Back To the Doctor

I posted before about how out of place I felt as a woman in a urologist’s office…take a look at the educational material in the examining room and you’ll see what I mean…

Oh – and there was more: lots of posters on the walls with diagrams of the male anatomy in great detail (all sponsored by pharmaceutical companies selling solutions for erectile dysfunction). I think I know more now about the male body than I ever wanted to.

I posted my self-diagnosis a few days ago – it was half-right. They do want me have an MRI done again in six months to keep an eye on the cyst on my kidney.

However, I didn’t have a copy of the report from the urinalysis to include in my Internet research for my control-freakish self-diagnosis. One of the tests – the “FISH” test – showed some abnormal cells, so the doctor wanted to do a cystoscopy in the office this afternoon. A cystoscopy uses a flexible tube to examine the lining of the bladder – I can’t even begin to describe what THAT test was like!

After I got home (and soaked for a LONG time in a hot bath), I – of course – got on the Internet and looked up the FISH test (also known as the UroVysion test). Apparently, it’s an extremely sensitive test that screens for bladder cancer. The good news is that the cystoscopy looks good right now – the bad news is that I have to re-do the FISH test in two months and if it comes up positive again, I’ll have to have a more invasive test done.

I am not at high risk for this form of cancer – I’m not a smoker , I don’t work with dangerous chemicals and I’m under 40 (if only for a few more months) – so it’s probably nothing. I’m just going to put this on the back burner right now and re-examine it in a few months…stay tuned to see how it all turns out.

Finally, Some Progress!

No – there’s still no progress on the job-front, but at least I’m making progress in other ways.

I posted some months ago about wanting to lose weight and take control of my life – but in reality, it turns out that I still wasn’t really motivated to do much about it.

A few days before Christmas, I came across the Discovery Health National Body Challenge and I thought I’d enter my information. Well…it turns out that given my weight, height and measurements, I’m now considered obese.

In the last 3 years, I’ve put on about 40 pounds due to various surgeries including a hysterectomy. But I never thought I was obese. That was a real wake up call.

Even with all the weight-loss information on the market right now (especially right after the new year), it’s still the same basic formula – eat less and move more. But it’s not easy -and it’s not a lot of fun sometimes.

But given my apparent obesity, I’ve been more motivated to watch what I eat and I’ve been pretty good about keeping my calorie count low. I’ve also started to exercise regularly again – which, as a nice side effect, has also helped with some other hip-related issues I’ve been having.

Anyway, as of today, I’ve lost 12 pounds. Not earth-shattering, but still – it’s some progress in at least one part of my life…

Daisy’s Dancing On the Table

We had a little bit of snow this afternoon…

Not much snow – just enough for the dogs to have a little fun.  For some reason, Daisy got up onto the table on the deck – maybe to get a better view of the neighborhood coated in white…

Breakfast Is Back

One of our favorite breakfast spots, Fireside Family Restaurant, reopened today.  It was closed after a car drove into the front of the building.  Apparently, the car also took out a stop sign…