Or, at least, no more pain meds. Stopped by my personal physician’s office for a follow up to my pain issues. Since the meds he had ordered didn’t seem to work and since my cancer pain has dropped to a tolerable level, we discontinued the pain meds altogether.
That’s not to say that I am without pain. My joint pain has been increasing lately and the pain meds didn’t seem to help that pain at all. And taking down the tree yesterday hasn’t helped at all.
So, I will be using the natural anti-inflammatory turmeric to help control my joint pain.
My doctor informed me that he will be attending a conference in Chicago in December on complimentary medicines, i.e. using naturally occurring anti-inflammatories for pain reduction. They are starting to get it!!
I don't have much more to say. I started on a long-winded rant about the Jehovah's Witnesses who decided that my No Soliciting signs don't apply to them, but I decided not to bore you.
You're Welcome!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Look! Today is Thursday!
The scintillating titles continue.
I was up three pounds this AM. Not too terrible. Might have had something to do with the Papa John’s pizza I had last night. It wasn’t too bad. Maybe my taste buds are back. The crumb cake I bought this afternoon was pretty good as well.
I only got five hours of sleep last night. By 10:00AM I was already taking a nap! I’d like to know what the problem is.
But I did get the lawn mowed, did edging on the sidewalk, and even leaf-blowed the sidewalks. That should take care of things until spring. I hope.
I even did the dishes. Now, in all fairness, these are dishes I used and left on the counter to clean. Ben has been doing his own dishes, pretty much as he generates dirty ones. So, don’t get the idea that Ben leaves them for me to do. Just wanted to clarify that.
Tomorrow, I’d like to remove that small tree at the northeast corner of the house. It’s between one huge tree and the house, so it leans over the house to try and get to the sun. Along the way, its branches interfere with the power and cable lines. It’s going down!!! Hopefully, tomorrow after my doctor’s appointment.
Yup! I see my personal physician for the third time tomorrow. We get to talk pain meds. I haven’t a clue what’s going to happen.
I finished Season 2 of NCIS tonight. It ended badly as I suspected. One of the characters didn’t return for Season 3, so I figured it might influence the plot. It did. So, Season 3 starts off with a bang, playing on the Season 2 finale. Pretty good stuff! I hope I don’t start regretting not having a TV.
Well, “without further eloquence,” I’m off to bed.
I was up three pounds this AM. Not too terrible. Might have had something to do with the Papa John’s pizza I had last night. It wasn’t too bad. Maybe my taste buds are back. The crumb cake I bought this afternoon was pretty good as well.
I only got five hours of sleep last night. By 10:00AM I was already taking a nap! I’d like to know what the problem is.
But I did get the lawn mowed, did edging on the sidewalk, and even leaf-blowed the sidewalks. That should take care of things until spring. I hope.
I even did the dishes. Now, in all fairness, these are dishes I used and left on the counter to clean. Ben has been doing his own dishes, pretty much as he generates dirty ones. So, don’t get the idea that Ben leaves them for me to do. Just wanted to clarify that.
Tomorrow, I’d like to remove that small tree at the northeast corner of the house. It’s between one huge tree and the house, so it leans over the house to try and get to the sun. Along the way, its branches interfere with the power and cable lines. It’s going down!!! Hopefully, tomorrow after my doctor’s appointment.
Yup! I see my personal physician for the third time tomorrow. We get to talk pain meds. I haven’t a clue what’s going to happen.
I finished Season 2 of NCIS tonight. It ended badly as I suspected. One of the characters didn’t return for Season 3, so I figured it might influence the plot. It did. So, Season 3 starts off with a bang, playing on the Season 2 finale. Pretty good stuff! I hope I don’t start regretting not having a TV.
Well, “without further eloquence,” I’m off to bed.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Wednesday is Today
Hey, it's heck trying to think up titles all the time!
184 again this morning. Seems like I've plateaued out. And 185 isn't all that bad. It was my goal a year ago. But I still have a layer of fat that I'd like to get rid of. OK, maybe not right now.
~~~~~~~~~
I've been doing paperwork today. I found out that my cancer drugs run almost $6 K per round. It's getting so you can't afford to be alive anymore.
And you almost need someone to interpret your insurance statements for you. For example, my insurance company refuses to pay for talking to the doctor during one chemo session, while they paid for it on another.
Reminds me of AT&T making "mistakes" in their favor on my bills. If I don't catch them , they continue to make money every month. When I do catch them and ask for an adjustment, they use the opportunity to try to sell me something else.
Bills are getting so complex, and mindful of my comments on customer service, the necessity to watch every transaction is imperative. And the to try and do it with chemobrain....
~~~~~~~~~
I don't really have much to say tonight, so I'm going to give it a rest. OK?
184 again this morning. Seems like I've plateaued out. And 185 isn't all that bad. It was my goal a year ago. But I still have a layer of fat that I'd like to get rid of. OK, maybe not right now.
~~~~~~~~~
I've been doing paperwork today. I found out that my cancer drugs run almost $6 K per round. It's getting so you can't afford to be alive anymore.
And you almost need someone to interpret your insurance statements for you. For example, my insurance company refuses to pay for talking to the doctor during one chemo session, while they paid for it on another.
Reminds me of AT&T making "mistakes" in their favor on my bills. If I don't catch them , they continue to make money every month. When I do catch them and ask for an adjustment, they use the opportunity to try to sell me something else.
Bills are getting so complex, and mindful of my comments on customer service, the necessity to watch every transaction is imperative. And the to try and do it with chemobrain....
~~~~~~~~~
I don't really have much to say tonight, so I'm going to give it a rest. OK?
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Near Normal…
That’s how I feel today, near normal, at least so far. I haven’t done much so I haven’t hit my wall yet when my energy just runs out and I’m left to vegetate.
~~~~~~~~~
I was 184 again this AM. And I find that I’m zipping through my Sudoku puzzles easier again.
My pocket PC game maintains statistics. My best time for the last ten ‘easy’ games has been 5:20. That’s five minutes and twenty seconds. Since my recent games on my PPC and on paper have all been in the range of 7 – 9 minutes, how long was the game that blew my average for those 10 games up to 21:27? I don’t even want to think about it.
~~~~~~~~~
I must be feeling better. I got to sleep OK; my melatonin works just fine. I still had some trouble with the 4AM to 6AM time period though. I do remember dreaming then, but I was up and down as well.
You see, in explaining some of this to you, I learn something as well. Reading, skimming really, the Wikipedia article on melatonin, I found that my falling asleep with the lights on might be interrupting my natural melatonin production cycle. Moral of the story, make sure I turn the lights off before succumbing to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~
Anonymous had left a message quite a while back stating that they voted for a private nurse for me, to keep track of my meds and pretty much take care of me. I’ve often thought about that, not that I could even do something like that, but how would this be affecting a significant other (SO), if I had one.
Although I pretty much sleep in one position, especially when I’m hooked up to the pump, when I hit that 4AM point, I’m fairly restless. I end up tossing the covers, getting up frequently, and just plain fussing around. When I’m up, I can seem to be normal for a while, doing dishes, cleaning up, doing productive things, and then I hit that wall and then I can’t seem to get anything done.
When I’m doing OK, things wouldn’t be too bad for my SO. But when I’m feeling like death warmed over, and there’s nothing she could do, how would she feel? And then how would I feel, knowing how she must feel? Maybe things worked out for the best.
~~~~~~~~~
I’m going to have to be cautious, now that I have 2 –2/3 seasons of NCIS to watch. I want to get a whole bunch of things done. But my “condition” can become a convenient excuse to just sit down and vegetate for a while. Even though I have almost three weeks before Round 4 starts, those days can pass quickly.
So, please feel free to bitch at me, I mean cheer me on, to keep me productive. If I need to rest, I need to rest. But, I don’t have to sit on my butt all the time. And sometimes it can get to be hard to tell the difference between need and desire.
~~~~~~~~~
The neighbors mowed the lawn around me today. Now my lawn looks like crap. So, I’m going to need to get out there and mow. Today is too cold and windy. I don’t mind the wind, but the cold does seem to affect me more. And I still don’t know where summer went. I shall husband my strength for a few days. Maybe when it's closer to the weekend I'll be able to get to it.
~~~~~~~~~
I was 184 again this AM. And I find that I’m zipping through my Sudoku puzzles easier again.
My pocket PC game maintains statistics. My best time for the last ten ‘easy’ games has been 5:20. That’s five minutes and twenty seconds. Since my recent games on my PPC and on paper have all been in the range of 7 – 9 minutes, how long was the game that blew my average for those 10 games up to 21:27? I don’t even want to think about it.
~~~~~~~~~
I must be feeling better. I got to sleep OK; my melatonin works just fine. I still had some trouble with the 4AM to 6AM time period though. I do remember dreaming then, but I was up and down as well.
You see, in explaining some of this to you, I learn something as well. Reading, skimming really, the Wikipedia article on melatonin, I found that my falling asleep with the lights on might be interrupting my natural melatonin production cycle. Moral of the story, make sure I turn the lights off before succumbing to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~
Anonymous had left a message quite a while back stating that they voted for a private nurse for me, to keep track of my meds and pretty much take care of me. I’ve often thought about that, not that I could even do something like that, but how would this be affecting a significant other (SO), if I had one.
Although I pretty much sleep in one position, especially when I’m hooked up to the pump, when I hit that 4AM point, I’m fairly restless. I end up tossing the covers, getting up frequently, and just plain fussing around. When I’m up, I can seem to be normal for a while, doing dishes, cleaning up, doing productive things, and then I hit that wall and then I can’t seem to get anything done.
When I’m doing OK, things wouldn’t be too bad for my SO. But when I’m feeling like death warmed over, and there’s nothing she could do, how would she feel? And then how would I feel, knowing how she must feel? Maybe things worked out for the best.
~~~~~~~~~
I’m going to have to be cautious, now that I have 2 –2/3 seasons of NCIS to watch. I want to get a whole bunch of things done. But my “condition” can become a convenient excuse to just sit down and vegetate for a while. Even though I have almost three weeks before Round 4 starts, those days can pass quickly.
So, please feel free to bitch at me, I mean cheer me on, to keep me productive. If I need to rest, I need to rest. But, I don’t have to sit on my butt all the time. And sometimes it can get to be hard to tell the difference between need and desire.
~~~~~~~~~
The neighbors mowed the lawn around me today. Now my lawn looks like crap. So, I’m going to need to get out there and mow. Today is too cold and windy. I don’t mind the wind, but the cold does seem to affect me more. And I still don’t know where summer went. I shall husband my strength for a few days. Maybe when it's closer to the weekend I'll be able to get to it.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Patients, NOT Customers!
Today, I weighed in at 184 pounds, so I’m not shrinking. Although I got to sleep OK, I ended up waking up around 4:00 AM and couldn’t seem to be able to get back to sleep.
Got up about 6:20 and decided to get ready to go to my appointment. Site Meter tells me I got on the computer right around 6:30, finally getting to my blog about 6:38.
Ben had to go in to work early, so we got a chance to talk this morning. I was going to stop somewhere for breakfast, so I just had a piece of Cherry Cheese Danish to take my pills, planning to eat later. I forgot. I forgot to stop anywhere, for breakfast.
But it was nice to feel as perky as I did this morning. I washed the dishes, cleaned the stovetop, and generally putzed around waiting for my appointment. But later, when that perky feeling wore off, it was just like before, out of gas.
I wish I’d have stopped for breakfast. Lunch at Taco John’s was terrible. And I do have quite a bit of my taste buds back. Sometimes you wonder how they get away with serving such crap.
~~~~~~~~~
Paul, from the Egg Farm, stopped by next door, so I walked over to talk to him. I haven’t seen him since last summer. I believe. Paul is “shirt-tail” relation. His wife and my brother Bill’s wife are sisters.
I had to show off my new look. He said I looked great!
~~~~~~~~~
I mentioned some Finnish musicians and filmmakers for Finnish Public Television and the rude welcome they received flying into Minnesota for a “cultural tribute” for Finnish-Americans.
I married a Finnish-American. Heck, my kids are half-Finnished, I mean Finnish-American.
I told you so!
~~~~~~~~~
I don’t know if I told you that my son got me hooked on a TV show called NCIS. We watched Season 1 on DVD. I like to watch it to figure out where they are going with the plot. When I’m right, I have the satisfaction of being right, and when I’m wrong, it’s usually a pleasant surprise.
Anyway, we ordered the next three seasons. Unfortunately, Season 2 was ordered from somewhere in the state of Washington. They say they shipped a week ago last Saturday, but they didn’t arrive until today. So, I’ve been sitting here, not feeling too terribly motivated at all, and all I had to watch were Seasons 3 & 4. And I didn’t want to watch them out of order.
So, I finally started watching Season 2 today.
~~~~~~~~~
My labs went well. There were anomalies, but within the parameters for the treatments I’m getting.
And Nurse Practitioner Carl said everything else was looking good. I’m scheduled to go back for Round 4 in about three weeks.
We spoke about getting an exercise program started; she had no problem with that. I’ve lost muscle mass that I need to replace. I still have way too much fat. And, it may help with the peripheral neuropathy.
We also discussed my “supplements.” With the exception of not being able to use my Valerian Root for my insomnia and digestive pain (interestingly, cats also respond to valerian root the same way they do to catnip), according to NP Carl I can take the IP-6 and the hyaluronic acid.
The IP6 I want to take for several reasons; its anti-cancer activity being only one reason. It’s also a chelating agent for iron and other toxic metals!!!!!
The hyaluronic acid is supposed to be good for the joints, which are starting to bother me again. And, yes, I think I’m taking my magnesium. When I remember.
So, as far as I’m concerned, that’s good news! You see, according to the Nutrition Journal, and Bill Sardi, folks who take dietary supplements, like me, may be the healthiest of all the population!! :-D
~~~~~~~~~
So I got to my appointment before 10:00 AM today. Went in to have my blood drawn for the labs shortly after 10:00. Went through my interview with the nurse, and then waited for my 10:30 appointment with NP Carl. These appointments are set up so the Dr./ NP can review my lab results before meeting with me.
NP Carl came in about 10:45. We went through our interview and she left to get the results of the labs. They hadn’t come in when she came in to talk to me. She came back with the results of one set of tests, the blood cell counts, but was still waiting on the rest. Waiting. Waiting.
One of the nurses stopped by to let me know that they hadn’t forgotten me, but my results weren’t back yet.
Finally, almost noon, NP Carl comes back with my results. I left the exam room at 12:05 PM. It took almost two hours for results that should have been available in a half hour!
Now you know why they call us patients. In dealing with the medical system, you need to have patience. A “customer” would get fed up having to wait and find another supplier of the needed services. A patient is expected to wait!
Got up about 6:20 and decided to get ready to go to my appointment. Site Meter tells me I got on the computer right around 6:30, finally getting to my blog about 6:38.
Ben had to go in to work early, so we got a chance to talk this morning. I was going to stop somewhere for breakfast, so I just had a piece of Cherry Cheese Danish to take my pills, planning to eat later. I forgot. I forgot to stop anywhere, for breakfast.
But it was nice to feel as perky as I did this morning. I washed the dishes, cleaned the stovetop, and generally putzed around waiting for my appointment. But later, when that perky feeling wore off, it was just like before, out of gas.
I wish I’d have stopped for breakfast. Lunch at Taco John’s was terrible. And I do have quite a bit of my taste buds back. Sometimes you wonder how they get away with serving such crap.
~~~~~~~~~
Paul, from the Egg Farm, stopped by next door, so I walked over to talk to him. I haven’t seen him since last summer. I believe. Paul is “shirt-tail” relation. His wife and my brother Bill’s wife are sisters.
I had to show off my new look. He said I looked great!
~~~~~~~~~
I mentioned some Finnish musicians and filmmakers for Finnish Public Television and the rude welcome they received flying into Minnesota for a “cultural tribute” for Finnish-Americans.
I married a Finnish-American. Heck, my kids are half-Finnished, I mean Finnish-American.
I told you so!
~~~~~~~~~
I don’t know if I told you that my son got me hooked on a TV show called NCIS. We watched Season 1 on DVD. I like to watch it to figure out where they are going with the plot. When I’m right, I have the satisfaction of being right, and when I’m wrong, it’s usually a pleasant surprise.
Anyway, we ordered the next three seasons. Unfortunately, Season 2 was ordered from somewhere in the state of Washington. They say they shipped a week ago last Saturday, but they didn’t arrive until today. So, I’ve been sitting here, not feeling too terribly motivated at all, and all I had to watch were Seasons 3 & 4. And I didn’t want to watch them out of order.
So, I finally started watching Season 2 today.
~~~~~~~~~
My labs went well. There were anomalies, but within the parameters for the treatments I’m getting.
And Nurse Practitioner Carl said everything else was looking good. I’m scheduled to go back for Round 4 in about three weeks.
We spoke about getting an exercise program started; she had no problem with that. I’ve lost muscle mass that I need to replace. I still have way too much fat. And, it may help with the peripheral neuropathy.
We also discussed my “supplements.” With the exception of not being able to use my Valerian Root for my insomnia and digestive pain (interestingly, cats also respond to valerian root the same way they do to catnip), according to NP Carl I can take the IP-6 and the hyaluronic acid.
The IP6 I want to take for several reasons; its anti-cancer activity being only one reason. It’s also a chelating agent for iron and other toxic metals!!!!!
The hyaluronic acid is supposed to be good for the joints, which are starting to bother me again. And, yes, I think I’m taking my magnesium. When I remember.
So, as far as I’m concerned, that’s good news! You see, according to the Nutrition Journal, and Bill Sardi, folks who take dietary supplements, like me, may be the healthiest of all the population!! :-D
~~~~~~~~~
So I got to my appointment before 10:00 AM today. Went in to have my blood drawn for the labs shortly after 10:00. Went through my interview with the nurse, and then waited for my 10:30 appointment with NP Carl. These appointments are set up so the Dr./ NP can review my lab results before meeting with me.
NP Carl came in about 10:45. We went through our interview and she left to get the results of the labs. They hadn’t come in when she came in to talk to me. She came back with the results of one set of tests, the blood cell counts, but was still waiting on the rest. Waiting. Waiting.
One of the nurses stopped by to let me know that they hadn’t forgotten me, but my results weren’t back yet.
Finally, almost noon, NP Carl comes back with my results. I left the exam room at 12:05 PM. It took almost two hours for results that should have been available in a half hour!
Now you know why they call us patients. In dealing with the medical system, you need to have patience. A “customer” would get fed up having to wait and find another supplier of the needed services. A patient is expected to wait!
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