3. Select a clinician who offers the latest techniques in dental care, including conscious sedation. Conscious sedation can help reduce your dental anxiety, fear, and apprehension. This new technique will allow you to sleep through the most complex of dental procedures.

4. Make an appointment, and keep it. Before making an appointment decide that you will follow through, because the doctor has set aside that time just for you. Write down the issues you have concerns about, as well as any questions you need to get answered and resolved. It really doesn’t matter if you have all the desire in the world if you don’t follow through.

5. Call a friend or other... more

I am the hugest chicken when it comes to the dentist. I even get the nitrous to have my teeth cleaned! Leave it to an orthodontist who never should have been working with children, and then you get someone like me, terrified, even at 35!

Through the grapevine, when my beloved dentist retired, I had to find another kind and gentle dentist who would be ultrasensitive to my needs. And I found her! The downside, she doesn't offer nitrous at her office. Now I was really in a dilemma. Stay with her and handle my anxiety, or go to someone with less understanding,... more

If we'll look back over the past week's posts, we'll see all of the ways that I have tried to cope with my dad's birthday. Facials, days off, staying busy. In the past, when I have become stressed out, I end up sick. It would happen in school with finals. It would happen at work as soon as I got on vacation. And it has now happened again.

The previous Friday, I asked my mom to look at my throat, as it felt weird. She said, "Honey, you have an infection." I went to the doctor yesterday and found out that I have an sinus/ear/throat infection. Since I am allergic to every general antibiotic, he put me on what he calls, "The big guns" for 10 days which he also said is like taking... more

Continued from webmd.com article:

Do not eat or drink right before going to bed. Eating a late dinner or snacking before going to bed can activate the digestive system and keep you up. If you suffer from gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) or heartburn, it is even more important to avoid eating and drinking right before bed since this can make your symptoms worse. In addition, excessive drinking prior to bed can overwhelm the bladder, requiring frequent visits to the bathroom. Make your sleeping environment comfortable. Temperature, lighting, and noise should be controlled to make the bedroom conducive to falling (and staying) asleep. Your bed... more

While I was getting ready for another night of insomnia, this caught my eye from www.webmd.com. I sure see quite a few culprits that readily sabotage my sleep.

Wake up at the same time each day. It is tempting to sleep late on weekends, especially if one has had poor sleep during the week. However, if you suffer from insomnia you should get up at the same time every day in order to train your body to wake at a consistent time. Eliminate nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, and other stimulants. This includes certain medications such as theophylline, beta agonists (usually as inhalers) and decongestants, especially... more

So I had finally made it to Wednesday, my dad's birthday. Here is what it was like for me.

I had decided early on that this would need to be a day that I should get out of the house and have face to face interactions. I planned out to work at both of my out of the home jobs and do some social things as well. I had contacted our trusted sitter just in case I needed her that night as well.

I went in and worked at my accounting job for a few hours in the early morning. I made sure to wear very comfortable clothes, some of my favorites to be gentle with myself. I then went in and worked at the spa and gave a couple of massages to loyal clients who were forewarned that I... more

Vogue magazine. It sounds funny, but yes, Vogue is a coping mechanism for me. Every year I look so forward to the September issue. I study it. Read every article, save out the photos of outfits that I want to copy. This year, knowing that I was going to be dealing with personal issues at the end of the month, I didn't let myself read the issue when it came in the mail. I hid it from myself, wrapped in the plastic until this week. It gave me something to look forward to, that I knew I would enjoy immensely when I really needed it.

Sex... more

As I had written before, I knew that this week was going to be a difficult one because of my dad's birthday on Wednesday. Here are some of the ways that I've coped with the mourning that surrounded the day:

I gave Chris and the kids and my clients and friends a heads up about what the week would be like for me. Knowing in advance that I was going to be sad and somewhat unpredictable and unavailable, I knew that Chris would need a concrete reminder that things might be a little to a lot off. I left him the same sticky note on his keys every morning that said,... more

I'm in a waiting game with myself this week. Kind of dealing with my grief in all areas again as my dad's birthday is on Wednesday and it is hitting me pretty hard. I know that this will take an upward swing again, but waiting for the upward pull while experiencing the downward pull is slow going. I decided to look into ways to help with the wait and came across this page of adivice from Resolve. Although I'm not waiting for results from IVF, the suggestions sound pretty wise to me.

Emotional Coping Strategies

Limit the number of people you tell about your cycle and let them know how... more

After my surgeries for my miscarriages, I lived in my robe. It is so ratty and old and falling apart that you wouldn't believe that it survives the wash like it does. I have had this robe for years, at least a decade, maybe even two! It is blue and white striped cotton, lined with white terry cloth.

It was a Christmas gift from my Nana. It has seen me through finals, marriages, divorce, recoveries, pregnancies, breast feeding, and countless nights of pacing the floor with various worries. It has become my second skin.

Last year it began falling apart and I began negotiations with a client about turning it into a blanket, pillow case, or something like that to rescue it... more