They say memory's the first thing to go, really it's discussion of anything other than your health.
In 2005, I was diagnosed very late in life with scoliosis. I've been going to a chiropractor for regular adjustments about every 2 or 3 weeks since then. The adjustments really help! I don't believe in the "new age" side of chiropractic medicine. Adjustments have not cured my thyroid disease, and I don't believe they've prevented me catching common colds -- although I guess it's like the old "Sesame Street" joke about holding the banana in your ear to keep alligators away. Since I don't get ill particularly often, I can't say definitely that it isn't because of the adjustments, either... but in any case, I go because it makes my back, hips, and neck feel better.
Every now and then, however, I fall into this rebellious streak. I decide that I don't need regular adjustments, and I don't want them! It's totally a, "YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!" scenario. It's now been 6 weeks since I last went in for an adjustment (and yes, I am entirely mindful how much that sounds like I'm entering the confessional). I am ailing. I wake up about a billion times at night; I toss and turn in my sleep. I ache just sitting here in my office chair. I really can't go this long without having my creaking anatomy adjusted and expect that I'll be without pain. I'm a dufus....
...which actually brings me to a considerably more exciting piece of news! (Yes, the dufus part -- that is indeed my intended segue.) Ian and I have decided to consult fertility specialists! WHOA! Right?! Exciting!
I'd really been dead set against in vitro because it's so wildly expensive, it seems incredibly invasive and uncomfortable to me, and I perceived that the success rates for a woman my age just aren't encouraging enough to defeat reasons 1 and 2 on that list. Then my good friend Clint recently pointed out to me the flaw in my logic. As a general rule, I decry those who self-diagnose, and don't go to proper medical practitioners of various sorts when they should. I'm a doctor's daughter, so I have a great deal of faith in medicine in general, and western medicine in particular -- and I just plain don't understand those people who are willfully blind to their own health issues, and who put off taking care of themselves by going to the doctor. ("Tell us, Trace, how do you really feel?") Yet there I was, TOTALLY doing the exact same thing! I had decided all on my own that IVF was not really an option for a woman of my age, that the odds were low, that it wouldn't work, and so forth. Lame. So on Clint's advice, Ian and I are making an appointment with the fertility clinic to discuss options. We'll see what happens from there. One thing I know already is that there are many bus stops between trying to conceive the old fashioned way, and full-on in vitro fertilization. Guess we'll find out when we go to the doctors!
Since you've already patiently sat through this much information about my physical health, please let me prepare for my eventual old age of talking about nothing else but that by telling you about my recent arterial scan. My doctor's office is now offering CIMT scans, which you can read about here - and you totally should, that link is short, and easy to understand, and it's really pretty cool. Given my general health picture, I figure it's a foregone conclusion that heart disease, which is the #1 cause of death of women in America, will become my eventual arch-nemesis. Watching your triglyceride and cholesterol levels is important. This CIMT scan actually measures the amount of plaque in your arteries, however -- dude, COOL! It was a really easy test, too, totally non-invasive. It took about 8 minutes total. They just slide those lubed-up ultrasound wands over the arteries on the sides of your throat. Protip: Do not wear necklaces or dangly earrings during this procedure, and wear your hair up that day, no matter what the tech says. The tech let me keep all mine on, and I totally got ultrasound goo in my jewelry and hair -- eww! Fortunately, that was the only unpleasant aspect of the entire test. My results show that I have no plaque - yay me - and am therefore not in immediate danger of stroke, and so forth, in the next 10 years -- however, I have the arterial age of a 53 year-old woman. This shouldn't shock anyone since I live an entirely sedentary lifestyle. I'm a little disappointed in my doctor that her general recommendation was, "Lose weight, watch your nutrition, and exercise." I don't know what level of detail I really was expecting since that message is pretty straightforward. I guess truthfully I was really hoping for a pep talk -- which is my husband's job, or my mother's, if anyone's (and truly shouldn't have to be) -- but there you have it. I like a pep talk!
Lastly, in news of something other than my health, I asked for a raise at work yesterday. I have no idea when to expect a response to it, but I'll let you know. I feel very confident of at least some increase. I asked for "a big raise," however (yes, those were my exact words). I am hoping for 10% or better -- but I really having nothing on which to base my expectations, no idea where this will go. I'll let you know!
T$
Every now and then, however, I fall into this rebellious streak. I decide that I don't need regular adjustments, and I don't want them! It's totally a, "YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!" scenario. It's now been 6 weeks since I last went in for an adjustment (and yes, I am entirely mindful how much that sounds like I'm entering the confessional). I am ailing. I wake up about a billion times at night; I toss and turn in my sleep. I ache just sitting here in my office chair. I really can't go this long without having my creaking anatomy adjusted and expect that I'll be without pain. I'm a dufus....
...which actually brings me to a considerably more exciting piece of news! (Yes, the dufus part -- that is indeed my intended segue.) Ian and I have decided to consult fertility specialists! WHOA! Right?! Exciting!
I'd really been dead set against in vitro because it's so wildly expensive, it seems incredibly invasive and uncomfortable to me, and I perceived that the success rates for a woman my age just aren't encouraging enough to defeat reasons 1 and 2 on that list. Then my good friend Clint recently pointed out to me the flaw in my logic. As a general rule, I decry those who self-diagnose, and don't go to proper medical practitioners of various sorts when they should. I'm a doctor's daughter, so I have a great deal of faith in medicine in general, and western medicine in particular -- and I just plain don't understand those people who are willfully blind to their own health issues, and who put off taking care of themselves by going to the doctor. ("Tell us, Trace, how do you really feel?") Yet there I was, TOTALLY doing the exact same thing! I had decided all on my own that IVF was not really an option for a woman of my age, that the odds were low, that it wouldn't work, and so forth. Lame. So on Clint's advice, Ian and I are making an appointment with the fertility clinic to discuss options. We'll see what happens from there. One thing I know already is that there are many bus stops between trying to conceive the old fashioned way, and full-on in vitro fertilization. Guess we'll find out when we go to the doctors!
Since you've already patiently sat through this much information about my physical health, please let me prepare for my eventual old age of talking about nothing else but that by telling you about my recent arterial scan. My doctor's office is now offering CIMT scans, which you can read about here - and you totally should, that link is short, and easy to understand, and it's really pretty cool. Given my general health picture, I figure it's a foregone conclusion that heart disease, which is the #1 cause of death of women in America, will become my eventual arch-nemesis. Watching your triglyceride and cholesterol levels is important. This CIMT scan actually measures the amount of plaque in your arteries, however -- dude, COOL! It was a really easy test, too, totally non-invasive. It took about 8 minutes total. They just slide those lubed-up ultrasound wands over the arteries on the sides of your throat. Protip: Do not wear necklaces or dangly earrings during this procedure, and wear your hair up that day, no matter what the tech says. The tech let me keep all mine on, and I totally got ultrasound goo in my jewelry and hair -- eww! Fortunately, that was the only unpleasant aspect of the entire test. My results show that I have no plaque - yay me - and am therefore not in immediate danger of stroke, and so forth, in the next 10 years -- however, I have the arterial age of a 53 year-old woman. This shouldn't shock anyone since I live an entirely sedentary lifestyle. I'm a little disappointed in my doctor that her general recommendation was, "Lose weight, watch your nutrition, and exercise." I don't know what level of detail I really was expecting since that message is pretty straightforward. I guess truthfully I was really hoping for a pep talk -- which is my husband's job, or my mother's, if anyone's (and truly shouldn't have to be) -- but there you have it. I like a pep talk!
Lastly, in news of something other than my health, I asked for a raise at work yesterday. I have no idea when to expect a response to it, but I'll let you know. I feel very confident of at least some increase. I asked for "a big raise," however (yes, those were my exact words). I am hoping for 10% or better -- but I really having nothing on which to base my expectations, no idea where this will go. I'll let you know!
T$