Ardith,
First, sorry for the abscence.
Not your fault. Glad to hear from you.... :-)
And you as well. :)
Internet Rex crashed in late February...I suspect due
to a deal with Microsoft Windows 10 update.
Sounds familiar... [wry grin].
Or like the tagline "Failure is not an option. It comes shipped
with Windows". <G>
Then, practically nonstop days of thunderstorms for the
last 6 weeks, and so I was offline.
Okay, so it took six weeks for your message to arrive & it's taken me awhile to reply. Fortunately both you & I understand life in
the slow lane.
Well, I'm not going to argue with lightning. I've noted this in other
message areas, but a fellow ham radio operator "spared no expense" for lightning protection...you name it, he bought it, and installed it...
price was no object (must be nice to have all that money).
Well the direct hit VAPORIZED his tower, antenna, mast, and coaxial
cable. The surge melted the circuit boards inside the UPS unit and the
computer tower, and he had scorch marks down the walls of his home.
Each bolt is 3 million volts, 300,000 amps, 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit,
can strike up to 200 miles from the parent storm, can be 5 miles long,
but only as wide as your thumb. I'm a 2 time indirect lightning strike survivor, but I have nervous system damage as a result. However, I carry
no electrical charge, and can be handled safely. <G>
We get thunderstorms in this part of the world too... but
they seldom last for more than an hour or so, while the rain can go on
& on for weeks. :-Q
We haven't had to worry about drought or fire danger here for a good while...not like some areas of the country. This has been the wettest
and stormiest spring I've seen in 43 years in Arkansas...and the year
is now half over (it's July 1 as I type this).
That's the important part. In general I seem to be doing
fairly well compared to many others my age... but I thought of you when
I had a colonoscopy & benefitted greatly from what you have shared in
this echo about IBS etc. The result established to our satisfaction
that while the professionals don't quite know what's going on they're
glad to report I don't have xxx, yyy, or zzz. ;-)
The hernia surgery I had a month ago went very well. It was an inguinal umbilical hernia...not big, but I wanted it taken care of before it had
worked toward the colon or the groin. A friend of mine had to deal with
a scrotal hernia, and he said "that was a nightmare". I'm still wearing
a girdle/binder for support...but some days, it's hard to get the pants
on, because of it. At least I don't have to worry about them falling
down, because the girdle helps keep the pants up. If I didn't have the
Depends on, though...it'd be "full moon rising". <G>
Although I hadn't heard of it before, I can tell you I've
been taking Tecta (pantoprazole magnesium) to control acid reflux and
at least three others I know are using prescription medications for the same reason. Because various side effects may take awhile to show up
&/or may go unnoticed by the patient it is reassuring AFAIC that your
GP is checking up on such things.... :-)
I "get cheeky" with the nurses...because of the arthritis in both of
my shoulders (injections make that worse), I'm getting them in the hip
or gleute (butt cheek).
The B12 (levels plunged by the Ozemprazole) was originally done weekly,
but is now monthly. With COVID-19, the testapel (testosterone implant
pellets) are back ordered until sometime in August. The urologist felt
that if I waited (the level is 390, in the low end of the medium range),
the testosterone levels would crash, and I'd be in big trouble (low-T
can cause or aggravate cardiovascular and diabetes issues). So, I'm
getting weekly testosterone shots.
The full blood work is done in September and March, as the Hemoglobin
A1C is hovering around 6.1 -- and the type 2 diabetes threshold is 6.4;
I keep hearing different levels...I wish they'd make up their minds.
I prefer to get them either in this area or in the upper
thigh, where the muscles are larger than in the upper arm & tolerate
them more easily. It's a nuisance if I don't take advantage of the
free flu shots offered by our local pharmacy because pharmacists aren't allowed to give shots in such places... but doctors are, and when a GP does it I'm not in pain for a week afterwards. :-))
My hands aren't steady enough, and at times, the thighs and legs hurt
from the arthritis.
I gather you're waiting to find out if vitamin B12 shots will help?
I won't know for sure until the next full blood work in September. I
stopped taking vitamins a good while back, when told I shouldn't do that.
Hospitals here are also postponing various things which
aren't urgent in order to make space available for COVID-19 patients
who can't breathe. IMHO the good news is that we're still alive & kicking, and we can wait awhile. :-)
As noted above, the hernia surgery went real well. The pain has been
very minor...where only Tylenol and Ibuprofen were needed to take care
of it. I likely will wear the girdle for support for awhile.
Daryl
... An Electrician gets into people's shorts!
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