Twitter

Does anyone use this social media tool? I'm trying to learn how to use it and make if effective in helping to promote our dental hygiene spa business, but I have no idea what I'm doing or how it can help. Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated. :)

Follow-up

So the best my insurance company could offer (without having to go through a long appeal process, which would take at least a month to get any decision) is an extra two months of pay. So they're paying me through February. They took my psychiatrist's note into consideration and agreed to offer me an extra two months if I took the settlement now. Otherwise I would have to go through a long, drawn out appeal process, which, if rejected, would result in me still only getting paid through December. So I figured that accepting their settlement now and having it over and done with would allow me to keep my stress and anxiety to a minimum as well as having an extra couple months to figure things out and work my way back to working full-time. Better than nothing. I have heard horror stories of trying to appeal insurance company's decisions and I'm glad that I was able to resolve this quickly so I can move on.

So...it's not over yet ;)

I saw my psychiatrist yesterday and he was very upset at the decision made by my LTD insurance company. He spent most of our appointment writing a letter to them to reconsider my claim because he knows that I'm not ready to jump into a full-time position just yet. Hopefully this helps me and changes their mind because I really feel like I do need some more time. He also made sure to indicate that he gave me medical clearance to start a return to work program, NOT to return to work full-time now. Anyways, I'll keep you posted on what happens. Please keep me in your prayers. I need all the strength I can get right now. xo

It's been a rather crappy day for me

I just found out that my long-term disability will be terminated as of Dec. 31. What a nice Christmas present! The original plan was to look at working full time at my friend's dental hygiene spa around now, but that got changed and the new plan (which was also encouraged by my psychiatrist and rehabilitation specialist) was to start working part time by January and then then full time around March or April. How things can change on a dime! I'm now being pushed forward by my disability insurance company to embark on working 40 hours per week within the next two months.

Part of me is psyched at the challenge, and part of me is scared to death! It's also a fairly new office (they've only been open for two and a half months), and while business is steady, I didn't want to have to add the burden of paying me full-time to the mix of things so soon. They said that it's fine and that they'll take care of me, but I know it will be a bit financially stressful for them.

I know in the end things will be okay, and I'm trying to stay positive. Please keep me and my family in your prayers. xo

Feeling a little blue

The past little while I have been feeling rather down and (dare I say it?) depressed. I stopped taking Celexa a while back (which had helped stabilize my mood at the time) and now I am only on Gabapentin. I'm wondering if our crazy Toronto weather this fall is a contributing factor to my gloominess.

I have also been taking some green tea pills for the past month or so to help with the weight I gained while trying all sorts of antidepressants. I gained about 40 pounds while I was taking Effexor (about a year ago) and I haven't been able to lose any of the weight. So I bought some green tea pills from the Carrot Common's Dispensary store with the hopes that it will help speed up my metabolism and give me more energy as it states on the bottle.

So far I still haven't lost any weight or gained any more energy. Although I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping the past couple of weeks. Not sure if it's because there's alot on my mind or if it's the extra caffeine in the green tea pills (I do take them in the morning and at lunch so the caffeine shouldn't be effecting me at 11:00 p.m. when I try to sleep, right?).

Anyways, I feel like lately I have been experiencing a bit more anxiety than usual, and considering the fact that I was feeling so much better on the Gabapentin I'm a bit concerned because things were starting to really move forward to me and I really, really don't want to take any more steps back. Things are going pretty well for me and I want to keep up that momentum. Any suggestions?

Anyways, I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving this weekend! Take it easy and eat lots and lots of turkey!

Not much going on

I'm feeling a bit weird today; kind of been in a bit of a funk, I guess. I know it'll pass. I'm just finding it a little hard to cope today. Please keep me in your prayers.

Okay...I feel a little silly...

I just wanted to write a quick post because I just realized that so many people have been commenting on my posts and I've only just had the opportunity to read them now. I thought that I would receive an e-mail notification when someone commented, but apparently that has not been the case. So I figured that people were reading and not commenting. I am so sorry! Thank you for reading my posts and for all your wonderful comments. They have not been ignored (not intentionally, at least!). I hope that I am able to help and inspire some of you through my sharing. I will pay more attention to the comments section from now on.

Love and Blessings.

Happy Wednesday!

I am now completely off Celexa! It took me about six weeks to wean off the medication, but I'm free! Now I'm only still on Gabapentin, which I'm sure I'll be on for a while longer since that's the one that truly seems to be helping my anxiety.

While I was with my psychiatrist last week I asked him if Gabapentin might be one of the meds where "the benefits outweigh the risks" in terms of getting pregnant while on it. I mean, my husband and I aren't thinking about it just yet, but it's good to know just in case it happens. Not all things are planned.

Anyways, he told me that a great resource to call to find out about any meds and their safety with pregnancy is Motherisk. It's a program run through the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and provides "evidence-based information and guidance about the safety or risk to the developing fetus or infant, of maternal exposure to drugs, chemicals, diseases, radiation and environmental agents."

They also have great sections on morning sickness and breastfeeding, so I thought I would share this valuable resource with my readers. You never know if you or someone else might be interested in this information.

The Secret

I watched The Secret movie on Thursday and it was very good. I gained a lot from it and would highly recommend it to everyone. I haven't read the book yet, but I would love to hear from anyone who has read and/or seen the movie to get your thoughts and perspectives.

My favourite quote in the movie was from Buddah:

All that we are is the result of what we have thought.

I'm going to try really hard to incorporate this method of being and thinking into my every day life.

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth :)

I apologize for being such a bad blogger these past few months. I really don't know where the time has gone. A lot has happened for me. Fortunately, it's been mostly good stuff. I'l try to summarize the past few months in as short a post as possible.

The highlights for me have been getting on a new med called Neurontin (Gabapentin is the medical term) and it has helped me turn my anxiety around so much. I can't even describe how much it's made me feel more alive and confident to face my fears head-on. I am also still on Celexa at the same time, which was helping to stabilize my mood. I am now happy to report that my psychiatrist has given me the green light to taper off the Celexa, so in about six weeks I'll only be on the one med. This makes me happy because I hate having to take so many pills a day. With Neurontin I have to take one pill (300 mg) three times a day.

I am also in the process of starting a new job at a dental hygiene spa, which is so exciting for me (a friend and former colleague of mine is a hygienist and is opening her own practice where I will be working as office coordinator). I will probably be starting full time in September or October. Right now I am volunteering my time helping her get the practice running and all set up so she can start seeing clients. The concept is really cool - it's a place where you can have your teeth cleaned in a spa environment. You won't even feel like you're stepping into a dental practice. The colours are so warm and inviting, and there's a gorgeous fireplace in the reception area along with a bamboo arrangement and soothing aromatherapy scents are diffused to help you relax. There's also an amaxing dental chair you sit in that massages your back as you have your teeth cleaned. If you live in Toronto, let me know and I'll send you more information about it.

Anyways, I'm really excited about this new opportunity. I think it will definitely help my anxiety more than being in a corporate environment. I like the fact that it's going to help lower m stress and my friend knows about my anxiety and is super supportive too, so that's a definite plus.

I was also a bridesmaid in a wedding a couple weeks ago and I made it through with relatively minimal anxiety. Yay!!! I was so nervous anticipating the day, but I did it and was so proud of myself. It helped that my husband was an usher and he and I were paired to walk down the aisle together and placed beside each other at the head table.

I'm still seeing my psychiatrist and my psychotheraist on a fairly regular basis, but it's come to the point when I talk to my therapist that we end up wondering what to talk about in the last 20 minutes of our session, so we've agreed to taper those off a bit too.

I wouldn't say that I'm 100% better, but I was feeling so desperate that I'd never feel better again, and here I am a year later feeling like I can (somewhat) take on the world!

Thank you so much for reading this post and for those of you who have been keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. I promise to write more often and let you know how things are going.

Love and Blessings to you.
xo