Danger money?

I spent yesterday getting way too friendly with the toilet bowl after finally contracting one of the bugs we have been fighting at school. Being the acting school nurse makes me susceptible I guess and I sometimes joke hazard pay maybe in order at times!

Like most of Okieland, our school has been fighting a major attack of viruses and bugs for about a month now. Ironically this week the numbers were going down and then I succumb at the last moment.

I dragged myself into work for just over an hour as stuff needed to be done, but I felt lousy and so I headed home. After more nastiness for awhile, then a good sleep and plenty of Coca-Cola I finally felt better last night and risked a little Chicken Noodle Soup successfully.

Chicken Noodle Soup when sick was a new concept to me when I arrived here, but I have to say it is completely the right thing to eat for recovery.

Today I feel fine, so it seems it was just a 24 hour thing and I can still enjoy my weekend. It seems there's just alot of sickness going around this winter.

A disturbing thought!

Three cats = ALOT of cat hair, in fact we need to sweep the kitchen floor every 2 days to keep it down and run the Dyson frequently.

So as I swept up the hair with my trusty Swiffer mop last night, a thought just popped into my head.

Bearing in mind you just can't get all the hair and the girls also sleep with us, just how much cat hair are the Hubster and I ingesting every year?!

Is it possible we have a hairball in our stomachs?!

I shared this thought with the Hubster, needless to say he wasn't too impressed! I may have too much time on my hands, but you gotta wonder!

(P.S That's not our cat hair up top)

The hazards of talking ass backwards!

A couple of weeks ago I went to see my Doctor to discuss changing the dose on my thyroid medicine. I have a lovely lady doctor and unlike many of her fellow practitioners, she actually listens to how her patient feels and doesn't just go on the test results. I have the appointment, tell her how I'm feeling, my symptoms and we discuss how I should feel. I'm not having a major setback, but I'm just starting to see the signs that I need my dose adjusted downwards.

Two days later she has the test results and to my amazement prescribes an increase in medication! I speak to her briefly about it, but she seems to have good reasons for trying this and so even though I just feel we're on different pages, I agree to try. But I spend the weekend worrying about it, as I just can't understand why she's giving more meds when I think I need less and I hold off changing my dose.

I discuss it with the Hubster, who is also surprised and we begin to wonder if I have confused her. You see I still regularly confuse him, he says I have a habit of saying things 'ass backwards'. We still have arguments because I think I've told him one thing, and he thinks I mean something entirely different or the opposite, talk about frustrating.

It seems Brits and Americans just express some things differently or even the exact opposite way!

So we had the 'what if' conversation and I realised looking back at what I'd said, it was possible. But what to do - I don't like to question my Doctor but decided it was too important not to. So I wrote her a letter, explaining I have a British habit of saying things back to front (to an American) and I hoped I hadn't confused her. I also stated clearly that I was feeling Hyper not Hypo, a crucial statement I never made in person as some symptoms appear in both, kind of important looking back!

The next day I got a call from her nurse, who over laughter told me my Doctor sent her thanks for the great communication and yes I had left her thinking the exact opposite, so she was reducing my meds.

With great relief I told her "next time I'll bring my translator with me"!

But a valuable lesson all round, and I'm guessing we'll both double check what we think we've discussed in the surgery before I leave next time!

One test, some biometrics and a check-up!

I am in the midst of a busy couple of days.

Yesterday I spent the day on the State Dept of Health's Diabetic Management course for educators, much more fancy sounding than it actually is! I did it last year as well and basically it trains you to be the school diabetes expert. I know all I should ever need to know about Hypo/Hyperglycemia, Insulin shots and symptoms. I even got to inject a ball and take a certificate home!

Today I am seeing my Endo for what I hope will be a continuing clean bill of health for my long suffering now tiny thyroid gland. For the first time in 4 years I have been stable in the correct range for almost 5 months, a major breakthrough.

Then it's onto the infamous USCIS for hopefully the last time they'll ever fingerprint me. Things seem to be moving along nicely with my citizenship application and for the first time I think an application might be complete under 6 months! I might be an American by the time school is back in August.

Whilst in the big city we will also be shopping for wall tiles for a soon to be done kitchen makeover. And of course it wouldn't be a trip to the city without a visit to Sephora and the mall!

Recovery

Thanks for all the well wishes on the dental implant on Friday. The actual procedure was not too bad thanks to some nitrus oxide, apart from the injection into the roof of my mouth which is a bugger.

It's still very uncomfortable today, the whole area is tender like bruising and I can tell something has been inserted where my body thinks it shouldn't have been! I am hoping by tomorrow that feeling will also start to fade, as it looks healthy and as it should.

Immediately afterwards I decided to take advantage of the pain meds and discomfort elsewhere. So I went and had my ears pierced for the second time! I am chuffed with the result and it has given me another area to care for and think about, apart from my implant. That's Brit Gal logic for you!

An Okie trait I wish I hadn't developed!

When I first arrived here in 2005, I was an allergy free zone, never suffered from them at all in any way. As I marvelled in amazement at the way allergies seemed to effect almost all the Okies I knew, I was told by them all "just give it time and you'll have them too". Or others who had moved into Okieland would tell me "I didn't have them either until I moved here"!

The first three years it seemed I had escaped Okie allergy head, and then last year a few mild but ominous signs started to appear with the tree pollen and ragweed seasons. But I made it through relatively unaffected, apart from the odd weepy eye and scratchy throat.

Well 2010 my fifth year dawned and in the past week I have been reduced to a weepy eyed, runny nosed, coughing wreck by tree pollen! After I got home and went straight to bed at 4pm yesterday feeling lousy, the Hubster wisely told me that I may be one of the unlucky ones that gets hit by allergies really bad.

"Oh deep joy" was my thought, thank you Oklahoma!

After trying and failing to get to sleep last night with constant drainage and coughing, I finally succumbed and took a Zyrtek, so now I'm something of a zombie and still sniffling away.  I have also been doing the saltwater through the sinuses treatment too, but right now I'm bad enough it's not helping.

So if any of you suffer with allergies and have suggestions for things that help, please dive in here with your very welcome advice.

A night away perhaps?!

Suke went into hospital yesterday morning and spent the night. She had a bladder infection a couple of weeks ago and after antibiotics, a change to THE most expensive cat food known to man, and a ton of cat litter with all the extra peeing, she still appeared to have a problem.

Well it seems Sukie was 'pulling a sicky'!

I just spoke to the vet and she said she couldn't find a thing wrong with her. In fact she said she didn't know what to make of her and she is a bit of a funny cat, as she just settled right in there like she was at home. Eating and drinking fine and rubbing against the bars to her cage purring away, just happy as Larry!

And of course we all missed her, the other two were not sure what to think. And Bon Bon looked for her everywhere, little knowing she just fancied a night away from us all apparently!

Brit Gal wisdom

Don't EVER eat 2 Fiber Plus bars with 9 grams of fiber each, just before bedtime.

Not only are you guaranteed to keep the bedcovers raising intermittently all night long. But it's also the less invasive equivalent of a colonic!

We're no longer immune out here!

Well I'm still around but the flu finally hit our Elementary with force on Monday, and it's been a crazy week so far.

Monday morning my phone was red hot as all the parents called in sick children, and it didn't ease up for over an hour. This was followed throughout the day with more getting sick, as our absentee level rocketed. I have now commenced 'full defensive protection' and am wearing my N95 face mask and gloves everytime a child is sent to me. We are also constantly wiping everything down and using handwash incessantly.

Then late yesterday we were told we would get an H1N1 vaccination clinic tomorrow at the school, this is the first supply in our area. So this morning all the parents who wanted their children to get the vaccine had to call me by 9am. Well that resulted in over 60 calls in about 90 minutes, plus parents with sick children called too. In fact I had so many calls, some people said it took them many attempts to get through!

By the time I had prepared a three part form for every child (approx' 600 sheets) to take home, dealt with yet more sick ones coming to the office and my phone was still ringing off the hook - I was completely and utterly knackered by days end!!

But I am also very relieved we have been blessed with the H1N1 vaccine and so many of our parents are going for it. Their decision will give the whole community better protection, as there is no doubt we are currently under a sustained attack!

So I fully expect tomorrow morning to be even more crazy than today, as I collect all the consent forms and then help organise the clinic and call through the children. But all this additional work will be well worth it, if the vaccine and a few days break from school start us on the road to recovery.

Fall Break starts tomorrow night and couldn't be better timed for slowing the spread of the flu here - plus I will need a rest!

Never happier to be stuck!

With a needle that is!

In my line of work as an Elementary School Secretary and unofficial nurse, the flu shot is essential. Add in the fact I have an auto-immune disease and it's an absolute must.

I was supposed to get it last week at Walgreens, they had Dr authorisation and then I got sick. So when I could finally get there, they informed me they were out of vaccine and weren't getting anymore this year! In fact our whole county is a completely vaccine free zone, with no definite date for shipments.

I thought I'd just stick it out until the end of the month, but then things changed today. A neighbouring school where I live had 20 out yesterday with flu, a school 50 miles away has 2 confirmed H1N1 cases and we had 3 out with flu symptoms.

So I took a 1/2 day to make a 200 mile round trip to the only known Walgreens in our part of the state with any shots left! And they advised me I would be getting one of the last few shots they had. I have to say I was very happy to make the effort and am relieved I now have some protection.

On the bright side, a good friend went with me today and we turned it into a fun retail therapy trip too!

Now I have to decide whether to have the H1N1 shot, as I will be in the high risk group and offered it soon, right now I think I'll go ahead. So have you made more of an effort to get the flu shot this year and what are your thoughts on the H1N1 vaccine?

Changing Priorities

This year I took the very necessary decision to take decisive action against my thyroid gland. For over two years I have battled with the auto-immune condition Graves Disease, and it was becoming clear the drugs were never going to work.

I chose to keep this decision to myself and only a handful of people knew when I had the procedure done. The months immediately afterwards were a major trial. I was taken off all medication except blood pressure meds and left to work through the aftermath, whilst still working full-time. The new drugs were introduced and 'finding the right dose' started. This has not been easy to say the least!

In fact I will always remember 2009 as my 'lost year'. Until the middle of September I was little more than a zombie on the evenings and weekends. July and early August were the very worst months, I quite literally did nothing but sleep, sit in a daze and sleep some more. Hypothyroidism had set in, plus for awhile I was taking blood pressure meds I no longer needed.

I know many friends have felt neglected or wondered why I was suddenly so unsociable. I think some I lost along the way, but other friends just understood, even when they'd had no explanation. Well it's hard to do anything when your pulse is running at 60 or below and you have no energy! The Hubster was a pillar of strength, never complained about my lack of conversation or activity and just waited patiently.

Well finally everything started to level out in mid-September, the Hubster got his wife back and I finally got some energy back.

But having that time to think has changed my priorities. I no longer find myself inspired to blog regularly, now I want to spend time going in a different direction.

I want to concentrate (when I'm not working) on my fiction writing and developing my passion for photography to it's full potential. I want time to explore yoga and meditation, to help my physical and spiritual being recover from two years of sickness. I need to give time to restore my fighting spirit, 'joie de vivre' and reconnect with friends. And last but definitely not least, I need to spend time with the Hubster enjoying life to the full again.

I am not giving up my blog, I am just reorganising my priorities to where they need to be. There maybe more activity on my photography blog and I will blog here only when I feel the need or get inspired. It may well be more sporadic, but I hope it'll be worth the wait and some of you will still come visit.

Back to real life

Well today is the first of my new school year for 2009/10.

The kiddo's don't return until the 13th, and the teachers officially this Friday, although most are already around preparing their rooms. But my summer recess is over and my alarm clock is once again set, after two months of silence.

I enjoy my work and I am actually kind of ready to go back, so I am quite looking forward to it. But the next 2 weeks are going to be CRAZY busy as I try to be ready and get everything done and put away.

And of course just in time for my return, this week our predicted temperatures are going to be over 100 everyday, wonderful! So bear with me, as I am currently somewhat hypothyroid and so am likely to be pretty tired until my levels improve and the work settles down again.

Blogging may take a little bit of a backseat, and be short and sweet as opposed to quote worthy for the next fortnight.

Finally! Tanning Beds declared carcinogenic by WHO

Sunbeds as lethal as cigarettes & arsenic: Experts class tanning with smoking and asbestos as top cancer risks.

This was the headline on a British newspaper & MSN.com yesterday and I thought this was news worth sharing, so below is the article reproduced from the Daily Mail:

Sunbeds are as great a cancer threat as cigarettes, global health chiefs have declared.

The dangers of ‘binge tanning’ are so significant that sunbeds have been placed on the World Health Organisation’s list of the most cancer-causing substances and habits, alongside arsenic and asbestos.

Before this, sunbeds and sunlamps had been classified as ‘probably carcinogenic’, placing them one rung below the most dangerous products.

High risk: Ultra-violet radiation could trigger cancer according to scientists. After reviewing the latest evidence, WHO scientists decided there was no doubt that ultra-violet radiation could trigger the disease.

This means that sunbathing is also classified as high risk. But the intensity of the UV light emitted by sunbeds means a 20-minute visit to some booths is the equivalent to spending an entire day on the beach.

The data will be made available to the Government, including the Department of Health which is facing increasing pressure to clamp down on sunbed use. Critics say the Government has so far failed to take any meaningful action to regulate the hundreds of tanning salons around the country.

An estimated three million Britons regularly use sunbeds, with children as young as 11 using the equipment to achieve tans like those of celebrity idols. Government guidelines advise against use by youngsters but many sunbeds are in unstaffed, coin-operated booths, meaning there is no screening of customers.

Sunbeds are also increasingly powerful, with the UV output from modern machines 10 to 15 times more intense than the midday sun on a Mediterranean beach.

Announcing the reclassification in the Lancet Oncology medical journal, the experts warned that the use of sunbeds and lamps was widespread in many developed countries, especially among young women. The alert comes amid concern about soaring rates of the most deadly form of skin cancer.

Sunbed use is partly blamed for the number of cases of malignant melanoma more than doubling in just 20 years. Some 9,417 men and women in England developed the disease between 1985 and 1987. But by 2004-2006, the figure had risen to 24,356.

Research analysed by the WHO included a large-scale review which concluded that using sunbeds before the age of 30 raises the odds of skin cancer by 75 per cent. Some of the studies also flagged up a convincing link between sunbeds and eye cancer.

Dr Beatrice Secretan, of the WHO'S International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), described the reclassification as ‘significant’. She said: ‘It means sunbeds are now up there with such things as cigarettes and alcohol as the most dangerous products to use when it comes to developing cancer. ‘What we do now is send this advice to the various regulatory bodies around the world. We hope our message will get across to the owners of these machines as well as the users.

To read the rest of this article go HERE or on MSN HERE.

Now I'm no angel here, I have used sunbeds in the past but not for years now, and for the past few years I have become very anti-tan. In fact I rarely leave home without Factor 85 on year round and am now 'Proud to be Pale'. I also last year started seeing a dermatologist every other year, just to get a once over of my own fair freckled skin. This is something I feel strongly enough about, that I won't beat about the bush and will get on my soap-box about it if needed with others.

My reasons for staying determinedly pale are based partly on skin cancer risk, especially now I live in a higher risk area, where there are many more cases. But also not wanting to age quickly and wrinkle badly, which has been made very apparent by some of the women I come across who live here and never use/d sun protection. Let's just say you can really see them coming, or predict who will be in their gang within a few years, and I am not looking to join them! I know very few people here who use sunscreen in daily life, even in mid-summer.

I regularly see people burned to a crisp here and they are often completely flippant about it or laugh it off, which I find not only scary but idiotic! I wonder if they'd swallow a teaspoon of arsenic if I offered it to them and think it cool or funny?

So if I do tan, which is very rare, it's always fake. Hopefully this news will now inspire others to do the same and think of their health first. Pale & smooth is much more beautiful.

If posting this today stops even one reader using tanning beds again, then it was my most worthwhile post this year.

And they say they're getting healthier!!

I have a real issue with the drinks offered at McDonald's, they have NO options that are both caffeine and sugar free - none! But that's not really what this gripe is about....

But as a result I often just have water from there, which they have freely available if you go in and don't drive-through.

If you drive-through and just want drinks and ask for a water at our local McD's, they will only give you a small cup. We know this because the Hubster asked why he we could not get a 'large' water?

The answer "that's the size of cup we have to give you when you ask for just water".

Nice, real nice and so much for McDonald's trying to help us all with healthier choices. As we all know, they're only too keen to 'supersize' everything else they offer!

My new bestfriend!

This range of products may just have transformed my life!

For years I have had to put up with alot of 'negative reaction' from my stomach and bowels dependant on what I put in my mouth. About 8yrs ago I finally had some tests done and it turned up food intolerances to yeast, corn, oats, kiwi fruit and kidney beans. But after completely removing them for sometime they can then be gradually re-introduced , and then you find out where the intolerance level really is.

Despite kind of getting a handle on these, I have continued to have problems. Recently I noticed it seemed to be in conjunction with dairy foods, after all there really wasn't much else left it could be, when you consider how many things contain the others.

I cut out the dairy for a week before we went away and 'hey presto' no more problems. But also no more cereal, ice cream, smoothies, cheese, butter, strawberries and cream...sob! I tried goats milk and was disgusted, and Soy milk has always made me throw up instantly - no exaggeration!

So after reading an article about Lactaid I bought some of their milk on Thursday and being ever the optimist, two boxes of cereal. Well 4 days later I am doing fine, the taste is hardly any different to regular and I have had plenty now with no problems.

I just thought Lactaid had no Lactose in it, but it's much cleverer than that:

"LACTAID® Brand dairy products have lactase enzyme added to break down the lactose in the products themselves into two simple sugars (galactose and glucose), making them easy to digest. LACTAID® Dietary Supplements contain lactase that helps you digest dairy foods when taken with the first bite.

About 75% of the world's population is lactose intolerant."

Today we went and got some of their capsules, you just take one with the first bite of any dairy containing food and it will do it's thing. I tested the capsules with a milkshake (bliss after so long without) and have had absolutely no after effects.

So if you suffer similarly and have never considered it might be lactose intolerance, I urge to try Lactaid as you maybe one of the 75%. As for me, I will never leave home again without a capsule on my person.

Update on my brother

First of all thank you to those that have enquired this week, here's the latest.

He returned to his consultant on Friday and they repeated the vision tests. Although he wasn't certain it had himself, his sight has improved a little and he could see a little more on the tests.

The consultant believes that the cause was possibly a small bleed in his brain, possibly due to his high levels of LDL cholesterol. He has been working hard at taking measures to reduce this himself.

So it was agreed he will see his Dr soon to get his LDL level rechecked and determine whether he needs drugs to help, or if it is improving with the changes he has made already. The consultant will see him again in 2 months, unless Andy has any concerns before then.

So the news is much better and we are all hoping the improvement continues steadily.

Just popping my head in the door

First of all "THANK YOU" for all your lovely supportive comments about me taking a sabbatical, I was very touched.

I am still on sabbatical but wanted to let you know I'm doing alot better healthwise. I have rested probably more than necessary, enjoyed the freedom of no work and a respite from blogging. In fact I may do this every June to recharge my writing batteries!

My brother is still the same, but after a battery of tests it seems our worst fears are unfounded. But he still does not have an answer and it is worrying, so he is seeing a Specialist on Saturday in the hope he can finally supply one. Basically for no reason that can be found, he has lost a significant amount of his vision in one eye which has been very blurred for the past 3 weeks. So please continue to keep him in your prayers for me.

I am going to stay on my blog sabbatical until the first week of July, as we are off on vacation shortly. But then I'll be back with a weeks worth of Chicago posts and pictures, in the meantime I may drop the odd post if I feel so motivated!

Thanks again for your continued support, "I'll be back" full-time by Independence Day!

I'm normal!

Well my levels of thyroid homone are normal finally after over 3 years on a constant rollercoaster up and down. I had been thinking I was going hypo the past two weeks, but blood tests have confirmed I'm normal, and so I was just 'anticipating' rather than experiencing it seems. And so now I am gonna quit worrying about that (note to self)!

This is definitely a major 'WOOHOO' moment for me, and it means that after some recent concerns it hadn't, the treatment I took seems to have worked. My last two physical exams of my thyroid have indicated that I still have a small amount of the gland remaining as planned. We are praying that this will now keep putting out just enough thyroid hormone, as it is right now.

When I was first diagnosed with the disease I was taking 22 prescribed pills a day and I was really very sick for months. Today I am taking just 1 thyroid replacement pill a day, believe me this is nothing short of a miracle to me!

It will be months before we know for sure if I am stable and more importantly, if I will stay there permanently. But today I am more hopeful than I have been in a very long time and for a change I actually feel pretty well.

Uh, finally they got me!

The kiddo's at school that is! I always knew as secretary in an Elementary, with nurse duties thrown in, it was a high risk job for much sickness.

And so finally with only 13 days remaining in this school year, I have succumbed to a stomach bug doing the rounds. Despite having an antibacterial handwash on the wall that I use religiously and keeping as much distance as I can taking temperatures etc, this time it got me too. I was honestly beginning to think I might make the whole school year, with nothing caught from the kids - more fool me!

Not long after waking this morning the bottom end hit and then the top end joined in the incessant 'party'. Let's just say it's a darned good job there is only 5ft between my bed and a toilet, but a few times even that seemed like 100 metres!! I have finally slept for an hour uninterrupted, but I'm not at all sure it's over, going on some ominous rumblings.

So back to bed, with sips of water only, as I fear it's just waiting for more ammunition in my stomach before it strikes back.

A re-run due to brain fog!

Well the $86 cough mixture is doing it's thing and making me better, but it has knocked me for six. We set off out yesterday and had to turn back after 30 minutes, as I couldn't string a coherent sentence together I was so sleepy! I then went back to bed and slept for hours, but needless to say my brain is utterly beyond composing a blog post.

So in the style of the big TV stations, I am giving you a re-run today. Hopefully you'll enjoy it enough to let me off the hook and normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

This is Boosin, one my first teddy bears given to me by my grandparents at 6 months old and faithfully by my side ever since.

My mum tells me that when I was about 2 years old, we travelled to see my aunt in the south who was very ill in hospital. She has never forgotten the image of me walking down the train station platform clutching Boosin, who was bigger than me and the people around chuckling and grinning when they saw me.

Boosin has spent his whole life on my bed and has never been consigned to a closet like other teddies I have owned. In fact he is the only soft toy I have retained from my childhood and he is now one of my most treasured possessions.

I have slept snuggled up to him many nights, shed tears on him and often just looking at him will raise a smile. When I moved here he was blind, as his felt eyes had long since fallen off, as had his nose! He also had a hole above one ear and another unfortunately sited one in his crotch, from which he was losing stuffing.

So I set about some well-earned cosmetic surgery and restored his sight and stitched up the holes. He is worn a little thin in areas but is really in remarkable condition considering his great age in teddy bear years. That is his original tongue poking out!

I have no doubt Boosin will make it through lifes long journey with me and will one day accompany me to a better place, still clutched in my loving arms. Somewhere my mum has a picture of me face down on him, sound asleep on my bed as a toddler, with lace frilly knicker clad bottom stuck in the air.

Little did my grandparents know on the day they presented him to me, that Boosin would be my erstwhile friend through all of lifes trials, tribulations and joys. He has also become a member of our family with the passing of time and a bit of an icon, after 43 years of faithful companionship.