Category Archives: Health shit

A Sad Day

Ray Whiting -- Posted on by  

Last night we learned that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died from complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. She held on as long as she could.

I learned last night that saying things like “R.I.P.” or “she’s in a better place” is inappropriate. She was Jewish and it isn’t right to use Christian sentiments on the occasion of her death. Better to honor who she was by saying, in Jewish tradition, “May her memory be a blessing.”

I hope that there are enough Senators with common decency and integrity to resist Mitch McConnell’s push to replace RBG immediately. He refused President Obama’s SCOTUS nominee because “it is an election year” (in 2016), and he needs to honor that sentiment now as well, but he’s already signaled that Trump’s nominee will get a hearing on the Senate Floor. It’s going to be a colossal shit-show between now and the election.

There is very little I can do about RBG’s passing, or the shit-show in Washington, D.C. But I can vote in this election, and will do so as soon as I get my ballot.

In other news, closer to home, the neuropathy in my back flared up just as I was heading to bed — burning, tingling, pain all around my upper back near my right shoulder blade. I had already taken my night-time meds but apparently that didn’t help. I tried lidocaine cream. I tried a frozen gel pack. These measures only briefly interrupted the pain. So I tried a couple hits of Vitamin M, and I was at least able to go back to bed and fall asleep for about 5.5 hours. Now that I’m up this morning, the pain is still there in my back, but not a searing, screeching pain. Just the normal tingly pain. 🙁

A while back, my daughter requested a pocketed shawl, and asked if I could make one. I didn’t purchase the requested pattern, but made my own design. She picked out the yarn and approved the design when I showed her early progress pictures. Yesterday I finished the second pocket to be applied, and all of the actual crocheting part is done. There is some embellishment that I need to apply to both pockets before they can be sewn into place and all the other loose ends and tails get woven in. But the crocheting is done, and my right thumb and middle finger are now in pain with trigger joints. Not a smart thing to power crochet through a project, but I’m glad I got it done. Meanwhile, my right hand is sort of useless for much of anything today. I’ll let it rest and pursue other projects that don’t require a lot of repetitive motion.

Gawd, I hate getting older and watching my body fall apart in ways I couldn’t imagine when I was younger.

Happy Friday?

Ray Whiting -- Posted on by  

Well, okay, so I’ve been attempting (again) to regulate my sleeps. It is one thing to go to bed at a regular time, but it also helps to set the alarm clock to wake up at a regular time. It doesn’t always work — I woke a couple hours early this morning — but it feels like I am moving toward my goal of a regular bedtime, adequate sleep, and regular waking time.

Yesterday I made the suggested appointment for a consultation with the surgeon. I’ll see him on Tuesday to decide what to do about the hernia.

The neuropathy in my back was flaring up a lot yesterday afternoon/evening. My regular doctor said it was unusual for neuropathy to spread to the back, more often it spreads around the front of the torso. Yippeee! I’m not normal! LOL The weird thing about peripheral neuropathy (peripheral, meaning it isn’t derived from the nerve connections in the brain or spinal column, but other nerve endings around the body) is that it can cause numbness or prickly painful pin-pricky sensations, but when the doctor does a pin-prick test to determine sensation, I can’t feel the pin-pricks. I also don’t feel the lancet pricks when I do my regular finger-sticks for glucose testing on some of my fingers.

I know (or strongly suspect) that the neuropathy in my feet and hands is a consequence of the uncontrolled diabetes as it was last year. But now that I’ve been working on that, and my A1c is lower, I’m surprised the neuropathy is spreading. I may need to explore increasing the gabapentin dose and see if that helps to slow the progress of the neuropathy.

But other than the neuropathy, and the hernia, the rest of me is feeling actually quite good. And the hernia doesn’t really ‘hurt’ as much as being a bit of a nuisance that I want fixed before it does start to hurt.

Today will be a somewhat busy day, with some dyeing and some more yarn preps for other dyeing.

A new adventure begins

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Yesterday I went to have the ultrasound done on my abdomen. The technician said I’d get the results back in a week or two. Last night I got a message back with the results — I have a “periumbilical hernia … with loops of bowel”, and I’m supposed to schedule a consultation with the surgeon in the next few weeks.

It wasn’t clear if my PCP would refer me to a surgeon, or if I’m supposed to contact the surgeon who did the Triple A last year, or what I’m supposed to do, so I sent a message to my doctor and should hear back soon.

This is not the news I wanted to hear, but if I need to have a surgical repair I would rather get it over with sooner than later. I am generally healthier now that I was in January, so I don’t think this will be as involved or complicated as last time — it’s just a repair of the muscle that they cut through last time, not a whole re-arranging of all my innards. At least, that would be my understanding of it, so far. I could be quite mistaken, of course.

Oh well… into the day I go. If I’m facing surgery in the coming weeks I have a bunch of stuff to get done before then.

Ultrasound done

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So, I went this morning to get the ultrasound done on my abdomen. Fairly uneventful visit, actually. I got there early, sat around waiting a while. While I was waiting I saw a woman wearing a brown plaid over-shirt, with TRUMP blazoned across the back in very large letters. I didn’t think to pull out my phone for a pic — I’ve not seen a Trumper out in the wild before. I don’t wear political statements to the clinic — people are there for health concerns, and probably don’t want to raise the blood pressure by encountering other people boldly proclaiming their affiliations, political or religious.

I don’t know if there will be surgery required or not. I thought I had done well in taking things easy for a long-enough time that I wouldn’t risk a hernia. Apparently not. If I do need corrective surgery, I will be unable to work for a few months again, in order to ensure things are healing and pulling together correctly this time. Before my last surgery, someone far more prescient than I (a friend of a friend) sent a sum that was enough to help me survive a few months; I didn’t ask for it, but was ever-so-grateful that I had it, since I was told (AFTER the surgery) it would be several months before I could safely return to work. If I’m out of commission again I will almost definitely need to set up a GoFundMe account so I can cover my rent, utilities, food and other necessities, or possibly have people donate straight into my regular PayPal account. It won’t likely be as debilitating as the previous surgery, but I don’t want to take any chances with trying to work too soon afterward.

I won’t get the results back for another week or two, so between now and then my focus is on clearing all the last few remaining commission projects that I’ve been working on, slowly but surely. If I am put out of work, I don’t want any lingering projects hanging over my head like last time.

I was disappointed that the pharmacy still didn’t have any available flu shots, but they suggested I might try going to H-E-B, since my clinic has a contract with them to provide regular vaccinations free of charge on my insurance plan. So tomorrow I have to call and see if there is an H-E-B near me that has flu shots in stock. Normally I don’t get the flu shot until November or later, but I wanted to get one this year a little early.

Trying to get back on track

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I was feeling particularly spry and able, so I took my cane for a walk (like it needed the exercise, right?) up to Manor. I was hurting before I got to the corner, but didn’t turn around until I reached the corner. Fortunately, it is almost entirely just muscle pain, not joint pain or random nerve firings, so I will definitely survive. The weather is slowly turning, so I can resume my exercise walks, but I also have to increase my exercise dancing and movement around the house as well. I discovered the other day that my flexibility is almost entirely shot, and that’s not a good thing. So many things I need to be more diligent about.

One thing about the walks — I’ve used a cane for walking regularly since I moved here (2006) because of my right hip. But I think I will start using the rollator walker again when I take my walks. The cane lets me favor one side (which was helpful for the hip joint), but the rollator will help me exercise both hips and legs equally to keep both sides stronger. At least, that is what I’m thinking. And I am grateful that Oscar strongly encouraged me to get the rollator instead of the basic aluminum walker. I bought it on my own (as well as the original folding walker) since I didn’t know Medicare was supposed to provide one every few years. My long-term goal is to not need a mobility device, but it’s nice to have it for now, and nice to know a new one can be provided if it is ever needed in the future. I will, however, keep both walkers for now and see what happens.

In other news my daily numbers are good, and I’m generally feeling pretty good today. My right hand, however, feels rather crinkly with a couple of trigger joints causing pain, and other digits rather stiff and sore. I’m not sure what work I’ll be able to do today.

I do have things that need doing, so I’ll do what I can and go from there, I suppose.

The Good and the Bad, I guess

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So, it’s 1:30a.m. I went to bed just after 10:15, and I was thinking “Please let me sleep until 6:30.” Nope, that didn’t work. I woke even earlier than my normal early waking. Bummer.

Oh well, might as well make use of the time.

Part of the doctor visit on Tuesday was getting the pneumococcal vaccine. Besides hurting more than a normal flu shot, that may also be why I was feeling ragged yesterday and couldn’t finish even the simplest dye job without a lot of ‘exhaustion pain’. It’s okay, I can finish the job later this morning (during “normal business hours”, right?), it just felt weird since I’ve made pretty good progress getting back my strength and stamina from the surgery. I just didn’t connect the vaccine on Tuesday with how I was feeling yesterday.

Last night just before bed, I got a message saying my test results were back for the A1C test. In March my A1C was 5.8. My test yesterday came back as 6.4. The note from the doctor said, “Your results showed A1c has increased slightly- but diabetes is still well controlled.” The standard range is 4.8 – 5.6 so I have some work to do. I am pretty sure I know the culprits that I need to further eliminate from my daily diet.

Per the doctor’s order, I scheduled an ultrasound for my abdominal scar and the underlying issues that feel like a hernia. It doesn’t hurt, but he wants to get a better look at what is happening in that area to make sure it doesn’t get worse and to get it fixed is possible. That will happen next Wednesday, and I can call ahead to get a regular flu shot. They were out of stock when I was there on Tuesday, and offered to hold one back for me when they got more in stock, so I’ll call later today and see if that offer holds. I really don’t want to skip the flu vaccine this year, especially.

Speaking of vaccines and stuff…. No, I don’t believe there will be a viable vaccine for COVID-19 before the election. That’s a stupid idea proposed by the Ignoramus-in-Chief who has no clue what’s involved in creating a safe vaccine. And now this week, thanks to Bob Woodward’s latest book, we are learning that Trump knew way back before the first case appeared in the U.S. that this was a deadly airborne virus, far worse than a normal influenza, and he deliberately chose not to reveal what he knew, and further worked to prevent anyone else from adequately informing the public. How fucked up is that? Now that this revelation has come out, he is claiming he wanted to downplay the virus to “avoid a panic.” Bullshit. He doesn’t care about the public health. He was only worried what the news would do to the stock market and his personal pocketbook.

A true leader doesn’t “avoid a panic” by blatantly lying to the public. He will be honest about the risks and dangers involved, but will also inform the public what sort of plan is in place for controlling a pandemic. The previous administration left a playbook for handling pandemics, and had personnel in place to watch for such things and to be prepared for it. Trump ignored the playbook and fired the people who were qualified to deal with something like this. Fuck Trump.

Public health should not be a partisan issue, but Trump is using it for political purposes. There’s no question he has failed the American people in soooooo many ways, and this is one of the worst things he’s done, in my opinion. Fuck Trump.

Anyway, I suppose I should try to wind down again and try to get back to sleep eventually.

Back from the Clinic

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Okay, so I went to my clinic visit this morning. Got up, showered, shaved, ate breakfast and got myself ready to go … and then got a message in the clinic message system saying it would help if I could fast first, but not a big deal if I can’t. I had asked about fasting last Thursday, but I guess he didn’t see that message until this morning. No matter.

Besides the hernia thing in the abdomen, it seems the neuropathy is spreading in my back, which may explain the weird pains and tingling behind the shoulder blade. 🙁

Anyway, my numbers are pretty good — bp 124/70, my weight is up to about 160-ish (my scales say 155, the dr. office says 166, but I’m naked at home and fully dressed at the dr. office). I’ll have to wait the results of the A1C for my blood sugar results, although my daily finger sticks are within pretty good range most of the time. I finally figured out what the A1C is for — to test how my hemoglobin is ‘sugar coated’. Last time it was 5.8, but I am assuming it will be higher this time. Last test was just a short time after my surgery when I hadn’t been eating much and was losing so much weight.

I also got a pneumococcal vaccine.

Until today, the clinic has been arranging rides to/from my clinic visits, but today I scheduled a Lyft on my own just to see what it would cost. Holy Shit! Almost $20 in each direction!

Riding to/from today allowed road vibrations to ride up into my knee and hip, so I’ve got some pain this afternoon. I won’t try to stand around dyeing today, but I can finish pulling the yarns for custom dye jobs to be done as the week progresses; I can pull yarns a few at a time and get them all bundled and ready to go, and sit to rest in between.

In other news, there’s not much to say. The weather is supposed to be cooling later in the week, so I can think about taking my walks again.

The power is out

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A few days ago (Tues or Wed, I think), the circuit breaker for the back end of the house kept tripping. It controls all the lights and outlets at the back end of the house — bedroom, bathroom, laundry area, … Continue reading →

Six Months!

Ray Whiting -- Posted on by

(oops… forgot to finish this yesterday)
Today (July 21) marks six months since my surgery. It’s been a challenging time, but I’ve made it this far, so I can probably keep going, eh?

First, a coronavirus update.

Last week we had 42,000 cases and 439 deaths. Houston/Harris County continues to be a hot-spot. And I continue to be leery about going anywhere for any reason.

I’ve not been taking pictures of all the scar progress, but here is my earliest picture

And here is this morning’s picture of the 6-month scar:

Grateful that the scar is quickly fading, although I’m a little freaked out that my navel has shifted about an inch to the right. I was not expecting that. I’m guessing that is because of scar tissue forming underneath in all those various layers of muscle and fat and so forth. I supposed a shifted navel isn’t the worst that could happen.

I am definitely glad that my glucose and blood pressure numbers are fairly normal these days, or as they say in medical terms “within normal range”. There’s really no such thing as ‘normal’, because every body is different and we all have our own normal. But my numbers are within a range of what is considered healthy.

I’ve not been walking like I had wanted to — both joint pain and heat have been disincentives to getting out and walking/exercising regularly. But I am generally more able to get around the house and do what needs doing, and that’s what counts. And with the current pandemic looming overhead, I’m in no rush to get out and about anyway.

Feeling unwell.

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It’s been a few weeks. Sorry about that. I’ve been mostly getting back to near-normal, so there’s been nothing in particular to report.

I did want to update the COVID-19 numbers since the last post:

Horrible. About 18000 new cases just since my previous post.

And the Texas GOP was hoping to bring 6,000 people to their convention here in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner finally cancelled it, said they can’t do it here. The local health officials called it a “clear and present danger” — not just to the convention goers, but all the people having to work the convention center, plus all the hotel workers, restaurant workers, taxi/Uber/Lyft drivers, and everyone else who might come into contact with the convention goers. Plus when those attending the convention carry the virus back home to their own families and communities. It’s insane to think they could have an in-person convention.

Oh, and the funny thing — while they expected people to attend the convention in person, all of the planned speakers were reported to be giving video-taped speeches, not speaking in person. Why? Well, because of the pandemic, of course. What the actual fuck??? The speakers can’t attend in person but they want all the delegates from around the state to show up in person?

Feeling Better

Well, I failed to actually post this yesterday. Sorry. I’m feeling better today, so that’s a good thing.

Each day I do feel a little stronger and more able. My body still has weird shit going on sometimes, but I guess this is part of the recovery process.

It is beastly hot here, and just about everywhere else. Good thing about this weather is that my laundry loads are quite small. And with a renewed ‘stay home’ order (or at least masks required everywhere in public now, isolation, and strong suggestion to stay home if you can) I have no reason to get dressed. So, yaayyyyy for that, I guess.

I screwed up a custom dye job over the weekend, so I’m going to re-do that today. And then I have some orders to pack and ship tomorrow. And then I get to begin a new collection of Blog Reader Specials for the weekend, maybe slip in another of the custom dye jobs as well. We’ll see.

But for now, I guess I’ll post this up and get into the day’s tasks.