First things first:
Gonna have to rush through today’s post. I’ll explain why tomorrow. For now, let me briefly cover how my two doctor visits (pulmonary and cardiologist) went yesterday. Nothing new with the lungs other than a change to my inhalers. The heart doc reviewed my results from the echocardiogram I did in Angeles and declared, “You have a big heart.” Naturally, I thanked her for the compliment. Turns out, she meant the left side of my heart is enlarged. The good news is my body has compensated, and at least so far, the blood is pumping through in normal amounts and leaving nothing behind. So, there is nothing that needs to be done for now other than monitoring every six months to ensure everything is still functioning as it should be. As for the aortic stenosis, it is in the mild range and, for now, does not pose a problem. That will also be part of the six-month review to make sure things aren’t changing for the worse. The doctor was concerned about the fluid retention in my ankles and prescribed a new med to hopefully correct the edema. These symptoms are all precursors of congestive heart failure, which is what my mother died from at seventy-eight years old. My goal is to make it to eighty-three (to match or outlive my father), so I’ll do my best to follow the doctor’s advice. The bottom line is that, as of now, I am not displaying any of the symptoms that are indicative of imminent heart failure. That sounds like news I can live with!
After the appointments were done, I headed home to enjoy an evening at The Rite Spot On The Roof.
And then it was time for a rooftop dinner.
A good finish to the day.
- Charity: 2400 pesos (candy and Mama)
- Doctor Visit: 1400 pesos (two docs, 700 each)
- Trike: 400 pesos
- Jeepney: 50 pesos
- Total for October 10: 4250 pesos
Staying at home is definitely a cheaper option. I’m going to have to do that more often—but not tonight!
The YouTube video I’ve chosen for today is about the poor province girls working at bars in Angeles City. I haven’t watched it yet, so I can’t comment on the content. I do tend to feel sorry for the girls when this line of work is their only option, but taking that option away doesn’t help them either.
And this is where I attempt to put a smile on your face:
So, a great Friday group hike today way out in San Marcelino. With the travel time and after-hike refreshments, I didn’t make it home until three p.m. Usually, no big deal, but today is the grand opening of the newest bar in town, MacArthur’s. I promised my friend Jessa that we’d make an appearance. Again, not a problem, except I accepted a dinner invite with the neighbors for six-thirty at Papagayo. Hence, the rushed post here (can you tell the difference?) and lack of a nap since I need to shower up and head out. At least I’ll have something interesting to post about tomorrow. See you then!
I’m glad the news from the docs is good, or as good as can be expected.
A side dish of fried chicken
I guess that’s why the picture is on its side.
Enjoy tonight!
It’s good to hear that your ticker is still ticking, John. In fact, your various health woes made me take a good look at myself and see what was currently ailing me. So far I’ve got:
– Vision problems the last few months. Like I’ve rapidly become…not exactly far-sighted, but text has to be a certain sweet spot away from my eyes before it’s legible. I get periods of colorless blobs/blurs in my vision as well.
– Hearing problems. Someone can be talking at ‘normal’ volume and I can barely make out what they’re saying. Last year I went to get takeout with the ex and could not hear a word the woman on the register was saying, despite her only being like 2-3 feet away. I was too embarrassed to say anything.
– Alcorexia. Occupational hazard for drunks like us, John. I have no appetite when on an extended bender. How you manage to wolf down all that non-Indian food every day is beyond me, but I never see you post pics of breakfasts so I guess you are going most of the day filled with booze and not food..
– Libido problems. I’m rarely interested in sex anymore. I thought it might be an age/testosterone thing so I had my t-levels checked a couple of years ago and they’re actually above average for men my age.
– Memory lapses. The brain fog of withdrawal and the initial confusion of sobriety is both longer and stronger. I find myself missing more words when typing out sentences and forgetting names of people.
– Heart/respiratory problems. I get severe palpitations even when drinking, and sometimes feel certain it’s an imminent heart attack from the pressure in my chest. Sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe very well and have to contort my body just so and take massive breaths to get any kind of relief.
– Random sharts, frequent bed wetting, and horrendous skid marks pants even when it felt like my sphincter was doing its jog.
There’s no doubt more but all this focus on myself reminds me I need to drink to forget. Cheers!
Glad to hear that the heart report was good. Keep on tickin’!
Thompson, I’m not sure how old you are, but some of those ailments are more than a little worrisome. You definitely need to get your heart checked because that’s something you can’t live without!
I wore glasses for over twenty years, but since having cataract surgery I haven’t needed them. Still not perfect vision, but so far, good enough. As for hearing, if the music is loud in the bar, I leave. I want to be able to hear what people are saying to me. Talking on the phone is also very difficult for me to understand.
Ha! I had never heard the term “alcorexia” and had to look to see if it was really thing. I see that it is also called drunkorexia. That’s a condition I don’t suffer from as I live by the standard of “eat, drink, and be happy!” I never drink in the morning anyway, so breakfast isn’t impacted by my beer consumption. But I don’t stop eating when beer o’clock rolls around. Everything tastes better with a cold brew to wash it down!
I was going to say something about memory lapses, but I forgot what it was.
I’ve been lucky so far that my innards know when it is time to go, and can hold it in when the time ain’t right. It sounds like your experience is a pretty shitty thing to deal with. Putting up with crap like that must really stink. Maybe it is time to invest in some Depends! (Reminds me of the girl who asked, “do you wear boxers or briefs?” I said, depends. Then she walked away.)
Thanks for the update, Thompson. Hang in there! And I hope you find your lost libido soon.
“Sex without love is as hollow and ridiculous as love without sex.”
― Hunter S. Thompson