esrosedotblog

I am in pretty good health for a guy my age.

Or any age.

I have good genes.

But I have hit a bit of a rock in the path. My kidneys are not working up to full speed.

I spent time with my regular Doctor Jim this morning. John went along.

I have a few symptoms and it is becoming clear that I am also a borderline diabetic.

This is my Dad's health career. My father's son.

But then I am my own man too so I will march on and follow directions as well as I can.

I am going to a nephrologist already and am seeing him every four months.

I know this is too much information for casual readers but there it is.

My life is an open blog.

And this shit is real so it is fair game.

How about me? I am not too daunted by it.

No one ever told me that aging would be easy nor life either. I have had my share of stuff along the line and have learned that the thing to do about it is not to run around with my hair on fire but to just walk the next step and do the next indicated thing and the rest will be taken care of.

That has worked up to now so I will keep on doing it.

Tomorrow the lab, then the kidney guy in March and so on.

Labels: health, kidney

AWOL

I have been very sick for the past week.

The blog came second and third and often not at all.

I had a lot of pain in the abdomen a week ago Monday and went to the local, right up the street, Urgent Care, a new facility just made for this kind of situation.

I thought I might have appendicitis but they told me that could not be the case as I would not have been able to drive there and would be in acute pain.

But I had pain enough.

The doc pummeled me around and identified a problem with my bladder. Tight as a drum.

They have the facilities of a small modern hospital there and it was easy to get a cat scan to see what was going on.

I had what one doc would later describe as a "horribly" distended bladder.

I have evidently had this for some time. Slow urine flow backs the bladder up and the result is distension.

It is common among, ahem, old guys who have a history of peeing problems, in my case, probably, the result of past years' radiation and slowdown. My prostate while "dead" is enlarged apparently.

So.

They put in a catheter and drained it. I lost a lot of water.

They can't move too quickly as there can be spasming of the bladder and something not good for the kidneys. So they left the catheter in.

That night, being tired out from six hours in the urgent care, we went out to dinner and when I came home I lost it all. No one told me not to eat.

So I didn't for a few days.

And I was sick as a dog. My abdomen missed its distension. Adjustments are always difficult.

It took a week to come to a balance point.

Yesterday, I went to the kidney doc I had been seeing and she pretty much acknowledged that my kidneys had been affected by this and that my function tests would have to be redone entirely. End of this week.

She did point out some really good news and that was based on the cat scan there is no other culprit on the scene for the kidney problem. So far. I definitively do not have cancer.

Today is the urologist who I am hoping will take the catheter out, prescribe flo max or something to try and take me on as a client. Patient.

We shall see. I think that I qualify.

I feel a lot better, am eating normally and have a good level of energy.

I have not been back to the gym because I can't really work out, for now, with the tubes in me.

If he takes them/it out today, I will be in the gym, on my bike, in my shorts tomorrow morning.

Even if I just go in and pedal a little bit.

Sorry to have been away. A lot has happened this week.

I don't have a lot to say about it anyway. The gun control bill, the marathon bombing.

I will try to pick up where I left off.

Labels: health, kidney, urology

KIDNEY SHAPED

I went to the Nephrologist today. A PA-C working in the group practice. Who hugs. Nice. And on time service with a smile. I like that.

Less likable was the news that I do have a kidney problem which will need to be addressed.

It is not trivial. The "function" tests for the last three 6 month intervals have been heading down, a bit faster than they like.

So. I am off aspirin and ibuprofen.

I am to drink a lot of water (but I already do so that is a no brainer).

I am to get an additional battery of blood tests

I am going for an ultrasound to look for a tumor (ugly word, eh?).

All this in the next four weeks then a meet with Joey again.

I would like to dramatize this a bit and indulge in some self pity but that isn't very productive and it isn't the way that I live now. If I ever did.

I will march to the orders I am given with the assent of my personal doc. My advisor.

My attitude? Well, I certainly have one but I think that it is in pretty good shape.

I went to the appointment with several scripts. One about waiting too long in the office. That didn't occur.

Another about not liking the doc or feeling his/her competence. No dice. She was great. (hug) (hug).

I even wrote a script about how I wasn't going to modify my diet. Stop salt and all that. It didn't come up.

So I am good to go and I will keep you posted on the progress of yet another adventure.

As John points out, there is something about being older that can increase the chances some of the parts will wear out or grow unwanted appendages. I guess it is inevitable. My job description says to deal with them. I am the one who wanted to live to be 90. So I get what I get and do what I do to make it. Or not.

That part is not up to me anyway. I am doing the best I can with maintenance.

Labels: health, kidney