OK So I went to the Dr. yesterday(why am I telling you this? Because why I went is somewhat surf related) to get a mole looked at, and have her check out my sore, shoulder. But I am not a big fan of the scale she had me stand on.. NO wonder my wetsuit is uh hum.. "snug" YIKES!..No more after surf scarf down food sessions for me. ANY WAY.. SHE sent me to a dermatologist. WHO saw me right away. MUCH to my surprise!!I will get to all that in a minute. I want to start with my Shoulder.I apparently had one or two ribs out of alignment.. I was oh no, it is my shoulder, she said can I give you a bit of an adjustment? I said sure. Then she had me lay down a certain way. I heard cracks and pops and I felt a little better. SHE said see ribs. =) BUT I also have a pinched nerve too. I was putting ice on. She wants me to put heat. My shoulder and neck area still sore. BUT not as bad and I feel A LOT better since she did her maneuver on my ribs. I don't know if you remember in my last post??? I said I hurt my shoulder and felt something pop.. WELL guess it was my ribs. The pain started in my chest to my back and I also had burning sensation shoot down my arm.(hence the pinched nerve) Still surfed though and tried to surf the next day. SO I say I am a trooper. I want to surf this weekend..but not sure yet if I will surf both days. SUNDAY is my 2 year Surf Anniversary, so I REALLY want to surf that day to celebrate. Don't know if I should push it on Saturday yet. We will see how I feel.
Now as for the mole. It is on my leg and I think I scratched it surfing and it scabbed up, then it healed. I am really not sure what happened? But that is what I think, I wanted to get it checked to be safe. Dermatologist wants to keep an eye on it for 3 months. IF ANYTHING changes before then.. She wants to remove it right away. SO that is where I am there. I have a history of Basal Cell Carcinoma, I have scars all over my back, and had one Pre Cancerous mole before. I have lost more than one loved one to Melanoma too. SO I take my skin care very serious. I am very good about applying the sunscreen or sun block and usually a 45. NOW THEY HAVE 100. The Dermatologist said 45 was good, but make sure it says Wide Spectrum and to apply every hour. So Dr's. Orders... ANY way. THEN she gets this blow torch looking freeze drying gun thing and starts attacking me with it. OUCH! I had never had that done before, SHE zapped me 25 times. NOT KIDDING..She zapped a bunch of sun spots.
So now today my arms, back, legs has 25 blisters on me. SHE did say I could still surf this weekend. I am wondering if it is safe, what if these things pop and I get "ocean water" in them, and they get infected? One cool thing I forgot to mention, is she surfs or use too.. and she told me she wants me to surf in a full suit and sun screen..SHE didn't say I needed to give up surfing or stay out of the sun. WHICH I thought for sure I would be lectured on. Especially after the attack I recieved with that gun thing.
Again why am I mentioning this?.. Because I care...SO APPLY THAT SUNSCREEN PEOPLE!
Yeah...especially if you're bald like me. Having already burned my cranium last weekend, I was able to salvage my skin via lots of oily vitamin E applied to the scalp and face. You'd think that up in NORCAL, the sun takes a holiday in the summer...false! I have the freckles to disprove that myth. :-)
ReplyDeleteI too have a shoulder problem...had an impingement of my tendon a couple of years back that cleared up on its own. Now it has returned...which sucks for surfing. I have told myself to surf until I cannot lift my arm, then have the doc take a look...male stubbornness on my part. ;-)
I like your story and advice michelle!
ReplyDeleteCan't agree more with you. I got a weird mole under my foot which could not wait a trip to France to be removed. I cancelled my trip a couple of weeks before departure for the surgery. Big scare. I APPLY sunscreen all the time. I only buy at least the 85 SPF. I always keep sunscreen in my car. It is part of my routine when I go surfing. I wear a full suit most of the time even during the summer because I feel protected against the jellyfish and the sun.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding everyone about sun damage. Great post!