I've been home a week from my trip and am just now getting rested up. I can't believe how tired I was the first few days after getting home! Let's face it, with the increasing number of birthdays comes the inability to do as much as we used without getting tired. One of those realities my brain is struggling with...... However, it was a great trip.
Credit Card: If it wasn't bad enough that I had to go through getting a new credit card a few months ago after my account was hacked at Home Depot, then I left the new one in a restaurant the night before coming home. My new card was black and I didn't see it in the black folder that restaurants use. By the time I realized it was missing, the restaurant was closed and I had a plane to catch. I finally reached them and yes, the card was there. They could only give it to me in person with proper ID, couldn't mail it but did shred it for me. The customer service person at the bank suggested I put a bright color tape on the front of the card so it is easier to see. He assured me that I was not the first person this has happened to. The worst part is having to go online and change card numbers with accounts.
Physical Therapy: I started physical therapy this week. Actually, I went in last week for the consultation and then started this week. I am sooooooo bad at doing the exercises at home! I don't mind doing them there when someone is holding me accountable. I'm supposed to do them at home twice a day and when I hesitate, I think of the consequences of arthritis in the back if I don't. The therapist did not paint a very good picture if I just let it go. So I'm trying....
Up 4.4 lbs: I certainly ate my way across Tucson and came back with 4.4 extra lbs to show for it. The depressing thing is that it will not come off as quickly as it was added. The good thing is that the food was wonderful and I would do it again. Another guy at Weight Watchers had just come back from a month in Austin, TX and he was also up so we commiserated together....
Larry's Birthday: Today would have been Larry's 70th birthday... Since our birthdays were exactly 2 weeks apart, we celebrated them at the same time. We went to Las Vegas for our 65th birthday and have been wondering what we might have done for our 70th....
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Thursday, January 08, 2015
Doctor Appointments
I had 2 major doctor appointments yesterday so spent a big part of the day at the KU Med Center. They were not back-to-back but close enough that it didn't make sense to drive 45 min home and then go back. So I hung around the area for 2 hours.
Pain Doctor: I was thinking that the procedure didn't work because I still have some pain in the back. However, it seems to be about 2-3" from the initial pain location and isn't as bad. Her feeling is that the procedure did work but this pain was masked by the strong pain which makes sense. She also thinks this pain is a muscle since a back muscle is really hard. The nerve that was severed by the procedure can grow back - sometimes after 6 months up to 2 years. Then they can do the procedure again if needed. We have decided to do physical therapy for the arthritis in my knees, back and shoulder. Her thinking is that I need to know what to do to delay the full effects of the arthritis. Tests show that the arthritis in the back is moderate to severe, right knee is medium and right shoulder is mild - how doctors describe the amount of arthritis in the joints. I'm also going to do a series of classes at the hospital spine center on "Learn to manage your pain before it manages you". It covers everything from "Why Do I Hurt" to "Chair Yoga". The arthritis may be the motivation to finally exercise but I don't expect to like it.
Liver doctor: This doc is wonderful and I feel fortunate to have him as a doctor with his credentials and reputation. He only sees patients one day a week and is in liver surgery and research the rest of the time. Anyway, he continues to think that I do NOT have Auto-Immune Hepatitis. He thinks my liver is overly sensitive to Tylenol. Tylenol, in excessive doses, is very hard on the liver but recent studies have shown that some people will show elevated liver enzymes after just 1 regular dose of Tylenol. It could have also been an infection that caused the enzymes to show up positive. I had elevated enzymes twice during the time I was trying to switch over to Tylenol instead of Ibuprophen although I never took more than 3 a day which is a regular dose. His opinion is that a liver biopsy should have been done at the time along with the specific blood tests I had done before putting me on immunosuppressant medication. The Tucson doctor thought the biopsy was too invasive so chose a conservative approach of treatment with medication. This guy does liver biopsys routinely so has a different view of them. So....we decided that I will stop my medication immediately. I will have a monthly blood test for the next 3 months and then go to every 2 months for a few months. If there IS a flare-up then we will do a biopsy. If no flare up occurs, then we will just do the regular labs of every 3-6 months that I have done for my cholesterol meds and to check kidney function. Those labs will include the liver function tests.
I like the treatment plans of both doctors!
Pain Doctor: I was thinking that the procedure didn't work because I still have some pain in the back. However, it seems to be about 2-3" from the initial pain location and isn't as bad. Her feeling is that the procedure did work but this pain was masked by the strong pain which makes sense. She also thinks this pain is a muscle since a back muscle is really hard. The nerve that was severed by the procedure can grow back - sometimes after 6 months up to 2 years. Then they can do the procedure again if needed. We have decided to do physical therapy for the arthritis in my knees, back and shoulder. Her thinking is that I need to know what to do to delay the full effects of the arthritis. Tests show that the arthritis in the back is moderate to severe, right knee is medium and right shoulder is mild - how doctors describe the amount of arthritis in the joints. I'm also going to do a series of classes at the hospital spine center on "Learn to manage your pain before it manages you". It covers everything from "Why Do I Hurt" to "Chair Yoga". The arthritis may be the motivation to finally exercise but I don't expect to like it.
Liver doctor: This doc is wonderful and I feel fortunate to have him as a doctor with his credentials and reputation. He only sees patients one day a week and is in liver surgery and research the rest of the time. Anyway, he continues to think that I do NOT have Auto-Immune Hepatitis. He thinks my liver is overly sensitive to Tylenol. Tylenol, in excessive doses, is very hard on the liver but recent studies have shown that some people will show elevated liver enzymes after just 1 regular dose of Tylenol. It could have also been an infection that caused the enzymes to show up positive. I had elevated enzymes twice during the time I was trying to switch over to Tylenol instead of Ibuprophen although I never took more than 3 a day which is a regular dose. His opinion is that a liver biopsy should have been done at the time along with the specific blood tests I had done before putting me on immunosuppressant medication. The Tucson doctor thought the biopsy was too invasive so chose a conservative approach of treatment with medication. This guy does liver biopsys routinely so has a different view of them. So....we decided that I will stop my medication immediately. I will have a monthly blood test for the next 3 months and then go to every 2 months for a few months. If there IS a flare-up then we will do a biopsy. If no flare up occurs, then we will just do the regular labs of every 3-6 months that I have done for my cholesterol meds and to check kidney function. Those labs will include the liver function tests.
I like the treatment plans of both doctors!
Monday, January 05, 2015
Monday Misc for Jan 5th
Weather: It's cold - just plain brutally cold! I am totally understanding the "snowbird" concept of going someplace warm during Dec - Feb. I don't mind 32 degree weather but this 8-9 degree stuff is not fun. According to the weathermen on TV, we should be running around 35 during the day and mid 20's at night - not bad. And then there is the strong north wind! I finally put a cloth around the "ringer" on my wind chimes since it was constantly ringing and even waking me up at night. I keep thinking about how it compares to the summer in the desert. At least when it is really cold, I add another layer and stay in more. I still just have to get out sometime during the day. The cold is still easier for me to tolerate that a week of 105+ in the desert summer. However, I am seriously thinking of someplace to go next winter for a couple of months. At least I will get thawed out next week in Tucson where it is forecast to be around 67-70. 8-)
Critters: I have learned that they like breakfast 9-11 a.m. and some come back around 3 p.m. I found out that some birds are "ground feeders" and some eat out of the bird feeder hanging on the tree limb. Squirrels and birds don't usually eat at the same time - birds leave when the squirrels arrive. Watching them out of the office window has become quite entertaining.
Gas prices: I saw gas last week over in Missouri for $1.79/gal. I keep thinking they put up a 1 instead of a 2. Hope gas is like this when we do a driving trip later in the year.....
New Lease: I signed a lease for another year in my apartment last week so am committed for another year. There are a lot of new apartment building in the area but not many of them have attached garages and that is a must for me. Besides, I can't imagine moving again at this point. I like the apartment, location, walking trail, etc so it's home for at least another year.
Labs: I got my labs done last week and they showed up over the weekend on My Chart. The cholesterol wasn't included but my kidney and liver functions were perfect. The creatinine (kidney) was .84 and it was always at .7 when I had TWO kidneys. My creatinine usually runs around 1-1.2. In kidney land, those small increments are big. I see the liver doctor on Wednesday for a 6 month recheck and am looking forward to hearing what he has to say. He is skeptical that I actually have Auto-Immune Hepatitis even though the specific lab test says I do. We shall see..... I also see the pain doctor on Wednesday for a check-up after the procedure I had done last month. It is a Doctor Day for me on Wednesday.
Critters: I have learned that they like breakfast 9-11 a.m. and some come back around 3 p.m. I found out that some birds are "ground feeders" and some eat out of the bird feeder hanging on the tree limb. Squirrels and birds don't usually eat at the same time - birds leave when the squirrels arrive. Watching them out of the office window has become quite entertaining.
Gas prices: I saw gas last week over in Missouri for $1.79/gal. I keep thinking they put up a 1 instead of a 2. Hope gas is like this when we do a driving trip later in the year.....
New Lease: I signed a lease for another year in my apartment last week so am committed for another year. There are a lot of new apartment building in the area but not many of them have attached garages and that is a must for me. Besides, I can't imagine moving again at this point. I like the apartment, location, walking trail, etc so it's home for at least another year.
Thursday, January 01, 2015
Happy New Year's
Well, like it or not, we are into another year and I'm looking forward to it. The cloud called "Holidays" is gone and the sun is shinning again in my brain. I'm working on my "2014 Year In Pictures" book and today my Bucket List get's updated. Typical New Year's Day stuff for me....
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