ACIDANTHERA MURIELAE SPEAKING / OBOE LISTENING / WHERE'S MY ENERGY?

Many thanks to Nancy from Iowa, the reader of my blog who sent the bulbs that produced this beautiful flower which comes from Ethiopia and is also called an Abyssinian Gladiolus. Actually, she sent the bulbs to the art farmer and asked the art farmer to give them to me.

To get the best light for the photo, I had to move the plant from its place next to the porch railing to a spot next to one of my porch windows where the blue sky is reflected. I crouched down so that only the flower, foliage and sky are visible.


















Thanks to all who commented on my last post. That must be the record for comments on a single post of mine!

I'm still experiencing bewilderingly low energy with bouts of drowsiness that make it difficult to do all the things I need to do and would like to do, including becoming employed again. Conventional medical tests show that there is nothing obviously wrong with me, so I have turned to a naturopathic physician for help. If I didn't need to work, it would be less of a problem because I could sleep as I do now when the drowsiness overtakes me.

As long as I can remember, I have had a tendency to be drowsy part way through the day, but that seems to have been profoundly exacerbated by my use of minocycline (antibiotic) for ocular rosacea over the past two years. Although I stopped taking the minocycline in May, with a resultant rebound in energy, that energy rebound didn't last. I'm hoping that the supplements suggested by the naturopathic physician will bring me the energy I need. Naturopathic remedies take time, though. There is a process of trial and error. For example, the thyroid supplement I tried for borderline high TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) caused anxiety as did the adrenal support supplement which contains ginseng. I have stopped taking the thyroid supplement and am re-starting the adrenal support (with ginseng), using only 1/4 of the original dosage.

What's odd is that, except for the drowsiness and recent situational (and supplemental!) anxiety, I feel better than I have in years. No more regular 3-day migraine headaches. No more colds and sinus infections. Even the rosacea, ocular and otherwise, is in remission. For the most part, I sleep well and have a good appetite, without the craving for extra food that I used to experience on a regular basis.

I can easily take nearly daily vigorous 1-1/2 hour walks from my home to the woods and back, but struggle to stay awake when I try to do the studying I need to do in order to become employed again!