skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I am checking in so as to let it be known to everyone who reads this (no one) that I am not dead.
But I think I'm close!
I am presently sporting three wounds. There are two of them on my hand, as shown in the picture above. The other is a little blister on my foot caused by my shoe.
The only reason I bring this up, other than a declaration that I am not yet dead, is to assert that I am rapidly heading towards that destination.
I don't heal as well as I used to. Both of the injuries on my hand are due to burns I got while stoking the fire. They are about two weeks old. I initially covered them with bandages and they seemed to be healing. Then I stop covering them because band aids annoy me after a while and the wound starts to crack and ooze and fester and...let's face it. At this point, you die a little every day.
Hi! It's October now and I'm still alive. I'm not thriving. I have lots of aches and pains. But other than me...who gives a fuck!
My main complaint with my body right now is my left big toe. It has the goat...I mean gout.
The intensity of the pain...no let's call it discomfort, varies from moment to moment, day to day. I am trying to keep up on the Allopurinol, the anti-Goat pill I'm taking.
It's okay at the moment but has been bothering me all week.
I rolled onto my left side and felt my knee lock up. I looked at the clock. It was 1:57 AM.
I tried to roll onto my right side and slap my knee down hard on the mattress...but to no avail.
So I drifted in and out of sleep, occassionally massaging my knee and trying to work out the lock until 6 AM when the alarm went off. I rose and staggered to my closet to retrieve my cane.
I showered, dressed and drove myself to work.
I was explaining the situation to some co-workers when I raised out of my chair and straightened my knee. It had clicked off just as quickly as it had clicked on.
I was hoping to come across some sign, hint or clue of what triggers this damn thing but remain as clueless as ever.
I last chronicled a similar but much shorter event back on May 26th. I can walk again and that is the important thing...until the next time.
The gout is pretty much under control now but it kind of spawned a new problem.
A week ago, I weighed 222 pounds all of the sudden. Sure, I ate a bunch of crap on the Fourth and drank about seven or eight beers throughout the course of the day.
The real problem was that I was suddenly sucking air. I became very short of breath with very little activity.
I got in to see my Cardiologist this past Tuesday and he thought I was wet. That's Cardiology talk for retaining water. I started taking a diuretic and this morning I weighed in at 211. Best of all, my stamina is coming back. I'm not all the way back yet but I'm improving.
I was also told to cut back on my alcohol intake. Apparently, alcohol is just about the worst thing you can take when you have cardio myopathy. So, I'm trying really hard to get my weight down to 200 pounds and limit myself to two drinks a day.
That will be difficult on a hot sunny day like today, but it is important if I want to experience many many more hot sunny days.
It seems to me that I only post here when I have a health issue. It also seems to me that I have mentioned before that it seems to me that I only post here when I have an health issue.
So that leads us to what the health issue is. It is Goat! I have goat in my left big toe. It is the same place that the goat rears its ugly head whenever the goat attacks me.
I'm told now by my Producers that it is spelled "G-O-U-T". I still like to pronounce it goat.
Anyway, it began coming on me last Thursday morning. I had some left over Indomethacin, which is the meth that treats goat. I had five pills remaining from when I got goat a year ago in May. They must have lost their potency over the year because it did not prevent the goat from getting goatier.
I did myself no favors yesterday by leaving my fresh bottle of Indometh at work. The goat really flared up over the night. The picture below is from this morning. The toe and right side of my left foot are pretty swollen and tender.
So I'm back on the methacation and hoping I will feel better soon. July Fourth is two days away and I would like to be somewhat mobile by the time it arrives.
I'll try to post an update in a couple of days.
3:31PM: What a difference a couple of pills make; to the point that my pain is virtually gone.
I think that's a pretty good update!
I've still got the ringing. It's not debilitating or all that much annoying. I think I can live with it.
The Doctor confirmed for me today that it is not possible to hack into my defibrillator and cause a heart attack. That is just Hollywood playing fast and loose with the facts...what a surprise!
I have nine and a half years left on my ten year battery. The defibrillator was inserted four years ago, almost to the day.
I stepped out of the shower this morning with a really loud ringing in my ears. It appears I have Tinnitus. I've had ringing in my ears periodically for a while but it has never been steady and constant like this.
I have an appointment with my Electro-Cardiologist tomorrow so I'll ask about it then.
The other question that has been on my mind concerns something I have seen on a couple of TV shows. In both of these TV shows, (fictional programs) a person was killed off by someone hacking into the persons Pace Maker and causing a Heart Attack.
It's not that I'm concerned that Susan might be considering that plan, I'm just worndering if it's possible. I'm thinking it is not...but I want the facts.
I sat down at the computer about 15 minutes ago and felt a sharp pain in my knee as I plopped down in the chair. My knee locked up. This hasn't happened since November of 2011 where I chronicled it here.
I staggered into the shower in hopes that warm water might loosen it up. It didn't. I dug my cane out of the closet and began the arduous task of descending the stairs to tell Susan.
About half way down the stairs, the knee unlocked and I am presently okay.
This knee thing is weird!
