Has anyone ever dealt with hives before? I've had them for nearly 5 days now, head to toe - even on a double dose of Zyrtec, Prednisone and Benedryl. The doctor said hives are caused by something internal, so it can't be a new lotion or fabric softener (nothing has changed anyway) and I'm not eating anything new.

I'm going a little crazy. Anyone ever had these and found something that works to get rid of them?

I wish Xanga would stop trying to give me a new site. I like my old site thankyouverymuch.

Yes. I hate change.

So, Halloween was great, and I have to post because Brandon and I had the best costumes EVER. Remember the Yip Yip martians from Sesame Street?

I'm the one in the pink :)

Wow- two months since my last post. Crazy. Time really flies.

Well, since the last time I was here I had my 10-year high school reunion in Maine. It was fine....people didn't really change much and most of my friends weren't there. I did see my homecoming date from sophomore year, though - pothead turned history teacher and now working at our old high school. Wierd.

Work has been crazy. Really really crazy...and I'm still trying to balance school on top of it. But I have't had a nervous breakdown yet, so I guess I'm doing ok. Yet, of course, being the operative word there.

This was the summer of home improvements. Some by choice, some out of necessity. After that huge hail storm in June we had our roof and gutters replaced and I decided to repaint the exterior and Brandon put in a new screen door. After some new bushes out front, it looks like a totally different house. I'll have to post some before-and-afters.

I've decided we need to have more parties at our house. We hosted a party for Brandon's coworkers and it was really fun. I just like having big groups of people in our house. Thanksgiving II this year will be a big gig, I think.

Thank you, Xanga-peeps, for being such a caring, tactful group. I can't tell you how many times I've heard in the last week, "A blood clot? I had a cousin/aunt/friend who died from one of those!"...as if I wasn't aware enough of the risks. I really appreciated that none of you felt inclined to say anything like that.

Well, it happened...it got me...I'm a Twilight junkie.

In my own defense, I didn't WANT to do it. A friend gave me the book last week with a gushing recommendation...and it's against my nature to turn down a lended book. So I took it. And read it. And watched the movie. And now I'm halfway through book two and I can't put it down.

It's just so shameful. What 28 year old woman reads teen novels and enjoys them this much? My only complaint is that the author is a terrible, terrible writer. Seriously. If I read one more mention of "liquid topaz eyes" or "marble beauty" I'm going to vomit. And then I'll keep reading. Sad. 

Sorry, sorry..wasn't trying to be cryptic. Just didn't have time to go into it...

So, about a week and a half ago the back of my knee started swelling up. I figured I was just doing too much walking in high heels, but switching to flats didn't help and, by this past Thursday, my whole leg was sore from ankle to thigh.

I didn't have time to go see my regular doctor so I went to an immediate care center. The doctor looked at me, felt my leg and told me I have a Baker's Cyst- which is a swelling of the Bursa sack. It made sense because I've always had crappy knees. He put my on anti-inflammatory drugs and sent me home.

Thank goodness for the internet. I went back to work and looked up Baker's Cysts and everything I read said that their symptoms are similar to those of a DVT -  a blood clot in the leg. I wouldn't have paid much attention, except blood clots can kill you if they break loose and travel to your heart or lungs. I called the immediate care center back. The doctor had left, but they said they'd have him call me.

The night went by. My leg was killing me, even with the anti-inflammatory, but the doctor never called. I called the next morning and left another message and finally, at 11am on Friday he got back to me.

I told him what I'd read and asked him how he knew it wasn't a DVT. He replied that he couldn't know for sure without tests, but everything he observed told him it was a cyst. Probably to cover his butt, he sent me for an ultrasound at the nearest hospital.

I really thought I was going to be in and out. I thought they'd take a look, confirm it was a cyst, and send me off with my ice pack...so imagine my surprise when the ultrasound tech told me she'd found a clot below my left knee. I couldn't believe it.

They admitted me to the hospital and I spent the night in the Neuro ward, where they have to check you every hour to make sure you're breathing...that was a little unnerving. I'm on blood thinners to make sure that my clot doesn't get any bigger and now all we can do it wait for my body to reabsorb it. Thankfully, because of the location and my overall health, my DVT has less than a 6% chance of killing me. Those are pretty good odds, right?

So I'll be on blood thinners for three months. I have to give myself shots in the stomach every morning and evening for the next ten days and then pills from then on. Doctors appts once or twice a week to monitor my blood levels. Oh, and I can never take hormonal birth control again. They think that was the culprit.

There's the story. I'm so thankful I asked. If I hadn't, chances are the clot would have gotten bigger and more dangerous, or it could have moved and done serious damage. I will never feel badly about questioning a diagnosis again.