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Annual appointment
It was a busy week for seeing doctors. Saturday I had an appointment to see my immunologist for a yearly check up on my autoimmune stuff. I’d had a bunch of blood tests before the appointment and had requested copies to be sent to me. This solves the problem of getting copies from the doctor when I attend. She works out of a mostly temporary office so I didn’t think she would be able to make copies. As it happens, they had moved since last year and it seems she would have easily been able to make copies. The results were mostly normal and a couple that were out of range weren’t much of an issue as they are often elevated in isolation. One odd one that wasn’t noted as abnormal this time was the albumin, which was 36, I think. The reference range said it was normal this time but the previous time showed the same level as out of range (low). As it was the same lab, I can only assume the reference range had changed a bit.
Aside from getting quite a few symptoms of Raynaud’s syndrome popping up throughout the year, not much had changed since my last visit. That is, not much could be noted until about mid-December. That’s when my usually off-and-on arthralgia in my fingers/hands/wrist decided it was going to stick around for awhile. Almost two months later and they are still often quite sore and swollen. Aside from dry eye and mouth stuff, this is the first time I’ve had to think about treating it on a regular basis. I was advised to try to stick with paracetamol (Tylenol) rather than the ibuprofen as that can be bad on the stomach. Of course it’s not ideal to take too much paracetamol either, at least from a liver point of view. Also she suggested using Voltaren cream at night since it won’t get washed off too soon and might help with the morning symptoms. I’m to have another blood test to check on rheumatoid factor. This has always been negative when checked before and I don’t expect that to change.
I also asked about some recurring bruises that have shown up on my stomach lately. They haven’t been very big but they have all appeared without any known reason. At least I like to think I would notice having some sort of small trauma to the stomach…not that I have any idea what would cause bruises so small. This has happened a few times now and they go away after a week or so. Anyway, I also get to have a coagulation panel done. I also suspect that will be normal. I don’t go back to see her for another year but she is to contact me on her next appointment day to discuss the blood test results. Nice to find a doctor who will do that rather than drag me back into for what is likely a one minute appointment to find all is normal.
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Results
I had to return to the breast clinic the day after the biopsy to see the doctor for results. I chose to take the bus into town instead of driving to save a bit of sanity and money. It was quite hot, just as it had been the day before. Fortunately the bus had good air conditioning so I was comfortable the whole trip. Once into town there was the maze leading out of the temporary bus station while construction continues on a new station and other facilities. The walkway looked mostly like a construction walled labyrinth where you couldn’t see terribly much from any particular angle.
I wasn’t supposed to be doing any strenuous exercise but I did end of doing quite a bit of walking, mainly because I had arrived well over an hour early and did not have anything to do. So I did get some exercise traipsing through the city and even found a milk tea (bubble tea) shop I hadn’t noticed before. Obviously I had to try it out so chose a lavender tea with fresh milk. The fresh milk hasn’t been an option anywhere else I’ve been. Not even at my favourite Hi Tea. Also this tea place had options for how much sugar and how cold it was. There were also several options for toppings but I stuck with the tried and true sago bubbles. The end result was quite satisfying and refreshing on a hot day. The sago was cooked really well, not chewy or too soft.
I also wandered through several shopping arcades and shops along the way. I stopped at T2, a tea retail shop. They have samples of many of the teas available to try and I had a bit of almost everything except the hot teas. I had taken my camera so took various photos around the city and hopefully some of those will be decent enough. A week later and I have downloaded the photos but done nothing further with them.
Finally I ran out of things to do during my limited time and it was still quite hot. I went ahead and walked back to the hospital and sat in the waiting room, which was quite cool. I got called in about ten minutes after my appointed time. The biopsy was clear and I was back to doing a yearly mammogram (due to family history). The doctor also said it seems pretty likely that they got all of the calcification with the biopsy, which went even further to ease my mind. So the calcification was just the normal benign type that is common for women of my age.
After I left, I did a bit more wandering around town and then headed to the bus station. It was about then I thought perhaps I would buy a few Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the pop up 7 Eleven in the city. I walked back and bought the three doughnuts before heading back to the station. By the time I got on the bus, it was after 5pm. I made the mistake of sitting on the left side of the bus, so there was sun on my left almost the entire trip home. But the bus wasn’t all that crowded like I expected so it was at least comfortable to sit throughout.
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A day at the breast clinic
Last Wednesday was my appointment at the breast clinic. I had to be there by 8:30Â am, which was probably the hardest part of the day since I am rather stuck on late hours at the moment. The Scientist took the day off work and drove me in, which is about when I realised I had forgotten the appointment card with information on how to find the clinic at the hospital. It’s a fairly big hospital that has bits added on over the years, so it can seem much like a maze. We parked in the parking deck near the hospital and walked across to one of the entries. The Scientist stopped and asked for directions from a woman in an office and then another guy happened along who had us follow him most of the way to the part of the building, which was very considerate. Once across to the correct wing, I started seeing signs and followed along until we arrived.
There was a woman just ahead of me at reception and then I was given the clipboard with forms to complete before we got started. There was a television on one of the walls but it was at an awkward angle to continue watching while sitting there. It was mostly showing the tennis from the Australian Open. While there we saw that Venus Williams lost and then her sister won. After that I didn’t note a whole lot of what was happening. It must have been at least some time after 9am when I got called back to do the mammogram. I first was directed to a cubicle where I changed into a top that was easily accessible for what was to come. Then I waited in another area for a few minutes before being taken into the room. I was expecting it to be a more lengthy process than the screening but it was mostly a matter of doing a couple of images from one angle and then a couple more from two more angles. I think it came out to be about five in all and didn’t take all that long, aside from having to change around the machinery at bit. Before we started the technician showed the mammograms with the area of concern. The spot was very hard to see it on either image so I figure it must take quite a lot of practice to pick up some issues. After the mammogram, I went back to the main waiting area, which was now quite full. I was actually in the third intake of patients but I guess we all ended up out there together, many of us with partners.
There was another wait, probably for about half an hour to 45 minutes, to see the doctor. She called me in and told me that the actual calcification was quite faint and it seems the close up mammogram didn’t change much. So they wanted me to have a biopsy just to be sure. She went through a few typical questions and explained a tiny bit about how it was done, then I was sent back to the waiting area. Then I was called back by the radiologist who told me the calcification really, really was hard to see and that there was a good chance they might not be able to get a sample in the biopsy. If that was the case, I was going to be recalled in a year to check everything. Then he went through a few more specifics of the procedure and had me sign a couple of things before I was back to the waiting room. There were at least a couple women ahead of me but if it took too long they would do it after lunch time.
Speaking of lunch time, I was quite hungry by this stage, despite eating breakfast before leaving home. This wait seemed to take longer than the other ones but I did get called back before midday and was asked if I needed to go to the toilet as I’d be in there for forty-five minutes. I didn’t and we went into the room where the biopsies were done. I had to lie on my stomach on a table that had a rather largest hole in the middle. I knew there would be a hole but was surprised to see how large it was. I had to lie with one breast up to the side and the one being biopsied hanging down. I then had to make myself comfortable as I wasn’t supposed to move my head or arms. I took off my glasses and put them near my head since I couldn’t possibly keep face down. :)Â From this angle, it was impossible to see anything that was happening and one woman stayed near my head to explain what was happening while it happened. There was some music playing in the background…some sort of jazz from what I recall. Lots of things were being opened from sealed packaging and eventually the area to be biopsied was swabbed. Then it was time for the local anesthetic, which I’d been told earlier might be really painful for a short while before it kicked in. I was dreading this part the most because it was quite painful when I had the endometrial biopsy last year. As it turns out, it didn’t hurt much more than having any other injection and soon I was about ready for the procedure. At various points through this process, some special mammogram images were done to make sure they had the right target. Then it was time for the actual procedure where a stereotactic vacuum extraction was done several times. The good thing about the calcification is it can be x-rayed after it’s taken to make sure they have the right material. I think they must have taken about four or five samples and then it was over. The wounds were covered with tape and a dressing and I was given instructions for no strenuous exercise or heavy lifting for three days. I was also warned there could be quite a bit of bruising, which was good since I wouldn’t have expected massive bruising from a small biopsy wound. I was soon allowed to go get dressed and then had to make an appointment for the next day to see the doctor about results.
Which brings me to the surprise about having a follow up the next day after the nurse from Breast Screen saying I would have everything done and have results the same day. I don’t think I misunderstood and even clarified on the phone that it was all a one day thing. It did seem awfully unlikely to be getting biopsy results the same day so that part wasn’t too surprising. But with that information I had made plans for the next day and had to reschedule a visit from friends to Friday.
Anyway, I finished up and we left the city and stopped along the way for me to get a bit of lunch before coming home.
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Tai chi fan
In July of last year, I completed the beginner tai chi levels and moved up to the advanced class with the Scientist. Our instructor had also started offering a sword class after the advanced one but I really just wanted to focus on improving the basic skills I already had. I felt I had a long way to go. It’s now nearly six terms later and I still feel I have a long way to go. I have gain quite a bit from one term focused on foot work and the current term focused on the sixth level of moves. My form has really improved this year and my confidence is better too. I still have regular blips where I can’t remember what comes next during practice but it doesn’t seem to drag me down most of the time.
A few weeks ago the instructor started offering a tai chi fan class instead of sword. Now this has interested me and the time is probably right for me to take on something new. So I have been learning the fan class for a few weeks now. There are only two of us in the class and I’m learning it left-handed, which is a bit tricky at times. I tried doing it right-handed and practicing both sides but the left hand is so much more easier so I have stuck with that instead.
After finishing the first class, the Scientist and I went to get something to eat and while eating I noticed that I had a couple of tiny cuts on my thumb where the side of the fan had hit it. I never realised it while practicing but they were significant enough that one has healed and seems to have left a slight scar. (It seems I scar after even the most minor of scratches these days so this isn’t too surprising.)  The following week I had no issues and all was well but a couple nights ago I wasn’t even doing actual practice and manage to get essentially a paper cut at the bottom of the pad of my pointer finger. Now that cut really hurt when it happened and was near the joint of my finger so it is prone to lots of friction. I had meant to put a bandage over it before class but forgot. Once we arrived at the park where we do the class I spent some time practicing throwing the fan up and once, it hit the side of my other pointer finger coming down and scratched enough to bleed. Once the instructor arrived, it was decided I needed to have a replacement and I was given a different one to use for the duration of the class.
What I found interesting was how accustomed to the first fan I had already become. The alternate one felt quite different. It was a slightly different design and the weight was a bit different so it took a bit of time to adjust to that. I’m going to keep using the original fan until a replacement is available, probably next week. The plan is to cover the sharp areas with tape for protection, which most likely will also make it feel a bit different but hopefully will provide more protection.
The actual routine is quite interesting so far. The second week of classes we were already working on throwing the fan, a rather hazardous practice due to strong winds that are nearly always present in early evening near the beach. As it’s still early days we are adapting this a bit and working around it. But we are practicing throws outside of the routine. I was practicing throws last week before our classes and it opened up quite well then went flying like a kite and slammed down onto the footpath near the grassy area of practice. This week I managed to bend to bend part of it too, so find I am constantly adjusting the fan to make it open and close properly. I suspect it will be a while to get the hang of it all but I am enjoying it so far. And since there are only two of us taking the class, the instruction is more one-on-one which makes me feel more at ease with making mistakes and asking questions.
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Insomnia
I seem to be having more problems with insomnia in recent months than I ever recall having before. Yesterday, the Scientist was having day surgery to trim up a torn meniscus and I was to get up earlier than usual with him to accompany him to the hospital. That was all fine and I even made sure to shift my wake up times to accommodate that change. Unfortunately, on Tuesday night I just couldn’t get to sleep properly and then I kept moving in and out of sleep stages, so I suspect it was a case of not going into deep sleep at any point. Strangely enough I did keep drifting into some sort of sort of sleep where I would have the most bizarre dreams that seemed to come to an abrupt stop. I guess this was REM sleep even though it wasn’t satisfying. Something to check out later on, I guess.
After I dropped off the Scientist, I dropped into the office of my gynecologist that was in the medical centre at the same hospital to see if my test results were in yet. The doctor hadn’t seen them yet but I was told the biopsy came back benign and I could come back at 1pm if I wanted to discuss it with him. If it was all good I really didn’t need to discuss it unless he had anything to tell me about it. I just wanted to know if it was clear for peace of mind. I didn’t really think there would be a problem since my symptoms seemed to fit quite well with hormonal shifts I’d had before.
I went home but my attempts to nap were not successful at all. I did sleep quite briefly once and had another weird dream that ended quite soon after it started. Even though I tried to just stay still for a while in hopes of sleep taking over, I gave up after a while, only to discover I must have only been asleep for a minute or two as it wasn’t much later than when I’d last checked the time. I gave up sleep by mid-afternoon and started drinking lots of tea in hopes it would revitalise me. I also took a shower that seemed to be really helpful and just kept busy the rest of the time.
I didn’t get the call to pick up the Scientist until nearly 8pm and by this time I think the caffeine may have kicked in. Fortunately the roads were pretty clear by this time so it was easy enough to get there and back. The Scientist came out of surgery just fine and he’d been waiting for ages to be processed to go home by the meager evening staff that had replaced the day staff.
When we got home, he ate a bit and then went to bed. I stayed up, playing the game of Civilization I’d started hours earlier while waiting for the call. Soon it was quite late again and I was still feeling rather wired but went to bed. Sleep last night wasn’t a lot better and included strange dreams that I’d wake up from. I should point out that there weren’t bad dreams but seemed rather elaborate and interesting. In fact, I find it hard to imagine how so much information could fit into such short periods of sleep. I did eventually get into some deeper sleep but woke up rather early today.
I’m not too sure about the cause of the insomnia on this occasion but I wonder if the fact I missed a couple days of my anxiety medication is related. I had some bad effects once before when missing this medication but I don’t remember exactly what my sleep was like at that point. I called my doctor’s office to see about getting a new script and was given a bit of a hard time by the receptionist who seemed to think I needed to see the doctor to get it redone. It’s a shame I didn’t realize it was down to the end when I saw my gp last month or I’d have asked for that to be replaced when I was getting a new script for my thyroid medication. I suspect it was only the fact I had been in so recently that persuaded this woman to put it through although she didn’t guarantee it. She said they’d call me if there was a problem. I haven’t heard so hopefully it should be ready tomorrow. Anyway, this is one of the same medications in the same dose that Game Fanatic takes, so I took one of his tablets and will replace it once I am sorted out. I don’t know if the medicine is making a difference but it does feel like I will be able to sleep tonight. Will have to see what happens when I actually get to bed.
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Various health issues
It’s been several weeks since I found out my right ear was blocked with wax but it seems to finally be clearing up. I’ve used various commercial products which I think did help break it up but then it was dry and block even more. More recently I’ve done a lot of ear irrigation and that was about as effective at times. For the better part of two or three weeks, it’s been blocked without even short periods of clearing up. A couple of nights ago we were are tai chi and I yawn or made some movement like a yawn and I heard a crackling and could hear much better for about two seconds. Then it blocked up again. But later on it started happening more and more. That night I thought I would use one of the commercial products again to help speed up the process but it all blocked up again. Then yesterday morning it started to improve until I took a shower and got it wet. It blocked up again, which was unfortunate as I had an appointment with a new doctor yesterday. It did eventually start clearing again so I think it’s definitely getting better. Meanwhile, the itchy factor has been maddening but I have avoided further poking around anyway.
My menstrual issues are still being investigated.  After literally skipping one cycle, I had one that more than made up for it in both amount and length. I saw my gp at what turned out to be one of the last couple of days and she sent me for an ultrasound. That showed my endometrial lining was 15mm, which was quite thick considering my period had just ended. She referred me to a gynecologist to rule out any serious issues and gave me some tablets to help cut down for the next period. That one arrived exactly on time and started a bit more normally than the previous one. I did have to take the tablets and it did last longer than usual and was heavier than usual, right up to the end. But it was much more manageable after the first five days passed. My gp  had advised me to eat more red meat while my body recovered. Of course, my appetite for it really dropped when faced with needing it. She also had me do a blood test and it turned out my iron was very low. The nurse called me and advised me to take iron tablets for three months and then we’d do a recheck. So far that has gone okay and I haven’t suffered from the worst of the side effects. I have been more tired than usual so I have been even more incline to less activity than I had been before all this started.
Yesterday was my appointment with the gynecologist and it was disappointing to have my ear block up again just as I was going there. But it was mostly okay in the end. I had to keep turning my head to fully understand him. He has a bit of an accent although I’m not sure what accent it is. Anyway, he discussed possible ways to deal with the heavy periods. The first issue was either to have a biopsy on the endometrium or to go into the hospital and have the doctor look at everything under anesthetic and take samples then. In the end he did a biopsy in the office. I wasn’t really expecting that to happen on the first visit but I guess it was okay. It was a most unpleasant experience, though, with the usual uncomfortable position. It took a lot longer to get a sample because while he was able to find the opening to my uterus, it couldn’t find a way in with the pipelle that was going to extract the sample. He did eventually get there and it was rather painful at various points. Then it was over, I was given a pad for bleeding and saw the doctor briefly again to get a couple of brochures on the two options he offered to handle bleeding. One is the Mirenda device, which is an IUS and the other was the ablation process. He has left it to me to see how the next cycles go and decide which process I prefer if we do anything further. I still have plenty of tablets to deal with the bleeding in the mean time.
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Down to one teenager
A little over a week ago, we lost one of our teenagers to the 20s. :DÂ Game Fanatic finished his second decade and bid goodbye to his teen years. Actually he paid no attention whatsoever, but we parents did have a few sentimental moments about it. This was a particularly good birthday for him or at least he seemed pretty content with his day, right up to the end. We invited some friends over, along with the usual family to share the day. It went pretty well overall and everyone seemed to get along pretty well. Everyone came early enough that there was time for him to play games in the evening and to have a take out meal from our local curry place and still have a bit of time at the end of the day.
I attribute some of the improvement to the medication that he’s taking right now. We’ve been going through lots of different tablets to get to this point and still have a way to go. But at least there are a couple medications that seem to make a bit of positive difference. To me, it is a big difference for him to be more relaxed with visitors so that he can enjoy himself on special days.
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Taxing times
After a few months of procrastination, I finally got started on my taxes. A new thing called MyTax came out in August but inexplicably I wasn’t able to use that and have had to revert to e-Tax, which requires me to download software and answers a zillion questions, most which aren’t relevant to me. Â There are a couple items I need to check on but I should be able to submit it in a couple of days and will end up getting a bigger refund than tax was withheld from my pay due to donations made to Oxfam the past year. In hindsight, it would have been better for it to go on the Scientist’s tax and that’s usually what we do but as it is in my name and there were some changes this year, we did it on my tax. Lesson learned.
Meanwhile, I did end up seeing my gp about my last period as it went well beyond having missed one period. I had an ultrasound done last week and it seems the uterine lining is quite thick, especially considering the scan was done a few days after my period finally stopped. Apparently in situations of this sort, they like do a biopsy to rule out any cancerous or pre-cancerous cells showing up. I have no problem with this as I have family history of uterine cancer which was caught too late. So I am off to see a gynecologist at the end of the month and now have a prescription for tablets to take should I have menorrhagia with my next period (likely considering how thick the lining was last week).
It also happens that when I saw my doctor, I mentioned my ear being blocked up and she had a look. Wax was blocking my ear, apparently due to my efforts with a Q-tip sort of object. I’m sure that was the case as my ears get itchy and I use them sometimes to reach the itch. Not really a good thing, especially as I partially trained as an audiologist before my studies were sidelined years ago. It had gotten a bit better but not completely cleared up after using otc products to remove wax. Last night my ear got incredibly itchy and I made it all worse by poking around again so that my ear is more blocked up than before. After using the earwax removal products, I can hear slightly better in that ear and I’m hoping it will clear within a day or two.
Game Fanatic has a birthday coming up in less than two weeks and has decided he might like to invite the couple of friends he has contact with to join us on the day. I suggested he might like to invite them since he might be able to play games with someone else instead of just family. We don’t have many visitors here and the house is on the messy side so we are starting to work on cleaning things up so that we can have visitors. As it is there will likely be family popping by in the late afternoon or evening anyway. Game Fanatic has asked for a cake with the My Little Pony’s Fluttershy character as the theme. The Scientist has become our resident cake maker and is working on ideas in the lead up to the birthday.
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In the thick of it
It seems I am probably a bit further into my journey to menopause than I realised last time I posted. During this time, one period was completely missed and my body is currently trying to play catch up so it’s wreaking a bit of havoc on the body, enough that I wonder at what point I should see a doctor. It’s a bit more complicated than that but it seems likely my hormones have been a lot more off than they had been. Still no hot flashes. :)
Yesterday I had all sorts of problems with my computer and it soon came to my attention that I no longer had Malwarebytes running on my system. It seems to have stopped back in July and after considerable effort (helped immensely by the Scientist) it was apparent my installation was corrupted. Eventually I was able to uninstall it and reinstall. All seems to be running fine at the moment.
The problems on my computer led me to finally getting two step verification on some email accounts set up so that I can access them on the devices I want to use. This took quite a bit of going back and forth between accounts and setting things up but that also seems to be working properly and I can now check the email accounts with frequent use on my current phone, old phone, Ipad, tablet PC and desktop with no issues.
My temporary/casual job finished on the 12th of this month so I am back to the usual day to day stuff. I kind of miss the idea of work as I was earning a bit of money to add to the family accounts. It is nice not to have so many days wiped out at the moment though, particular at those times when I have to take a child to an appointment.
It’s been several months since our old lawn mower died on us and over the winter, the grass had grown rather tall in some areas. The Scientist and I went to a few places to check out potential replacements and after some indecision, we settled on another low-end sort of electric one which is probably a bit better than our previous model. I immediately set out to mow our front yard and after well over an hour, had made good progress. I was mowing along the side of the driveway, back along the side of the carport when the power disappeared abruptly as I accidently mowed over the power cord. We’ve only ever owned electric and I’ve not done this before (although did run over the solar light cord under tree several years ago). Â I discovered that not only had I destroyed the power cord but caused the power to go out in the house. It was too late to do more mowing so I didn’t end up getting a new cord until the next day. By then it was raining so I’ve now had to wait for things to dry again. I did get enough done to make the front yard look much better, much bigger. It’s amazing how much space tall grass seems to take. The backyard is still untouched but I will hopefully get to that in the next couple of days unless we get more rain.
Cutting the grass soon will be quite beneficial for the dogs, who are off to the groomer tomorrow. Little boy dog will get a full clip and finally get all the knotted fur cleared out. It seems to get so difficult to manage once it reaches a certain length. Fortunately it’s now spring so I don’t have to worry too much about him being cold. We had the warmest recorded day in September on Saturday and on Sunday, the high was not much different than the low had been overnight. It’s been considerably cooler the past few days but seems to be warming a bit again. I know to expect changes in temperature but I would prefer to avoid such drastic changes.
I was very happily surprised to find out Neil Finn is playing a concert at a winery down in Margaret River in November. It’s a one-off show and features one support act I’ve not seen but would like to and another one I’ve seen two or three times before. The downside is it’s a 3.5 hour drive to get there, which means a return trip of similar length. We considered trying to stay overnight but it seems there aren’t many options due to this being during a food and wine thing happening during this weekend or week. Anyway, we are going to try to wing it. I suspect it will mean that the Scientist does the driving there and I drive back since I will be more awake.
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Stuff and other stuff
After several weeks, I can just say that life carries in my world. I started working a temporary/casual job a week and a half ago. It’s the same project I’ve worked on for the past three years but I’m now working three full days a week. Except for this week when I didn’t work. It’s tiring working a full day but I will appreciate the paycheck when it goes through. First one should be this week. I’m one of the few veterans to the project now so I seem to have moved up in seniority. Most of my duties are much the same but now I am trusted with more sensitive parts of the project and am consulted much more. Interesting progression to have now that I’m on the fourth time doing this one. Anyway, it should carry on for two or three more weeks and it’s possible I will miss one more day due to a long-standing appointment for Games Fanatic on a Friday.
I didn’t work today because Lego Lover needed to have two baby teeth removed. This was the advice of the orthodontist we visited following the last dental check up. There is still one more tooth to come but I’ve been assure it will be pushed out by incoming adult teeth. Weird to think he’s fifteen and a half years old and still has baby teeth. Well, not so many now. We are still seeing the pediatric dentist here and it’s mostly good except the way they interact with him. Well, most of the time they are okay but today’s team seemed to particularly talk to him as though he were years younger. I don’t know if this is their response to a child with autism or they just didn’t think about his age or what. Â Nitrous oxide was used and Lego Lover said he didn’t notice any change from the oxygen that he started out on. Of course this was the part not covered by our insurance at all so was the majority of our out of pocket expenses. The actual extractions took just a few minutes…not surprising since one has been quite loose for six months or more. He’s now a bit uncomfortable in the mouth but I imagine that he will feel much better in a day or two when the swelling goes down and it heals up more.
My perimenopausal symptoms seem to be increasing. It’s nothing dramatic but I am now getting the occasional longer cycle as opposed to lots of shorter ones. It leaves me wondering if this will go on for years or will it be over much sooner than I expect. I have mixed feelings about it now that it feels more imminent…I’m guessing that I will be at least fifty-one by the time I have reached menopause officially unless everything comes to a halt sometime soon. I still haven’t had anything I could definitely say was a hot flash. From all I’ve heard, I should definitely recognise it as a hot flash when it happens. Maybe I will be lucky enough to avoid them.
We’ve started watching a couple of tv series here. Game Fanatic bought Game of Thrones season one quite a while ago and we hadn’t started watching it yet. We watched the first couple of episodes this week. The first one was rather gory and was almost too much for me. The second one was considerably less so. I have only read the first part of the book so far but I’ve been advised it gets worse as the books go on. Time will tell if it’s something I can deal with or not. The other series is True Blood which I’ve heard about but have yet to see. I just got the first disc out from the video shop and it had two episodes on it. I have read the first two books in the series this is based upon and liked them a lot. The tv version seems pretty good so far, even though there is the occasionally gory scene….still nothing like what I saw on Game of Thrones.
Meanwhile I’ve also been reading a bit more. I ready quite a bit of Greek and Roman mythology for the Coursera class I finished recently. I still have a bit more reading I want to do from there. I also started reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I heard her books described as not fitting neatly into a category but I would say it is basically a romance at heart. At least so far it is. I’m most of the way through the first book and already considering the next one. There is tv series of this book currently screening but not on a channel we have free-t0-air. I do find the book really engaging and that’s not happened for a while. I just have to watch out that I don’t read too late into the night as it really messes with sleep patterns.
I suppose there have been other things happening but they don’t come to mind right now. Perhaps I will sit down and write it out a bit sooner next time.