Do you believe in pain?

When I was recovering from my very serious car accident during my college years, I was sent to a therapist.  I don't recall her official title, psychiatrist or physiciatrist or whatever, but I thought quite a bit of the time was unimportant.  However, she did help me overcome my fear of being the car with someone else driving, giving me coping strategies.  The other thing that we spent some well-worth it time on was pain management techniques.

When I went to the physical therapist a while ago, he kind of brought me back to that time.  He was talking about listening to your body and how pain is telling you about unresolved issues and so on.  As I have previously mentioned, his office is the only place I found medical professionals who actually made any effort to help me address my pain issues rather than dismissing them, and me.  When I do not address my pain issue early, or I have just overdone it to the point that I can't prevent it, my pain will sometimes cause me to get what I'm gathering is a migraine--a horrible headache that comes with nauseau, weakness, and seeing stars, according to patient comments.

The WSJ reported on a conference of the American Headache Society, discussing the stages of migraines and the research that shows that maybe they can be prevented if the signs can be identified.  The interesting part is that some of the things thought to be triggers may actually be symptoms of the coming migraine.  Food cravings may be a symptom rather than the trigger.  So listening to the body or recognizing the signs can help prevent the big showdown between a person and their body.  I alternate between listening to and ignoring what my body has to say.  It's hard to listen in the midst of a love/hate relationship.  But I continue to work on my listening skills.

Side note: based on one of the article comments, MSG is an ingredient I have tried to eliminate from my diet.  I have a friend who cannot eat it, and I could not believe some of the foods containing it.  Well, there are even more than I thought--it can be labeled as anything with "glutamate" as well as any version of hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, yeast extract, soy protein, etc.  If it's not one thing, it's a dozen others!

MRIs and doctors and needles, oh my.

When N at Hope Research said I would need to have my MRI and all my appointments on the same day, I decided that, yes, first thing in the morning would be my best option.  So I wouldn't have to wait an hour or two like the last time.  I thought I was running late but I put it on my calendar a little early so I wouldn't be.  I ended up waiting about a half hour, so I think that was a good choice.  The technician seemed to be "nicer" to me after she knew that I get MRIs just about every year.  I did get to snooze a little during my MRI.

When I left, I ran into Starbucks for my reward: a latte and a pastry.  Yummo.  Then I went to the doctors' office and filled out paperwork for N.  I saw Dr. M, did his balance tests and all that.  Then Dr. G saw me.  I explained my issue with obtaining Provigil at a huge price.  He gave me some samples of Nuvigil and told me to call my insurance to see if they would cover it differently.

N and I went to Sonora for my blood draw.  The lady who took my blood (a lot of tubes this visit) opened a new bandage roll so that she could match my shirt.  Then N and I went back to the Research Center and I did the rest of the tests, including the peg test, the numbers test, and the vanishing eye chart test.  We talked about the extension and I signed my paperwork.  I also asked about something I noticed on the MRI paperwork--it asked about tattoos.  N said that they sometimes see a blurry spot in areas that have tattoos.  I guess that means I'll have to get my tattoo on my leg, ankle, foot area.

Vibram Five Fingers

There seems to be a lot of discussion right now on the runner's blogs about minimalist or barefoot running shoes vs. traditional or modern running shoes.  I have had a lot of trouble finding a shoe I can run in without my foot moving around.  I know part of the problem could be that I'm "between" sizes. Even when I got a custom insert created for me, I ran into problems.  It tends to slide forward in my shoe because it's created for my foot length rather than my shoe length.  (Then I feel the heel of the insert under my heel instead of cupping my heel.)  Another issue I think I have is that my heel seems to move around--I think it might be narrow relative to the rest of the foot.

I keep thinking about this barefoot running idea.  I've seen it done at agility trials, either completely barefoot or, more recently, with the five-finger shoes.  I'm a litte grossed out by running barefoot in a place that dogs may be relieving themselves.  So the five-finger shoes are intriguing.

I am trying to make sure a walking/running path ends up in our yard design.  I think it would be a great use of an acre and a half, to have my own fitness track.  And if I could figure out the correct surface, I would love to use the track while barefoot.  I think there is something about being barefoot that makes us feel like we're closer to nature.

I tend to go barefoot a lot in the house as well.  I've even transitioned over time to more shoes that I can slip off under my desk at work, so I'm even barefoot most of the time in my office.

Of course these yellow VFF caught my eye!  There are several models of VFF now, as well as other brands besides Vibram (such as Fila) coming out with their own versions.  This model has an insert that comes out, so I could probably put my custom insert into it.  (Or would that defeat the purpose?)  I think a little more research, mostly of the trying them on variety, will be needed.  Or I can go completely barefoot.  Now, what kind of surface can I use for my path that will integrate into the design, not attract cats, and be fun to walk/run on?

Best of bowling

100 average score.

Braised Fingerling Potatoes

Adapted from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" Braised Potatoes:

2 pounds potatoes (I used a bag of fingerling potatoes)

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

one small onion, minced (I used about a quarter of a huge red onion)

2 cups stock or water (I used a can of chicken stock)

1/4 cup chopped parsley for garnish

Cut the potatoes into chunks.  Heat oil in pan.  Add potatoes, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until turning golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Add onion, cook till soft, a couple minutes, stirring as needed.  Add stock and water until potatoes are barely covered.  Bring to a boil, stirring every once in a while to make sure the potatoes aren't sticking.  Turn heat to medium so the mixture bubbles gently.  Cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 to 25 minutes.  Add more liquid if they start to stick.  Taste and adjust seasoning and garnish.

Note that I added carrots about halfway through.  The parsley at the end is a nice touch.  I under-seasoned overall.  And I did not add more liquid, and thought I ended up with too much--I thought about removing the potatoes and carrots to another dish.  This would be a good "crowd" dish and it would go well with a roast of some type; however, M did not like it as much as the "normal" fried potatoes.

I used the leftover potatoes by frying them in a skillet with a little oil, letting them get browned again, adding zucchini and seasoning mix.

Green bits

I keep running across what to do about ants.  They must be a bigger problem than I thought.  I hope that ant was ready for his close-up.  I feel itchy now.

When we finally get grass in our yard, if I can get a landscape maintenance company that is green, we can use our grass clippings to discourage weeds.

There are apparently some issues with hand sanitizers, but it looks easy to make your own with just a few ingredients.  I may even have the ingredients now.

I loved the fun theory on the piano stairs and these are almost as good.  The rubbish bin makes a freefalling sound effect and the recycling bin is an arcade machine.  I love how the guy picks up someone else's trash in the first one and the kid in the second one dances when he gets the points.

Maybe you CAN build a better light bulb.  We'll see....

Dentist. Substitute dentist.

I go to the dentist every six months; I love my dentist and the staff in the office.  Today, my hygienist changed for the first time in several years.  I was also told that my dentist is with his family on a well-deserved and long overdue, lengthy vacation.  So I saw Dr. V.  My hygienist (who has been in this office for about 8 years but is not usually my hygienist) told me that my gums are very healthy, which was news to me--I used to have poor gum health.  I also saw on her notes that she wrote "hygiene: good" and that made me a little happy.  I don't brush or floss as much as I should, but I do make an effort!

I let her know that I had some pain in my lower right teeth a few weeks ago but hadn't noticed anything recently.  Dr. V said that my silver filling had leakage, but when I thought he was saying the filling was leaking, he said that wasn't it.  Then he said something that sounded like English but I didn't understand the words coming out of his mouth.  Or at least their meaning, as he was trying to explain this leakage issue.  At this point, it is just hitting me that I am FINALLY going to get my silver filling out.  I have wanted all of them removed since I started reading about MS shortly after my diagnosis.  One of the first "detox" recommendations is removing silver fillings.  (Note: dentists don't really but many high-profile MS patients have had this done anyway.)

Then Dr. V said I had the same issue on the left lower side.  And on the lower right side, near the front, I have one that should also come out but I will need a crown, as was recommended in my last visit with Dr. S, who said it could wait.  So Dr. V just told me I can have all 3 silver fillings taken out!  I can't believe how happy I am to be scheduling a couple of painful procedures.  Detox me and call me silly!