Hospital

 Yesterday was my appointment for the "big check-up", at least that is what I call it!

Every 3 months, I have to check my blood for cancer markers, diabetes, and have my blood pressure checked. The doctor then prescribes me another 3 months' worth of medicine, sometimes changing my prescription if needed.

Once a year, I have to undergo a major check-up.  This includes a mammogram, CT scan, echo scan, blood work, and a pee test!

This year was year 7! I know that for most cancers, you have to be checked for 5 years, then if the cancer hasn't come back, you are considered cancer-free. But I had a special cancer that needs to be monitored for 10 years!

I don't like going to the hospital; it's "mendokusai", a lovely Japanese word that I use a lot, which means it's a lot of trouble! One of my students told me that life is mendokusai!! The tests aren't painful or intrusive, but the waiting gets me!

The hospital I go to is very efficient, you aren't waiting around for hours, unless there has been an emergency! The staff are good, they get you through the different tests are quick as possible.

One thing that always gets me is when I have the mammogram, I'm squished into this machine, barely able to breathe, when the technician says, "Please, don't move!" I'm thinking that moving would be impossible, and the last thing on my mind. Yesterday, she had to take the same image twice as she wasn't happy with the first image. I'm squished into this machine, feeling very uncomfortable. The technician says again, "Please, don't move!" I'm trying to distract myself by thinking about something else when the thought pops into my head, what happens if there is an earthquake!! Why? Am I the only one who thinks like this?

One thing I did yesterday was to talk to the doctor about my insomnia!  I told him that falling asleep isn't the problem, but staying asleep is! Most nights, I sleep for about 2 hours, then wake up. Once I'm awake, it's difficult to sleep again. If I do, it's a very light sleep, which means I don't feel rested! He prescribed me some mild sleeping tablets! He said to use these until I get a good daily rhythm.

Whenever you get medicine in Japan, you are given a paper with information about the medicine and any side effects. 

The list of my tablets

The first three on that list I've been taking for a while, so I know the side effects! The last one is the sleeping tablets. Using Google Translate on my phone, I read through it last night. One side effect of the sleeping tablets is that they might make you feel drowsy! I thought that was the whole purpose of sleeping pills!

Another thing the doctor was asking about was sleep apnea. I know I snore, I wake myself up, but I have no idea if I have sleep apnea. The doctor suggested that I get checked for that! To do that, the hospital will send a machine to my house. I have to wear the machine overnight and then send it back to be analyzed. The nurse who was showing us the instructions for the machine was worried because they were in Japanese. Christopher said it was no problem as he could translate for me. Just as we were about to leave, the nurse came chasing after us. She said that she had found the instructions in English and asked if I would prefer that! Of course, I said yes! I thought it was nice of her to check and see if they had English instructions!

Just a couple of photos of the hydrangeas.

Almost in full bloom!