Long time, no post
I see that it's been awhile since I've posted anything. It's not that there hasn't been anything to post and it's not like I've been too busy. Plenty has been going on and, while I have been busy, there's been plenty of downtime as well.
One huge mitigating factor has been the Gabapentin. While it has been doing most of its job and I am free of headaches until I cough, sneeze, or bend over, it's also been problematic in ways that are pretty important. It makes me dizzy, if I turn my head too fast. It frazzles my memory and concentration pretty frequently, which affects productivity. And there are some pretty heavy bouts with sadness and depression. No, I am not thinking of doing the worst. Yes, I have discussed this with my doctor. I have been backing off on the dosage.
Test-wise, I have now had an MRI, a CT scan, and a double spinal tap (she must have missed on the first try, because no fluid came out and she had to try again in a lower spot). Still waiting to hear back about the latter two. Further proof I should listen more to myself, I wound up in the ER a couple of days after the tap with a full-blown, whole head encompassing, infinite pain loop resulting from going to work in the studio after the tap, instead of lying down for 2 hours. I was told, much to my disbelief that doing so was perfectly ok, because she'd used a smaller needle and all that jazz. I really should have just rested.
A few days later, my uncle passed away. I couldn't go home to see him off. Too many factors stacked against doing that, not the least of which was being available in case another test is called for.
This week, I'm on-call for jury duty for Superior Court. Watch me get chosen and then sequestered.
It's not all been bad, though. Yesterday, Phil and I took a drive down to hang out in Santa Cruz with one of his co-workers and he showed us around. It's a pretty nifty place. I'd like to spend more time there. We've also recently seen Eureka and Finley, which are both full of Victorian architecture. The Pacific NorthWet is nice (I like that misty fog in the morning), but a bit too remote and, in Eureka, once you get away from the main drag, it's...scary/poor.
Also, I am down to 225lbs. From 275lbs about 2.5 years ago. Twenty of that has been in an up-and-down way since the middle of February. This past week, I had to re-REdispose of about 6lbs of fluid that the ER had dumped into my system. Yay. But yay! I'm 25lbs away from my big goal. Anything after that is icing on the cake. I'd love to be back down at 175lbs. We'll see.
I'm glad we're near the end of the summer. Maybe I can pick up some bits of clothing cheaply that I can layer when the cooler weather hits. So much of my clothing doesn't fit anymore And, like everyone else, money is tight. I'm finding that I am just at the threshold of being able to shop at second-hand clothing stores and actually find things. This means I can buy without the guilt of thinking it might not fit in another month or two. A couple of weeks ago, I found a great sweater that I figured might fit this fall. Then, when I got it back to the studio, discovered it just about fits already! Which means, come October, it'll look great! Jeans are tougher to find when you rule out Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug is too far away. Meh! I'll figure something out. I don't want to resort to online ordering.
Things to do today:
lunch
check in on jury doodie
straighten up at-home studio
low-impact toning exercise (I'm lighter, but flabbeh!)
sketching
Spontoon painting
One huge mitigating factor has been the Gabapentin. While it has been doing most of its job and I am free of headaches until I cough, sneeze, or bend over, it's also been problematic in ways that are pretty important. It makes me dizzy, if I turn my head too fast. It frazzles my memory and concentration pretty frequently, which affects productivity. And there are some pretty heavy bouts with sadness and depression. No, I am not thinking of doing the worst. Yes, I have discussed this with my doctor. I have been backing off on the dosage.
Test-wise, I have now had an MRI, a CT scan, and a double spinal tap (she must have missed on the first try, because no fluid came out and she had to try again in a lower spot). Still waiting to hear back about the latter two. Further proof I should listen more to myself, I wound up in the ER a couple of days after the tap with a full-blown, whole head encompassing, infinite pain loop resulting from going to work in the studio after the tap, instead of lying down for 2 hours. I was told, much to my disbelief that doing so was perfectly ok, because she'd used a smaller needle and all that jazz. I really should have just rested.
A few days later, my uncle passed away. I couldn't go home to see him off. Too many factors stacked against doing that, not the least of which was being available in case another test is called for.
This week, I'm on-call for jury duty for Superior Court. Watch me get chosen and then sequestered.
It's not all been bad, though. Yesterday, Phil and I took a drive down to hang out in Santa Cruz with one of his co-workers and he showed us around. It's a pretty nifty place. I'd like to spend more time there. We've also recently seen Eureka and Finley, which are both full of Victorian architecture. The Pacific NorthWet is nice (I like that misty fog in the morning), but a bit too remote and, in Eureka, once you get away from the main drag, it's...scary/poor.
Also, I am down to 225lbs. From 275lbs about 2.5 years ago. Twenty of that has been in an up-and-down way since the middle of February. This past week, I had to re-REdispose of about 6lbs of fluid that the ER had dumped into my system. Yay. But yay! I'm 25lbs away from my big goal. Anything after that is icing on the cake. I'd love to be back down at 175lbs. We'll see.
I'm glad we're near the end of the summer. Maybe I can pick up some bits of clothing cheaply that I can layer when the cooler weather hits. So much of my clothing doesn't fit anymore And, like everyone else, money is tight. I'm finding that I am just at the threshold of being able to shop at second-hand clothing stores and actually find things. This means I can buy without the guilt of thinking it might not fit in another month or two. A couple of weeks ago, I found a great sweater that I figured might fit this fall. Then, when I got it back to the studio, discovered it just about fits already! Which means, come October, it'll look great! Jeans are tougher to find when you rule out Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug is too far away. Meh! I'll figure something out. I don't want to resort to online ordering.
Things to do today:
lunch
check in on jury doodie
straighten up at-home studio
low-impact toning exercise (I'm lighter, but flabbeh!)
sketching
Spontoon painting