My state of being

 I was thinking this morning, that what I learned yesterday, might be beneficial to others. So here I am writing. I have, yet again, discovered that I have a malady potentially brought on by lifestyle. I went to a dermatologist to discuss a couple of things. One of the issues was my fingernails. They have developed vertical ridges, running from the tips to the cuticles. This was bothersome for a couple of reasons. I was concerned I had a fungal infection. And, one of the nails kept trying to split along one of the ridges, vertically. I kept trimming it back, which seemed to be keeping it in check. I knew if that nail split back that way, it was going to hurt, a lot. The good news, no fungal infection. The dermatologist said that my nails were very thin. I knew that, they have always been thin. He said what was causing the ridges was stress. Not mental stress, but physical stress--potentially, from typing. And since I know a lot of us spend time doing that, for work and/or recreation, I thought I would share. My nails, especially my thumbs, split about a 1/3 of the way from the tip. He said that is likely stress from hitting the space bar.

He has written me a prescription for something that is applied to the nails. The pharmacy was out of it yesterday, and it may require pre-approval from the insurance--not holding my breath on that one. His other recommendation was Biotin. I already take a multivitamin, so I checked, it only has 5% of the recommended dosage of Biotin. So I guess I will start taking another pill (ugh), or find a better multivitamin. He said that you can usually find Biotin in a vitamin for hair, nail and skin. Who couldn't use help in all those areas? OK, shut up people with perfect skin, nails and hair.

In addition to a daily multivitamin, I take Calcium with Vitamin D, because I am lacking. It was discovered on a lab result, some years ago, that I essentially had no Vitamin D in my system. Not enough unprotected sunshine. Nor, do I consume much dairy. I also take a B12, because the proton pump inhibitor (Pepcid, Zantac, etc) that I take, interferes with it. Also discovered in lab work. So, yes, I am taking a pill because I take a pill. That bothers me--but not as much as the acid reflux. Have I mentioned that I hate taking pills? I am up to 7 a day. Only 2 are prescription, 3 vitamins/supplements, a baby aspirin and allergy medication. After seeing some of the medication lists at work, I figure I'm not doing too bad. But, I'll admit to having a frustrated doctor. She has gotten to the point where she says, I'll write the Rx, let me know if you're going to take it. Nurses make really bad patients.