The Blonde Diaries

So here in Houston we’ve been having weather all over the map. One minute we wake up to freezing temperatures and the next we are running the air conditioner because it is hot and stuffy.  This leaves me like most Houstonians – trying to find combinations of the best multivitamin supplements to help ward off germs and keep us from getting sick. Unfortunately, I took a small break around the Christmas holidays from my vitamins and I am now sick with a cold and headache. I’ve been trying to stay on top of the battle with a glass of OJ each morning and a mixture of DayQuil and NyQuil. The downfall is that I’m falling asleep all the time. So lesson learned – when the weather is acting evil stay on top of the vitamins and minerals to stay well.

Nope! The best diet secret is not found in womens weight loss pills. While they are a good addition to a diet, they aren’t the secret to having a successful diet. It also isn’t about how much you exercise. Rather, it is about the vitamins and minerals you put into your body all day. Nutrition is the most important part of having a successful diet/lifestyle change because having an imbalance of vitamins and minerals can cause you to be depressed and tired with no energy to get up and do anything else. When you get the right amount of vitamins and minerals in your diet you feel great and have the energy to do whatever you want. So next time you need to push your diet along, take a look at your vitamin regimen and make sure you are getting enough of the right vitamins and minerals.

For the past few months (starting around August), I’ve been fighting the future. To me the future means that I will get old, have health problems, and have less fun. Essentially, I will be leaving my fun years of the 20s and heading into adulthood in my 30s and then my 40s. It has been pretty depressing lately and something I’ve struggled with. I still haven’t accepted my age but I’m not as upset about it. I’d say I’m in denial right now.

But the flip side of it all is that the future also brings about good change like technical and medical advancements. I get excited every time I read a news article on Yahoo! News about a new study that has positive results in the medical community. I don’t think that anything is too small to get excited about even if it doesn’t really impact my life like cures for genital herpes or cures for peanut allergies but for the common good, they will and can make a difference. I think of all the illnesses and diseases out there as a giant checklist. Once you cure one or find a drug to fix it you can check it off the list and move on to cure something else. Every little bit of technology and advancement is a win and a step forward to something bigger and better.

Moving to Houston had many perks but one of the downfalls was leaving my doctors back home to find new ones in the city.  You would think that wouldn’t be too hard in a city that has a huge Medical Center and hospitals all over the place but I have learned otherwise in my 5 years here.  For the most part, Houston is up-to-date on all the new technologies, screenings, and drugs.  It is just finding the right doctor that is the PITA!

I thought 3 years ago that I was all settled. I finally found a primary care physician who was young and taught at one of the medical colleges here in town.  She was up-to-date with everything and was very open to treating her patients with the latest things in the medical field. Everything was going great until I emailed the Clinic to schedule an appointment and much to my surprise my doctor left for maternity leave (not a huge deal) and decided she wasn’t coming back at all!  I just saw her 2 months ago and she never mentioned anything as a heads up.  Talk about frustrating. Just when I thought everything was right it is turned upside down.

So this morning I went to meet with a new doctor’s office since my old one wasn’t really accepting “new” patients and I just didn’t have a warm and fuzzy feeling when I left. Everything I seemed to ask about that my last 2 doctors treated or were concerned with the office told me that they didn’t treat that. Yeah… So back to the drawing board. Luckily I am feeling better than I did last week so I can do some more research on local doctors but I just hate this game.

Since I have been traveling quite a bit the past 2 months, I have been exposed to more billboard advertising than usual.  I have also been turning on the television a bit more and see video advertisements.  One common theme I am seeing is the usage of words that I am not familiar with.  I will admit that my vocabulary is probably average and could be better but there are just some things I have to come home and look up (if I can remember them).

The latest one was a billboard advertising Mesothelioma lawyers who were looking for people to join a class action lawsuit. I have to admit I was not familiar with Mesothelioma (long word!) so I googled it of course. Mesothelioma is a disease people can develop after prolonged exposure to asbestos in various manners. I read a little more and man those poor people that have to live with this disease and the fact that people might have known about the dangers and didn’t warn anyone is heartbreaking. I don’t always support class action lawsuits but this is one of those instances where I think it is warranted.