Take care of yourselves, see a doctor regularly.

[FrankenMech]

Blood tests came back for me. Diabetic results say I still have diabetes but A1c has dropped from 10.7 down to 8.6 on Ozempic. Doc says it should come down more now that I am on the 2mg dose. He would like to see me less than 7 but I have had too many hypoglycemic episodes down there, -those are damn scary. I would be happy to stay in the 7 to 7.5 range. I am lucky, my PSA is excellent for an old fart. Normal for my age is <6 NG/ML and I have been sitting less than 0.2 NG/ML for many years, presently 0.13 NG/ML even though my prostate is enlarged. They don't even do annual tests, -just every two years. My next test will probably be at an autopsy after a fall from the hereditary neuropathy. They do want me to do another colonoscopy but I am done with scopes. Every time they use one of the filthy things they leave me with a horrible infection with some superbug or do more damage than they are worth. I have refused more scopes and I have refused to play with the chocolaty stuff in the toilet. You all know I am recalcitrant and the Doc does too now after some frank discussion.

[captincvmn]

By now I’m sure you know when things feel more off than usual and need checked or fixed.
My Catheter comes out Wednesday morning and I’m ready for that step.
Short term disability is approved so I got that going for me.

[FrankenMech]

I hate it when they pull out those catheters
It feels like they don't deflate those balloons holding them in, and they rip Richard off. They should put you out before they pull it after all you have been through.

[captincvmn]

It’s a new experience for me. I’ve got it good compared to some and I try to remind myself that when I ache.
I get to remove the cath at home Wednesday morning. The tube being in my tube with no lube isn’t what bugs me. It’s the pull as the distance between thigh and entrance changes when bending and moving. But if that’s the worst thing I gotta deal with then 👍

[captincvmn]

[FrankenMech]

That pull from the catheter can be adjusted with some of the straps etc that they have to give some slack between the bag and Richard. I wore two 'foley' catheters for many weeks after my bladder problem. They have 'standards' and don't like to leave them in for too long.

I have four of those belly scars after my gall bladder was removed. They fade with time but they ruined my belly button, not that I cared. No woman wants a 70 year old man anyway that isn't rich, powerful, or famous. I also have scars all over my head and another on my chest where they put my DBS system in. I told them to put in some of those plastic or metal horns to make my head look proper. Apparently that is a bad thing when there are two 3/4" holes through the skull to let pathogens into the brain. I think the bacteria ate what was left of my brain anyway after three strokes.

I also really hate those IV's in the hands! but when I had 5 IV's running in both arms they apparently run out of places to put them. IV's leave scars too, blood draws do also. I look like some junkie that has been shooting up with drugs.

[oldgeek]

Had a visit with the Neurologist this week to discuss my recent thoracic MRI. The scan shows I have a peripheral nerve sheath tumor at T8-T9 Dr said most of these are benign and slow growing. They do not know if it has been there for ten years of 2 months. The malignant version is fast growing. He said another scan in 4 months and we will be able to tell. The tumor is causing a restriction of spinal fluid flow. So far its not a problem. Dr also said he doubts this tumor is related in any way to the renal cancer, I hope he is right. I am not looking forward to another 4 months of suspense, but it could be much worse. I am also waiting on the results of a special blood test for residual cancer.

[FrankenMech]

Best of luck with the long wait. It is stressful just waiting.

[jbjhillbilly]

Apr 27, 2024 20:38:37 GMT -5 oldgeek said:

Had a visit with the Neurologist this week to discuss my recent thoracic MRI. The scan shows I have a peripheral nerve sheath tumor at T8-T9 Dr said most of these are benign and slow growing. They do not know if it has been there for ten years of 2 months. The malignant version is fast growing. He said another scan in 4 months and we will be able to tell. The tumor is causing a restriction of spinal fluid flow. So far its not a problem. Dr also said he doubts this tumor is related in any way to the renal cancer, I hope he is right. I am not looking forward to another 4 months of suspense, but it could be much worse. I am also waiting on the results of a special blood test for residual cancer.

Doctors love to serialize stories.

Sorry you have to wait.

[oldgeek]

My brother/business partner had a heart attack in January. He is scheduled to have a defibrillator installed 6/5 and will be out for over a month. I am having serious fatigue issues, went to the doctor today to try to get some relief. More lab work to be done this week. I have no idea how our company will survive this.

[FrankenMech]

Waiting and worrying just adds to the stress and leads to depression. It may help to see a therapist or counselor or even a psychiatrist to get some relief or medication.

For depression I have these nice electrodes to concentrate that ECT, ElectroConvulsive Therapy, to the base of my brain. In my case they use a 8 foot tall Tesla coil and 75 KVA line transformer to provide the current Doctor Frankenstein specifies instead of lightning because it is more convenient than waiting for a storm... They say it also works as a defibrillator also

[oldgeek]

I ended up in the hospital overnight a couple weeks ago, they had to determine if my fatigue problems were heart related. Nuclear stress test found no problem with heart ATM, they think my problems are adrenal related. Consequently I have an appointment Monday with a Endocrinologist.
Oncologist says special blood test (Signatera) came back negative for residual cancer for now so that's a relief. He also wants another MRI scan of the tumor in the spine and possibly a PET scan. I am starting to think I am just a cash cow for doctors.

[FrankenMech]

That is some good news at least. How are the medical bills stacking up for you?

Medicaid has been covering most of the medical expenses for me but little things are a drain. Other debts are piling up. Assets are deteriorating or gone or expensive to maintain. My $100 van cost $320 last week and my refrigerator croaked along with food and medicine. I have been seeing an Endocrinologist also and he sees some progress with the diabetes but he hasn't looked at other things yet. I am not sure. I am still as weak as a kitten, trying to do things and finding I just can't. It takes days and weeks to -maybe- do something that took a couple of hours back in the day or now costs out the a**. My mind does not seem to work. My heart has been stress and sonogram tested OK also. Just getting old and not able to recover from the damage the strokes and Metformin did. I feel like I am buried waist deep and sinking in my grave that's full of quicksand.

[oldgeek]

Jun 15, 2024 22:52:17 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

That is some good news at least. How are the medical bills stacking up for you?

Medicaid has been covering most of the medical expenses for me but little things are a drain. Other debts are piling up. Assets are deteriorating or gone or expensive to maintain. My $100 van cost $320 last week and my refrigerator croaked along with food and medicine. I have been seeing an Endocrinologist also and he sees some progress with the diabetes but he hasn't looked at other things yet. I am not sure. I am still as weak as a kitten, trying to do things and finding I just can't. It takes days and weeks to -maybe- do something that took a couple of hours back in the day or now costs out the a**. My mind does not seem to work. My heart has been stress and sonogram tested OK also. Just getting old and not able to recover from the damage the strokes and Metformin did. I feel like I am buried waist deep and sinking in my grave that's full of quicksand.

I dont worry about the medical bills, they can't take what I dont have. My deductible is just under 9K for the year. I still have some to pay from last year and this years can just pile up and wait.
Sorry to hear things are what they are for you. I dont know how anyone can make it these days. My DAV neighbor has A/C problems, needs a new one. I told him if he can somehow pay for the equipment I will put it in for free. His sister is supposed to be sending him a check. We just go notified our electric bill is going up 9% and they are adding some kind of BS demand charge based on when we use electricity. Life is good....enough.

[FrankenMech]

Shi*, We got notified our electric rates are going down 4.6% but it looks like they increased all sorts of other charges so we get an increase. Bullshit utility companies always increase rates. Around here we all got tied in with that Texas cold weather freezing fiasco where they made everyone else pay for their unprepared cold weather problems. Our electric, Evergy, has BS metering rates you can -choose- but they all add up to increases for me. I think it is wonderful you can still install HVAC equipment for the neighbor. $9k is over half my annual income.

I have a nephew I call to work on mine. It has a tiny leak in the evaporator that should be covered by warranty but the warranty is total BS. I have to pay for the equipment then get a rebate after it is returned. It would cost thousands to warranty the equipment. It is cheaper to just pay for an pre-season tune-up and less than a pound of R134a. It also throws some $$ to the nephew.

My old R22 equipment is gone that I self-installed. It ran almost flawlessly from 1985 until 2016, no leaks or problems except a fan capacitor and delay module infant mortality. Dissimilar metal corrosion killed the evaporator. It was a 12.8SEER high efficiency Sears unit I got on sale. Nobody liked it because the condenser was huge so Sears put them on sale, -good enuf for me.

I fixed the R134a leak in my van, -factory design defect. When my sister had it they had to charge the system twice per year. My 'repair' has lasted 5 years now and the AC will still freeze me out. Knock on wood.