Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Butterfly Needle: Name Deceiving

I had a doctor's appointment this morning, all looks well for the most part. Had blood work run to check for a vitamin deficiency because my hands and feet are always cold and numb. My doctor thinks if it was a circulation thing then when I walked around a lot (like say when shopping) my feet would be warmer, but since they aren't it's got to be something else. I've had the problem for years now, but it's recently gotten a little worse, which makes it more annoying. Won't have any results back on that until the 18th though.

On one hand I hope they're negative so it's not something I have to worry about. On the other hand if it's not a vitamin deficiency then that means I'll have to worry about something else. So it's kind of like, worrying either way I guess.

It's kind of weird because I eat cereal on a daily basis and pretty much all cereal is super enriched these days. Most has at least 45% of your daily requirements across the vitamin board, while others have a complete 100%. I used to be on a super vitamin (200%-500% DV) but had the problem back then, too. So if vitamins are low that means I'm probably incapable of absorbing them through my digestive tract. Meaning I'd need whatever vitamins missing injected, kind of like insulin.

A mortifying thought for someone who is afraid of needles.

I haven't been to Physical Therapy in a while. I just work on using the thumb on my own now. My doctor said I could stop going so long as I continued to work on it myself or continue going for the full course of sessions. Thing is my insurance only covers a certain amount of PT time and if I use it all up on my thumb, what happens if I need it down the line? I can do all the exercises and such at home, anyway.

One thing I noticed that makes excellent strength training for the thumb is trying to open pistachios. Especially ones that are barely cracked. I still drop things a lot, and I find myself using my hand to push more than the thumb itself when moving say, the analog stick on my 360 controller. But if it works, it works. Humans adapt, that's why we're not extinct yet.

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