This spring break is going to be fun. Nick and I have booked a trip to one of our favorite coastal towns for our anniversary (5 years married on April 9th). When we get there, we're going to a restaurant that I've been dying to go to for probably years now. They serve rose wine, raw oysters, and fried chicken, my most favorite things of all! They serve other things of course, but I'm going for the good stuff. Not sure what else we'll do, maybe hit the beach, an aquarium, etc. I just hope we don't fight and that we have fun.
After that trip, I'll be going down to visit with my mom and Amber as it'll be me and Amber's spring break from work. Nick won't be coming with as he has to work, so I'm looking forward to the time apart. Amber's husband will also be working during the day, so it'll kind of be nice to have just girl time. I also think that'll truly be the last time that it's just the three of us (me, my mom, and Amber - the trio) before Amber has her baby. She's due April 30, so it's approaching fast! They say less than 5% of babies arrive on their due date with most coming either in the 2 weeks before or the 2 weeks after the due date. I predict that she'll have her baby boy on May 2nd. We'll see if I'm right!
While I'm with my fam, I'm also going to visit the family doctor I have down there. I do have doctors up here in my town, but this doctor is just SO good and nice that I still go to her whenever I'm in town. I'm going to ask her about this annoying chronic dry cough I have. I think my blood pressure medication may be causing it, but not sure. I also want to ask her about Ozempic, this diabetes drug that's been approved by the FDA for weight loss, even for people who don't have diabetes. My mom recently had an appointment with this same doctor and I told her to ask if she can prescribe it (just to see if it's even an option) and my mom ended up leaving with her own prescription! I don't think she's started using it yet. It does make me a little nervous that it's an injection and not a pill, but at least it's only once a week. Surely I can manage that? The studies showed that people without diabetes lost about 12% of their weight, which for me would be about 30 lbs. I would be ECSTATIC to lose 30 lbs! When the pandemic started, I immediately put on 10 lbs from just sitting at home and drinking WINE all the time, so that put me right up around 260. In the 2 years since, I've drifted back down to 252, my lowest since March 2020! Obviously I haven't been really attempting to lose weight or do anything. Nothing works - I hate counting calories, walking (while healthy) has never helped me lose weight, Weight Watchers didn't work, etc. Lots of excuses probably, but I've just kind of gotten to the point where I'm like - this is what I look like and this is what size I am. I'm okay with it. Would I love to be smaller? Sure, but I haven't been able to make that happen. While I'm okay with my size, I know it's not healthy though. I've been watching this show called 1000 Lb Best Friends and it's about these 4 best friends pursuing weight loss surgery together. The doctor told one of them that once you're big, your body fights very hard to stay big. I can believe that! He also noted that you don't see very many old people who are obese. I was like, oh shit - this really is a problem that will affect my longevity. I've always known that but now that I'm not super young anymore, I'm starting to realize I could end up with serious health problems down the road.
Another health thing that has come up is the risk for blood clots. Since Amber is pregnant, she happened to share her health reports from 23andMe with them as they showed she was at an increased risk for certain things, one of them being "thrombophilia" or dangerous blood clots, due to having 1 genetic variant associated with it. Amber's doctor actually had her get further genetic testing done to see if she may need to go on blood thinners. They basically told her that she may genetically be low risk (even with the variant) or she may just be extremely lucky that she hasn't had a blood clot yet as she has had several things that have greatly increased the risk, such as taking estrogen containing hormonal birth control for years, being pregnant, and having Covid. They told her that going forward, she should take progesterone only birth control or get a non-hormonal option, such as an IUD.
I did 23andMe too and I have that same increased risk for blood clots. I also have other risk factors for blood clots that Amber doesn't have, which is being obese, being more sedentary. That really made me think about quitting my birth control. I'm on one that's supposed to be the lowest dose of estrogen possible, but it's still in there and I've taken it for years, like probably 10 years now. Nick and I literally don't have sex anymore, so why am I taking this daily pill that can increase my risk of blood clots, something I'm already genetically more at risk for? No thanks...so I'm considering stopping it after my current pack. That does make me nervous just because I've been on it for so long and it has worked 100%. I don't want Nick and I to have a passionate moment (yeah right) and I end up getting pregnant. I still think it's not worth taking those pills.
Well, it's quitting time at work, so I'm going to *go home* and enjoy my Friday! Nick's dad, stepmom, and grandmother are coming to visit for the weekend tomorrow, so I've got some light chores to do. I like seeing them, but it's not as relaxing as visiting with Nick's mom's side of the family. His dad's side feels more like guests whereas his mom's side feels like true family. We'll still have fun, though!
2:55 p.m. - Friday, Apr. 01, 2022