Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

2 hours ago, mlooney said:

Symptom free and negative test this morning.  Glad this is over.

Huzzah!

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Web page updated: https://dleejackson.lbjackson.com/2022/12/heart-issues-under-investigation/

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

My mail account said I had a new package incoming this morning. I got all excited, wondering what it was, since I hadn't ordered anything. I though it might be a late Christmas present.

It wasn't. It's a box full of unna boot material for my legs. Bleh.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

My heart is in kangaroo mode tonight. It's jumping around all over the place inside my chest. Don't know what to make of it. Doesn't hurt, per se. It's just damned annoying.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

4 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

My heart is in kangaroo mode tonight. It's jumping around all over the place inside my chest. Don't know what to make of it. Doesn't hurt, per se. It's just damned annoying.

You'll get it checked out. That's coming up soon, right?

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

23 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

You'll get it checked out. That's coming up soon, right?

Yes, I have the chemical nuclear stress test scheduled for January 5th.

In other news, I have the CT scan of my lower body/lower extremities scheduled for 2pm today, 12/31. I'm quite nervous about it, because it comes with a double whammy of allergies. Let me explain.

They want me to do the CT scan with iodinated contrast media injected into me. Problem is, I have an allergic reaction to the stuff - my chest tightens, and I start wheezing after the injection. So, to combat this, they want me to pre-medicate by taking 50mg of prednisone (oral steroids) three times before the scan: once at 13 hours prior, once at 7 hours prior, and once at 1 hour prior. They also want me to take 50mg of Benadryl with the last dose. The problem with that is, I'm allergic to oral steroids. They have given me atrial fibrillations in the past. So, to combat that, they want me to take 50mg of Benadryl with every dose.

To say I'm freaked out would be putting it mildly.

My first dose is coming up in around 15 minutes. I'm hoping I'm far enough removed from the last time my body was exposed to an oral dose of prednisone that it won't affect my heart, despite my current HFpEF trouble. Please wish me luck.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

You got it, buddy, rooting for you and praying.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

MY CT SCAN GOT CANCELLED.

I was told that it was cancelled earlier in the week because they couldn't do the scan at their facility on account of my allergy to the CT contrast medium. It's got to be done at a hospital, where there is rapid access to ER facilities in case I have an anaphylactic reaction. Now, why nobody contacted me prior to yesterday is anyone's guess: they say they told my doctor, so it's the doctor's fault. I don't care whose fault it is, this shouldn't have happened.

Now I've got to do it in a hospital after my catastrophic deductible resets, which means money out of my pocket. Thanks, guys.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

In other news...

My heart has been dancing to its own band all night long. I had a stretch for about 90 minutes where it was pounding out of my chest after our New Year's Eve dinner of special chile con queso (unrelated to the food, thankyouverymuch). I wasn't very short on breath, thank the maker, but it was still uncomfortable. It eventually went away on its own. Later on, it was tripping the light fantastic in a rather arrhythmic way, jumping around and fluctuating at odd meters. Most uncomfortable when a bout of this stuff hit.

It's around or before 5:50am CST, and I'm at an uneasy truce with my heart at the moment. Let's see how long it lasts today. This HFpEF stuff is going to be a real trip.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Had a follow-up with my hematologist the other day. More blood work. Turns out my "iron stores" are back up in the normal range, but I'm still technically anemic since my hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are below normal. She's going to wait 6 weeks and test me again. If I'm still anemic, she's going to do a bone marrow biopsy on me to figure out what's going on. Fun!

[Don Edwards 548]

Much prefer having my body over yours, Prof, and I have my right arm in a sling with no idea why my shoulder has hurt so much for the last four days. (I can do left-handed mouse, but left-handed typing is awkward.)

May all your {censored} get resolved favorably, and soon.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Today is the day to pick up the new hearing aids for both Mrs. Prof and myself. I expect there will be some fine-tuning done, once we get the appropriate apps downloaded, installed, and activated on our phones (she's on a Samsung, while I'm on a Google Pixel 6 - at least there shouldn't be a software incompatibility). Should take a fair amount of time. This will be followed by lunch somewhere at Firewheel Town Center, where the hearing aid place is located. That'll be weird, getting used to the new acoustics.  

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Oh, almost forgot - got the first half of my clearances (medical approval) for surgery to fix my torn right rotator cuff yesterday. However, it comes with a referral to a nephrologist, since my kidney numbers are worse than they were last time. Still waiting on cardiac approval.

[mlooney 3,417]

Hope you get clearance soon.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Update #1:

I have my new hearing aids. They're clearer: less distorted, more focused. Maybe not as loud, but that's adjustable. Comfortable - no change there.

Update #2:

Finally had my CT scan w/contrast media. No reaction to the media noted, thanks to the pre-medication regimen. I'll get the results soon.

[ijuin 572]

So far, so good.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Hoooo-boy...

I spent about 15 minutes trying to clear off the little end table where my daily medicine dispenser boxes sit. They'd gotten pretty overloaded: I'd say there was about 5 inches of paper piled on top of it. I managed to move about an inch before the pain in my lower back became unbearable and I had to stop. I barely made it over to the recliners, collapsed in mine, and just sat for several minutes until I could get back enough control to type this up. Even that's been a strenuous affair, requiring several breaks to get my hands to stop shaking.

I'm really going to feel this in the morning. Hoooo-boy...

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Humpty-Dumpty time...

I had a great fall yesterday as I was returning from getting blood work done.  I was stepping up onto my porch/landing/whatever in front of my front toor, and my leg cramped up as I put weight on it.  I collapsed as a result, faceplanting into the wooden beam alongside the left of my doorr entryway. and slamming my leg into the concrete.at the base. I cut my hand and my butt. My wife had to call an ambulance to get me up. I'm still shaking from the fall. Still somewhat traumatized. My left knee got knocked out of alignment. My neck hurts on my right side. I'm shaking a lot, and my wife wrapped up my hand in gauze. More details as I can remember them.

[mlooney 3,417]

I hope you didn't permanently injure anything in that.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

I don't know. My knee hurts pretty bad.

[mlooney 3,417]

12 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

I don't know. My knee hurts pretty bad.

Know that feeling, more or less.  I keep bashing my right knee into the desk.  And given that the only pain meds I have and can take is acetaminophen I'm not a happy camper when I do so.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

For the Professor

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Saw the doctor for my wounds and maladies Thursday. First off, he says the headache I've had since my fall is a symptom of a concussion. Joy. Too late to do anything about it now, though, since it's relatively minor. Next up, the cut on my butt. Something cut all the way through my shorts and through my shirt tail before tearing a two-inch gash in my left butt cheek. The skin area around it is blackened, and the gash itself is infected. Mrs. Prof is putting Silvadene on it to dress it, and my doctor prescribed a week's course of Augmentin to knock out any systemic infection that might linger. Elsewhere, I've got other minor cuts and abrasions left over and some bruised ribs. My left knee is still out of alignment and swollen. Still using the walker for both legs. 

Checked blood for a factor called Creatine Kinase to see if it or its related electrolytes (potassium, magnesium) are causing my leg cramping and my shaking in other muscles. Here are my numbers:

Creatine Kinase    36 U/L    (normal 44 - 196 U/L) !LOW
Potassium    4.7 mmol/L    (normal 3.5 - 5.3 mmol/L)
Magnesium    2.5 mg/dL    (normal 1.5 - 2.5 mg/dL)

I e-mailed to the doctor about the results. He said that the normal Potassium and Magnesium results were good, and that the low CK numbers unfortunately don't tell him anything. They represent atrophied muscles according to some websites, which is to be expected because of the atrophied muscles in my left hand. Can't aim the number anywhere else, though.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

I am in the hospital. Allow me to explain. I had ulcers erupt on my very swollen legs, so I called to have an appointment with a Wound Care Specialist at a Dallas hospital. He also happens to be a specialist in leg swelling cases, BTW. He examined me on Thursday of last week and told me he could not fix my problem without admitting me into the hospital. I agreed to let him admit me, so he admitted me straight from his offices after putting wraps on my legs.

Since then, I've had one problem after another. We found out that a muscle relaxant medicine I was taking for muscle spasms was actually causing said spasms, so it was discontinued. I've had a couple of panic attacks in the overnight hours. I've lost so much water weight from diuretics that it's messing with my blood pressure, sending it as low as 83/35 the other day. And, I'm still getting post-concussion headaches.

I have no idea how long I'm going to be here. My latest diagnosis is Peripheral Artery Disease, if you want to go look that up. It's supposedly somewhat serious - I don't know, I haven't had time to investigate it yet. I'm in Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, room M439. However, in place of sending cards or the like, I'd prefer you buy one of my albums from https://leejackson1.bandcamp.com instead if you haven't already. Either one would help cheer me up.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

That's rough, but there is a glimmer of hope that your new doc knows what he is doing. He seems to have found something significant already.

Keep treading water. Thanks for the update.