Health

I know it's been a while since I've blogged but there’s been some stuff that's happened recently regarding my health.  I’ll try to make this an annotated summary. :)

At the beginning of June, I started having some swelling in my feet/ankles and woke up one day with a very tight chest and was short of breath. My stomach issues flared up and was uncomfortably bloated. My dr reconfirmed IBS and also prescribed blood work.

After various reactions to medicines and steroids, I found myself in the ER having more blood work, an EKG and a chest xray. Turns out, my sedimentation rate (how fast my red blood cells fall in a tube in 1 hr) is either high or low (can't remember right now) and so they think it could be something in the rheumatory family (arthritis most likely).  Urine tests show that I'm NOT pregnant.
 
Later that week, the dr said that the initial tests that they did came back slightly hyperthyroidism. They also said that I have elevated labs and that it's probably an autoimmune disorder. More of the tests they had run came back indicating an overactive parathyroid which could be causing the fatigue and swelling (edema).

At the beginning of July, the diuretic didn’t seem to be working so they upped the dosage and then still no results and then upped the dosage again (80mg/day). I have a Vitamin-D deficiency and am on a thyroid pill.

 
After even more blood work, my cholesterol levels are higher than they were 1 month ago.  My albumin and calcium is low as well. I've gained almost 40 lbs since the beginning of June and my joints and muscles are very tight and stiff.  It's quite uncomfortable!

A recent visit with the dr determined that my kidneys are not retaining proteins for my blood, rather I'm peeing the protein out.  And, I'm retaining the fluid and it's going into my blood which is causing the anasarca (localized edema).

They will measure exactly how much protein I'm releasing.  If it's more than 3 grams, then it could lead to something called Nephrotic syndrome.

They don't want to prescribe any more medicines at this point, even a cholesterol one. They want to try to address the underlying problem with my kidneys first. I'm still on the diuretic and vitamin D (for a deficiency), and levothyroxine (for thyroid). The diuretic doesn't seem to help relieve the retention, but at least it's holding it so that the weight gain has leveled out this week.

I have upcoming appointments with a rheumatologist and a Nephrologist (kidney specialist).

Since Brian is working at a hospital through a temp agency, he’s not considered a full time employee and therefore does not have health insurance.  I have a part time retail job but am considered seasonal/temporary and therefore don’t have access to health insurance either.  We applied for the state funded health care but because we make more than the allowed amount for a couple ($600/mo – which is ridiculous!) we are over qualified. We have a found a medical clinic through the state hospital that allows us to have treatment wit ha payment plan based on our income.

It's been a long journey and its not over yet.  Brian and I thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement.

disappointed

it's been 2 days, and i'm still feeling it.  the netherlands lost to spain on sunday in the world cup final, 1-0, in overtime.  i felt like things were going wrong for the dutch in the beginning of the 2nd half.  they amassed 9 of the 13 yellow cards handed out, including a red card handed to john heitinga (who plays for f.c. everton, the english team i support). 

i felt emotionally drained after the match.  i was quite excited to watch it, and was glad to have my fellow soccer dork, rex, join me.   by the end, after watching a great 0-0 game go to overtime, my frustration and hope had collided with each other too many times. 

the atmosphere in the pub we went to was good, with about 70% supporting spain and 30% for the dutch.   the netherlands definitely played a little dirty, which explains the amount of yellow cards they received.  i do still feel that howard webb, the main referee during the match, did a poor job.  he's the same guy who handed out 3 yellow cards to 1 player in 1 match in the european championships in 2008.  the rules state it's 2 yellow cards an you're out.  how he was able to ref the biggest sporting event on the planet after that display is beyond me.  

in the end, i'm not sure if spain were necessarily the better side.  thanks to the ref stopping the game so much to hand out yellows, neither side had a chance to develop their individual styles of play.  the netherlands definitely had their scoring chances, with 2 by arjen robben that he should have capitalized on.  but after heitinga was taken out it was simply a matter of time before spain scored.  the netherlands should have gone into the match with a better game plan than playing as dirty as they did.  i just hope this isn't going to replace the total football they are known for. 

incredible

i have to admit, i had hopes, but i didn't think it would actually happen.  netherlands made it to the world cup final!  they beat uruguay 3-2 yesterday in the semi-final.  they play spain sunday (july 11) at 2:30 p.m. eastern (11:30 a.m. here in phoenix) on abc in the final.  wow wow wow.    this could be the netherlands 1st time to lift the world cup trophy.  they've been to the final twice before, in 1974 and 1978, but lost to germany and argentina respectively.

check out this video for highlights of the netherlands v. uruguay match.

on sunday morning i will be at the tilted kilt in tempe, az proudly wearing my netherlands team jersey, rooting for the clockwork oranje.

footie frenzy

in the midst of the world cup going on in south africa, i thought now would be a great time to post the various reasons why i love football so much.  [note:  in this post, i will refer to soccer as football, since that is what the rest of the world calls it]. 

1) it is a sport you can literally watch year-around.  each country has it's own league (including the MLS here in the states), with some playing during different parts of the year.  the european leagues play september thru may.  while the MLS plays during the spring and summer.  between the various leagues and all the international matches (many of which are play-offs for the world cup), it's hard to go a couple weeks without an important game or two going on.  it's great to be addicted to this sport.  you don't have time to suffer from withdrawal.

2) it's not called "the beautiful game" for no reason.  when you watch games from the premiere league (the english league), la liga (the spanish league) or serie a (the italian league), there's an artful flow to the game that doesn't happen in most other sports.  due in part because there are no time-outs.  the development of "total football" in the 1970s by the dutch added to the flow because all the players on the pitch became interchangeable.  teams like arsenal in the premiere league and barcelona in la liga also have a history of playing in a manner considered "beautiful".  long, arching passes combined with excellent ball control add to the art form.  many of the world's best players tend to play in these three leagues, making them the best ones to watch.

3) it truly is a team sport.  yes, there are superstars within football.  current players like ronaldo, wayne rooney, didier drogba and lionel messi definitely take their teams to the next level.  but it's really rare for a team to rise and fall simply on the ability of one player.  although maradona and pele are exceptions to that.

4) the sport is a reflection of the cultures in which it's played.   read the book "how soccer explains the world" by franklin foer to get a good picture of what i mean.  it really is an international sport, which is why the world cup deserves to be called the world cup.  unlike baseball's championship, that for some reason is called the world series...where only teams from the u.s. and canada are able to compete.

those are a few reasons why i enjoy football.  i hope you take advantage of the coverage of the world cup on espn and abc to watch some games, and begin to understand why the rest of the planet is so passionate about it.

We Are Nashville?

Thx Jay for this great commentary: the character of a city is not found in how it responds to a disaster in the first week, but rather what it is doing in week 6 and 7. http://bit.ly/cfKJt8

if only my high school graduation were this epic

yesterday (june 7, 2010) president barack obama spoke at my high school's commencement ceremony.  to be honest, the only real memory i have of my high school graduation is when my friend jim and i dunked our heads in the fountain outside of the auditorium afterwards.  i think the students who graduated from kalamazoo central high school this year will remember more.

göt2b® Smooth Operator Campaign

Hi again!  This time I'm here to tell you about a hair product that I'm really looking forward to trying.  It's called Smooth Operator Lustre Lotion and it's by a company called göt2b®.

I've always had pretty manageable hair except for the flyaways! Maybe call them wispies or baby hair, but I've often had them stick straight up which doesn't help for my personal or professional image!

I also like to have my hair lay smooth since its on the thick side and the ends can sometimes have a mind of their own.

The makers of Smooth Operator smoothing lustre lotion have this to say:

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