O.K., I tried the symptom checker on my hip pain. For the past week when ever I move my leg in various ways, (I haven't figured out exactly what I'm doing yet.) I've been getting this intense shooting pain up my hip. It is inconsistant and started when I slept a couple of nights in my in-laws guest bed, which is why I am going to give it another week before I go into the doctor. I personally think it is a pinched nerve. The Mayo Clinic, however, says it is a hip labral tear. As I read it, it makes sense but the pain does seem to come from the nerves not anything that is torn. Reading the treatment though, they suggest pain killers anyway which I can and have been doing on my own. If it doesn't go away by next Thursday, I will call the doctor for an appointment.
I found the MedlinePlus Go Local website harder to use than I thought it would be. I tried to find resources for thyroid cancer 10 miles from my home and came up with a VERY confusing list. I had to go by county and not distance. This is not an easy thing to do when you live at the corner of three different counties. I also didn't find much in the way of support groups in the area period. I guess it is still to rare of a disease to warrant a support group at a regional basis. (There is a nationwide group called ThyCa, but they do not have local meetings.)
I was able to create a health family tree. It would not be very useful to my descendants since my husband and I are planning to adopt. (Among other medical and genetic problems we both have, my husband's exact words were, "We're not having children of our own. We're stopping this Moran cancer gene in it's tracks!" After 4 types of cancer in 4 different generations, none of which are now fatal, I whole heartedly agree.) I am planning on saving it though for my nieces and nephews. It would be nice for them to have all that family health information in one place.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wellness #41 - Going Green - Part 2
My husband and I already do quite a bit of these suggestions. We recycle as much as we can, although we are looking into recycling more. I walk to the grocery store and Walgreen's as much as possible while he rides his bike. I bring my lunch with me to work despite the fact that I live very close. Every time we have a light burn out we try to replace it with an energy efficient one. Aah, the joys of having a leftover hippie who works in the energy sector as a father.
My husband and I are considering changing to Reliant's 100% wind energy plan. It's about a cent more a kilowatt then what we're paying now but if it reduces our carbon footprint, it would be worth it. I looked at Green Mountain Energy but their cheaper plans had a tendency to fluctuate too much.
I try to hyper-mile my car as much as possible. I try to drive the speed limit and coast as much as possible. I suppose I could do more. I drive with my cruise control on the freeway too much, I'm sure. I realize when I do that, I put my car in control of my speed and it is probably harder on it's insides then I am. I use it because I acknowledge I have a lead foot and I am trying to go the speed limit. I will try to drive without the cruise control when I go up to my in-laws next Christmas. I will also try to drive 55 the next time I get on the freeway here in town (if I can get up to that speed). I understand the need to drive slower. I allowed my sister-in-law to drive my car back to Houston from Bowie, TX the last time we went up to Oklahoma. She drove 80 nearly the entire way back, getting us to Houston an hour and a half early. She also used nearly a 1/4 of a tank more of gas than I usually use driving that same distance at 65-70. That just proved to me that hyper-miling a car is the way to go.
My husband and I are considering changing to Reliant's 100% wind energy plan. It's about a cent more a kilowatt then what we're paying now but if it reduces our carbon footprint, it would be worth it. I looked at Green Mountain Energy but their cheaper plans had a tendency to fluctuate too much.
I try to hyper-mile my car as much as possible. I try to drive the speed limit and coast as much as possible. I suppose I could do more. I drive with my cruise control on the freeway too much, I'm sure. I realize when I do that, I put my car in control of my speed and it is probably harder on it's insides then I am. I use it because I acknowledge I have a lead foot and I am trying to go the speed limit. I will try to drive without the cruise control when I go up to my in-laws next Christmas. I will also try to drive 55 the next time I get on the freeway here in town (if I can get up to that speed). I understand the need to drive slower. I allowed my sister-in-law to drive my car back to Houston from Bowie, TX the last time we went up to Oklahoma. She drove 80 nearly the entire way back, getting us to Houston an hour and a half early. She also used nearly a 1/4 of a tank more of gas than I usually use driving that same distance at 65-70. That just proved to me that hyper-miling a car is the way to go.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Wellness #41: Going Green - Part 1
Well according to the Individual Emissions website by the EPA, my husband and I put out approximately 32,446 pounds of CO2 per year. Not bad considering he has a long commute to work. We already recycle plastic, paper, metal, and compost and produce only about 3 bags of trash every month. There doesn't seem to be a place in the Katy area to recycle glass although my sister-in-law in the Clear Lake area has Ellington Field near her. She offered to take our glass off our hands and recycle it for us. Now I just need to find a receptacle to keep it in between times that we see her.
As the lights in our study, closets, and two extra bedrooms go out, we will be replacing them with energy efficient lights. (We've already replace them in our bedroom lamps and in one in our closet. I will go scour Home Depot if I ever have the time for more energy efficient flood light bulbs. (Unfortunately, those are used in the majority of the house.)
If I get really brave, I might even turn down the heat in the winter (we already keep the house at 65). Eventually (once the house is paid off), we would like to install Energy Star windows and better insulation in the attic.
I have never been to a Farmer's Market but there is one here in Katy that I've always wanted to go to. I see they sell fish, nuts, olive oil, bread and other things I usually have to go to the grocery store to buy. Perhaps the weekend after next, my husband and I might go down there and look around. (I actually do need bread and olive oil.) It will also be good next January/February when I am on my wonderful special diet. We like supporting the little shop owner rather than the big corporate conglomerate.
As the lights in our study, closets, and two extra bedrooms go out, we will be replacing them with energy efficient lights. (We've already replace them in our bedroom lamps and in one in our closet. I will go scour Home Depot if I ever have the time for more energy efficient flood light bulbs. (Unfortunately, those are used in the majority of the house.)
If I get really brave, I might even turn down the heat in the winter (we already keep the house at 65). Eventually (once the house is paid off), we would like to install Energy Star windows and better insulation in the attic.
I have never been to a Farmer's Market but there is one here in Katy that I've always wanted to go to. I see they sell fish, nuts, olive oil, bread and other things I usually have to go to the grocery store to buy. Perhaps the weekend after next, my husband and I might go down there and look around. (I actually do need bread and olive oil.) It will also be good next January/February when I am on my wonderful special diet. We like supporting the little shop owner rather than the big corporate conglomerate.
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