Game Change

Since Snapchat is becoming a legitimate marketing tool, I asked my brother - who is as millennial as they get - to teach me how to use it last week while I was in NJ.

I'm still not sure I get it, but I set my account up and gave it a try since I definitely had a "story" to tell today. But let's be clear, I'll never be able to part with the written word in favor of images. I'm just not that photogenic. 

So if you are a snappy chat user, feel free to add me - DarkSideRunner - for today's story.

Otherwise, here are the highlights (if you can call them that):

1. My periodontist explained that my gums are very healthy and that I am not actually in danger of losing my front teeth. He reminded me that there are four sides to each tooth, and 3 out of 4 sides have plenty of healthy gum to keep my front teeth solidly in my mouth. The real problem is that the gum has receded in the front of my mouth. I have exposed bone on the front side of my 3 bottom teeth, and I have suffered some bone loss. In order to protect me from losing any more bone, I will need to get a gum graft. We'll talk about that process another day, because it sounds absolutely horrid and I don't want to think about it right now.
2. My doctor took a look at my injured foot and determined that an x-ray was unnecessary. He reprimanded me for running at all over the last two months. advised me not to run again until he says I'm clear, and then treated my foot with an electromagnetic pulse machine. The EMP is weird and uncomfortable, BUT it made my foot very happy for the rest of the day today. I'm going back for further treatment on Thursday.
3. I also got the results of my blood test. Everything was normal. I never thought I'd be disappointed to hear I was "normal." But it's heartbreaking because at least if my tests were abnormal, I'd finally have an explanation behind all of my... idiosyncracies. The anxiety. The eating disorder. The exhaustion.

But nope, I'm "normal." Damn it.

Here's the game changer though - my doc shared that "normal" isn't the same as "optimal." The "normal" range provided by the lab is based on a statistical average of the population of that lab. The people who typically have blood work done are statistically not the healthiest segment of the population. Therefore, according to my doc, my "normal" lab results are saying that I'm just like a lot of other sick people.

So he prescribed me thyroid medication.

I've been pretty anti-drug for most of my recent adult life. And while I completely understand his explanation of "normal" vs. "optimal," I'm still skeptical. But even though the numbers say I'm normal, I just don't feel that way and really want to be "fixed."

I'm supposed to start taking it tomorrow morning. So at least I have the night to think this through a little bit more.