Health

Say Hello To My Little Friend….

I’ve shared a bit about my history with chronic pain in a few of my past blog posts, but I first learned of the benefits of using a TENS Unit after I was injured in a car accident in 2010.

TENS units have proved to be a great help to me. For those that are less familiar, TENS is short for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.

This Easy@home EHE010 Pulse Massager TENS Unit delivers electric impulses to nerves, muscles and cells on different part of the body.

The impulses, used in proper strength and frequencies, make continuous and gentle stimulation to trigger the body producing natural response to block, relieve pain and to stimulate the regeneration of tissues.

Natural and Drug Free Way for Pain Relief

Pain Relief without Medicine! TENS stimulates your body to produce higher levels of its own natural painkillers, better known as “Endorphins”.

Easy to Use

Large Blue Backlit LCD screen shows you at a glance exactly what is happening, including the type of massages, intensity and the time left on the cycle.

Portable and Long Battery Life

About the size of a remote control, this unit packs enough power to thoroughly massage your body, but can travel with you anywhere you like. Take it to the gym, on a trip, or even to the office – it fits in your briefcase or purse.

So, “Say hello to my little friend.”😄Maybe you’ll be like my husband and decide you want one of your own. 😉

He recently gave in to my suggestions and used one of my units when he hurt his back while doing yard work and he’s been a fan ever since!

Heading Back to the Gym

I’ve been ripping and running for the past three weeks and I am looking forward to getting back to my normal routine and going to my neighborhood gym.

There are 3 things you need when going to the gym: a pair of shoes, a comfortable outfit and a great gym bag.  I normally have a bag on hand for my gym sessions, but my husband does not– which means he resorts to asking me if he can put his keys, phone and wallet in my gym bag.  Not a major issue, but I wouldn’t be a “good wife” if I didn’t seek to remedy this issue…. by getting him a gym bag of his own. 😉

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This bag features padded carrying handles, a mesh pocket for water bottle, and built-in cellphone holder.

The top of the bag has a zippered flap that opens wide for easy packing and also features zippered end saddlebags that expose the roomy center storage compartment.  He officially has more storage space than I do in most of my bags…. maybe he can be responsible for being the keeper of the gym gear for a little while 😀

 

Here’s the clip from my YouTube Channel of him looking over the bag.

 

Doing What I Hate…. Squats

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Squats are my LEAST favorite exercise, but they’re necessary for training my legs and minimizing my bursitis symptoms. 

The #UltimateSquat is a great way to work out during the day.  Especially after a few hours of working on the computer.

 

The Ultimate Squat provides a full body workout with no weights required. You can challenge yourself in the comfort of your home and maintain perfect form by using your doorway as support and the set’s resistance bands for continued interval training. 

One of the best features of this set is that the resistance bands can be adjusted to complement each person’s individual fitness routine!

Head on over to my YouTube channel to see my video review of the set. 

Brushing With Activated Charcoal Powder: Is it Better Than Toothpaste?

This was another interesting review.  For starter’s– the Husboo is usually down to support most of my wacky reviews, but when I presented him with this one he gave a quick, “NO.”

I HOLLERED!!!!! That’s country folk’s speak for “Laughed Out Loud”– but it’s a better laugh. It’s that — “laugh so hard your belly hurts because you laughed with your soul,” kind of laugh.  AKA– THE best kind of laugh!

Back to the actual point of this post. Once I realized there was no convincing him, I was on to review the brushing powder on my own.  It was quite the experience.  The photo’s tell their own funny story, but here are a few facts about the product from the manufacturer:

Activated Charcoal Teeth Whitening Powder Review by Fix-It_With_Fran

GET WHITER TEETH AND CLEANER MOUTH AFTER FIRST USE: Feel the difference in just one brush with the Sagano Activated Charcoal Teeth Whitening Powder! It’s quick and effective leaving your mouth feeling fresher all day. No more stains from coffee, tea, red wine, and other teeth-staining beverages. Gets rid of bad breath and plaque buildup too!

TASTES GOOD: Brush with a burst of spicy-sweet cinnamon flavor in your mouth for a refreshing and soothing mouth clean up. Say goodbye to nasty chemical whitening ingredients and hello to a pleasurable teeth whitening experience!

SAFE FOR SENSITIVE TEETH: This teeth whitening powder contains natural cinnamon, a herbal painkiller that helps relieve tooth and gum sensitivity. This carbon powder is also fine and not gritty for a softer, more velvety texture, preventing teeth and gum irritations. Just a perfect toothpaste alternative!

MADE FROM NATURAL INGREDIENTS: This teeth whitening powder is made from natural coconut activated charcoal and organic cinnamon – and that’s it. No artificial flavor or chemicals that can harm your enamel. Have a cleaner mouth, healthier gums, and whiter teeth with this powerful herbal combination.
The Photos (Be Prepared to Laugh :-D):

 

 

 

 

My Overall Review:

Likes

  1. Despite my expressions, my teeth felt REALLY clean and smoother than usual.  I use a Phillips Sonicare toothbrush, so I am accustomed to a very good cleaning job, but this made my teeth feel slicker than usual.  I’m guessing the charcoal (although very fine) added extra grit which improved the polishing quality of my toothbrush.
  2. I have experienced tooth sensitivity in the past (I now use Sensodyne toothpaste on the regular) so I can say that this did not cause any pain or discomfort when I used this in place of my normal toothpaste.

Dislikes:

  1. The powder can be a bit messy.  It’s very fine and it doesn’t take much to send it up in a cloud of smoke. I tried to manage this by using the lid to pour out a small amount of the powder, then dipped my toothbrush in the lid to apply the powder, and (finally) rinsing out any remaining powder from the lid to discard it. This cut down on the mess, somewhat, but not entirely. For the sake of sanitation, I wouldn’t want to use this method if I was sharing the container with my husband (or if we had children using it along with us), but it works since I’ll be using it solo.
  2. It does NOT taste good. The description above described a natural cinnamon taste. As a person that cooks, I know that cinnamon does not taste good on its own.  It needs sugar to really be palatable.  Adding cinnamon to charcoal was bleh.  It deserves repeating– it does NOT taste good (at least not to me) but toothpaste should not be eaten so there’s that caveat.I plan to continue to use this to give my teeth a nice deep cleaning between regular brushing, but I can’t say that I’ll be transitioning to use this full-time.  I haven’t given up on the benefits of charcoal completely. I’ve been experimenting with using activated charcoal to make homemade facial masks and will be sharing my results soon!

 

 

Product Review: Brisa Menstrual Cup

This was a very interesting product review to complete.  I wondered how I would do a blog post without sharing too much information, but some of you
may be like me and really want to know another person’s opinion of this type of product.

SPOILER ALERT: I will not be posting any “AFTER” photos because, ummm…. no —   That’s just too much.  But, I can say, this: I was able to use the product over the course of two days and clean it with minimal effort.

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About the Cup:

Brisa is a soft and comfortable menstrual cup made with 100% medical grade silicone. This cup is FDA approved and collects the menstrual flow internally instead of absorbing it, which prevents the dryness and irritation women often experience while using tampons.

Selecting Your Size:

One of the first decisions you need to make when considering a menstrual cup is to find the size that will best fit your cervix.

Brisa Size Options:

1 – Small – If you have a low / medium cervix, light or regular flow, or have never given birth vaginally.

2 – Large – If you have a medium / high cervix, have given birth vaginally, or have a heavy flow.

Since I have yet to give birth and have a low cervix, I went with the small size, despite the fact that I often have a heavier flow.  I figured I would take a few bathroom breaks and monitor the flow the first day to see how quickly the cup filled up. For added peace of mind the first day, I also decided to wear my cup along with a pantyliner while I adjusted to the cup.

 

Inserting and Wearing the Cup is Easy and Comfortable:

I thought this would be one of the most awkward parts (second only to removing the cup), but it really wasn’t. The directions are straight-forward and easy to follow.  You basically fold the cup in half and in half again. Then you allow it to open up and create a natural seal (this will make more sense once you have your own cup). 🙂

I can have a very heavy flow during my cycle and this means that I have to wear “Ultra “or “Super Plus Tampons” at some point during my period. If you’ve ever worn one of these you know they area LARGE and uncomfortable!  Wearing this cup was such a pleasant alternative. I really didn’t think about the fact that I was wearing the cup until I went to the restroom and remembered that I had it on. Per the manufacturer, once you have inserted the cup you can keep it for up to 12 hours (according to your flow).

Removing the cup was also just as easy. I used this towards the end of my cycle so my flow was relatively low. I followed the product directions to remove the item (removing it similar to how one would remove a tampon) and never had any issues with the cup spilling. I will add a few pointers here.  I “prepared myself” for removing the cup by grabbing a few pieces of tissue and having them on hand. Then, I simply took the cup, noted where the liquid was relative to the markings on the cup and dumped the liquid into the toilet.  It is possible to clean the cup with tissue if you are unable to rinse it before inserting it again, but I followed the directions provided on rinsing the cup with water before using it again during the day. And I’m still alive. 😀

 

Peace of Mind:

I was hesitant to do it, but I wore it to bed– and I didn’t have any accidents!  It was great. It really is an AMAZING feeling when you realize that you do not need to think about changing a pad or tampon every 4-6 hours.

For my comfort and personal peace of mind, I cleaned it using the same feminine wash that I use daily.  I thought this would be more sanitary than using traditional soap and water to clean and store the item.  After it was completely dry, I placed it back in the satin storage pouch until I need to use it next month.

I will definitely use this again. Overall, one of the most pleasant surprises was how comfortable wearing this cup was.  I thought it would be more uncomfortable than wearing a tampon, but it was QUITE the opposite– especially when sitting for extended sessions.

Give it a chance, YOUR BODY is going to thank you!