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A case of wuss-itis

by on August 31, 2010, in health, or something like it, jump aboard the crazy train, life etc.

According to Ian, that’s what I have.

But yes, after running a grand total of SIX TIMES in the past couple of weeks, I am down for the count. Awesome!

The first four runs were fine, although I realize now that’s probably where I did the damage. Apparently it’s a bad idea to just get out and run, without stretching or caring about footwear or running surface, when you’re 31 years old and not athletic.

After my painful run on Friday, I gave myself some time off (and a new pair of shoes). I thought three days were enough, but apparently not for this old lady. I ran again last night, and while I felt OK after I got going, as I approached 2.5 miles the pain in my left knee started up again so I cut my run short.

A case of wuss itisI iced my knees for about an hour, but when I woke up this morning I could barely walk. My right knee just feels tight and sore, but I can’t really put any pressure on my left knee without feeling pain. I’ve indicated in the picture where the pain is (on the inside, toward the bottom of the side of the knee), in case there happens to be any orthopedic doctors out there who want to save me some money and diagnose me over the Internet. Bill Frist? You there? Can you see through ice packs?

Anyway, I have several friends who are real runners, and they’ve been pretty supportive via Facebook. It’s been suggested that I don’t see a doctor quite yet; that I give myself one to two weeks off before I start again, and that perhaps having the right shoes will help. So I guess that’s what I’m going to do: Just wait it out. Which sucks, because I have these awesome, comfy brand-new (EXPENSIVE-ASS) shoes that are just going to sit in my closet now.

But I don’t want to mess up my knees for real, so I suppose resting is the best idea.

Seriously though, six runs? What’s the opposite of the Bionic Woman? Because I’m pretty sure that’s who I am.

Comments { 3 }

Allergic to soy sauce but not soy. Awesome.

by on June 17, 2010, in accidental vegetarian, food and/or beverage, health, or something like it

I’ve never been able to stomach any kind of food cooked with soy sauce. In fact, for as long as I can remember I haven’t been able to eat Chinese, Japanese or Thai food without getting sick to my stomach (I’ll leave it at that) soon after.

I’ve mentioned it to two doctors in the past, one a gastroenterologist and one a general practitioner, and they both agreed that I have most likely have an allergy—or at least a sensitivity—to MSG, a preservative used in most Asian cuisines (both for preserving and flavoring).

So I’ve spent the last 10 years or so avoiding Asian foods, which really isn’t that big of a deal because I’m not that big of a fan of it, anyway. However, recently Ian and I have been making stir fries with all of the vegetables we’re getting from our CSA, mainly because it’s quick and easy and, honestly, what else are we going to do with all of that cabbage?

We’ve used two different soy sauces now, each using different preservatives (sodium benzoate in one and I can’t recall the other), and I’ve still had the same reaction. The fact that I eat some sort of soy product on an almost daily basis makes me confident it’s not the soy that I’m allergic to—it is, in fact, the preservative as the doctors had suspected years ago. But not just MSG.

I really like stir fries, but I guess I’m going to have to find some other way of seasoning them without using soy sauce.

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Seriously?

by on March 24, 2010, in but in our house we never get bored, health, or something like it, WTF?

Ian and I both have the flu. At the same time. Which, on one hand, is nice because we don’t have to worry about passing it back and forth for a few weeks. But on the other hand there’s nobody here to take care of us. We just lay on the couch alternating between sleeping and bitching about how awful we feel.

There’s no point in going to the doctor because flu-specific drugs have to be taken pretty much as soon as the flu sets in, and now they’d just tell us to treat our symptoms, which we can do from home with Gatorade and ibuprofen.

I just hope we’re well enough for when my mom comes to visit this weekend.

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I support healthcare reform because I have fallen through the cracks

by on March 22, 2010, in health, or something like it, life etc., news/politics, past lives

Seven years ago I was a college senior who was working 80 hours a week, Monday through Friday at two different jobs, so that I could save enough money to complete my final semester in a study abroad program in Spain (I was a double major: Journalism and Spanish). I worked from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at CVS, left there and went home to change, eat a quick bite and make it over to CMOP to work 3 p.m. to midnight or 3 p.m. to 1 a.m., depending on the day of the week.

I did this from December 2002 to June 2003 so that I would have enough money to pay for my tuition for the study abroad program (student loans wouldn’t cover it because technically it was through Murray State with the KIIS program; MTSU just transferred my credits when I completed the semester) as well as all of my bills during the time I was in Spain and therefore without income.

Before I was scheduled to leave, the manager at the CVS and I discussed the fact that I was not going to be working there for two months and what that would mean for my employment status. I had enough vacation time to last me almost two weeks, but that wasn’t enough to keep me on the payroll. They were going to have to let me go and then rehire me when I came back, because for some reason CVS does not allow leaves of absences to be taken for anything education-related. (Nice, right?)

When I got back, all of the tenure and benefits I had earned, including vacation time and health insurance, were reset as though I had never worked there before—despite actually having put in six years of time.

The vacation time wasn’t too big of a deal, but the health insurance was. I wouldn’t be able to sign up for CVS’ health insurance for another YEAR, and I needed health insurance. I wasn’t eligible to be added on to my mom’s insurance because I was too old (I was 24) and soon to be a college graduate. At the time I had a condition that, while not life-threatening, required me to have a battery of tests run every 3-6 months. I needed insurance to help me cover the cost of the tests and, in the event I did develop cancer (or more pre-cancerous cells that would require surgery, as I had before), help me with treatment.

I applied for insurance through various private companies, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, but was denied each time because of the pre-existing condition. A few weeks later I received COBRA paperwork from CVS, but the monthly premium would have been nearly $1,100—way more than I could afford. I made an appointment with the local TennCare office because I figured hey, TennCare is for people who are uninsurable, right? Wrong. I was called before my appointment and told not to bother coming in because I wasn’t a single mother and therefore would not be approved. I protested, saying that I was unable to secure private health insurance and I couldn’t afford the COBRA payments, and was basically laughed at.

Within two months I had found another job — and while it was a good job and actually a bit of a pay bump (working in the MTMC pharmacy), I took it primarily because I would be eligible for health insurance Day One.

Now, my situation was not that dire. I didn’t have a debilitating disease that required hundreds or thousands of dollars of medication a month. I could have gotten by without insurance for a year or two, probably, and just hoped really really hard things didn’t get bad. I did eventually have to have another more invasive surgery, but luckily I had insurance (And I still had to pay nearly $3,000).

I can’t imagine people in far worse situations falling through the cracks of our current healthcare system, unable to get insurance or afford the bullshit option that is available. But guess what? It happens. And I support this bill because it will help people like that. This bill would have helped me.

And honestly, I’d rather see us spend billions of dollars helping keep people in our country alive than billions of dollars killing people in other countries.

Anyway, I just want to make the point that before you start screaming that healthcare reform is only going to help hoodrats who are looking for another handout or that helping our citizens get access to healthcare is a waste of money, maybe you should step back and consider the actual good it will do.

Or, if you want a less-personal take on the healthcare bill, go check out The Washington Post.

Comments { 3 }

Feb. 24 | Good advice

by on February 24, 2010, in around town, health, or something like it, photography, Project365

Feb. 24 | Good advice

On the way back from picking up my CSA shipment today I stopped at The Produce Place, a great local grocery store that carries lots of organic items and loose nuts and seeds.

I have seen this sticker on the stop sign before, but today it seemed especially appropriate. Yesterday afternoon I started to get really bad, stabbing pains in my stomach, and when I got home they only got worse. It was like someone was taking the top part of my stomach and squeezing it as hard as they could and would not let go.

This morning the pain was a bit better, but I called my doctor to explain what was going on and request a refill on a medication that I have taken before: a muscle relaxer that happens to work for both bladder spasms (I used to get a lot of bladder infections) and stomach muscle spasms. Luckily they didn’t require me to come in, and called in a refill to the Walgreens by my office.

I took one of the pills a little while ago and can already feel my stomach muscles relaxing a bit. I don’t know what the hell I ate or what I did to make them freak out so bad in the first place, but I do NOT want that to happen again.

So anyway, this sign is for my stomach: STOP FREAKING OUT!

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I exercised for an hour and didn't die

by on February 6, 2010, in but in our house we never get bored, health, or something like it

After we finally cleaned out the second bedroom (or “the office,” as we call it, even though work rarely gets done in there) last weekend, I hooked up the Wii to the TV in there under the guise of wanting to start using the Wii Fit we bought the day it came out but hadn’t used in… well, since about a week after it came out.

But it turns out it might not be a guise—I used it a couple of times last week and tonight… oh, tonight. I spent an ENTIRE HOUR on it. Aerobics, strength training, yoga, balance—I did it all. For those of you who work out on a regular basis you’re probably laughing at me, but you have to realize I’m someone who’s reveled in laziness and relied on a fast metabolism my entire life.

And I’m not really trying to lose weight now, I’m just getting old and creaky and realizing that hey, if my body hurts and I feel slothful, maybe, just maybe, getting up off my ass and moving my limbs around could be a good thing for me.

I’ve already started eating healthier when I became a vegetarian last summer, so maybe the next step in taking better care of my body is exercising it.

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It was going to happen sooner or later

by on December 13, 2009, in but in our house we never get bored, health, or something like it

I’m sick.

I woke up Saturday morning with a disappointingly familiar scratch in my throat. I felt generally crappy all day, and woke up this morning feeling like someone had poured Velveeta cheese in my ears.

After I had been awake for a few hours, I started experiencing stabbing pains in my left kidney AND my stomach. At the same time. For about 20 minutes, I couldn’t lay down or sit up, it hurt too much. I couldn’t walk around; that hurt, too. All I could do was crouch on the bed and try to regain control over my breathing.

Ian deduced I was dehydrated, and after admitting I hadn’t drank any water Saturday, I was given a Nalgene bottle full. (The stabbing stomach pain was due to eating three super-acidic clementines on an empty stomach, something someone with chronic gastrointestinal issues should know better than to attempt.)

Ian procured the essentials—Gatorade, Saltines and Fruit RollUps—and I’m laid out on the couch back to feeling like I have a shitty cold again. My throat may be swollen and my eyes are on fire, but at least I don’t feel like someone is stabbing me in my essential organs anymore. Jesus. That sucked.

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Fresh from the farm

by on December 7, 2009, in accidental vegetarian, around town, food and/or beverage, health, or something like it

After my last post about watching Food Inc. and how I was doing with vegetarianism, I really started to think about what Ian said about me not doing the world any favors by eating the genetically modified vegetables sold in the grocery store.

And so I signed us up for a CSA (community supported agriculture). Every two weeks until Spring I will head over to Climb Nashville to meet the truck and pick up our share of locally, naturally grown vegetables (and occasionally pastas, jams and sauces, or whatever else they decide to throw in the box). The farm is called Avalon Acres, and is based in Hohenwald, Tenn. They also have numerous Amish farmers who bake, raise free-range animals for meat and grow vegetables for them as well.

Besides the peace that comes with knowing that I’m eating non-genetically modified food, I feel good that I’m helping out a local farm—and all the benefits that come with that (supporting local economies, cutting down on emissions caused by trucking food thousands of miles, etc.).

And it’s exciting not knowing exactly what we’re going to get each time I go to pick up. Last week was our first shipment, and it was a cornucopia of vegetables I did not recognize. (Thanks to everyone on Twitter who responded to my queries instead of just laughing at my dumb ass.) As it turns out, we received turnips (large and regular), turnip greens, white radishes, a bunch of still unidentified greens, peach preserves, canned green beans, homemade pasta sauce and homemade pasta. I was so stoked so see that big-ass bag of pasta in the box—I had been hoping for that the most since I read what we *might* get when we signed up.

The other thing that’s cool about the CSA is that we have had to learn how to cook new things. Neither Ian nor I had ever had (let alone cooked) turnips before, and while we knew how to cook greens, we didn’t realize how bitter they are fresh from the farm compared to in a can (how we normally eat them). Ian got a little creative the other night and roasted some white radishes and turnips, and they were SO GOOD. I think our green-cooking process needs a bit of refining, but they were still pretty tasty, so I think we’re getting there.

I wish I would have realized how easy it was to participate in a CSA, because I would have done it years ago. If you are concerned about the Monsanto-tainted food you’re buying from the grocery store or just want to support a local farm, I strongly suggest you look into Avalon Acres’ CSA program. It’s very affordable, super easy to pick up (they have numerous pickup locations twice a week throughout Nashville, Franklin and even one in Murfreesboro) and the people have been great (I really grilled them before I signed up, and I appreciate Angel answering all of my crazy questions).

And don’t worry, carnivores—you can buy free-range (and sans hormones and antibiotics) beef, chicken and pork from them, too.

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The vegetarian thing

by on November 16, 2009, in accidental vegetarian, animals, food and/or beverage, health, or something like it, life etc., movies

Several people have asked me how “the vegetarian thing” has been going, so I thought it might be nice to post an update here. As a recap, I’ve not eaten meat since Aug. 10, 2009, and I made the conscious decision to not eat it anymore on Aug. 13, 2009. (For three days I had just accidentally not eaten it. I wasn’t actually trying to avoid it.)

For the first month or so, my biggest problem was the gassiness that comes with eating vegetarian. Beans are a great source of protein and I was eating a lot, and I guess my body just wasn’t used to it. So I hit the simethicone hard, and things have pretty much worked themselves out now. I do still take simethicone after I eat a meal that mainly consists of beans, just to do everyone around me a favor.

After about six weeks, I realized I had gained about five or six pounds. Whether it’s my scale or my body, my weight always fluctuated by a pound or two, usually coming in at 124 or 125 pounds. Now I’m a constant 130. Which I suppose isn’t really that bad, seeing as how I’m 5’8″. But there are a few shirts I can’t wear anymore, and I’ve had to relegate a few pairs of pants to the “weekend” pile, if you know what I mean.

At first I was pretty upset about the weight gain, but in all honestly I feel really good. I don’t feel fat, and if I have to go out and buy a few new pairs of pants, oh well. There are bigger things in my life I could spend my time worrying about, and five pounds really just don’t seem worth it. Even at 125 I felt like I needed to tone a bit, and I still do, so I’ll probably end up using the gym membership I have until February. Maybe. I’ve had it for a few weeks and haven’t gone, though, so we’ll see.

As far as the difficulty in not eating meat, there really isn’t any unless I’m super starving. And even then it’s not that I miss meat, it’s just that I feel like I’m on the verge of a low-blood sugar crash and it would be so much easier to stop at McDonald’s and grab a cheeseburger instead of going home and fixing spinach or a veggie burger.

Some people have suggested that instead of keeping with the vegetarianism, I instead seek out locally grown beef, chicken and pork so that I don’t have to worry about the way they’re treated or the hormones that are pumped into them. And while I think that is a great way for meat eaters to get their food, I just don’t think it would work for me. I know myself, and that would be a slippery slope. It would not be a stretch for me to be out at a restaurant and order a meat dish just because I was a meat eater again. Years ago I stopped eating beef after I read My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki (a great book, by the way—one of my favorites), but it didn’t take more than a few months before I fell off the wagon after numerous dinners with friends and family members where beef was served.

Ian and I just watched Food Inc. tonight, and I will say that if I wasn’t a vegetarian already I would have made the commitment tonight after seeing that film. I know there are a lot of problems with genetically engineered vegetables, and I understand, as Ian put it, that I’m not doing the world any favors by eating them.

But I do know that I am not encouraging the inhumane treatment of chickens, pigs and cows. I am not responsible for the way they are crushed to death, made to walk on broken legs or thrown into grinders while still alive and crying, scared and helpless.

And like I’ve told a few people who have told me that my not eating meat doesn’t matter: Just because I can’t fix the entire problem with our food industry doesn’t mean I shouldn’t stop eating meat. Not being able to do everything perfectly doesn’t mean I should ignore what feels right to me.

Comments { 3 }

Striped

by on June 30, 2009, in health, or something like it, my cat's cooler than yours, photography

Striped

Yesterday I worked from home, as I was hit with my third bout of vertigo. I’ve gotten it every year since I turned 28, always in late spring (though I guess this year it’s considered summer), and I’m starting to wonder if allergy shots might be worth looking into. Spending the day unable to walk straight, alternating between feeling like I’m on a boat and feeling like I hit the bottle too hard about an hour ago (without actually have gotten to hit the bottle at all), is not exactly my idea of fun.

About halfway through the day, though, I migrated from my horizontal position on the bed to a half-horizontal/half-vertical position on the couch, a format that always seems to draw cats around our house. Link settled in on the blankets by my feet; here you see him using the ball of my foot to prop up his tiny, tiny head as he slumbers in the early evening sun.

Comments { 1 }
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