Sunday, July 27 this and that-------

(sigh) Something messed up with the posting on my last post-------I cut and pasted the letter I received from Dr. Carr's office about his practice-----for some reason, only about half of the text of the letter is showing. Not sure how to fix it, but the bottom line is that Dr. Carr's practice is full, and as of AUGUST 1, 2014 any new patients will be placed on a waiting list until there is an opening in the practice.  Dr. Carr has long said that when he hit a patient load that he could handle effectively as a solo practitioner, he would stop accepting new patients and put them on a wait list. It's the only way he can provide individualized attention to the patients in his practice.

I have a phone consult with Dr. Carr this week; I am having mild hot flashes.  They are nothing compared to the horrendous hot flashes I had before I got my hormones balanced, but I suspect my progesterone level is low. I have a very hard time keeping my levels optimal when using creams.  So if you are having hot flashes, I am feeling your pain!

I never had much problem with night sweats, but I have spoken to a number of women who have and are absolutely miserable (not to mention exhausted) dealing with them.  I came across this article in The Huffington Post which is kind of those good news/bad news kind of articles.  Caffeine can worsen hot flashes and night sweats, but it has also been shown to improve mood and lessen memory problems in peri/menopausal women.  I don't drink coffee, but I am still drinking too much diet soda, which has about 45 mg of caffeine.  A medium cup of coffee has about 260 mg of caffeine.  I have occasionally taken a caffeine tablet, which contains 200 mg caffeine, if I have had a lousy night sleep and need to be at my "best" in the morning.  I try not to do it too often.

Speaking of sleep, again from The Huffington Post, a helpful graphic about napping-----should you or shouldn't you?  I am not a daytime napper, as I have found that it too often disrupts my nighttime sleep (which is already not optimal, but much of that is chronic pain issues.)  Once in a while, on a cold, dreary, and/or rainy day, I curl up for a nap, but those days are rare.  I do usually lay down for a little while in the afternoon with an ice pack on my back, as I find it helps with my back pain and allows me to do a little more in the late afternoon than if I didn't take the break.  I don't sleep; I either read, knit, catch up on hormone articles on my iPad, or the last couple weeks............catch up on House of Cards on Netflix (I just got Netflix, so it's like a new toy!)

I just recently discovered a great page presented by PBS called Next Avenue-----some great articles for us "mature" adults.  Came across this one about brain health, something that we all think about as we age.  I have had a number of friends who have dealt with parents, siblings, or partners suffering from dementia, and I have seen the devastating effects that dementia/Alzheimer's has on an entire family.  I am grateful every day that I never had to address those issues with either of my parents, my father died when I was young, and while I was the full time caregiver for my mother in the final years of her life and it was tremendously difficult, her brain was as clear as a bell until the day she died.

That's it for today; it was rainy and miserable here in NC when I got up this morning, but the storms have pushed out and it's partly sunny, at least for now. We may be expecting severe storms later today into tomorrow, not unusual for this time of year. What is unusual, however, is that once the storms go through, we will have highs in the low 80's for most of the week, which is an absolute blessing in the Southeast in late July/early August!  I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.  I'm off to a big quilt show on Thursday with a friend, and I hope you all have a great week ahead!