Archive for the ‘Doctor Visits’ Category
30
Jun
Written by Mike on June 30th, 2010
Well, this post is definitely more than a day late, but better late than never. Here goes.
I went to the doctor last Thursday to get the results of all the lab work that was done last month. You know, the lab work that I had a hell of a time fasting for. Anyway, the results of those tests were a mix of good and bad.
My A1C, which had been 6.0 the last couple of times it was check, was up to 6.4. Not a bad number in the grand scheme of things, but certainly not the third 6.0 in a row that I was going for. In reviewing blood glucose logs I gave her, the doctor noted the increasing number of highs in my logs. In light of those, and the A1C results, she concluded that the Metformin that I had been taking just wasn’t as effective as it had been.
And as if the Metformin not working anymore wasn’t enough, she also concluded that it was also the culprit behind all of the stomach cramps, nausea, and diarrhea that I’ve been dealing with for the last few months. All side effects that I had been warned about when I started taking the medication a year ago, but that never appeared. So, as a result, I’m no longer taking Metformin. I’m now taking Januvia, and the jury has just started deliberating on whether this will work or not. I’ll keep everyone posted.
The results of the microalbumin tests noted some abnormalities, too. There was apparently quite a bit of protein in the urine sample they took, which could mean any number of things. Not the least of which being possible kidney problems. More tests are being scheduled to determine the cause, but in the doctor went ahead and adjusted one of the medication I’m taking as a precaution. I’ll keep everyone posted on this as well.
My blood pressure was on the high side as well, so that medication was adjusted, too.
Oh, and one other change made at this appointment came in the form of a prescription for Ambien. I’ve been having a terrible time sleeping with the BiPAP machine I use for treating sleep apnea, and asked the doctor about something that might help me get some sleep and be able to use the machine at the same time. So, we’re going to try the Ambien for a while, and hope to God it actually helps.
All for now. Keep hanging in there.
7
May
Written by Mike on May 7th, 2010
So I was on my way to my 10:45 a.m. appointment at the cardiologist’s office when I looked up and saw the one thing that everyone dreads the most: the flashing lights of a police car in the rear view mirror. When I looked at the speedometer, I knew why I was being stopped, but I pulled over, got my license, registration, and insurance stuff ready, and waited for the officer to come ask me if I knew why he was pulling me over.
As it turns out, they were stopping every car going 45 miles an hour through that particular 30 mile an hour speed limit zone. Sounds like profiling to me, but that’s just me. Apparently my lead foot got the best of me, and was pressing that gas pedal 15 miles an hour harder than it should have been. Oops!
And much to my surprise, the officer must have met his ticket quota early this morning, because he let me off with a warning to slow it down and be careful. I was kind of speechless, and that never happens. lol. How the hell did I get away with a warning for driving 15 to 20 miles an hour over the speed limit? I don’t know, but it saved me $800 to $1,000 in fines.
I ended up being about 15 minutes late to the cardiologist appointment, but they didn’t seem to have a problem with that. I just told them I ran into heavy traffic downtown, and that was that.
The appointment went pretty well. There were no real changes in my EKG, and my blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, etc… were relatively good. And there were no changes made to any of my medications either, so that made me and my wallet happy, too.
They also did an echocardiogram while I was in the office. The technician said nothing major caught her eye, but they wouldn’t know for sure until the report came back from processing. I figure I’ll hear from them fairly soon if they found something strange, and if not, I’ll get the results when I go back in 4 months.
Until then, I’ll be working to keep the gears and wheels in me turning. And trying to keep the tire rubber from burning.
25
Mar
Written by Mike on March 25th, 2010
Had a routine visit with Dr. Cabe (Primary Care Physician) this morning. Those of you who follow me on Twitter should already know this, considering that I relieved my boredom by tweeting and ranting about amount of time I spent waiting to see the doctor.
My appointment was at 11:00 a.m., and I didn’t see the doctor until about 12:30 p.m. Now, I generally try to exercise what little patience I have, but that waiting BS really drives me crazy. And then the doctors wonder why my blood pressure is elevated when I finally see them. I generally hit them with some perfectly flawless logic, like: “Well gee, Doc, my blood pressure was fine before I left home. Could it be that you ticked me off by making me wait so damn long?” That gets them every time. 
Actually, aside from the wait, and having to return to the office because the doctor forgot to sign one of my scripts, the appointment went rather well. Dr. Cabe was happy with my latest A1c results, and the blo0d glucose (BG) logs that I showed her. The results of my creatinine and bun tests were also good. And even my blood pressure was pretty good. 
We are going to work on tweaking my Crestor dosage, to see if we can find a level that won’t cause the muscle aches that I’ve been experiencing. If that doesn’t work, we will be looking for another cholesterol medication. And we’re going to tweak my Protonix dosage, as I probably don’t need to take as much as I have in the past. Other than that, there were no other changes to any of my medications. That’s definitely a good thing.
In early June, I’ll have another A1c test, as well as Lipid and Microalbumin checks. Then I’ll go back to see Dr. Cabe at the end of June. Good times.
For now, I’m going to focus on the countdown to my vacation, which will begin in exactly 5 hours & 48 minutes.
12
Feb
Written by Mike on February 12th, 2010
My annual visit with the Ophthalmologist went rather well this morning, and the news was all good.
There were no signs of retinopathy at all, and everything looked really good. My prescription has not changed at all, so I didn’t have to get new glasses either.
And, unless I have any problems, I don’t have to return to see the ophthalmologist until next year. I thought my heart was going to break when the doctor told me that. Then I remembered, it’s already broken. LOL 
So, I left the eye doctor feeling pretty good about things. Nice to know that the efforts that I’m making in controlling my blood sugar and blood pressure are helping keep to my eyes healthy. And it just confirms once again that:
Eye am Good!
22
Jan
Written by Mike on January 22nd, 2010
I went for my stress test follow-up appointment this morning, and received some great news from the cardiologist.
The stress test results indicate that the strength of my heart has increased 7% over the last year. It’s now 42%, as opposed to 35% at the time of diagnosis with CHF. 50% is considered normal, so I’ve only got 8 points to go to reach that goal. The cardiologist says that if I continue at this pace on the treatment plan I’m on, with the medications, diet, and exercise, I should be able to reach that goal, and beyond, over the next year or two.
The test results also indicated that the 30% blockage in the Left Anterior Descending Artery of my heart appears to be gone. The cholesterol medications and clot busters appear to have done their jobs.
So yeah, I’m really excited to know that things really are improving, despite how bad I feel at times. I still have a long way to go in this battle, but now that I see these results, I have even more motivation to keep me going.
Keep Fighting, and Rock On!
