Let's Go Already!

I seriously can't wait to move. I'm not looking forward to the actual move itself (especially since I'm a weakling these days), but I am looking forward to being in the condo. Two neighbors instead of... I don't even know how many. No one living above or beneath me! No screaming kids in the lobby--no lobby!

I am totally stressed out about the actual move. I am stressed about getting the truck (as in, it actually being there, as reserved). I am stressed about driving the truck into my apartment complex. I am stressed about inconveniencing the neighbors by blocking their garages, although I really shouldn't be. They inconvenience me every day with their screaming kids, smoking, and generally trashy loudness.

One thing that's nice is that we have overlap between the apartment and the condo, so if everything doesn't make it into boxes this week, we can always bring the rest of it down by car. Of course, we want as much of our stuff to go on the truck as possible--so that we don't have to carry it. People from church are helping us move.

Which brings me to another stress topic. I don't trust them to show up! Renting a truck is NOT cheap, so I'm hoping they will show up. My ward is not.. um.. what's the word... reliable. But I have hope.

I can't wait to be in the new place, because my 45-60 minute commute will become a 10-20 minute commute. Oh, yeah! I will save a lot on gas. It will be lovely for days when I take a freelance interpreting job in the evening. I can go home for a couple of hours instead of hanging around work until time for my other job. I'll be able to accept a lot more jobs!

Ooo, and I might be able to run home for lunch sometimes. That would be nice. Two of my schools are within 5 minutes of my new home, and so is my boss' office, which is one of my new workplaces. That's kind of a long story.

Another thing I can't wait for but is stressing me at the same time is my neurology appointment tomorrow. I'm glad it's late in the day instead of in the morning, not only because I don't have to take off work but because I tend to get worse as the day goes on. I'm not going to take painkillers tomorrow, so he can see how fun it gets.

I hope this doctor is smart. I don't care if I get a diagnosis or label; I just want the symptoms to go away! Give me a shot or something.

I have a feeling the process will continue, but I'm okay with that as long as we're narrowing in on a target. I got a blessing yesterday. What I really wanted was for the doctor to have a blessing.. but getting a blessing myself was the next best thing.

One thing I'm not stressed about is Laynie getting a job. Way to go, Laynie! Hopefully they recognize the magnitude of her awesomeness and decide to renew her contract in the spring.

Allergist

I had my allergist appointment earlier this week. First time for me... I figured it couldn't hurt to see if food allergies could be a factor in my problems.

They're not! I kind of figured that, but now I know. It's one more thing to tick off the list.

It was funny how the allergist appointment came about. I was having a bad health day and stayed home from church Easter Sunday. Someone was worried that I might have gotten my feelings hurt over some foolishness with the ward choir and called to check on me. Not at all--I was just a sickly girl. It was sweet of this sister to think of me, though. I told her that I was going through a rough patch again with my health, and she started asking questions. My problems reminded her of her son's, and she urged me to see the allergist that figured out his problems. So that's how I ended up seeing this guy.

As an aside, I was again struck with how funny it is that everyone thinks my problem is whatever they have or their mother had or their kid had or whatever. I guess it's human nature to see connections.

Back to the topic...

The good news is that I don't have allergies to the 11 most common foods (yes, they jabbed me 11 times for that) or 9 of the 10 most common environmental allergens--jabbed me 10 times and then injected 6 for that one. They injected higher doses of some to make sure. I'm allergic to mites, but not severely.

The bad news is that he thinks I have at least four different problems. He thinks I should start with two different specialists (one being an SLP!), but probably will need at least one more. Crazy, right? But what he said made a whole lot of sense. This guy spent over an hour asking me questions and LISTENING to the answers, and later he took another half hour telling me the results of my testing and sharing more thoughts he had while I was being tested. He totally broke the 10-minute limit on time with a physician.

Well, I guess the bad news is still good news. I was so glad to have information that makes sense that I haven't worried much about any of it. I took a few days to self-evaluate then put out the word that I'm looking for a referral to a particular specialty within my field, so hopefully that will yield fruit. I already have a referral for the other specialty he mentioned (like 100 times).

What I really need is a good general practitioner or internist. I think my nurse practitioner is good, but I need someone great. Now that I've experienced excellence, I really don't want to settle.