Dry Mouth

"Some chemo and cancer medications can damage your saliva glands."
Julie Lanford, RD, Wellness director for Cancer Services Inc.

 From the time I had my first chemo treatment to present hormone treatment and pain medicines, I have experienced moderate to severe Dry Mouth. Symptoms of Dry Mouth are linked to a reduction in salvia flow, which is a directly cause by taking more prescription medicines.
My doctor has advised me of the following tips to deal with Dry Mouth:
1. Sip water often to help keep your mouth moist. But avoid sugary, acidic, or caffeinated drinks.
2. Drink water or milk with meals help with chewing and swallowing.
3. Try sleeping in a room with a humidifer to ease dry mouth symptoms.
4. Rinse your mouth before bedtime. Try this mouth rinse. Mix until dissollved; 1 tsp baking soda and 3/4 tsp salt in 1 qt. water.  Swish and spit. Another rinse at bedtime is to swish some olive oil and then spit.  This will coat your mouth so it doesn't dry out.
All of these tips are meant reduce or help ease the symptoms of Dry Mouth.
If you or anyone use know is suffering with Dry Mouth, I hope these tips are helpful.

Awareness

"Whatever is stored in darkness becomes distorted."  Deepak Chopra

Awareness, like fresh water is meant to flow, and when it can't, it turn stagnant. Yesterday when I went to my cancer check-up appointment, I was feeling a lot of anxiety about my results because I had not been feeling very good this past week. This anxiety must have been larger than life because my blood pressure was higher than usual and my doctor felt the tension when he was talking to him.  I explained that I had been been very tired and lacked energy.  To my surprise my doctor explained to me that cancer can work on your subconscious when you're worried. He assured me that what ever the results were there were plenty of options.  By the time I left the doctors office I was beginning to feel better with more energy.  The results of my cancer test would not be available for a day or two I decided that I needed to use breathing and meditation techniques to calm me down.
When I got home I listened to some relaxing music and completed my breathing routine.  Within a half an hour I was feeling better and more optimistic.
This morning when I got up my doctor called me to tell me cancer numbers had stayed the same but my calcium levels were down.  He felt that may have caused me to feel more fatigue and added more calcium tablets to my diet.  This simple phone call eased my anxiety and lifted my spirit!

Dancing in the Rain

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

Unknown

For the last month I have been dealing with a few little bumps in the road and have not been blogging because I have procrastinating about sitting down and writing my thoughts.  It seems that as days go by it gets harder to start blogging again.  Today I woke up and told myself that people may or may not enjoy reading my blogs but that I had to jump back into to get restarted.

The weather has now changed from all the snow to beautiful sunshine.  It seems like only a few days ago we had 30 inches of snow on the ground now the grass is growing over the curb and is begging to be mowed.

I love spring and really enjoy watching the trees and flowers blooming.  I started a herb garden and I'm enjoying the basil, thyme, sage and parsley that is growing profusely in my containers.  I just added a pot of chocolate mint to my collection and was very pleased with the flavor I infused in my selter water. Lemon balm is also another herb that is easy to grow and can be infused in selter water.

Thank you to my followers who voice concern about my absence on my blog.  All is well  with my cancer and I hope all is well with all of my followers and that you continue to communicate with me.  

Friends of the Library

"Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience; this is the ideal life."
Mark Twain

Today I went to  our local "Friends of the Library" annual book sale.  Friends of Libraries are available in most township and county libraries.  They are non-profit charitable groups formed to support libraries in communities for the purpose of fundraising, public awareness campaigns and literary program.
I love these book sales because it gives me an opportunity to donate many books that I have finished and would like to share with other readers.  If there is a book I especially like, I try to write a little short note on a book markers that highlights the things I enjoyed most about the book.  It also gives me a chance to buy books, cds and music choices that I have been looking for at a fraction of the original cost.  Most books and other items for sale are gently used in good condition.  I love these sales also because you can meet others in your community that share your love for literacy.  Its a great chance to also begin looking for birthday, Christmas and other gift to give throughout the year to family and friends!
You can find advertisments for these sales in most local papers and on line.  Happy reading!