Calcium + Vitamin D

In talking with my gynecologist, Dr. Vineela Poddatoori, she asked if I had had a bone density test. No, I replied. What's that? Like I need another test.

Women my age often suffer from loss of bone density, and an x-ray can show where I'm at. We decided that, since the test normally applies to 65+ year old women, I would opt for one next year. She also thought that I had been irradiated enough for one year.

She then gave me a sheet about "Calcium & Vitamin D Supplementation." In truth, I had been taking a Calcium/Vitamin D supplement due to advice from my GP, Dr. Miller, but I have so many pills to take a day as it is (10) that I gave up one this one.  I vowed to start again.

The vitamins I have offer a paltry amount of either calcium or Vitamin D. So today I found one that ups the voltage.

The sheet she gave said that for a woman age 50-65 not taking full-dose estrogen -- that's me -- I should take 1500 mg a day. And let me tell you: it's hard to find a once-a-day pill that will give you that quantity.

But I found one that will give me a rather easy-to-swallow (gel filled with liquid, not hard edges) that approaches that amount for both Calcium and Vitamin D, AND it was on sale. And, if I start now, perhaps that bone density test won't show a lot of bone loss. Well, I'm starting late, but you have to start somewhere.

Why Gynecologists Have a Job

I mean, besides birthing babies.  This GYN is the nicest, most caring GYN you will ever find.  And I still hated my appointment today.

Yes, I had to strip and get into a soft cotton gown, and cover myself with a paper cloth, and sit on a rather uncomfortable exam table with foreboding stirrups.  But before that, we talked about what was and what wasn't possible.

We agreed that she would try to do the vaginal exam and PAP smear today.

Besides that, she urged me to take a calcium and vitamin D supplement.  I had actually gotten that because of Dr. Miller's urging, but I haven't taken it in awhile.  I'll go back to that.  Dr. Poddatoori gave me a data sheet today which tells me what my dosage should be.  50-65 not taking full-dose estrogen = 1500 mg/day.

And she gave me a referral back to Dr. Hosseini for a colonoscopy.

We agreed that I would come back every 6 months for this PAP smear and vaginal examination. Every six months. Let me tell you right now, I went right to the donut shop after this exam.  Yes, it was a two-donut day.

Back to the GYN: Open Wide...

I'm sitting in the waiting room of my gynecologist, Dr Poddatoori. it'll be about an hour before they grt to me, I'm sure. So instead of playing some mindless game, I'll post to this blog.

I haven't seen Dr Stern, the oncologist, since around June, when he washed his hands of me. I refused to do all the frequent and invasive PAP smears and vaginal inspections he called for. So I'm here now to see if Dr P can offer anything else. Like, maybe annual visits.

I have always refused getting naked when her tech assistant demands it, but now I know I'll have to.

Add a little Casino to the medicine...

I'm onboard a ship right now in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand.  This cruise, onboard Holland America, was the prize for surviving cancer surgery.  I aimed to collect by surviving until the December disembarkation in Sydney, 2 weeks sailing around the islands of New Zealand, and I did.  I've been having a marvelous time...

Until now.  Seasickness has descended.

I took one tablet of bonine (I can't remember the name, it's something like that, although that name sounds suspiciously like Latin for "cow"), and one tablet of Aciphex, which seems to cure everything ever wrong with me.  The two together took the edge off the nausea, but I'm definitely not going to that Champagne tasting in an hour in the Pinnacle Lounge.

One other thing I did for the seasickness was distract myself in the ship's Casino.  I played a slot machine, maybe two, and that did take my mind off my troubles, at least until I ran out of money on the penny machine.

Being on a cruise ship is like being at Disneyland, but for foodies, it's better.  I joke about having 10 meals a day; while not completely true, it is certainly possible, and in my case, almost inevitable.  The trick for me is to stay away from sugar.  Ha.

I have had one Coke on this cruise -- which, if you know me, you'd think, Amazing! -- and that was only to get Wi-Fi at McDonald's in Auckland.  (The Wi-Fi didn't work.)  But there's so much white bread, desserts and alcohol on this ship that's it's a constant temptation.  I actually did pretty well for about 10 days on the 14 days' cruise, but have been paying for it the last few days.  My usual symptoms for overdoing it are feeling horrible, almost nauseous, and staying close to a bathroom.  I haven't experienced the former, except for the motion sickness, but certainly have the latter these last two days.

Tonight is New Year's Eve in the main dining room, and it should be quite a meal.  Our dinner mates are springing for the champagne.  Wish me luck.

Halloween is the Worst Holiday

I love Halloween. I always have. This year, I flew to Orlando with family and friends, just for a Walt Disney World holiday. As we did the last time we were there, we took in a night of Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween, which is just a barrelful of laughs and fun. Everybody dresses in costume, especially the kids, and we all go around collecting candy at different way stations through the Magic Kingdom.

And there it is. Candy. I am not obsessed by chocolate, which is what several friends claim. I'm addicted to sugar. Since I'm diabetic, it's not a cute thing any more.

I'm still trying to get rid of the Halloween candy because, of course, I bought too much candy. I usually get between 15 - 30 kids that night, but I buy just in case the entire contingent of grammar school kids in the Bay Area will show up. And I used to advise people with the same problem that you have to buy candy you don't like. Except that there is no candy I don't like.

My knee is perfect, by the way. No problems, no pain, not even a little stab if I get out of bed wrong. So, apparently, I get rid of one problem and move on to the next one. Diabetes, however, is always with me.

Cortisone Is a Wonder Drug

Not quite two full days after the cortisone shot to my right patella, my knee feels no pain at all. Whew.

Yesterday, almost all day, I felt little stabs of burning pain. I thought that actually might be from the shot itself, as I had never quite felt that kind of pain before. It was different. Or, the burning sensation might still by the xylocaine.

Whatever. My right knee, right now, feels FANTASTIC! Hopefully this will continue!

A Shot in the Knee

I got a shot in the knee this afternoon. When I reported for the treatment, the x-rays from Tuesday had still not arrived from NorCal Imaging. So she called before she gave me the shot, and their oral report was "advancing arthritis." Phew, that doesn't sound so good. But no other damage. So the shot was on.

She had Kristi with her (who works on Fridays), a med student, and told her about the "holy trinity," where you move the swab over the area three times with that horrible-looking brown stuff, to make sure it's cleansed. She then swiped an area where the syringe would go in, and we were ready.

She had mixed a vial of Xylocaine in with the Cortisone and placed it in the syringe. She felt for the patella, and slipped the needle in just to the left of the bone. Then she moved the needle for two other angles to release the steroid into that portion of the knee.

It hurt a little, but not nearly as much as I remember it hurting the first time I received a cortisone shot in the knee. She told me the xylocaine would create a burning sensation, and then would numb the area. I only felt pain, but perhaps that was the burning.

I have to say that my knee felt fabulous within minutes. However, three hours later, the xylocaine has worn off and I feel some pain in the knee. That's to be expected, I understand.

Dr. Miller told me that the limit for cortisone shots is 3 times per year per knee. That's a lot better than I had previously thought.

It might take a few days, but I have no doubt my knee will feel a lot better. Yay for modern medicine and the deft touch of Dr. Laura Miller!

It's Isn't All About Cancer, You Know...

My knee gave me a fit at Disney World. We walked something like an average of 5 miles a day. My knee constantly hurt, especially when I climbed up (and fell from) the train steps. And the three blisters didn't help, either.

I made an appointment with Dr. Miller as soon as I got back. I couldn't feel it, but she felt some grating and some warmth from swelling. Today -- this afternoon -- I am scheduled for a cortisone shot. It helped last time.

For the life of me, though, I can't remember whether it was the left knee or right knee that got the cortisone shot last time. This was maybe 4-5 years ago. It does matter, because you're only supposed to get a maximum of 2 shots per body area. After that, cortisone does bad things. Actually, cortisone can do bad things to you anyway. I have a few friends for which that's true.

The stupid thing is, today the knee feels pretty good. It's felt pretty good the last two days. So, instead of the 8 pain level I reported last week, it's about a 3.

But I think I'll shut up about that unless directly asked. I still want that shot.

I Get Most of My Injuries at the Ballpark

I've read many times that most accidents occur in the home. (Which is always a warning to clear your passageways, etc.) And I've also read that most car accidents occur within a mile or less of your home.

In my case, my accidents occur outside the home. The latest is a bruise I picked up yesterday. I had just driven to the game at 3pm, got out of my car, walked in the parking lot and turned the corner, and a car door opened and hit me in the right forearm. It stung momentarily, but I knew it would grow into a big, honking bruise. Because I bruise quite easily these days.

I will watch the bruise turn different colors before it disappears in about two weeks. But it's nothing to what happened to me last July when a foul ball at the Oakland Coliseum hit me in the right breast. That took months to fade away.

And the biggest injury in my life was when I took a fall at night on a speed bump across the street from Disneyland. That was two years ago. My left leg still has lingering problems from that, but nothing serious. And I had the chipped tooth replaced.

I am well aware -- well, I became well aware after that fall, which took place two years ago -- that falls will be my worst enemy. My partner is currently checking on an elderly couple who live in Alameda. When she discovered that one of them had fallen multiple times the previous night, she rushed him to the emergency ward. Falls are no joke. In this case, however, it isn't the result of the fall(s) that she worried about. It was the cause.

So, from these experiences, I can only conclude that (1) I am getting older, and (2) getting older is no fun. I can't do much about opening car doors or foul balls unless I just stay home. My son says I should wear a rubber suit when I go out. Do you think that would help?

Back to Dr. Miller

A few days, a robot called me to ask me if Friday was a good day for an appointment. I pressed "1" to confirm. What a strange way to get a doctor's appointment. I had no idea who the doctor was or why I was scheduled. But it turned out to be business as usual. It was indeed Dr. Laura Miller of Lifelong in Oakland, and it was a follow-up to my blood test in July. Dr. Miller had warned me that the last CT scan I had -- the one that showed I no longer had any sign of cancer -- had a dye in its preparation that reacted negatively sometimes to Metformin, a diabetes drug that I take. The blood test was a precaution. And everything looks fine. My A1C, as measured in May, is 6.1. Stellar. My blood pressure today was 116/63. Couldn't ask for better. My weight is up (hey, I was in Las Vegas all last week!), but we didn't talk about that. We did talk about the fact that Dr. Stern wanted me to have frequent follow-up pelvic exams (PAP smears?), as 5% of uterine cancer patients see recurrence of the cancer within the first five years. We agreed that I would see Dr. Poddatoori and discuss how we would go about this. Dr. P. is on maternity leave presently, so I told Dr. Miller I'd try to make an appointment with Dr. P. in December. And so we left, agreeing that I would come back to see Dr. Miller in either November or December. Curiously, she told me that Lifelong is going to electronic medical records. And that meant, the fall-out, was that doctors would see fewer patients as they learn the system. Interesting, but a positive note that my records could be viewed by any medical staff anywhere, provided, I hope, I give permission.