Laser Love

Just a quickie update on my first laser acupuncture treatment today coz I'm so excited.

*ALERT - a little bit of women's health talk in this post. Nothing too gruesome but I understand some people don't like health talk and if you'd rather not know, I won't be offended if you just don't read :) But I think it's important to talk about these things to let other women know. It would have fast tracked me knowing where to ask for help if I had known more about these things I reckon!*

So, as I mentioned yesterday I was recommended this doctor via a work colleague of my friend. They both work with GPs at Melbourne Uni so are excellent to get health professional referrals from because they all know who has a good reputation and good track record. And when it comes to potentially having needles stuck in you, you want to make sure those things are properly sterilised!

I googled the doctor's name and found a couple of news articles he had been featured in and saw there he was featured in that article I mentioned yesterday, about laser acupuncture. So I was hoping maybe I'd be offered that but wasn't sure. At least it would probably be less painful (though I have heard the needles don't really hurt that much anyway) but also infection wouldn't be an issue.

When we had a chat at the start of my appointment and told him about my hormone headaches and described when I get them and what they are like. He said he has treated many, many patients for headaches. Menstrual migraines and hormone headaches can be a little trickier to treat however, as it can be harder to 'curb nature' ie fluctuating hormone levels. However he said it would be apparent whether or not it would be working fairly quickly and if it's going to work it should be obvious by about 4-5 sessions. They wouldn't continue to treat for several years just because it seems like a good idea. If it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you! But he did say he has had some excellent results with a couple of female patients lately, and one in particular with similar symptoms responded well after just one treatment.

I also mentioned how I recently discovered I have to go in for a laparoscopy (key hole surgery) later this year because of 2 benign cysts - 1 in one of my ovaries and 1 at the end of one of my tubes. I found out he is also a GP and also specialises in gynaecology and obstetrics! So everything really did fall into place and he really the ideal person to be treating me.

He showed me the laser acupuncture probe he uses and got me to take my shoes and socks off. Treatment was on some spots on my foot, a spot on my tummy, one on my back and one on my right wrist.

All the spots, except the one on my tummy, were sore spots that I had just assumed were unrelated... general sore spots? I'm full of knots so I don't really question when they arise. It just really intrigued me he knew exactly the spots to treat and they were exactly the spots that were sore - it's not like he was feeling around for them and then treated them.

The spot on my back one was one of my big knots. And the spot on my right wrist is one that is ALWAYS getting sore. Sometimes there's a real little knot in there, it's so sore it feels like a little ball of hardness. I told him that and said I had been thinking it was just RSI from using my mouse at work! He laughed and said it's quite an integral blood flow spot... just goes to show EVERYTHING is related.

And I had no problems relaxing because he was so casual as he was treating me. He held the pen looking laser device on the spot and stood there with his other hand on his hip while chatting with me about other treatments for hormone headaches etc - just to make sure I was aware of them but not necessarily saying I SHOULD go with them. I'm not a big fan of taking medication if there are other treatments available but it was the responsible GP thing of him to make sure I knew. And he also asked me what I knew about the accuracy of ultrasounds (for my cysts) and I told him I had 2 because the first wasn't very clear and he told me he treated a woman with what looked like a 9cm cyst on the ultrasound and when she went in for a laparoscopy it turned out that they were wrong! So just goes to show.

About a minute after my treatment, as we talked about my follow up appointment, my face was all warm and flushed and he said it's a sign that the treatment has started taking effect. The only side effects, he said, would be some possible tiredness. I've been at work all day today and can't say I've noticed it that much. I've been rather warm though, but I'm not sure if that's me or this weird Autumn weather we have here this week.

Anyway. Got me thinking about the other weird muscular knots I have, so next time I go to see him I am going to tell him about the impenetrable knot I have in my left shoulder. It's so hard that it's NUMB. I have massage people staggered by how hard it is and it's odd, I can feel it, but it's so tight that it's also numb to me. That can't be right huh. And seeing the appointments aren't exactly cheap ($90 initial $60 thereafter, so not completely outrageous) I figure I may as well get my monies worth and let him know about them too and see what they are about.

AA asked me if I thought acupuncture might be able to help him with his perpetually COLD FEET. I guess that's a circulation thing, so probably yes. Will have to ask about that next time too.

Anyway, I'm quite amazed from today as you can probably tell. I have high hopes, my life would be so much better if I could get rid of these damn headaches. I can't tell you how debilitating they can be sometimes. And the odd thing is, I have a shocking pain memory. When I'm in it, it is just horrendous but a week later and I can't even remember properly how he felt. But when it strikes it's just awful. I had to pike out on the second half of my own engagement party because I had an awful migraine. Imagine if that happened at our wedding! It'd be a disaster!

So fingers crossed - my next appointment is in a fortnight so stay tuned...
*If you'd like the doctor's details please just send me a private message and I will be happy to forward on the details. I'm in Melbourne, Australia.

Getting To The Point

Tomorrow I am going for my first ever acupuncture session. Bit scary but I have high hopes. For a good few years now I have been intermittently getting these awful hormone headaches and as I get older they seem to be getting worse. I am talking about awful, long lingering pain on the surface of my head that sneaks up and then takes hold for sometimes days at a time. As it grows stronger I bizarrely develop what I have dubbed 'bionic nose' and I can just smell EVERYTHING and it makes me really nauseaus. I quite often have to go home if I'm at work and it's really bad. And it gets rather embarrassing. It's not really the type of thing you can talk about with your two older male bosses you've nicknamed 'The Dads'. I've been told by doctors that if I just got pregnant and had a kid, your hormone levels pretty much 'reset' themselves because of the massive changes in your body and I'd probably be fine afterwards. Pregnancy and child birth as a form of pain relief! Now there's a new concept. Though I have to say, in my darkest, most desperate moments of pain, it's a pretty tempting one.

The medication traditionally prescribed to treat them is really strong so I went to see a naturopath and have been taking a variety of disgusting tasting herbal concoctions and while I think they have been helping with my general health and probably keeping me

going considering how run ragged I am at work at the moment.

However they haven't helped the hormone headaches, which feel like they are just a force in a league of their own. I have been so stressed out and naughtily not been going to yoga since Xmas and my body is like a wound up coil. I knew it was bad when I went to get a Thai massage and when the masseuse tried to stretch my shoulders and my body barely moved - and she packed up laughing at me! Yes, it's ridiculous. So I went sheepishly to my osteopath who at this point usually berates me for not looking after myself. And when she asked about my hormone headaches and I told her that I'm at a loss of what to do, she suggested acupuncture. She said it can help regulate your hormone levels and I had a bit of a look online and low and behold. Who'd have thunk it!

Anyway, I have HIGH HOPES. I was recommended this acupuncturist through a friend of a friend who had severe back pain and is now managing it virtually medication free.. So I looked him up and found this article. I'm hoping I'll be getting laser acupuncture tomorrow because I'm a wuss but I forgot to ask. I feel like I should just be able to turn up with a list of ailments and he'll be able to stick needles into the corresponding spots and hey presto, they're disappear! Wouldn't that be nice. But I don't quite think it works like that.

Have any of you tried acupuncture before?

Closure

I was just going through some old photos of Timmy and I realised this one that was taken not that long ago, clearly displays the bell we found squashed, on the road where the dead cat had been seen.

So it was Timmy.

At least we know now.

I'm thinking of contacting the local Leader Newspaper. The pet registrations are due in our Council area. Perhaps I can get them to run a story. I know having my pet registered didn't do anything for me in the end, but perhaps they could also take the angle of what to do if you find a lost or dead pet and the responsible thing to do (ie contact the owner!).

I have to think it's possible for SOME good to come of this at least. It could be just preaching to the converted but maybe it could prevent someone else being left in limbo if this happened to them.

I miss his meows

We had the worst weekend ever.

Timmy, our cat, who has moved house with me four times in two states went missing.

He's a boisterous little white and ginger cat. He has attitude like you would not believe. He's very vocal, he sings, he yells at us when he's hungry, he bosses us all around, but he also knows how to turn on the charm and be cute when he wants some affection and loves to run in front of you as you enter a room and flop over on his back and wiggle around trying to tempt you to scratch his belly.

He's a complete alpha male that likes to strut his stuff and gets so grumpy if he's waiting to be fed or when I come back from a vacation. He's a sprightly thing who constantly gets bored with us and meows at us in frustration 'WHY are you guys so boring? WHY aren't you entertaining me. I want to be on top of the cupboard. I want to see what's in the wardrobe. WHY aren't you opening it for me?' But he also loves to curl up on the couch and in recent years has mellowed out and just wants to be comfortable and get a good chin scratch. He's inquisitive and gets himself in trouble and been known to run into the house with a sheepish look on him and you just KNOW something happened.

But this time he didn't come home.

The short version is we looked everywhere. We did fliers and posters. We checked the near by shelters to no avail. And we door knocked. 2 different sets of neighbours told us they saw a dead cat on the street the day Timmy went missing and one of them had moved the cat and called the council but didn't check the collar to find the owners. We went to council and they had no record of the pick up. But I'm pretty sure it was Timmy because we found a squashed bell on the road we think was his. He had 4 different types of identification on him - microchip, national pet register tag, council registration tag and an engraved tag with his name and my phone number on it. But no one called. It's just so frustrating.

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Here's my long winded version. I don't really expect anyone to read the entire thing but I feel I just have to get it out, maybe this will help other people in similar situations in future --

Timmy being missing for one night isn't too unusual but on Saturday morning it was bucketing down and Timmy HATES the rain and he was no where to be seen and it had been two nights. AA and I went out with rain jackets and an umbrella calling out to him throughout the block but no meows to be heard. Timmy has a meow at a pitch that CUTS through but the wind and rain were so strong we knew we wouldn't be able to hear him and he wouldn't come out in the rain anyway. I was imagining him under a house not too far away.

We returned Saturday early evening. Our housemate searched all the nearby streets in his car. AA and I went around the neighbourhood again calling out his name. I was outside the unoccupied run down house next door and heard a meowing that wasn't Timmy's. It was Villenelle our other cat, and she rarely meows. She seemed to want me to follow her and she ducked under the house. I thought she was getting all Skippy like on me and was going to show me where Timmy was. We searched with a torch under the house and shed and all throughout the yard and couldn't find anything. I think Villenelle was just playing, Timmy and she always play in that house and I think she found it novel to see us on the other side of the fence for a change.

We made up colour fliers and posters on Saturday night to print out on Sunday. It was so rainy and cold Saturday night. Timmy is always so affectionate when it's cold. He likes to curl up on me in bed, and if it's really cold he likes to come under the covers for a while before settling himself on my chest, right above my heart so that I can't bring myself to move around too much because he looks so happy and content and QUIET for a change. He's so sweet when he's tired. I was worried Timmy was stuck somewhere he couldn't get out of, possibly injured and might be in shock in the cold. Hungry and tired and dehydrated on his third night out of the house.

In the morning, as soon as we got the fliers printed we put them up at the local supermarket and vet and we started door knocking. The first door we knocked on, our neighbours, his face fell when we showed him the flier and we knew it wasn't good. He had seen a dead cat on the street on Thursday morning around 5am (our housemate had last heard Timmy meowing at him at 4.30am on Thursday morning when he returned home from a shift) and he thought it might have been one of ours and meant to tell us but never got around to. We were so confused though - where did his body go then? How come none of us saw anything when we went to work on Thursday morning?

But he looked at the photo and said 'I think it was him' and that the cat had a definitely bell. He was in his car and flashed his lights at it to try and get it to move out of the way but it was dead.

So, next we hit the shelters. We went to both Lort Smith and the Lost Dogs & Cats home, both in North Melbourne. Apparently Lost Dogs & Cats had received a whole lot of cats from our area recently so we hoped he might be there. No. We asked what they do if the animals are already dead and they said it depended on which council it is.

I should point out that our pets have every conceivable type of identification on them. Timmy in particular had bright green tattoos on both his ears, indicating he was microchipped and desexed. He had them when I got him from the RSPCA shelter in Adelaide. He was microchipped with Central Animal Records, had a numbered tag with the National Pet Register, a council registration tag and a tag we had engraved with his name and my phone number on it. We thought if anyone official picked him up or if anyone found him, surely they would call us.

We returned home with no extra info but at least knew we checked the shelters. I was too distressed to do any more door knocking but AA and our friend Gemma spoke to the neighbours across the street from those that saw the dead cat and they confirmed they saw the cat too. In fact they moved it so it was out of the road and wouldn't be run over again and the father gave it a good check to see it wasn't their cat. Unfortunately though after establishing it wasn't their cat they didn't bother to check the cat any further to see the details of WHO it did belong to. They called the council to remove the dead animal. That happened in the morning so it was technically possible they moved it and we didn't see it as we drove to work though it seemed a bit unlikely. Perhaps there was a car parked in front. But Gemma walked past the house too that morning and didn't see anything! Could the council really be as efficient as that?

They showed the neighbours photos of Timmy and it sounded like it was him but they were still trying to give us hope. They looked at photos and said it was the wrong colour and the dead cat's markings were 'more brown' but Timmy is orangey/ brown. And they said the cat was more 'white' and from the side Timmy was pretty much ALL white with a few ginger bits on his back, tail and bits of his face.

Then Gemma found a squashed bell on the street where the dead cat was. lt looked just like one I bought Timmy when we moved into our new house. I made sure both our cats had 2 bells each because they had killed a few birds and I read having two bells could really help stop them being able to creep up on them. But I wasn't sure whether Timmy still had his on. I hadn't CHECKED recently but he definitely had a bell on him.

We were hoping the Council could give us some answers when they reopened in the morning. AA, our housemate and I went in to see if they could tell us if they picked him up and if they had his registration details. I had resigned myself to the fact that if they picked him up on Thursday it was probable they had disposed of the body already. It's not like they have a morgue for cats. But why hadn't anyone called us? What do I pay my council registration fees for? Would they not bother calling me because he was dead already? I was hoping they'd at least have kept the collar to follow up the owners details on Monday if they didn't get to it before the weekend.

But when we got to council the exceptionally helpful receptionist couldn't find any answers for us at all. She spoke to 4 different people that would have been involved if there was a pick up. The coordinator for the pick ups, there are only 2 rangers that do the pick ups. One was on leave so it wasn't him and the other said he didn't know anything about it. So the body just went missing! No record of even a call for a pick up!

So distressing. I can't bring myself to think much further about it. I've come to the conclusion there are two likely options. 1) The ranger picked it up but didn't scan the dead cat like he was supposed to do and didn't want to get in trouble so said he didn't know anything about it. 2) Perhaps one of the Asian families binned the cat because it might have been bad luck to have a dead animal in front of their house.

I've considered the possibility of a random person bringing it to a vet or burying it themselves but really, a person who would do that probably would have cared enough to contact the owner. I even called another nearby Brimbank council (we belong to Maribyrnong council) to make sure it wasn't them that picked it up but they said if the area was outside their jurisdiction they're not allowed to do pick ups there. I rang the microchipping place to make sure they have my correct number and to se if they got any calls with a scan of Timmy's number. I rang the vets to see if a dead cat had been brought in... nothing.

I'm at a loss. But because of the bell I'm pretty damn sure it was Timmy. Plus what are the chances of another white cat being found dead in the street in front of our block of townhouses on the day that Timmy went missing? It'd just be nice to be 100% sure.

And it'd be nice to know that doing all the right things in making sure you cat is identifiable would mean you will actually get contacted in an unfortunate event.

The house is so quiet without him.

The world is my oyster, and the oyster is my world

Swan Oyster Depot, oysters, originally uploaded by larryleenyc.

We returned from our Sydney - Melbourne coastal drive last night and we had a fine time. The Sapphire Coast is certainly a beautiful part of the world well worth the long drive to get to!

We did so much, there's so much to share, so this is just going to be a post about food we enjoyed this past weekend.

NEWTOWN, SYDNEY - PASTIZZI CAFE
523 King Street
Newtown NSW 2042
Phone (02) 9519 1063

Cheap and tasty Maltese dinner with friends in Newtown, Sydney at the Pastizzi Cafe. I just found a great review for the place here plus these great photos on Flickr:

Pastizzis are pastries filled with a variety of different savoury and sweet fillings.

Pastizzi - chicken & mushroom, chilli con carne, spinach & ricotta, veggie curry, originally uploaded by foodie.jenius.

I had lentil, chilli con carne (chilli alright!) and chocolate & ricotta (yum!).

ricotta & chocolate and apple pastizzis, originally uploaded by foodie.jenius.

Then for main course I had the special of tortellinni in broth, as highly recommended by the waitress. Ultimate comfort food, yum!

AA's dear high school friend who had just returned from a short visit to Latvia came along with a bottle of the 'most lauded liqueur in Latvia' Riga Black Balsam. And those Latvians sure know their alcohol. I just had the tiniest sip, and felt the 45% alcohol waft from my lips, tongue, throat and up my nose and out through to the top of my head! A sensation not unlike wasabi! But then it settled as a deep warmth in my chest. That stuff could keep you warm through the most bitter of winters.

BERRY - WOODFIRED SOURDOUGH BAKERY

23 Prince Alfred Street
Berry NSW 2535
Phone (02) 4464 1617

Next food stop was Berry, to seek out the legendary Berry Woodfired Sourdough Bakery that my friends rave about. They have a cafe where you can have lunch.

I had slow cooked pork belly with rocket and fennel salad with herb mayonnaise. The crackling was as thin and crispy as a wafer! Amazing.

AA had panfried barramundi on a bed of baby spinach, pumpkin, tomatoes and chorizos with a light dressing:

TATHRA - BEACH CAFE
1 Andy Poole Drive

Tathra, NSW 2550
Phone 02 6494 1688

For a small town, I must say Tathra has some damn fine food. Saturday night we had beautiful dinner right on the beachfront at the Tathra Beach Cafe. I had some delicious deep fried, soft sheeled mud crab with thai salad, and AA had a very fine portuguese chicken with herb rice. They are only open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.

NAROOMA BRIDGE OYSTERS
12 Riverview Rd
Narooma, NSW 2546
phome (02) 4476 1711

It was here I ate my first dozen oysters on Sunday. Don't worry, I only ate two dozen oysters. Heehee, 'only'. And no, it wasn't in one sitting.

You'll find Narooma Bridge Oysters on the northern side of the Narooma Bridge. Here it is from the other side of the bridge. See that sign? It had my name on it!

You can get a tray of a dozen fresh oysters for $10 here. I figured there was no better place to eat them than by the water, under the bridge.

And besides, I couldn't wait. Down the hatch!

YUM!

NAROOMA - QUARTERDECK MARINA

13 Riverside Drive
Narooma, NSW 2546
Phone (02) 4476 2723

Now, if you cross the river and turn into the first street on the right, on the southern side of the bridge (Riverside Drive) and follow it along the river until you see some cafes and an awesome pirateship play gym for the kids, you'll come across the kitschy cool Narooma Quarterdeck Marina. You can sit it its colourful interior, right on the water:

I had an entree dish of scallops with a thai style sauce. Delicious!

AA had some gemfish fish and chips

TATHRA OYSTERS
1 Reservoir Street
Tathra NSW 2550
Phone (02) 6494 145

My second dozen oysters for the day were from the award winning Tathra Oysters . The are down a side street so make sure to look them up on a map because you can easily miss the sign but well worth seeking out. They have won many awards, and sell their oysters is three grades - cocktail, bistro and premium. I tried the more expensive premium grade oysters but they were well worth the extra expense - so fresh and so tasty! Didn't even need lemon.

TATHRA - MIMOSA ROCKS RESTAURANT (WOODFIRE OVEN PIZZA)

Andy Poole Drive

Tathra, NSW 2550

Phone (02) 6494 148

Dinner on Sunday night was at Mimosa Rocks Restaurant, on the main strip in Tathra, opposite the beach. Delicious award winning woodfire oven pizza with traditional and more exotic gourmet toppings such as Tandoori Chicken, Garlic Prawn, Positano Seafood and Smoked Salmon, Spinach and Camembert and Pumpkin and Ricotta. Some of the best pizza i have had, with an ultra thin and crispy base and vibrant toppings. YUM! Sadly the owners were advertising to sell the business though so I hope someone as good takes over.

Aw, I'm hungry now.

Back After Bega

Just a quick note before I leave for Sydney. We've decided to spend 2 nights in Bega

We were wanting to stay at this incredible looking place . I mean just look at these photos! We left it too late though I'm afraid and they were fully booked

But that's ok because we found this charming looking B&B that has an ABC Open Garden as well!

But for those of you looking for places to stay in the region here's a fantastic link to a clickable map with lots of options of B&B places to stay.

OK bye for now, see you on the other side of the weekend! I'm off to eat plenty of fresh oysters and CHEESE.

Cruising the coast

Jervis Bay, originally uploaded by lukasbenc.

AA and I have been completely run off our feet lately. It culminated with me ALMOST coming down with the flu last week and this morning waking up with the worst pinch in my neck that hasn't left all day. NEED HOLIDAY! Meanwhile AA stayed up til 3am one morning marking practice exams. People who claim that teachers are lazy and do nothing but receive 12 weeks holiday a year CLEARLY have no idea what they are talking about!

Suffice to say, we are both very much looking forward to the long weekend this weekend. We're flying up to Sydney to catch up with friends before picking up my new car (and Alex's 'new' vintage guitar amp) and taking a 2 day leisurely drive along the coast back to Melbourne.

Have any of you done this drive before? We never have, and I'm rather excited. I have no idea what to expect.

Any tips on somewhere to stay overnight of MUST SEE places? I found this handy website and am already salivating at the thought of fresh oysters and cheese.

Look at this gorgeous photo of Jervis Bay I found on Flickr. I feel calmer already just looking at it!