Now I have waited over a month for my neurologist office to return my call and I have given up calling him back. When I have my follow-up visit in February I will hand carry my letter from the Neuro-Opthamologist and he can read it.
In the meantime I have seen one of my primary care doctors and she has treated the headache so at least some things are looking up.
I returned to the ophthalmologist who saw me the day my vision initially took the bad turn and he prescribed me new glasses and once in a great while my vision will clear for an hour or two, but not very often.
In the meantime, Christmas has come and gone at our house and the men in my life were visited by the "Forever Lazy" distributor.
Yes, they like the big one piece uhmm.... Lounge pajamas? Onesies? I'm not sure what they are called but there they are.
Before anyone asks, no, I don't have any, I only bought them for the guys.
Ah Monday, inescapable Monday. No matter what it rolls around every week.
When I was working I would get to work early on Mondays to get everything done I possibly could before the clinic opened because I always anticipated a flood of calls. I always thought my reasoning was solid: Everyone knows they will become ill over the weekend then call their doctor on Monday morning needing to be seen, needing an excuse to not go to work that day or they ran out of their prescription Saturday night.
Usually these onslaughts did not appear, but sometimes we were overwhelmed.
Today I was on the 3rd day of a headache so I called my neurologist office. His nurse called me back needing the records from my visit to a neuro-opthamologist I had seen back in September. She claimed I would have to make the call myself because she could not make the request. I have a letter stating the records had already been sent but - who am I? Only the patient, what do I know?
I called the neuro-opthamologist office and was transferred to their records department where I was then told that only my referring doctor (that would be my neurologist) could get the record. So I called the neuro office again and left a voice mail. Will I get an answer? Probably not, but at least I tried. I suppose I will continue to pack my head in microwaved rice bags until it explodes or the headache wears off.
But then again, the headache might only be another symptom of "Mondayitis".
Here it is, almost the end of November and I have totally neglected my blog.
(Look Bill!! I am updating my blog!)
It has been a busy year; my Sissy moved from Arkansas to Arizona, our oldest son came home, we have taken in a new cat and I am still recovering from the broken ankles and foot from fainting on the stairs.
Sissy's move wasn't traumatizing, she took her dog and a few clothes and will finish with her house/put it on the market later. Now both of my sisters are out West in the near-constant sunshine. I am not a sun worshiper so I can go visit them once or twice a year. Our dad is still in Arkansas so it isn't too bad for me to make a trip to check on him if the need arises.
So since Sissy and I were traveling by car to Arizona we stopped when we wanted and looked at the sights. Our 3 day trip quickly turned in to a 5 day trip, leaving our family asking "will they EVER get to Arizona?" But even after we got there we had to spend one more night on the road and spend the night at the "Wigwam Motel" in Holbrook, AZ.
Sis said the Wigwam Motel was on her "Bucket List". We had a nice time there - unlike Oprah we thought the sheets were fine.
I had a great time and on the way back home a wonderful thing happened. When I boarded the airplane my seat belt fit me! Yes, I did not need an extension this time and there was even a little left over to "tighten"! YAAY!!! Hey, that might not mean much to some of you, but to me that was a great thing!
I have lost 25 pounds and I an working on maintaining that loss for a while then will make another try at losing the next increment. Somehow, I'm afraid of losing a lot and putting it right back on.
Weight - at the beginning of our lives we struggle to put it on, at the end we struggle to get rid of it.
I have discovered that even eating Jello after 4pm is too much. Probably because I can't eat sugar-free Jello, just the regular. I assume the regular Jello has too much sugar in it to allow me to lose weight. But that is fine, I will stick to water, tea, bullion or coffee after 4. Although, with coffee I have to have half and half. Hmmm... Maybe just once in a blue moon? Well, I'll reserve it for special occasions.
But at least I don't have the bad cravings and the hunger pangs aren't bad so I can do this.
10 pounds gone! I can live with this!
I just have to convince myself that the hunger pangs after 4pm are helping me lose weight.
Back in my late teens - early 20's I was "normal size". It was a daily struggle and had some rules people might consider silly - my sis calls it "Draconian" but it worked so since my last visit with the cardiologist I have reverted to my old ways.
No eating after 4pm, no candy, no ice cream, pretty much a case of "if it tastes good, spit it out".
I maintained 125 pounds for 5 or 6 years, then I married my first husband. He wasn't a fan of the dieting lifestyle and said he would love me, all of me, no matter what size. Soon after I ate a Snickers bar. I still remember how great that Snickers tasted.
However, all good things must come to an end and last week I was on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from my cardiologist for my weight. I had weighed in at 297 and I don't know if someone had put itching powder in his boxers or what but he was on quite a tear. He brought me to tears yelling about my weight and suggested bariatric surgery.
I spent most of a week looking at various surgeries and surgical groups and even made an appointment but at the same time, I went back to the old lifestyle and so far have shed 10 pounds.
Also I talked to a friend about my cardiologist. Apparently he is notorious for making rude comments about/to the obese and I must remember he is the doctor that insisted I get a C-PAP machine.
I have a hate/love/hate relationship with the C-PAP. Hubby loves it because it stops the snoring - or at least reduces it to a reasonable level. But the hyped "You will feel RESTED, ENERGIZED, REFRESHED, and you will LOSE WEIGHT!" has not happened.
Forget the fact it feels like I have stuck my head into a jet engine - I am a stomach sleeper and the full face mask I wear forces me to turn my head to a very uncomfortable angle.
Yes, I wear a full face mask - the nasal mask just blew my mouth open and I would wake up with my mouth and nose feeling like Death Valley.... Including the 20-mule-team. If you don't understand the reference, just Google "Death Valley Days".... it was on TV in the 60's.
So, I start my day with unsweetened, unflavored yogurt with a handful of mixed nuts, eat a lot of oranges because I love them, drink a lot of water and stop eating at 4pm.
Draconian? Maybe, but it does get results.
