A lull

I am bored out of my tree.

I've been finished work for a week now, and school can't get here fast enough. While my parents are on vacation, I'm house- and Henry-sitting for a relaxing two weeks in the country. I think I've had just about all the relaxation I can stand.

I'm plowing through books - memoirs, philosophy, history and "An Introduction to the Study of Law" - taking Henry to the beach, pestering my friends while they're at work, and watching a whole lot of "The Antiques Road Show." I got my hair chopped short and have started looking for a new apartment, just for something to do. I'm trying to learn to knit, but have so far been entirely unsuccessful.

I'm oh so much happier with a full schedule and something to challenge me.

And now, since I've got nowhere to go and no one to see, I am going to mow the lawn. I need to be done by four, because ""The Antiques Road Show" is on.

Addendum: There is a snake in the basement. A real one. Wah.

Who's up for a hip roll?

I have always found doing physio on my own to be almost unbearably boring. I'm alright working with a physiotherapist, but send me home with a list of exercises and you can bet I won't keep up with them. I have a hard time imagining anything less stimulating than sitting in a chair and slowly bending and straightening your wrists, or lying on the floor with a can of tomato juice under your knee (I can't remember why we employed the can of tomato juice, but I recall it vividly). Gradually arcing my back to the right? No, thank you.

Recently I've discovered that hip exercises are just about the worst. With apologies to the Arthritis Society, who really wants to do something called a "hip roll"? Especially when this is the accompanying animated gif:

Really?

I can't be the only one who finds these exercises painfully dull, and it's even worse when they're not only boring, but challenging and painful as well. I know they're important and I know that doing them regularly could help me retain range of motion, but I can't help wishing they were somehow more exciting.

All I can think of is trying to do them while I watch television. Any other ideas?

Do you keep track of your symptoms?

Patients with chronic illness are frequently told how important it is to keep track of their symptoms.

Unfortunately, I'm just not that organized. I've tried keeping a diary of symptoms, but I've never actually stuck it out longer than a week or two.

Instead, over the years I've fenced off a little corner in the back of my mind to keep half an eye on these things. That means it can take me quite a while to make connections between symptoms and triggers - like, for instance, the fact that my heart rate is faster and my shortness of breath is worse when I don't eat enough, which I figured out this week - or even to realize that other symptoms are progressing or getting better.

I think this probably makes me a bit of an annoying patient. When I tell my doctor a symptom began long before my last appointment, she no doubt wonders why on earth I didn't bring it up before. Most of the time, I just haven't put two and two together. I suppose there's an element of denial in that (and, okay, probably an element of laziness, too). When I'm in pain, I simply don't want to think about it. Nor do I particularly want to start writing it down and feel like a whiner, even though I know this would help out my doctors. It just seems depressing.

What about you? Do you keep track of arthritis pain or other symptoms? How? I know some of you are more organized than I could ever hope to be!

Writers' block and waiting

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a major case of writers’ block. That’s in part because, now that I’ve told work I’m leaving, I’m working hard to get everything off my plate and sorted out before I leave in a few weeks. I’ve been getting my student loans figured out (yikes!) and arranging to continue writing for my current employers in a freelance capacity.

I’m still waiting to see Dr. Sneakers about these “new developments” in my genetic testing. At my last defibrillator check, apparently my “fluid levels” were shown to have been in excess of the “normal” level for over a month, so we’re going to talk about that, too. I don’t even know what that means, and when I Google it, all I can find are articles about heart failure which I don’t particularly want to read. I’m operating on what I think is the obvious assumption that if they thought I might have heart failure, I wouldn’t just be waiting around to see my doctor. Plus, I feel fine.

Meanwhile, I’ve been getting strict with myself about creating a bedtime routine, and am actually sleeping really well. My back’s been bad lately, so I do a few minutes of gentle yoga before bed. Then I have a hot shower, get into bed with a cup of Sleepytime Extra tea, put on my sleep cd, and spend a few minutes writing in a journal and reading something pleasant and not too absorbing (P.G. Wodehouse makes perfect bedtime reading). I still sometimes have to pop a pill, but I’m not spending hours lying in bed before falling asleep. I really want to make it a priority to keep that up once school starts, which means actually getting work done during the day. We’ll see. 

I'm looking forward to being finished work, and to the two weeks I'll have off between work and school. Part of that will be spent house/dog-sitting at my parents' place in the country. I'm excited for all of the golden retriever snuggling.