Ear, Nose and Throat

I’ve been battling a pretty severe ear infection for the last three weeks. My doctors finally sent me to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. He’s been treating my infection, but says that I have developed allergies and that I need to start treating them so that this doesn’t happen again. I’ve always heard that if you live in this valley long enough, you will eventually develop allergies because the air is so bad. I guess I’m a testament to that theory.

He tells me the infection is going away, but there is still some pressure. I have to go back in 2 weeks for a hearing test to see if there has been some nerve damage. I told him that I really didn’t mind the hearing loss considering some of the crap I have to listen to on a regular basis. (Kidding.)

Ear Drops

Back to the doctor today.  This time, they sent me to an ear, nose and throat guy.  He vacuumed the gunk out of my ear which felt really good and was the first relief that I’ve had in weeks.  He prescribed ear drops for me and that instantly took me back to my childhood.  I had ear infections quite frequently as a child… painful, achy memories.  One of my fondest childhood memories was of my mother putting those drops in my ears.  It always felt so much better. Her secret was to warm up the drops before… and she would do that by putting the bottle in her bra for a few minutes before the application.  She had a bit more cleavage than I do (not much) and that’s where the bottle would go for about 15 minutes.  Now… I warm it up myself and Leroy does the application.

Vitamins

One of the semester assignments for my MJC class is a behavioral change project.  We are to change to a healthy habit and document our progress along the way.  I chose to work on my vitamin consumption.  Just like all women my age, it is advised that I take supplements.  Since I am a Gastric Bypass patient (2003) the vitamins are even more important.  I’ve been terrible at taking them.  Usually, I just forget but sometimes when I do take them, they make me nauseous so I avoid them all together.  I decided to focus on this health habit for my MJC project and it really has made a difference.  I discovered (through the use of a journal) that drinking lots and lots of water with the vitamins will help with the nausea.  I have them organized and with me all the time so I have no more excuses.  Don’t ask me what all of them are because I couldn’t tell you.  One set is a multi-vitamin pack for women my age and the other set is for hair, skin and nails because vanity is a powerful driving force.