I wanted to say "How much gung is in my ho?", but I was a little too grossed out to just leave it out there without comment

So it's been awhile, and this post won't come close to covering everything I'd want to, but that's a lot to chew for any occasional reader anyway.  Here's sort of an update, more or less:

The IUD doesn't bother me at all anymore.  I don't even know it's there.  I'm still spotting, though, and the doc thinks this is cause for concern.  I have another D&C scheduled for January, which means removing the IUD.  I believe that means putting a new one in afterwards, but I suppose it might depend on what she sees while she's in there poking around.  It might mean hysterectomy after all, which is ok with me, with caveats.  The operation could be problematic, as previously noted, and the recovery will definitely be -- I'll need to rely on the transit company to pick me up and take me to doctors' appts. and to the grocery store and stuff for about six weeks.  Also, I'm really engaged in the stuff I'm doing at work (wut did you say, Willis?!), so I don't really want to take that much time off at the moment (!?!?!?), and I'm about to start a 6-month program ... that may just need to be deferred for a bit, which is ok, but I'm all gung ho about it.

Relatively gung ho.  No, really gung ho.  Well, it's a sliding scale of gung ho-ness.  I finished the Hunger Within course just before Thanksgiving.  It continued to be stupendous.  I loved every minute of it.  Putting it all into practice is not second nature or anything, though, but I am much more mindful and I am making some better choices.  The question I try to ask myself is, "If I eat this, will it make me feel better?"  Often the answer is no -- let me make other plans.  I don't need to eat the office party leftovers.

All this is good, because the 6-month program (which recommends the HW workshop to its participants) is a metabolic fitness thing run by the university's cardivascular folks.  It's a real full-service shop, with a team of helpful people helping you reach your goal.  My goal is, of course, to not get cancer and to lose the fat that is pushing me in that direction, to lower my blood pressure, cholesterol, and so on -- to stop having to take medication to control those things, and to be able to live a healthy and active life, again, finally.  It includes a regulated Mediterranean-style eating plan, with a "medical food" supplement (what they used to just call a protein shake), at least for 3 months anyway.  And exercise at least 3 times a week.  And a group session every week.  They figure if you do it for six months, it might actually become a habit.  I'm trying to push away my skeptical attitude about my "ability" to do this, and let in the enthusiastic kid who wants to try anything.  The program is very individually-oriented, so I'll have an exercise physiologist helping me set up a non-weight-bearing regime (at least for the time being), so that the pain I have in walking is lessened.  That helps!  And the HW workshop has really set the stage, emotionally and psychologically, for me to embrace this program.  I don't know how I would have handled it before HW.

I feel very fortunate that I'm in a setting that provides these remarkable programs.  I have plans for some good, active vacations in the next several years, so I've certainly got some motivation (besides, you know, not-cancer).

So that's that for now.  More to come.