Thursday, July 4, 2024

 Thursday, July 4, 2024

    I started collecting a 24-hour urine sample. When I picked up the equipment, they handed me two half-gallon containers and one of those little specimen cups for urine collection. You’ve got to be kidding me on both counts. I had a female urinal at home, so I was set.

After discussing osteoporosis with my evening walk crowd, I decided to follow up with my doctor. I had never received the results of my last bone density test. The doctor told me I had lost bone mass for the second time. The loss isn’t enormous, but I had been steady for years. She referred me to an endocrinologist. I needed to collect the urine in anticipation of that appointment. 

    One morning, I ran into a woman I used to see running, walking slowly with her husband. She had fallen and cracked her hip. They put a pin in. Her doctor recommended infusion therapy for her osteoporosis. I recently learned that my friend Jean gets that.  She is reluctant to get the infusion because of the possible adverse side effects. I read about bone and muscle pain today. It doesn’t sound great. I refused statins because of the weird way they made me feel.

  While doing laughter yoga as I did my gentle seat yoga, I realized that besides deepening my breath and expanding my lungs, the laughter yoga provided a gentle massage.  I wondered what the psychological effects of that massage might be.  It’s undoubtedly strengthening my core muscles.

   The Twins didn’t respond to my Zoom message this morning. When I called Mama K, she told me they had a paddling race this morning. She was so sorry. I had nothing else scheduled for the day. I would have been alone all day if the acupuncturist hadn’t made an appointment this morning. She came at 10. 

  I’ve been asking for treatment on my upper back muscles. In our last session, she suggested I should have her work on my pec and shoulder muscles. That’s what she did today. After she was finished, I was wasted for the rest of the day. I did get to wash my bed linens and blanket. I read a report on how bad it was to sleep on dirty sheets. We should wash them once a week, but most Americans waited a month. I actually asked some people I knew. Sure enough, they only washed their linens once a month. I thought I was an outstanding slob. I guess I’m not so exceptional.

  I also reassembled the hall closet after cleaning up all the spilled Dawn dish detergent off the floor. Seeing how clean the soap got the tile, I tried it on the ground in dirt in the tiles between my sink and dishwasher.  I spread some on the area and let it sit. Tonight, I clean it up. It worked like a charm. I tried everything on white tiles when we lived in Ohio. Nothing worked. This does. Amazing!

  I filed an application to work as a tutor for AirTutors. Here, I thought I was volunteering to tutor students who couldn’t afford to pay. Given they will pay me $45 an hour, I doubt this is a service for the disadvantaged. If nothing else, it will be a source of work for me if all else fails. With my success rate, You would think there’d be a line at my door. Not that I want a line. That would be very upsetting to have all those desperate parents and children. I would have to say no. 

   Gabor Mate, author of Scatter Minds about ADD, talked about individuation.  I think the ideal definition is learning what we feel regardless of what others think we should.  This doesn’t mean we should always push to get our own way and expect to get everything we want.  It’s just knowing clearly who we are and who the other is.

 I heard a talk on Ozempic today. This pill is touted for its weight loss benefits. It turns out that if microdosed, it cures a number of ailments, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and auto-immune diseases. Holy cow! I’m ready, willing, and able—once more research confirms those results.