As a little girl growing up in Connecticut at the end of the 20th century, my outer appearance was much more important than anything going on under my skin; therefore, learning much about my innards has always been rooted in crisis. To clarify, I’m very grateful my crisis levels have always been really low.
The first thing I learned was about my stomach, which is the knowledge that most of my stress gathers there and this can manifest cramps. Periodically during my twenties I wondered if it was possible for my stress level would cause me to vomit {since social pressure has always been a high stressor} but it never happened. Not during my twenties, anyhow; I was known to vomit at school a few times. There was an incident in 6th grade and also elementary school, but details are foggy. What annoys me is: did I vomit before or after lunch? I haven’t been able to remember that snippet.
I learned that whenever my body struggled to digest something, I would feel that struggle first in my stomach. Soft cheese is at the top of that list, for reasons experts in relevant fields would find obvious… but I haven’t a clue.
Early on I also learned about my bowels, but not very much—only that this stuff that came out of my butt lost it’s novelty very quickly. I only remember snippets of my early diet {canned/boxed stuff at dad’s house, lots of veggies at mom’s house/home} but I do have many memories of poo trauma or inconvenience. According to medical science, great portions of our bodies regenerate over the years and does this apply to our intestines? Since becoming an adult, I’ve learned a lot more about my intestines because I don’t like messy dookies.
My eyeballs have been with me for a long time {lolz} and I’ve been using low prescription lenses since… age 14 or so {it’s hard to narrow down because we young friends were at the pool together and I tried on Chris’s glasses and didn’t realize things around me could be so vivid. We lived in that town for the longest while, but then moved out and still visited for a few years before never going back}. Honestly, I’m not sure my prescription has changed much over the past couple of decades and there are a variety of things I’ll do with my glasses resting in their spot in the kitchen [by the tea jar] because my vision only gets annoying or unreliable at 4-5ft.
Never in my life have I ever broken a single bone in my body, or many {lolz} and therefore haven’t thought much about them until sometime in my 30s when Zeffy talked about taking certain supplements for bone health. Osteoporosis {do I get points for how close I was to spelling that right?} is something I’d like to avoid, for sure, which is partly why Zeffy researches for both of us… because I’m not talented at hunting for information like he is. I do have an affinity for collecting and sharing, so it’s awesome to have a website…woot for technology!
I didn’t give much thought to my joints until they started popping regularly {my shoulders} and my fingers started getting kind of stiff after years of actively popping my knuckles.
I have thought a lot about my ears, though, like the time my earrings gave me an infection when I was 12… or when my hearing was ‘all foggy’ for two days after a plane ride… or anytime I wear most earrings for more than a couple of hours… or how even the warmest wind bothers my ears, so I’m wearing ‘winter gear’ even when it’s 65. Inner ear and earlobes are two distinct elements to these weird things on the side of my head that give me the ability to hear. Interesting fact about my pair, or my brain… I can’t always tell where something is based on hearing alone. My ear canals are pretty normal and I figure my body is just sensitive—Zeffy’s ear canals are different, perhaps smaller or narrow, and this manifests periodically in for form of wax buildup that makes him super annoyed. Me? I just use a cotton Q tip after every shower and I’ve never had a problem.
Why do we have such distinctly different noses? And what’s the deal with them sticking out from our faces? I was very insecure about my nose in 8th or 9th grade, I remember so distinctly; but then while I was going through some magazines I saw my nose on a model and was very confused about life for a long time. Inside of our noses is some important stuff, like sinus cavities that can get all angry and inflamed by allergens or barometric pressure. I call these ‘humidity headaches’ and after years of suffering not-silently, we discovered that a friendly 500mg dose of Acetaminophen {that’s the active ingredient in Tylenol if you must know} will clear it right up inside of roughly 30 minutes.
I learned a lot about my lungs as a child because I had asthma for a long time; also I have some allergies to stuff like mold and dust, all of which impacts my breathing because of a tragic phenomenon known as ‘constricted broncular tubes.’
My heart has always been strong, for which I’m very grateful, though apparently it beats faster than Zeffy’s which is all part of the fascinating ‘range of normal’ set down by the medical community.
