well shit

Any woman will tell you how frustrating it is to bleed. Unlike men, we don’t just bleed. We bleed. And it can last for a week without the blessed relief of death. I’m kidding, or am I?

When I was 35 years old I had a partial hysterectomy. I was having horrible periods, my gynecologist and psychiatrist were partially controlling my mood issues with birth control pills (mostly successfully), but I had reached that magic age where that wasn’t going to work anymore. So they took out my uterus and cervix. Problem solved. Sort of.

When I was 39 I had surgery on my legs to deal with a skin issue. I have a condition where I get huge cysts that get infected and ooze yuck. Part of the oozing was blood, so even though I no longer had a period I was still dealing with getting blood on my clothes at random times. UGH.

The surgery mostly dealt with that, at least until the cysts moved into my groin. Wow, nothing like having cysts in your lady bits.

I’m taking Humira injections once a week plus two pills to try to combat this. It SUCKS but most of the time I know when I’ve got something active.

Evidently today is one of those days and I just got blindsided.

FUUUUUUUUU

The good news is that it doesn’t hurt, and I’m wearing pants that should hide any spots. But for fuck sake, enough is enough.

week three

That was quite the week. On Tuesday I spent the entire day out of commission due to dental work. I do not do well with the dentist. If Novocain is to be involved I require drugs to be sedated. My guy is amazing. And now I have better dental hygiene practices, so WIN.

Then my work bestie left to go have her bambino. This is good, but I already miss her. I have been working furiously to get a kitty baby bunting set done for him. I’m getting closer.

Then my laptop tanked. I’ve spent the better part of the last several days trying to resurrect it. I think (knock on wood) that it’s done. I feel very fortunate that I learned long, long ago never to keep files on my hard drive. Everything is backed up in the cloud so all I’ve really lost was time.

So that’s my bitching, now onto the positive stuff.

Somehow in spite of not resisting the siren song of cookies, and still not getting my chubby little self on the treadmill, I managed to lose 3/4lb. I’ll take it. Mom thinks this is mostly due to not eating out, including not stopping at the coffee shop at all. I’ve really enjoyed eating at home and taking my lunches to work. Honestly.

I’ve also been doing good with the finances. I still have some cash to get through the next 10 days until I get paid again, there’s a little money in the bank, and I haven’t had to use the credit card at all. I’m actually quite proud of myself. I’ve started looking at anything I’m contemplating buying and asking myself whether I need it right now, can it wait, do I need it at all. If you’ll believe this, I made it out of Costco for less than $9. My best score was at the supermarket. I tend to check out the clearance area, just for giggles, but yesterday I found a two-pack of segmented plastic tupperware type dishes for FORTY-NINE CENTS. I could justify spending that little bit, so I did.

Tomorrow is my final appointment with the gynecological oncologist. I’m pretty positive this is just a formality but it will be nice to officially put that chapter of my life behind me. Here’s hoping that this next week is a little less intense than last week was!

I just don’t know how to do shit the “normal” way

It’s a well documented fact that I’m allergic to lots of stuff, mostly medicine. I tend to get the run of the ill itchy rash that’s more of a miserable nuisance than anything, though I have on two occasions gotten Stevens-Johnson Syndrome which can quickly become severe and life threatening. Having been down this road before I do know the difference.

On Wednesday I was full-on into a rash. I looked like the miserable little lobster that I was but it was truly Just A Rash. Which is why the doc sent me to the ER. *SMH*

After spending several hours there, and donating more blood, I was released with a clean bill of health (quelle suprise!) and instructions to take Benadryl every 4 hours. I’ve been sleeping a lot lately. (duh) I am starting to feel better though, which is good. I’ve been able to be up and out of the house and I even wore real pants the other day. Go me!

On Thursday I have the appointment with the breast surgeon. I know I’m seeing an oncologist and that my doctor for this is a woman, but I don’t know anything beyond that. Assuming I have another full-blown surgery I do intend to tell her to please not give this antibiotic I just had. The itching is driving me rather crazy and I’m a little concerned I’m going to dislocate one of my shoulders trying to scratch the middle of my back.

laugh until you pee

I spent a good part of this morning in the basement cleaning up/out my desk and surrounding areas. When I moved upstairs (movin’ on up to the west side, fo reals yo) I didn’t take too much time to worry about the space I was leaving behind in the basement, space that had included my bedroom and an office area. But something about the upcoming surgery, and the difficulties lately in finding things, put me in a frame of mind to get down to it. We’re also getting ready for my mom’s new treadmill to be delivered tomorrow so the floor needed some attention. All of this explanation to finally explain why I am laughing until I pee (this time).

Garth has a little stuffed squirrel toy that is his absolute favorite. He carries it around in his mouth even though it’s nearly the size of his head. His favorite thing to do is throw it up in the air and then catch it. I lovingly refer to it as his Squirrelfriend. Tossing her around is even more fun to do on the wide open basement tile floor.

Anyway, I’m feeling a bit like there’s a ticking clock looming over my shoulder. Not in an “end of my life, Grim Reaper” kind of way, more in a “holy fucking hell, I’m having surgery in only slightly more than TWO WEEKS” kind of way. Wait, maybe that is the fame feeling…

I’ve been working diligently to make sure that everything is as ready as possible before S-Day. The amazing thing about having a surgery in December is that you’ve almost certainly met your health insurance deductible. The horrific thing about having a surgery in December is that convalescing time is almost certainly going to wreak havoc with Christmas preparations.

Wish me luck.