Changes

Things change. I don’t always do well with changes, especially when they affect my health. Those of you with XLH know that sometimes things can change rather quickly as we age. They certainly have for me. This past week, I had to address my sudden rise in blood pressure, which of course, doesn’t have anything to do with XLH and isn’t a side effect of the medications we take, but can simply be just one more thing we can get in middle age. For me, I halfway expected it, since both my parents have high blood pressure. I assumed I had just gotten another “genetic thing” to deal with.

So, I went to my family doctor, at the strong suggestion of my endocrinologist, to get her wise counsel on this problem. Her first thought is that my allergy medication, Claritin D-12, is the source of my problem. “If you were a smoker, I would tell you to stop smoking,” she said. “If you used crack cocaine, I’d tell you to stop using crack cocaine. But I am going to tell you–no more decongestants for your allergies!” If any of you readers live in or near the allergy capital of the world like I do, then you know that this kind of change is a little scary. I mean, I get some bad sinus headaches, and I’ll take my bone pain over a nauseating headache any day. Seriously. I will do almost anything to avoid those headaches.

But, I stopped taking all decongestants. That’s it, I’m done. She prescribed another allergy medication to take its place. We’ll see if it works. My blood pressure has gotten back to normal, so far. Maybe those parental genes haven’t kicked in yet. The good thing is that Claritin D-12 was a large pill, so now I have more room in my pillbox, and if you read my post from a couple weeks ago, you know that’s important to me. Therefore, I added the fish oil pill back into the box, since it is supposed to help with–yep–blood pressure.

Some changes are GOOD!

And, one of my favorite changes are the changes of colors around here as we transition from summer into fall. Yeah, I know, leaf mold bothers some people, but gosh, it sure is pretty. I will leave you with some photographs I have taken in the last two weeks, to celebrate some beautiful changes I enjoy. Happy autumn, friends!

Autumn at Mabry Mill

Behind Mabry Mill

Widow Falls at Stone Mountain in Elkin, NC

Copyright 2014, S.G. Hunter and Banjogrrldiaries, all rights reserved.

Point of View

I had an appointment with my endocrinologist last week that confirmed something that I have long suspected–I have an odd point of view about some things. Now, I know that I do have a unique point of view, literally, when it comes to my short vantage point. I mean, I have seen more belt buckles in my lifetime than most people, which is why I hate large parties with complete strangers.

What led him to conclude that my way of thinking was a unique sort of logic came about as a result of him confirming what medications I currently take. In August, he had prescribed two new meds for me, calcitriol and phospha 250, and that was going to add 5 pills per day to my pillbox. Those of you XLH-ers who take those meds know that while the calcitriol is small, the phospha 250 is what my mother would refer to as a “horse pill.” Those 3 phospha pills and 2 calcitriol pills per day simply did not fit in my pillbox. So, I guess I’m vain. When I realized they didn’t fit, the first thing that came to my mind was, “Something’s got to go,” not, “I need a bigger pillbox.” I decided that since my cholesterol pill is doing a great job of lowering my bad cholesterol, then I could probably eliminate the flax seed pill and the fish oil pill, both of which are quite large. I did that, problem solved. Quite honestly, I associate huge pill boxes with old age. I know, I know, that’s really not fair, but what can I say? I’m just not ready for the big pillbox that has four compartments for each day. I can’t bring myself to carry a pillbox that qualifies as “carry-on luggage.” I am vain, just between me and you.

Which leads me to reveal a secret dream that I’ve had for many years. I discussed this with a friend several years ago, when I bought my current pillbox, the one that seems to be shrinking. We felt like people in our generation would appreciate a more whimsical, fun pillbox. We both agreed that a pillbox that is more like a Pez dispenser would be way more cool to carry around and whip out at the restaurant than the boring ones that are currently available. And now that I have pills that are supposed to be taken with meals, the calcitriol and the phospha 250, I think it’s time to work on my invention.

Just remember: You first read about it here!

My current vintage collection consists of Woodstock Wednesday, Snoopy Sunday, Tasmanian Tuesday and Fred Friday. I need three more, for Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Suggestions?

Hmm…those doggone phospha pills are a little long. I guess I’ll have to stand them up or cut them in half. Still, though, way cooler than a box.

Copyright S. G. Hunter and Banjogrrldiaries, 2014