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TMI content, y’all have been warned
Aug. 30th, 2025 02:50 pmToday, on ‘Americans will measure in ANYTHING other than the metric system (even the honorary Canadians)’:
( It happened in the shower, it’s tmi-chix worthy )
of all the nameless but notable figures in the Gospel out there, I never expected to find myself identifying with the woman with the issue of blood. Yeesh.
( It happened in the shower, it’s tmi-chix worthy )
of all the nameless but notable figures in the Gospel out there, I never expected to find myself identifying with the woman with the issue of blood. Yeesh.
(no subject)
Jun. 23rd, 2023 08:16 amSigned up for cancer insurance this morning. Mutual of Omaha. I'd been considering the possibility for a while now- honestly, since before last year's colonoscopy, and I'd looked at reviews and checked a couple of companies. Never actually went through with it, but...
Well, I have health insurance through my job and that's a start, but honestly, there's a lot of stuff that goes on when someone has cancer that isn't covered by health insurance and that stacks up. And even what's covered can get expensive; I'd like to avoid being completely whammied if I ever get bad results on a mammogram, or on a colonoscopy, or-
Did I mention that this past year the World Trade Center health program added 'uterine cancer' to the list of conditions covered for WTC responders? And that my doctor had me go in for a biopsy last year to make sure that my getting two heavy periods a month, more than once in a year, was just becausemy parents neglected to invite Menstrua the Wicked Fairy to my christening fibroids?
yeah.
If it happens, I want to be able to pay for the process, including the stuff I didn't think I'd have to pay for or the stuff I hadn't thought about that turns out to be associated with the whole godawful mess.
Well, I have health insurance through my job and that's a start, but honestly, there's a lot of stuff that goes on when someone has cancer that isn't covered by health insurance and that stacks up. And even what's covered can get expensive; I'd like to avoid being completely whammied if I ever get bad results on a mammogram, or on a colonoscopy, or-
Did I mention that this past year the World Trade Center health program added 'uterine cancer' to the list of conditions covered for WTC responders? And that my doctor had me go in for a biopsy last year to make sure that my getting two heavy periods a month, more than once in a year, was just because
yeah.
If it happens, I want to be able to pay for the process, including the stuff I didn't think I'd have to pay for or the stuff I hadn't thought about that turns out to be associated with the whole godawful mess.
(no subject)
Jun. 21st, 2023 02:26 pmcurrently not enjoying being female very much. This has nothing to do with political or social or religious or internet foo, and everything to do with the fact that it is Shark Week on the Discovery Channel for the second time in less than 28 days.
I would like very much to request that future health education courses for young 46,XX populations include detailed information on what to expect in the years leading up to menopause, because God knows nobody ever mentioned to me that my damn cycle would get MORE frequent before the end in some kind of extinction burst. I got all my information about the far end of the menstrual zone from the menopause chapter in a Dave Barry-esque book called Raging Hormones (which was surprisingly informative about what I could actually expect from my own systems for a book with an axe-wielding Joan Crawford on the cover).
I would like very much to request that future health education courses for young 46,XX populations include detailed information on what to expect in the years leading up to menopause, because God knows nobody ever mentioned to me that my damn cycle would get MORE frequent before the end in some kind of extinction burst. I got all my information about the far end of the menstrual zone from the menopause chapter in a Dave Barry-esque book called Raging Hormones (which was surprisingly informative about what I could actually expect from my own systems for a book with an axe-wielding Joan Crawford on the cover).
(no subject)
Aug. 18th, 2022 01:26 pmDear USPS employees:
I am sorry for the envelope you are probably going to have to handle today. I would not have inflicted it on you if my doctor hadn't asked me to do it. And for what it's worth I handed the envelope to a lab tech at my doctor's medical practice, so there is a chance that it's going to be transported by biomedical couriers who deal with worse every day.
Regardless, you have my apologies if it does wind up in the mail, and my respect for all the other FIT samples you handle every day now that it's possible to send off a home test for early colon cancer screening. They don't pay you guys enough for that.
Edit: well, I got an email with test results last night before I went to bed, so it didn't go through the postal service after all. The NP who ordered the test will be contacting me to talk about my results once all the results from the tests she ordered are in, so we can deal with them all at once.
But the postal employees at least didn't have to handle an FIT sample, so there's that.
I am sorry for the envelope you are probably going to have to handle today. I would not have inflicted it on you if my doctor hadn't asked me to do it. And for what it's worth I handed the envelope to a lab tech at my doctor's medical practice, so there is a chance that it's going to be transported by biomedical couriers who deal with worse every day.
Regardless, you have my apologies if it does wind up in the mail, and my respect for all the other FIT samples you handle every day now that it's possible to send off a home test for early colon cancer screening. They don't pay you guys enough for that.
Edit: well, I got an email with test results last night before I went to bed, so it didn't go through the postal service after all. The NP who ordered the test will be contacting me to talk about my results once all the results from the tests she ordered are in, so we can deal with them all at once.
But the postal employees at least didn't have to handle an FIT sample, so there's that.
(no subject)
Apr. 3rd, 2020 10:05 amI've never had much of a sense of smell, not as long as I can remember. I mean, I have one. It's just not very good. I've had a functioning sense of taste my whole life, too, a better one than I think a lousy sense of smell would indicate.
I saw an otolaryngologist two years ago for possible 9/11-related sinusitis. He figured it was more likely to be allergies after several rounds of examination and testing. I did, however, mention the terrible sense of smell. He was severely puzzled by not finding anything that looked like a physical explanation for the phenomenon.
Mostly I mention this because a while back, like late February or possibly early March, I went to look for information on the best amount, formulation, etc. of zinc to use as an accompaniment to oral rehydration solution in the event of a dehydrating illness. The World Health Organization had noted that additional zinc supplementation resulted in better outcomes, at least in children and in adult cholera patients. There was a lot of information out there about zinc, especially since at the time people were still mostly going 'what do I need for cold and flu season' rather than 'OMGCORONAVIRUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA'. I spotted an advisory about certain zinc preparations that left me surprised; apparently alt-med preparations of zinc solution that involve swabbing the inside of one's nose exist. And are very, very, very strongly not recommended, because of multiple patients reporting long-term to permanent loss of smell after using these solutions.
(Since they're billed as 'supplements' rather than 'medicines', the various forms of HEALTH FREEDOM legislation over the years have meant that the FDA can't actually stop people from selling the damn things. So long as the supplements include a disclaimer saying 'we're not saying this treats a disease, it just Supports Healthy Immune Function wink wink' they're in the clear no matter how much danger they pose to people via side effect. Thanks, folks.)
Anyway, I'd have skipped over that except that I remembered that sometime in the early 80s they stopped making pennies out of copper (it was a pricey metal compared to the value of a penny) and started making them out of zinc plated with the thinnest layer of copper they could manage and still keep the right colors. And that I shoved a penny up my nose when I was eight and wasn't able to get it out until I had gone into panic mode and cried for a substantial amount of time, thereby lubing things up and causing the penny to come shooting out, in the disgusting manner of many an eight-year-old.
I have no clue whatsoever if a single traumatic event that did not result in blood would be enough to cause a result like that, or if the penny in question was from one of the zinc years or an older one that was still copper. I need to see if I can find the reports on the folks developing anosmia after nasal zinc application and see what level of exposure they had.
Hope you enjoyed today's disgusting medical info unrelated to Covid.
I saw an otolaryngologist two years ago for possible 9/11-related sinusitis. He figured it was more likely to be allergies after several rounds of examination and testing. I did, however, mention the terrible sense of smell. He was severely puzzled by not finding anything that looked like a physical explanation for the phenomenon.
Mostly I mention this because a while back, like late February or possibly early March, I went to look for information on the best amount, formulation, etc. of zinc to use as an accompaniment to oral rehydration solution in the event of a dehydrating illness. The World Health Organization had noted that additional zinc supplementation resulted in better outcomes, at least in children and in adult cholera patients. There was a lot of information out there about zinc, especially since at the time people were still mostly going 'what do I need for cold and flu season' rather than 'OMGCORONAVIRUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA'. I spotted an advisory about certain zinc preparations that left me surprised; apparently alt-med preparations of zinc solution that involve swabbing the inside of one's nose exist. And are very, very, very strongly not recommended, because of multiple patients reporting long-term to permanent loss of smell after using these solutions.
(Since they're billed as 'supplements' rather than 'medicines', the various forms of HEALTH FREEDOM legislation over the years have meant that the FDA can't actually stop people from selling the damn things. So long as the supplements include a disclaimer saying 'we're not saying this treats a disease, it just Supports Healthy Immune Function wink wink' they're in the clear no matter how much danger they pose to people via side effect. Thanks, folks.)
Anyway, I'd have skipped over that except that I remembered that sometime in the early 80s they stopped making pennies out of copper (it was a pricey metal compared to the value of a penny) and started making them out of zinc plated with the thinnest layer of copper they could manage and still keep the right colors. And that I shoved a penny up my nose when I was eight and wasn't able to get it out until I had gone into panic mode and cried for a substantial amount of time, thereby lubing things up and causing the penny to come shooting out, in the disgusting manner of many an eight-year-old.
I have no clue whatsoever if a single traumatic event that did not result in blood would be enough to cause a result like that, or if the penny in question was from one of the zinc years or an older one that was still copper. I need to see if I can find the reports on the folks developing anosmia after nasal zinc application and see what level of exposure they had.
Hope you enjoyed today's disgusting medical info unrelated to Covid.
Ingredients:
1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder - I used King Arthur Flour's burgundy cocoa, which is Dutch processed and uses alkali
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups packed (10 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
Note: for the More Info Than You Really Wanted edition of this, about an ounce of this should be dark brown sugar that has dried into a brittle but breakable lump, three to four ounces should be reasonably soft and flowy light brown sugar, and the rest should be light brown sugar that has hardened into a brick that refuses to break off pieces but looks small enough that one could be forgiven for thinking a little extra attention will break it up properly
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
Note: the More Info Than You Really Wanted edition used Baker's unsweetened chocolate, broken into individual units and then cut in about two pieces each by rocking a knife across the middle and catching as many of the splinters as possible along with the larger chunks. They were not particularly finely chopped by any standard known to man. Don't sweat the chopping on these.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
½ cup (2 ounces) confectioners' sugar
Procedure: ( I'm pretty sure Professor Cosgrove at CCM would throw me out on my ass for this. Possibly make me wear the Hat of Shame. I dunno. )
1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder - I used King Arthur Flour's burgundy cocoa, which is Dutch processed and uses alkali
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups packed (10 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
Note: for the More Info Than You Really Wanted edition of this, about an ounce of this should be dark brown sugar that has dried into a brittle but breakable lump, three to four ounces should be reasonably soft and flowy light brown sugar, and the rest should be light brown sugar that has hardened into a brick that refuses to break off pieces but looks small enough that one could be forgiven for thinking a little extra attention will break it up properly
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
Note: the More Info Than You Really Wanted edition used Baker's unsweetened chocolate, broken into individual units and then cut in about two pieces each by rocking a knife across the middle and catching as many of the splinters as possible along with the larger chunks. They were not particularly finely chopped by any standard known to man. Don't sweat the chopping on these.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
½ cup (2 ounces) confectioners' sugar
Procedure: ( I'm pretty sure Professor Cosgrove at CCM would throw me out on my ass for this. Possibly make me wear the Hat of Shame. I dunno. )
