Tinkerblue

Ouch - Yellow Fever Vaccination

During my next set of holidays in November/December/January I will be travelling to Canada, Peru, back to Canada, Australia, China, Canada and then to my next ship.

For working on ships I have a medical that is renewed every two years. that includes all vaccinations.  Somehow my typhoid vaccination expired in 2015 and I need a booster.  The bigger issuer is the yellow fever vaccination. I don't need it for the regions we will be travelling to in Peru or China.  

 

But, guess what?  Australia says that if I have been in a country where there is a risk of yellow fever (regardless of the regions we're travelling to) then I need a certificate of vaccination to enter Australia.

 

 

I don't need the yellow fever vaccination to enter Peru, but I do need proof of vaccination to enter Australia. So that means I need the vaccination.

So this afternoon I spent 90 minutes at the travel medical clinic, have a puncture wound in each arm, an achy left arm, a list of side effects to watch for and $245.00 less in my pocket.

 

 

In return I have a fancy yellow certificate that certifies that I have indeed received the yellow fever vaccination.  I like that the certificate is colour coded to match the name of the disease. That's about all I like about it. 

 

 

 

Take a Deep Breath

Let it out slowly, push your knee against my hand, cough, say ahhh, follow the light, read this line, make a fist...

One of the joys of working on a cruise ship is having to complete a medical every two years. I didn't time mine very well. My current medical is going to expire mid contract. So I have to renew it now. Pfft that means I only managed to get two contracts out of one medical.

Not only was today a fun day, not, it was an expensive day.

$17.00 for a return train ticket to the clinic in downtown Vancouver. There is no suitable doctor out in the suburbs. My family doctor is not certified or whatever to do the cruise ship medical.

$14.00 for a passport photo to attach to medical form. I guess so they know it's actually my medical and not someone else's.

$150.00 for the physical examination
$80.00 for the CBC and chem panel
$30.00 for hemoglobin
$60.00 for the drug screening
$200.00 to test for HIV, Hep B & Hep C
$15.00 for a pregnancy test
$90.00 for chest X-ray
$30.00 for P/E VDRL - I don't even know what that is!

$686.00 later. And I won't know for three weeks if I'm fit to work or not. Oh joy.

The really fun part of today? Besides spending 3 1/2 hours of a beautiful sunny day at the clinic, the lab and the X-ray place? The lady at the lab misread the stickers and drew too much blood. Only needed 6 vials not 10!

Pre-Employment Medical

So either of my new jobs is dependant on passing the preemployment medical. So what does that involve? Basically a lot of money! Yes I have to pay for the medical, no it is not reimbursed. 

Prior to going for the medical I was sent a bunch of paperwork that had to be completed before going to the clinic. They wanted to know my medical history:

 

 

If I have any allergies, haveI ever been hospitalized, doI smoke or drink, what medication I take, my menstrual history:

 

Have I ever been refused a job or lost a job due to a medical condition:

 

Monday May 6th I had an appointment at a clinic in downtown Vancouver with a Doctor to ensure all the paper work was completed and to get requisitons for all the tests that needed to be done. 

That same afternoon I went for a chest x-ray. 

The next morning May 7th I went to the medical lab in Sechelt to have a lot of blood drawn. Seriously. A lot.  They took 7 vials of blood. It could possibly have been more, but I started to feel dizzy at the point and lost count. I had to fast from 10pm the night before, and of course they were running late so it was 12:30pm by the time I had went it.  No wonder I felt faint. I also had to give a urine sample. So why all the blood?  Because of all the tests they had to perform. I wasn't even sure what half of them were, so I had to ask. Some of the tests seem to duplicate each other, but they asked for them all so they got them all:

• HbA1C - indicates level of blood sugar (gluscose), shows if you have diabetes.
• CBC (complete blood count) - checks for level of red and white blood cells and hemoglobin. 
• Comprehensive Metabolic Panel - shows how your kidneys and liver are working
• Lipid Panel -  levels of good and bad cholesterol
• BUN (blood urea nitrogen) - checks kidney function
• Creatinine - sees how well your kidneys work
• VDRL or RPR or FTA - testing for syphilis
• SGOT/AST and SGPT/ALT - checks liver function
• Bilirubin - high bilirubin levels indicate jaundice, gallstones, gallbladder disease etc
• Pregnancy test 
• Hepatitis A lgM, HBsAg and Anti HCV - check for Hepatitis A, B and Hepatitis C 
• HIV 
• Routine Urinalysis - check for signs of diabetes or kidney disease
• Drug test - Benzodiazepines, Amphetamines, THC, Opiates, Cocaine, Barbiturates
• Proof of immunity against measles, mumps and rubella

 

May 21st I went back to clinic for the Doctor to check my height, weight and BMI, my blood pressure, my pulse , the rhythm of my heart, my physical appearance, my sight and my hearing:

 

He went over all the lab tests and the chest x-rays and to check for abnormalities. He then had to declare me fit or unfit for duty. 

 

It was time consuming and expensive but not as hard on the bank account as I had originally expected.

My part of the paperwork took about an hour

The first appointment at the clinic - 30 minutes. Plus about the same time waiting for my appointment.

The chest x-rays - 30 minutes including wait time.

The bloodwork - about an hour including wait time.

The second appointment at the clinic - 45 minutes.

The medical exam at the clinic was $175.00.  I was lucky - they've now increased the cost to $250.00

The chest x-ray was $76.00

The blood work didn't cost anything because it's been a long time since I had a full check up to it was covered under our health care system (that I pay for monthly).

5km In Under 35 Minutes

I realise for a lot of people 35 mins to run 5km is slow. They could walk it in that time.

But 5km in under 35mins was on my list of goals for this summer. Today I did it. Just. 34mins 52 secs. My last km was slow, but the first four were pretty consistent.

It's taken me almost 7 months to get to this point. I need to push myself harder, my times are fairly consistent but there hasn't been much improvement. Here's my 5km times for the year.
6 March 38:65
8 March 37:52
11 March 38:23
17 March 39:51
1 May 39:03
15 May 36:47
19 June 40:03
21 June 35:14
27 June 36:45
3 July 36:44
30 July 34:52

I need to push myself more.

Active Vs Lazy. Last Week Vs This Week.

So last week, I pretty much kept to my plan for working out.

Monday - does weeding count? This was my rest day.

Tuesday - 7km run. 48mins 36 secs

Wednesday - Swam 1 mile

Thursday - 4km easy run

Friday - Swam 1 mile

Saturday - 3.5 km run. 

Sunday - Unplanned rest day.

 

This week was a pitiful effort.

Monday - 8km run. This was good.

Tuesday - Dental surgery. I could have gone for a swim before by 1030am appointment. But I was lazy and didn't.

Wednesday - doped up on painkillers and slept away most of the day

Thursday - The peridontist said I shouldn't run or swim for a week. Why not? I had surgery on my mouth, not my legs or my arms.  So did nothing

Friday - another day of nothing

Saturday - today I finally grew bored with no workout.  I was restless. I went for a run. I didn't get far. Not even 1/2 a km. My gums started bleeding. I guess there was a reason they said no running for a week.

 

So, next week? Not sure what'll happen yet.  But I can't sit round doing nothing much longer.

 

 

 

Running Along

Since the beginning of May I've made a concerted effort to exercise regularly again. Why? Because it's good for me. It also means if I want to have a beer or glass of wine in the evening, or a cookie during the day, I can.

Not only is it physically good for me, it's mentally good for me. I run out all the crap that's cluttering up my head. Week before last there was one day where I was particularly antsy. I was restless, I couldn't sit still, and nothing sound good. It was pointed out to me, half in jest that I hadn't done any exercise in two days and that's why I was irritable. So I went for a run. Felt much better afterwards.

Around the middle of May I started swimming again. Right now I'm running three times a week and swimming 3 times a week. I'm used to swimming in a 50m pool. The pool here is 25m - that's a lot of turns. I can't flip turn do it means lots of stop/start turns. I usually swim between one and two kilometres. I run between 3 and 5km.

I still don't run very fast but my times are improving. Previously my fast time for 4km was 32:54 in October 2011, at the beginning of May I ran in 30:46. This week I ran 4km in 29:22. Not a huge improvement but I'll take it.

The only problem is my muscles all ache. No injuries or anything. I've just been lazy for so long that my muscles are not used to all this exercise. I need to find a yoga class, to get some stretching in.

I'm determined to keep the running and swimming going through June. Don't let me slack off.

Hills Kill Me

I don't remember the last time I did a hill workout on purpose. Never? In fact I chose my running route based on the lack of hills.

But right now I am living at the top of long and steep driveway. Well, long and steep by my standards. The first two runs I did here, I jogged down the driveway, went for my run and then crawled back up the driveway.  

 

 Looking down part of the driveway

After yesterdays 2km swim my legs were already shaky, so today I thought I'd go for a shorter run. 20 mins. Nothing too strenous. As I was standing at the top of the driveway getting ready to start, I had a moment of insanity. I decided that I would do my version of a hill workout for 20 mins.

 

 The top portion and steepest part of the driveway.

Walk down the driveway and then jog (not run) up. Repeat. For 20 mins. I guessed I might me able to run it once, then stagger twice more and the 20 mins would be done.  

 

 From the top looking down.

I suprised myself somewhat. I jogged all the way up the first time.  Although I'm not sure you would actually calling it jogging, walking may actually have been quicker. I jogged about 3/4s of the way up the 2nd and 3rd time, then walked the rest. And I jogged just over 1/2 way up the 4th and 5th time.  

 

(Normally at 5mins I'd be closer to .75kms and a current pace of 7:00 to 7:30 minutes/km. I'm much slower on a hill)

 

I think I'll try again in two weeks and see if there's any improvement. Right now my quads, my hamstrings and my glutes are screaming, crying, burning and shaking. They are definitely not happy with me.

 

See those green triangle?  That's the hill profile. It actually looks worse than it is. The driveway is approx 120m long, and the elevation gain is about 20 metres. It certainly feels like a lot more than that.

 

My 30min Walk Lasted 4 Hours

I had a lot of crap in my head yesterday. It's been there for a few days. I couldnt turn my brain off. I needed to clear my head before I said something stupid.

So after breakfast I headed out for a quick half hour walk. My plan was to walk to the airport and back.

It was wet and cold and windy. I was wearing jeans, my runners, a fleece and a raincoat. When I reached the airport my brain was still racing, I couldn't even make sense of my thoughts. So I kept walking along the dyke.

I kept walking. And walking. And walking. I walked all along the dyke, past the cranberry fields, past where the Fraser River meets the Pitt River, past the gun club, all the way to the Pitt River Bridge. Then I walked some more, along side Lougheed Highway and down Harris Road to home.

4 hours. About 20km. Did it clear my head? I think so. That or my brain was frozen and numb. But at least I could think straight.

I was so soaked that the dye in my jeans had turned my legs and my sneakers blue. Even after a soak in a warm tub last night and a shower this morning, my legs are still blue. But my mind is still quiet. Mission accomplished.

24 Hours in Whistler - Scandinave Spa

The Scandinave Spa was on Groupon for 50% off so I grabbed a pass for Barb and I. It's normally $58.00 per person.  Our Groupon was $30.00 each. We arrived just after 6, and left right before closing 3 hours later. It was so good. I'd go back.

Entry includes locker rental and 2 towels. Two big, fluffy, clean white towels each. The recommended process (yes there is a process) is:

20 minutes warming the body up in one of the two hot baths, Finnish Sauna or Eucalyptus Steam Bath. This increases circulation,  and sweats out any toxins.

5 minutes in what Spa terminology calls a "Refreshing Rinse Station". Translation, bloody cold. There are two plunge pools, nordic (read freezing) waterfalls and cold showers. This apparently closes your pores and strengthens your immune system

20 minutes relaxing in a hammock, solarium or by the outdoor fireplace. 

The repeat as many times as you would like.

 

 

Hot Bath - it's daisy shaped

 

Nordic Waterfall

 

Relax - Hammock

 

Hot - Sauna

 

Cold - Nordic Plunge Pool

 

Relax - Solarium

 

Hot - Eucalyptus Steam Room, Cold - Nordic Waterfall, Relax - Solarium with great view

 

All in peace and quiet.

Zico Chocolate Coconut Water

Have you jumped on the coconut water band wagon? I haven't. I tried it last summer. Andrea and I bought some to take to the beach with us. Neither of us were too impressed. I didn't like the texture or the taste.

I know it's supposed to be healthy for you. Especially after a run. It can rehydrate like nothing else. It's full of potassium and electrolytes , including sodium**. It's lower in sugar, acidity and cholestrol than most other sport drinks.  And the ingredient list is pronounceable and recognisable.

100% natural coconut water from concentrate, cane sugar, coconut cream, cocoa, vanilla, carrageenan

Well except carrageenan. I had to look that one up. It's a seaweed extract. It's used instead of cornstarch  or gelatin to thicken or emulsify liquids.

 

 

On my latest visit to Trader Joes, they had Zico chocolate coconut water. I thought I'd give it a try.  A way better idea than plain coconut water. I think next time I'll try blending it with a banana and a scoop of protein powder and have that after my run. I wont be drinking too much of it. Zico is expensive, so unless it shows up in bulk at Costco, it'll be a treat from time to time.

 

**I often get leg cramps at night after I've been for a workout earlier in the day. Cramps can be caused by dehydration and lack of sodium. I drink lots of water but my sodium intake is low.  A diet high in sodium has never been a problem.