Spring Fitness Products 2013

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It’s spring, but you wouldn’t know it in Central Ohio from the most recent snow storm that moved through over the weekend (really, it was Much Ado About Nothing), but there is a little snow on the grass and trees. Needless to say, I am ready for spring! I’m kicking off the start of the new season with these spring fitness products 2013.

My Blood Clot Awareness Band
Awareness Band

Blood Clot Awareness Band

March, as I hope you know, is Blood Clot Awareness Month! You can read about it HERE. I wear the “Get A Clue, Clots Kill” awareness band from The Clot Must Be Fought. It is important to me to spread the awareness of the the signs, symptoms and causes of blood clots, because they can injure anyone at anytime. It doesn’t matter if you are fit, healthy, young, old, slim, overweight, male or female. We are all at risk! You can help spread the word by ordering your own wristband for $2.00/each.

Shubeez 13.1 Shoe Tag
Shubeez Shoe tag

Shubeez 13.1 Shoe Tag

Want to get motivated this Spring? Shubeez are for you! This inspirational shoe tag goes on any pair of laces and really stands out. Enter my current giveaway to win your own. Shubeez retail at $4.99 for one.

Blistex Moisture Melt Lip Balm
Blistex Moisture Melt Lip Balm

Blistex Moisture Melt Lip Balm

Love, love, love this lip balm! It is silky and subtly shiny, but not so much that it is sticky and overly glossy. It has a slight shimmer to it and smells almost minty. I wear it alone when I don’t have lip gloss or I don’t feel like wearing something with a lot of color. This balm feels so good on your lips and has sunscreen protection. It also lasts with very few reapplications (unless you love it as much as me and just have to put on more). Find it at your local grocer/pharmacy. I think it was around $3.

Ello Percy Glass Water Bottle Pink
Ello Bottle

Ello Bottle

The Ello Bottle is perfect. I just found it the other day. It is a glass water bottle with a stopper top and I like it much better than the plastic ones. The stopper is secure and the grip is pink, so I loved it from the start. I like the way it feels in my hand and I like that it is environmentally friendly. I have been considering switching to glass storage in my kitchen for some time so I thought I would give this a try. It is dishwasher safe and BPA free. It retails at about $9.99, which is pricy, but you can use it for an endless amount of time. I got mine on sale. Check out the website to see all of their products.

Cuties Juice
Cuties Juice

Cuties Juice

Cuties Juice is so good – the best juice I have had in a long time! (Who doesn’t love Cuties, right?!) While I have greatly cut down on juice in my diet, I have been enjoying a glass of this one or two times a week. Cuties juices are all natural, 100% fruit, with no sugar added. Only fruit goes into our bottles- orange, tangerine and mango. None of the flavors are manufactured in a lab. It is all natural, non-organic and non-GMO. You can find it at Walmart or Target.

Victoria’s Secret Pink Spring Break Backpack
Victoria's Secret Pink Backpack

Victoria’s Secret Pink Backpack

I wish I was going somewhere to take this fun (neon!) backpack with me because it is perfect for spring. Check out Victoria’s Secret for all the different colors and patterns options – they also have a mini version! This bag is roomy, but not so large that I couldn’t carry it on a daily basis. The straps are adjustable, slightly padded and comfortable. They didn’t dig into my shoulders when I was carrying a backpack and notebooks this past weekend. Perfect for a blogger or writer on the go or even to take to the gym! It has a buckle flap closure with interior drawstring and front zip pocket and side flap pocket. It costs about $50 with no sales, coupons or promotions.

Relic Wallet
Relic Wallet

Relic Wallet

This Relic wallet is one of my favorite things because it holds all of my stuff, but isn’t too bulky or cumbersome. The color is a textured brown/gray so it goes with just about anything. I like that is has a quick access pocket on the inside (so you don’t have to unzip the whole thing) to store essentials like a debit card, driver’s license and cash. I got it at Kohl’s and it was on clearance for about $12 or so.

What about you? Tell me what some of your favorite things are right now. Is there anything you can’t live without that I must know about? Have you teried any of these products?

Until the next mile marker,

 

 

Blood Clots: The Most Important Post I Will Ever Write

The number one search term leading people to my blog is ‘difference between blood clot in leg symptoms and pulled calf muscle symptoms’ or some variation of it. Almost daily I watch the page views skyrocket on Could You Have a Blood Clot? Information is lacking on blood clots and blood clot symptoms. I didn’t know anything about it, until I suffered from the massive trauma and devastating effects of a blood clot in my left leg that broke free, traveled through my heart and lodged in my left lung. Blood clots (deep vein thrombosis DVT and pulmonary embolism PE) affect upwards of 600,000 Americans each year and cause more deaths each year than the more well-publicized occurrences of breast cancer, AIDS, and motor vehicle accidents, yet they are virtually unheard of. In terms of blood clots, [this might be] the most important post I will ever write.

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March is Blood Clot Awareness Month. And, if you don’t know what to look out for by reading my blog, then I haven’t done enough to make you aware.

Sometimes, mostly late at night when I can’t sleep (I have not slept right since I got sick and I often wake up thinking I can’t breathe again), I scour the internet searching for information. My mind is like a sponge, soaking up everything I can find out blood clots, but the information is hard to come by. What I do find is a lot of survivor stories – people like me who are either young, active, healthy or a combination of them all – individuals who have been knocked off their feet by the damaging effects of a dvt or pe and are struggling every day to live their lives. And they do.

No matter what survivor’s story I read, I have found that all of us, who have chosen to speak out about blood clot awareness, are passionate about it. I can’t even describe to you anymore the excruciating pain I felt during and after my blood clots (which is why I am so thankful Dad told me to write this post right away). I know it was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life, but I also know my brain has repressed that exact feeling. Today, I handle pain differently (and I used to have a high tolerance for physical pain), in that mostly I can’t handle it. The slightest thing hurts and sends me into tears or destroys my focus. The nurses in the hospital swore to me that surviving a blood clot in the lung was more painful than childbirth (so, I should be good there?!). One-half of clot patients will have long-term complications and one-third will have a recurrence within 10 years, which is perpetually in the back of my mind and terrifies me. Among people who have had a dvt, one-half will have long-term complications (post-thrombotic syndrome) such as swelling, pain, discoloration, and scaling in the affected limb. Some will have open sores in the affected limb, known as ulcers. (www.cdc.gov)

When I got hurt (damage from a dvt or pe is actually considered a bodily injury and not a sickness), I was a runner, I lost weight and was far out of the risk for diabetes zone, which I had previously found myself in. I didn’t think it could happen to me. I did all the right things, right?

Please listen to me when I say – Please listen to your body because it can happen to you! We as runners think we can handle pain, that it’s normal, that there is nothing wrong, but please know what to look for because you never know when something might, in fact, be horribly wrong.

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Symptoms of a pe (pulmonary embolism or blood clot in the lung):
  • Unexplained sudden onset of shortness of breath
  • Chest pain or discomfort that worsens when you take a deep breath, cough or even lie down
  • Feeling light headed or dizzy, or fainting
  • Rapid pulse
  • Sweating
  • Coughing up blood
  • A sense of anxiety, nervousness or impending doom

PE is life-threatening complication of deep vein thrombosis, please seek emergency medical care immediately, as it can be fatal!

Symptoms of a dvt (deep vein thrombosis or blood clot in the leg):
  • Swelling in the affected leg, including swelling in your ankle and foot.
  • Pain in your leg; this can include pain in your ankle and foot. The pain often starts in your calf and can feel like cramping or a charley horse. It won’t go away with regular stretching, massaging or rest.
  • Warmth over the affected area.
  • Changes in your skin color, such as turning pale, red or blue or purple.

You need to know in about half of all cases, deep vein thrombosis occurs without any noticeable symptoms. If something doesn’t seem right or you are at all concerned, make an appointment with your primary care physician to have it checked out before symptoms could potentially get worse and cause problems with your lungs or heart.

You’re at risk for a dvt (and potentially a pe) if you are sitting for long periods of time, such as when driving or flying; have an inherited a blood-clotting disorder; are on prolonged bed rest, such as during a long hospital stay or paralysis; have had an injury or surgery; are pregnant; have cancer; have inflammatory bowel disease; have heart disease; take birth control or hormone replacement therapy; have a pacemaker or catheter; have had a dvt or pe previously; have a family history of dvt or pe; are overweight or obese; are a smoker; are over 6o years old; are tall; or are a female.

That’s a lot of different people.

If you experience any of the pe and dvt symptoms at the same time, please seek emergency medical care. If you are alone, call 9-1-1. Don’t wait to see if you get better.

This is serious.

The complications from a pe are extremely painful, stressful, damaging to the body and mind and can last a lifetime. I am about ten months out from my pe and I am still recovering. The total recovery time for me is one to two years, and it all depends on my body. Up to two years. That’s not something to be taken lightly. Everything has changed for me. I have to pay attention to what I do, what I eat, what medications I take or don’t take, what kind of exercise I do. This has impacted my family, my friends, my job and so many other things that I never even considered before now. The psychological and emotional ramifications are equally damaging and ones that I am still faced with daily. And, it’s not even my fault, although there are still times when I demand to know “what I did to deserve this.”

Still, I am grateful to be here.

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I don’t want to let my dvt and pe injury define me in a negative way, yet to some extent, it will make a difference to the person I am and to the person I become from here on out. I don’t believe this occurrence is something I can just sweep under the rug and day, “Well, I survived that, but it’s not defining me so I’m moving on with my life.” Yes, I will keep moving on with my life and keep trying to find the positives, but there is something to be said for awareness.

It’s like cancer or a brain injury, a heart attack or stroke – people don’t just survive those things and then pretend it never happened. If they did, organizations like the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association wouldn’t exist. And yet, except for a few small organizations, no one talks about blood clots.

Except for those who have survived. I am here to tell you, listen to your body, be aware and don’t wait. If you or a loved one has experienced the devastation of a blood clot, there is hope. Life will go on, but yes, there is Hell to conquer first.

If you do nothing else, please share this information with at least one other person – in your family, your circle of friends or workplace. Send a tweet, share it on Facebook or even email it – just pass it along. If you don’t want to do that, please store it in your file of information just in case you need it some day. You never know whose life you may save in the process.

Thank you very much to The Clot Must Be Fought for the graphics that appear in this post and for helping to promote awareness about blood clots and their effects. The Clot Must Be Fought is fighting blood clots with awareness, creativity and a group of people who have fought for their lives. Please consider purchasing an awareness band to help support their organization and continue to spread the word! You can also like them on Facebook to stay up to date with information, awareness and advice.

Until the next mile marker,