FAT!

It seems that I have gained a good deal of weight lately and as hard as I try to lose it, all I can do is maintain. I have been walking to the train, taking yoga, eating Seattle Suttons for 2 weeks and generally trying to be good and make healthy choices, but the weight is like superglued to my butt. Actually, it is my fat gut that bothers me most. They say that is stress fat, but I am not really stressed about anything at this particular moment of my life.

So, I am left to ask....is it possible my body is actually going through menopause and that is why the hot flashes are more intense and frequent even though I am doing acupuncture and herbs? If that is the case, YEAH! That means that the hot flashes will end when my body is done driving me crazy. Until then, I need to hang on and remember that this too shall pass...like a kidney stone.

Rahm and stuff

Still haven't been able to find a reasonably priced memory foam mattress. The issue is that I need a full sized mattress. Apparently they tend to only make them in queen and king. People sleeping alone don't need to be comfortable I guess. I sleep with my cat....does that count?? If my room would fit a queen, I would have kept my old bed and this would be a non issue.

I went ahead and cancelled my chemistry.com and match.com accounts. The last time I participated on the sites I was up for 3 months with few to no responses. I have decided to cut my losses this time and quit after only 1 month. The ONLY person to respond in a month was the one guy who I have known for a few years, both before and after the breast cancer, and while he tells me he finds me attractive and likes me, he won't ask me out. I will take that as a clue. This doesn't mean I am now leaning towards going on a gay cruise. I would like to think that maybe someone might get drunk enough on a cruise to ask me out, and I do not care for women as partners.

My Wii keeps asking me about Michael. It wants to know how he is doing and yells at me for not watching his posture. It keeps telling me I am obese and when I gained a pound last week it made my avatar even fatter. I started real yoga and signed up for an indoor fitness boot camp (NO BUGS) that I will start after my month of yoga. The Wii is still fun, but let's see how it likes being ignored!

Miss Kitty says mrow and has all but abandoned Dean for the cat cushion in the living room that is right next to the radiator. I guess my hot flashes are not keeping her warm enough! Speaking of that, this last round of acupuncture did not seem to work as well and I have been getting my ass kicked by the hot flashes.

Finally, for those not living in a cave, the whole Chicago mayor Rahm thing has finally hit the fan. I said ages ago I didn't think he qualified as a resident. If the facts were the same except his wife took the job as the Obama's nanny, this would be a non-issue and he would be laughed out of town. We shall see. My other prediction was that this election would be very entertaining to watch. So far, I am right on both issues :-)

Pain meds, porn and peas

I went into the whole acupuncture hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. First of all, unless the student is a bad needeler, it generally doesn't hurt and you don't necessarily feel it. As my brother-in-law pointed out, there is no "cure", there is simply a state of maintenance. So, the fact that I have felt better since starting acupuncture convinces me that it is working. The degree to which it works is debatable and may change from day-to-day or even week-to-week. I can now say for sure it was working because, like pain meds, I may not have been fully aware it was working, but boy was I aware of the fact the effects were wearing off. Like porn, you may not be able to define the actual benefits, but you will know it when you feel it. As for the pea reference, my body is going through another rough patch and so the concept of buying a memory foam mattress needs to become a reality VERY QUICKLY. Thankful to be working to make that happen.

The acupuncture clinic is closed for the holidays but I doubled up my herbs so I should live until they reopen.

Night Sweats

GF, I now feel your pain! I can go to bed at 9, wake up at 8:30 and still not feel rested even with a sleeping pill. With everything going on in my life, and all of the house guests, acupuncture has taken a back seat. As soon as my Michael leaves I am back on that horse.

More stuff I did not know

I have known for a while that you should drink water at room temperature in order to hydrate more quickly. When you drink really cold water your body has to warm it up before it can be used. What I did not know is that the act of drinking ice water will aggravate the hot flashes by upsetting the body's normal temp. I knew that air conditioning was not the best alternative, but I did not know that having a fan blow on you directly will dry you off while helping close the body's pores. By closing pores, you are again upsetting the body's natural cooling systems. Of course, the Chinese herbalist/acupuncturist telling me this was a man who has never experienced a hot flash. All good in theory I guess.

Sometimes, the world conspires

On Thursday I went for acupuncture fully prepared to sit and wait for hours in the crowded waiting room. Imagine my pleasure in finding the waiting room almost empty at 6:30. I thought I might not have enough time to eat the salad I brought for supper. Of course I was there until after 9:30 and being cash poor (the night before payday) I had to take the redline home.

The one up side to my 4 week nightmare cold from hell was that my body was too busy fighting the cold to engage in much hot flash activity. My hot flashes are back with a vengeance and seem to be trying to make up for lost time. Oh well, with the weather being what it is I no longer stand out when I whip out my fan. Gravy train!

Moving and bruising

The current roomie, who appears to have moved her "fiance" into her room, cannot move out soon enough! I never know if she is home and someone left 5 empty boxes of crackers in the pantry. Nuf said.

Mom goes in for surgery tomorrow, so happy thoughts. I will head out to Narnia, again, tomorrow and plan to stay as long as needed.

I am at the acupunturist as I type. It seems to be working, but I have to warn people that it is like finding a doctor or dentist. If it doesn't feel right, stop going and find someone you like and trust. I went to a local gal while in Naperville who gave me the heebie jeebies and didn't appear to listen to a word I said. I am back at the acupuntcure school where the treatments are free if you have a few hours to wait.

I am alive!

I love when your friends call to check on you to make sure you are still alive. Some call to keep in contact, some call to make sure things are going ok, and some just call wanting to know when I am cooking dinner at home again...LOL

For those who did not hear, dad was in the hospital last week and mom left for Rome on Friday. So, my original plans to just spend the weekend with dad getting him set up with meals for the week became an extended stay at camp grandma's. I arrived Friday after work and Miss Kitty joined us on Saturday. Mom is due home Saturday and I will go home for the week to come back next week after mom is out of surgery.

For those of you who asked, YES, it appears the acupuncture worked for the hot flashes!!! I had gone in twice a week for 2 weeks and then one treatment the following week. I was also given some herbs to take. About 2 weeks after my last treatment, the hot flashes started to come back with a vengeance. Anyone who says that hot flashes are just in your head or are, "Not a big deal" has never had a hot flash from HELL. I refer to them as debilitating and did not fully realize how much they bothered me until I was able to get them to go away for a few days.

I have decided that acupuncture is like massage or psychotherapy, it takes more then one dose and you have to keep going. I have also decided that acupuncture is like pain meds. You may not be fully aware that it is working, but you sure as hell know when it starts to wear off and the symptoms start to return!

Kidding, right??

The women's health clinic at the VA called me very concerned because I was wayyyyyyyy (yes, emphasis on way) long overdue for a pap smear......really? So the biopsy they did on my uteras a year and a half ago didn't count? My GP said the last thing he was worried about were the possible results from a pap smear. Evidently, that did not translate to his staff.

Again, whoever said that noone ever died from a hot flash obviously never had one. In researching the issue on the internet, it appears that acupuncture may be the answer. I am willing to try anything that doesn't involve taking more pills or vitamins.