Tralfaz

Category: Health

For health or healthcare related posts

  • Anniversary of an Ominous Day

    Four years ago today was the classic definition of a “bad day“. I had been at the gym, doing my daily workout, but felt blah and off. I couldn’t get my heart rate above 100 (registered on the elliptical trainer), and I really had to force myself to do the full hour.

    I was uncomfortable on the drive home, but that wasn’t so unusual after a session at the gym.

    I stepped into the shower, and BAM it hit me like a ton of bricks. Shooting pains out the arms, huge pressure on my chest. I knew I was in trouble.

    Fortunately my wife panicked and called 911 (first bit of good fortune) instead of driving me to the ER.

    Once I was at the ER, they hooked me up to a machine, and voila, I was having a heart attack. You never saw so many people jump into action. Off to the catheter lab, a call to the rad tech and the cardiologist on duty, and I was fitted with a Stent.

    Verdict: Complete blockage of my right coronary artery. The angioplasty and stent successfully opened it up, and I began a long recovery.

    Every January 3rd, I pause and recognize the day that I was dying and dodged a major bullet. I was 44 years old. I was running 5 – 6 miles 6 days a week. I was hiking on weekends, and I was eating healthy. I had been battling high blood pressure for years, but that had been controlled via medication, diet and exercise.

    Naturally I recovered, went through my rehab (12 weeks), and even was able 8 weeks after the event hike to the Phantom Ranch and back out.

    To this day, I try to live life to the fullest. I am cautious naturally, but every day is a gift to be celebrated and cherished.

  • More hand suckage – Cortisone shot

    Ugh. My 6 weeks with a brace on my thumb didn’t help. I guess I am not surprised, at best it was going to help ease the bone on bone rubbing.

    Today, I went back to the hand specialist. He wasn’t surprised that it wasn’t improving. The degeneration of cartilage is not really reversible. Just controllable.

    Today I got a cortisone shot. The needle was much smaller than the one when I got a shot for my plantar fasciitis. Woo hoo. But it hurt a lot more than the shot in my heel. Hmm, I guess there are a lot more nerves in the hand.

    The doctor was surprised that he got most of the cortisone shot in. Most of the time he can only get about half. Of course, he is usually giving them to little old ladies though.

    It felt OK after. A little stiff, not surprising since 3cc of cortisone was injected. But the doctor warned me that the anesthetic would wear off and it would hurt bad this afternoon. Also that it might be a good idea to take some ibuprofen.

    No shit. it is 1:00PM, and it hurts like hell. I took 800mg, and will take 800mg more this evening.

    As I was leaving I asked the doctor how often I would need shots. He said that you get two. Total. So the goal is to go as long as possible until the second one.

    Gulp. I will keep taking my glucosamine, I will take ibuprofen. I will nurse this as long as I can.

    Sadly, I am certain that my days of playing guitar are coming to a close.

    Next steps

    When it gets worse, there is surgery, but it is not pleasant. It will be a fusing of the bones in the wrist to prevent out of plane motion. Typically not done until people are much older. I know that will be a bad bad day when that is the only option.

  • Back in the saddle – lunchtime exercise

    Today was the first time in almost a month that I was able to escape the office at lunch and work out. Heck, for that matter, it is probably the first time in more than 3 weeks that I was able to bring in my lunch.

    Launching a product, sales training, travel, and then having to run home at lunch to take care of the hounds, means that I have been severely curtailed in my lunchtime run/walk. Add to that brutally cold (for Phoenix) weekends, so I haven’t been able to cycle either.

    Today I got out for 4 miles at lunch. Felt good, but I am definitely out of shape.

    Next week we are shut down, so I will take that opportunity to get aggressive with both the exercise and diet.

  • Caffeine free 1 Month

    Hi, I am a coffee-aholic, and it has been 4 weeks since my last date with the evil bean. I have a love hate relationship with coffee. I didn’t start drinking the evil brew until my 3rd year of university. Since then, I have been on and off the bean, often going several months before I break down and tuck into a mug of jo’.

    Like any true addict, as the effect begins to wane, I crank up the quantity that I consume until it adversely affects my sleep patterns. Then I need to go cold turkey.

    I am now 1 month into a caffeine free period, and I just made it through an intense week of sales meetings and training, usually the highest stress, least sleep week for me. And I survived it without resorting to the bean (but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t mightily tempted).

    I know that it is a matter of time until I fall off the wagon, but until then, I will be living coffee free.

  • Arthritis sucks

    Not sure where it came from. Perhaps it was playing too much guitar, or all the motorcycle/bicycle riding I have done over the years. Or it is just bad luck, but the arthritis in my left thumb sucks.

    I started noticing it a few months ago. When I started cycling again seriously (more than once a month 😉 ) I noticed that my left thumb was sore afterwards. It has gotten progressively worse, until in early September I went to my doctor. X-Rays showed a deterioration of the cartilage in my left thumb (boo) and a bone spur. Put me in a spica splint, told me to take 800mg of vitamin I twice a day, and if it didn’t get noticeably better in two week, to go to a specialist.

    Needless to say, it didn’t magically improve, so off to a specialist I go.

    There I get more x-rays, and a really shitty piece of news. There is virtually NO cartilage left in my left thumb, there are multiple bone spurs, and while the bone spurs will likely wear down (and thus the discomfort will reduce somewhat), my thumb will never be good again. This time I get a custom make spica splint for my thumb to wear while sleeping, and I still take shedloads of vitamin I.

    After that first appointment with the specialist, I will admit that I had to sit in my car and cry. My thumb (and by extension hand) will NEVER be good again. I go back in 6 weeks to check on it, and if it isn’t better (and the Dr. said that was a stretch), it would be time for cortisone shots. That should control the discomfort. But the cartilage is gone for good.

    Today, I tried playing guitar. Good news/bad news. I have done enough practicing in the last few months that some of my speed and chops were coming back. Bad news is that the thumb pain is pretty bad while playing. I fear it is just a matter of time until I will have to put my axes in the case and give up playing.

    I am too damn young for this shit.

  • Punishment – Going caffeine free

    Every couple of years I give up the evil bean. I usually get to a point where my tolerance is huge, and I find my self caffeinating throughout the day. Then my sleeping get disrupted, and I get cranky and irritable (ok, crankier and more irritable than usual).

    Then I go off caffeine for a few months, and all is better. But the transition is hell. Headaches, missing the taste of coffee (my preferred dosing mechanism), and sleeping more than usual. Some people think I am crazy for knocking it out, but it really does help, even if it is for a limited time (I think the longest I lasted before was 9 months.)

    Today is day 4, and the worst of the withdrawal symptoms are abating. Headaches are almost gone. The desire to rush out to the coffee maker is much lower. I am already sleeping better (or perhaps that is just my wishful thinking).

    One thing is for certain, the blood pressure medication I take has greatly reduced the headaches. They were/are much less severe than in the past. One thing to be thankful for.

    I know that it is just a matter of time. Perhaps I will have a 6:00AM flight, or need a lift before a customer presentation. I will be back on the bean, but for now, I will learn to live without it.

    (* Of course I will not go completely caffeine free. That would mean giving up chocolate. Not gonna do that man.)

  • A bad day – Health edition

    Well, I have been struggling with my hand for a while. I thought I had jammed my thumb,and it wasn’t healing properly. After 6 weeks or so, I realized that it wasn’t getting better.

    About a month ago I finally went to my GP and after some X-Rays it looked like it wasn’t a damaged tendon, or “jam”. The X-Ray showed some bone spurs and what looked like it might be the start of arthritis. Gulp.

    Today I met with a specialist. It is far worse than I originally thought. I have no cartilage left in my left thumb, there is severe arthritis, several bone spurs, and it is pretty much as good as it will ever be.

    Next week I will get a special splint to hold it motionless at night. 6 weeks of that to see if the pain is reduced. If not, then we move on to cortisone shots.

    At this point there is no cure. I am considered too young for surgery (don’t ask, it is a bad option), and eventually it will all wear in and hurt less.

    One thing is for certain, today was not a good day. I can’t deny that I am getting old. Sigh.

  • Getting Old – Part IX

    I hate to sound like I am complaining, but alas, it is hard to not whinge. I am getting old. Latest victim: a repeat offender, my left foot. I have battled plantar fasciitis, and a sprained big toe in the last year. But today, it is feeling like it might be a stress fracture.

    Yesterday, I did a mild 4 and a half mile walk. Felt OK. Sometime yesterday afternoon, my foot started bothering me. Sharp pain in the top, on the outer part of the foot. Tender when I poke at it, when I stretch (like I would do to help my plantar fascia) it is a debilitating pain.

    This is just the latest in a long list of body parts that hurt. I am not 50 yet, but I feel like my body is falling apart.

    Sigh.

  • The hand update

    I have been battling with what I originally thought was an injured thumb. A couple weeks ago, I went to my GP, and alas, the tendons seem fine, but the x-rays show that there is a bone spur, and what is likely the beginning of arthritis. Groan. Heavy anti inflammatories and a brace to immobilize the thumb.

    A week later, the brace was not helping (if anything, it was beginning to damage the nerves, numbing my thumb). So I call a hand specialist.

    FFS, what is it with these specialists? They are all booked through November. I can get in on Oct 28th to see a PA.  Sigh. I guess I will take it.

    It still hurts (even with 800mg ibuprofen twice a day), cycling is not good for it (but it isn’t going to stop me), and it hurts to play guitar. Sigh, getting old sucks.

  • Long term, low level injury

    One of the joys of getting older is that I no longer bounce back from even minor injuries. Case in point:

    About a month or a month and a half ago, I jammed my left thumb. I don’t remember what I did, just that it hurt like hell and was tender for a few days. Usually, these things pass, and in a week or so, you forget that you ever did it.

    However this time, it didn’t quite go that way. It still hurts when I grip with my left hand. Like holding a beer bottle is a struggle (oh noes!!!!!). I can’t use my left thumb to dispense soft soap at the washbasin. I can’t open jars (can’t grib the jar with my left hand).

    Cycling is hard, as you need to grip to be somewhat safe and efficient.

    So, off to the doctor. Probably a referral to a orthopedist, and X-Rays to ensure that I didn’t break anything.

    But really, I just want my left hand to work right again.