[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]
10/28/23
Aloha Everyone ---
A fairly eventful week here in near-paradise -- well, by my low standards anyway. It included visits to two doctors, giving our electric company a $400 gift, and exercisus maximus.
The first doctor visit was on Monday, with my internist. We went over my routine blood test results and he confirmed my own impression -- "nothing to see here, move along." We also discussed the progression of my emphysema (still no miracle cure), high altitude medication for our trip to Ethiopia (diamox), and getting another probe-up-the-butt-oscopy. That last topic generated a surprise response from my doc. He said that he has had experience of having the necessity of the procedure questioned for someone of my age with previous negative results and with my high level of current health and lack of family history. (Turns out the government guidelines for colon cancer screening every 10 years end at 75 unless there are specific problems to be diagnosed.) I then mentioned the Cologuard test and he thought that was a very good alternative for me, though he laid out the possibilities of false positives and false negatives and their consequences. Bottom line: I'll get a kit in the mail and send in a sample for analysis, which looks for DNA signatures associated with the major forms of colon cancers and precancers. If it is positive, the follow up will be a colonoscopy to see if the result was a false alarm. If it is negative, I'll have a low possibility something was missed. However, the test can be repeated every few years with a good chance of catching whatever wasn't detected previously. I'll let you know how it goes.
Sticking with the Geezer medical talk, on Wednesday I saw an orthopedic specialist about my hip issues.
Good news is that the x-ray shows my joints are in very good shape -- "the hip bones of a young man" he said! No hip replacement in my future! The pain is located in the sacroiliac joints, likely caused by a touch of arthritis. I don't have shooting pain, numbness, etc., which means my case is very mild and can probably be controlled with occasional anti-inflammatory medication and special exercise. The bad news, of course, is that it isn't likely to go away completely and is yet another sign of the relentlessness of geezerhood. Anyway, I'll try some physical therapy sessions and see how it goes. I'll keep you posted.
 |
| That's the spot! |
Good news is that the x-ray shows my joints are in very good shape -- "the hip bones of a young man" he said! No hip replacement in my future! The pain is located in the sacroiliac joints, likely caused by a touch of arthritis. I don't have shooting pain, numbness, etc., which means my case is very mild and can probably be controlled with occasional anti-inflammatory medication and special exercise. The bad news, of course, is that it isn't likely to go away completely and is yet another sign of the relentlessness of geezerhood. Anyway, I'll try some physical therapy sessions and see how it goes. I'll keep you posted.
In other news, this week is the end of our solar contract year with Hawai'ian Electric Company. This means that any surplus we've generated over the last 12 months is forfeited to them and we start over at zero. Our gift this year was a bit over $400, and in most years it has been about $300. We just finished out 10th year of having the system, so that means we've donated around $3000 to the company coffers. Hopefully they've been putting it to good use, like a new fishing boat for the CEO.
In more positive news, on Thursday we went to Planet Fitness and I managed to get back to my previous settings and number of reps on the machines. It felt good, I must say. Then -- get this -- yesterday Karen and I also played golf!! We both did surprisingly well considering being off for a couple of months. On one hole we both got pars, on another Karen got a birdie, and on a third I got a bogey. We pooped out after 12 holes, and I have to admit that we played by Kona-lago rules, meaning that we skipped holes we didn't like, took unlimited do-overs, and sometimes "assisted" each other's ball in finding its way into the cup, which is rewarded with a "pardon" of one stroke off the helper's score. As an added treat we saw about a dozen pairs of Nenes that have returned for the winter breeding season.
Tomorrow we're flying over to Oahu and spending the night so that Karen can have Mohs surgery for a cancerous thingy on her leg. We'll fly home Monday evening. This arrangement isn't unusual here. Many people travel for treatment because Honolulu is the closest place for certain kinds of specialty care. Anyway, it might be kind of fun -- we haven't been on Oahu for several years.
Ok, that's it. Take care and have good Halloween.
7 comments:
I would love to have your joints. I am told I have the kidneys of a young woman. The joints? Not so good. Everyone has something.
I'm getting acupuncture from a geezer doc who mostly retired but took up acupuncture out of interest. It's an interesting journey and his treatments have been helpful for lots of geezer problems. It's been interesting and without the negative side effects of meds and surgery.
Hmm,Just visited with friends who have a solar set-up here and they get to carry over credits year to year. Of course if you are consistently coming out ahead, it is unlikely that you will use up those credits the next year and will gradually accrue an excess. They.suspect that eventually Ohio companies will adopt something like yours. I would hope (but doubt)that they would use your donation to cover people who are behind in being able to pay their bills.
As a stock owner in Hawaiian electric, I highly appreciate your donation. However, since the fires on Maui and the threat of law suites, I don’t expect any of us will be buying boats this year. On a different note, I find the LiveStrong.com web site to offer good instructions on excerises targeted to specific areas, eg hips
Thanks everyone for your comments. The deal Cecilia describes is very, very generous. Mine is better than the new contracts that HELCO has now -- the credit given for excess is now at the wholesale rate, rather than what you actually would buy it for, and any surplus is forfeited at the end of each month, rather than at the end of the year. This effectively cuts the credit in half and thereby doubles the "payoff" time before you actually start saving on your electric bill. Hardly seems like a way to encourage people to install a system....
It will be interesting to compare the exercises on Live Strong to what my therapist has me do. In both cases, though, I'm a little skeptical because they are focused on strengthening the muscles around the sacroiliac and hip/leg joints. Weak muscles isn't my problem, I don't think, at least according to the orthopedic exam. Anyway, I've got some sessions scheduled starting mid-November and we'll see how it goes.
Thanks GA, for the referral to Livestrong.com. I will have right shoulder surgery for my torn rotator cuff and severe OA. But my doc wants me to go for PT first to see if that will carry me through for a while. I am not against PT. However, we have a gym in our basement and I use it for everything but my shoulder. I found some exercises on Livestrong which seem appropriate for this, and even more importantly some suggestions for which exercises to avoid.
Post a Comment