Somehow, I'm doing fine! (And an interesting localr article in the paper on Pap smears)

It's late November and I'm still working with no fears. The weather dropped significantly earlier this week and I felt nothing. I really, really hope this means I'm done with this bout of IC.. I'd love to get out of retail, and it's the fear of not being able to work 8 hour shifts keeping me in part-time only positions. So far, so good!

Thanksgiving was kinda a letdown though. For obvious reasons. IC patients can't eat anything tasty (my own speculations..). A lot of my family don't want to bother with cooking something completely separate for me, so I just got some cheesy broccoli for my dinner.

Something interesting that did occur today, which I noticed at work, was an article in my local paper about birth control potentially becoming over the counter. The ACOG said that in their opinion birth control should be given over the counter. Is my fight finally over? Of course not. Doctors seem to take forever to get these memos.. and there were a few women defending the annual exams. One in particular enraged me enough to send my own letter to the editor. Basically, she worked for a gynecologist and said women would skip screening completely. Hm.. well.. I'm sorry ma'am, but we're adults and have the right to skip screenings that have nothing to do with the medication we're visiting to obtain. Of course, my letter was a lot more detailed and angrier than that. It read:

I had to throw my two cents in after reading Woods' response. There are many over-the-counter drugs patients shouldn't take if they have certain medical conditions and should consult a doctor prior, but the main retort I wanted to make was against the lines, "Plus, if you do not make them accountable for their annual exams by the pill prescription expiring, then you have another issue of missed Pap smears, thus more cervical cancer."

That's disgusting reasoning. It's okay to ransom birth control pills to make women go to exams? What about men and prostate exams? Should doctors withhold Viagra, high blood pressure medications, or anything of the like to "hold them accountable"? How about dentists? Should we hold other medications for ransom to make sure everyone gets their teeth checked? We're all adults here, please treat us like one and let us make our own informed decisions. A pap smear is unnecessary to obtain birth control, you are not told about the high incidence of abnormal results that resolve spontaneously, negative biopsies and colposcopies, and the pros and cons in general of this exam. Not to mention, on top of it all, the medication is withheld until a woman complies to the doctors demands. How is this informed consent?

As of March the ACOG also said annual Paps are unnecessary [http://www.acog.org/About%20ACOG/Announcements/New%20Cervical%20Cancer%20Screening%20Recommendations.aspx]. I for one would like to follow the guidelines and have one every 1 to 3 years based on my personal sexual history until I reach the age of 30 and then follow the recommendations for that age. Such decisions should take place through a discussion with your doctor about your own personal needs and medical history rather than a dictatorship that uses a one-size-fits-all approach. I've had college friends go without the pill due to their fear of the exam and end up pregnant. Women who have been abused in the past also may have great difficulty in going through with the exam, and many young teens opt to go without the pill due to their own fears of the exam. Friends in other states have never heard of the practice we have here of requiring a pelvic exam to get the pill and are shocked when I tell them about it.

Oh, and to finalize my viewpoint on this.. there are already ways around the annual exam while still obtaining the pill. Planned Parenthood runs a program called HOPE which provides the pill with no exam necessary. Likewise, just like with Viagra (and not recommended, but I'm throwing it out there anyway), the pill can be ordered legally from the internet with no hassle. I still see my doctor, but that is

Positive Thinking is Negative

The weather has been steady so I've been fine.. completely normal. I keep a 9 day forecast on my desktop at all times so I can request that day off if there is a cold front.

That aside, I came over an interesting post on Reddit. It was about a guy asking advice about how to make his girlfriend with cancer feel better. The most up-voted comment was along the lines of don't tell her to be positive.

The exact quote was, "Do not, I repeat do not, tell her to keep a positive attitude. Instead, show her that whatever she's feeling (fear, anger, frustration, etc...) is OK and you can handle it.

I recommend this interview and book: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113758696"

Tonight, after texting my mom for a bit and her telling me to look for a better job with my response being I don't want to burn bridges by getting a great job then flaring so bad I have to quit in the first month, she told me, "don't be negative."

Is predicting something that happened every year for the last three years being negative or just being practical? It may not happen this year (or to be more precise, it could be a mild winter since its already demonstrated that it WILL still flare in cold fronts) and I'll seem healthy.. but that's the problem with invisible illnesses. Next winter I might not be so lucky.. and then what? Is it my fault because I wasn't positive enough? I feel this is a problem with ANY chronic health condition. Saying "stay positive" or "don't be so negative" is like saying, "Stop being a pussy. If you were stronger then you wouldn't be sick."

The thread also discusses how so many friends abandon you when your sick because they don't know how to handle it.. and how its mostly an age thing. It was a really interesting read, so I encourage you to click on the reddit link above since it'll send you straight there.