one monkey typing

Flu shot acquired.

I went to the oral surgeon for a follow-up yesterday, to find out why my jaw still hurts so much.
Removing his euphemisms, it's because I'm old. They're big holes in my jaw and a nearly-50-year-old can't expect them to heal that fast, they're gonna take a few more weeks to stop hurting and a few months to actually fill in, and I shouldn't ask people who had their wisdom teeth out when they were 20 what their experiences were.

And he gave me the go-ahead to continue popping ibuprofen, which is the only thing that seems to really help. I think I'm gonna start using the remaining narcotic painkillers before bed though, I'm getting sick of waking up at 3AM, taking more stuff, and lying there for 45 minutes until the throbbing goes away. He suggested upping to 600mg before bed but that was only marginally successful last night - I still woke up but I was able to get back to sleep.

After 3 months of little exercise, my blood pressure is up into the "that's not good" zone WITH meds.

I'll be going to the doctor in a few days, and I could get more intense meds or higher doses, but I'd prefer to get back on regular exercise.

So as of tomorrow, I'm back on the bike, or on days when I can't due to weather, on one of the machines at work. Given my family history, it's not really an option; the only way my mother ever controlled her BP without serious meds was with 1 to 2 hours a day of exercise, at least vigorous walking.

No Ishercon for me. I've had a sore throat since Sunday, it's not getting either better or worse. Since I don't know what it is, I'm going to stay away from the party.

I'm pretty bummed, because I've been invited for several years now and this was to be my first time to go. And I had a number of things that I was looking forward to talking to several people about.

Next year, I hope. Have fun without me!

A new vaccine that protects against cervical cancer
...
Some lobby government fearing drug may lead to promiscuity among teens
( yeah, right )