Archive for Women
2 days Post Op Parathyroidectomy
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I am cautiously optimistic! I want to shout from the rooftops about how much better I feel in my body than I have for a couple of years, but I realize it might be the pain medications I’m still on. However, even when I wait before taking the meds I can feel that my blood pressure has returned to the low normal I’ve always had before this health issue. Also, happily all of the doom and gloom things I read about recovery which included things like…. your doctor will tell you not to smile, laugh or talk excessively, you’ll be on soft foods and liquids for a week… are totally NOT true. My surgeon laughed when I told him about what I’d read. I’ve often heard from doctors to NEVER look up medical things on the internet as there is as much mis-information as there is good…. So here is my experience in a hope to be encourage other women out there who are preparing for this surgery. I started in pre-op where I changed into my hospital gown, got the IV hooked up and then they let my hubby back with me. We then met my surgeon again, the surgical nurse and anesthesiologist, they were all very kind and answered all questions we had and kept the mood light and easy. The anesthesiologist gave me a shot of happy juice to relax me before the general anesthesia. I remember telling the nurse that wheeling through the hall to surgery looked just like I Greys Anatomy… I really don’t remember anything after that until I woke up in Post Op. AWESOME! I didn’t want to remember a thing and I didn’t. They monitored the PTH (Para Thyroid Hormone) during the surgery to make sure the tumor they removed had fixed the problem. They found the tumor as expected from the scan and removed it, the PTH immediately went back to normal… Good news! I woke up to a bit of a sore throat from the breathing tube and very thirsty, the post op nurse was great, she stayed within view once I started coming to, gave me a few ice chips, told me the surgery went well. I was so relieved when I could talk. I was horse, but talking just fine. She asked my pain level.. it was about 4 out of 10, they tell you to keep the pain moderated on the low end because it’s harder to fix if you let the pain get out of hand. I got a shot of happy juice and something for queasiness. I was also given a mega does of Calcium since my system wasn’t dumping it in. Very Tricky XS Tums.. no kidding. I take 1000 milligrams 4 times a day until I get my blood taken. I got to my room and the nurse was just great, she got me some water right away, ordered up a soft food dinner which consisted of jello, beef broth and ice cream. I couldn’t eat much but since I hadn’t eaten in 24 hours I knew I should eat something. I was pretty much in and out of it the rest of that evening I tried to stay awake to watch 24 with my hubby, but I don’t think I got much of it. Nighttime at a hospital is always rough. There are so many sounds and beeps and just as you go to sleep, they come to get a blood sample to check my calcium levels. I have a BIG appetite come morning and the Adventist hospitals feed you well. I head home after lunch and hope everything continues to improve. I have to take the opportunity to first thank all of my friends and family and especially my wonderful husband for all the prayers and support I was offered throughout this process. More information on Hyper Parathyroid Disorder
pt 4: Tomorrow is Surgery Day
pt 3: Consultation-with-the-Surgeon
pt 2: Appointment with the Endochronologist
pt 1: I thought it was just Menopause
Definition
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“Parathyroidectomy“
Parathyroidectomy is surgery to remove parathyroid glands or parathyroid tumors. Parathyroidectomy is recommended when one or more parathyroid glands are producing excessive amounts of parathyroid hormone.
Why do Women have to shave?
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SERIOUSLY! It has to be the single thing I most hate about being a woman. We will torture ourselves endlessly in pursuit of the “silky smooth legs” “she wears short shorts” commercial that told us over and over again the only way to attract a man was to have all the surfaces of our body hair free!!
You have so many options and yet all of them have their downfalls. (aka SUCK!)
First off.. shaving.. Ok, doesn’t seem to hard does it? But I don’t know about you ladies out there, but there are areas of my body that I’m supposed to get hairless that I can’t see.. I’ve never seen.. not sure I want to see, but I’m expected to take a sharp blade to it? I don’t think so. Wet or dry, shaving cream or gel, my daughter says use hair conditioner because you always have more of that left than you do shampoo… So ok, I’ve managed to somehow miraculously de-hair myself to the satisfaction of the TV commercial folks and guess what.. By the end of the day I’ve got stubble… UGG….
Then there is waxing! You’ve all seen the scene in the “40 year old Virgin” where he’s waxing his chest hairs… That really IS how painful that is, and how many men out there are willing to do that for us to have a hair free chest to cuddle on.. NOT THAT MANY! It’s Painful, Expensive, did I say painful?? Brazilian Wax… I call that INSANE!!! Even the “Sex in the City” ladies wouldn’t do that!
Cream Depilatories. Ok, these came out with the “who wears short shorts” commercials in the ’60′s.. (yes I’m old enough to remember those) Back in those days you were lucky to start putting that potion on one leg before you were passing out from the fumes. That much has improved, but this option just never worked well for me. I’d wait the allotted time, and parts of me would be burned by the chemicals and other parts of my legs would still have the same amount of hair on them as when I started.
I was recently sent a new product to review on my blog by www.fuelmyblog.com .. Smooth Away -Well here goes with that. It’s not too pricey, is the only good thing I can say about this product. It retails in Target, Walmart, etc. for $9.99. Not bad if it worked AT ALL???
The packaging looked attractive, the instructions fairly simple, the brochure assured me I would be silky smooth and hair free head to toe.
I assembled the “crystal…..” to the pink applicator and began to work in small circles with not to much pressure, alternating clockwise and counter clockwise as the instructions had said….. UM…. NOTHING happened.. not one hair was harmed during the five minutes of working this product up and down my shins. I couldn’t believe it.. It seemed like it should work, I thought well maybe it’s just my hair… so my daughter tried it, my friends… same result… It just doesn’t work at all. So now what…
I did discover a fairly new razor the Intuition Razor for ladies which was introduced to me by Andrea and Andrea of two 
chicks talk tech podcast. In it Andrea talked about these razors and told all the guys listening to go and get one for their wives and all the ladies to get one for their friends. I decided what the heck, nothing else is really much good so I went to Target to pick one up… WOW.. these were different. You could ONLY use them wet, in the shower, but they really did glide gently around your shavable zones and zapped the hair gone.. even those spots I can’t SEE!!! Is it a miracle? Well I wouldn’t call it that but they really do work great. The only downside is they are pricey and as soon as the soapy, lotiony part is worn down they are less and less effective. I suspect these were created by women!
If any of the women out there in internet land have anything to share that works better than all these options I beg of you to share it with me and all womankind!
Tomorrow is Surgery Day
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At Last! No more waiting. I feel at peace about having this hyperparathyroidectomy done. (The nurse asked me to say in my own words what I was having done… it’s quite a mouthful) I think the peace comes knowing that this is really what’s wrong with me… and the prognosis for change for the better is very good. There was a news special on about not taking herbs or aspirin of any type before surgery without clearing it with your surgeon as these can lead to complications. I take 2 baby aspirin a day for maintenance like Dr. OZ tells you to do, but even this small amount could compromise you during surgery. I searched online for people talking about their recovery from this operation, and this will be the hardest part for me. I’m not supposed to talk, smile or laugh excessively until I’m healed.. WHAT? not talk? I didn’t know that was going to be part of the deal. I guess I’ll be Text Messaging peeps a bunch! I want to thank all my friends and family online and off for their prayers and offers of help. Know it is very appreciated. I hope to come back and relate some news sometime soon for those of you with similar symptoms out there.
pt 3: Consultation-with-the-Surgeon
Consultation with the Surgeon
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Getting Ready for Surgery
I was hoping my surgeon would be a dead ringer for Dr. McDreamy or Dr. McSteamy or even the new guy… Dr. McWhacked, but no such luck! He did however look wise and said what we expected him to say… “I need to perform a parathyroidectomy on you as soon as we can get it scheduled!”
I did quite a bit of research online about this surgery and in most cases it was an inpatient procedure. Not so for me! *Maybe some of the docs in the hospital will be like Greys Hunks!!?? One can only hope! The doc says my calcium level of 12 is so high, (normal is a very narrow range 8-9) that I will need to be monitored for a full day in the hospital. After they remove the tumor they will test my blood to see if it is returning to normal levels at certain intervals.
I will immediately be given supplemental calcium so that once the “busted” parathyroid glad isn’t pumping it out, and my system kicks back in to regulate it. This is important because if my calcium gets too low I could get some weird muscle cramping. This would be serious if it would be my heart muscle or diaphram muscle.. No SHIT! NOT good… so now I wait!
If anyone is out there in medical school and wondering what specialty to go into? I’d recommend Endochronology! You’ll have a FULL appointments calendar!
The surgery schedule is so full that I have to wait ANOTHER month before I get this surgery that by all accounts could make me feel 10 Years Younger! Come ON already…
I’ll be praying until then.
If you’ve got a similar situation, I’d love to hear about your experience if you’d like to share.
Thanks!
Look for part 4 of this series to join with me in this my pursuit of health!
The Surgery next month
pt 7: Two Week Post Operative
pt 6: My Trip to the Emergency Room after Parathyroidectomy surgery
pt 5: 2 Days Post Op
pt 4: Tomorrow is Surgery Day
pt 3: Consultation-with-the-Surgeon (this post)
Fireproof Your Marriage
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And They Lived Happily Ever After
The 2nd Time around!
And They Lived Happily Ever After
Like at least half of you out there I have been divorced and now praise God, very happily married again. Being married for me a second time is a force that is greater that I can really explain. I never expected to find a soul mate in my 40′s, but I did. We are extremely happy and that doesn’t just happen by accident. The wisdom that both of us gained from going through a failed first marriage is working overtime to make sure THIS marriage does indeed last until Death Do Us Part.
Are we kidding ourselves? I don’t think so…. the 2nd time around you are much better prepared. You know how hard it is to make a marriage work and before you enter into wedding bliss you make sure of a number of things first!
- Kids… do you want them or not? (we did NOT want anymore!)
- Finances... are you frugal or a credit card deamon? What is their credit score? This is important if you are planning on buying a new home together…
- The In-Laws... Do you get along? Are they going to be meddlesome?
- Holidays… where do you spend them?
- Housework… who does what? why?
- Income… whose in charge of the $$$$$?
- Vacations… alone, together, his kids, her kids, all kids…
- Disappointments come when your expectations are different, so discussing EVERYTHING before you get married is a must!
Ok, so then what… you are committed to one another, your families don’t suck too much, his kids haven’t put out “OFFICIAL” contracts on your life… so how are you going to keep the romance alive for the next 30+ years.
My commitment to myself at the beginning of this new marriage was to be a GREAT WIFE! I can only control what I do… and like in the movie and books about “Fireproof” (I have a link provided) You can make your relationship better first! If it’s not what you want it to be.. go first! what’s there to loose? and there is so much to gain.
Here are some of the things we do… OFTEN
- SEX.. yes… I said it! Lots of sex, fun sex, crazy sex, quiet sex, on vacation, at home, in secluded spots…. without a great sexual connection, you become roommates, brother and sister and your eyes and hormones make you less blind to the world around you. Show me a man who has great sex with his wife and I’ll show you a man that has no reason to fool around.
- TALK! We talk about everything and anything. My husband is great at knowing when I have something on my mind and I’m keeping it to myself. He will bug me until I spit it out… and after that… it’s not a big deal. Most things that my slightly whacked out Menopausal brain is telling me are misunderstandings or misinterpretations of what’s true. DON’T let things get out of control… Fix them NOW!
- SILLY STUFF We did lot’s of silly little things for each other when we were dating, and we continue to do silly stuff now. You know the things… leaving little notes hidden, a piece of something silky in his coat pocket, having the stage set when he comes home from work… For Valentines day I always line the path with hearts and red and pink things, he acts like it embarrasses him, but I know he’d be disappointed if I stopped making a fuss.
- CHEER him on! It may not be YOUR favorite thing, fishing, football, weight lifting, playing softball.. but you can be his cheerleader! Make him feel like he is YOUR hero! His boss his customers, his co-workers are there everyday to beat him down… my job as a great wife is to repair that damage.
- ROMANCE It comes easy for me… I’m a big sap and even my girlfriends and daughters ask me for “to do’s” that are romantic. Men have been told they aren’t romantic because they don’t act like the men in a romance novel act…. TRUE they don’t.. but we don’t really act like those women either… so lets cut them some slack. Romance can be things as simple as remembering what your favorite ice cream is, taking the time to wrap YOUR presents under the tree even though it looks a little like the box has been drop kicked a few times… Look for when they try to be romantic and then PRAISE them for it.. You’ll be surprised at how much more he’ll try when you notice.
- RECREATE together! A favorite book of mine “His Needs Her Needs… affair proofing your marriage” says that one of men’s top needs is to have a wife that will be a companion to him in the marriage. If you watched the Bronco’s with him when you dated…hopefully you didn’t pretend to be a football fan just to make him like you… I happen to be as big of a fan as Jim is so we make it an event! I have special Bronco Dip, Bronco Burgers, Orange Crush Daquari’s.
- TIME We enjoy doing the simple things together too, grocery shop, do errands, yard work, decorating the house for the holidays… would it be more efficient to split up those things and do them separately? yes… but it can be a lot more fun if you do it together.
- AFFECTION Men like it just as much as women do… especially if they have that #1 need taken care of “sex”. You’d be surprised at how much more affectionate guys are. Snuggle on the couch, always hold hands, kiss for at least 30 seconds every day.. no pecking! We have a sign next to our bed that says “Always Kiss Me Goodnight” and we always do!
I know that lots of you ladies out there are married to guys that won’t respond to the things I’ve talked about… But many of you have just stopped trying or are waiting for him to Go First! Watch that movie Fireproof, and give it a try.. You might be surprised.
I’d love to know your views on marraige or 2nd marriages or if anyone has seen the movie and used those techniques? Just click on the comments and lets chat.
