Tips for the dentist

Adrienne Dellwoo posted about going to the dentist with ME or Fibro. For me, the worst part is how sore my muscles get from sitting still for so long.  But I have some tips that help:

1. Definitely start with communication. Tell them you need them to be as gentle as possible with scraping, probing, etc.

2. Ask for a bite block to hold your mouth open rather than you trying to do it yourself. Take frequent breaks to have them remove it and let your jaws rest.

3. Bring a seat cushion and a neck pillow.

4. Take any of your as-needed pain medication before you go.

5. Plan for several days of rest afterwards.

6. Practice preventative dental care to try and avoid problems that will require extra dental work. If any of your meds cause a dry mouth, this puts you at extra risk for tooth decay, so be aware!

#HAWMC: I'm writing for April

I did the 'blog post a day' thing in November, but it burned me out a bit. But I loved doing it.

For April's challenge, I'm going to aim for 10 posts in 30 days. I think I can do that.

And here are the prompts.

Book Review: Tonight We Die as Men

Tonight We Die As Men: The untold story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Toccoa to D-Day by Ian Gardner
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to love this book, and parts of it I did. It certainly covers a lot of detail, with loads of personal anecdotes from veterans and from the civilians who encountered them. What it's missing is the big picture. Towards the end there's a line that says something like "The battle at Bloody Gully was the most important engagement for the 101st during the D-Day invasion" but it didn't explain why. I felt that way for most of the book. I knew what individual men were doing, but I couldn't quite put it into view as to what it all meant in terms of the war. It is fair to add that if I'd been able to see the maps (not legible on my kindle screen), I might have had better luck.

As a historical record, this is a valuable book. As a narrative, not so much. I don't regret reading it, but I doubt I'll ever read it again.

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Book Review: A Plunge Into Space

I got this book from Singularity: Save the Sci-fi. If you're a fan of classic science fiction, a membership in Singularity is a worthwhile investment!


A Plunge Into Space by Robert Cromie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is not meant to be a comedy, but it's absolutely hilarious in its use of outdated tropes (no doubt cutting edge at the time it was written) and Victorian age prejudices regarding class, race, and sex. If you aren't a fan of classic sci-fi, I doubt you'll enjoy it. I am, and I did, but more as a curious historical artefact than as a story in its own right.

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New Years Resolutions

Adrienne at About.com wrote a post about Setting Goals for the New Year With Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That reminded me that I wanted to put my goals in writing.

Health goals:

1. My cholesterol is 6.5. My goal is to get it to 6 through diet rather than taking statins. The UK measuring units for cholesterol are different than in the US, but 6 is the line they want you to stay below.
2. Lose an average of 1 kilogram a month. This is a very low goal, and even this will be hard. I can perform so little activity, and my drugs make me hungry all the time. 
3. If I can't do number 2, I at least want to get my BMI down below the "obese" line. That would mean losing 2 kilograms in total.

Personal goals:

1.  Spend time with my husband, every day, even the bad days. Make sure he knows how much he is loved.
2. Try to get out of the house once a month for something that's just for us rather than a medical appointment.
3. Acquire Canus Novus and make it part of the family.
4. Get to the US for the summer trip that I missed last year.
5. Post on this blog at least twice a month.

That's pretty much it. The list looks long to me, but I think the goals are realistic and attainable.

If not, well....