Boring, boring, boring

Not much to report at present. Nothing much going on. I have been hiking a couple of times, at night, but with a group, so not as scary as it could have been. It was fun and I could take Bucky. So both of us get exercise and I'm also being a little more social than my ordinary life usually allows. I'm trying to get out and meet people and make friends. So far, I've met some nice people, but not made any friends. Going to keep at it, though.

The medical stuff is in a hiatus for a couple of weeks, thank goodness. I'm really sick of it and hoping I don't have to go back for quite a while. I have 2 doctors' appointments in one week and yet another blood test to schedule (just another TSH. I wish he'd do a full panel. I don't trust the TSH test by itself). Not fun. I hope I can put that off a little longer.

Other than that, my life is pretty dull. I've been reading a lot, which I always enjoy. I wish I could be painting, but really need some new paints. I've already talked about my wish to go back to oils, but that will have to wait, I suppose. I think I should keep at the acrylics for a while yet. I may decide I like them better than oils. Who knows?

Right now I have Bucky sulking and refusing to come near me until I give him a treat. I usually give him one before bed, but he's come to demand it earlier in the evening, then expect another one later on. I refuse, of course. I presume he's got me mostly trained!

I did get a couple of albums from the library, and now I can burn CDs. The new drive came in the mail and actually works. That means the computer is fine. It was just the drive that went bad. What a relief! I was dreading that moment. How much? The drive wasn't that expensive, thank goodness, although hard enough to pay for with all the other expenses from last month. The credit card bill comes to $160. Dad always wants to pay it off in it's entirety, so this will be a difficult month for us. I wish I could work and help with the bills. : (

Yet another medical test

The good thing about the new program is that I can finally get all the tests done that I needed. The bad thing is that it's only temporary, and they'll probably order tests I don't need or that aren't covered. I will only find out when I get the bill at the end of the month. I hope it's not horrible. No one could tell me how much it would be.

Yesterday was supposed to be a transvaginal ultrasound. This is one I'd never heard of. I got to the hospital (which was an adventure in itself--we got lost a couple of times and barely made it in time--we were supposed to be 30 minutes early, but were not) and went back for the test. Mom went with me, but did not go into the testing area. They asked me to strip down, then the lady asked me if I was not a virgin. Of course, I am (long story that you don't need to hear at the moment), so they said they couldn't do that test. So they did another ultrasound, which was just over my belly and didn't hurt like the other would have. So it turned out fine, but I wouldn't have gone down there for the test if they'd known I couldn't have it done. No one told me any of that or asked me any questions except "when was your last transvaginal ultrasound?" and thinking I should have one in that case. Idiots, I swear. That particular hospital was in a ghetto part of downtown and was the most depressing-looking hospital I've ever seen. Sadly, I have to go back there to see my gynecologist. The waiting room was depressing and crowded with a bunch of crying, fussy children and no place to sit. I'm not looking forward to going back.

I hope this will be the end of tests for a while, at least until I know how much I have to pay. This will be hard enough, even if the tests are only $20 or so, it will still be horrendous. I have a bunch of doctor's appointments next month, so not looking forward to that either. I don't hate them, but I don't have much faith in them either. Also, I just keep thinking, "How much will this cost?" every time they want me to come in for something.

Most recent doctor visit

I did finally get to see a general practitioner. The office stinks. It's really crowded and there's no parking anywhere. There's a Sea Island with a huge parking lot that's completely empty next door, but they constantly put out messages that they'll tow you away at your expense if you park there. It just doesn't seem fair that they have this empty lot they won't let anyone use and yet there's a doctor's office next door with almost no parking. I drove around forever, then decided to chance it with Sea Island, but they put out another message that if you didn't move it in 15 minutes it would be towed. I wasn't the only car in the lot, but the lot is huge and there was probably less than 20% of the lot taken up with patients. There was no one else in the lot at all. It turns out that since I'd already been called inside that they saved me a space in the back (it was full when I went back there before).

The doctor himself seemed nice enough, although very business-like. He even wore a suit. It may be that he had other obligations that day, but I doubt I'd have worn it to work if it were me. I'd have brought a change of clothes perhaps, but not worn the business suit. Anyway, he seemed to think it was fine to judge my thyroid based on the TSH test alone, which I disagree with. So there's already a point against him in my book. I think you always need at least a free T3 in addition, if not others as well. My old doctor always did this. His wife was an endocrinologist, so I had more confidence in him to judge that than other doctors. It may be that I get a referral to an endocrinologist if this guy can't get it right. Besides the thyroid thing, he seemed fine, although I'm not sure I buy everything he said. He did give me the referral to a gynecologist, which is the main reason I went to see him. He wants me to get a transvaginal ultrasound, which is something I'd never heard of, but which sounds very painful. However, I think the gynecologist might want the results of this test (probably why he ordered it--he seemed to think it strange that I'd never had one done).

Regarding the tests, he says that nothing showed up that was irregular except my thyroid being a little off. I already mentioned above why this may not be the case, but he adjusted my thyroid med anyway. I hope I don't gain weight after all the work I'd done dieting to lose it. The vomiting episodes could be the result of migraines (he said there are several kinds, including abdominal migraines--this sounds a little flaky to me since I'd never heard of such a thing, but I'm not a doctor), or it could be a side effect of the Geodon (the fainting spells as well). So, I will have to work with my new psychiatrist to figure that out. I hope it's easy to fix. I really want to go back to work.

Tests part II

I'm assuming that since I haven't heard anything about the tests aforementioned that everything must be okay. I'd assume that they'd call me for an earlier appointment or they'd at least call to let me know what had happened. When I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, that's what happened. My case was so severe that the doctor called me the night he got the results and told me to come in first thing in the morning and I didn't need to make an appointment, that it was an emergency. I'd assume that diabetes or a heart problem would require some sort of immediate action.

Other than that, I've had a cold the last few days. I haven't felt much like doing anything, although it wasn't as severe as it could have been. To be honest, I haven't been severely ill since I started taking a zinc supplement. I really think it helped. I'm not sure if I'd have been severely ill with this one, so it could just be in my head, but I wasn't stuck in bed the whole time. I do feel better today, although my cough hasn't gone away yet, but that'll probably be the last thing to go. I am drinking some echinacea tea, as well. It's supposed to boost your immune system, so I'm giving it a shot. It seems to help, but again, maybe I wouldn't know. Maybe this cold just isn't that bad. It just seems to help since I haven't been as ill as I've been in the past in a long time.

The other thing is that I've lost 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks. I'm extremely happy about this, since I'd plateaued for a couple of weeks and nothing happened. I was extremely disappointed and was afraid that it was something to do with my diet and me, rather than something that happens with every diet. So it's a little more encouraging to have lost weight again. I was so happy when I got on the scale today and it didn't go up as high as I expected. : )

I've contemplated writing a book of some type. Not necessarily the same style as I write here. This is more to get my thoughts out than to really entertain anyone. I'm not even sure anyone follows me anymore, or that anyone would find it entertaining. But I have been told that I should write again, and I did have some novels I'd started to write a long time ago that I could attempt to finish, or else make them short stories and attempt to put them into an anthology. Not sure yet. I've also been told I should write my memoirs, which I'd never considered. I didn't think anyone would care to read something about someone they'd never heard of, but I've also been told that there are people who would still read it and that not everyone who writes them is famous. Well, that shows you how much of that genre that I read. I guess I tend to focus on historical mysteries and sci-fi. : )

Medical tests

Today, it was time for some tests that needed to be done a long time ago. The only bad thing was that I will probably have to have more tests done, since I don't think the ones the doctor ordered are adequate. All she wanted to test of my thyroid was TSH, and you really should also do a Free T3 or something in addition. Keep in mind, of course, that I am phobic of needles and I'm also a huge wuss when it comes to pain. If I can get used to it, like the knee pain, that's one thing. But sharp pain that's only once in a while is hard to get used to. I also needed an EKG. I am taking Geodon, and that can make you prone to heart problems and diabetes. She did a fasting glucose test to check the latter. The EKG, however, was written separately. The form was filled out incorrectly, which caused me to have to wait while they waited for a corrected form to be faxed over. However, with the Center for Health Care Services (where my doctor works and is in a different building), everything takes forever. The tech told them over the phone that I was waiting, but that didn't speed them along. I waited for an hour. The tech said that the computer won't save the results if the wrong code is there, but she did the test anyway after a while and said she won't submit it until she gets the form. However, that depends on how long it takes to get the form. If she didn't get the form by 4pm, all the exam results will be submitted or lost. So, I may have to retake that one. I hope not. I hate going there as that's where I was hospitalized. You also have to pay to park and they don't validate.

On top of that, I get home and I was trying to burn a CD of the photos I took at the Crowded House concert for a friend, and the drive in my computer is not working. I have no idea why, but it has just suddenly decided to stop burning CDs. I checked the discs on another computer, so this time it's not the discs. I have no idea how to correct this situation. I probably need either a new DVD-RW drive, or else a new computer. Obviously, we can afford neither. I have no idea how much these tests are going to cost. No one could tell me, although I asked around. Also, there's the hospital bill that needs to be paid somehow. It's not a good time right now.