Worth a shot?

After fighting a losing battle with my LDL levels, and my known intolerance for statins, I’ve decided to give a GLP-1 peptide a shot (no pun intended).  I’m rather proud of my state of health.  My blood chemistry is otherwise stellar; just the LDL and triglycerides have been problematic.  I’m in good physical shape.  Could stand to lose 10-15 pounds, but nothing egregious.  I eat and hydrate well, and I exercise regularly.  And I’m not on any maintenance meds.  But no matter what I’ve tried, I can’t get the cholesterol down.  My ratio’s good, but it just likes to hover around 300. 

The GLP-1s seem to assist with a general lowering of cholesterol and inflammation.  Both good things.  If I drop a few pounds in the process, also a good thing.  I did a teledoc appointment, got labwork done as a baseline, and have started the Prior Authorization process with my insurance company for Wegovy.  In the meantime I’ve ordered 3 months of compounded semaglutide to get me started.

The plan is this: at least an hour a day of exercise, at least a gallon of water every day, tracking macros and calories via the Lose It! app, and a continuation of my supplement regime (AG-1, D3, CoQ-10, Fish Oil, Turmeric, Metholated Folate, and Magnesium).

I’m not sure what to expect, but the worst thing that could happen is that it doesn’t work and I have to look at alternative solutions.  I’ll be updating The Island at least once a week, so stay tuned.

Premonition

1986 was a heady year in many ways.  It was the year I graduated from high school.  1985-1986 saw me move out of my mother’s house and in with my dad.  It saw me fall madly in (unrequited) love with Stacey Wheeler – and carry that torch much further than I care to admit.  It saw a truly tragic experience with another woman, which has shaped me far more than I can say….

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It’s the dawning of a brand new day

Well Islanders, it’s been a while.

That will not be an issue anymore, as my live-in editor has been dispatched. Thanks to a dispute regarding the story of my dear girl Roxy, I chose to stop publishing.

I’m back. Don’t know how prolific I’ll be, but I’m back. I have well over a dozen stories from the last 5 years that haven’t been completed or seen the light of day. And I’ve got a dumpster fire of a divorce and ex to write about, so there’s that too.

And I’ve resettled in the most beautiful part of the county, with a great career and great friends.

Soon my friends, soon.

A Pleasant Surprise

Let’s get two great Truths out in the open first thing.

  1. Freddie Mercury was not only the greatest rock singer of all time (yes, he was better than  Halford, Dio, or Plant), he was also the greatest rock frontman of all time (besting Roth, Daltrey, or Plant).  He was an absolute original who was gifted with an amazing voice and an unreal stage presence.
  2. While I call myself a Queen fan, I also acknowledge that I have little patience for their music prior to The Game.  I never need to hear “Bohemian Rhapsody” again.  Ever.  And I think the three-album run of A Kind of Magic, The Miracle, and Innuendo is just stellar, with The Miracle being my favorite Queen album.  I think this is less of a reflection on the band, and says more about my evolving musical tastes….I don’t have much patience for most music from the ’60s and ’70s, as much of it is sloppy and over-indulgent.  Not to mention the fact that classic rock radio has beaten all of every band’s radio hits into the ground.

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Goodbye sweetie….

The world was a very different place in June, 2001.  I was 33, had a beautiful 6-year-old daughter, and a magnificent 110-pound Lab/Shepherd mix named Ajax.  My world turned around the two of them, so much so that I had a photograph of the two of them on my desk at work.  Had you asked me then, I would have sworn that I had no more room in my heart for either another child or another dog.  Read More

A new adventure….

What initially got me motivated to write this was to share some good news about my life, but then I looked at the calendar and realized what weekend it was…..And that turned what would have been a quick Facebook post into an Island dispatch.  Which is good, because I don’t visit the Island often enough, and I like it here. Read More

A year in….

Greetings Islanders!  A thousand pardons for the past 6 months of silence.  Work and school have dominated my time, and I just haven’t had the gumption to put my thoughts to words.  Not that topics haven’t come up.  There’s the silliness of the election (which I’ll keep to myself lest I piss off everyone).  There’s the tragic string of celebrity deaths culminating in the shocking loss of Prince.  Sadly I’m still a bit too shellshocked to write coherently about that loss.  And then there’s me.  Big changes over the last year, so I figured I’d talk about that. Read More