I live in Tennessee. I was recently diagnosed with Lyme Disease. (In some parts of the country, they call it Lymes Disease, but technically, it's Lyme Disease.)

With approximately 20,000 new cases reported each year, Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States... Lyme disease became nationally notifiable in 1991." Source

It was after a month of "weird" symptoms, several trips to the doctor, and several rounds of tests, that they finally realized that Lyme Disease was the reason for all of my recent ailments. Lyme Disease was actually the last thing they tested for.

But... I'm one of the lucky ones. Typically people go through upwards of 20 doctors and years of wrong diagnoses and treatments before they are accurately diagnosed with Lyme Disease.

They say that Ionization smoke detectors don't work as well as Photoelectric smoke detectors.

Who knew?

In fact, I didn't realize there was even a difference in smoke detectors. Period. I just figured a smoke detector is a smoke detector. But no...

Tests conducted by WTHR, local fire departments, university researchers and government scientists all show that in some slow burning fires, Ionization smoke alarms do not sound at all. Source

The sad truth is... with an Ionization smoke detector, you are more likely to die of smoke inhalation in a fire than you are if you had a Photoelectric smoke detector.

Okay then, what's the real difference between Photoelectric and Ionization smoke detectors? And how can you tell which one you have?

You've probably seen Randy Pausch a lot on the news lately. He's the Carnegie Mellon Professor who is dying from pancreatic cancer.

What makes him -- and his message -- so memorable are the amazing details of his life (and our lives in general) that Randy shared in his "Last Lecture" on September 18, 2007.

Watch the video below...

Added to my list of "weird things about my body that I might need to take care of soon" is: a Ganglion cyst.

Ugggh!

At least it's relatively harmless. Just odd-looking, that's all.

Figured I'd share some info, in case others are experiencing something similar...

A ganglion cyst is a tumor or swelling on top of a joint or the covering of a tendon (tissue that connects muscle to bone). It looks like a sac of liquid (cyst). Inside the cyst is a thick, sticky, clear, colorless, jellylike material. Depending on the size, cysts may feel firm or spongy. Source

I've actually held off on posting this, because I wonder if I don't divulge too much on this website sometimes.

As a rule, I prefer to write about things that I've personally experienced -- with the hope that it will help someone else in some small way.

My theory is: If I wondered about how something works or how something's done, then chances are someone else has wondered the same things.

That is what fuels my desire to keep writing these sometimes overly-personal stories... like today's.

After a friend of mine told me that she was experiencing something similar and did I have any tips, suggestions, little-known facts that she might need to know, that was all the motivation I needed to share my experience of having a laparoscopy to remove cysts from my ovaries, caused by endometriosis.

I have affectionately subtitled today's post:

What I've learned:
If you're going to have your old silver fillings replaced with nice white fillings (also known as "composite fillings", "porcelain fillings" or "tooth colored fillings"), be prepared for a series of Crowns and Root Canals in your immediate future.

Here's how things went for me...
I had good dental insurance, so I thought I'd take the time to replace all of those old silver fillings that I'd had since childhood with nice new white fillings.

The goal: No more mouth-full-of-silver whenever I smiled big.

The reality: Serious dental work in every quadrant of my mouth.

I've saved this information from forwarded e-mails I received through the years. While it's not "fun" per se, it sure will enable you to have more fun if you're able to spot the signs of a heart attack or stroke with someone you love.

Due to a recent traffic accident (where I was hit from behind), I've been experiencing neck and lower back pain. My chiropractor recommended an MRI.

I had my first-ever MRI yesterday, and I'll admit I was a tad nervous.

Mostly because of the claustrophobic thing. But also because of the magnetized machinery thing. (The entire MRI scanner is magnetized such that it is strong enough to send things like hospital guernies, floor buffer machines, and office equipment flying across the room in the process of being SUCKED into the machine itself!)

These visuals (and these stories) were stuck in my brain the entire time:

But, I also managed to find some humorous things about the whole process of getting an MRI.

In the event that you have to go in for an MRI in the near future, perhaps you will find some value in the things that I learned:

...or does it?

That pretty much summarizes my take on the whole blood pressure monitoring thing lately.

You see, the "professionals" always seem to get a (vastly!) different reading on my blood pressure -- no matter what time of the day, or where I'm having it done. I just don't get it. Truthfully, I'm not sure they do either.

If you too, are concerned (and just as confused) about your blood pressure readings, then read on...

For the record, here's what the blood pressure numbers mean:

I've been meaning to post something about this for awhile.

Why? Because I think it's brilliant and could be life-saving.

Following is something that came my way via a many-times-forwarded e-mail. Unfortunately, I don't know who the original poster was, so I cannot give due credit. But I believe the message is such that this person would welcome the massive exposure...

UPDATE: At the very bottom of this article, you'll find photos of a brown recluse bite that were submitted by a reader of this site.

The e-mail about a brown recluse spider bite in its entirety:

Take a look at the email below and the attached pictures of a guy who was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider. Some of the pictures towards the end are pretty nasty, but take a look at the last one -- it is a picture of the spider itself. Now we all should know what to look out for.

This would be wise thing to send around to people as it is almost summertime and people are going to be digging around doing yard work, and spring cleaning.

The following pictures illustrate the progression of a brown recluse spider bite. Just as a warning, day 3-6 photos are not too graphic. However, days 9 and 10 are very graphic. Your discretion is advised if you choose to view.

The final picture is the most important as it contains a picture of the actual spider. Please be careful, spider bites are dangerous and can have permanent and highly negative consequences.

FYI - They like the darkness and tend to live in storage sheds or attics or other areas that might not be frequented by people or light. If you have a need to be in your attic, go up there and turn on a light and leave it on for about 30 minutes before you go in to do your work.

On a whim, Jim and I both had our blood sugar levels tested recently. Actually, Jim's mom (who's diabetic) was testing her own levels at home over the holidays, and we asked if we could use her handy-dandy little contraption to test our levels too.

Jim's dad (a.k.a. the caretaker of the family and the keeper of all the cool medical testing gadgets!) eagerly set up the little hand-held machine for our individual tests.

If you spend a good deal of time at the computer (and you're anything like me), then you probably think that carpal tunnel is just something you've got to live with. I know I did...

Until recently, when I woke up in the middle of the night begging my husband (at 3AM!) to help me decide whether ice packs or heat packs would be best for easing the incredible pain I was having in the middle of my right wrist/palm area. It just wouldn't go away and kept alternating between a sharp pain and a throbbing ache.

I made it through the night, then after much research, I found a number of things that I could do to make my work station (at home and at work) more ergonomic, relieving the symptoms of carpal tunnel and RSI.

Here's a Warning: I found it printed somewhere that it's not uncommon for people to have to leave computer-dependent careers as a result, or even to be disabled and unable to perform tasks such as driving or dressing themselves. This can become a serious issue if you don't take steps to lessen the discomfort EARLY!