Legends of the Falls

Just got an email from Lisa on an unrelated subject and she asked how I was feeling which made me realize it’s probably time for an update.

As I told her, I still have some minor issues but am getting better.  Specifically, I have four issues, only one of which even concerns me in the slightest.

The first issue is my endurance.  I basically have none and am easily winded.  Once the weather turns nicer, I’ll start going for walks/runs and that should fix it.

The second is my strength (or lack there of).  It’s really amazing how much strength I’ve lost.  A week or so ago I decided to see how many push-ups I could do (actually, to be honest, I wanted to see if I could do ONE).  I got in a push-up position and quickly realize that if I were to try to lower myself, I crash onto my face.  So not only can’t I do a push-up, I can’t even do a lower-down.  My doc suggested that I join a gym and start lifting weights.  I’m not a big fan of gyms but I might have to take him up on his suggestion.

The third issue is one that I think that I have mentioned before.  I have a numbness in my ring and pinky fingers on my right hand (it feels just like a permanent hit on the funny bone).  At first I thought it might be carpal tunnel syndrome from sitting at my computer too much but a little internet research uncovered that carpal tunnel never affects those fingers, it’s the other three that are impacted.  My doc gave it a fancy name, which I forget, but it’s basically a nerve in my elbow that’s getting squeezed or pinched.  He said that what’s most likely is that all the sudden weight loss has caused things to shift around in my body and undoubtedly something is pinching the nerve.  He said to give it a few months to see if I put the weight back on, which probably would fix it, or to see if things naturally shift again.  If it doesn’t clear up on it’s own, he said he’d send me to a neuro guy who should be able to quickly fix it with minor surgery. It’s been a month and nothing’s yet happened (my weight is 175 so I’m keeping it down).  I’ll give it another month or so before I make arrangements to have it checked out.    

The fourth thing is the only one that I’m not sure what’s happening.  There’s something fishy going on around my lower right rib cage.  It’s like I have a muscle pull or something.  Occasionally, I’ll make a sharp turn with my body, or rollover in bed, or take a sharp deep breath, and I’ll feel a slight stabbing pain. Actually, pain is probably too strong a word. It’s more like a discomfort.  If it’s just a muscle pull like I think, it should heal up on it’s own so I’m just going to wait a while before I do anything about it.  

Other than that, everything is fine.  No more coughing at all which is the real good news.  Everything else appears to be just a matter of time coupled with a little effort on my part.

Really had a good week.  This is the first week where I’ve pretty much been able to do almost whatever I want without having any issues. I got winded on Monday scraping the snow and ice off of my car but didn’t break into a coughing fit despite the cold weather.

I spent most of the week at Tom’s house and was able to carry on conversations with him all week without them turning into a bunch of coughs – that was a first too. 

I was out shopping this afternoon wandering around stores for about three hours without an issue – usually one trip around a store will wear me out but I walked all through Target, WalMart, and Best Buy without a problem.

I’m targeting New Year’s Eve as the rebirth of my social life.  My favorite band, JR and Natalie, are playing at a local bar and I’m going to head there for the night (after my obligatory stop at the Tavern).

so said my doctor at my checkup today. He assures me that the coughing fits are normal, nothing to worry about, and should go away soon. I had a series of breathing tests today that I evidently passed with flying colors. When he listened to my breathing he said things sounded much much improved from before. However, he added that it will take the lung about six months to recover even though I’ll feel fine in another month or so (he did add that I wall always have some scaring on the lung and to be sure to tell any other doctor who x-rays my chest about my surgery so the scars don’t alarm them).

As far as my general health was concerned the results of my blood work and heart stress test that I had done previously came back even better than could be expected. He made a couple of comments about how strong my heart was (specifically saying something about my right ventricle still being able to do x,y,z which is unusually for someone my age). That’s when he tossed in the “you’re going to live for a long time” comment. And, Marilyn, to address your comment on my other post – it appears my general health is fine so I must be doing something right.

On the other hand, I also had an appointment with the dermatologist. I was overdue for a checkup on my skin cancer (my dermatoligist retired and left town, so I had to find a new one) plus my whole body itches and I’ve been scratching like crazy. I got a clean bill of health on the skin cancer checkup but not so when it came to the itch. The dermatologist handed me a checklist of things I could do to address the itching and it turns out that I’m doing them all wrong.

Here’s the complete list:

– Don’t take hot showers – use comfortably cool water (I take showers as hot as I can stand).
– Keep showers brief – no more than ten minutes (I like long hot showers)
– Use unscented soap substitute like Dove, Oil of Olay, etc. NEVER use Ivory or perfumed deodorant soaps like Irish Spring, Coast, etc (I use Irish Spring).
– Use a bath oil (I don’t take baths).
– Pat skin dry. DO NOT rub briskly with a towel (I always rub myself down with a towel).
– Lubricate your skin with a moisturizer (I never use one),
– Consider a humidifier especially during winter months (nope – don’t have one).

Looks like I have some habits I’m going to have to change.