Family Doctor

This entry is all about medical stuff.

At last, we have a family doctor! I met them for the first time this week, and really like them.

The appointment was to review the results of the cardiac testing that was done in December. It was setup to check my heart based on a bit of oedema in my leg. The results on my heart indicated no significant heart issues. But an unexpected issue with my aorta was found, a small TAA, Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm. This aneurysm is much closer to needing surgery than my AAA, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, but is still small enough that surgery is not indicated. It wasn’t there in 2017. I had been hoping that the AAA was caused by a previous back injury, but the second aneurysm points to a systemic issue.

My blood pressure, which is within expected range these days, is now deemed too high, in view of the aneurysms. Now begins another dance with medications. One new medication has already been tried and the side effects were too severe to continue, my blood pressure skyrocketed while taking it. I began a new medication yesterday, and this afternoon, for the first time in over 40 years, my blood pressure was around 125/55. NO other medication has had this dramatic affect on my blood pressure, and I’ve tried a lot of medications. So far no side effects, I am on the watch for them, fingers crossed.

I cannot begin to express what a relief it is to be under the care of the Endocrinologist, who prescribed medications that brought my cholesterol levels down to normal range, for the very first time in my life. The Endocrinologist and the new Family Doctor both expressed concerns about my blood pressure, in view of the aneurysms, and now the Family Doctor has prescribed a medication that has brought my blood pressure down. Relief, and amazement, after all this time that the medical people I’ve been able to access have been unable to address these issues. A little too late really, as the high levels have taken their toll over the decades, but better late than never.

My weight does not decrease. Over the years I’ve eaten a healthy diet, calorie levels appropriate for my height and age, and only ever gained weight. I am active, walking almost two miles a day. I drink a lot of water, no sugary drinks, no alcohol. I don’t smoke. I have an eight hour eating window, no snacking. Well, it remains a mystery why my weight continues to increase. The Endocrinologist told me I have unlucky genes, one of my elders gifted me this, but I KNOW it wasn’t my Mom! Luck of the draw. It might be my Great Great Grandmother Ellen Hannah Robinson, who stood tall and substantial above all the other women in a photograph of the Women’s Institute. She wasn’t fat, she was a large person.

The Endocrinologist thought I wanted to take something like Ozempic. Ha! Useless for me, it affects appetite. I don’t need to reduce my appetite. I can’t reduce the amount or quality of what I am eating, it is already completely optimized for health. I don’t need a drug to make me eat well, that is already taken care of and it would not help me at all.

I’ve reached a turning point in physical health, where no dietary or lifestyle change will make any difference to the concerning issues my body is encountering. I’ve already made all of the lifestyle changes that might help. What a relief, I say it again I know, that the medications I’ve been prescribed recently are working.

I remain optimistic about the aneurysms. They may not grow quickly, I might outlive them, and leave this world due to an unrelated cause. Medications may be found to mediate the growth of the aneurysms themselves, new technologies may develop that will easily treat the aneurysms, and surgeries might repair them adequately.

Knowing they are there can be life-saving, although that knowledge is psychologically and emotionally uncomfortable, and the lifestyle changes can be challenging. There are no symptoms associated with most aneurysms, so most people do not know they are there, and find out too late, when they rupture. Ruptures are almost always fatal. Both of mine were found while I was being tested for other issues, otherwise I would not know they existed.

So, onward, living life to the fullest!

Teri mentioned a low fibre diet, in relation to her own health issue. Very good information to share, and I did some reading. I eat a lot of raw vegetables, and cooked vegetables, and beans, and legumes, and nuts, and seeds… I eat a very high fibre diet. I am thinking of trying to eat a low fibre diet for a few days, occasionally, to ease the pressure on my digestive system. Today I am having applesauce, semolina cooked with milk, and a cup of chicory/coffee. I already drink lots and lots of water. For lunch I will have a smoothie consisting of protein powder, milk, and a low fibre fruit, peeled peaches. For dinner macaroni and cheese is on the menu, followed by more applesauce. In a few days I’ll be back to my daily whole grain muffins, fresh salads, and vegetable soups.

Worldly

Weather

0°C
Date: 6:00 PM EST Friday 17 January 2025
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.4 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 0.1°C
Dew point: -2.8°C
Humidity: 81%
Wind: SSW 15 km/h
Visibility: 24 km

Quote

“This is your time and it feels normal to you, but really, there is no normal. There’s only change and resistance to it and then more change.”
Meryl Streep
1949 –

I thought I wanted to be “normal”, until one day I got a chance to visit it. Not only is normal not possible, at least for me, it isn’t desirable, at least for me.