Tag: health update

Posted on

Week in Review: February 8, 2026

I have been feeling more stressed this week. I think I could use some of these stress balls! Work is super busy as I am helping out another department, and in my personal finances, I am trying to get some information I need to finalize how to handle something. After several attempts, I think I found someone who might be able to answer my questions (fingers crossed). There is also no news on the job front for Michael.

On Monday, I had a combination endoscopy/colonoscopy. The procedures went well and the results from both were good. I am especially happy about the endoscopy because there were no eosinophils found in the biopsies, which means that my condition is under control with the medication I am on. That is a welcome change from the first 50 years of my life, with a lot of that being before I even had an accurate diagnosis.

Today, I was invited to go to a performance of Hadestown: Teen Edtion. The performance was incredibly good; it was hard to believe some of the cast were really teenagers! I did find the event quite draining, however, especially sitting in the loud, crowded auditorium before the play and during the intermission. I would have loved to have some noise canceling headphones at those times.

I have to go into the office Monday and Tuesday to do some training, so those days are going to be quite busy for me. I’m hoping things will quiet down a bit after that.

Posted on

Week in Review: January 11, 2026

Peanut Butter has been enjoying the winter sun when he can, and he seems to really like my soft winter blanket.

This has been an interesting week. Michael’s dad is retired now and is trying to figure out everything with insurance, which affects us because Michael will be on his insurance until he turns 26. He did get the health insurance squared away, but we are still waiting to hear on prescription, dental, and vision. Michael did see the dentist this week, but it was to get his permanent crown, so the cost was already covered under the initial crown appointment last month, thankfully!

I am on tray #3 of my Invisalign, and that seems to be going well. They said I could leave the trays on an extra day if they still seem tight, but I’m not very good with vague instructions like that. I have taken it to mean that if I can’t get the new trays on, I should hold off on them. So far I have been able to use the new trays on time.

Below is a picture of the puzzles I purchased over the last few weeks of 2025. I am currently on a puzzle buying moratorium because I started the year with 71 puzzles waiting to be done and they no longer fit comfortably on the shelf I have set aside for that purpose. My goal is to not buy any new puzzles until I have my to do list at 50 or below. It will be a challenge for sure!

Yesterday was a busy day for me. I get together with a friend every other Saturday for lunch and a movie, and this time it was my turn to host. We watched People We Meet on Vacation and both really enjoyed it.

In the evening, I went with a friend from church to see comedian Josh Johnson in York. We had a good time. It was a powerful show that touched on some timely issues.

This morning I went to church, which was lovely. I connected with several friends and was very moved by the service. And now I am enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon!

Posted on

Week in Review: December 28, 2025

What a nice week this was! I enjoyed having the extra days off for Christmas. Outside of the holiday, the biggest thing that happened this week was starting my Invisalign treatment. It has been a big adjustment, but not as bad as I thought it would be. The trays don’t hurt while they are on, but there is some discomfort right after I take them out to eat. It is daunting to think that this will be part of my life for the next eighteen months!

Posted on

Merry Christmas Eve/Michael Health Update

Merry Christmas Eve! Michael finished his Minecraft Lego advent calendar today. He really enjoyed discovering each new item as the month progressed.

Here is the finished display:

A little over three weeks ago, Michael had a manometry study to test the motility of his esophagus, in an ongoing effort to discover why he has trouble swallowing food. The results of the test were apparently normal, but they did make a note that there was “absence of contraction in the skeletal portion of the esophagus.”

Based on this finding, they have referred him to be assessed for possible neuromuscular disorders. Unfortunately, the first available appointment with that department isn’t until September 2026.

It is confusing to me why this is not considered a GI issue, but we are seeing the GI doc in January so hopefully can get a better explanation then. From some reading I have done, it may also explain his chronic constipation issues.

Thankfully, he is able to swallow as long as he has enough liquid to help get it down, so he is okay for now.

Posted on

Week in Review: December 21, 2025

L to R: Chris, Evan, Michael, Hans

I had a good week overall. I had a few moments when I felt overwhelmed by everything I needed to get done, but there were also some really good things. I had a couple of good doctor appointments, and Michael had some dental work done successfully with the help of a little sedation.

On Friday evening, my friend Suzanne came over for dinner. We usually work on a puzzle together, but this time she needed to get home to help her son with some renovations he is doing to her house so that he can move in with her.

Then on Sunday, my friend Renee, her boyfriend Chris, and her two sons Evan and Hans came over to celebrate Christmas with Michael and me. We had a really nice time. We ordered Chinese food, and I had made a couple of treats that I remembered from my childhood – sour cream cookies and a Heath-inspired dessert bar. We also exchanged gifts, and Renee gave me a puzzle that she picked up at a farmers’ market. ☺️

After dinner, Renee asked to play puzzle chess, and we played two rounds of that. We used a couple of the cereal puzzles I got earlier this year, and we each won one round. Here are the puzzles we did:

This week I only work Monday and Tuesday, and on Tuesday I will be off for a couple of hours to get my first Invisalign trays. Michael is going to stay at his dad’s Wednesday and Thursday night, so I will have a quiet Christmas/birthday and will celebrate with Michael on Friday.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Posted on

Week in Review: December 7, 2025

I had a good week with just a couple of appointments. I went to the orthodontist to get prepped and scanned for starting Invisalign. The appointment was a lot longer than it was supposed to be because their scanners were acting up, which wasn’t helped by the fact that I have a very small mouth that is hard to maneuver the scanning wand in.

I also went to the optometrist. I was happy to be able to go to the one that I prefer due to an insurance change, and he updated my prescription and added prisms to make it easier for me to focus. I will go back in six months for the diabetic medical exam.

Michael did not work again this week. He was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but that morning they texted him that they were low on product and he did not need to come in. His job coach’s manager is going to contact them to see what their plans are for his employment, so hopefully we will find out more information this coming week.

I started doing Christmas puzzles this week and have completed three already. I have also finished five books so far this month, as well as a short story called Goblins & Greatcoats. The story is by Travis Baldree and is set in the world of the Legends & Lattes series. It is a fun story that features Zyll, a goblin who appears in the most recent book, Brigands & Breadknives.

Posted on

Thanksgiving Catch-Up

This has been a busy month, so I am very glad for a four-day weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving. Yesterday, Michael and I had a quiet day at home and enjoyed our version of a holiday feast. We are both picky eaters, so it was mostly beige foods. We enjoyed it though!

This morning, Michael had a manometry study to evaluate the motility of his esophagus. He has previously had a barium swallow and an upper endoscopy, both of which were normal. We are hoping that this test will give us some answers to his swallowing difficulties. The nurse who administered the test was great; she was very patient with him and explained everything that was happening very clearly. Michael had a bit of trouble with one small section of the test, but for the most part he did great. Actually, he did a lot better than I think I would have done!

Tomorrow I am going to a local puzzle competition. I am going as a spectator, partly because I enjoy watching people who can puzzle fast and partly because they are having a puzzle swap table. I am really hoping people bring some good puzzles to trade.

Speaking of puzzling, I just bought a new floor lamp for my living room that is a lot brighter than the one I had. It makes doing puzzles much easier and also helps me take better pictures of the finished puzzles. I am going to put the old floor lamp in Michael’s room since he only has a bedside lamp right now.

I did something a little different this year and bought an advent calendar for Michael. It is a Minecraft Lego advent calendar, and he seemed to really like it. I hope he will enjoy building each day’s item.

Posted on

Catching Up – July 2025

This post is really just a list of random things that have been happening in my life over the past few weeks. But first, here is a picture of my cat Peanut Butter sleeping on my son’s backpack:

  • I got two more bookcases to store puzzles, but I built the first one and it fell apart. My fault for going cheap – Target no longer had the one I liked from them, so I got them off of Amazon. I’m going to try to build the other one and see what happens. I kept the shelves from the first one so I can have extra for the second one.
  • A couple of weeks ago, we started seeing what looked like gnats in the apartment. After some research, I found out they were drain flies. I poured boiling water down the drains and bought traps for them. I also contacted the apartment office and they added us to the Orkin list. The Orkin guy came on Friday and treated the drains, so hopefully we won’t see the bugs again!
  • I got my ears re-pierced. I originally had my ears pierced as a teenager (had to do it twice because they got infected the first time). Then a couple of years ago, I got out of the habit of wearing earrings and the holes mostly closed up. So I finally went somewhere and got them re-pierced.
  • I got my third library card. I already had ones from my local library system and from the Queer Liberation Library, but I got one from the Free Library of Pennsylvania after finding out that anyone who lives in PA can get one for free. Once I had the card, I added it to Libby and checked some of the books on my TBR. I found two dozen books that my local library either didn’t have or only had a physical copy of, so I am very happy with that.
  • One of my front teeth needs a root canal. A lot of dentists have been dropping the insurance company I have, so it has been challenging to find people for things. I did find a local endodontist, but I can’t get the rool canal until mid-August. The pain is mostly under control right now, but sometimes it does get pretty bad.
  • After the root canal, I still have one tooth that needs a filling before I can start with orthodontics. I need to talk to my dentist about that first, though. I really like her bedside manner, so to speak, but when she gives novacain, she always hits the nerve directly. She says this is the best way to do it, but it is quite painful and I have never had a dentist who did that before.
  • One piece of really great news – Michael got a job! He is a donation processor at a thrift store, and he is working twenty hours a week. He just finished his second week and is feeling pretty good about how it is going. So far, he has been learning how to sort the clothes and other donations that come in. The next thing he will learn is how to tag the clothes. He is pretty nervous about being able to do it quickly enough, but they seem like they are willing to work with him. He has had his job coach with him so far, but she will just be coming once a week now.

Posted on

Update on Michael

Michael has been having some swallowing issues that I recently became aware of. He describes it as a pressure in his chest and a feeling of release after he drinks water. If he is unable to drink water right away, the pressure increases and become painful. I took him to his primary care office and they referred him to GI and gave him a medication to try in the meantime.

We had the GI appointment, and she wants him to continue using the medication and have a couple of tests – a barium swallow and an upper endoscopy. She said that it could be related to reflux, or it could be EOE like I have, or it might be a motility issue. She said the suggestion of achalasia made by the primary care office is unlikely because that is a more severe problem than he seems to be having.

Michael was more nervous about the swallow test than the scope because he has a lot of sensory sensitivities related to food textures. He had the barium swallow test Monday morning and it was unpleasant but he got through it. The first date they had available for an endoscopy was October 20th, so it will be a while until we get to that.

On another note, he has made some real progress with dental work. When he first transitioned to an adult dentist, he needed work done on several teeth and required sedation to handle it. Over the last few years, he has stepped down from twilight sedation to a combination of a pill that he would take an hour before the appointment along with nitrous oxide given during the appointment. This time, he just needed one tooth filled, so the dentist recommended trying it without taking the pill ahead of time. He said he would still give him nitrous if he needed it once they got started, but Michael did just fine without it. I’m so proud of him!

Posted on

Mental Health Update – June 2025

It has been an interesting few months since I last shared how I have been doing. I was in a depression for quite a while and was having a hard time forcing myself to go places and do things. For example, I skipped a lot of church because I just couldn’t make myself go (thankfully, I can watch the services online). I even had a few days where I was crying for no specific reason.

I did talk to my psychiatrist and we increased one of my meds. She originally suggested increasing the antidepressant, but I worried about doing that because of the bipolar 2 dx, so we increased the mood stabilizer instead. (I see her through an autism clinic, so she had forgotten that I also had the bipolar 2 dx, or she probably wouldn’t have made the first suggestion.)

About three weeks ago, I woke up on a Sunday and my first thought was, I would like to go to church today. It has been the same the last two Sundays as well, even this past Sunday after I stayed up most of the night scrolling TikTok. Normally that would be a reason for me to skip, but I knew that I wanted to go. I’m glad I went because the service was great and the sermon was powerful. I even had successful conversations with a couple of people!

I am feeling a bit upset today because Saturday was my 30-year anniversary with my company and no one has acknowledged it in any way. The same thing happened with my 25th, but I chalked that up to COVID; at the time, I had been cut to part-time and was thankful to still have a job.

On a good note, I am starting to look forward to a trip my son and I are taking in September to visit my family in Illinois. I was feeling very anxious about how I would handle it given how depressed I have been, but now it feels much more manageable. Hopefully, I will still feel that way when the time comes.