This thread is for health-related whining, so feel free to add your latest or on-going maladies. I'll start. I went to see my PCP last week for a followup visit and to get an x-ray of my foot. I have something weird going on with my toes on the left side; the two in the middle have decided to start wandering apart. The gap between my toes is noticeably wider and I have some pain in that foot. Since that is my "gouty foot" that I whine about regularly, I figured that I might be developing one of those unpleasant tophi things that some gout sufferers have. (A small growth from the buildup of crystals similar to kidney stones.) Note the spacing on the left, which used to look exactly like the right... So I got the results from the imaging today and there was nothing of concern found. Radiologist noted a small bone spur on my heel and "No acute fracture or destructive lesions present. Mild osteoarthritis of 1st joint. Remaining joint spaces are unremarkable." Here is my x-ray. Am I crazy or is there definitely some marble-sized object growing between the tendons of my foot???? Not sure if this would cause the re-alignment of the toes but it looks like something is going on there to me. (Those are some wonky-looking angles in my bones!) I will discuss this with my PCP and possibly go see a podiatrist for further investigation. Then a larger concern... while I was at the PCP's office my blood pressure went sky-high. I mean like 170/100. I was floored and asked them to take it again; I really don't trust those automatic machines they use. The second reading wasn't much lower so I got scared. My doctor advised me to go back to the higher dosage of metoprolol that had been reduced a few months ago. Thankfully it seems to have leveled out but now I'm getting the statins lecture again and seriously considering taking them. I am more afraid of a debilitating stroke than almost anything. I could not stand to be unable to take care of myself; that is my biggest fear. So, we'll see if the meds adjustment will get things back to normal. It's always something.
My catheter bacterial sediment nightmare has come back. Things were fine for over a year, and then it seems as though my drinking hard water (due to a malfunctioning softener) has really jiggered things, and they are not getting back to normal. I've increased the frequency of instilling the antibiotic into my bladder. We'll see if that helps. I'm 2 weeks into this catheter (they get swapped out monthly), and this is when the sediment fires up (I assume because the bacteria has colonized for 2 weeks.) To compound matters, I discovered that the nearest ER cannot swap this type of catheter outside of the 9-5 Monday-Friday window should I have a crisis. This is never gonna be normal.
Feet are definitely weird. Nothing looks "normal" about any of those. I'm going to make an appointment with a podiatrist and see if he has a clue.
Wonky right knee of unknown origin. I have had problems with my left knee since a physical therapist tore the meniscus in it while working to help my back issues. She said I would have to get a doctor's order for her to work on the damage she caused. That didn't make me happy. The left knee has ben better for some time if I don't stress it too much. My right knee just started hurting and nothing seems to help but sticking a Salonpas patch (the smelly type) over the knee. The lidocaine ones do nothing; the capsaicin ones do nothing; a knee brace helps for an hour but then makes it worse. I would appreciate any opinions. I haven't had x-rays done and everyone is afraid to do MRIs because I now have a pacemaker. Gettin' old is miserable.
Sorry to hear that, Don. Is it possible to have an open MRI with the pacemaker? ETA: Found this from Harvard.edu... https://www.health.harvard.edu/hear...ost-people-with-pacemakers-and-defibrillators
Yeah, it is possible to do it and my device is supposed to be MRI safe, but many still don't want to do it. The cardiologist's office says it can be easily done, but not out here. at the nearest places. I could go into Anchorage to have it done, but the right knee is now doing better, so I will leave that for now. The right knee symptoms baffle me. I will go see somebody about it if it doesn't improve in a few more days. It doesn't appear swollen or hot, so I don't think it is the two things I worry about most--infection or thrombosis. Just a mystery at the moment.
That's interesting, and deserves to have the entire [short] article posted. MRI is safe for most people with pacemakers and defibrillators January 1, 2018 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has long been considered dangerous for people who have electronic heart devices like pacemakers and defibrillators implanted in their bodies. Now, a study published online Aug. 14, 2017, by the Journal of Clinical Electrophysiology suggests the scans are safe for most people with these devices. Until recently, most devices were not FDA-approved for MRI. They had been considered risky because it was feared that the high-strength magnetic fields used for the scanning could disrupt a pacemaker's or defibrillator's circuits. Yet, when researchers reviewed 212 MRI examinations involving 178 patients with these nonapproved devices, they did not find a single problem with how they functioned. The researchers concluded that MRI is safe for someone with a device implanted after 2000, as long as the device is checked before and after the procedure and its pacing function is monitored during the scan. In the last seven years, the FDA has approved newer and more expensive devices that are designed to be safe for MRI; these are labeled "MRI conditional." However, the researchers noted that you don't need to replace your older device with an MRI-compatible model before getting a scan.
With your back issues and your other knee having issues, one would imagine that it's a matter of how your weight has shifted onto it...not that that helps.
Maybe, but the other issues have been going on for some time, but the right knee is very recent. I may have injured it somehow. After all, even at my advanced age, I do a lot of stuff that others just don't do even at a younger age. Lifestyle has its costs. If I was convinced that it was an injury, I would be content.
Blurry vision is listed as a common side effect that you should discuss with your doctor as soon as you can. In other words, you should not "just live with it" unless your doctor says so. Here's an article on Metoprolol Tartrate Side Effects.
We both got our Covid vaccine for Fall-Winter of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 this last Thursday evening at Walgreens. I think it has affected both of us, somehow. Yesterday my wife felt "light-headed" and thought she might pass out, of which she didn't. My shoulder, where I got the vaccine, hurt quite a bit more this time than any of the other Covid vaccines I've gotten. We were going to get our Senior Double-Dose Flu vaccine, that we get every year, in a week or so, but have changed our minds. We don't want to have any kind of reaction to that vaccine before we leave to drive to Prescott, AZ for 4 days. We need to do this trip to see if we really want to move there. This AM, I forgot to take my Pre/Probiotic before breakfast. I think missing that sort of messed me up some. We simply can't be outside in the sun here. If my wife doesn't put on extra makeup, she will break out with small red blotches on her face/neck. IOW, we had to be outside in the sun this morning, too long, while at Dodge Dealership discussing a couple of things about our Durango. We really don't give it to much thought, until later in the day when we get very, very tired. Then we know we spent too much time in the sun. I sure hope whatever is going on in my lower stomach area doesn't get worse. You know, the PSA high number (18). I'm scheduled to see a Urologist the following week we get back from Prescott and I HOPE my body can wait that long.
@Cody Fousnaugh I sure hope whatever is going on in my lower stomach area doesn't get worse. You know, the PSA high number (18). I'm scheduled to see a Urologist the following week we get back from Prescott and I HOPE my body can wait that long. This was why I hit Like-