Monday Musings: Eyes, Handbags, and Outfits
Our weekend was stormy, wet, and cold! I dragged myself to the gym on Saturday and found it easier to do because I was wearing one of my new workout outfits. Some may find it shallow that a new outfit helped motivate me to strap on my sneakers and drive to the gym, but it did, and I’m OK with that. We all need to do what helps us feel good about ourselves and take the best care of ourselves we can.
My ocular rosacea has been on my mind a lot lately because its latest flare-up is not improving with the eye doctor’s latest plan of attack. I’m using my heated eye pad nightly, washing my eyes with special lid wipes, using preservative-free eye drops, adding flax seed to my diet, etc., etc…but they still burn, I feel like I have gravel in them, and they’re very red. I know there are other protocols to try because I’ve been reading government research studies on other successful treatments. I’m going to check in with him today to ask about some of these other treatments and see what else we can do.
I’m one of those people who does a lot of reading and Googling on subjects rather that blindly (bad pun) taking the advice of a doctor. This probably saved my life many years ago when my melanoma went undiagnosed by several dermatologists. I’m sure it drives some of my doctors crazy, and I’m fine with that. Obviously, there’s a lot I will never know or understand about medical conditions, which I do leave to my doctors. Ocular rosacea isn’t one of them because the literature is huge on the subject.
Here are a few outfits I wore last week.
I wore this for a trip to the eye doctor, followed by a trip to Nordstrom. I’m glad I snapped up this Loft single-breasted trench coat last year because double-breasted options seem more prevalent. I prefer the simplicity of single-breasted styles for many reasons, not the least of which, they look as good open or closed. I found a few similar ones here and here. My turtleneck and pants appear black in this photo, but they’re charcoal which is one of my new favorite neutrals. The snake print booties are several years old by Dr. Scholls and are super comfy. I found similar ones here and here. My shoulder bag was a gift to myself at a duty-free shop on the way home from my trip to Japan with my daughter several years ago. It’s a splurge, but its camera bag shape holds a lot, yet it is very compact. There are lots of less expensive options here, here, and here.
I ran a ton of errands this day, and it was raining cats and dogs. The lighting is not good here, but I am wearing black jeans :). I’ve got a post coming up on some of my favorite brands of jeans, and this is one of them. Many upscale jeans are not meant to go in the dryer, but mine inevitably do, so they need to hold up, and these Mother jeans have. I’ve ruined two pairs of Paige jeans by unintentionally running them through the dryer. I’ve decided to save myself heartbreak by only buying jeans that will hold up to my laundry preferences. The sweater and booties are burgundy, and the shirt is black with ivory animal print. The sweater is sold out, but I found similar ones here and here. My Munro booties are super comfy and great in the rain, which is just what I need for this time of year.
Here I am sporting my new best friend…a wrist brace to try to stop my De Quervains Tenosynovitis in its tracks. Imobolizing my thumb and wrist for 4-6 weeks is our current protocol to, hopefully, calm down the inflammation and prevent the need for surgery. This day I was handbag shopping and met my shopping pal for coffee. I’m wearing a black Vince cashmere sweater that I got during the Black Friday sale. Yes, Vince cashmere is softer and worth the price. I also love and wear the heck out of my Quince $50 cashmere, and my Nordstrom brand cashmere. I am an equal-opportunity cashmere lover :). I’m wearing it with these comfy Spanx pull-on pants and my Birdies flats.
I have this Kate Spade bag in colored block neutrals of black, taupe, and cream, and I love how versatile it is. I’m not sure I want the same bag again just in a different color. I am looking for a smaller wallet, but I’m still unsure how useful a tiny bag would be for me, so my hunt continues.
I worked from home this day, then went to a crab feed in the evening. I wore an indigo-colored cotton sweater and slim pants from Talbots, along with my new woven Birdies. Our weather has been so wet and nasty that I haven’t been able to wear them outside, but they’re nicely broken in from wearing at home. They actually didn’t need much breaking in (10 minutes) because the woven leather has some give over my bunion, so they’re really comfy. I debated over the colors of these shoes and am glad I went with this two-tone blue which will go with so much this spring.
This has been a rather rambling post, but I do see a theme 🙂 The few extra pounds I’m sporting have me feeling more comfortable in pants with stretch, and I’m reaching for a column of color more often than not.
Do you have dry eyes? How do you treat yours?
As to the bags,I would pick one with a top handle. Having a strap is great when you want to be hands free but having the option of a handle is better at times. Shoulder straps tend to wrinkle some tops. There are some situations (fine dining establishments, etc.) when you want to look a bit classier and holding your purse by the handle fits that bill. I always look for a purse with both. Just my thoughts…
I hope your eyes improve soon. It sounds very uncomfortable. Do you think knitting made your wrist condition flare up?
I agree about the handle. It also save strain on my shoulders. I don’t think the knitting did it 🤞🏻
Hi Jennifer, I notice that you’re getting lots of medical tips on here! I’ll add mine to your list to research. Did you know that rosacea (I suffer, too & am pretty sure I have had bouts in the past with ocular rosacea) is strongly related to the gut and to SIBO? My functional medicine doctor (MD) told me about it and tested me for SIBO and sure enough, I had it. We treated it and I have noticed skin improvement since then. I’ve also had to be more careful in eating only whole foods and cutting out gluten & sugar. Not easy but doable. Something more to consider! Have a beautiful week :).
Lol, I have been diagnosed with SIBO too. If it’s not one thing it’s another. I don’t eat gluten but I need to get back on stevia.
There are a number conditions that can cause dry eye problems, including sarcoidosis. Sometimes it happens on its own.
Even osteoporosis is associated with dry eyes. If you have signs of osteoporosis, you should have your parathyroid hormone, vitamin D and calcium levels checked in the same blood draw. Hyperparathyroidism can cause osteoporosis. I mention this because you had thymus hyperplasia. So did I. I had it removed during a parathyroidectomy for hyperparathyroidism. One dysfunctional parathyroid gland was removed. My dry eyes improved significantly afterwards. Nothing else changed, so maybe that did the trick.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6218084/
I hope this helps you, Jennifer. A simple blood test was worth it for me. Addressing the underlying issue worked when nothing else did.
Thank you for sharing this. I’ll ask my dr about it. I’m thinking my ocular rosacea is playing a major role in this along with meibomian gland dysfunction. They just don’t want to release the oils!
I love your blog. You are a real person with great advice.
I have ocular rosacea and haven’t found the best solution. I have fallen down the rabbit hole on google but still suffer. My eye doctor always recommends a different “Solution” with each visit.
Sincerely,
Linda
I will keep you posted!
My eye doctor has me using Ocu-Soft eyelid wipes, a Bruder eye mask, and Retaine eye drops (drops 2x/day). Some days I still have to use additional drops during the day. Hope you see some improvement soon!
I have dry eye syndrome and I use Restasis morning and night and systane and refresh drops during the day. I also heat my eyes everyday. This all seems to work pretty well for me. But still have good and bad days. I love cute exercise outfits. We walk everyday but I think we will go back to working out at the gym. I always feel like I have to put on makeup for the gym, which takes time. Do you feel like that too? Good luck with your wrist.
So sorry to hear about your health issues, but I sure do understand. I have dry eyes, partly from age and macular degeneration. I’m using Systane Complete drops and it helps some. My retina specialist says he’d like not to put me on Restasis since once you are on it, you have to stay on it. So I’m managing. I too have arthritis in my hands, knees and feet. I was interested to read what Mudra said about RA. No doctor has brought that up. I just may have to ask. Enjoy your outfits. If it gives you a boost and helps you get through the day, go for it!
I suffer from blepharitis as well! Thank you all for the suggestions!
Love this blog and all of my friends on it!
Thank you Jennifer!
Crab feed, yum!
So sorry to hear that your wrist is still bothering you – hopefully the brace will help. As for workout motivation, absolutely purchasing new clothes helps keep me motivated.
And I love your outfit with the trench coat – classy and sophisticated.
Jennifer, I am in complete agreement about exercise. If wearing a cute outfit motivates you, then You Go Girl! We all know that regular exercise is important. I have found that if I have to go out someplace, or do it after a days work, I am less likely to do it. I have owned a treadmill, various aerobics, step-aerobics, indoor walking tapes and DVDs for 20+ years. I have also used YouTube for armchair exercises after foot surgery that left me non-weight bearing for 8 weeks. What works best for me is to put on my exercise clothes and do it first thing in the morning. Then I can go about my day. Best wishes with your exercise plan.
Whatever motivates you is all that matters, enjoy your knew outfit. I have chronic dry eye syndrome and use all kind of prescription drops, eye mask and even serum tears. It becomes a full time job.
I suffered with red, watery grainy dry eyes for years, and after spending thousands of dollars going to doctors: family doctors, allergists, gynocologists, optomologists, and after having numerous tests, I finally figured out the cure by myself! I even had plugs surgically inserted, because that was supposed to “keep” the tears on the surface of my eyes longer. I was desperate! Well, that worked, but not in a good way! I had that done right before my niece’s wedding and ended up “crying” during the whole thing and, consequently, had have the plugs removed. So, to get to the “cure”, and don’t brush this off as nonsense, because it truly was a miracle for me! I decided that my tear ducts might simply be plugged with my own body oil, or possibly make up particles. SO, I took two wet washcloths, one for each eye, got them warm (use warm water, or put them in microwave, but BE CAREFUL not to get them too warm.
Then take a few minutes to rest with one cloth on each eye, and while you’re “resting”, gently massage your eyes in a circular fashion. Rewarm those cloths a couple of times. This therapy only takes 10 minutes or so (or however long you want!).
I did this morning and night for only a few days, and it solved my problem! It was like getting a new lease on life—-sore eyes have a way of making a person feel irritable all over! It was a miracle treatment for me—-and now–when my eyes feel a bit dry—I get my warm washcloths out! My eyes used to be so dry that I’d wake up at night with them hurting, and I would be unable to open my lids, without massaging my eyes, and literally lifting them up with my fingers! Problem solved–thank the Lord! I hope that this easy will help some of you out there!
AM
That sounds like what I’m doing to help soften the oil in my Meibomian glands. I just wish it was helping.
I know how your eyes feel and it’s terrible. I have Blepharitis. I tried several expensive treatments at the recommendation of my eye doctor, none of them worked for me. So I changed eye doctors and was given a suggestion that works really well for me. I use a few drops of non tearing baby shampoo on a wet wash cloth. I wash my eye lids and eye brows twice a day and rise with clear water. Then I use one drop of Refresh Gel eye drops in my eyes twice a day after washing with the baby shampoo. No cream of any kind on my eye lids and my eyes are perfectly comfortable. It took about 2 weeks of this to notice a difference, but I will never do anything else.
I hope you find the treatment that works for you !
My husband has chronic dry eye too. His eye doctor also recommended Johnson Baby Shampoo for a gentle twice daily “wash” for his eyes. Simple, but it works for him! He hardly ever has symptoms anymore, but if it flares up a few days of baby shampoo “washes”, clears it right up. Works better than the other options he tried.
Thank you for sharing that!
I hope your doctors have done the simple blood tests to check for rheumatoid arthritis! For a year I was experiencing foot pain, wrist pain etc like you are. Plus other symptoms. My primary said it wasn’t RA since my joints weren’t “crippled”. Fortunately an orthopedic doctor suggested I see a rheumatologist. It’s has been a journey but I am on the proper treatment now and never experience joint pain! My feet are fine, my wrist is fine! My other ailments went away! I hope you don’t have RA but for anyone with multiple joint pains – Get the blood test! You may feel like a new women with proper treatment (I am on a biologic and it prevents the crippling too)..
Thank you for sharing that with us! I will ask for it.
Mudra, would you be willing to share what med you’re using for RA? I’m recently diagnosed and trying to figure out what med is going to work for me. Thanks in advance!
Hi i too have a similar problem finding the right size handbag in the colour I would like and within budget….nightmare! I am in the UK
Today’s outfit are great, love your Birdies :). I just received my Birdies order, The Starling Pine Velvet. I need to purchase another shoe holder, yeah!
I also had the same issue with my left thumb, unfortunately I needed surgery, good luck with the brace and you can avoid surgery.
Restasis for the last ten years and 50 mg doxycycline daily for blepharitis. Rarely do I experience the symptoms anymore. If I do, additional preservative-free tears do the job.
That is the protocol I’m asking for! I take Doxi for my facial rosacea flares and have read it’s very helpful for ocular. Thanks for confirming what I’ve read.
Jennifer, I love how you manage to make your readers laugh by inserting humor with health issues and fashion! Who knew? My mother was a high fashion model in New York City back in the 50s, she would be as impressed by you as I am. I always look forward to your blogs, and excuse the pun, but you really do look like you just stepped out of a magazine, always.
Melissa
That’s kind of you to say, thank you
I sympathise with your eye problem. I thought I had a red eye, but it turned out to be Scleritis and inflammation of the eye muscle – no known cause despite myriad of blood tests and scans, Have been on high dose steroids for two months with some weight gain. Seriously, who cares if it is shallow to be motivated by new clothes or anything else. At our age, we are plagued with a myriad of health problems, so if a new bag or a piece of Lycra cheers one up, enjoy the moment. If you really want to shed those extra kilos, and it isn’t too far, try walking to the gym. It really burns off the kilojoules
Happy new year Jennifer, nice post and different kinds of outfits. I agree about the Vince cashmere vneck, a great investment and comfortable to wear. And kudos for getting your exercise routine going. It’s hard to get started but once the habit is firmed you get lots of satisfaction from doing it. I’m now doing barre 3x weekly and walking daily for an hour. Feels great and it’s easier to.manage my weight. Have a great week!
Good for you!! I loved the few barre classes I tried. It’s a great way to increase balance and strength.
It’s not too far to walk, and I should.
High dose steroids can contribute to osteoporosis as I found out after prolonged use. An increase in calcium may help prevent that. I wish my doctor had been more aware.
I. Have increased my milk consumption usually fruit smoothies with yoghurt and milk with plant sterols ( for my cholesterol ). Probably contributing to my weight gain.
Thanks for your great posts and good ideas on how to dress for us mature gals! I appreciate your suggestions and also your sharing health details. I don’t feel so isolated with my own issues such as vision problems, bunions, weight gain over holidays, etc. Keep up the awesome work, Jennifer!
We are all in this together. I’m happy to share this journey with you ladies!