Wow! Hard to believe it's been three whole months since my last post. Plenty going on, as usual.
In December I started seeing a chiropractor who was also a functional medicine doctor, and despite the fact I started seeing him primarily for active release therapy/technique, he spent the majority of my seven sessions (the initial consultation plus six sessions) bullying me and ranting about how I refuse to go gluten free and dairy free. Mind you--there was no rapport--how does he expect me to build up any trust in him as a health care provider if all he's going to do is rant about what I'm not doing--and of course, conveniently overlook all the things I did manage to alter. My suspicion is, that his primary focus seems to be a clientele who are high performance athlete. Let's just say, I'm NOT his target clientele. After six sessions of being bullied directly (as well as being subjected to his political rants), I decided this was not a good fit for me personally.
In December I also managed to see a new rheumatologist for yet another rheumatological screening--and he was quite thorough and was testing all kinds of things, even things my previous endocrinologist (the one who retired in December 2017) would test.
I was really impressed with how thorough he was and how easy it was for us to build up a rapport. Only problem is when I saw him in January, I was informed the hospital is trying to get him to retire (he's only in his early 70s, and not ready yet). Looks like the hospital is trying to get an infusion of young blood, and aren't all that concerned with the patients this doctor treats. I have one more appointment with him (in April) and I hope to get some kind of conclusive diagnosis--my suspicion is Ehlers Danlos Syndrome--as I have a collection of seemingly unrelated issues, yet when I connect the dots, it brings me back to EDS. I hope when I see him, he'll suggest I get genetic testing--and whether I get that done or not will hinge directly on how much the % insurance will cover, as Maharajah's plan changed this year and it is utter garbage--I'm pretty much hemorrhaging money this year with our high deductible.
Undaunted, I found another chiropractor for the active release therapy, and I have been getting treatments weekly. This will be the sixth week, and between this and a kenalog injection I had (right into my psoas bursa), I am walking better, able to dismount from a chair better, and climb stairs better--at least the lifting of the leg, but not the "push off" movement. I am allowing myself a total of 12 visits to get everything "dealt with." Doc Handy (as I'll call him herein) is great.
Doc Handy thinks I should set up a blog regarding my affinity for diet supplements--but I don't know where to start. I am not certified in anything, whether nutraceutical or nutrition related, I only know I am my own best case study and I know what works for me and my collection of issues.
My acupuncturist thinks I should set up a YouTube channel with affiliate links for the same topic--supplements.
And my rheumatologist thinks I could do this even without any type of professional certifications.
This is clearly something I want to do for a living, as it helps me, and a bunch of my friends have sought my advice, I dispensed my advice, and it has made impacts in their lives--now that's something truly lovely--fulfillment in helping others!
If anyone reading this has any suggestions regarding potential paths for me to take (online certification courses regarding supplementation, or a nutritionist certification course or something I have yet to articulate which will help me in this endeavor--please leave a comment.
Short of this, I'm considering finding an ND (naturopathic doctor) locally (if they exist nearby), schedule a consult to see if they would be up to the task to be my internist, and or whether they can help me on my path to helping others.
In the meantime, things at the Salt Mine continue to change and erode, and never, of course, in a good way. Last Monday, I applied for a job at a civil rights organization and I am hoping when I get hired (see? I'm trying to remain positive with the WHEN, not IF), that this will be a bridge job, something to pay my bills (and make a tangible impact in the lives of others, too, hopefully), and will bridge the time between now and whenever I am able to finally make the transition into what I believe is patient advocacy regarding consulting with them more thoroughly about their current medications, health issues, and trouble shooting any possible vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
Last Monday, I not only sent in my application and resume, but I also had an automated phone screening--so I'm hoping and waiting for the next step--the face-to-face interview. I need to dust off my prepared scripts I generated in previous years--and start reading up a bit more on this new organization, to ask specific questions during the interview.
I am using the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction with the words I choose. The job would be close to a 6% pay cut, but the commute is shorter--and by shorter, I mean shorter by 200 paces--it literally is at a halfway point between where I park my car and my current office building. I literally can see the building from where I park my car. I've been doing a lot of visualization and planning. I've taken the time to empty my desk out of anything extraneous or non-essential, purging out old stuff--so it's like a spring cleaning of sorts, and I'm setting up a big 3-ring binder of stuff for whomever will become my replacement--something which was not done prior to me landing this job nearly 18 years ago.
So, I think while I have a wee bit of a lag today, I'm going to do a quick search for NDs, and I'm also going to set up my reference page, in anticipation of a face-to-face interview.
Mondays are my least favorite day of the week--and I'm trying to change that.
I hope you're having a good day.
In December I started seeing a chiropractor who was also a functional medicine doctor, and despite the fact I started seeing him primarily for active release therapy/technique, he spent the majority of my seven sessions (the initial consultation plus six sessions) bullying me and ranting about how I refuse to go gluten free and dairy free. Mind you--there was no rapport--how does he expect me to build up any trust in him as a health care provider if all he's going to do is rant about what I'm not doing--and of course, conveniently overlook all the things I did manage to alter. My suspicion is, that his primary focus seems to be a clientele who are high performance athlete. Let's just say, I'm NOT his target clientele. After six sessions of being bullied directly (as well as being subjected to his political rants), I decided this was not a good fit for me personally.
In December I also managed to see a new rheumatologist for yet another rheumatological screening--and he was quite thorough and was testing all kinds of things, even things my previous endocrinologist (the one who retired in December 2017) would test.
I was really impressed with how thorough he was and how easy it was for us to build up a rapport. Only problem is when I saw him in January, I was informed the hospital is trying to get him to retire (he's only in his early 70s, and not ready yet). Looks like the hospital is trying to get an infusion of young blood, and aren't all that concerned with the patients this doctor treats. I have one more appointment with him (in April) and I hope to get some kind of conclusive diagnosis--my suspicion is Ehlers Danlos Syndrome--as I have a collection of seemingly unrelated issues, yet when I connect the dots, it brings me back to EDS. I hope when I see him, he'll suggest I get genetic testing--and whether I get that done or not will hinge directly on how much the % insurance will cover, as Maharajah's plan changed this year and it is utter garbage--I'm pretty much hemorrhaging money this year with our high deductible.
Undaunted, I found another chiropractor for the active release therapy, and I have been getting treatments weekly. This will be the sixth week, and between this and a kenalog injection I had (right into my psoas bursa), I am walking better, able to dismount from a chair better, and climb stairs better--at least the lifting of the leg, but not the "push off" movement. I am allowing myself a total of 12 visits to get everything "dealt with." Doc Handy (as I'll call him herein) is great.
Doc Handy thinks I should set up a blog regarding my affinity for diet supplements--but I don't know where to start. I am not certified in anything, whether nutraceutical or nutrition related, I only know I am my own best case study and I know what works for me and my collection of issues.
My acupuncturist thinks I should set up a YouTube channel with affiliate links for the same topic--supplements.
And my rheumatologist thinks I could do this even without any type of professional certifications.
This is clearly something I want to do for a living, as it helps me, and a bunch of my friends have sought my advice, I dispensed my advice, and it has made impacts in their lives--now that's something truly lovely--fulfillment in helping others!
If anyone reading this has any suggestions regarding potential paths for me to take (online certification courses regarding supplementation, or a nutritionist certification course or something I have yet to articulate which will help me in this endeavor--please leave a comment.
Short of this, I'm considering finding an ND (naturopathic doctor) locally (if they exist nearby), schedule a consult to see if they would be up to the task to be my internist, and or whether they can help me on my path to helping others.
In the meantime, things at the Salt Mine continue to change and erode, and never, of course, in a good way. Last Monday, I applied for a job at a civil rights organization and I am hoping when I get hired (see? I'm trying to remain positive with the WHEN, not IF), that this will be a bridge job, something to pay my bills (and make a tangible impact in the lives of others, too, hopefully), and will bridge the time between now and whenever I am able to finally make the transition into what I believe is patient advocacy regarding consulting with them more thoroughly about their current medications, health issues, and trouble shooting any possible vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
Last Monday, I not only sent in my application and resume, but I also had an automated phone screening--so I'm hoping and waiting for the next step--the face-to-face interview. I need to dust off my prepared scripts I generated in previous years--and start reading up a bit more on this new organization, to ask specific questions during the interview.
I am using the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction with the words I choose. The job would be close to a 6% pay cut, but the commute is shorter--and by shorter, I mean shorter by 200 paces--it literally is at a halfway point between where I park my car and my current office building. I literally can see the building from where I park my car. I've been doing a lot of visualization and planning. I've taken the time to empty my desk out of anything extraneous or non-essential, purging out old stuff--so it's like a spring cleaning of sorts, and I'm setting up a big 3-ring binder of stuff for whomever will become my replacement--something which was not done prior to me landing this job nearly 18 years ago.
So, I think while I have a wee bit of a lag today, I'm going to do a quick search for NDs, and I'm also going to set up my reference page, in anticipation of a face-to-face interview.
Mondays are my least favorite day of the week--and I'm trying to change that.
I hope you're having a good day.
