Vitamin M

November 14 - If you ever need care in the military health care system it's a really good bet that you'll be prescribed Vitamin M, better known as Motrin or ibuprofen.  It's kind of a joke really. Any level of pain is prescribed 800 mg Motrin.  Oh, your arm was gnawed off by an alligator? Have some Motrin. You're recovering from childbirth?  Here's your Motrin.  Whenever I go to the doctor I'm asked if I have any Motrin at home or if I need a refill.  I think the DOD and whoever manufactures that drug must have made a deal.  Usually, I can skip the medicine and just deal with whatever pain comes my way.  This week though, I've been grateful for military medicine and all the Motrin we've been given.

Jared and I have some sort of mystery illness.  For the last four days everything just hurts.  Every joint is achy and I hurt deep in my bones.  My arm muscles feel as if I've been benching small cars and my legs as if I did a wall sit for 24 hours straight.  The thing is, we haven't been doing those things or anything else that would make us feel this way.  It's really sad and kind of funny.  It hurts to tie a shoe or hold a toothbrush.  I almost dropped my pencil the other day while writing in my journal because my muscles just weren't working.  Jared spent hours at the clinic today trying to figure out what's wrong with us.  After lots of labs and a referral for an MRI and a visit to neurology, the bottom line is that we probably have a virus of some sort that is making us feel weak and achy.  The solution?  Vitamin M!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Faith?

Image
What would you say if someone asked you what faith is? In Hebrews 11, Paul defined faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The assurance of things hoped for - faith is knowing that because of Jesus Christ, we can hope for a brighter future. I feel as if hope and faith are one and the same. Life can be heartbreakingly difficult sometimes and even though I know that challenges are there to help us learn and grow, I sure wish I didn't have to go through those hard times. When I have felt surrounded by struggles and I couldn't see any way that things would ever get better, the only thing that has kept me moving forward is hope. Not the kind of hope that is sort of wishful like hoping your team wins a World Cup game, but hope that is sure because it is based on Christ. Having faith in Jesus Christ is having hope and knowing that His promises are sure.  The evidence of things not seen - faith in God grows when we see Him working in our...
Read more

Anxiety, Friendship, and Insecurity

This post has been kicking around in my head for a while now. My emotions have been closer to the surface lately - which can be both good and bad.  For a couple of weeks last month it was a bad thing and I found myself crying at pretty much everything and feeling alone and friendless even when I was surrounded by people. You'd think I'd be better at making friends after almost forty years of moving and having to form new connections at each new place. Instead, the older I get, the more difficult the process becomes. Even after I make friends deep down I question if we're really friends. I think these feelings of insecurity are part of what makes me willing to do almost anything for my friends. If I do nice things for you maybe you'll continue to tolerate my presence? I think I do a pretty good job hiding my insanity. I can fake confidence really well - smiling and laughing and making small talk. And then I go home and overanalyze and question every little thing I said...
Read more

Four Decades

Image
Birthdays are markers in our lives. Moving from one decade to another is a milestone that is not marked by an accomplishment or an important decision, but simply your age. That's something you can't control as time keeps moving forward whether we're ready for it or not. I can honestly say that I'm not bothered by turning forty and that I still look forward to my birthdays. But there's no denying that those milestone birthdays (you know the ones, they end in zero) are a big deal. A time that, for me, leads to some looking back to see if I've accomplished anything worthwhile in the previous decade of my life or in any of the decades of my life.  So I found photos of myself at all those other ages that end in zero. Maybe if I take it a decade at a time it will be easier to see what I've learned? Seriously, whose dog is this? Italy, 1981 Okay, this first one is already breaking the rules as it's not from a milestone birthday. I have two pictures...
Read more