Delirity

A few months ago I decided to eliminate hormonal contraceptives from my life. I’ve been on some version or another of the pill for 8 years. The extra hormones paired with my thyroid issues makes it hard to figure out exactly what my body is actually capable of doing, so I decided it was time to move on to bigger and better things. It took me a while to decide for sure that an IUD was the right choice for me. But now I’ve got a little mirena IUD hanging out in my uterus.

To get an IUD you have to go for a contraceptive consultation with your gynecologist. During my consultation my doctor cautioned me that since I haven’t had children I might have more pain during the insertion of the device. Fortunately, she also prescribed for me a cervix softener to take the night before and 2 vicodin for before the procedure. I tood my meds as prescribed, then had Jesse drive me to my appointment this morning (I definitely recommend getting a ride for this since you don’t know how you’ll react!).

The insertion was fairly quick. Overall I felt 3-4 (cleaning with iodine, sounding my uterus to make sure it’s big enough, insertion of device) of the worst cramps I’ve ever had, but it was over in 5 minutes.  If I had known, I would have taken some ibuprofin in addition to the vicodin since it helps more with the cramps and the insertion definitely kicked up my cramps.

The trouble I had is that by the time the doctor was about to insert the IUD I was sweating and getting a little shaky. I still felt more or less ok when she was done, so I hopped up, walked out the to waiting room to have Jesse take me home and immediately realized something wasn’t right. I had to sit down. Then I felt like I really needed a nap – so apparently I took one by fainting.

This is the 3rd time in my life I’ve fainted and the first time where I feel like there was good reason. I wound up hanging out in the exam room for another 20 minutes or so til I felt better. They gave me some water and a granola bar which helped, but I only really felt completely better once I was home, got a little more food, some ibuprofin and a real nap. Now I feel pretty much back to normal with the exception of some fairly standard cramps which I assume will go away as they ususally do.

Would I do it again? I really believe that the benefits of the IUD are going to outweigh the 2 hours of not feeling great that I had this morning. I also believe that someday after having a kid I’ll probably get another IUD inserted (though I’ll be crossing my fingers I don’t faint and will not be getting off the table for at least 5-10 minutes after the insertion!). I’ll have to wait to see how this thing works out (they say to give it about 3 months to settle in before really passing judgement) in order to say for sure, but I really think it was worth it.

At least it gave me a good excuse to eat half a pan of brownies and watch movies all day. =)

I bought 3 of these power strips for around the house (my computer, Jesse’s computer & the entertainment center) – I’m pleased to say that the master/slave relationship between the plugs actually works. If I turn off my computer, in under a minute the power is cut to the speakers, monitor and printer. Pretty cool. The only thing I’ll need to get used to is that  certain devices, like the printer, don’t come back on when the master device (like the computer) is turned on unless I press the power button.

I’ve been shelling out a little bit of money recently for these energy saving devices – probably around $75 to get the CFLs & surge protectors. I don’t know how long it’ll take to actually recoup the costs, but I like to think that by trying out these things now, as we grow into larger spaces we’ll have the tools to help us use less energy.

While I was setting up the new surge protectors I finally took care of a much needed task – labeling the cords of all the devices! It is going to be soooo much easier the next time I have to move plugs around! Yay labeler.

Hi Debbie -

I notice the other day that I’m not listed in the Lab Alumni section of the lab’s website. I find that interesting since I spent 2 1/2 years running experiment after experiment in your lab.

I’m thinking I’ve been unincluded because I told you I wasn’t planning to go to graduate school. I think it’s horrible that you were completely unsupportive of my decision. Your job is in part to educate students and help them find their way in the world – it’s good for you to suggest graduate school, but not to essentially disown a student if their path in life isn’t the same as yours or what you would hope for them.

The funny thing is that I’ve been working in a research lab for the past 3 years that is incredible successful. We do reasearch in aging and technology. What I do allows for continuous data collection over periods of years. As much as I loved the inferior left frontal gyrus in college, I’m much more excited about collecting data that may actually give us a picture of what memory change looks like in every day activities over the course of several years. Of course, I will be just as happy one day spending my time raising a family and helping my husband run his chiropractic practice. We all have our own priorities in life and that is mine – and my goal is to surround myself with people who support my choices, whether they make the same choices or not.

I suggest that you find some space on your website to list me and my job and contact information. Our lab is always looking for new, technically inclined staff – especially people interested in data analysis. I’d be happy to help any of your students get a job in my lab or elsewhere at OHSU.

Take care!

Ok – so I haven’t sent such a letter and I don’t plan to send such a letter because really, it doesn’t matter. It just frustrates me that people can be so … I don’t even know the right word to describe her. Obviously we lead different lives (see here as well).

• necessary for me to be able to concentrate
• sometimes hard to maintain
• a way of showing respect for ourselves and our things
• something I strive for on a daily basis

I’m not even talking about deep cleaned… just tidy. That’s all I ask for.

The gals over at Enviromom have started a One Can A Month challenge that we’ll be participating in. Since we live in an apartment and have a big dumpster that we put our garbage into, we’ll be doing a modified challenge. I think we can do it – and I also think Jesse will appreciate taking out the trash less often – though it might mean a few more trips for recycling (though we already recycle most of what we can). I’m hoping this will help us curb our use of paper towels and help us make smarter choices at the store concerning packaged products.

Our goals:

• 1 kitchen trashcan full per week
• full bathroom & office trashcans no more than once per month