A Little Health Update

I have been thoroughly examined, prodded and poked, and though I have several heart related issues, I am not in urgent need of any surgeries or more testing. My sleep apnea situation if marginal, not acute. The hole in the heart could be repaired, but research shows that it's a less than fifty percent success rate. It's something to be watched, checked now and then, but not absolutely necessary that it be repaired. My heart rhythm problem has, for the most part, been controlled with drugs, so why risk surgery when medication can control the problem of atrial fibrillation. So I will stay on the blood thinner and other heart related medications. I notice no particularly noxious side-effects (other than the bruising). And I am relieved that I don't have to go spend a night in the sleep clinic or wear a martian mask to sleep. So, all is well enough, and I have had a pretty thorough going over.

I seem to be back to "normal" as far as my bipolar disorder is concerned. Nicely balanced. Not too happy, not too sad. And all this expensive work-up may save me from serious problems down the road. I will continue to bruise, but I have never heard of death by bruising.

Why am I telling you all of this when the sky is falling? Because I am relieved to have all the questions settled for now. No more worry. Time to concentrate on the important stuff. Like THE SKY IS FALLING!

I Talk Politics At The Cardiologist's

I just spent about forty five minutes getting to know my new cardiologist. This is the "hole" in the heart specialist. It turns out that it's more a flap than a hole. In my heart (as is the case with about twenty percent of the population) this flap has not closed. Adults with this condition often have sleep apnea and chronic migraines. I have sleep apnea and used to have migraines. Now I have chronic headaches that are not classic migraines, but are debilitating none the less, so I have three options for headache pain--all pharmaceutical, all effective if taken at first inkling of pain.

But the thing that most interested me about this relatively young man was his willingness to talk politics with me. Now I have two cardiologists who like talking politics and tell me they are probably farther left than I. Do you think they are blowing smoke? If my two cardiologists, living in the wing-nut capital of America, are both Democrats, how many secret liberals might there be in the medical professions? I have a neighbor and friend who is a lefty lawyer. One of my neighbors just came back from the DNC (she was a delegate). I live in the heart of the Mormon Holy Land. Could there be hope? Even here?

Speaking of smoke... He looked at my chart and said, "You smoke" very neutrally. I said, "Yes, but I've been smoking since I was five. I'm sixty four. My quitting is highly unlikely. So far, I've tried every method of quitting. Nothing worked. I think you have to really want to quit to quit." He said, "Nuff said. Let's schedule a sleep test."

He talked about the research done on the issue of "to close the flap or not to close the flap," and said the results of the studies done so far are leaning toward "doesn't make much difference and can cause problems far worse than the unclosed flap." I said, "Good, well, lets not do that."

I'm gaining a couple of pounds every two weeks. I get that this works out to a pound a week. Oh yes, I get that. I asked the assistant, Lynn, if I was fat. She stood back and actually looked me over and said, "Nope. You're not fat."

I said, "Hallelujah."