Running On Empty (I Wish) :c)

Just got back from electrolysis a while ago, where we had decided to begin work on my upper lip at the end of last week's session.

So how was it, you ask?

Oh. My. God.

I did not think my nose could possibly run that much! lol Where does all that gunk come from, anyway? Good Lord, it was like a river!

We had to stop repeatedly so I could clear my nasal passages. How congested was I? I went through two large boxes of Kleenex in 75 minutes. Yikes. In addition, my eyes were watering so much that M had to change the covering on the pillow several times.

Oddly enough, it wan't any more uncomfortable than any other session. I applied more Lidocaine than usual before the session, but not an inordinate amount.

What did wind up being uncomfortable, though, was when M decided to see how my beard would respond to a laser treatment. (How I hate having to say "my beard." Sigh...)

I've been told by multiple people that they found laser much less painful than electrolysis. I don't find electrolysis enjoyable by any stretch of the imagination, but so far it's been quite tolerable.

As she warmed it up, M said it would feel like a rubber band snapping on my skin. She decided to try it on my chin.

I guess I wasn't ready for how different the laser treatment would feel, because I yelped "Oh!" and my entire body twitched involuntarily.

M asked if I was OK. I took a deep breath and said I was, so she tried another pulse.

I had the same reaction. I shook my head to try to clear the weird sensation. M was smiling.

"I know you're congested, but you can you smell right now?" she asked.

I could, unfortunately, and the acrid smell was making me a bit nauseous. Especially since I knew what was causing it. I also hadn't eaten dinner yet, which didn't help matters.

"OK, Cass, let's do another on your cheek," she said. "Maybe that will feel a bit better."

As soon as she finished I sat up and asked her to please stop. I joke with her quite a bit, and I think she sensed that this was different.

"I'm sorry," she said as she patted my arm. "I should have been paying more attention to your reactions. Since the electrolysis doesn't seem to really phase you, I assumed laser would be the same."

I assured her I would be fine in a moment, and that I suspected it was the smell and needing to get some food into my system. As we prepared to leave, she asked if I wanted to try it again next week. I said yes, and that I was going to ask her if she hadn't mentioned it.

"Are you sure, hon?" she asked with concern. "Don't say yes just because you think it's what I want. There are other things we can try."

I shook my head.

"If everyone else can deal with it, then so can I," I said. "And you said it will speed things up, right?"

She assured me it would, so I replied that that was good enough for me. I trust her completely, and know she genuinely cares for me.

That made it easy to say yes. I will deal with it, and I will get used to it. The end result will be worth it. Of that I have no doubt.

***

I thought this Jackson Browne tune would be the perfect title for this post as I drove home from my appointment tonight, with my nose running uncontrollably and my upper lip looking like I'd lost a battle with a beehive. :c) Then I found this clip, which precedes that song with my favorite song of his: "These Days."

He wrote "These Days" when he was 16 years old. 16!!!

As good as his version is, though, he readily acknowledges that Gregg Allman simply OWNS this song:

So, so good...