• 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)