After all this time I think we might be getting somewhere with all my medical problems. I have been getting worse and VERY frustrated. Over the past couple months I have swollen up with excess water. Plus in the past couple years I have put on weight even though I have been eating healthy. Add to that the whole "not digesting protein" problem and I've been a mess!

After tests and more tests and even more tests, the doctors have found a couple problems.

First of all, is the gland in my head that regulates the amount of salt that my body retains isn't working right. The gland is telling my body to hold onto excess salt and therefore I have all this bloating. I've been on the drug to fix this for a couple days and early results are promising.

Second of all it turns out my Thyroid Gland is basically not working. The doctor called me this morning and said my Thyroid levels were VERY VERY low. Reed picked up the Thyroid drugs today, along with additional Percocet -- because all these problems are causing me a great deal of pain.

Overall, it looks like we’re making progress!

After over seven long years of silence, my biological mother has contacted me -- in one of the most weirdest ways possible. She sent me some flowers -- roses and violets. Attached was a note: "Roses are red, Violets are blue, It's been a long time, and I sure miss you!" *rolling my eyes*

Hmm.....let's see -- why did I break off contact?

1. She married a child molester who assaulted me. She then got furious when I refused to have him at my wedding.



2. She refused to attend my wedding. Partly due to reason #1, but mostly because I had an Atheist wedding.



3. She treated me like crap for 30 years.



4. Many, many other reasons....

I have no desire to have contact with her.

I will enjoy the flowers, after all it's not their fault! :) Reed suggested that after the flowers die, I should mail them back to her with a note that says "Thanks for the flowers. I'm done with them now, just like I am done with you." HA! I like that idea! :)

I'm in the process of having many medical tests done.

The latest is a heart test called a MUGA scan. I just called to schedule the appointment. They were apologetic because they had to put the test off until late next week.

Until then, they are low on radioactive isotopes.

As many of you know I've had health problems a lot in the past six months. On Sunday I ended up calling my doctor's office and the doc on call was nice enough to meet me in the office. He's a very thorough doc and asked lots of questions while looking over all my records -- yay for electronic medical records!

He found something interesting -- seems like I have a rather bad protein deficiency. Albumin (blood protein) levels should be between 3.5 - 5.0. About 9 months ago my levels fell below 3.5 and have continued to fall since then. As of my tests 3 weeks ago I was at 3.1 -- the doc said that was about a 20% deficiency. About 9 months ago I switched to a nearly all Vegetarian diet -- I LOVE protein, it just stopped loving me! :) While in Texas last month I ate lot of protein and after a few days made myself sick.

Early signs of protein deficiency I have:
"Lines" in finger nails
Edema (Swelling)
Fatigue, erratic sleep -- My insomnia last week!
Heart arrhythmias
Nausea
Muscle cramps

For now this means protein powder and protein bars added to my diet. I'm anxious to see how much the added protein helps me!

About a week ago my Fibromyalgia started to flare up. The cause was from several fronts -- stress, recent travel, uncomfortable bed. The bottom line was I was in pain and could not get comfortable enough to sleep and without sleep the Fibro gets worse. By the third day I was lucky to get a 30-60 min nap a couple times a day. Then insomnia set in and I was down to around 8 hours of sleep during a 5 day period and I was spiraling down fast -- I was even beginning to hallucinate.

Tuesday I was in a LOT of pain. I described it to Reed as if someone took a sledge hammer and was beating me all over my body. He placed a call to the doctor's office. The receptionist was about to put Reed on hold until she heard my rather loud cries of pain. The doctors office was quick to respond -- a prescription for lots of Percocet and some sedatives. With these in my system I was able to get 5 hours of sleep.

Tuesday night I woke up after an hour. My already irregular heart was beating even more irregular and would not let me rest. Wednesday morning I was miserable. So after another call to the doctor I went in for an appointment. The on call doctor was wonderful. She made some adjustments to my heart meds and that did the trick! Wednesday afternoon I got another 4 hours of sleep. And last night I slept 6 hours! Every hour I get is like candy to me.

While I have had low-sleep nights due to my Firbro, I have never experienced anything like this insomnia. I was in tears asking the doctor to help me sleep.

Another cause for my unrest was our broken down bed. We've been looking into trying to find the right bed for a year now. So we set out to fix that problem this past weekend, which of course turned into it's own adventure! But I'll let unbeliever64 tell you that tale!

As I type this I am beginning to nod off, so I am still in need of a lot more sleep. Nap time! :)

*Sigh* Much stress building.

The plane tickets have been bought. The hotel rooms reserved. The rental car reserved. Kennel arrangements have been made for the dog. Our good friend (and neighbor)ninaroses will check in on the cat.

We've even told the in-laws we are coming. There was much trepidation in doing so because we were concerned they would canceled the surgery. Alas, with our firm notice that we will ONLY come if the surgery takes place, they agreed. In fact they were pleased.

Mother-In-Law and I do NOT get along. I will bring long books to read. I will also take frequent breaks from the room. Is every hour to often? I will do my best to be nice.

Yet, there ARE good things to look forward to.

Friends! fair_witness and unkaphaed will be there for evening fun and support -- and I hope venting. With any luck rickvs and rachalvs can join us as well. I hear I have much in common with rachalvs and I look forward to meeting her!

Food! Yes, this is one thing Texas does VERY well. Yummy food. Pappadeaux Seafood is my favorite. Others include Whataburger, Sonic and TGI Friday's. We also look forward to good Texas Steakhouses and yummy BBQ. Reed will require many pints of Bluebell ice cream. AND! I just found out Reed's favorite Deli is still open! (Sort of.) Alfred's Jewish Deli operated for 50+ years in Houston. When it came time for Alfred Kahn to retire, the kids were not ready to take over the business. Well, it turns out one of the kids is now running a Deli across from the old location and is using all the old recipes! It's now called Kahn's Deli Needless to say Reed is THRILLED! According to Reed, I make a darn good Matzoball soup. Still, I can't wait to try the BEST Matzoball soup, EVER!

I have an appointment with my doctor before we leave. I will get a goodly number of strong pain killers from him. Otherwise I will not survive. Travel always flares up my Fibro and bone disease. Once we arrive at the hotel, I expect to take a muscle relaxer and a couple pain pills. I will then collapse in bed for several hours.

If I can get most of the things done early it will make things less stressful and painful for me.

More ramblings to come later.....

From the News: Amid a time of economic turmoil some legislators in Kansas and elsewhere say the price of justice is too high. They have introduced legislation to take the death penalty off the books over financial concerns. At least nine states have bills seeking to abolish or repeal the death penalty.


My mind spins at this news. We won't stop the Death Penalty because it's the "right thing to do" -- but if it costs to much ... forget it! Just how much did these folks support the Death Penalty in the first place! Then again, this might just be the easiest way out for many states.

Still, it seems the only time many Americans are willing to change, is when it hits them in the pocket book. Morality doesn't seem to amount to much in this supposed "religious nation". In this case, morality seems to be "for sale".

From CNN: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal took a swipe at federal spending to monitor volcanoes in the GOP response to President Obama's address to Congress. That has the mayor of one city in the shadow of Mount St. Helens fuming. "Does the governor have a volcano in his backyard?" the mayor of Vancouver, Washington, said. "We have one that's very active."

------------------

I bet Gov Jindal doesn't bitch about all that HURRICANE monitoring! Or all the money the federal government has pumped into Louisiana after Katrina!

One man's natural disaster is another's emergency.

Oregon turns 150 today! While it was admitted into the union on February 14, 1859 -- it took the messenger 2 long weeks to ride across the country to let them know!

I'm please to say that my family has been in Oregon for 139 of those years!


Oregon, My Oregon
Words by J.A. Buchanan, Music by Henry B. Murtagh

Land of the Empire Builders, Land of the Golden West;
Conquered and held by free men, Fairest and the best.
On-ward and upward ever, Forward and on, and on;
Hail to thee, Land of the Heroes, My Oregon.

Land of the rose and sunshine, Land of the summer's breeze;
Laden with health and vigor, Fresh from the western seas.
Blest by the blood of martyrs, Land of the setting sun;
Hail to thee, Land of Promise, My Oregon.


Oregon Facts
State Motto: She Flies with Her Own Wings
State Animal: American Beaver (Castor Canadensis)
State Bird: Western Meadowlark (Sturnella Neglecta)
State Dance: Square Dance
State Fish: Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha)
State Flower: Oregon Grape (Berberis Aquifolium)
State Gemstone: Oregon Sunstone
State Insect: Oregon Swallowtail (Papilio Oregonius)
State Nut: Hazelnut (Corylus Avellana)
State Rock: Thunderegg (Geode)
State Tree: Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga Menziesii)
State Seashell: Oregon Hairy Triton (Susitriton Oregonensis)

Last weekend Reed and I both had the sickness that's been going around. I had to have someone fill in for me in the Box Office Saturday night -- thanks crossedw!

I was feeling mostly better Friday and worked the box ... then the sickness stuck back with a vengeance. As of this morning, I have completely lost my voice. I can barley speak in a whisper. Once again I had to appeal to the ACT folks to cover me for tomorrow afternoon. And as usual one of the good folks came forward -- thanks Jackie!!

The sickness meant Valentines day had to be put on hold. Reed had made reservations at Sybaris weeks ago. We'll try again later in the week. While I'll miss the lobster, I look forward to trying the grilled wild boar! But my Sweetie still brought me roses and hand-dipped-fine-chocolate. He spoils me rotten!

I love you Tweetie! Happy Valentines Day!

Now I'm off to take lots of flu meds and get some sleep.