Hey, guys. I haven’t written much lately and that is because I am still feeling sick. I seem to have an odd, unrelated barrage of symptoms and have been to several different doctors with no answers yet. I am trying to do as many “normal” things as I can while trying to navigate whatever is happening. While I wasn’t feeling totally great for this weekend trip, my husband and I were celebrating two years of marriage October 20, and it is our tradition to visit Milwaukee for our anniversary.
We left on a Friday evening. We live in Chicago, so it only takes about two hours (sometimes less) to get there. This trip, we stayed at the Hilton in downtown Milwaukee. This was our fourth time there, and we’ve stayed in a different hotel each time. This one was pretty fancy, but it was somehow the least expensive one–I think there was a deal going on for this weekend.
We checked in and then went to Water Street Brewery (another tradition of ours) to eat dinner. I did not drink during this trip, but Julian had one of their beers and liked it. I ordered a turkey sandwich with a side salad. After, we went to another bar in the area so he could watch a UFC fight. It got really crowded very quickly, and I definitely felt a little tense as I sat there sipping my water, but we had an okay time. After, we walked around downtown Milwaukee for a bit and then returned to the room.
The next morning, we went out to Build a Breakfast for brunch. I had another sandwich and a side salad.
We decided to walk around downtown some more because it was pretty nice out for October.
A lot of people like to take photos with the “Bronze Fonz.” We’ve passed him a few times on our other trips and it’s pretty entertaining to see how excited people get about taking pictures with this statue.
Since most of October was fairly mild, many of the flowers were still in bloom.
We grabbed some coffee and chamomile tea and decided to head to some of the trails in Milwaukee. We found one that was pretty beautiful. I love trails in the fall because they are filled with colorful leaves and the scent in the air just hits differently. We saw a cat running through the forest preserve and it was the first time either of us saw a cat on the trail. We’ve seen deer, coyote, raccoons, chipmunks, hawks, and more, but never cats!
After exploring the forest, we decided to visit the Forest Home cemetery, a 19th-century garden cemetery. It was huge and historic.
After, we went to Sprecher Brewery. They have all kinds of homemade soda, beer, chocolates, and souvenirs. I didn’t buy anything this time, but I was eyeing their ginger ale. Julian got a variety pack of several different kinds of beers and hard sodas. We returned to the room for a bit and then decided to go back downtown to “Feat District,” a Halloween-themed event. There were a couple of haunted houses, food, games, and decor.
After spending some time there, we went to dinner. We ate at Ale Asylym. I got a salmon sandwich with a side salad. It came with an avocado spread.
After, we walked around downtown Milwaukee a bit more and then returned to the room. We checked out the next morning and had breakfast at Simple Cafe. I had an omelette with spinach and caramelized onions. After, we decided to head to Bradford Beach, another tradition of ours.
It was extremely foggy when we got there and it was much colder than it had been Saturday, so we decided to walk along the trees in the small forest preserve and walk out on some of the beach.
After exploring for a bit, we headed home. We saw a lot of beautiful things and had some good food, but I am usually much more active. Sorry for the quality on some of these photos–I have no idea why they changed size.
I was really bummed to be feeling so physically off for this trip and am really hoping to make some progress with some answers soon. So far, I learned that I have an overactive thyroid, meaning my thyroid creates too many hormones. Some of the symptoms of that are anxiety (I’ve been experiencing severe physical anxiety, which I’ve never had before), insomnia, weight loss, irritability, heart palpitations, missed periods, shortness of breath, increase in blood sugar, itching, muscle weakness, nervousness, and more–and I’ve been experiencing all of these! I’ve also had some other symptoms that I am not sure are related, especially frequent headaches. I have been tested for autoimmune markers (clear) and all of the standard ER tests were normal. However, I just know something isn’t right.
It’s very odd because I have been to the ER twice in two months when I’d previously not even had a reason to see a doctor for about ten years. It’s been really scary and depressing, and I am hoping for health restoration soon. I have been eating super-healthy (no alcohol, sugar, or fast food + limited gluten), taking vitamins (C, B12, D, magnesium, cod liver oil, turmeric, and a probiotic), trying to maintain normal exercise and trying (but not doing very well) to get sleep. I am highly stressed because it is so unusual for me to feel so physically bad, and I am sure that is wrecking havoc on my body.
If you send out good vibes, thoughts, prayers, etc., please keep me in yours! I am going to keep fighting to get back on a path to good health. I hope you all have a pleasant evening.
Breeanna Living Brilliantly 