October 30, 2012 - Tuesday

Well...I'm back with the Heart Failure Clinic.  I should have been with them all along, but due to my earlier hospitalization in the first of the year we lost touch with each other.  My appointment today was with Mike.  He was happy with my progress and told me to keep up the good work.  We discussed my PIC line issues and he was aware of them.  He said "When this one fails (which it looks like it is) we will discuss a port."  They like to hold off as much as possible with that because they don't like to cut people if they don't have to and a surgeon needs to do it.  He scheduled my next appointment for Nov. 29 during my dobutamine IV session since he'll be there anyway.

I had a lunch date Saturday with a very nice man.  We went to Bob Evan's and sat there through lunch and afterward talking for two hours.  We plan on getting together again for dinner soon.

The hurricane that hit has gifted us with wind, rain mixed with snow and chilly temperatures.  It's as if winter has arrived early.  Brrrrr.  Fortunately we don't have issues with loss of electricity.   

Sunday - October 21, 2012

Two weeks ago Heather was ill with dizzyness, nausea, and ringing in her ears.  Her friends, Roberta, Mark, and Em saw to it that she and the car got home okay.  This was a Friday afternoon (Oct. 5).  That evening she was still feeling rough so she called her boyfriend to take her to the ER.  Long story short she was diagnosed with vertigo and prescribed a pill for the verdigo and one for the nausea.  She really didn't start feeling back to normal until early last week.  Needless to say I was more concerned that she was having a heart problem.  It was nice to find out differently.

Working on revising one of my novels to e-book form.  It seems that every publisher that I've dealt with wants a certain format and it is never the same format from one publisher to the other.   Uggg!

I'm feeling pretty good.  The cardiologist gave me a good review.  Thursday at my dobutimine session they had trouble getting it to work, but after flushing it several times it started working.  They called the doctor to let him know.  Hope all goes well next Thursday.

This week I have appointments with the kidney doctor and my primary care doctor.  The primary care doctor will be going over my CT scan, which showed a small hernia....I don't know if its a new one or an existing one acting up, as well as review my blood work up for sugar, cholesterol, and other things.

My life seems to be an endless circle of doctors and tests.  Well that has caught us up here for the time being.    

Wednesday - October 10, 2012

Heather and I had a lovely time up at Marblehead, Ohio for three days.  It was cold as all get out but we still had fun.  The sky was filled with gray clouds the first two days but we didn't get any rain.  The third day was still cold but filled with beautiful sunshine.  The first day there we drove to the Marblehead lighthouse and it was lovely.  Then we picked up some groceries at WalMart and headed to the cottage we were going to be staying at.

Mark my home nurse's mother-in-law had a place that she lets out for the summer.  She offered it to us free of charge because it was off season and we weren't going to be there long.   The cottage was a five bedroom, two story, home and was appointed quite well.

The next day we booked a round trip ride on the Miller Boat ferry over to Bass Island.  Once on Bass Island we rented a golf cart to get around.  We went to the Perry Monument.  Heather climbed up the inside of the monument while I stayed at the museum and watched a movie about Olive Hazard Perry and why he meritted a monument.  Then we went to the Butterfly House and walked among hundreds of imported butterflies.  Heather got some nice pictures.  Next we went to Mossbacks for dinner.  I wanted to see what a place called Jane's Trail was all about.  By the time we got there it was closed and it was a nature trail that I probably could not navigate.  Then we returned the golf cart and waited for the ferry back to the mainland.

We had dinner and watched some TV.  I fell asleep in my chair just like I did the night before.  This night I was ill most of the night with diarrhea and vomiting.  No fun at all.  I finally did get to sleep and Heather let me sleep until one in the afternoon.  We packed up and headed out.  We were headed to the African Safari Park.  Once there we drove through the park and fed the animals from the car, then we walked through the walking zoo.  We left there headed home and looking for a place to eat dinner.  We found Gus's Grill and Grog and had a very down home dinner.

Still have a little diarrhea going on. 

Tomorrow is my dobutamine IV treatment and then when it's over we're off to Pittsburg to pick up Brian for the week-end.  He has something going on in town here with a group (like boy scouts).

Will be back some other day for what news I might have.

Sunday - Swptember 30, 2012

Thursday morning I got up and could barely walk.  My tailbone and both hips ached like crazy.  I went to my dobutamine appointment, then went home, took an Tylenol, and went to bed.  I was still in a lot of pain when I got up and took another Tylenol.  When bedtime rolled around another Tylenol.

Friday morning I was still in pain but it was improving.  Tylenol got me through the day and at bedtime I took half a oxycodine.  Saturday most of the pain was gone.  Only one hip hurt just a little.

I belived that the neuropathy medicine I'm on was the reason I was in pain.  I was told there would be a lot of pain in any spot where the nerves were dying.  This medicine helps restore them.  I have a nerve issue in my lower back for several years.  I had surgery on my back that corrected the issue, but then I bent funny and re-injured it.

This week is filled with dobutimine IV, mammogram, and an eye appointment.

So that's it for now.  

Wednesday - September 26, 2012

Results of the CT scan are back.  I have a small, fatty, hernia near the belly button.  It is nothing to worry about and as long as I'm not having severe pain I should be okay.  However if the pain gets worse I am to call the doctor and we'll see "what next".

Been working on my novel and making good progress.  Plus I am still looking at e-book publishing.

Heather and I are planning a trip up to Marblehead next week to see the lighthouses.  A friend of mine has offered us the use of their cottage.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm working on my bucket list...lol.

Well I'm off now, just wanted to update anyone looking at this blog.

Monday - September 24, 2012

Waiting for the results of a CT scan of my stomach.   The scan was done on Thursday of last week.  I have not heard anything from the doctor so I'm assuming that all is okay.  I am still in pain.

With the exception of my dobutamine infusion on Thursday I have no other doctor appointments until the first of October.  Woohoo!

Still looking into ebook publishing.  Doing more research on the novel I'm currently working on.  Outside of that there is nothing more to talk about.  Hope that everyone reading this is having a good life.                               

Wesnesday - September 12, 2012

Had a primary care doctor appointment today.  She's concerned about my low blood pressure.  This morning it was 91/52 with a heart beat of 76.  She wants me to monitor it for a week and give her a call with the results.  She wants a series of blood tests ran to check my hemoglobin A1C, BMP, CBC, Lipid Panel and TSH.  I had her check my stomach again because it still hurts and burns.  She felt a small bump which could be a new hernia or an existing one getting bigger.  She wants a CTScan done in a week or two.  Mammogram time is here again so she said get to go ahead and schedule it.  I was told to schedule an opthomogist appointment because of the diabetis.  I had one scheduled at the first of the year and had to cancel it since I was in the hospital.



Tomorrow I have my IV infusion.

Next week I have a cardiology appointment, IV infusion, and a podiatrist appointment.  So things will be busy.