Acupuncture for Sleep Apnea?

October 21, 2010 7:10 pm ⋅ 2 Comments ⋅ Diana

Edward Burnes-Jones' Sleeping Beauty

Wouldn’t that be nice?

In my obsessive googling of those terms, I came across an interesting article abstract.

It’s not conclusive, not by a long shot. And I wish I had access to the full article, but since I’m no longer university faculty, I no longer have access to those databases. I hear that I could just go to the Stanford Medical Library and plop myself down there to do research. Can’t take any materials, but could at least read them on site.

Wait a minute. Scratch that. Sono.org, you have come to my rescue! Voila.

It’s a small study. Only 26 completed it, and that’s hardly a sufficient sample size. Then again, with this sort of thing you’re already limited by access to patients with sleep apnea who are willing to try acupuncture and (likely) don’t have other medical issues going on to cloud results. Not a huge group. Of course, we also need studies like this to prove that it’s worth the investment to do larger studies.

Posted in: Medical, Sleep ⋅ Tagged: acupuncture, health, serotonin, sleep apnea

On the Writing Life: A Tangent

October 20, 2010 2:29 pm ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅ Diana

Most of my life, I’ve focused on being a writer. Since I was a teenager, I’ve wanted to write science fiction and fantasy. And then I struck very early success with playwriting, and that became a part of the dream, too.

All I’ve ever wanted was to be a writer. And I’m realizing, that was too narrow a focus.

Please pardon the tangent, I know this isn’t like the rest of my blog. But it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Almost obsessively, you could say. And in that way, it kinda fits.

I ran into a writer friend last night and he asked me how it was working as a writer, and I told him it was great. Which it is. And then he asked, well, what about your writing? And it gave me pause.

I told him that I’m not doing much writing outside of work, and he got this incredibly pitying look on his face. He told me that I was out of the game. Which seemed…. flat out ridiculous.

Posted in: Idiocy, Writing ⋅ Tagged: art and money, day job, writing

Acupuncture = Awesome

October 18, 2010 4:32 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Diana

It actually helped. A lot.

I don’t understand the mechanism of action. But after my appointment on Friday, I had about 30 degrees more rotation in my neck and the pain was significantly decreased. I went again today, and I now have full rotation (no, not Exorcist level rotation, I mean standard side to side human rotation).

I’ve been told that the acupuncturist can treat my sleeping difficulties, and my menstrual problems, and my allergies, and my pain. I’d really like to believe this, because dear lord do I want those problems fixed. But I truly don’t understand the *how* of it. Unless…

Posted in: Medical, Sleep ⋅ Tagged: acupuncture, health, Pain, PCOS, Sleep disorder

Snake Oil vs Supplements

October 14, 2010 2:52 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Diana

This is awesome. It’s a visual representation of which supplements have been proven to work, and which have no substantiation whatsoever.

There’s an interactive version you can mouse over and click on to see specific conditions and links to the research. If I weren’t already in love with my bf, I’d say I was in love with this guy. In a purely intellectual way, of course. (What? Aren’t you in love with your SO’s intellect?)

I am totally increasing my cinnamon intake. And buying some creatine…

Posted in: Food and Diet, Medical, Record Keeping ⋅ Tagged: health, Nutrition, vitamins

Seeing a Nutritionist

October 13, 2010 11:25 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Diana

Stubborness pays off. As does patience, although I have a much shorter supply of that.

After all the run around and nonsense I went through with Blue Shield (BS) over the last several months, I finally have my authorization to see a nutritionist. Mind you, this would have been more useful when I was re-embarking on the gluten free lifestyle back in July. Better late than never.

Long story short-ish: BS only covers nutrition services for diabetics. Anyone else is SOL.

Posted in: Food and Diet, Idiocy, Medical ⋅ Tagged: Celiac Disease, gluten free, health, insurance, Nutritionist

Celiac Panel Results Three Months On

October 12, 2010 5:31 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Diana

Three months after my biopsy, my celiac blood test results are almost normal; which means I’ve been successful at avoiding gluten.

Three months after going gluten free (again).

Only that first result is problematic, and even then, it’s in the equivocal range. Not outright bad.

I did, however, have a magnesium deficiency. And a chloride deficiency (I didn’t even know that was possible). I’m also skirting the edge of having a sodium deficiency, which seems utterly insane considering how much salt I pour onto my food.

The magnesium deficiency may explain the frequent muscle spasms and cramps I’ve been getting in my legs lately, the massive increase in migraines, and my recent chocolate cravings. The low sodium, no doubt, explains the light headedness when I stand.

I’m definitely not fully recovered. That could take up to a year. But I am making progress.

Posted in: Food and Diet, Medical ⋅ Tagged: Blood test, Celiac Disease, gluten free, health, magnesium, vitamin deficiency

Comparison: Fitbit vs. Sleep Cycle

October 7, 2010 6:31 pm ⋅ 4 Comments ⋅ Diana

This comparison isn’t going to be precisely fair, since I’ve been using my fitbit for about 10 months, and I only used Sleep Cycle (an iPhone app) for one night. But I can definitely give some initial impressions.

I’ve already talked about how useful I find the information from my fitbit. Here’s the data from last night, and no, I’m not sure what I was doing up at 2:41; I was on Ambien and it seemed like a good idea at the time:

Here is that same night, from Sleep Cycle:

Posted in: Medical, OCD Dream Gear, Record Keeping, Sleep ⋅ Tagged: FitBit, health, IPhone, Sleep, Sleep Cycle

Last Day of Chemo

October 6, 2010 2:50 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Diana

Today is my Mom’s last day of chemo. She should be getting her infusion right now, as I’m typing this.

She ended up in the hospital again over the weekend. And Dad sat with her there for the three days. And he’s taken off work the last several days, to stay with her at home and monitor her IV. To make sure she could make it to this chemo session today.

After this, radiation. And regular testing. But – hopefully – no more chemo.

Posted in: Medical ⋅ Tagged: Cancer, Chemotherapy, mom

Quick and Easy Celiac Friendly Party Foods

October 5, 2010 6:22 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Diana

These are easy, open and serve kinds of foods. The kind that can show up at a potluck and no one will think – Oh, celiac! Also, the kinds that non-celiac friends can provide without driving themselves bonkers.

This is by no means a comprehensive list; I’m sure there are tons of things I don’t know about yet. But it’s a start. I’ve named specific brands when that sort of thing matters (not all tortilla chips are made equal). And, you know, it’s a good idea to check ingredients.

Posted in: Food and Diet ⋅ Tagged: Celiac Disease, gluten free, health, party food

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