Ego! Ego! Ego!: I am not a ____, but... Archives

May 04, 2008

I am not a Doctor, but... Plastic is Evil

Last year, I came down with a headache that just would not go away. It wasn't agonizing, but it was around a 4 or 5 on the 0-10 pain scale (with 10 being the worst possible pain ever). But it was unrelenting. Nothing took the edge off except Vicodin. I had it for a month and a half before a friend suggested I try getting my hormone levels tested. It turned out my estrogen levels were unusually high and my progesterone levels unusually low, producing a nasty condition called estrogen dominance. I started treatment, which included a variety of supplements and a regimen of progesterone replacement pills.

It's better (the headache is gone, for one thing) but my hormones are still out of whack. My nutritionist ordered me to cut out all sources of estrogen or estrogen-mimicking chemicals (which I like to call pseudoestrogens, though I don't think they have such a catchy name in the medical community). This meant filtering my water and, much more difficult, removing plastic from as much of my food service as possible. No more plastic or polycarbonate water bottles, no putting hot food (or heating food) in plastic containers, etc. I was a bit surprised -- plastic contained pseudoestrogens?

Continued...

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January 06, 2007

I am not a financial advisor, but... Issue 1

First, a disclaimer: I AM NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISOR. IF YOU ARE BROKE OR LOOKING FOR INVESTMENT ADVICE, SEEK ADVICE FROM SOMEONE WHO IS, ETC ETC ETC!

Anyway.

Man. Money is a bitch. Seriously. But there is a certain sort of pride one gets from being on top of things which can't really be gotten any other way.

As some of my readers may know, I have a lot of debt. When I graduated college, I owed $80k and change to various financial institutions for paying my way. Goddamn private schools.

Well, I have recently lined all my debts up (car loan, credit cards, remaining student debt) and I am now only $70k and change in the hole. Not bad, considering that I finished school only 6 years ago and for all but the last year or so was living paycheck to paycheck.

I attribute this to a number of strategies, largely developed through long discussions with Antwon (who has hella financial acumen. Seriously. He was making wise money decisions when he was like six or something).

Continued...

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December 01, 2006

I Am Not A Doctor, But... Issue 2: The Common Cold

First, a disclaimer:

I AM NOT A DOCTOR. IF YOU ARE ILL, SEEK ADVICE FROM YOUR MEDICAL PRACTITIONER, ETC ETC ETC!

Now. I suffered from colds a LOT during graduate school - I cought about four or five in a row, one after the other, the winter I was there. It sucked.

But I learned a lot. On at least one occasion, I was able to muscle through the nasty headcold part of the cold and into the not-so-bad chest part in only a couple days. I'm currently muscling through a cold quite nicely.

So, I now present you with Ealasaid's tips for getting over a cold!

Continued...

File under: I am not a ____, but..., Pure Ego!
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November 29, 2006

I Am Not A Doctor, But... Issue 1: Fibromyalgia

First, a disclaimer:

I AM NOT A DOCTOR. IF YOU ARE ILL, SEEK ADVICE FROM YOUR MEDICAL PRACTITIONER, ETC ETC ETC!

That said, I am a person with fibromyalgia, and I recently posted to a list I'm on about the "natural" remedies I use. I thought it might make for interesting reading, and if nothing else, I figured I might as well put it on the web, eh?

Continued...

File under: Fibromyalgia, I am not a ____, but..., Pure Ego!
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