My No-No Food List

I was asked recently by a friend to make a list of the foods I am supposed to avoid to alleviate symptoms and pain of my Arthritis, Fibromyalgia and post-Endometriosis and post-Menopausal issues, plus, whatever else ails me and my digestive system. I have avoided making this no-no list for years, as you will understand when you read it…

• Sugar
• Salt
• Corn Syrup
• Citrus
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Chili Peppers
• Eggplant
• Mushrooms
• Beef
• Milk
• Cow Cheese
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Corn
• Coffee
• Chocolate
• Soy
• Wild Rice
• Wheat
• Alcohol

I am reeling at the thought of cutting any of these items from my diet. I have had a love/hate relationship with food that has spanned Anorexia to high Cholesterol. Chocolate is my go-to addiction as I have Peanut butter-in-a-casing-of-chocolate habit. I make an unbelievably good loaf of French bread that is an art form that deserves to be done well and often. I find great joy in mixing butter and sugar with Vanilla and flour and making a form of culinary art that has no redeeming qualities other than mouth joy, a wonderful aroma, and a craving for more. A comfort food junkie, I can’t imagine life without a Garlic, Onion, Pepper and Tomato mixture with cheese and pasta. Or Potatoes in any form…

Where should I begin on this list? Definitely not at the top…I haven’t had Wild Rice in years…so I guess continuing that trend won’t hurt. Soy? Not really a fan, so I can do this. Eggplant isn’t a favorite of mine, so I guess I can forgo eating it. Seeds? Okay. I’ll start with seeds. That shouldn’t be too difficult. I’ll even add Citrus to my no-more plan. Guilt is already assailing me, as I won’t miss any of these food choices. I have to give up more to begin. Mushrooms. Ooo…that hurts already. Okay, I can do without Mushrooms. I will continue to remove these items from my diet over a period of time to see if there is an improvement in my health and well-being. Meanwhile I will have an opportunity to evaluate my food choices and where I can find hidden forms of these items that I should avoid.

Geriatric Doctor Without Concern for Patients

This falls into my…”Are You Kidding Me?” catagory.

I took both my parents to their primary care checkup this week.

Now..they have both had this doctor for over 20 years, when he took over the practice from the retiring town doctor. Both my parents have attended every check-up, followed every directive, taken every medication…

I’ll ignore the fact he never had my mother get a bone density scan in all these years. Of course, her 85 year old hip broke this winter, causing her to fall.

I’ll ignore that I had to report his last office location to the town code enforcer for an exterior handrail to the entrance that had pulled out of the wall, so offered no support for an elderly person to get into the building, and had not been fixed after YEARS,  AND when I tried to bring my parents through the wheelchair access door, I had to make my parents wait outside on the ramp while I moved a stack of cardboard boxes that blocked the entrance. I’m trying really hard to get over this BS, but I am hitting the laptop keys a bit too hard, it seems.

All that aside…Doctor PB moves to a new location down the block by combining with another practice. Fine.

Geriatric Doctor…remember that…

One handicapped parking spot.

No wheelchair automatic door opener on any door. Only one entrance, but three doors to get to his office inside.

I had two people with walkers, one blind with dementia, and I had to be a contortionist to open the door for Mom to enter the outer entrance space, and keep Dad from walking off into the door jamb as I try to hold the door open and help pull his walker into this cramped entrance.

Now, I have to back up two old people with walkers so that I am able to open the office door into the entrance space, and again, do the yoga pose to get them both in.

Now we have to walk across a waiting room of sick children to enter the Geriatric doctor’s door (right next to all the goobery kiddy books and toys) to go to his ‘waiting room’. This glorious waiting room has upgraded since my last visit when there were only two chairs, and I had to sit on a walker. Now there are four! One directly behind the door so you can get whacked in the knees when another patient arrives. It’s not an official space, just a wide spot in the hallway. Ridiculous.

What happened to HIPA? No privacy here to discuss appointments, referrals, prescriptions.

What happened to ADA? The patient following us was crippled with two walking sticks.

I’m not even going to bother telling you about the exam room ballet we had to dance to get us all in, but I was sweating by the time I got to sit down.

On a walker.

Thank you for letting me vent. I feel helpless when I come home from a day like this, with a migraine, aggravated Fibromyalgia, and exhausted.

Pain is subjective

…and I’ve been subjected to it long enough to know.

At doctor visits you are now expected to rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst. They even have emoticons on an insipid chart for you to determine your level of dis-comfort based on a frowny face.

Believe me, if you are close to an 8 you aren’t getting out of bed, much less showing up for a scheduled check up appointment to point at a yellow circle faced sliding scale of smile to frown.

Chronic pain is far different from an acute case of the hurts. It goes far beyond a frowny face emotion. 

Continue Reading…

Price of Pain

You’ve seen the ads…ask your doctor if this over-priced-drug-of-the-moment is right for YOU!

Yeah…I’m on it. Next commercial…yeah…I’m on that too. There’s no moth flying over my bed and I won’t be puking on some politico’s shoes, but my cholesterol and bone numbers are better…and I no longer feel the need to strangle complete strangers for wasting Oxygen…But the pain remains in Maine.

Make a choice…painless – never free – and stay home or no relief so I can engage with the world and pretend. Pretend I can pay attention when the price is searing through my spine.

Check please.

Pain day down

 It’s one of those days when the pain meds don’t help and my mind is unable to escape it.

I’m watching Top Chef Masters and knitting these socks in bed today.