I’ve been around! Just taking a break. My parents came down to Portland to visit the weekend before Thanksgiving, which was really nice. Michael and I got to have a little time away and Logan got to spend some time with his grandparents.
We had a nice Thanksgiving with Michael’s family. His brother got the meal again from Zupan’s, which was delicious, and the smoked turkey from Podnah’s BBQ. It was SO GOOD! Smoked turkey is the best thing ever. 🙂
Stevie is fitting in and settling in nicely. He’s found his favorite spot:
He gets along with Bella for the most part. He likes to sit with Bella and they cuddle/sleep/nap together and Stevie gives Bella kisses, which is super cute. Stevie is definitely still a kitten, though, and tries to play with Bella sometimes and Bella is like “WHAT IN THE HELL IS HAPPENING”. There have been a few times I’ve had to separate them to keep anything from happening. Nothing bad, just erring on the side of caution. Maya hasn’t quite adjusted to the new kitty yet, which I knew would take a long time (if ever).
Stevie is adorable and cute and cuddly. He wants to be with his people at all times. Which is sometimes annoying–especially when he trips us up because he’s under our feet. 😉 Kittens!!
Now for me: A few months ago I had a CT scan on my sinuses because I’ve had so many sinus infections. I met with the ENT doctor/surgeon to go over the results. I may or may not be having sinus surgery. I haven’t decided yet.
Basically, I have a deviated septum:
Which is a birth defect. I don’t think I ever had a broken nose to cause it. In addition, I have an issue with my left sinus. This is not a photo of my CT scan, but I wanted to give you an idea:
So the sinus is the black open area where there is air. My right sinus is open and “black” like the above picture. The left sinus is completely gray. So if I do have sinus surgery it would be to fix the deviated septum and to open up the turbinate/sinus area. That would fix my sinus issues and I’d hopefully stop having sinus infections SO MUCH.
The idea of sinus surgery sounds scary and awful, so I’m not sure yet if I want to do it. The doctor claims the recovery isn’t THAT bad…about a week or two of being uncomfortable and not being able to breathe out of your nose and then I should be ok. 4 weeks of no heavy physical activity/swimming. I just don’t know. I mean my day to day life isn’t miserable. Not right now. I just hate that every cold I get turns into a sinus infection. Time will tell.
In other medical news: I have plantar fascitiis. I was having some Achilles and heel pain, that felt like a bruise, on and off for a few months and saw my doctor last week and got the diagnosis. It was a super bummer. I know that PF is a painful, chronic issue that is often hard to get rid of so I was kind of disappointed to hear that. She suggested inserts.
I got inserts for my shoes specifically for plantar fascitiis. I felt IMMEDIATE relief for my feet. It was like magic. Except, within a few days I started having back pain. What the hell?! Seriously, I felt like the Princess and the Pea. One tiny thing threw off my ENTIRE BODY.
I talked to my doctor and she said to ease into using the inserts, just a few hours a day to get used to them. Ok….So that is not fun right now. It really feels like my whole body is broken right now!
So that’s what’s going on right now.
QUESTION: Have you had sinus surgery? How did it go?
emmaclaire
Well, sounds like you have both ends of discomfort covered – head and feet, right? I’ve never had sinus surgery, but my dad did many years ago and I don’t think he ever had another sinus infection. As for PF, I’ve had bouts of it throughout my adulthood, first from being overweight, then from running, and nothing has helped me much except time. I did run across a method of dealing with it on Mark Sisson’s Daily Apple blog and will try it next time it creeps up on me. It might be worth a look? https://www.marksdailyapple.com/plantar-fasciitis-stretches/
I love that the new kitty is buddies with Bella – where did the name Stevie come from, if I may ask? The first time you were writing about him, I got confused. “Michael, Logan, wait, her husband’s name isn’t Stevie…who’s Stevie again?” LOL
Lisa Eirene
Haha Stevie as in Stevie Nicks and Stevie Wonder!
That’s good to hear about your dad. Glad he never had issues after the surgery. That’s encouraging!
Lisa Eirene
Interesting article. I wonder if my calf muscles are weak. I have been running a lot more.
Lisa
I had a deviated septum, some turbinates removed or widened (I’m not exactly sure what they did to them), and the doctor thought I had an infection to the bone so I initially thought I might need the lining to my right sinus ripped out. As it turned out I also have a birth defect and my right sinus is much smaller than it should be, so I didn’t have to get the lining ripped out. My septum was deviated worse than the doctor initially thought. The recovery was about a week and then I went back to work. My head felt wobbly and I would get pressure aches from being upright – this went on for a couple of weeks but got better as time passed. I lost feeling in my top front teeth for a few months due to the swelling from the surgery. Although I never knowingly broke my nose, I did fall from a three story bunk bed and landed on my face which is probably why my septum was so deviated.
It definitely helped me a lot and I am glad I had it done. I suffer from seasonal allergies and I still have sinus issues.
Lisa Eirene
That’s good to hear! That recovery doesn’t sound too bad.
bethh
At first I thought Stevie was the turkey! That was confusing 🙂
I haven’t had the surgery but know a couple people who have, and it sharply lowered the numbers of infections they’ve gotten. It seems worth it to me, but of course it’s not my face or recovery time. Good luck!
Lisa Eirene
Haha!
I’m glad to hear so many positive stories about the surgery!
Beth Sher
Both times I had PF I ended up getting a shot of steroid and it did the trick – I went about 6 years between the two bouts and it’s probably been at least 8 years. Some tips while you are healing I was given – do not walk barefoot under any circumstances and also flip flops are a no no – wear supportive shoes. I wear flip flops now of course but I never walk barefoot ever. Good luck!
Lisa Eirene
I got some orthotic flip flops that actually feel pretty amazing. I wear them around the house. I got the roller ball for my feet and ice at work and at home regularly. I stretch but don’t notice a difference with stretching (not yet).
Vickie
I had sinus surgery. Did not know I had a problem until we were doing a breathing exercise in yoga and discovered I had almost no air flow on left side. I would recommend the surgery. Time passes with or without recovery. And you would have been done. I was able to remove my packing by myself. It did take several weeks to fully recover. But once and done. I also have asthma. So having nose clear and less sinus issues seemed pretty smart.
Inserts. Kids and I all have them. We have had them since 2002. Replace about every two years. Custom. RX. Now we Walk over a scanner at the doctor’s office. orthopedic doctor who is a foot specialist. In the beginning they made a cast of our feet and went from there. Highly recommend custom inserts.
Lisa Eirene
I have asthma too.
That’s good to hear. I am happy to hear so many positive stories.
As for the inserts, that’s a good idea. I will ask my doctor about custom orthotics. It might be covered by my insurance. So far I am not too happy with the store-bought inserts.