29 May 2013

YAHLah

After this post, i hope when you say "YAHLah" you think of food.

Yummy And Healthy food. And as older people / naggier people will say "It's all for your own good" I am going to tell you the same thing.. What i am going to bug you from now on about.. Is all for your own good.

You guys know i have migraine right? Really bad migraine. By really bad, i mean really freaking bad. You can read about my post HERE. I have all the effects of migraine.

I usually like to avoid talking about it becox i believe talking about it will remind me and my body of it and it will come more often. And when it hits me (always suddenly, out of nowhere), i'd get blind spot which will immediately make me near disabled, numbness at my limbs, at my tongue, i'd feel super duper nauseous like i need to puke my guts out cox nothing in my body seems right inside. And with all these together, there will be the actual migraine - The worst headache you can imagine.

The kind of pain that goes from your shoulder to neck to your head.

And panadol won't help. Caffox (which only helps my blind spot) also won't ease the pain.

There will only be me in a room.. With lights off. Sometimes maybe i'd play some soft music.

Sometimes the sound of my cries and scream and me hitting my own head to apply pressure on it to temporarily soothe the pain. Accupotomy already helped improve the situation a lot. But i doubt i'd go back again becox after acupotomy, if i wear heels / have slightly less than perfect posture, my whole neck down to my spine will just behave like a stiff bitch. So..

Basically i have no help.

I only have myself and God. I don't know which God. But just someone bigger, better. Who knows more. And i choose to believe he put me through this since i was 13, for a good reason.

Maybe it's to justify for my pain, to make myself feel better.

But maybe i really am supposed to be better than who i am now.

You might or might not believe but i was so helpless and lost yesterday. Cox migraine hit me at about 3pm yesterday. I got better at 5pm. And it came back at 8pm or so.

I was like.. Really? Me again? There's only one fucking person in the world who can suffer this at one time, is it? And i have to cover double shift today?! REALLY?!

So it lasted til 5am.

I was battling it. You know when you refuse to let something get you down, you fight it. You do better than it. You handle more than what it throws you. But this really just tear me apart. Like.. What's my life gonna be? No matter how much money i earn, how many pretty clothes i buy, i am always open to this pain.. SO. I was really thinking of giving up. And by giving up, i mean maybe go to the A&E and ask for a morphine jab or some shit, to stop the pain. But i can't. Becox if i give up one time, my body would need higher measure to counter it the next time.

I started with panadol. Then it lost its effect then i move on to a few other medication before i thought i found 仙丹 Caffox. Now caffox can only fix my blind spot. It doesn't help anything else anymore.

So i refuse to get more serious drugs. WHY DO I NEED SERIOUS DRUGS.

WHY CAN'T THIS FUCKING THING JUST LEAVE ME ALONE. I was so angry and frustrated i cried so badly. And sometimes.. I really feel like only dying could take me away from the pain but i don't wanna die lah!!! My life is really quite awesome i just cannot die!!!

So at 3am, Michelle told me "You really have to take this seriously.. You eat outside food everyday and you know how much MSG they have..?" She is right.

MSG is also one of the main trigger for migraine.

Equally harmful as cured / preserved food.

So. Right at the second.. I finally manage to find reasoning in all the stupid shit i have been going through for 13 years.. I need to eat healthy and i can't just stop there. I have to advocate healthy-eating becox only by doing this, i can continue to motivate myself while i encourage others. They say you have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

I am still trying to be motivated to LIVE healthy (like example by sleeping in the correct timezone lol and by exercising at least a little bit a day) but you know what they say.. Baby steps. Exercising is really not easy =X I hope maybe Punggol open a indoor swimming pool, ah maybe then! Haha.

And "eating healthily" really sounds right for me becox you also know, my favourite food is McDonald's and crispy bacon and lots and lotsa ba you pok (deep fried pork lard) and chocolate and super ring and potato chips and all sort of things that has heavy flavouring and taste.

Think of anything deep fried, unhealthy, tasty with lotsa flavour, think of me. It is me. Becox you are what you eat. Or at least that's what many people say haha. I am walking piece of pork lard haha.


So anyway. I finally found meaning in the pain i go through. And like i said, that is, to encourage more people to eat greener, healthier, cleaner. So today i woke up before Josh and he was half-awake and i was changing out to head out and he ask me "Where you going so early?"

I said "I am going to the market" He jumped up awake and was like "HUH?"

That's right. Hahaha. So i went to the market and bought lotsa colour. Red and orange and green and white. Food in their natural form are really beautiful.

So i am calling this journey YAHLah!

YAH - Yummy And Healthy

Becox i always tell people who nag at me to healthier, "yah lah yah lah" Patronising them.

But now YAHLah has a whole new meaning!!! =DDD Today i posted the lunch i cooked on instagram (@bongqiuqiu) and the response was quite good! Thank you guys who shared more yummy and healthy recipes with me by hashtagging #YAHLah =DDD

This is what i made for lunch! Eating healthy is MUCH MUCH easier and enjoyable than i thought. Becox you can throw in things you like, just don't "contaminate" them with too much flavouring ha!
Sliced zucchini and halved cherry tomatoes. Then i chill them in the fridge.
Mash up the hard boil eggs (actually one would be good enough but i thought that will be too little so i got a little greedy haha) with a fork and while doing that, sprinkle a tiny bit of seasalt and pepper!
Bring out the chilled tomatoes and zucchini and then drizzle your favourite sauce over it! Drizzle ah, don't pour haha. I would have poured if i was me one day ago. But i am a changed person now.
So there you have! Appertizing salad (i used Japanese roasted sesame salad dressing, but the milky kind of sesame sauce is super yummy and awesome too) and your mashed egg to go with bread! If you like cheese you may layer cheese before you scoop on the eggs ^.^ It is very very yummy.

From someone who loves everything extra, Cai Tao Kway extra black, extra egg, Mee Pok extra minced pork and deep fried pork lard, Nasi Lemak extra egg, in fact, every dish that i can add extra eggs, i won't let it pass. I ask Josh what other kind of food i always wanna add something "EXTRA"

He say "Basically everything" He is right. Even chicken rice i'd ask for extra of the salty sesame oil with soya sauce. Why am i like this. My kidneys confirm hate me lol.

From someone like me a day ago, to me today.. I think it's a pretty huge leap. You can praise me, thank you =D Hahaha. I hope more than that, you can join me. I am not going to preach.

I still love McDonald's a lot. I still love KFC. I still love Pizza Hut. I still am going to add extra pork lard when i eat noodles (i am sorry, for this one i might have to go to pork lard rehab centre to quit lol), i still love all the food that's out there.

But all i am saying is.. I will start adding in fresh, healthy food, fruits and more vegetables into my diet. And i strongly encourage you to! Becox there might be afterlife.. But there's only one body to take care of this life. And i really did see a ray of hope when the idea of "Healthier food" came to me last night.. I hope this light will continue to shine bright.

Stay healthy. That's the best we can do for ourselves and for the people who love us.

Hashtag #YAHLah if you have a YUMMY and HEALTHY recipe to share with all of us ^.^

Better still if it's YEAHLah! Yummy, Easy And Healthy!

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Qiuqiu it's not easy but you have to go for the long way and the result is worthwhile. Hope you remain healthy and don't give up! I also suffer from migraine but not as severe as yours, so we are all in this together!!

Loraine said...

jia you! it may be tough initially but you will get the hang of it once the body is accustom(?) to it...

Kyura said...

Great post! I can fully understand how you feel because I've been suffering from chronic (painful) medical problems for many years as well. Jiayou! Eating and living healthy will do you lots of good. Remember to never let the pain beat you down! Hope it gets better for you in time to come (less frequency, less pain) and that eventually you'll stop suffering from it. Take care <3

Miyo Han said...

Hello.

You can try drinking Miso Soup everyday. You can get miso at DIASO in a pack of 9. Miso helps in good health too, DON'T EAT TOO MUCH PANDADOL!! Pandadol stay in your body for years before they all dissolve. Please do take care ok. :) I hope you have no more migraine!

Anonymous said...

You are an idiot, advertising for KFC and MD? They poison people with shitty food quite literally, and abuse animals in the most horrific ways..

thoughtsofping said...

Hi qiu qiu. I used to have really bad migraine too. Lasts a few days every.single.month.=( So i can totally feel you when you talk about your pain.

Anyways i think its true about the linkage between diet and my migraine. I finally spotted my culprit, which is green tea. (!!!!!) Which is SO SAD cause i liked green tea.hur hur.

But my migraine has vanished ever since i stopped drinking. Hope you'll find your cure soon too! :)

Milly said...

This post also led me to my own realization. I never could understand why people said MSG and eating out was bad, besides giving you cancer, but now I know it also affects other parts of the body short term. Good luck and all the best in YAHLah! You can do it! :)

Jules said...

I have "extras" added in almost every meal and love my food super flavored (eat healthy food like fish soup I must even dip the veggies in soya sauce lollol) as well! You inspired me to be healthy again. I truly believe the small steps you take will make you feel better and healthier. :)

t3ngt3ng said...

Hi QiuQiu, I'm a noob in twitter/instagram so I've no idea how to use this hashtag thingy. Just wanna share a simple fool proof recipe with you.

Cook spaghetti, drain and set aside. Slice some avocado/ crabstick and throw it into the spaghetti. Drizzle some sesame dressing and toss everything together. If you like, can add tuna as well.

Stay healthy!

Anjo said...

I don't think it MSG becuz for me I get migraine for lack of sleep and depression. My first migraine was when i was eight and my dad took me to the doctors and they didn't know what to do; they just tell me to pee in the cup and that it. In my family my mom and I was the only ones who had migraine so it not MSG. I don't know if this true my mom told that MSG would makes your hair fall off from eating a lot of it. whenever I have migraine I will always go take a long nap and try not to think of anything and i don't take medication for it. Once my colleague told me to take Tylenol for it and still didn't take the pain away. Try taking a good long beauty nap that'll work.

Lesley said...

I think this article is helpful because honestly, i was an unhealthy person eating all the craps in e world and before i knew it, i am fighting hard to lose the extra 10kg i pile up. I am trying to make my bod cleaner and trying hard to detox and is still wrking extra hard on that and seeing slow results.
I can totally understand hw hard it is to eat healthy and this article just reveal the struggles of a real person, it is written within the heart and i m sure alot of people can relate to this post.
Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I've been eating lotsa rubbish recently (or rather these few months) and thanks to ur post, i'm inspired to go back to healthy eating again! Yahlah, yahlah, yahlah!!!

Anonymous said...

hey you might wanna check if its nose allergy problems! I have migraine super often and nobody told me it was nose allergy till i visited a different doctor. he told me i do not need to avoid any foods, its just the humid weather that causes it!

Anonymous said...

You can use a crock pot (also called a slow cooker) to cook simple soups like pork ribs with carrots potatoes, herbal chicken (just plonk a washed chicken into the pot with water and a sachet of those herbal soup mixes you can buy from NTUC..) easy, yummy and healthy. Lotus roots with peanuts and pork ribs are good too.. Eat with plain rice. No oily cooking. Kitchen won't get messy dirty. Little cleaning up required. Your hubby will eat too cos its actually quite yummy!

Anonymous said...

Thanks qiuqiu. very impressive post, and is very motivation.

Anonymous said...

You should read this http://thelowhistaminechef.com/the-surprising-link-between-allergies-and-migraines/
And avoid alcohol, mushrooms, processed meats, cheese, avocados, tomatoes, spinach and vinegar containing foods.
My patients who suffered migraine like you all of them are getting better avoiding (specially) those things.

Manon said...

@Anon: are you an idiot - do you really think this is an advert for KFC or Mcdonalds?

Anyway QiuQiu I hate to rain on your parade but eggs can trigger migraines! Though I guess you can't give up everything :(
I also had really bad migraines at one stage, but by drinking more water, waking up every day at the same time and not eating out I rarely get them now. I used to think why of ALL people do I have to be the one with an effing migraine? But there are people worse off, and now I know there is Qiu in Singapore :D

Anonymous said...

I have quite a lot of migraine attacks as well and I actually had one yesterday while in uni like 2 hours before my presentation so it was really bad D: anw try meditating before you sleep every night, it helps!! Take care x

Kyura said...

One of my favourite healthy food is steamed fish (add a small chunk of sliced ginger, a clove (or two) of garlic, 2 small sliced chilli padis (optional), if you can eat mushrooms, add a handful of chinese mushrooms (optional), 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (can skip this but add just a bit more salt (a small sprinkle)), and about half a teaspoon of salt for 1 serving - steam for 10 mins) with rice


My health issues are different but as I think I'm recovering somewhat, maybe I could share what has helped me:
1) When in pain, (and especially when your body turns cold because of the pain) warmth can help to sooth it. Eg, i) Take a warm soak in the bath, ii) Throw a blanket around you and curl up on the floor with your eyes shut and allow the sun to bath the blanketed you in its' rays, iii) Bring a warm / hot water bottle with you to bed, iv) use a heating pad, v) simply putting a cloth over the painful area and using a warm hand to apply very slight pressure.

2) I've bathed with a bit of diluted dettol everyday for years now. I now rarely get the flu / cold / any other germ related disease even though my body's immune system is quite weak and my family members are always sneezing / coughing away >.> This helps as you really don't wanna get sick when you are trying to build up your body's resistance to make it stronger :)

Anonymous said...

someone i knew had what he thought were migraines too, not quite as serious as yours. at the advice of a doctor, he finally went for a scan and found out that he actually had a brain aneurysm. please realize that this is a potentially life threatening issue, so you should definitely get a scan to rule this out for yourself.

be safe, be healthy. take care.

Alice Lee-Yang said...

Thanks for this post, I was quite worried something happened that led to the sudden change. Thanks for informing us and for taking good care of yourself. 照顾自己 是对关心自己的人的一个交代。
Sorry to kaypo but the terrible migraine may also be due to irregular sleep hours, because if i'm not wrong our body & mind rest best between 10pm to 2am. You can consider trying to adjust the sleeping hour bit by bit slowly. Other causes might be your hectic life & increasing amount of activities that led you to be not only physically tired but also mentally overstimulated that you could not get quality rest even when you are sleeping. I could be wrong, but if the hectic life is causing too much stress, try to make some changes to have a better balance. Don't push yourself too hard. I'm sure there are many who care for you have a lot of advices already. But I just hope that you could be well and better soon. Have a good rest! No matter what, we'll always support you! :)

Lydia said...

I really hope you get better soon, Qiuqiu! The migraines sound really hellish. Hang in there!

Anonymous said...

I heard that migraine can also be caused by bad posture or slipped disc (touchwood)…

Maybe u can try to do some pilates or yoga regularly to relax your tensed neck/spine/shoulder muscles?

I will have bad headache and neck pain if I don't do pilates/yoga for a period of time. All the best!

Anonymous said...

i suffer only once before n im already so traumatised by it, my eye balls, nose, cheek, n mouth were in so much pain that i cry n cry n cant sleep at all! n reading about your experiences which is worse than mine... u r a strong person, n your eating habit is same like mine! i also want to eat healthier, but always give excuses like eat tapao food is more convenient! need to go to market more often already! and jiayou

Anonymous said...

I don't think you ever have to cut out "bad foods" completely. Nothing is bad as long as you take it in moderation. If you include more fruits and vegetables in your diet, you'll automatically eat less of the bad foods.

Hope your migraines go away. :)

aubrey said...

I have terrible migraine too...even went to do a ct scan ytd just to be sure...but the migraine medicine i got from the doctor really helped...it's amitriptyline, maybe you can ask the doc...anyway my tcm doc taught me this massage that lessens the blind spot and headache, so i share with you! i try my best to describe:eyes closed,start from the point on the nose bridge which is level to your eyebrows, then just rub right above your eyebrows, following the arch of your eyebrows all the way to the temple points,massage the temples, then go back to the nose bridge and massage straight up till around the hairline. repeat a few times and it will feel better!hope that helps!

aubrey said...

I have terrible migraine too...even went to do a ct scan ytd just to be sure...but the migraine medicine i got from the doctor really helped...it's amitriptyline, maybe you can ask the doc...anyway my tcm doc taught me this massage that lessens the blind spot and headache, so i share with you! i try my best to describe:eyes closed,start from the point on the nose bridge which is level to your eyebrows, then just rub right above your eyebrows, following the arch of your eyebrows all the way to the temple points,massage the temples, then go back to the nose bridge and massage straight up till around the hairline. repeat a few times and it will feel better!hope that helps!

aubrey said...

I have terrible migraine too...even went to do a ct scan ytd just to be sure...but the migraine medicine i got from the doctor really helped...it's amitriptyline, maybe you can ask the doc...anyway my tcm doc taught me this massage that lessens the blind spot and headache, so i share with you! i try my best to describe:eyes closed,start from the point on the nose bridge which is level to your eyebrows, then just rub right above your eyebrows, following the arch of your eyebrows all the way to the temple points,massage the temples, then go back to the nose bridge and massage straight up till around the hairline. repeat a few times and it will feel better!hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

I oso suffer from migraine since I 12 years old =( sometimes the pain can last one week or more , I oso taking cafergot now sometimes help if I take when I have the feeling of migraine coming , I oso hate this always can spoilt important days cos when I have migraine I cant do anything and I oso vomit my intestines out lol

Teacher Summer said...

Punggol does have an indoor/sheltered pool! Or is that considered Seng Kang? It's Anchorvale Pool ... Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Hi Qiuqiu,

I'm also a sufferer of migraine since primary school. There are many triggers of migraine, you have to know what's yours and manage it accordingly. For example, if I sleep more than what I usually do, I will have a bad migraine attack, hence I need to sleep regular hours (not more, not less) even on weekends =(

I have also tried TCM medicine. It helped to alleviate the pain and frequency of attacks.

Hope this helps.

Elizabeth Than said...

Hey hey! Not sure how much you love your greens, but these seem interesting. :p

http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2013/05/3-super-healthy-salads.html

Nanda said...

I'm trying to eat healthy too! There are so many fit and healthy living/recipes account on IG. And if it's really hard to put fruits and vege in ur diet, u can always throw them all in a blender w/ soymilk/plain yogurt and tadaaa, green smoothies! There's this challenge on IG where u have to drink green smoothies for 30 day and upload the pic with the hashtag, u can search it on IG! Best of luck! :D

doooduuu said...

There's this porridge stall in Clementi market that sells pork porridge with pork lard inside leh! Super delicious. Hahaha not very YAHLah but very YAHmi. LOL

Lynn Shane said...

Hey there! Know what? I think this YAHlah project is really a good thing! For you, for me, for everyone out there! Coincidentally I've also been TRYING to eat healthy (at least for dinner as I am an OL but i know thats no excuse lol), watch and becareful with the things I put into my mouth! LOL

Will hashtag YAHLah & YEAHLah on my Instagram whenever I prepare healthy dinner meals! Yay!

And kudos for the healthy movement! May your migraine slowly subside and eventually you will be FREE from the ebil pain!!! :))

Anonymous said...

hmm..hi, fyi tt's not zucchini but japanese cucumber. :x