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6436. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 8:18:53 PM I think I will do just that, Judith. When I was watching Spanish-language tv a while back I found the news and soaps were easiest to pick up words from. The soaps are hilarious, and just like American ones you can pick up where you left off of one five years later and not miss a beat. If anything, they seem to go to more extremes with the drama than American ones do, if that's possible. There are a lot more channels to pick from than last time I looked, too--five or six, I think. 6437. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 8:27:27 PM Rick, aren't you under 50? I hope things level out for you with the changes in diet, meds, and exercise. I know Mags hs said her husband has seen dramatic changes, and Bob went from 230 lbs to 160, his heart rate dropped to "a runner's rate" as the doctor told him, and his blood pressure is actually a bit on the low side.
But we don't have a baby, his chronically ill father passed away last year (who he'd give anything in the world to have back, but whose quality of life for at least two years was extremely bad and required a lot of care), and he now has time and energy to concentrate on his diet and walk four miles a day. So you have more obstacles, but it sounds like you're working to overcome them and get where you need to be.
For me, outdoor exercise is somewhat problematic because of my allergies, though I'm not so bad I can't walk some--I refuse to live in a bubble. But for indoors, I chunked the treadmill, which I wasn't using, and I got a neat stepper for about $40 which has no rails--just the pedals--so you have to balance yourself. I also bought a mini-trampoline, a jumprope, dug out a GREAT exercise tape that I've had for years and has done wonders for me in the past, and I bought different sizes of small handweights. So I hope to walk a mile or two outside and do anything else I decide to do indoors, no matter the season or weather.
Diet is my problem--not so much total calorie intake as empty calorie intake. Pixy Stix are non-negotiable, but I might cut back on them some. I will have to reassess my other indulgences. 6438. RickNelson - 3/30/2005 8:35:26 PM Pixy Stix eh, could be worse. I'm only recently back on track. My Jan. saw way to much chocolate. I indulged.
Arky, I'll be pullin' for yah for WV. It's gotta be one of those things. Just a routine deal.
OOOps the boy just woke up. 6439. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 8:42:10 PM Awww. Have a fun afternoon with him!
Thanks for the support on the WV trip. The conference will be very fun and productive, and I really don't mind the drive. Bob does, but I don't mind his whining, either. ;-) 6440. thoughtful - 3/30/2005 9:00:10 PM Arky, I know other ladies who have also said that the recovery from surgery was soooo much easier than what they went through before the surgery. I'm sure it will go well. Things that we used to worry about like anesthesia are so high tech these days that people rarely have trouble with it any more. I'm sure you'll do just fine.
I'm glad the cyst was just a cyst. Now that you've had it checked out you can relax about that.
6441. thoughtful - 3/30/2005 9:08:40 PM rick, that's good. Eating out is a huge risk factor when it comes to nutritious eating. Yesterday's NYT had an article entitled "Diabesity" and the combo of diabetes with obesity and the impact on health. The stats start getting really scary when you see the increased incidence of diabetes, esp among children. A lot seems to be related to the cost factor, esp as fostered by things like supersizing meals ... as one doc put it, we focus too much on quantity of food rather than quality.
Exercise is absolutely critical to heart health, bone health, muscle strength and even mental health. I suggest you wrap that baby up in a papoose or pop him in a stroller and take him for a walk with you. No excuses with the weather improving. 6442. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 9:08:57 PM Very true. I feel great now, just knowing I'm going to get all this taken care of and not have too much guilt since my kids are going to have an enthusiastic, certified teacher. Though I made it clear he needn't get any ideas about next year.;-)
And it helps that the hospital I go to for testing is very prompt, very efficient, and very caring. I really can't praise them enough. When the radiologist came in for the breast ultrasound it kind of surprised me, and before I thought I said, "You're not the same one who looked at my uterus the other day." 6443. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 9:18:37 PM Mother just called and her regular mammogram was scheduled for today at the same place, but she told them she'd felt a tiny knot about the size of a pinhead and had forgotten to tell her doctor about it (he didn't feel anything) and they made her reschedule for Tuesday when the radiologist would be there, since he'd already left for today, so they can directly to the diagnostic procedure right then if they need to. 6444. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 9:19:09 PM go 6445. Magoseph - 3/30/2005 9:46:24 PM Arky, have you asked your doctor if after your operation you might have fewer tendencies getting cysts? 6446. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 11:37:17 PM Ha! I just told Bob today to be sure to remind me to ask tomorrow. I certainly hope so. Besides the mammmogram issue, they're painful. This one's been hurting me for several months now. When I saw today where the cyst was located, before they did the diagnostic mammogram, my worry level went WAY down--and when they did it, my pain level went WAY up. ;-) 6447. Magoseph - 3/31/2005 12:00:50 AM This one's been hurting me for several months now.
They were hurting for several months and you waited until now to take care of them?
6448. Magoseph - 3/31/2005 12:01:20 AM I mean, this one was hurting. 6449. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:06:00 AM Cysts are often painful, but there's nothing they can do about them. Not mashing them would be nice, but....
Malignancies aren't, and you can also feel them. You can't feel cysts, generally, because they're filled with fluid. I'd just been checked by my doctor and he didn't feel anything. I have cysts almost all the time, some painful and some not, but one that shows up on a mammogram just looks like a mass, though usually round or oval, which is a good sign, but like the radiologist said, it still has to be checked out. Most don't show up at all. 6450. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:07:30 AM You can feel malignancies once they get a certain size, that is. That's why if you feel something you need to go get an ultrasound and maybe a biopsy, because about 15% of cancers can't be detected in a mammogram, regardless of their size. 6451. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:09:21 AM BTW, I didn't go in for the pain but for my yearly exam. I was fairly certain the pain was a cyst, but the notices don't tell you where they find something, just that you need to schedule more tests. 6452. Magoseph - 3/31/2005 12:16:56 AM Thank you for the info, Arky--let us know what the doctor says tomorrow if you have the time, please. 6453. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:44:06 AM I sure will. Thanks so much for being concerned. I've thought a lot the last couple of days about how blessed I am with my rl and cyber friends. Having people to share things with--good or bad--is a wonderful thing.
I did learn a lot more today than I'd known before, and I thought it very helpful. Breast cancer is a real concern. We've all known people who've had it and some who've died from it, young and old. But the general public information tends to lack perspective, and that's what I got today. The radiologist said 15 in 100 mammograms get called back for more tests, but only 3 in 1000 are cancer. Still, mammograms are just the first level of screening, like colonoscopies or prostate exams or all those other fun things they tell you to do yearly after you reach a certain age. The last level is a biopsy, and a significant majority of them are benign. Breast cancer is also usually very treatable. He told me at my age I needed to start thinking much more about cardio-vascular disease (not now, but for the future) and working on adjusting my lifestyle to prepare for that risk. And he wasn't referring to me, specifically, but me as a 45 year old American female. Of course the benefit of doing that is it reduces the risks of lots of other things, as well, including a number of types of cancer.
So hopefully the next time I get called back for more tests I'll have a better handle on things, even though I'd already been told that being prone to cysts made mammogram abnormalities more likely. Of course I won't be planning a rush trip and a hysterectomy either, and that should help too. ;-) 6454. judithathome - 3/31/2005 1:01:09 AM Glad to hear the results were okay, Arky.
Now concentrate on your WVa trip and have a great drive...I'll bet it is really beautiful along the way! The differences around here are amazing, from just two weeks ago....green, green, green. 6455. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 1:07:02 AM Thanks Judith!
I'm excited about the trip. I keep trying to convince Bob that once we get there all he'll have to do is chill until we leave--you saw the schedule, so you know he'll have a lot of down time once he gets there while I go to all that stuff! I really think he'll love it once he sees how nice everything is in that part of the country.
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