Overheard: Here’s an earful for you
Me: “So for years and years I’ve had ear pain and every time I go to a doctor, they look and tell me nothing’s wrong. My sinuses are draining into my throat today, and I had vertigo all weekend.”
Doctor: [getting ear/nose light thing] Mmm-hmmmm. [looks into my ear] [snickers]
Me: You’re going to tell me there’s nothing wrong, aren’t you?
Doctor: Well, looking at it, there isn’t anything wrong. [busts a gut laughing]
Then he gave me a requisition for sinus x-rays and a referral to an EENT*.
How was your Monday?
*Seriously, I have seen probably a dozen doctors over the years about this. He’s the first one who’s done anything beyond taking a took at my ear with the ear/nose light thing.
Wherein I Blackmail My Mother In Law
So in the last post, I alluded to the fact that my mother in law had an aortic rupture.
Lesson number 1: when your blood pressure is normally low or normally and is all of a sudden fluctuating all over the place, demand tests until you can’t be tested any more.
Not satisfied with, you know, nearly dying and all, she decided to have a side of pneumonia.
Sidenote: as I type this, my father in law and Darren are in the kitchen taking my sink apart to figure out why we have no hot water pressure there.
On Saturday, after her surgery on Friday, she was sitting up, talking and joking with the nurses. Then sometime Saturday night, they had to intubate her because of the pneumonia thing. Sunday we went to visit her and she was still intubated. The Poptart was scared of the cardiac ICU and the tubes, but held up well, especially when the nurses gave her cookies.
Darren was…shaken.
The next day, my FIL flew in to Vancouver. I went by Vancouver General to pick him up and she was still intubated. After talking with the nurses, I formulated a Cunning Plan.
I blackmailed her.
I told her, in no uncertain terms, that if she worked hard, and listened to the nurses, and got rid of the breathing tube, Darren would bring the Poptart by for a visit the next day.
An hour later, they took the breathing tube out.
I could use a laugh
2007: mother in law diagnosed with cancer. Treatment successful.
2008: dad diagnosed with prostate cancer. Tratment successful.
2008: mother in law diagnosed with breast cancer. Treatment successful.
2009: mother in law falls in deep hole, fractures her spine. Eventually gets help.
2011 spring: my mom diagnosed with breast cancer. Treatment successful.
2011 fall: they find something growing in my dad’s bladder. It is removed, found to be cancer, but the kind they just remove and it eventually stops growing back. Then he gets an infection from the procedure and is put on 3 months of antibiotics. Also, some cancerous spots removed from his head.
Last night, my mother in law had an aortic aneurism. She is stable and being flown to Vancouver tomorrow for surgery.
I am a little tired of all of this. So!
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to leave me stupid or dirty jokes in the comments. I could use a laugh.
Dairy Free Fall
Dentist: You have a dry mouth! You’re probably a mouthbreather!
Yes, my dentist called me a mouthbreather. I have no great love of dentists, generally, particularly this one. I only go to him because he is a 5 minutes walk from my house and he has evening and weekend hours.
He makes a point though. I have sinus issues (as my roomies at BlogHer can attest) and allergies. This year, the allergies have been really bad – I blame the long, cool summer and confused plants. They’re flaring up again now that it’s fall. I’ve had a sinus-induced earache or a headache just about daily for the last 8 months or so.
Quite simply, I am tired of being stuffed up and spending copious amount of money on Aerius Plus and Advil Cold & Sinus (although I did manage to stack a bunch of coupons and got a 30 pack of Aerius at Save-on-Foods for $5). I really don’t like the earaches – the best explanation I’ve had is that they’re caused when I’m a bit congested and it puts pressure on a nerve, so it feels like it hurts in my ear, but that’s not the source.
Anyways, I’ve decided it’s time to get this crappe under control. So I’m cutting out major sources of dairy until Christmas to see if that helps.
I shall miss cheese.
On the upside, I can still eat potato chips.
And while I know that there is some argument for the use of intestinal parasites in dealing with allergies, I think I’ll just take the dairy out of my diet for now. Wouldn’t want to get the wrong worm.
And maybe I’ll still switch dentists.
The Coming of the Light
Following the return of standard time here, the stretch from November to February is dark. For us, it means we wake up in the dark, we go to work in the dark and we come home in the dark. This time period is what gives this area the nickname “The Wet Coast”. It pours here, more often than not, and it is cold and uncomfortable to go out at lunch. So I often don’t. I’ll go down to the staff room and read or watch an episode of Fringe (or take a nap especially if the Poptart has been up at night). This is the reason I didn’t wean off Zoloft late last year and my doctor gave me a 6 month prescription. His exact words were, “Get through the dark. Spring is a much better time to wean.”
Recently, I’ve been noticing that, since daylight savings, and moreso since the beginning of March, it’s been getting light earlier and staying light longer. I now walk to the train (usually in the rain) with a great deal more light than the last few months. And when I get home, it’s not really dark at all. I’m also down to about half a prescription (6 weeks or so) on my Zoloft; after that I have to go back to the doctor for more. And then I have to tell him that I don’t want to go off Zoloft. Let me explain.
The truth of the matter, is that I feel better than I’ve felt in years. I’m getting better sleep and even when I don’t because the Poptart decides to party from 1am to 4am on a work night, I don’t melt into a weeping mess or have panic attacks. I don’t get all panicky about things like money and I’m able to think through issues logically, even when I’m absolutely exhausted. Before, it was a balance: I needed at least 8 hours of sleep every night, preferably more. Oh and I needed that glass or three of wine every night. It was worse while I was pregnant and nursing because, hey, no wine, and only small amounts while nursing. I also quit smoking completely when I found out I was pregnant, yet the cravings didn’t go away; I didn’t start up again after having the Poptart, mainly out of sheer stubbornness. Once the Zoloft kicked in, I didn’t crave nicotine any more (and there is some research that shows antidepressants can help some people quit smoking). Wine is something I can now enjoy a glass of (instead of a bottle).
In other words, I think I’m experiencing better living through pharmaceuticals. And I don’t want to give it up. The light is coming, but for me, it’s already here, in the form of a small pill.
* * * *
I wrote the above paragraphs some time ago and then forgot about it because we had an extended winter. It was something like the Wettest April Ever and on track to be the Coldest May In The History of Weather Record Keeping. And it was still dark. And cold. And I was really stressed at work. I had a couple of episodes where I Completely Lost It when my anxiety flared up. I was pulling 60-70 hour weeks for awhile and it was just not working. I missed my family. I was sick off and on (more on) with three bouts of stomach flu since Christmas (the last one I ended up at the ER so they could give me a shot of gravol/immodium so I could keep something in me), ear/throat/sinus infection and 10 days of antibiotics, and allergies.
And then my manager pulled me into her office for making a couple of typo errors (on dates) and not scanning a really long email that had some information in it that I needed. I ended up asking a question that was already answered in that email (although when I talked to the person, there was a different answer). I explained that I was burned out and that I was trying my best. Then she asked me why I was burned out and what she could do to help me. When I asked a week later for a day off, she denied it and suggested a different date since we were low staffed, but had functioned with fewer people before.
ANYWAYS.
And the prospect of dropping Zoloft scared the bejeezus out of me – especially since I nearly broke down in her office.
So I went back to my doctor, told him I wasn’t ready to wean off and that I liked myself a whole lot better on the Zoloft than off. He shrugged and wrote me a prescription for another 6 months, and said, “If you’re not ready, that’s okay. There are people who have been taking antidepressants for years ever since Prozac came out. And they’re fine – better, in fact than when they don’t take it. At some point, you can try going down to 25 mg (from 50), and see how that goes. If you want.”
And I think the best part is, he’s leaving it entirely up to me. There’s no pushing to go off Zoloft. There’s no need for me to advocate for myself because he is helpful.
And now, I am recovering. I feel a lot better than I did because I’m finally getting restful sleep. The restful sleep started when he wrote me that refill. Now that the push is over (for now – there will be another one in June/July) I can relax at night instead of getting wound up about work.
Then I found out my accountant had screwed up on my taxes and we had plans for that money and HELLO, anxiety attack. Really. It’s fixed now, but it took me two full days to recover from that attack. And now that I’m past that, it’s a good thing I have my little yellow pill.
I’m not really sure how to end this, so I’ll just leave it dangling, and if you like, you can comment on various things:
- Do you have a doctor that listens to you?
- How do you advocate for yourself if you don’t have a regular doctor, or one that doesn’t really listen to you?
- How do you get through high-stress periods?
Water Safety Wednesdays: In Sickness and In Health
Now that the remnants of the plague* are being cleared out of my house and body**, it’s probably time for a return to Water Safety Wednesdays
Today is not so much on water safety, per se, but you can go back and read the other ones. It’s more about common sense. See, I was going to register the Poptart in Parent & Tot lessons, but then she got sick and would have missed a couple of lessons.
Today’s water safety advice boils down to health, especially for kids: if your kids are sick, don’t send them swimming. Certainly at some point some exercise is good for them as it may help them “sweat it out”. However water and colds are just bad combinations:
- It often makes congestion worse
- It often makes illnesses worse
- The combination of congestion and water is a perfect storm for ear infections
- Swim instructors get grossed out, and sick, by being coughed on (and puked on sometimes) with kids that come up out of the water hacking and spitting on their faces
- The warmer, humid air of an indoor swimming pool is a perfect breeding ground for germs.
So there you go. Water Safety and Health – don’t go swimming if you’re sick. The water will not “wash away” germs. Stay home, get well, and when you’re not congested, not hacking and just not infected any more, you’re welcome back.
*See for e.g.: 7 days of antibiotics for the poptart (pink eye, chest, ear, sinus and throat infections) 3x/day, will not sleep without mom; me: “sleeping” with a sick toddler, working long, long hours at work, 10 days of antibiotics for ear/sinus infection. See also being a sucky friend because I didn’t get Sunshine’s entertainment book back to her.
**And I can think in more than 140 Characters
Four Hour Body Fridays: The Good Ol’ College Try
So it’s been about 6 or 7 weeks since we’ve been doing the Four Hour Body program. And for Darren it’s working. For me it’s working but as you may have guessed I have been having some, ah, digestive issues. I am often uncomfortable and, well, gassy. It takes about 3 or 4 days before I can properly expel what I’ve been eating. I am tired of being uncomfortable. I have tried a high-protein, slow-carb regimen before and had the same result. Drinking fibre, starting with salad, drinking coffee – I tried it all and nothing really helps. Because I’m filling up on protein, I’m just not eating enough fibre and other things to clean the pipes. The last week or so I’ve felt really ill and just don’t want to eat breakfast. I’ve had stomache aches off and on, punctuated by sharp, stabbish pains off and on.
I suspect that the reason Darren isn’t having a lot of problems has to do with the supplements he’s taking (that I don’t take because they have a good chance of interfering with the Zoloft, which I’m not going to mess with without a doctor supervision). So I am modifying.
Next week, I am doing a cleanse, which means lots of fruit and vegetables and things like tofu and fish. The only thing I’m kind of dreading about it is that I won’t be able to drink coffee, so I’m on the lookout for some high-quality green tea. I’m hoping this, and the slow plan to get back to normal eating will regularize things.
Following that, I’ll modify as follows:
- Eat a couple of servings of dairy once a day (probably cheese, because the thing I miss most on the 4HB? Is cheese. Mmm. Chevre)
- Eat a couple of servings of whole grains once a day with a focus on fibre
- Have green smoothies for breakfast (which I’ve been experimenting with but will add fruit rather than just solely pumpkin and spices) with a scoop of protein powder and a tablespoon or two of ground flax seeds.
- Keep drinking All That Water
So I gave it the old college try. The full-on, hardcore 4HB is not for me. My body has problems handling it. So I’m modifying it because I’m not happy when I’m not comfortable. I figure if I do 75% of the regimen, I’ll get about 75% of the benefits. The other 25% will be more than made up with how my body actually feels.
Four Hour Body Fridays: A Regular Thing
So this is the third? Fourth? Installment of Four Hour Body Fridays? Whatever. I write these in a word processor when I’m on the train, and then put all the links and things in after I transfer them to wordpress because typing on my iPod is just too difficult. In any case, it’s becoming a regular thing.
And I have to say, it’s a good thing something around here is regular. When you switch to a high-protein diet, you may become slightly irregular. Or more than slightly, for that matter. Thanks to my nutritionists’ degree from Google University, I can say that the consensus seems to be that once people switch to a high protein, low carb diet, they start consuming less fibre. This is because they aren’t as hungry once their body gets used to it because the protein gives a sustained burn. And because they focus on protein they may not eat enough vegetables to replace all the readily-available fibre that grains and breads supply.
So, what to do?
First, start every meal with some sort of vegetable. Especially stuff like broccoli, kale, spinach (although I somewhat question spinach – I find it somewhat unhelpful for this). So have your salad, then your protein.
Second, beans: chock full of protein and fibre. Especially black beans.
Third, if you really need to, add some sort of fibre to your water. Metamucil or some sort of inulin fibre. We went that route over the weekend and, let me just say: wow. If you have a low-flow toilet, good luck. We’re using the generic version available from Superstore.
If you’re doing some sort of athletic greens mix, there’s often inulin in it.
So, that’s the poop on, well, poop and the high protein diet.
So, regularity: a problem for you? Any tips?
(I tried my best to avoid the poo puns, but sometimes, it’s just too difficult)
Take two advil and call me in two weeks, or proof that I am getting old
So awhile back, I noticed that my right hand was hurting when I pushed on the fourth knuckle or on the tip of my fourth finger. It would hurt when I grabbed things and I was having problems doing things like opening bottles, cans, etc. I had an occasional trigger finger on that finger (note for those that click, that is NOT my hand. My nails don’t look quite that bad). My dad was visiting and he had had a similar issue a few years back, where they’d gone in and opened up the sheaths that hold the tendons in the hand.
So I hauled my butt into the Doctor a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, there’s a cyst on the tendon which is causing pain. He wanted to see if it would go away on its own and told me to take anti-inflammatories and come back in two weeks if its not better. The good news is that it’s a cyst because they can just drain it; if it’s the thing my dad had it would have meant getting the procedure re-done every couple of years.
Me: Excellent!
Doctor: I thought it hurt?
Me: Oh it does! But now I can tell my dad that I’m all Mature and stuff because I’m getting old!
Doctor: ??????
Me: Dad says that when you get old you start growing things. I think technically he was referring to things on the outside of the body, but I think this will do.
[crickets]
Doctor: So yeah. Just take some anti-inflammatories for a couple of weeks and see if that helps. Bye!
A week later I called for an appointment in a week because my fourth right digit started swelling up and it hurt to bend it. It was also difficult doing things like typing and using a mouse on that hand. At work I use a left-handed mouse, so that helps. I’ve switched my mouse at home to left-handed as well, but I can’t get away from the typing thing.
Yesterday, I went back to the doctor, schlepping the Poptart along because she had a rash on her face for the last month (we are extremely attractive these days, I have to say what with her spotted face and my swelled up hand).
Doctor: We’ll make an appointment for you at the hand clinic.
Me: How long does that usually take? It’s our slow month so if I could get it done in August or the beginning of September, that’d be great. [ed. note. I say this because I know he’s connected and can usually pull a string or two].
Doctor: Oh it doesn’t usually take too long because they put a whole bunch of people through each Friday. And there’s no way I’m going to try to drain that myself – there’re way too many nerve endings in there and I’d just make things worse.
[crickets]
Me: Oh, well. I’ll trust your judgment. You did, after all, catch my kid.
[crickets]
Doctor: So, yeah, I’ll see you for a followup after its done! Make sure reception has your contact information. Bye!
So now, I wait for the office to call me or email me and let me know if/when I get an appointment.
Update: October 13. Today I call the specialist’s office to see if they have a waitlist for cancellations.
Don’t get me wrong. I really like my doctor. He’s kind, sympathetic and has a good sense of humour. He just doesn’t know what to make of us because one minute one of us will be spouting about technology, and the next we’re spouting new age stuff and going on about the evils of dairy products.
You can still enter my A&D Diaper Rash Products giveaway here
The difference between knowing and doing
Yeah, after mother’s day? The exercising every day at lunch? Went the way of the dodo. Again. I spent a day in a 7 hour meeting, and then mother’s day and etc. And then I had to deal with some other stuff at work that involved me using my lunch hours for that. Add into the mix a teething, cranky baby that just wants to sit on mom in the evenings and a 5am wakeup time and, well, you get a perfect mix of excuses.
On Thursday, I went to my bi-monthly chiropractor appointment and for the first time ever it was quite painful. He really had to work to get my back to move into place. And he admonished me to get more exercise. I responded with a snarky, “Yes, I know that. It’s the difference between knowing and doing.” So he told me to surprise him next time by getting more exercise and having an easier-to-move back.
(Yes, I have a love-hate relationship with my chiropractor. I love that he makes me feel better. I hate that he knows how to get me to do what he wants me to do)
So for the last couple of days, I’ve been mulling it over. Do I really know what I need in order to exercise?
They say that in terms of exercise, something like 90% of it is getting there (you know, that “they” that is healthy and possibly athletic and runs marathons). I know I hate the idea of running with the fire of 10,000 suns. I see people running and they look like they’re in pain. Even my chiropractor (one of those “they” people) admits he runs because it’s the easiest way for him to get exercise, not because he enjoys it.
And honestly, that 90%, doesn’t work for me. I’m lazy – I always have been. Even as a baby, I was content to play quietly, snuggle, and not be all that active. My dad “encouraged” me to be more active (read: physical activities every day after school, followed by dinner and homework, oh and making me ride my bike when he felt I was getting too pudgy – but that’s neither here nor there, except for the fact that cycling for me is right up there with running). Getting my body physically to the place where I exercise isn’t enough, and I can get going, it’s the keeping going for the half hour, or hour or whatever. I know I feel better after I exercise – it’s just not enough of an incentive for me. You want to see bargaining going on? Get into my head while I’m on the elliptical or treadmill or stair climber.
So what do I need? I need someone who’s going to keep yelling at me to keep going while I’m exercising.
So enter Jillian Michaels. I like her. She’s tough, and encouraging. So I’ll keep start doing the dvd’s again.
I need variety – I get bored easily and either need something to distract me, or regular changeups.
I’m not ready for a personal trainer. So today I’m going to register in a beginner bootcamp that starts next Saturday.
I need to be a good role-model for the Poptart and show her that exercise can be enjoyable.
So on her first birthday, which is Monday, I’m going to be the best me I can for her.
