August 22nd.  Kind of a bad start to the day.  Got up this morning with terrible hip pains (from being stuck in the same positions last night).  Need to get moving again.  Went to Brenham and that helped with the hip pain, however, walking on toes and leaning on carts is still hard on my body.  Need to find a solution.  Researched the net and other than "rest" or surgery there doesn't seem to be much help.  Then I found a site that sells special inserts for your shoes to "heal that pain".  Expensive, at $24.95 a pair, but in my situation I need a solution, so coughed up $50 for 2 pair with free shipping.  Also has a money-back guarantee so if it doesn't work, back they go.  God I hope this gets me back on my feet!

August 23rd.  Today we made a decision on our current state of the lawn.  Decided that since the lawn (sorry, hayfield) has gotten so out of control we needed to look at other options until I'm well enough to handle the tractor (can't drive well because of the heel pain).  Mom was going to bust out the weed eater but I'm afraid these days it kills her back in about 5 minutes.  Certainly not long enough to get the yard beaten back.  I did some research and found a nice solution, a trimmer-mower, with the best deal from Sears.  Into the truck and went to Sears to buy it as it was the last day of the sale (of course, since we'd just come back from Brenham on the 1st trip of the day, this was now our 2nd trip).  Assembled it and will see what she can do tomorrow.

August 24th.  Today tried out the new trim mower.  I'm in love!  Good equipment is always  the best investment.  Worked the hell out of me in about 10 minutes!  I'm afraid I've got a long way to go on stamina and the Texas heat doesn't help any.  I wore my lovely welly boots (the British call them wellington boots, welly for short), as they offer more impact resistance than my tennis shoes at the moment as I wait for the heel things to come in.  10 minutes in the morning and I was out for the count.  10 minutes at night and that was it for me.  Tomorrow will teach Mom so she can have a whack at cleaning up the lawn, but I have to do my part too.  It's really too much for one person.

August 25th.  Back on my feet.  I was having so much trouble walking the last few weeks that every time I did I reinjured my heels.  To give them time to heal but also not to let the rest of my body run into the ground meant I needed a solution.  I invested in a pair of HTP Heel Seats after much research on the internet.  Arrived today, yippee!  After 2 weeks of walking primarily on my toes and sides of my feet however, I'm still hesitant on relearning how to walk normally.  The heel seats are a very different sensation when walking so it will take me a little time just to get used to that.  So far so good, I don't seem to have the jarring pain under my heel after I walk, even tentatively.  As for other symptoms, muscle aches here and there, but I think that's more than likely lack of exercise over the last 4 weeks.  Amazing how fast one's body can go down.  It will take some time to build back up again, but then, that's what the Texas humidity is for.  I can't really do anything this time of year anyway, so it's alright.  Made some adjustments to my vitamin routine, took the level of Magnesium down to 250mg (1 pill) per day and lowered the Vitamin C to 3x day.  It's time to try and transition.  Have some other vitamins on order, they should arrive later this week or early next. 

August 26th.  Well, yesterday and the heel seats taught me a lesson.  Instructions on them just said they would take some time to get used to.  I assumed this meant I should try and walk normally.  I only tried "normal" for 10-20 minutes before I wound up back on my toes again with the heel seats on.  I believe the idea of heel seats is not a seat for your heel, but rather to keep you off the heel so you can walk.  Good for when I go out, get tired and start leaning down.  So now I know and that little lesson had me in bed in pain with my ankles and heels last night, all through the night.  One more thing - I upped the Magnesium back to 3 a day, taking it down may have contributed to my pain today.  I finally have to admit this is not just a leftover side-effect of the damn drug.  This one is longer lasting and unfortunately, if I don't admit it, take the time to heal it, it may never heal.  Achilles tendonitis.  That's the name.  If I don't take 6 months to a year to rest most of the day and exercise the muscles enough to keep tone without doing damage, I too may find myself with that dreaded effect, tendon rupture.  So again this morning at 3:30 I woke up and sat there thinking about this for 2 hours (seems to be about this time each morning I think).  What the hell am I going to do losing 6 months to a year's time off my feet?  I'm not the type of girl who's going to sit and knit for that long.  I'm angry, VERY ANGRY, with my ex-doc Ms. Denise Woods and that evil drug company, Bayer (who manufactures Ciprofloxin and insists side-effects are rare).  But anger doesn't do you any good unless you direct it in a positive way.  So let's see… what to do.  I've never been much of an activist person.  I don't see myself marching up and down a sidewalk outside Bayer (actually I don't see myself marching anywhere at all for 6 months to a year).  I have a better idea.  Educate the public.  Educate the doctors (even those whose don't believe and prescribe this crap all the time).  So I'm going to take the year I've lost in building my house to this toxic drug and start educating everyone I can to never take this shit.  Only with enough people saying, "I know about that and won't take it" will something good come of this for me and the thousands of others effected by it.  I'm going to start with making myself up a couple of T-shirts so when I do leave the house and shuffle about a store holding on the cart for dear life, people who stare (and it's understandable) will know why and who I blame.  THOSE DAMN DRUG COMPANIES making their millions.

August 27th.  Last night was bad again for my heels and lower legs.  I wound up in bed again at 8 p.m. and out by 9 p.m.  However, woke up alright.  One new supplement came yesterday, Lycopene, made from tomatoes and supposed to help with the cyst in my breast (it has actually gone down a bit just with the changes I've already made).  Did a little more research yesterday and decided to buy Grape Seed Extract to add to it today.  Supposed to be an antioxidant.  I don't know, but anyway, today was a lot better.  It's 5 p.m. and I still don't feel half bad.  We went out early, at 8 a.m. to Houston, walked slowly around 4 shops (there's a record), although again, on my toes.  I'm not convinced the heel seats work for me - I was walking on my toes before.  Anyway, picked up the grape seed extract and took that along with the lycopene at 12 p.m.  My heels started hurting just a bit because I do get tired and allow my heels to drop at times.  Too early to say, but I do believe it may have made a difference.  We finished at 2 p.m. and normally I would get home totally exhausted and in pain and go straight to bed, however, today, here I sit with very little pain.  Is it a miracle or coincidence?  We'll see.  In the meantime, my recommendations for the ultimate vitamin and supplement supply on the net is Lucky Vitamin.  I just wished I found them sooner.  Best deals, best selection (I personally like NOW foods for vitamins) and a great search engine.  Oh, and with so much time on my hands I also decided to try and take some sugar out of my drinks (I'm drinking hot green tea 3x day, because I like it).  So with that in mind I researched sugar and sugar-substitutes.  For me personally, I think Stevia is the solution.  I'd never heard of it before but apparently, it's 0 calories and about 100-250 times sweeter than sugar.  So a tiny speck will do to flavor a drink I guess.  Anyway, on order so will report on what I think when it arrives.

August 28th.  Today I'm experiencing something strange.  It's been happening for about a week now but I keep forgetting to mention it here.  The veins in my arms (top of my wrists) keep swelling, then going back down.  It happens more when I do something, like type, but even at bed when I'm just lying there it's happening.  I don't know what this is, but I can guarantee I didn't have it before.  Comes with a strange sensation too, I can literally hold my arm down, and it swells, then hold it up and then it drains back.  I don't know how to describe how it feels, not painful, more like when you feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up - only in your arms.  Strange.  A little worried about it too.  I'll call and make another appointment with the doc this next week (they're moving offices this week).  So other than that I decided to make an appointment for my mother, who has in the last 3 months found she has high blood pressure.  The same doctor, Denise Woods R.N., who treated me to Ciprofloxacin, treated my mother to Lisinopril for the blood pressure and another horrible drug from hell, Nitrofur for urinary tract infections.  Incidentally, Ms. Woods took one blood pressure reading and wrote a prescription without any other consultations or alternative advice given.  Like I've said before - if a doctor just picks up a pen without any other advice or tests, RUN.  They're working hard to make $65 a minute.  With the Nitrofur it had her on the couch for 7 days in horrible agonizing stomach pains, then literally did nothing to cure the original problem.  For folks who have this problem, bottom line, stick with CRANACTIN or cranberry supplements.  Don't kill yourself on these drugs.  Learn from our mistakes.  As for the Lisinopril, she's doing OK on that drug, BUT... reactions can develop anytime including breathing problems AND as with all these hard-hitting drugs, there are so many herb-drug interactions not to mention food-drug interactions that you may as well go natural.  Turns out Spinach and Bananas may not be good to take with Lisinopril.  Odd.. maybe you just shouldn't eat or drink with these drugs.  Anyway, bottom line, we're setting her up with Dr. Shafi to get off that drug.
With that in mind, I called the office of Denise Woods R.N. and spoke to 2 of her office workers (receptionist, then office girl in charge of records) asking, very nicely, what I would need to do to obtain copies of my records and my mother's records.  "Well, do you need them for yourself or to send to another doctor?" she says.  I told her myself first, what's the difference right?  I'm just taking them to Dr. Shafi anyway.  "Oh, then that'll be $26 each and by law we have 2 weeks to get them in the mail to you after you sign the release."  Please note, this office lies none stop.  When my mother had a refill prescription done, they swore they had mailed us a letter that day.  10 days later the letter arrived, and no, it wasn't lost in the mail.  So, $26 if you want your own medical records, there's a slap in the face.  I asked what if it went to a new doctor.  "Then it's a professional courtesy and we provide those to them free of charge."  One rule for you, one rule if their asked by another doctor.  I'm afraid I lost it a little at that point (keep in mind my life was WAY better before they prescribed Cipro), and told her that since they had tried to kill me they could AT LEAST provide those records by this next week.  You think I got an answer to that one?  Hell no, she didn't give a damn.  Over $1000 on doctors, supplements, not to mention time to try and get well from the poison they prescribed and I'm not even treated decently.  Again, doctor's to add to the Plague List:  Brenham Family Care and Denise Woods, R.N.