Just What The Doctor Ordered

I think I wrote about seeing a new doctor in August.  I wasn't having anything seriously wrong, I just felt off somehow.  My regular GP/family practitioner had told me (annually, in fact, at my check up, any time I mentioned any of these concerns) that it was all part of aging and I had to face facts that I was getting older and so was my body.  I didn't like that answer.  So I went somewhere else to get a second opinion.

Dr. A is a specialist in women's health.  She runs a women's clinic in Orem and also works part time in a large general practice--where she is one of the partners with my regular GP.  At the women's clinic she focuses on hormones related issues and some reproductive issues.  My concerns were leaning toward the hormone side of this equation.  She spent almost an hour with me at the first appointment, then she took blood for a variety of tests.

I had another follow up appointment scheduled for Sept 2nd, while I was already off work to be with The Girl.  In between the first appointment and the follow up, I received the standard EOB from my insurance.  There were three pages of blood tests done.  That is more than I have ever had.  Usually it is just the standard cholesterol/liver function/lipid panel.  Already this made me anxious to see what these new and different tests showed.

At my follow up appointment she walked me through each of these tests.  What they were checking for and what my results showed.  Then she went back through each test and we talked about steps to try to fix the problems they showed.  It wasn't all about prescribing new drugs either.  She actually dropped my statin dosage to one fourth what I have been on for about a decade.  That was a good sign.

She also showed me my heart was in great shape and, with our family history of heart disease and stroke, I was thrilled to hear that.

Then she got to the hormone issues.  My levels are not as far off as I had feared.  But they were off.  So far the things she asked me to try are over the counter herbal things.  I would have never thought to try the things she mentioned.  I just didn't understand how my body used these hormones.  In fact, i learned there are more hormones at work here than just estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. I knew there was more to them but I am beginning to understand my own body for the first time--and even in its aging state, its pretty amazing.

This week I have finally gotten on board with all the things she asked me to try. Some of them I had to order--SO much cheaper than our local health food store.  So far, they are making a positive difference.  I'm feeling more energy throughout the day.  I'm clearing out the foggy-brained feeling I'd get each morning.  I feel like I can deal with the stresses of my day to day life better. I feel more alert and connected to myself--does that even make sense?  And I feel my body becoming more settled with less of the food I used to eat.

I'm not saying I am losing a ton of weight.  I haven't been on a real scale since my last GP checkup, really.  But I don't feel like cravings taking over my life in the afternoons.  My body is functioning the way it did ten or fifteen years ago. Yes, my knees still "click" going up the stairs.  Sure I could stand to loose weight still--but THAT was not the only answer.  Sorry, Dr. GP...you were wrong there. There ARE other things going on here. And who knows?  Maybe the weight will start to fall off as I reset my eat patterns and metabolism--not through drugs, but with some nutritional education and additional understanding.

That is the next step of this process.  I am looking forward to making the small changes I need to reset my body's metabolism by changing the food I am eating.  That takes some will power, but more knowledge and understanding will do wonders with this step.  I'll keep you posted on how that goes.  I begin next week--assuming my book gets here tomorrow like it is supposed to.  Comes on, Amazon!

I just feel so much better knowing there is hope for changes I can do myself, without all the drugs.  An easy weight loss miracle pill is a nice pie-in-the-sky idea, but not happening.  I am excited to learn and come to understand this amazing machine I have possession of for the next 30-40+ years.  And here's hope for keeping it in prime working order for decades to come.

Well, That was That

My introductions to the hospice directors went just fine last week.  It was actually much less pressure than I thought.  I met some lovely folks whom I talked to several times a week.  Now I have a face to put with that voice and name.

Scott, my boss, kept saying that these people already love me so this is just to introduce a fact for them to put with my name too.   I'm not sure about the "love" bit but I'm happy if they trust me, and in turn our company.

Dog & Pony Show

Today I have an assignment at work that's going to take me into the office is of the many hospice companies we work with. It's an effort to introduce me to the heads of the hospice groups so they know that our office manager is leaving next week and that I am a contact in our office for them.

I suppose I should be grateful for the promotion and raise that comes with this. But to be honest I'm not sure yet. This is not how I imagined my life would be at this stage.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for a job I like, with people I enjoy, doing something that helps others. It's just not what I had originally planned for myself when I started my journey as a mom.

And to be completely honest, the idea of putting on a show or at least putting on a good face in person to people I talk to everyday on the phone, it's a little stressful.But I'm putting on a hopeful face and taking a little more courage than I actually have and I'm going to trust the Lord in a lot of things today.

Hopefully this will be great. Wish me luck.

Never a Dull Moment

I have been incredibly haphazard in my writing since mid-December.  A crazy schedule isn't much of an excuse, but it is mine.  I thought once the holidays were behind us thing would calm down.  It shows you what  a noob I am in the workforce.

We had two drivers at work give notice within two days of each other--and neither one of them actually finished their "two weeks notice".  The boss at work was interviewing as soon as he got their notices, but the interviews have been  on going and so far as I know only one guy has been hired.  So today--due to our one remaining driver's class schedule--we have no driver at work so our general manager will have to take over.  Because he usually covers the office and phone in the afternoon so I can get home shortly after The Boy is out of school, I have opted to help the team out by staying later than I normally do, allowing him to cover the others' jobs that otherwise wouldn't get done.

Team players are few and far between it would seem.  That is disappointing, and it makes me angry.

Maybe I have limited work experiences, but I haven't ever been fired from a job, and the only times I have left was because I was leaving to go to college--from my high school job.  My manager there knew that was my plan when she hired me.

In college I worked at the local mall until I found something on-campus and I worked both jobs for a little while until they got my replacement trained at the mall.  I left the on-campus job when I began student teaching, which they knew about from the "git go".  And my only "real" job after graduation (until this one now) was a contracted position in a dental lab. I finished my contract--even after a premature baby arrived 5 weeks ahead of schedule and I had to leave her with my sister in law (I was pumping breast milk while I worked 4x10/hr weeks) the first three weeks of her life.  But I had the integrity to finish my promised commitment.

That is old fashioned, I suppose.  But that is how I roll.

After watching my neighbor's kid--that I got hired as a driver--give leave, then not work much of that 2 weeks because he was sick and then just leave with 4 days left in his notice period when we could have REALLY used his help, I'm never going to vouch for another young adult--or anyone else for that matter--again. It's sad. 

I sure hope these new guys are really prepared to work.  There is a lot of satisfaction when the work we do helps a patient feel comfortable enough to pass away.  The family knows we have provided whatever we can to help their loved one and the care givers.  But it takes a different dedication I guess than everyone has. 

That must mean those of us at work are weird.  I know that sometimes weird is good.

Where I Belong

If you saw today's post title and thought to yourself "She belongs at the funny farm" you might be right, but that is not what I was thinking of today.

Yesterday I was able to attend my own Relief Society meeting then ran off visit another ward's Young Women. I stayed in the other ward's sacrament meeting to hear one of our trek kids speak prior to leaving on is mission. Following that meeting I stopped by the third building in our stake and popped in on a couple of friends, knowing they would be hanging on after a bit from their meetings as their husbands were just given new callings.

I stopped by all three buildings in our stake, and I was around people from three wards. The weird thing is I felt almost more comfortable in the other two wards I was visiting than I did in my own yesterday.

In the Missionary Sacrament meeting I sat with four Young Women from trek, and one Young Man and an "auntie". I felt like a chaperone/bus driver on a field trip at first but almost immediately that feeling fell away into a big sisterly feeling.

I don't understand how this happens but I love the kids in our stake, especially since trek. Not just my own 12 committee kids--though I do love them--but all the kids I get to associate with in each of the wards. Is that a blessing that comes with the calling? Maybe so. But it is an odd realization that sometimes I would rather be in another ward with the youth there than in my own ward's relief society class.

Young Elder N did a fine job, as we knew he would. And he brought out all the beautiful people that attended the high school last year, which we knew he would also. Just wish some of those beautiful girls had chosen to wear a little more appropriate clothing--they looked like hootchie-mamas in a worship service. But hopefully, with two years of missionary service behind him, Elder N will recognize those not-so-subtle differences between the world girls and the girls of our stake, like the ones I was sitting with.

Maybe he will be more comfortable with our girls too. If he is smart he will.

The new callings in my friends' families are exciting and these are wonderful men who will do great things in their ward together. I am excited to see them settle into the new situation. I'll be cheering for them from the visitor's section.

And next week we have Stake Conference, including a youth session where we will get to preview the Trek DVD with all our kids. I don't remember looking forward to a stake conference session more. Why? I guess I belong there.

Remembering Camp Ritchie

With Girls' Camp time nearing at my house, I have been remembering the decade that I attended camp myself. I did five years at Camp Ritchie just south of Lake Tahoe in California as a "girl" then five more during college as a "leader". Those were some good times.

Girls' Camp has dramatically changed since I was a girl. Then, we did more adventure camping. Now, the focus is on the warm, fuzzy feelings that camp can offer. I understand the purpose is not to produce or reinforce Boy Scout abilities for the uterus and ovaries set. But I feel like the girls now are getting a little gypped.

The Girl is the same year at camp this year as I was in this photo (that's me in the navy and gray striped shirt). This was our cabin--we camped in levels as a stake. Here, they camp with their wards and only do their certification as a level. In fact, one year the stake here tried Level Camp and it is still recalled as "THAT year" in the conversations of those who tried it. I loved it that way, but I didn't know any better, and frankly, it was so much more fun to get together with girls from 5 or 6 different high schools that made up our stake. The girls don't have the opportunity for that here. Another difference about living in Utah Valley, I suppose.

I just hope The Girl gets the same feelings at camp as I did. I strengthened my testimony, I strengthened my friendships, and I strengthened my self confidence. I felt like I had really achieved something of value after we returned from a week at camp.

I guess that the perceived goal hasn't really changed after all. Girls' Camp should be a place for young women to draw closer to their Heavenly Father and enjoy the beauties of nature and have some fun together. Looking at it like that, I guess camp hasn't changed all the much after all.