Costocondritis

Hey, Everyone!

Went to the doctor today...
I'm going to be fine. I've got a bad case of Costocondritis from the chair I sit in at work. Basically, my posture is great at the start of the day; but after 8 hours of sitting in such a crummy chair, I start to slump. Sitting in a bad position for that many hours put too much tension on my ribs. Not to mention all the barfing I was doing recently. The doc couldn't believe I waited so long to come in... Anyway, I've got painkillers now and I got a special pillow to make my work chair a bit better (hopefully). I've also got a special exercise regimen that I'm to follow as well. Right now it really, really hurts. Especially when I cough or sneeze. I thought I was going to die yesterday, it hurt so bad when I coughed. I'm relieved that it turned out to be something that was fairly easy to fix. I'd like to say that "next time I won't wait a month before I come in," but, knowing me, I probably will... I can't stand hospitals. Of course, I am doing much better. At least this time I actually made an appointment instead of waiting until I had to go to an emergency room. Baby steps. :)

I'm also getting my blood sugar checked out again. On my birthday! I figured that if I had to fast for that many hours, I might as well do it on a day when I'm guaranteed a good meal later on in the day (my parents are planning to take Ramiro & me out to dinner that night).

Christmas went really well. I'll do another "Christmas in Pictures" entry like last year as soon as I can. So far no one's sent me any of the pictures from Christmas Eve & Christmas, so I have nothing to post.

In the meantime, here are pictures of Rebel (that feral cat with half a tail) from Christmas Eve (we gave her a meal that night) and Ringo (hiding under my rug from Mo):
Ringo is a master of stealth. Obviously.

Thanks again to everyone who checked in on me. Hope everyone had a great holiday! I can hardly believe that 2010 is almost over. If I don't write again before 2011, have a very happy New Year!

Until next time...

--Lauren*
http://littlezotz.webs.com

Meeting Roxy

Hey, Everyone!

Here's a very dimly-lit picture of me with Roxy "Balboa" Richardson:Roxy owns Roxy Fit Gym and is a Women's Muay Thai champ! I wrote about her in the Official blog for work...

I'd been in contact with her all week online, because of work, and I really, really wanted to meet her. I'm happy I did.

I regret not being able to see her put on her live demonstration though! You see, there was a Live Event for Champions of Champions Elite last night and there was going to be live Muay Thai demonstrations, contests, giveaways, and everyone was going to watch the Kings Cup. However, it was very unorganized. They told us (Ramiro & me) that it was going to start at 6pm. Then, the day before or so they said that it had been pushed back to 7pm. "No problem," we thought. We'd get there a little before 7pm and leave a little after 9pm and everything should be roses! We'd get to see all the fun stuff (the live demo) and get the gist of the Kings Cup show and leave before my blood sugar went wacky and get home before our cats started having anxiety attacks about our being gone so long (they've been having trouble adjusting to us having full-time jobs--Ziggy in particular has been going through some pretty bad separation anxiety).

Sadly, when we left a little after 9pm, the event hadn't even STARTED yet. Plus, none of my friends showed up... We were very disappointed. We hope it got really awesome after we left!! They were supposed to get it on tape, so I guess we'll see it once that gets put up online. But it's just not the same as seeing it in person, you know? :\

Still, I'm glad I briefly got to meet Roxy. :)

Well, I have to go for now. This is the day we go buy groceries for the rest of the week.

Until next time...

--Lauren*
http://littlezotz.webs.com

Another Hypoglycemia Post

Okay, so the doctor got the full panel of results back today.

Everything from yesterday still stands. And I got the note to give to Del Taco that says to "please excuse Lauren to take a five minute break every two hours to eat something due to her medical condition." So that should help...

I was also told today that I'm at EXTREME HIGH RISK for diabetes. Apparently my pancreas is being "grossly overworked" (and, yes, my pancreas ACHING is the cause of the mysterious painful stitch I get in my side sometimes--omg). I was told that I will get diabetes, but depending on how well I take care of myself, it could be in a year, in 10 years, or in 50 years. I just have to keep up with my food diary (I write down everything I eat and how I feel after it) and monitor any changes and go in for check-ups and so forth.

I need to eat SMALL, frequent meals. I had the frequency right. And the type of meals right, but I was eating too much. Which is why I would sometimes feel really sluggish and have to lie down after eating. My body simply cannot process large meals. It's even been strongly recommended to me that if I ever go out to eat, to have the cook put half of my meal into a doggie bag before I even get started. I must "never" overeat.

Also, apparently, if I don't watch my weight, it could be the straw that breaks the camel's back so to speak. As soon as I get "fat," that'll most likely be what triggers the diabetes to officially start up. O_O Jeez! (Looks like I trimmed down just in time!!)

So... There ya go then. I have to eat ultra small meals every 2 hours, I need to exercise & stay trim, and all that stuff.

Thank you again for all the support.

--Lauren*
PS: If I was ever mean to you because I was going through a blood sugar crash, I am very VERY sorry.