no veins

Apparently I have no veins in my body. At least not in my arms where they are supposed to be. I know they used to be there. I used to be the model patient. The one the nurses and phlebotomist's would always exclaim "oh, you have good veins"! And I would feel proud to know I was such a good pin cushion.

Yesterday had to stop into my doctor's office for a "quick" blood draw. There was nothing quick about it. The phlebotomist couldn't find a vein in my right arm. No big deal, I have another arm you know. Then, she couldn't find one in my left arm either. So, she called the nurse in to have her try. No luck either. So, they had me run my hands under warm water for a few minutes to see if the veins in my hands would "pop up". Eventually they did and I was stuck in my right hand. Eureka! We have blood...oh wait, one, two, three drops. Is that all??????? "Come on", I could hear the nurse plead of my hand. But it was all for naught. So, the left hand was poked and the blood slowwwwwwwwwwwly began to trickle. What should have been a quick 10 minute thing turned into a 40 minute ordeal. This is yet another example of why it is not good to gain a lot of weight. It makes it harder to find good veins. On the bright side, the nurse was good enough that she didn't leave bruises at the needle site.

Learning the tricks of the trade(mama trade)

What it is it about kids and puking and not being able to contain the gross stuff all in one place? Seriously?! Jens came in Saturday and told me he had vomited in the bathroom. So, I thought I would go in and do an easy, breezy cleanup. NOPE. It was in the tub, on the floor, in the sink and on the toilet. If you start to puke in one place why not just stay there???????????? Yuck!!!

I have a bad GUT!

So, I went to a new doctor yesterday. My chiropractor told me to go see him a couple of month ago. I kept putting it off. This new doctor is a DO. Don't know what a DO is? That is a Doctor of Osteopathic medicine. Still don't know what a DO is? This is what the American Osteopathic Association says on their website: http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm?PageID=ado_whatis

"D.O.s bring something extra to medicine:
Osteopathic medical schools emphasize training students to be primary care physicians.
D.O.s practice a "whole person" approach to medicine. Instead of just treating specific symptoms or illnesses, they regard your body as an integrated whole.
Osteopathic physicians focus on preventive health care.
D.O.s receive extra training in the musculoskeletal system-your body's interconnected system of nerves, muscles and bones that make up two-thirds of your body mass. This training provides osteopathic physicians with a better understanding of the ways that an illness or injury in one part of your body can affect another.
Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is incorporated into the training and practice of osteopathic physicians. With OMT, osteopathic physicians use their hands to diagnose illness and injury and to encourage your body's natural tendency toward good health. By combining all other available medical options with OMT, D.O.s offer their patients the most comprehensive care available in medicine today."

I liked this new Dr. He listened to me. He made suggestions. He did not just put me on more perscription drugs. But he did say I have a "bad gut." Sounds kind of bad huh? Well not really. It just means I need to have more good bacteria in my gut than what currently resides there. Doesn't that sound great? Just what I always wanted, more bacteria. I did a little google search and found out that if you've been on antibiotics(I've had three rounds in the last two months), your body becomes compromised and can't fight the bad bacteria very well. So, the DO suggested I take pro-biotics to get my gut back into perfect fighting shape. He suggested some other things, which I might write about later. But right now, I need to go take care of my gut!

sleep tight

Jed went in and had a sleep study done a couple of days ago. We already knew he needed to have a c-pap machine to help him breath at night. He has used one in the past, but it broke and he hasn't used it for a couple of years. He constantly stops breathing while he is asleep...it is a little unnerving to watch him as he sleeps and actually stop breathing and then suddenly gulp in great breaths of air as he "comes back to life" again. So, as soon as the insurance company signs off on the new machine, Jed (and me too) will finally be getting a good nights sleep. YEAH!