a pain in the neck
Last week, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor nurse practitioner for a regular well-woman checkup. I really was expecting to go in there for a pap smear (it's been over 6 years since that was last done) and maybe bring up my female problems.
Alas, the headache that plagued me after my bad fall on Friday returned yesterday, with a vengeance. So I asked her about this instead. At the beginning of the appointment, she listened to me as she typed a few bureaucratic things into the computer. Amazingly, she accurately diagnosed the problem without even looking up from the keyboard! (Well, she formed a hypothesis--she confirmed it later, after she finished typing.)
Apparently, because of the way certain neck muscles are connected to the head, tension in these muscles can cause headaches in just the place where my head hurts. Go figger. All she had to do is touch my neck for 1 second and she knew that my headache was worse on the left side.
I asked if a chiropractor could fix this. She said maybe; a massage therapist might be better. So, if anyone who reads this has had massage therapy in the past, I'd like to hear your experiences. Especially RL friends who could direct me to an actual massage therapist in the area.
Another topic of conversation during this appointment: midwives. My NP noticed that Yelena had done my last pap smear. "Hey, I know Yelena!" she said. Evidently, she used to be a lay (or, as she put it: "illegal") midwife. And she had all home births, back in the '80's. You don't know how nice it is to meet a medical professional who actually approves of home birth!
I really had a good chat with her. She isn't quite as good at drawing me out as Y. was, but she does listen and communicate in a helpful manner. I have to say, I'm quite pleased at my choice of PCP. The pap smear was done (boy am I glad that's over), female problems were discussed briefly--she's inclined to say side effects of anemia since I have a history of that. We'll see what happens when the lab tests come back.
In other news, I am almost done with Christmas shopping--just one more gift for Lemuel that I will buy at the Scout Shop when we're there next week. A goodly amount of purchasing was done online. Yay for online merchants! Also, yay for siblings who don't mind getting used books! My pocketbook is not quite as light as I thought it would be.
Alas, the headache that plagued me after my bad fall on Friday returned yesterday, with a vengeance. So I asked her about this instead. At the beginning of the appointment, she listened to me as she typed a few bureaucratic things into the computer. Amazingly, she accurately diagnosed the problem without even looking up from the keyboard! (Well, she formed a hypothesis--she confirmed it later, after she finished typing.)
Apparently, because of the way certain neck muscles are connected to the head, tension in these muscles can cause headaches in just the place where my head hurts. Go figger. All she had to do is touch my neck for 1 second and she knew that my headache was worse on the left side.
I asked if a chiropractor could fix this. She said maybe; a massage therapist might be better. So, if anyone who reads this has had massage therapy in the past, I'd like to hear your experiences. Especially RL friends who could direct me to an actual massage therapist in the area.
Another topic of conversation during this appointment: midwives. My NP noticed that Yelena had done my last pap smear. "Hey, I know Yelena!" she said. Evidently, she used to be a lay (or, as she put it: "illegal") midwife. And she had all home births, back in the '80's. You don't know how nice it is to meet a medical professional who actually approves of home birth!
I really had a good chat with her. She isn't quite as good at drawing me out as Y. was, but she does listen and communicate in a helpful manner. I have to say, I'm quite pleased at my choice of PCP. The pap smear was done (boy am I glad that's over), female problems were discussed briefly--she's inclined to say side effects of anemia since I have a history of that. We'll see what happens when the lab tests come back.
In other news, I am almost done with Christmas shopping--just one more gift for Lemuel that I will buy at the Scout Shop when we're there next week. A goodly amount of purchasing was done online. Yay for online merchants! Also, yay for siblings who don't mind getting used books! My pocketbook is not quite as light as I thought it would be.