Years ago I had some nodules taken off my thyroid, but the surgery didn't require me to take any replacement thyroid medication. But I heard a doctor on MPB saying low thyroid levels can cause fatigue, dry skin, weight gain and hair loss--among other things that are familiar to me. So I go off to the clinic and ask my doctor to do a complete thyroid panel, a T3, T4, and TSH, which she did. All came back okay.

While I was in the waiting room I read in a Prevention magazine that the actor Edward James Olmos (who was once married to the Lorraine Bracco, the actress who played Dr. Melfi on The Sopranos) has a family riddled with diabetes. The article also mentioned that another famous Latina, Sonia Sotomayor of the supreme court, has type 1 diabetes.

While I was at the clinic I asked about getting a flu shot--well! It seems flu shots are scarce for some reason this year. No vaccine and no one knows when it will be available. But Walgreen's in Hattiesburg has been offering flu shots for several weeks, so I went up there and filled out a simple form for Medicare and got one. Walgreen's, I found out, is also one of the few places in town that has Tamiflu available. Good for Walgreen's.