"AT YOUR AGE"

Good morning!

Please forgive the grammatical errors!

I cannot stress enough how important it is to take care of your health. trust this old gal when she tells you please take time to care for yourself head to toe, inside and out. Yesterday I had an exam... no... I need to go further back:

For the last year I knew something was rumbling in my gut but everything in the digestive areas were functioning properly, so I blew it off. Then two+ weeks ago I had wicked food poisoning, I recovered, or so I thought, celebrated by having Indian food (something I've eaten a dozen times before) and got sick all over again. Two weeks later my gut is still bugging me on and off. 

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and the doc said "at your age" things take longer to heal including the lining of my stomach. Additionally, I have preexisting medical conditions that may also slow the healing process. The doc said take a daily enzyme and/or probiotic, continue eating bland food, the brat diet, and give it a couple weeks and see if that doesn't help my gut recover. Because I'm somewhat of a hypochondriac the moment a friend of mine suggested it could be E.coli from the whole milk cheese I used in my quesadilla resulting in food poisoning, I mentioned the quesadilla incident to my doc and she said it's more likely "at your age" I'm hypersensitive to dairy especially since I never had whole milk cheese before, plus my stomach lining will take longer to heal "at your age" and because I don't have a fever, blood in my poo, any gut pain, no rashes, etc., she said there are no signs of it being E.coli. "If the enzymes and probiotic don't work, though I'm certain they will, come back and see us." 

Yesterday I started taking one kind of enzyme and a probiotic. I'm already feeling better, I think. Just a few more things to add to my daily medication regiment.

Also, I now know to give myself a pedicure before going to my doctor appointment, holy cow. Because I'm a (type II) diabetic the PA checked my feet. My feet! Funny moment, the PA saw the big callus under my right index toe and couldn't stop poking at it. "Is that a callus?" She asked in disbelief poking it with her index finger. *poke poke poke* Indeed, it is! I've worked on my feet since 1985. It's a big honking callus. *poke poke poke* 

After I showered this morning, I gave myself a pedicure. "Your heels are cracked. You're going to want to keep moisturizing your feet. Trust me." The PA said. Indeed, I do. You're the PA. I'm the patient. I will heed your advice. I am not one of those people who thinks I'm smarter than a doctor. Smarter than our current president, yes, but not smarter than a doctor. I moisturized my feet after the pedicure.

After my doctor's appointment I met with a friend who lives nearby for breakfast. Still on the brat diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) I ordered a side of dry toast and a side of over-medium eggs. The eggs cost $100 but it was worth it! I haven't had eggs in months. They never tasted so good. The doc said kimchi and sauerkraut were good for my gut also, and since tofu and soybeans are bland, I picked up plain hummus, and firm tofu to go with the kimchi. After days of nothing but bananas and chicken noodle soup, that tofu with kimchi was amazing. 

At 56 years of age the amount of flatulence my body produces every night could blow the roof off the Sistine Chapel. I have to blow my nose every twenty minutes it seems, and the gas is ridiculous. I can never share my bed with anyone ever again. Even my teddy bear is like, "Can I have my own bed."

The probiotic I started taking is the wrong one, I think. I quit taking it. The doctor said she and her entire family takes Zenwise enzyme. This is not a paid advertisement, but the doc said her entire family with different gut issues from IBS to food sensitivities all take Zenwise and love it. I ordered a bottle yesterday due to arrive today. 

I quit smoking around 2000 after my second throat/lung infection. I don't know about you, but I miss smoking. I really enjoyed it. I quit drinking in 2022 following my stroke(s). I was mid second stroke when I learned about the first one within the last seven days. It's interesting to me that after an MRI doctors can see you're about to have a massive stroke and be able to stop is from happening. Still, I miss drinking. I miss having margaritas and bottles of red wine. I miss drinking. I don't miss drugs. I've had a couple gummies in the last two years but getting stoned isn't my thing. I love being UP as my twenties could document.

I lost about thirteen pounds. Some of the weight loss is from recent gut issues and not eating but most of the weight loss is from taking Levothyroxine for my Hashimoto's. I've been on levothyroxine for my hyperthyroidism for about eight months and it really does suppress your appetite. It's okay. I can stand to lose weight. 

Until my stomach lining heals enough where I can go out confidently, I'm just hanging in, knitting, binging Law & Order, writing, listening to my gut make terrible grinding noises, and eating the most boring diet in the world. When my tummy gets better, I'm having birria tacos, and then a big giant cheesy fat sloppy double smashburger. Woman is not meant to live on applesauce alone! Especially at 56 years of age.

I got into a "non-argument" fight with a buddy yesterday. He's older, 71 years old, and behaves as one might expect a 71-year-old man to behave. The "non-argument" was for my love of bald eagles. My buddy goes through phases where anytime I mention something I love; he tears it down. I mentioned the bald eagles in Big Bear, California, Jackie and Shadow and their newly hatched baby eaglets, and my buddy proceeded to call bald eagles, "murderers". Don't ask. I have no idea. He's 71. "Bald eagles eat their young! They're murderers! Murderers! MURDERERS!" He kept aggressively screaming at me over and over. Crazy, I know. I've been following Jackie and Shadow since December 2023. Last winter they had two eggs and neither one of them hatched. This winter I'm so excited that all three of their eggs hatched. After telling my buddy this he immediately attacked me by calling bald eagles, "MURDERERS!" So, I hung up on him. Pick your battles, know what I'm saying. I suggested changing the subject away from bald eagles after his first rant about them and he got defensive. "WHATEVER" he said, and then for good measure to get the last word in he repeated, "MURDERERS!" I hung up on him. I don't know why he attacked me like that. It's likely due to his age. And he wonders why he doesn't have a girlfriend. "ALL the women my age were forced out of Los Angeles because of rent gouging!" he says. That's right, there are zero women over the age of 65 in the entire city of Los Angeles population of 9.6 million.

With this BS political administration we are currently forced to endure, the birth of these bald eaglets is a sign of hope for us (sane) Americans being as how bald eagles represent America. Why anyone especially an American would call bald eagles "murderers" is beyond me. It's crazy. Again, in his defense he's 71 years old. He only recently inherited a computer (with Windows 8) and still does not have a cell phone because "they cause cancer." Did I mention he's 71 years old. FYI, my dad learned how to use a cell phone when he was 60.

I'm used to my friends and family not sharing my interests. I married a man in 2003 who shared the same retirement goals as me but our current interests and relationship values at the time were completely different. I'm used to watching plays and movies about Shakespeare alone. I'm used to hiking/walking alone. Watching sunrises and sunsets alone. Traveling alone. Watching movies alone. I'm used to caring for animals alone. I'm used to caring for myself alone. I'm used to being alone. I cannot/will not change my hobbies, interests, and values for other people. Other people however get moody and angry when they have to do what interests them alone. They blame, accuse, and get aggressive because they feel entitled. They also don't know how to express themselves or have conversations like a mature adult. That's why I say pick your battles. Don't be afraid to walk away if it gets too heated. Save your sanity. Preserve your health. Tomorrow is a new day. If their goal in life is to get the last word in because it makes them (somehow) feel like they're winning, just hang up on them. Don't suffer fools. Amen.

They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.

--Deuteronomy 32:5