Tralfaz

Category: Health

For health or healthcare related posts

  • The Dentist

    Today was that twice yearly ritual, visiting the Dentist. Hygienist and a quick check.

    Where else will you get the joys of the poker, the gouger, and the scraper jabbed at your teeth and gums? As I have long had some moderate gum recession, I get exhortations about keeping the exposed root on my first molars clean.  And the reminder to use a fluoride rinse.

    Ah, the pleasant staff, the pain of gouged gums, the mild bleeding. The hamfisted attempt by the hygienist to have a conversation (seriously, you are elbows deep in my mouth…)

    And of course, where else would I hear the light banter of KBAY 94.5, and the latest Kelly Clarkson tune?  I mean c’mon, isn’t that the definition of a great time.

    Of course, I have hairline fractures in another tooth, so I will get to go back for a quick filling to hold it together and avoid a catastrophic failure and yet another crown.

    Great day.

  • Getting there – Weight loss in progress

    Getting there – Weight loss in progress

    The diet is continuing well, and apart from two visitors this week, with a couple truly egregious cheater meals, I made some progress.

    The statistics so far:

    • 3 weeks (started July 3)
    • down 11.6 #’s (that is a 4.54% loss)
    • Exercise is trending up – both walks at lunch during the week (2.4 ish miles), and cycling on weekends, is feeling better.

    So far, I have adjusted to smaller portions, eating less, and feeling satisfied. I have worked on eating better, more fruits and vegetables, and less meats.

    If you care, you can track me at Strava to see my workouts.

    It isn’t as easy as it was before I turned 40, but the basics work. Exercise more, eat less, eat better balanced, drink less alcohol.

    My goal?  To get to less than 200#’s. If I get there, I will build a new road bike.

  • Back on the Diet Train

    Two weeks in, back on the Perfect Diet Tracker, counting calories, and making sure I track everything. Down 9 pounds – I am sure at least half is water, I am beginning to feel better.

    The old adage rings true. Calories in less than calories burned = weight loss. Yes, it was easier before I turned 40, but it still works. The secret is to count everything that passes the lips.

    Already I am fitting into jeans I couldn’t wear 2 weeks ago. I have plenty of clothes that will fit as I shed the pounds. Looking forward to that.

    It does take a lot of discipline. Portion control is key. Not indulging on the sweets in the office. Doing as much exercising as I can (walking the campus at lunch is good for 2.4 miles.) Bicycling on the weekend.

    I am lucky that I have enough will power to not give in to the sweet tooth.

    It isn’t easy.

  • The Long Slog of Getting back into Shape

    Every so often I get tired of be a fat slob, and need to get back into shape. This time, months of moving, living in a crappy apartment, and high stress at work has lead to me, uh, putting on a few pounds. When the 40″ waist jeans stopped fitting, and the 42″ pants were getting snug, it was time to do something.

    So, I fired up the diet tracker, started counting calories, and exercising regularly.

    It is amazing how difficult it can be to get in the groove. About 3 weeks ago, I started cycling again, I got the mountain bike out and started humping it. First getting out on the drainage canals in the Santa Teresa foothills, it was a good mellow, and very flat ride. After 3 or 4 of these, I was getting bored.

    I tossed in a few longer rides, mostly road. Better, but still not satisfying. I mean, why ride a mountain bike if you are just doing flat stuff, right?

    So I have started grinding it out in Santa Teresa Park. A kick ass climb to get there (up Bernal road) a real grueling ride. Then some trails including some climbs and downhills. Good single-track, enough to challenge, but not killer.

    Today was my 3rd trip up, and I made it to the stop sign before I needed to pause. I am looking forward to finally being able to clear it to the top without stopping. Maybe another week.

    If you are interested, you can follow me on Strava.

    And now I am down almost 6 pounds in a week. Sadly, I am sure that is mostly water weight.

    A long way to go, but it feels good to start

  • Is life no longer worth living?

    Is life no longer worth living?

    I wrote back in March about a life changing event. Having the gout. It sucks. Talk about white privilege diseases, and Gout is top of the list. But the doctor said it would return.

    One of the things they say causes flare-ups is beer. Sweet, wonderful, hoppy beer. Apparently, the puric acid is the culprit.

    After the major flare up (that about crippled me for 4 days) I swore off beer for a couple of months. Actually, all alcohol. Then three weeks ago I succumbed to the nectar of the goods, malted barley beverages.

    I had some minor discomfort, so I backed off. Then the last weekend, I had two 12-oz bottles (A Lagunitas Sucks ale), and two days later, major flare up. I missed the early indicators, so I couldn’t take my preventative medication (which is pretty gnarly, I need to remember to NOT take my statin when I take it).

    So, it looks like I am off of beer forever.

    Life may not be worth living.

  • Getting old sucks

    Freshly into my 6th decade, I am beginning to feel my age. Some observations:

    Once you get gout once, it is likely to recur. Sadly, now when I have even a couple of malted beverages, I get the start of a flare up. Not being able to have a couple brews on the weekend sucks.

    Your appetite doesn’t match your caloric or nutritional needs. I still love to eat steak and potatoes, but even when I balance with a lot of leafy green veggies, and other “healthy” items, I suffer for a couple days after. Turning 40 altered the metabolism, and the medications post MI further fouled with the engine.

    Aches, pains, and weird popping/creaky noises accompany you everywhere you go. Partly due to the heavy abuse of cycling, motorcycling, running that I did in my youth, I suffer.  A modest bike ride can yield three days of awkward awakenings. Groan.

    I fear I am looking at milestones of when I can no longer do things I used to enjoy. Oh well.

     

  • Getting Old – The Gout

    Getting Old – The Gout

    I have been struggling with whether to mention it or not. Last week, starting on Tuesday, my left foot began to hurt. By the weekend, it was agonizing.

    I thought it was a torn ligament or something, possibly even a plantar fasciitis flare up. A couple of years ago, I had something similar in Chandler, and the podiatrist gave me some super Aleve. I figured this was the same thing.

    How wrong I was.

    Monday, I begged and wheedled to get an appointment with the on call Podiatrist. At 4:00 they were able to give me a time slot.

    The left large toe was super sensitive, about as much pain as plantar fasciitis, and it was swollen. 3 vitamin I’s (ibuprofen, 200mg) would take the edge off the pain, but not really relieve it.

    It took about 10 seconds for the initial diagnosis. Gout. In the left great toe.

    To get a definitive diagnosis, he aspirated the fluid in the joint, looking for uric acid crystals. Also, I had a blood test to check uric acid levels in my blood, and to check for kidney function.

    Results: Crystals visible in the fluid in the joint, uric acid was high, but my kidneys were working OK.

    Being that I eat beef or red meat once a month, and can’t eat shellfish due to an allergy, it is most likely a genetic predisposition. Lovely.

    Industrial strength anti inflammatory drugs, and a special regimen to use if I get a twinge in the future has helped. I also got an injection of cortisone into the joint.

    The next day I was much better, although the injection site was sore. Add my anti coagulants, and I have a nice bruise, but I am able to wear shoes, and walking is pain free.

    I feel old, having the Gout.

  • Quickie – Difference between AZ and CA

    I have had off and on problems with my feet for years, plantar fasciitis, inflamation of joints etc.

     

    In Arizona, when this flared up last in Phoenix area, I was able to schedule an appointment with a new podiatrist the same day.

    Here in California, the wait is 4-6 weeks. They have a cancellation next Tuesday they can squeeze me in.

    Yo, I can’t walk NOW, what do you think I can do for a frigging week?

    I guess it will be off to urgent care.

    For the record: Last time, this required a surgical shoe to prevent flexing, and some stronger anti inflammatory drugs than Ibuprofen or Naproxen Sodium, and a couple days’ rest.

  • Marking an Ominous Anniversary – 5 years

    Marking an Ominous Anniversary – 5 years

    Today marks an ominous anniversary. Five years ago today, I had a heart attack and almost died.

    There had been numerous times in my life where I started to glimpse my own mortality. Being a motorcycle rider and racer, close calls are par for the course, but hardly unique. Hiking near thousand foot drop offs, and similar events that could horribly go awry with the ultimate consequence.

    But January 3, 2010 will forever live on in my memory.

    On Saturday, January 2nd, Barbara and I went for a hike in Sabino Canyon, the “Blacketts Ridge” trail. It is about a mile of easy trail until you get to the trail head, then it is a brutal uphill climb up a rocky, and treacherous path. Something that I had done in as little as 54 minutes (parking lot to the end of the trail).

    I felt off, wheezing and struggling. I thought it was just hunger, as I had started dieting a week before with the Christmas shutdown. About 1/2 way up, I tossed in the towel and went back.

    After lunch, I felt better, and thought nothing much of it.

    Sunday morning, January 3, I went to the Gym as usual. An hour on the elliptical trainer, and I knew something was wrong. I couldn’t get my heart rate above about 110, and i Just felt sluggish. I was convinced I was getting a flu or some related illness. I also recall not being able to work up a good sweat.

    After this unsatisfying trip to the gym, I went home and began to shower. BAM. Fully symptomatic, shooting pain down the arms, chest felt like someone was standing on it, having trouble breathing, I stumbled down the hall to my wife’s office and told her I needed to go to the hospital.

    I was in agony. The pain was intense, and it wasn’t going away. As I lay writhing on the couch, my wife did the smartest thing she could have done, she called 911. That action alone probably did more to save my life than anything else that day.

    The EMT’s put on the EKG electrodes and didn’t see anything (note: they aren’t miracle workers, and don’t always get the right diagnoses, but they were there and that is what is important). My wife insisted that they take me in.

    Why is it important to call 911? Well, you get the fast track into the ER. No queue, no check in procedure, you just get triaged right away. Very very important.

    Once I get to the hospital, they hook me up to their better machine, and alas, I am indeed having a heart attack. Full blown myocardial infarction. Off to the Catheter Lab for angioplasty and a stent.

    Turns out that I had a 100% blockage in the descending node of the right coronary artery (note: if it was the left coronary artery, I wouldn’t have made it to the hospital)

    A stent, some not-fun drugs, and a short (3 day) hospital stay and I was back on the path to recovery.

    To this day, I take anticoagulants, beta blockers (teh devil in a pill), statins, and an ace inhibitor. I watch (sometimes better than others) my diet, and I try to exercise as much as I can.

    Today is 5 years. I hope for another 15 or 20, but regardless, I am thankful to be alive.

  • Wow, am I out of shape – Mountain Biking

    Wow, am I out of shape – Mountain Biking

    On moving back to the San Jose area, I started fantasizing about getting back into mountain biking. When we moved to south San Jose, close to Santa Teresa Park, the urge grew.

    My last mountain bike was a Specialized Stumpjumper Comp M2. I think I bought it in 1997, when I lived here before. A really nice bike when I bought, I rode the hell out of it, all over the bay area. Unfortunately, living in Arizona, I got out of the habit. Not that there wasn’t great riding, but I just didn’t get with it there.

    When we moved from Tucson to Chandler, I hadn’t ridden the mountain bike in a few years, so it was sold at our moving sale. In Chandler, I got back into road riding, racking up lots of miles on my Lemond Buenos Aires.

    I ended up buying a new bike. A Specialized “Crave” Expert model. A hardtail, 29’er bike. Not top of the line, but a high quality ride nonetheless.

    Today I took it for a first ride. Santa Teresa park. The climb up Bernal road was brutal, but getting to the top, and veering onto the trails was bliss. The reflexes, and the skills are still there, a little dormant, but they come back.

    I am embarrassed with how many times I had to stop to rest. I will get back into shape, but, it is going to be brutal.

    A future post will give a review of the bike.