Staying the Course -- 11/13/2017

[Superbob]

Gorgeous start to the week here -- temps 50s/60s, breezes, brisk. Started day with good dawgwalk.

Decided to go with numbing shot for hand surgery Wednesday: can eat breakfast, don't have to be there at crack of dawn, etc. etc.

My wife has an order for PT to improve balance (to prevent falls), and I will have one for OT for hand -- trying to schedule them same place, same times -- the PT clinics are up and down 40 miles of N/S Grand Strand, and I'd like to simplify. (DW is unable to drive due to health.) My experiences with PT have all been good -- looking forward to it actually.

Will go to exercise class tomorrow -- then it's a question mark for a while (with Thanksgiving also coming up next week). But I'm signed up through February, so I will be back to that. Ate too many sweets and too much sodium for my birthday -- but heck it was my birthday. Now I'm working to get back on a reasonable course, a course of moderation.

Enough about me -- would love to hear how everything's going on your courses.

Cheers,

Superbob

 

[Superman]

We saw temps dip into the teens over the weekend here. Highs in the 30's. This weekend I managed to clear the fall leaves and get one last (maybe?) mowing in before the winter fully sets in. Back into the 40's for most of this week.

For the first time in over a decade, I saw the scale dip into "not overweight" territory. That was cool. Granted, this was a post workout, dehydrated weigh in at 203.8. I suppose I technically still have a pound to go. But should probably drop five to stay "not overweight" throughout the day. Weight isn't coming off like it was, which isn't a bad thing. If I stabilize at 206, I won't complain. Bigger thing for me is to have the fitness level to keep up with the kids and play outside. Won't be long and I'll have to drag sleds back up the hills. It'll be nice to do that without panting.

Coming up on my 45th birthday Thanksgiving Day. Will also be over 27 years since I first had my valve replaced on the 21st. I weigh less and can run farther than I could the summer after I graduated high school, which was also the summer after my first replacement. I'll take that all day long and twice on Sunday.

 

[jwinter]

Wow it is a hard act to follow........Superbob AND Superman! both of you seem to be doing well staying the course. Medical procedures and weight management seem to be at the top of most of our lists. Good luck and good job to you both.

I didn't get out of MT yet. Had my blood checked again last week from first transfusion and needed another. Uggg. My next hemoglobin test will be drawn Wednesday and will be packed and ready to go (again) I am eating spinach and any other "fortified with iron" food I can think of. I am taking my iron at bedtime with vitamin C tab and big glass of Trop50 orange juice hoping to keep my iron up. I used to take my warfarin and vitamins all together in morning and then deal with some side affects as I usually don't eat anything until 1 pm. For some reason I just cannot get that iron to do what it is supposed to do. I have a hard time changing my eating patterns as it usually amounts to weight gain that I don't want. Docs want me to see another specialist but decided to not sign up at this time.
Sunshine and warm temps are the order of the next couple months for me. Well worth staying that course

 

[Agian]

I am eating spinach and any other "fortified with iron" food I can think of.

Superbob, Superman and Popeye.

I was taking two of those red iron tablets every day, for a while. My iron had dropped because I'd changed my diet. Then it refused to budge after my valve replacement.

You getting your Ferritin levels up Mrs Winter?

 

[Agian]

Way to go SB!

 

[jwinter]

Agian, I assumed ferritin is ok. My hemoglobin should be around 12 to 15 but was 7 at both of last two tests 2 units first time and two weeks later, one unit. colonoscopy and endoscopy both clear mid September.

Primary did a "smear" of some kind and said all tests look ok except hemoglobin. Nothing sends out any other warning. I did have a hemochromatosis genetic test at Mayo last year. I have such typical symptoms of a lot of these.....shortness of breath, fatigue, eye sockets and teeth gums are pale, dizzy at times, etc. Seems like a couple years ago they put me on beta blockers and a stomach pump inhibitor (pantoprozole) and that made time between transfusions longer. but omg for the leg cramps.

Just don't know anymore what to do

 

[Agian]

Hmm, mechanical valves can sometimes smash the blood cells. This should show up with a high LDH.
Ferritin is your body's store of iron. So with iron replacement the haemoglobin goes up first and then the excess is stored with Ferritin. Do what people here do and get a copy of your results. Happy to share information with you.

 

[Paleowoman]

Superbob - All the very best for successful surgery on Wednesday SB !

jwinter - here’s hoping you can get your iron levels up by the next test and that you can get away. Are you taking B vitamins along with the iron and vitamin C - they’re all involved in iron absorption. And chicken liver and beef are top sources of iron, it’s much easier for the body to absorb the iron in foods than from pills, so a helping of liver with leafy green veg and you get the iron, the Bs and the C all in one go.

Weather quite cool now near London. I’m off for physiotherapy on my spine - MRI on my spine last week ishowed several ‘disc bulges’ and a couple of nerve issues with severe degeneration in both my lumbar and cervical spine. I don’t have much pain but I do want to do my best to delay more degeneration in my spine. Rheumatologist says to continue exercises and have physio, so here goes.

 

[Superman]

jwinter,

Sorry to hear about your struggles. I have to admit I don't read a ton in here so I'm not that familiar with them. Needing transfusions does not sound fun.

Superbob,

Good luck with your procedure tomorrow. I hope all goes as expected and recovery is predictable.

Paleowoman,

Back problems are the worst. One never fully appreciates just how much they use their back until it isn't right. Glad to see you don't have much pain though. That's at least a positive.


My INR was down to 1.9 this morning. But Brussel Sprouts are good. I guess I have to adjust. Again.

 

[FredW]

Just checking in.

Hope SB a good day and speedy finger recovery.

I relate to dealing with bulging discs Ann. Wish you well in managing it.

Also wish Jwinter better days. You must be concern not knowing exactly what you are dealing with. I often wonder if it is the beta blocker I'm on that is causing me problems or just getting old.

I won't go into the details, but the week has been full of reminders of my age. Having a mohs procedure this morning. This is the result of sunburns 70 years ago. I have had multiple hunks of skin cancer cut out. The good news is the surgeon is excellent. No disfiguring yet.

Thanks to Steve's education last week on the impact to the salt in chips, I'm successfuly avoided any this week and am staying the course.

I started taking vitamin D to head off SAD. Wonder what you more knowledgeable folks think of D.

Also what do you think of the new US guidelines for acceptable blood press now being 120/80? I felt good getting mine under 140/90. Guess I better up my staying the course game.

Wishing everyone a happy week.

 

[Superman]

I always thought it was 120/80 and they increased it not that long ago. At work they reward us with points for benefits if we are below 130/85. I think one is pre-hypertensive and the higher level is hypertensive.

 

[Paleowoman]

I started taking vitamin D to head off SAD. Wonder what you more knowledgeable folks think of D.

Hi Fred - I take vitamin D, been taking it for about ten years now. I'm prescribed 20,000 IU per week in winter and per fortnight in summer. My serum levels of D are in the upper optimal range, that is 154 nmol/L, or 62 ng/mL in US numbers. I’m prescribed the high dose as keeping my serum levels of D in the upper optimal range is deemed to be good for my heart and osteoporosis, diabetes etc. Vitamin D is good for so many things.

It’s a good idea to get your serum level of vitamin D tested as then you can know if you’re taking the appropriate amount of supplemental D. Mine is tested every six months. It’s a very individual thing. The best source of vitamin D is, of course, the sun, but we can only make it during the summer months and during just a few hours either side of midday, and we only need ten minutes of so of sun at those times. Where I live we don’t get tons of sun normally !

 

[jwinter]

I have been year round in the sun the last 8 or 9 years and still have vitamin D deficiency. I think more people are than aren't. . (my own personal thoughts)

Fred I wish you well on mole surgery. Had a brother with several carcinomas from the sun but luckily he had them taken off and no other treatments needed.

Well the blood pressure thing I don't have to worry about. Mine is always so low. I think laying there for transfusion last week it showed 94/43. (now you can imagine what I think my demise will be and probably why I don't get all sideways about INR levels)

Oh and Anne I hope your therapy helps your back. My Ex used to have the worst time with his but would not listen to the docs and exercise. I am sure he still doesn't, plus drinks and smokes, has had heart bypass, and will probably outlive us all. lol

Life is good though. Have decided to get in our truck in next two days and hit the road south! There are good docs everywhere and hopefully my body will heal or at least behave and give me a few months a way. Warmth and sun sound like the healing prescription. WTG all on staying that course!

 

[dornole]

Thinking of everyone who is dealing with "bonus" medical issues and hoping all goes well and answers are found. jwinter I thought hemochromatosis was excess iron, not deficiency?

 

[Paleowoman]

I have been year round in the sun the last 8 or 9 years and still have vitamin D deficiency. I think more people are than aren't. . (my own personal thoughts)

Hi jwinter - Absolutley, I believe you, more people are deficient than aren't ! Which is why there is such an interest in the medical world about vitamin D. And, because I have osteoporosis, vitamin D is a hot topic too. There are several reasons why people are deficient despite going in the sun at the right time of year (April till Oct) and right time of day (2 hours either side of midday). There's latitude, there's their skin pigmentation, there's clothing, and certain illnesses, but two important reasons are, unfortunatley, aging, and being overweight - if someone is overweight the vitamin D that they might make fine from the sun or get from food or supplements, is sequestered in their body fat.

There are nowadays too cases of rickets in young children in the UK which is quite shocking, as many parents don't let them out in the sun or cover them with sunscreen. Rickets being caused by vitamin D deficiency.

 

[Paleowoman]

Here's a great lecture from a wonderful speaker, Dr Michael Holick, about vitamin D: https://www.uctv.tv/shows/D-Lightfu...tion-of-Autoimmune-and-Chronic-Diseases-15773 He can be very amusing as well as so informative.

 

[honeybunny]

I presume SB is home by now and will post as soon as he is able, and that the procedure went as planned.

So many people staying so many courses! So proud of everyone!

Fred, I believe I suffer from SAD. I also go through bouts of the blues when it rains for days at a time during the spring and summer. I typically don't recognize my melancholy until the sun comes out (I figure I'm just tired from long work days and stressful commute coupled with age).

Re: blood pressure, the articles I've read state that the numbers have changed from 140/90 to 130/80. It's crazy that now half the U.S. population has high blood pressure.

I wrote here a while back about my A1C levels and have been tracking my nutrients with My Fitness Pal since. Dropped a few lbs. during weeks 1 and 2 but little since. So I made an appointment with a nutritionist to discuss meal plans. I think I met with this woman years ago at the behest of my GP. This time I'm doing it under my own initiative.

Wishing everyone well~

 

[Superbob]

Not sure I'm supposed to be doing much of this right now, but just wanted to thanks all for the well wishes. I am doing okay, but preparing to cope wth pain block wearing off. Really would rather not take the narcotics but will see. Also wanted to say this is one amazing group. All the keen insights on health matters; really good stuff.. Wishing all well in meeting challenges along their courses. more later...

 

[jwinter]

Dornole, in regards to hemochromatosis here is a bit better way to explain it for my particular case.

Hemochromatosis

was first identified in the 1800s, and by 1935 it

was understood to be an inherited disease resulting

in iron

overload and deposition. Today,

hemochromatosis

is defined as a metabolic disorder affecting iron

absorption

, and resulting in

the accumulation of excess iron in the body’s organs. For me it is possibly the iron absorption causing problems.

Back for transfusion tomorrow as even with all of Popeye's spinach I was a "wonderful" 7 hemoglobin today. Definitely sarcasm there.

Thanks Anne as I find the info on supplements always interesting. HB I would like to know if you get good nutrition advice. I am up lbs. again so need to address that as soon as blood thing gets straightened out. Good to see all the other posts here and that SB checks in after his surgery even. Go team!

 

[jwinter]

double post