Friday, March 26, 2010

Food is Gross!

Three restaurants in the past few weeks have really disappointed me... First, Little Caesars' is just terrible... There $5 pizzas aren't worth $5 at all!! That should be predictable. Second, McAllisters has just gotten ridiculous!! The last three visits have been bad.. How can you mess up a potato?? I ordered a chicken sandwich last week and it had a few very small pieces of chicken with like 5 pieces of cheese... It was nasty... Yesterday, Quiznos kept me up until 3:30am.... Not fun....

What is with restaurants these days????? It makes me not want to eat out anymore. ever.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Degenerative Disc Disease....

Huh?? Apparently this is what is wrong with my back. I don't quite know or understand what it's about. I was pretty depressed about it yesterday, but I feel better now. I got out and ran this afternoon. The weather was beautiful!!! I ran the trails today at Bonita. Afterwards I sat on a swing and watched the people and enjoyed the weather. It was great!! Welcome Spring!!! :)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Nike+....

My little nike+ mini me is sitting around. The reason is because my Nano doesn't want to work right this week. On Tuesday, it stopped working halfway through the run. And today, it stopped working a quarter of a mile into the run. We both just got an iPhone 3GS, which has the nike+ software already installed so I don't need the receiver. Tomorrow I plan to calibrate it and start using my iPhone instead of the Nano. So now the count is off by 50+ miles. Sorry Mini me....

stuff....

So I've spent WAY to much time this month in doctor's offices! I'm tired of it! With all this pharmacy screw-up stuff and my back hurting, I'm ready to get back to my normal boring life. I had an appointment for my back yesterday. It was supposed to be a followup to the first appointment (which resulted in the pharmacy error.) My back has been hurting for about two months now, on the lower right side. It hurts most when I sit, which is ironic to me. I can stand, walk and even run without pain. After sitting for a half hour or more, it's very irritating, almost unbearable. For the past two weeks, my right foot will go numb while running. On Tuesday morning during our group run, it was so numb, I was unable to feel where I stepped and I felt like I was dragging a sandbag. I was afraid I would twist it or step on something. (The trail surface changes a lot with rain causing ruts and rocks, limbs and pine cones everywhere. We run in the dark too, and use flashlights until the sun comes up.) I ended up having to stop and walk several times. When I told the doctor this, he said that he's going to forgo the x-ray and do an MRI instead. He said it's most likely (hopefully) a pinched nerve that's causing this. Let's pray that it's nothing more than that. He said depending on the outcome of the MRI, the plan is A) physical therapy or B) sending me to a surgeon. I don't like this at all..... He gave me some different pain medicine this time (Which is wonderful by the way!). I also used the other pharmacy (same company, different location).

Today is Mom & Dad's 32ND Anniversary! :) YEAH parents! They are great! My parents. They are so happy together and are an inspiration to me. 32 years together means that I'll be 30 this year.... AAAAAAHAHAHHAHA!!! :) I'm not ready to be 30. It just sounds weird. Wes will be 32. This aging thing is not cool....

Pete, if you're reading this, I sent your package off on Monday. It's full of junk that will rot your teeth and a few things that won't. There's also a MS flag in there too. Mom said you would really like some toilet paper. I heard the story about the Afghani people's bathroom habits.... There WILL be toilet paper in your next box. Mom said Kelly's sent you some too. Can't have too much toilet paper. That's my opinion anyway. PLEASE don't pick up their bathroom habits!

So, I've got lots of races planned for this summer (pending what the deal is with my back). I've registered for two in April and the Natchez Trace Century Ride as well. Wes and I are doing the the 25 mile leg. There's three races in May I'm thinking about and possibly one the first week of June. That'll be four in a row. I doubt I'll do all four. We'll see. I haven't looked past June yet. There's a few that are already posted.

Wes & I are going to see Conan O'Brien in Atlanta in June. He'll be at the Fox Theater. It's the last stop of his "Legally prohibited from being funny on television" tour. Can't wait!! :)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Legal Beagle 5K Pictures....



Three Members of bonita running club (Tom Mattimore, Me, & Tim)
Wes has been using our new HD video camera. All these pictures were taken on it. He recorded a lot of video. Check www.bonitarunningclub.com for the video to be posted soon.

Legal Beagle 5K this morning..

Ran the Legal Beagle 5K this morning in Jackson. It was pretty chilly. Wasn't expecting that. I wore shorts and a short sleeved shirt. It was real windy, but once the sun came out, it was pleasant. I finished in 29:15. It wasn't my best time, but that's okay. I wasn't expecting a better time at all! My ankle was really hurting so I took it a little slower. Last week, I went to the Allergy doctor and told him about my breathing when I run(among other things). I can't get over 8min miles without heaving. He did a lung test and turns out I have a little bit of Exercise Induced Asthma!! Never thought about that at all. He gave me an inhalre to use before I run. I used it today and I did feel better(except for my ankle). I think part of why I'm so tired and draggy(and the reason my time increased) is because I've increased my racing so much too suddenly. 3 races in 4 weeks is a lot. I'm got nothing for the next two weeks so I plan to take it easier. I've got two races and a bike ride set for April.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

pics from the Vicksburg Run Thru History

These are not in order...
After the race, we visited and played with Gracie.
We drove around the park and took a few pics....

Grant
Race pics... before the race




Thanks Deb & Ken for letting us stay with yall!!! :) And thanks for Breakfast as well!!! :)








ANOTHER PR!!!!

Got me another PR this weekend!! (1:01:53) The Vicksburg 10K was yesterday. Had a blast! This hills were awesome! Not quite as difficult as I expected. FUN though! Wrote up a race report on www.bonitarunningclub.com as well... Here's some video that Wes shot. Sorry they aren't in order. Pics to come next.....






Thursday, March 4, 2010

Medication Roulette

Wow. That's all I can say about the last few weeks. February started off fine. Nothing unusual. It ended with a life "toiling" event. Medication Roulette. I really feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now. If you haven't heard already, here's the story. I had this all written up, but decided to shorten it to spare you the useless details as well as names because I don't want to incriminate anyone....

On Thursday (Feb. 25), I went to the doctor for my back pain. It has been hurting off and on for a month or so. Doc gave me two prescriptions, one for a muscle relaxer, and a stronger dose of an over-the-counter pain reliever. I dropped the prescription off at the pharmacy and picked it up on my way to work. I took one of each when I got to work. After the shows, I went home and Wes & I ate dinner. We watch TV for a while after dinner and around 8:15pm, I get up to get ready to go back to work. I walk by the mirror and notice my face is real red. I turn on the light and then see not only that my face is red, but blotchy and it's all over my neck. I look at my lower arms, and they are the same way. That's about when I start to feel it. My elbows, underarms and neck start to feel real hot. I run to show Wes. I have no idea what's happening. It's getting worse. Within another minute or two, both arms are red and swelling, my neck is really hot and my face and ears feel like they're on fire. I have to go back to work, so I decide to try to relax and calm down. Freaking out makes it worse. I go to get in the car and I start to have trouble breathing. I sit in the car for a minute and then it really hits me. It's getting bad quick. I call Mom and tell her what's happening. She tells me to go to the ER. (Mom had surgery on her elbow on Wednesday the 24th). So we do. By the time, we get there, I'm shivering inside, but my skin feels like I'm being scalded! Its near freezing outside, but I'm sweating.
The ER nurse gives me a shot of Salumedrol(sp?), benedryl and Pepcid(apparently its a anti-histamine). I immediately feel relief. I take the two medicine bottles with me to the ER and give it to them. They write down all the info. The ER doc says he wasn't sure why I had this reaction. He said it could have been what I ate but he can't say for sure it wasn't the medicine. (I had the exact same meal on Monday. The only "new" thing I did on Thursday was take the medicines). So I leave the ER around 10:30 or so. When we walked in, I was sweating, but shivering. When we leave I'm shivering. Uncontrollable teeth chattering. We go home. I go to bed. (Benedryl knocked me out). (Meanwhile, Adam & Becca are in town and were headed to our house. All this has thrown a wrench in our plans. Luckily for us, they were late getting in.)

Early the next morning, the ER nurse calls and leaves a message on Wes' phone for me. She says that the Doc was finishing up paperwork and looking up the medicines that I took and told me that a severe side effect for one of them (Niaspan) is flushing, rash, swelling and redness. They say they're pretty sure it was the medicine. This is when I start to wonder. I call the doctor's office. (Wes, Adam & Becca go to Quitman for lunch, while I sleep in and then go to work) Later(Friday afternoon), The nurse calls me back and I tell her about the ER visit. She looks in the computer and the info from my visit on Thursday wasn't in the computer yet. I tell her the medicines he gave me... Robaxin and Niaspan. She was confused, she said "Is it Naprosyn?" I said that "I'm pretty sure the bottle said Niaspan. I said one was a muscle relaxer and the other...." She broke in and said "Cholesterol?" I said "No, it should be an strong pain reliever." She said Naprosyn again. I said I wasn't real sure, but I thought it said Niaspan. She said she'd tell the doctor and they would call me back on Monday. This phone call got me worried. Did I get the wrong medicine? I was almost positive the bottle said Niaspan because I had to pay $40 for it because there was no generic. I was at work and didn't have the bottles (I wasn't taking them or eating anything because I was scared to and didn't have much of an appetite either.) I went to Quitman to eat with Wes and his family for dinner and then went back to work.
When I got home on Friday night, I get both the bottles and look them up online. (Sure enough, I WAS RIGHT. IT SAYS NIASPAN). I was freaked!!!(Still am) Niaspan is a drug used for lowering CHOLESTEROL!!! I've never had cholesterol problems! I'm only 29. I didn't know what to think. On Saturday, I go to the pharmacy and tell them what's happened with the ER visit and that I think the medicine is wrong. The Pharmacist there was not the same lady there on Thursday. I tell her this whole deal and she looks at the scan of the prescription I brought them. Her eyes get REAL BIG.... She says it clearly says Naprosyn. She said it was clearly their mistake. She immediately apologized and called the store manager. I told him the whole story. (I think he goes to our church.) He was also very apologetic and kept asking me if there was anything they could do. I told them that I was going to talk to the doctor on Monday. He refunded me the copay for the prescription that they wrongly gave me and told me to call them on Monday.
On Monday, the Doctor's nurse says it was definitely the medicine that caused me to go to the ER. Right now, the insurance company representing the Pharmacy is sending me information about reimbursement for all this.

So this is where I'm at. I really feel like I am lucky to be alive right now. The pharmacy gave me the wrong medicine. They could have given me anything. How would I have known? Thinking about this over the weekend and this week has really set me back emotionally. I've been real quiet (sorry Watkins family). I don't really know what to say. The thought that my family could have possibly been dealing with me either having a serious health issue or worse is overwhelming.

On Tuesday, I'm telling a few friends about all this at work. It's between the 5 and 6pm news, when the national news is on. I happen to look up at one of the TV's and see Diane Sawyer with a graphic that says "Prescription Errors." I listen to the story. The SAME Pharmacy chain just settled a multi-million dollar court battle with a woman's family who was given the wrong dosage of medication. She suffered a stroke and eventually died! She was a 30-40 something woman with grade school kids! How is this not regulated better!?!?!?!??? The story said the person responsible for the error was a high school part time worker who entered the information into the computer wrong. Seeing that story REALLY made me feel lucky to be here! If we are passing all these bills to regulate over the counter cold medicine so meth addicts can't get their hands on them, why are we letting under qualified and/or under trained pharmacy "technicians" handle prescription medications? I read somewhere that one in every 1000 individuals in the US will be given either the wrong dosage or the wrong medication (often someone Else's) in their lifetime. 3% of hospital admissions are from problems from medication errors. This is ridiculous!!!!

BEWARE!!!!! Make sure you know exactly what your taking! Don't blindly trust your friendly smiling pharmacist you've used your whole life or the one standing in front of the nationally known franchise sign!!

Here's a link to a pill identifier I found online. This site also lists interactions and symptoms.

Missin' my Papaw and Mamaw today...

Today is Papaw's birthday. He would be 81. Just one year ago this week, we threw him a big 80th birthday party in the carport of the house. He smiled and laughed the whole day, playing with his great grandbabies and blowing out candles on his cake. A few of the neighbors stopped by to see him. It was a great day. (here's a link to the blog post from last year.)

I miss them a lot. Mamaw passed away 8 years ago last week. (Great Grandpop too.) Lots of Martins in Heaven right now. Can't wait to see them again.