny for some reason! :-) At least SOMEONE understands how stressful it is. (-; But if my head's made it through over a year of this, it can take 5 more months.