Staying the Course -- 11/06/2017

[Superbob]

Here's hoping all of the good folks here will have a wonderful week, as free as possible from a lot of stress or pain of any sort.

Speaking of pain, I just received an automated call saying that they understand my wife and I suffer chronic pain, and asking if I wanted to sign up with them for unknown goodies to ease our pain. I follow a firm policy of not speaking to computers. In fact, what pains me is the very thought of computers calling me and trying to sell me stuff. So the "conversation" was a non-starter.

Trying to get in a good week of exercise this week 'cause next week is hand surgery, with unknown effects on exercise class and routine. Hopefully will be minor but probably will have to cut back on weights and stretching bands for a while. Will have to take some PT, I'm told. So we will see how all that plays out. I usually enjoy PT -- so we will see.

Enough about me. Let me hear how you all are staying this week's course.

Cheers,

The Super Bobster

 

[epstns]

Hang in there, SB. You will soon be past that pesky finger problem and back to using all of your digits as you used to. At least that's how my friend's "trigger-finger" procedure went. He was very happy with the result, and wished he had gotten to do it sooner.

This week feels like fall, with winter on its heels. It has gotten cooler, with morning lows in the upper 30's to lower 40's, and afternoon highs only in the 50's. Quite tolerable as long as it isn't too windy or rainy, so I'm hoping to have some more "nice" fall weather before winter makes itself known.

DW was away with a lady-friend over the weekend, so I got caught up on some ordinary chores -- getting fuel for the snow blower, switching car floor mats to the winter snow-trays, running errands. . . nothing notable other than the changing clocks and seasons. Most of the clocks either change themselves (funny how they do that) or went easily. . . except the "grandmother" clock in the hallway. It chimes the quarter, half and full hours, but is only supposed to chime from 6 AM through 10:45 PM, except that it now chimes all 24 hours. I'm going to have to take it back down off the wall and look into its electronic innards to see what it forgot.

I hear you about the robo-calls, SB. I get a lot of them at my office, but I have a computer-integrated phone system there and can screen the calls. Then with a single mouse-click I can either send them to voice mail or delete the call entirely. At home all we use are cell phones, so they have caller ID, too. If I don't recognize the caller, I let it go to voice mail and then call back if I wish. Between robo-calls and unsolicited emails, I probably delete more stuff than I read, but at least I don't waste much time doing it, and the junk doesn't need to go to the landfill.

 

[jwinter]

Good morning friends on course. Glad you are getting that trigger finger surgery and like Steve said I think you will do great and be glad to have that fixed. My friend felt the same way as his.

Fall, winter, snowblowers, and changing clocks are in a lot of our plans right now.. Seems so dark so early though

I continue to doctor and will right up until we leave for the southwest on Thursday. Echo looked good last week. Had more blood tests and have added magnesium and vitamin D to my daily pill box. My INR is finally therapeutic with a change in warfarin dose. Seems odd that the testing I had in September changed my original dose. Oh well I say it is my new normal(like a few other things) Ahhh, such is life.

Going to see the family one last time today( until spring) and hold my new baby grand daughter as much as I can. Finish loading tomorrow and final check on weather as we head for the Rockies. So far everything looks good and if a storm comes through we will just stop and wait it out.

AZ friends have the lawn chairs, awnings, and happy hours waiting. Cannot wait to leave snowy cold Montana.

Have a great week all and let those calls go to voicemail. The new one here is that they use our prefix to get us to answer. Glad the phone comes with blocking feature.

 

[honeybunny]

Glad you are good to go on the hand surgery, SB. It can't be any worse a recovery than my friend's knee surgery on Monday. Still, we don't like our routines to be upset, especially as we age, so here's hoping you are not too inconvenienced with your exercising.

Nothing much to report on this end. We are finally getting some cooler weather in Houston (though a warm day still creeps in every now and then). On an annoying note, my ladies' civic group does a program every Veterans Day with a local elementary school whereby we read essays written by the 4th grade classes and award three monetary prizes at a school presentation. I was scheduled to pick up the essays this past Friday (my day off) and we ladies were to read them on Sunday so we could present awards this Friday. Thursday evening I get an email from the coordinator announcing that the school district would be closing schools on Friday so students/teachers could attend the Astros parade!! No advance notice, and by the time I read the email, I couldn't contact the coordinator because she was gone for the day (she emailed from her school addy). I was ticked, to say the least, but we worked out a plan B and will hold the ceremony as planned. Still!

However, I realize that i that is the worst problem I have in my life I will be doing good

 

[Paleowoman]

Like others have said, good you're getting the trigger finger seen to SB !

I'm still seeing docs, not all to do with cardiac issues. Yesterday the diabetes nurse, today the rheumatologist - getting back pain, leg pain and shoulder pain. MRI I had last week on the whole of my spine showed mutiple disc bulges which are a cause for the pain. Rhumatologist tells me to carry on walking and doing wieght lifting - he was a champion power lifter himself and got a prolaspsed disc so knows all about back pain. He adivsed me on a different type of weight lifting bench I could purchase so I don't have to lift heavy weights up from the floor before doing exercises. And Thursday I see the cardiolgist to talk about the cardiac surgeon's good report. I hope to have a week away from doctors soon !

Your trip to the Rockies sounds wonderful @jjwinter - I've only seen them in photos, they looks so beautiful and dramatic. I take a high dose of vitamin D, btw, 20,000 IUs per week in winter and per fortnight in summer, that keeps my levels of D in the upper optimal range.

 

[FredW]

It is nice to hear from everyone - dealing with changing time, winter coming, Dr visits giving better news than bad news.

Like Steve, I had a few days of my "wife-away" diet (she and daughter did a four day trip to Seattle). Yes, I fell off the healthy eating wagon.

This does pose a question:
Why is it one can eat a 8 ounce bag of potato chips and gain two pounds?

I'm sure the crowd-intelligence of this forum can come up with an answer to that.

SB, good luck with your hand. Anne, nice to hear you got a keeper surgeon. HB, the 4th grade essays must be a hoot to read. Jwinter, the Rockies are my favorite place, enjoy the and the baby! Steve, I just turned 74 and begin to believe that, at this age, for me something will hurt every day. The good news is I'm still alive to hurt.

Wishing everyone smiles and a wonderful week. Me? Now that I'm not cutting 15 acres of grass, I will be heading back to the gym.

Wait!

I think I may have found the answer to my question

 

[epstns]

Fred - The answer to your potato chip question is "sodium." The chips are salty - much more salty than your usual diet. The salt is sodium chloride - which, obviously, contains sodium. The sodium causes your body to retain more fluid in its cells than it normally does. This fluid is the weight you've gained. Two pounds equates to one quart of water, which is now hiding somewhere in your body. If you're a skinny old rat like me, you can see the difference in your hands and feet, even though others may not notice it. A pound or two of fluid is hard to spot, as it disburses throughout the body. For me, the "leading indicator" is my wedding ring. Usually the ring slips on and off easily. When I am retaining excess fluid, it gets tight.

I have been taking hydrochlorothiazide (a diuretic) since before my valve surgery. If I see that I am retaining too much fluid, I can temporarily increase the dose. I am also under instructions from my cardio to call him if I gain more than 4 pounds in a short time and it doesn't dissipate within 4 or 5 days.

 

[FredW]

Steve, what a wonderful explanation. I posed the question somewhat in humor, but your explanation is serious and why chips are not on my diet .

 

[Superbob]

Wow, Steve, best explanation of potato chip dilemma I've ever seen! I'm the guy who cannot eat just one; if they're around, I'll eat the whole bag (especially Utz brand). So I try to keep them out of the house, but when we're having a family celebration, DW makes yummy dips and so wants chips to go with them. That's danger zone for me.

Fred, belated Happy 74th birthday wishes, and I echo all your salutations to those who have posted. As for age and assorted hurts, I feel your pain. I turn 76 this Saturday (yes, on Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day). Assorted physical challenges hit me when I hit the 60s -- never thought "trigger finger" would be one. Guess it's pretty low on the pain scale.

I am fretting a bit though over decision I have to make on regional numbing versus being conked out with propofol and then magically turned back on, as though with a light switch, after it's over. I was given propofol when I had my last colonoscopy, and it didn't cause any problems. (Though I don't remember being told that was what they were going to use.) However, I have this bad habit of researching medical stuff online, and I find on the Net that some alarming side-effects with propofol are possible (though not likely), such as breathing problems, not waking up when they turn on the switch, disruption of heart rhythm, etc. (Yeah it was the Michael Jackson drug, though I realize that was a matter of gross abuse for which his doctor went to jail).

Anyway, I now am rambling, but propofol freaks me out. The alternative is a shot in the hand that I am told hurts like hell for maybe 15 seconds but then numbs up your hand so much that you are awake as the procedure is done. They tell me I could even drive home afterwards, though my son plans to take me. Not sure what driving wth a numbed and bandaged hand might be like. We're talking like a 20-mile drive.

The best thing about the numbing is you don't have to fast beginning at midnight -- you can actually eat breakfast, and then don't have to go in at crack of dawn to avoid blood sugar drop.So I guess my decision is pretty much made, though thoughts/advice are welcomed.

While I am rambling, I am struggling with open-enrollment decisions. We have a Medigap policy that gives us free choice of medical providers and pretty much covers everything with our many docs and occasional hospitals, clinics, PT, etc. Problems is the premiums are high. Medicare Advantage is tempting, with insurance premiums as low as zero in some cases, and even some dental and vision coverage. But your choices are within an HMO or PPO, and I believe few of our docs are in these plans offered in our area. And you have co-pays aplenty and if either wife or I has a hospital stay, we're on the hook for at least a few thousand bucks out of pocket. So maybe it's best to stick with what we have and consider that we're paying in advance for what we might need down the road. But I will talk to experts through a Medicare service provided by by my long-tme employer.

Now this is really, really long, but it helps to vent, because all this stuff is stressful. Any thoughts welcome, or just tolerance for my wordiness.

Peace out.

 

[Superman]

I have been taking hydrochlorothiazide (a diuretic) since before my valve surgery. If I see that I am retaining too much fluid, I can temporarily increase the dose. I am also under instructions from my cardio to call him if I gain more than 4 pounds in a short time and it doesn't dissipate within 4 or 5 days.

I get it in my shins. Especially when I'm on my feet for a prolonged period. Edema. It's that puffiness when you push down on it, it makes a dent that doesn't spring back right away. I'm about to start discretionary use of Lasix (also a diuretic) to control this as needed. I haven't noticed it in weight as I have been on a prolonged downward trend, but I do notice my shins.


This might be my first post in a "Staying the Course" thread. That said; what is it? What course are we staying on? I always thought it was a common goal type thing, but it appears to consist of just personal goings on. Which is fine - just not the exclusive group I thought it might be.

Good luck with your hand, Superbob.

 

[Superbob]

Hey, Superman, welcome! A little background: The Throwdown began maybe 8 or 9 years old as a friendly competition in losing weight. We would post our weights, and record our losses, and see who could reach their goals -- kidding each other at times, but mainly encouraging. Our Founder, Cooker, moved on from it, and I decided to keep it going under the title, "Staying the Course." Weight is still a frequent topic, but we don't do any competitions now, and talk more broadly about health challenges, aging, weather, family, recreation, exercise, trips, anything that's happening that we want to share; our perspectives on life post-OHS, or in some cases the prospect of repeat surgery. Would love to have you in our merry band!

 

[Superman]

Hey, Superman, welcome! A little background: The Throwdown began maybe 8 or 9 years old as a friendly competition in losing weight. We would post our weights, and record our losses, and see who could reach their goals -- kidding each other at times, but mainly encouraging. Our Founder, Cooker, moved on from it, and I decided to keep it going under the title, "Staying the Course." Weight is still a frequent topic, but we don't do any competitions now, and talk more broadly about health challenges, aging, weather, family, recreation, exercise, trips, anything that's happening that we want to share; our perspectives on life post-OHS, or in some cases the prospect of repeat surgery. Would love to have you in our merry band!

Everyone should have disappeared by now!

I'm down 25 lbs. since August, which I started bragging about in my own thread a bit ago. Should have done it here.

Weighed in at over 231 lbs. at my annual cardio check up on August 23rd. Checked in at 205.2 this morning. Just a tiny bit to go, then I'm no longer "overweight" per the charts (205 at my height). For whatever that's worth. This is always my first morning weigh in. Probably have to take off another 5 to stay below that throughout the day.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Superman - I really like this 'Staying the Course' forum becasue it's a more informal part of valvereplacment. I'm on the too lean side so I'm not here to talk about my weight, I talk about other things I've been doing or the weather or whatever, I just like the friendship here, and it's probalby the least stressful part of valvereplacement !

 

[Superbob]

That's about 2 pounds a week, on average, if I figure correctly -- a good, sensible rate. What was your diet/exercise plan to attain it, and your plan now to maintain?

Not advocating this for anyone else, but I just check my weight nowadays from cardio visit to cardio visit. I haven't lost any, but I haven't gained any either over the past year, and my cardio is happy with that, and so am I.

 

[Superman]

I've done two main things to get momentum the right direction.

One is to eat smarter.
Two is to move more.

I've replaced a lot of the highly processed foods I used to eat (breads and sweets mostly) with whole, unprocessed foods. If I do eat bread, it's whole grain. For snacks at work I bring a couple servings of fruits, veggies, and nuts. I consider meat and eggs relatively unprocessed as well. I don't really have a list I work off. The final "diet" part of it is focusing on eating when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm not hungry, vs. eating until I'm "full". I'd guess I'm still around 2,000 - 2,500 calories a day. Not really counting. Somebody observed in my other thread that I'm lucky to be tall (6' 4"). Probably makes this easier as my baseline calorie requirements allow for a generous diet.

I still share in the kids birthday cake or enjoy a donut on Donut Sunday at church. I'm trying to avoid doing something I think is unsustainable because it's so limiting. I see that a lot in trendy diets where once you hit a goal, all bets are off and it's back to old habits because man (or woman) does not live on grapefruit alone.

Moving is the bigger part. I started running again in August. First it was jog here and there on walks with my wife. Then the jogging became longer and the walking became shorter. Then I was only walking up hills, but jogging most of the rest. In a few short weeks, I was able to close all the gaps, then we started adding distance. Now that the weather is turning, we got a family membership at the Y and I do spin classes. Easier on the joints. In addition to a daily lunchtime walk about 30 minutes or so, I try to get in 3 or 4 really hard cardio workouts a week. 45 minutes - 1 hour working hard. Time change has helped. It's a little easier to get up at 4:30 now and get to the gym a couple days during the week. So I'll get two days on the weekend and two early workouts.

 

[MartinF]

It's been a while. I tried to log in a couple times last week and it didn't work. I had trouble tonight but I finally got logged in.

I had a couple fatty lumps removed from under my skin a week ago. All came back normal. Didn't take any pain meds.

Still getting in between 15 and 20 miles of mostly walking every week. I need to start running more. Our dog keeps me out there. At night she goes to the front door and starts to jump up and look at me. Just finished walking her, about 1.7 mile course. Weekends are usually 5-6 miles on Saturday and Sunday.

SB, hope you have an easy surgery on the finger. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Weather here in Southern California has finally cooled down. I'm always active year around but this time of year is easier. I am more of a night person so I enjoy walking or running in the dark.

Tomorrow is Happy Friday. Everyone have a great weekend.

 

[Agian]

Superbob, Propofol is the standard general anaesthetic. They intubate and do the breathing for you.
Michael Jackson abused the stuff and stopped breathing.
Having said that, you could have a nerve block with light sedation (no peeking).
My mother had wrist surgery that way. No problem.

 

[epstns]

Superbob - Agian is right. They could offer a nerve block and maybe light general anesthetic. The only caution I can offer here, since my wife had that sort of anesthesia when they set her broken wrist a couple of years back, is that the injection for the nerve block is a painful one. Of course, once they do that, you feel nothing from the block point to your fingertips, which, she said, feels really weird. In her case, her arm just flopped around until the block wore off. She had to be careful when she had lunch a couple of hours post-op (back at home already) because her arm kept flopping around on the table and knocking things over. . .

Guys - I wish I could still be running. I ran daily for over 30 years, but the last 5 or so years, my knees just won't tolerate it any more. If I run one day, I would be in a wheelchair for about a week, I think. It is that bad. Otherwise, my knees aren't anywhere near bad enough to think of knee replacement, and even if I did opt for that, running would still be out. So, I either "power-walk" at a 15:00/mile pace, or use the elliptical machine at the gym.

When the weather is decent, I often cover 5 to 7 miles a day, but when it is cold and nasty or when it has snowed (people don't shovel the walks), I can only do what I do at the gym. Since I am still working full-time (50+ hours/week), I am time-limited. I can either work out longer or have dinner. Not enough time for both. Talk about a double-whammy!

If I use the current charts, I am actually borderline overweight, at 5 feet 8 inches and 155-160 pounds, although I think I may have more muscle/lean body mass than a typical 70-year-old man. I can't seem to eke out any lasting weight loss, so I guess that as long as I stay within that weight range as I get older, I can't complain.

I saw some snow flurries on the way to work this morning. You know what that means. . .

 

[Agian]

No biggie Superbob, seriously minor. I know a few people who've had similar procedures and they said it was easy.
You've had Propofol before so you can't be allergic to it. They gave me Droperidol once and it made me jittery and uncomfortable. If you get the light sedation, make the most of it. I have a field day on Midazolam; they gave me extra just to shut me up.

 

[Superbob]

Hope all will have an enjoyable and memorable Veterans Day, as observed today in the USA. Appreciate all the reports and comments on STC this week. Brrrr -- it's cold today! Got down in 30s last night. Nevertheless, my walking dawg is badgering -- no, dogging -- me to get off my butt, shake off the back pan, and take her for a morning walk, so reckon I will shortly. Cheers all....