Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Like a Ton of Bricks

It's a few months away, but already my "fittieth" is kicking me in the ass. I had a long overdue doctor's appointment, and the diagnosis is hypertension. I've probably had it for a while. I have to check my blood pressure at home, to make sure it's not the "white coat" variety. The remedy is exercise (which I hate) and diet, and hopefully not medication. I was reluctant to tell the Man, because I get a lot of grief from him as it is. Every morning I awake to my fleshy bits getting poked and prodded. When I told him tonight, his response was, "I know." To make matters even more fun, I'm wondering if I'm getting hot flashes. It's hard to tell with summer and our household air conditioning issues. I have a lovely HMO, the company does radio spots that features the Bill Withers song "Lean on Me", and talks about "shining through." As if. My plan is going up to $86 per pay period. I was using the family plan to leverage the Man into a marriage proposal. Not so much any more. Add one person to my policy, and the rate goes up to $422 per pay period. Shining. The situation is, this company doesn't want to insure employees of the company I work for, because of their demographics. Meaning that all of us are getting older. So, they write a policy that's so expensive in the hopes that you will go elsewhere. Shining through! I haven't seen the Sicko movie yet, and already I'm furious.
So, there's more medical fun to happen in the next few weeks. Blood tests, and getting my arms squished again and again.

A little more summer knitting has been happening here. This vest is knit with Hemp for Knitting Cashmere Canapa. A cotton, cashmere, and hemp blend. Nice to knit with. I would use it again. The design is from Louisa Harding's book Modern Knitwear. I bought the book for this one pattern. I have plans to make it again, can you believe it?

6 comments:

Kim said...

Michael Moore may not get everything right, but he sure puts an interesting view point out there.

I LOVE your version of the vest. The Hemp looks fabulous. I have wanted to knit with it, but haven't taken the opportunity.

Corinne said...

I don't understand what you mean about Michael Moore not getting things right. He's been right so far.

Unknown said...

If it makes you feel any better, my father's been hypertensive since his early 30's. He's always been on a combination of recommendations for management that include dieting, exercise and medication. His medication has gotten stronger over the years, but overall, he's never had any difficulty with it. So don't worry too much about that.

Hopefully your pressure isn't too bad. Because of my pregnancy induced high bp, I'm doing home monitoring myself. It's not so bad either, and having a good picture will help you and your doc make good decisions about how to proceed next.

Take good care of yourself!

sweetfigs said...

Nice lace!

The weather's been so comfortable lately, maybe you could get The Man to take walks with you and Miss Piccolo. That counts as exercise, right? I hope you get to avoid the bother of daily meds!

sturdygirl said...

sorry to hear about your health concerns. no fun!

i have that louisa harding book too, and am planning to make that vest too. i'm not totally sure why i bought the book, but i do like that pattern.

Kim said...

Oh, I should have elaborated. I think Michael Moore gets most things right, but I just think he over generalizes SOMETIMES. Example: ALL of the houses in Flint aren't boarded up or trashed - just most of 'em.