Health Update
From
Daryl Stout@1:19/33 to
All on Tue Jun 29 17:37:00 2021
Well, I thought I'd give folks an update...from Doctor Quackenbush...
aka Groucho Marx...who noted "Either this man is dead, or my watch has stopped". <G>
Seriously, I was concerned that I had glaucoma, as they suspected
such on an eye exam in March. A follow-up this last week showed that
my corneas were nice and thick, with an eye pressure of 9 in the left
eye, and 11 in the right (the highest it has ever been in either eye
has been 14). I think the threshold for glaucoma is 21. So, while I
do have astigmatism and double vision in the right eye at times, he
said I don't have to go back until December. One eye has always been
worse than the other...before and after cataract surgery 11 years ago.
I went from 20/2000 visual acuity before the surgery to 20/20 afterwards.
My appointments for blood work and a physical exam with my PCP, and procedures with my urologist are 3 months late. In mid-February, two
back to back snowstorms hit the central Arkansas area...and one of my
clinics suffered significant water damage...so much so, that they were
closed for a month...then they had a huge backlog of patients. The
urology clinic was shut down, but they didn't have water damage. However,
they did have a backlog in patients.
Anyway, at the PCP blood draw, they thought I was dehydrated, as the
blood out of my left arm was real thick. I have been drinking a half
gallon of diet green tea citrus a day, as it's a diuretic...which has
kept me free of kidney stones for over a year now...and the caffeine
keeps the migraine headaches away. Well, at the urology clinic, out of
the right arm, they got the blood to flow just fine. I wasn't thirsty
at the time...but I had such a migraine sinus headache yesterday (June
28) that I ate and drank very little...since I couldn't hold my eyes
open (I did very little computer/BBS work), and slept much of Monday.
I can't just drink water, as it sets my colon off...but the diet green
tea doesn't. Drinking excess water for me is like I was swigging prune juice...and we all know what that does. :P
After a car wreck in January (which wasn't my fault), I had to
undergo $9100 of chiropractic care (but I didn't have to pay for
it). I bought a pre-owned car (Uber was costing $40 a day), but had
to pay for repairs on it (pre-owned cars are sold AS IS, with NO
WARRANTY).
Then, a device in one of the bathroom toilets failed, causing
the tank to overflow, flooding both bathrooms. I had to dig into
some of that insurance money because of medical, transportation,
and other issues. I'm to see if I can get a bare bones bathroom
rebuild in the coming days...but everyone has agreed that "if I
didn't have my health, it wouldn't do any good getting the bathrooms
fixed". I cried several days either side of my birthday over 3 months
ago...and nearly hung up on my cousin when she called, as I was so
distraught. I still haven't been able to schedule an upper and lower
GI, due to cost. Right now, there are no sinks or vanities in either
bathroom, the offending toilet has been shut down, and they have
stuff in the shower area. I have to go out to the kitchen to wash
my hands, but at least I still have one working toilet.
I won't know the bloodwork results for at least a week...and likely
will have to resume low-T treatments. If I become type 2 diabetic, that
will be a major game changer.
Daryl
... Who needs veggies and nutrition? Give me the luscious fat!!
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* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:19/33)
From
Daryl Stout@1:2320/33 to
All on Sat Aug 20 11:52:00 2022
A quick health update, as I haven't been in here in awhile.
Just over a year ago, I was diagnosed with atrial flutter, with
an erratic to high heart rate of 155. This was likely caused by
my drinking a half gallon of diet green tea citrus a day. I had
given up drinking carbonated beverages, as they likely were causing
kidney stones. As a side note, they term Arkansas and Tennessee as
"the kidney stone belt", due to the proliferation of cases of kidney stones...which may be caused by limestone in the water.
While tea is a diuretic, the caffeine was like the energy drinks, accelerating the heart rate. So, I got put on heart rate medication,
and a blood thinner, to prevent blood clots that would cause a fatal
stroke or heart attack. Then, this past March, I was diagnosed with
congestive heart failure, and put on Lasix.
Shortly after that, in a follow-up with my cardiologist, he said
I should go ahead and have ablation surgery done. They do the surgery outpatient, stripping you nude, and putting you to sleep. Then, they
go up through the groin to the heart, and burn away certain areas
where the blood tends to pool and clot, because of the erratic
heartbeat. The procedure stops both of these from occurring, and one
can get off the heart rate medication (either diltiazem, rhythmol,
or something else) immediately after the surgery...but one has to
stay on the blood thinner (Eliquis) for at least another month.
Just over 4 hours after the anesthesia took effect, they were
discharging me to go home. I just have to take it easy for a few
days, but otherwise, I feel great. The doctor who did the procedure,
came highly recommended...several noted that "she's one of the best
in the central Arkansas area".
I have a home health care nurse from my HMO coming by on Tuesday,
for the yearly wellness check. Then, the following Tuesday, I go in
to my PCP for the yearly complete physical, full blood work, and
diabetes check. Last month, I got a good report from the urologist,
and don't have to see him or the nurse practitioner again until next
July.
I did have to give up driving (and sell my car) 2 months ago, due
to my corneas constantly drying out. It would cause blurred vision,
and eye pain, hitting without warning...and, you obviously can't have
that while driving. While I'm on Systane Eye drops, it was just better
I quit driving. The eye pressures were 12 and 13 (which is excellent;
as they don't worry about glaucoma until the pressures hit 20), but
they have classed me as having "suspect glaucoma". They noted there
was no sign of macular degeneration, or danger of going blind. I also
have seen no signs of a detached retina developing...which requires
emergency surgery to prevent blindness.
But, by giving up the car, I no longer have to worry about things
like gasoline prices, car insurance, property taxes, license tags,
car repairs (which can be in the thousands of dollars), flat tires,
etc. It is kind of a drag not being able to have the independence
to go where and when you want...but medical issues forced me to give
up driving...and I felt it best to do such, before I hurt or killed
myself or someone else.
Daryl
... Deliver a pizza? Whoever heard of a liver pizza?
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