Uh-oh, Getting Older

Last week I got results from a Dexascan and learned that I have osteopenia, that is, low mineral content in my bones. This can lead to osteoporosis. The nurse said I need to take more calcium and vitamin D.

Then yesterday the podiatrist said I have arthritis in my toes. I was a bit shocked. Arthritis, me? I'm not old enough...

Oh, wait. I am. Getting older is rough. And how do you age gracefully when your body stops cooperating?

PSA Still GoingUp

My husband went back to the urologist for a follow-up appointment. He had his prostate removed last summer and although his PSA dropped almost to zero, it soon started creeping back up. This indicates that the cancer had already left the prostate and may eventually become a problem.

The urologist said that when his PSA reaches 10 he should start hormone therapy. At the present rate, this will take about a year.

The doctor also prescribed Viagra, since Cialis caused severe leg pain. When we picked up the prescription for Viagra, we experienced sticker shock. The pills cost $12 each AFTER the insurance company's discount. Husband did not want to pay that much, but I insisted that he try it. Not because I am anxious that he "perform" but rather because the operation took away just about all feeling "down there" and he is a bit depressed about it.

The doctor prescribed that he take 3 pills a week until circulation returns to the area, but at the high price for the medication, he probably won't take that much.

A Pun I can Relate to

I've had an allergic reaction to something in novocaine so I've had my dental work done without it for the last 15 years. This included numerous fillings (not too painful) and a couple of root canals (painful and unpleasant). Most of the time, I try to relax in the dentist chair and when things get uncomfortable, I grip the arms of the chair and try to channel my pain into the chair.

So when I read this pun, I had to smile:

Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal?
His goal: transcend dental medication.

What the Doctors Ordered

I take three prescription medications every day, each in a different form:

1. Armour Thyroid tablets for hypothyroidism
2. Topical Hormone Cream, prescribed by a doctor and prepared by a compounding pharmacy
3. Pilocarpine eye drops for a tonic pupil.

Items 1 and 2 are prescribed to my needs as indicated by blood tests. The hormone cream contains estrogens and a bit of progesterone. The eye drops were prescribed by my opthalmologist to shrink my left pupil which no longer contracts by itself. If I forget to use the eye drops and then go out in the sunshine, my eye gets very uncomfortable and eventually I feel pain behind the eye.

Fell on the Asphalt

I fell last week. There was a bit of black ice on our front walk and I didn't see it. Landed on one leg, scraped and bruised.

After my husband helped me back in the house, he fetched the bandages. The pack for sensitive skin had a warning on the box that the wrappers contained latex. Huh! Many of us with sensitive skin are allergic to latex. So why not wrap them in something else?

I decided to skip the bandages. My scrapes are healing okay and the bruises are faded now.

Hearing aid disappointment

My husband tried out another hearing aid. (He went through this process a little over a year ago.) Yesterday he returned it to Beltone.  It just didn't help enough to pay over $7,000 for it. 

The good news is that his hearing is the same as it was two years ago. The bad news is that he cannot hear "S" at all, and on word lists he misunderstands a third of the words.  We tested him with and without the hearing aids, and the results were the same. 

It's possible that the aids helped a little in a crowded restaurant, where background noise is a problem. But the difference was too tiny to quantify.

For some word lists - see the tables in the appendix here and read this.

What's in that coffee?

I like coffee but it doesn't like me. I switched to decaf some 15 years ago on the advice of my doctor. Unfortunately, some brands of decaf make me ill and I can't determine exactly why. Two likely culprits are:

1. Some chemical used in the process that removes caffeine.
2. Some other chemical added to the coffee.

I am okay with organic decaf and probably some other kinds. Generally I stay away from flavored coffees because they cause me extreme chest pain. I once wound up in the emergency room thinking I had a heart attack after drinking flavored coffee at a social event!

Most flavored coffees contain propylene glycol, a "non-toxic" antifreeze. I suspect I am sensitive to this chemical. But avoiding flavored coffee is not enough. Lately some of the supposedly unflavored coffees have been giving me sharp pain in my abdomen, and it lasts for hours. Now I'm afraid to enjoy a cup of decaf in a restaurant because I have no way of knowing what's in it. I stopped drinking McDonalds decaf years ago because it gave me chest pain, but the ingredient list on their website shows only coffee. (I don't use the creamer, which lists a lot of chemicals.)

Unfortunately, propylene glycol is considered a safe additive and is not always listed on cans of coffee, as far as I can tell. So for now I am sticking to organic decaf, even though it is expensive.

Virtual colonoscopies approved by ACS

Medical groups are finally endorsing the virtual colonoscopy and no doubt insurance companies will start covering it. Too late for my medical claim - Blue Cross turned it down and then turned it down again when I appealed.

I still think it was a good decision to go the virtual route. I am sensitive to some medications so not having anesthesia is a big relief for me. However, the virtual colonoscopy is not painless. They pump air up your butt, and the pressure is painful!

Ten years ago I had a traditional colonoscopy. Like many people, I woke up while it was going on. Unfortunately, the doctor was trying to force the tube around a bend in my intestine and it wouldn't go and that hurt a LOT! So either way, a colonoscopy can be painful. Not as painful as cancer though.