MEDICAL NOTES
From 1992 to June, 2014
9/9/92: 5:30 AM: Shit THIS morning for THIRD BLOODLESS shit after two BRIGHT-RED wipes EACH on Sunday 9/6 and Monday 9/7, and a RELATIVELY bloodless first one yesterday, 9/8, Tuesday, and totally OK second and third. But WHY???
10/27/92: 10-10:30 AM: Spot fort.
Late 92??: Dr. Picone: Cholesterol 218, where normal is 130-240.
Glucose 92, where normal is 80-120.
Triglycerides 550, normal 45-150: talk to Dr.Chin, eat lots of fruits and vegetables. HDL 30, normal 29-64, and LDL not done when triglycerides are over 400. Avoid all fats and rich dairy products. Repeat in a month.
2/7/93-2/16/93 and longer: left elbow hurts (but not anymore).
2/12/93: Left-eye blood vessel bursts, takes about three weeks to clear.
3/5/93: Dr. Chin: Triglycerides are 470, which is OK without medication. Cholesterol is 200. HDL is 38 and LDL is 130. Prostate test: negative. Glycerol is 206. No anemia. Calcium is normal. Liver/kidney function OK. X-ray doesn't show arthritis, so it's not possible to say rheumatic vs osteoarthritis.
3/11/93: Anal pain ASSOCIATED with erection and DREAM about having sex with cute young guy who LOVES to kiss and fondle penises.
8/24/93: To HIP for Dr. DaCosta for penicillin for 10 days for sore throat.
8/30/93: Start root canal and he doesn't NEED to give me antibiotics!
10/7/93: Flu shot, followed in ONLY three weeks by
10/28/93: VERY sore throat.
11/18/93: To HIP for Dr. Lee for Amoxicillin, saying I should visit EENT.
11/27/93: SECOND time with BLOOD in after-cum semen, and red at the START of the first urination, and tiny red "clot" at start of SECOND urination after.
12/6/93: EENT, Dr. Palgon, uses laryngoscopy to say NOTHING'S wrong.
12/20/93: Came three times since 11/27 (first time VERY worried), no more red. No more VERY sore throat, and tomorrow will VACUUM to see if DUSTING helps!
1/10/94: 6AM: Anal pain about 5 minutes---LONG time since last one, which was in 3/11/93!
2/15/94: HIP for Dr. Chin for physical, only Motrin for arthritis; x-ray elbow
2/24/94: Take in occult blood in stool and blood sample after meatless 6 days.
3/15/94: Medical results: Cholesterol 200, triglycerides 220, liver and kidney normal, no anemia or diabetes or prostatic or colon cancer. X-ray: NO bone chips or spurs, no treatment, Motrin for pain, in needed.
4/25/94: Spot-fort 12-12:30AM AND 9:15-9:45PM, last recorded 10/27/92!
4/28/94: Sadly, the arthritis in hands seems MUCH worse MUCH faster than in the past. Hips hurt from moving bookcases TWO DAYS ago. Knees hurt on stairs.
6/12/94: (through 6/14 ANYWAY): Sensitivity and pain-if-touched below right ear along right-upper jawline. TMJ? Tic doloureux? Tooth infection? T-other?
7/1/94: Anal pain 5-5:15AM.
7/26/94: Spot-fort 10-10:30PM.
8/4/94: Cholesterol 300; triglycerides 2000. Start treatment with Gemfibrozil.
9/6/94: 10PM: 100.7°F; 11PM: 100.4°F; 9/7/94: 7AM: 99.1°F; 2:30PM: 98.0°F.
9/28/94: Cholesterol 188; triglycerides 112!!! Calcium supplements are good.
11/22/94: "Minor" anal cramp 4:38AM-4:42AM.
11/25/94: From Sid Kirchheimer and Prevention Magazine, "Doctors Book of Home Remedies II" for arthritis: Zostrix (capsaicin) 3/4x/day, results in 2 weeks, also page 13 for TEN MORE remedies.
12/23/94: Right foot-pad pain till about 12/29.
12/28/94: Asthma-clutch breath-stop on returning from gym to "smell" in apt.
Also 12/28/94: Cold starting, letting up by 1/3/95.
12/31/94: 9:30PM 12/29, "temperature" of 98.1°; 1:10PM 12/30: 98.3°; 9:30AM Also 12/31: 97.6°!!; 7:45PM 12/31: 98.6° EXACTLY!
1/20/95: results of 1/18 tests: Cholesterol 262, triglycerides 145!
2/7/95: Tooth infection: dentist's 12:30-4:45! Amoxicillin prescription
2/16/95: DEEP lung pain, note laryngoscope 12/6/93, AGAIN about a month after using humidifier daily, back to HIP to check LUNGS? Schedule PHYSICAL!
3/21/95: Chin physical: still only 15 minutes, but chest, stomach, liver, prostate all palpated and satisfactory, though blood pressure again 130/80. The new lump on the right elbow is OK, the left-knee he recommends to Leung (who's a new woman who says it's a dermatofibroma(?), harmless, and she remarks about the other leg-marks that I dismiss as "having had for years." I ask Chin about a TB test, and he says yes, but forgets it, so I'll do that next when I also ask for a chest x-ray, based on poor Fred Knoerzer's incident. For my digestion slowdown, which he finds bothers me, he prescribes a UGI, which I schedule for April, and also a stool test, for which I have to be meatless for three days, which I had planned starting 3/31, but add the Sunday New Jersey brunch and the Monday C.T., so now the putative start-date is 4/4. He dismisses my eyeballs being sore in the morning as lack of tears, saying I can use eye drops if I want to. He says casually "Ginger hasn't been proven effective against arthritis," only take Motrin (ibuprofen) and extra-strength Tylenol (acetaminofen, which is NOT listed as arthritis-specific in the AARP book). Take an ibuprofen now, just to see how much the thumb-ache is relieved. He reinforces that I have OSTEOarthritis. I remark about my hip aching as I walked downstairs with the 62# of programs, and he palpated my knee to see if THAT was beginning to go. Felt hip twinges a couple of times after that, and STILL am not back to my normal loads at the gym, which seems to make me VERY tired recently. Also had an EYE EXAM with Dr. Zoltan some-where in here, with no problems visible (ha). Sometimes get a ginger after-taste, maybe THAT'S causing gastrointestinal irritation, and it's NOT helping my arthritis after about a MONTH of use, so maybe I'll discontinue (like octacosanol!).
4/11/95: Anal pain 2:45AM for two minutes.
5/5/95: Blood test results: no anemia, cholesterol is 240, a BIT high. LDL is BAD cholesterol and is 180, which is HIGH, it shouldn't be more than 130, cut down on MEAT! Triglycerides 110, fabulous. PSA is negative, stools are negative.
5/23/95: Chest x-ray OK, UGI: Small hiatal hernia in valve between esophagus and stomach. It's PERMANENT, not DANGEROUS, may be UNCOMFORTABLE with acid reflux. Eat small meals and maybe antacids will help if I'm uncomfortable. POOR SHOW!
6/2/95: Anal pain 4:56AM - 5:22AM.
9/13/95: 5PM: feel tired and almost dizzy. 7-11:30PM dine at Beard.
9/14/95: 2AM: Bed, 3:30AM shit.
10/13/95: Start of odd "doublequick" beat or tic in my right ear-plugged ear.
10/26/95: Rheumatologist: I have OSTEOarthritis, which is more constant, and usually STAYS in hands, forming Bouchard nodes in finger-joints. Affects thumb-base and the END finger-joints typically. Take Tylenol 6-8/day, two with each meal and two pre-bed, better than ibuprofen because NO gastrointestinal problems. Warm water and moist heat are good. Exercises OK. Prognosis: will STAY SAME. Maintain strength around joints. I should have GOTTEN rheumatoid factor in blood work, which is not diagnostic: may be positive and NOT have, negative and HAVE.
1/29/96: BACK hip-girdle has hurt for third day now, and same area of skin ABOVE bone and BELOW back half of belt feels ABRADED and sore. AND right-rear neck-cord stiff/tense on rotary-torso machine at gym yesterday. And thumb-arthritis WORSE!
5/12/96: 7AM: Slight DIZZINESS as I just lie in BED---had NOTHING to drink last night, but felt like slight HANGOVER, like Saturday morning after tasting wines at Judson Grill.
5/24/96: Make THREE appointments: Dental, Chin, and Zoltan for ophthalmology.
5/29/96: FABULOUS day at Chin's and HIP: 1) cough? TB test: a) check if it turns red after 2 days, b) took chest x-ray, c) scheduled EKG tomorrow, d) lungs sound OK. 2) PSA: a) on blood test, b) prostate feels OK. 3) Chol/trig: a) on blood test, b) Gemfibrozil Rx renewed. 4) Stools: a) occult blood checks for parasites too, but wait two weeks for blood because rectal probe may elevate PSA for TWO weeks! 5) Diabetes: a) foot pulse strong, b) glucose in blood test. 6) Arthritis: two tests in blood for arthrologist. Only waited 1-1:15, in 1:15-1:35, x-ray 1:37-1:45, results in a week. Asked about Tylenol/acetaminophen bad for liver: only WITH alcohol and taking TOO MUCH: "not every day." Blood pressure 120/80. Chest, stomach, thyroid examines OK. Feel good about getting it all CHECKED.
7/3/96: Results: Cholesterol 199, triglycerides 97, glucose: no diabetes, PSA 1.1, rheumatoid factors: NONE! Stools normal.
7/24/96: Spot-fort 10:10AM-10:35AM, first in LONG time. Last recorded 7/26/94!
9/11/96: 3:40AM: Anal pain, much LESS severe than before; first since 6/2/95?
11/22/96: Note that the RIGHT REAR MUSCLES in my lower neck/upper shoulder area have been SORE for about a WEEK, MAINLY watching TV; but also now in the morning, moving around, and I STILL feel it, though possibly lessening, now 5PM 12/5/96.
12/14/96: HIP 1:30-4:30 for viral infection, Rx Amoxicillin and Humibid 10 days.
12/27/96: 10:15PM have unexplained temperature of 99.7°, 99.2°at 4AM, 98.4° AFTER.
1/6/97: Decide to call Chin about not-yet-gone neck-pain from 11/22/96.
1/10/97: After eating a big meal at Carolyn's I experience flashes of light from the left side of my left eye and then see an enormous black FLOATER like after eating at Il Duomo a few years ago. Flashes recur during the next two days, but stop by Monday, when I see Dr. Har-Zvi (optometrist), who says I should make an appointment with Dr. Tibold (ophthalmologist) IF flashing recurs (which can last a WEEK and occur at ANY time: vitreous "pulling away" from retina, and it CAN tear it), OR in 6 months to check. If "black curtain is coming down" or "cascades of dark spots" appear, PHONE AND GO TO EMERGENCY THAT DAY.
1/21/97: To Dr. Chin at 1:15 to find 2 people ahead, so I return about 2:15 and he calls me RIGHT in: 1) right-neck pain? Probably arthritis, he give me slip for two cervical-spine x-rays. 2) Acetaminophen 500mg 2/day NOT helping, so he suggests ALEVE for standard size which I start on FRIDAY. He won't give a stronger Aleve-type prescription unless I respond to regular. 3) stuffed-stomach feeling he gives a stool test which I fudge by taking at MIDNIGHTS when I find I have to stop by Beard on 1/28. 4) for dry painful eyes (which don't happen anymore) he suggests I have to see Dr. Tibold. 5) persistent cough in AM has stopped, so I don't ask about it. 6) growth hormone GIVEN to help for RESTFUL sleep, and he says not for THAT, but I have "youthful dream" on DREAMS 14-15, noted on NOTEBOOK 27. Make appointment to return on 2/5 at 1:30, which I'll go in for BEFORE lunch, hopefully NOT stopped by jury-duty starting again at 2PM.
2/5/97: 1:25AM: Wake with gastric reflux three SECONDS before radiator in BEDROOM bangs! at 3AM a SECOND reflux: UGH!!!
2/5/97: RESULTS of 1/21/97 from Chin: X-ray: "Mild to moderate arthritis." Stools negative "all three ways." Increase Aleve to 2 tablets twice a day after meals.
2/27/97: Eye problem started THURSDAY, watching two videotapes? Friday 2/28: Right EYEBALL starts hurting---mold problem from stamps out in bedroom? Saturday 3/1: Hurts worse. Sunday 3/2 10:20AM: Worse still, worry, write this note, but then DON'T notice any pain on Monday 3/3 or Tuesday 3/4, so it's OVER?
5/23/97: Many minor but uncomfortable lower leg (food, ankle, calf) cramps and twinges over a half-hour! Phlebitis?
6/4/97: No reflux for a LONG time! Nor any anal pain! HOWEVER, has there been a late-May early-June (or spring-summer) syndrome of bloodied nose-insides that forces me to use Vicks two or even three times a day, waking with clotted chunks from the nose that are sometimes VERY bloody, but that gradually reduce in bloodiness as I continue to treat it, sometimes with Vitamin C and garlic.
8/3/97: 3:30AM: Gastric reflux after 2:15AM bed after 12:15AM tuna casserole.
8/19/97: 7:30AM: Anal pain, but not BAD.
9/26/97: "Stitch" in right side almost all month, sometimes cramp-like, often like a muscle-pull. Read September 8 New Yorker article in mid-month, about kidney cancer starting with dull pain in back, and I think I might be getting LIVER cancer. Think to go to emergency, but I've very depressed and don't want to KNOW through mid-September. Then I phone Chin about hepatitis vaccine and he says to COME IN Thursday, September 25, so I DO, and ask him about pain, he says "Your liver's there," and palpates to say it seems OK, but take blood liver-profile tests that I note to phone him about on Wednesday, October 1,1997.
9/30/97: BACK went out after I scrubbed tub then TURNED to pick up bottle.
Also 9/30/97: Start LICH dentist Dr. Orthodoxou! Back chip only SMOOTHED for $45!
10/3/97: Chin: liver profile normal: liver's "perfect" Back: rest, heating pad.
10/7/97: Cleaning and x-ray profile at LICH.
11/20/97: left INDEX finger TWITCHES back and forth, gone by typing: 11/22??
12/24/97: lower back STARTED hurting 12/24 and 25, but WORSE on Fri 12/26, though I went to gym anyway and ACHINGLY bad Sat AM 12/27.
3/11/98: left ELBOW starts hurting 3/11 through 3/15, then BACK 3/18-3/21!
3/18/98: After saying rheumatologist was "year/year-and-a-half ago", Chin finds date in records of 95! Check now and find it was 10/95: TWO and a half years ago! He says I should GET blood tests BEFORE making appointment at second floor with Dr. Green at Brooklyn Hospital. Blood pressure 120/80, BETTER than (what I remember as) previous 130/80. Eyes, ears, stomach, liver, foot circulation (for diabetes) all OK, prostate SLIGHTLY enlarged which would cause "empty, wait, empty again" syndrome. Time for another EKG for Friday, stool tests, appointment with dermatologist Leong for skin blips. Feel good!
3/25/98: dermatologist Leong CUTS off inner-right-thigh blip, 4/1 STARTS scab, 4/27 scab STILL ON, falls off 7PM 5/3, 5/6 results: "OK, no worry."
4/15/98: Chin for results: high basophils not important, stool normal, no anemia, intestines normal, "bad" cholesterol high at 168, should be more like 130: I should cut down on meat and get tested again in three months, at which time I might be prescribed something for cholesterol. No diabetes, no prostate problems, negative on arthritis measures, which is typical of osteoarthritis.
4/16/98: Dr. Green, arthrologist: IS "very mild" osteoarthritis, with elbow and toe and knee pains, NOT worse on waking. They've found that osteoarthritis is NOT an inflammatory disease, so more powerful anti-inflammatories, like ibuprofen and naproxen, aren't needed, only acetaminophen (Tylenol) is better. SHAKING hands isn't recommended if it causes PAIN! Only hand exercises that don't cause PAIN: he recommends "kneading a ball while watching television." Arthril is no good, and the gel is only .025% capsaicin, where the Dolorac (I say it rhymes with my last name) is ten times stronger at .25% capsaicin, which is sold over-the-counter and which he gives me a sample of. NO dietary restrictions, the "no nightshades" is only an old wives' tale. Take typing BREAKS! Hands under hot water in the mornings. NO blood measures for this, though people are working on it, as they're working on EVERYTHING now that osteoarthritis is "coming to the fore" in research. Anything that causes pain, don't do, which implies RUBBING it: it's USE-generated, so don't USE joint more than it has to be used. Maintain MOTION, not strength. Pain through overuse. They ARE making progress in treatments, come back in a YEAR to check!
5/14/98: 4:10AM: SERIES of HURTFUL cramps in RIGHT FOOT--going on for MINUTES!
Also 5/14/98: Ask Chin: stress cardiogram for "opera cough?" 6/2: Chin: Symptoms went away? Yes. If happens AGAIN, get CHEST x-ray.
7/30/98: Check for lipid profile again. Results next week. Morning wakings are PAINFUL in legs, and I feel TIRED in afternoons that I don't go to the gym. Thumbs hurting MORE, and feeling DEPRESSED about general physical declining!
8/31/98: Get the cold that I'd clearly gotten a few days before in an over-conditioned Broadway theater, then on 9/4/98 I get a VERY itchy rash on the tops of my thighs, which spreads over my lower body, and call Dermatologist to find there's no appointment until November, so I call Chin who says soap is OK and I can use calamine. Then Pope gets an appointment for Dr. Taft the new guy 9/15/98, so I go in too and get two cherry angiomas burned off the back of my head, one next to a mole, which would have caused the bleeding on the pillowcase, and gives me a prescription for 1) a MOISTURIZER which I use over my whole body after each shower, 2) an anti-itch medication, 3) told to get Lever 2000 or Dove soap, and 4) and anti-itch and pro-sleep pill if the itching keeps waking me up but I don't HAVE to get THAT one, maybe not OTHERS!
11/3/98: Fell in Central Park about 1PM Friday, 10/29, and friends on the phone on Saturday persuaded me to wait from 2-3:40PM to see Dr. Valdes, who said I should make an emergency orthopedist appointment on Monday to look at the x-rays. Small redness and swelling on Friday, larger both on Saturday, but I took off the splint on Sunday morning to work a bit and the swelling and redness was almost completely gone. Waited 10AM-12:10AM Monday for Dr. Walker, who said COLD was best, nothing broken, and prescribed diclofenac for pain. Today waited 11:15-12:15 for Chin, who said 1) he "can't" prescribe THC for my arthritis, though some studies are being done, 2) my shoulder is probably tendinitis, since the tendon IS enlarged, and I shouldn't do "range of motion" for the next two weeks until it goes away with diclofenac OR I'll get it x-rayed then, 3) the colon test is a sigmoidoscopy: "You had that, didn't you?" I said YES, but I checked back and DIDN'T have one since FEBRUARY 1982! 4) LDL test has to be TOTALLY fasting, so he gives me a sheet for it tomorrow. 5) Ask if I should stop Tylenol with diclofenac and he says "Take both, they do different things, both may HELD, even with shoulder" and that I'll get used to the drowsiness side-effect of the new drug, which in fact IS somewhat better even TODAY, having just taken THREE of the 60 that were $52+ at pharmacy.
11/24/98: Hit right thumb atop Pope's stair-support coming down from his place, and it HURT, and when I try turning off the faucet, or close a jar-lid or cap, it REALLY hurts, and I might have pulled some sort of TENDON??
12/31/98: Dr. Chin on 12/30: 1) my shoulder has NO arthritis, so it's either tendinitis or bursitis, for which he says call 1-800-HIP-TALK to get the address of a local HIP chiropractor, but it'll take maybe a month for relief. 2) Swimming may help as exercise so I guess chiropractor will say more on it. 3) Tylenol is ONLY against pain, it doesn't help with inflammation, so if I don't need it for PAIN I shouldn't take it. 4) He laughs when I said I had my last sigmoidoscopy in 1982 and gives me an appointment with Dr. DaCosta on 1/17/99. 5) For my possibly hurting liver and more Lescol, he says I should have a blood test for LDL/HDL AND liver function, which I should have THIS morning which he'll have back on his computer on Monday, at which time I may ask for the prescription he gave me that I sent yesterday to AARP Pharmacy, cheaper than Rite-Aid, to be filled. 6) For my dark stool, NOT from Lescol, I should eat more fiber. Otherwise my blood pressure is 120/80, weight 188#, OK!
1/5/99: Get close-by chiropractor, but they only treat NECK and SPINE hurts!
1/14/99: LICH dentist Dr. Shulman whirrs away at lower left cap, says it has to be removed, will cost me $450 for gold over four or five visits. Bah!!
1/19/99: Thought DaCosta was going to DO sigmoidoscopy, but he only checks me out and give me preparatory regime for a 2/10 sigmoidoscopy.
1/21/99: Dr. Walker injects left shoulder bursa with cortisone and lidocaine, prescribed diclofenac for pain though he doesn't remember doing it 11/8/98!
3/16/99: 9:30AM: Decide to catch up on the transcription of these old notes:
4/16/98: from Arthrologist's appointment: 1) IS osteoarthritis? Yes "very mild".2) Elbow pains? Maybe. 3) TOE pains? Maybe (and these don't cause problems in next year). 4) Naproxen/ibuprofen/aspirin/acetaminophen, which is Tylenol, best. 5) Good to SHAKE hands in heat of steam? Not if it HURTS. 6) Exercises for hands good. 7) Arthril is only weak capsaicin, he give me stronger tube. 8) No diet cautions; nightshade only old wives tale. 9) Tests for DEGREE of strength-loss? Not asked. DOLORAC is OK OTC salve. Come back in year. Take typing BREAKS. Hands under hot water in mornings. No blood measure for it, though people are working on it. Anything that causes pain, don't do. Maintain motion, don't stress, don't overuse.
8/7/98: Cholesterol 215, HDL 34, LDL 150, borderline no good. Triglycerides 123, good. Check again in three months. 11/18/98: Cholesterol 215, LDL 156, try Lescol 1/night, but seems to cause liver problem. Make appointment and see in a month. Stop taking.
8/18/98: 6:45PM: First spot-fort in AGES after about 3 hours FreeCell.
8/23/98: Right KNEE starts hurting. Particularly DOWN Pope's stairs and walk home on Hicks. Transient, I hope---and on 3/16/99 it seems it WAS.
8/23/98: Reflux 4:50AM after 9:50PM dinner: 7 hours! AGAIN at 5:15 and 7:40!
9/29/98: Left shoulder STARTS paining, arthritis-like. By 10/10 becomes painful in a 4" strip below joint.
10/12/98: unusual diarrhea: 3 times at night and twice in day, maybe from West End Gate FOOD? Then NONE 10/13, and normal shit at 10AM 10/14.
11/3/98: Chin: 1) THC, "can't do that." 2) Shoulder: probably tendinitis. STOP exercises, if still in two weeks, x-ray. 3) Colon cancer test? only sigmoidoscopy. 4) LDL/HDL test MUST be fasting. 5) Stop taking Tylenol when I'm taking diclofenac? No, take WITH, combination may HELP, even with shoulder. But it doesn't and I stop taking BOTH because NEITHER seems to help.
1/5/99: Notice my liver NO LONGER hurts. But 1/17 it's BACK, in the REAR of my right ribs.
1/15/99: Triglycerides 78, Cholesterol 209, HDL (good) 38, LDL (bad) 155, SGPT at 70, PROBLEMS with Lescol, stop it. Eat more fish, cut down meat, no ice cream, diet one month and take test.
2/10/99: for Colonoscopy: take milk of magnesia 1AM, shit 4:20AM, shit 4:45AM, shit 8:05AM, enema 1 8:15AM, shit 8:20, enema 2 8:30AM, shit 8:40, shower, appointment at 10AM, seen at 12, no colon problems, "small hemorrhoids only."
Also 2/10/99: LDL 171, cholesterol 227, triglycerides 70, may have liver infection or hepatitis, take test to check.
2/26/99: No hepatitis, cholesterol 227, LDL 171, no liquor, no dairy, check.
3/16/99: 2:40AM: first reflux in ages (last recorded 8/23, 7 months ago), maybe from chocolate on ice cream last night? Not ACID reflux, almost sweet to the taste, but still very unpleasant.
Also 3/16/99: For a month now: VERY itchy pimple-like spot on left-rear middle back.
5/11/99: Chin's 4:45PM appointment at 5:30-5:53PM: 1) head sores same as blips on chest, will cut them off if they bleed a lot, 2) right armpit lymph nodes are HIGHER ON ARM, not down on chest: no problem, 3) physical therapy on Atlantic Avenue, but when I phone on 5/14 they have NOTHING for a MONTH and can only put me on a waiting list!, 4) LDL: Chol 230 OK, Trig 120 great, HDL 41 (was 42) and LDL 170 (was 171). So oatmeal doesn't help. He puts me on Pravachol, 10mg (lowest dose to try for a month) which I phone in to AARP on 5/13 for $50+, take ALONG WITH Gemfibrozil, one tablet at night before bed. 5) Liver was 70 with Lescol, which is why we stopped that, in February was 54, in April was 55, normal is UP to 45. 6) PSA OK. Come back in 6 weeks for blood pressure: was 140/80, unusual! and liver function, taking blood tests in 5 weeks. Otherwise liver palpation and heart was fine, foot circulation fine, and rectal probe had been expanded upon in sigmoidoscopy previously.
6/17/99: Ophthalmologist Kopelowitz says my ocular pressure is "low normal" at 10, my inner right-eye eyelid is a bit inflamed but it's only caused by dryness and nothing to worry about, and my eyes are fine, not worth changing my prescription for a SLIGHT (20/25) weakness in my left-assisted vision.
Also 6/17/99: My LEFT KNEE hurts when I balance on left leg---starting to GO??
7/1/99: LDL high at 174. Liver SGOT is 41 (WAS 70, Feb 54, "normal up to 45", but THIS time "normal less than 36"). Hold off on Pravachol, which will make liver worse. Keep ON with Gemfibrozil. Appointment for 7/14.
8/12/99: Chin: Liver perfectly OK. Keep on with Pravachol. Cholesterol 199, LDL 116, Triglycerides 199.
8/20/99: Dine 9:30-10:15. Bed 11:35. REFLUX 1:40AM.
8/27/99: Walking Carroll Gardens and the left side of my left knee FIRST seems to go SENSELESS, as if it might buckle, and THEN starts HURTING in an area about the size of my HAND on the right-inside of my whole left knee: I LIMP!
11/8/99: Blood results from Pravachol: LDL 106, but Triglycerides to 400: Chin puts me on Tricor (in AM) in combination with Pravachol. Blood test 11/29/99.
11/29/99: Results from lumbar x-ray: "Muscle spasm." Prior liver "improved." Triglycerides now 258, had been over 400. Cholesterol is 170, had been 199. Another blood test in one month.
12/8/99: I sit in the dining room on my old desk-chair for three hours working on the math index and when I get up my lower back is VERY sore: can't bend over, change position, or get to feet for shoes or socks without JABBING pain! Thought I had FEW in past, but check back to 1/95, 9/97, and last 12/97!! Go to the gym regardless, which seems OK, but hit 201#!!!
2/13/00: Sift through 1999 calendar for DENTAL dates: 1/14/99: recap of lower left gold needed, done 1/28, 2/16, and 3/5. 7/20/99 Cleaning, 8/26 Exam, 9/10 appointment (x-rays) and, as I recall, absolutely nothing needed to be done!
2/9/00: LICH cleaning. 2/14: exam.
2/17/00: Physical with Chin: Prostate feels OK, check kidney for frequency. Get dermatologist appointment for forehead bumps. Sun-poisoning normal, use sun-block, but thing on leg was probably insect bite. Leg circulation is fine, as is blood pressure at 120/80. Blood tests and stool exam during fasting time.
3/20/00: Chin: Cholesterol 176, LDL 110, HDL 34, Trig 162, No prostate problems, Liver OK, Stool normal. Everything looks GOOD!
3/26/00: Walked OK all day Friday, 3/24, in Hartford, but it hurt walking back from getting the Times Saturday, 3/25, and all day Sunday, 3/26, thru Wed 3/29.
3/29/00: Dr. Taft (cute) at 195 Montague, takes me RIGHT AWAY, even before my 10:30AM appointment, and nitrogen-freezes my forehead sebaceous keratosis. He tells me to buy Aquaphor, which I do, and put some on last night which rubs off onto my pillow. Will blister, then scab will need softening for about five weeks before it falls off without a scar. Amazon trip shouldn't hurt it. He also writes on a little note that the spots on my legs (mostly associated with females!) are dermatofibromas, and needn't be removed unless they enlarge.
3/31/00: Dr. Chin says my knee swelling is only bursitis and prescribes naproxen sodium, 500mg, twice a day for 10 days, to which I add 25 days again.
5/4/00: Emergency with some foreign doctor who 1) says I have an upper-respiratory infection with my colored nasal discharge, my 99° temperature, and maybe even my mucus-coated stools, and prescribes Amoxicillin; 2) changes the bandage on my leg and says to use Bacitracin and it'll be OK, and that I can continue using naproxen sodium for arthritis discomfort; 3) says my inner lip is slightly swollen and has no stitches and will get better; 4) says Dr. Chin should check my liver function for venous return; and 5) the rash on my left ankle is "stasis dermatitis" and I should try to keep my leg raised. OK!
5/30/00: Into Chin's 3:55pm for 4PM appointment, out at 4:08PM! Stool-work not ready, try tomorrow at 1:30PM. Cholesterol 179, triglycerides 165, HDL 32, LDL 114, all good readings. Liver normal. Knee has a spur, keep off it, naproxen sodium helps; if I want to experiment stopping it to see what happens, it won't get worse, only more painful. Only scar inside lower lip, no clamp; it may go away, it may not. "Venous return" means my veins are VARICOSE: either have them taken OUT or stay off legs: it IS hereditary (Dad had them), nothing I can do about it; sugar was normal in March. Dark right little-toe is FUNGUS, which will need a medication that takes 6 months to clear and has to be closely monitored, so I'll get that when I get back (no relation at all to venous return). Osteopath will probably inject my knee (still slightly swollen) after I get back, maybe withdrawing some fluid. Stay off legs mostly!
5/31/00: 1:20PM: Stool culture was normal, blood pressure 120/80, perfect.
6/24/00: Foot sore & swollen: get x-ray, NO broken bone, take anti-inflammatory!
6/26/00: Dr. Walker, orthopedist, NO MORE naproxen sodium: inflammation is Dolor, Rubor, Calor: pain, redness, heat, which I manifest NONE of for him! However since I JUST distributed naproxen sodium, I CONTINUE taking it 7/9/00.
7/13/00: Dental cleaning and exam: DESPITE sweet-sensitivity, ALL IS OK!!
7/14/00: Dr. Chin makes me this 10:15AM appointment when I called him Wednesday for a prescription. I have a list: 1) TOE? Wait two months before starting antifungal medicine, which might affect liver. 2) Arthrologist? Gives me slip to take to second floor, where clerk makes copy and says he'll phone me date. 3) Tricor renewal? Got and sent. 4) Rohypnol? Must have EKG first. Have it, THEN he gives Rx for Ambien, which I send off. 5) Leg-rash? Contact dermatitis, apply Hydrocortisone. 6) Right-foot "metatarsal" sore, nothing said. 7) Sleep apnea? EENT appointment with Palgon 7/21. Gives me a blood form to get tests a week before my next appointment with him in two months, which Donna makes for 9/7 so I put everything on calendar and am now up to date here!
8/16/00: LOTS of things done: Palgon referred me to Seligor: I have a very long uvula and MIGHT need a sleep-test. Seligor looked at nothing, asked me the same questions that were on the form, and said I should call for a sleep-test appointment. Went to ophthalmologist who said my reading-vision has changed, and I should go to Grand Opticians for new glasses, which I got measured for yesterday and will pick up new $70 glasses on Friday. Got the x-rays from Special Services and went to Dr. Green yesterday: 1) I don't have a spur, though my right (on x-ray, which I KEPT) knee-space is getting smaller. 2) Exercise? OK if no PAIN; don't SQUAT. 3) Jacuzzi and heat would be OK for looseness, but then use ICE AFTER. 4) Stop naproxen sodium (and I still have it portioned out for today and tomorrow, so I'll stop THEN. 5) Bending and stairmaster OK, just no squats. HUMIDITY is bad for arthritis, which troubled me AND Pope yesterday. Showed him my diagram of pain foci: side-bone pain 8/6, bone-pain along lower ridge when I stand up, muscular pain at right top, and whole thing hurts muscularly when I climb stairs after not exercising. He said the knee had a BIT of fluid on it, but not to worry about it. Come back in one year. Sleep-test didn't get my records from Seligor yet, so she'll call back, probably before Friday, to schedule me to come in and sleep for the record.
9/9/00: Chin on 9/8: 1) Pravachol IS just before bedtime, to minimize side effects. 2) Blood work: cholesterol 185, OK; LDL (bad) 78, OK; HLD (good) 31, which is low; triglycerides 378 (was 168), high, may have to increase Tricor, or it MAY have been my eating at 2AM and getting blood taken at 10AM, so I should take blood tests again in TWO months, before 11/5 appointment made for me. For ALL blood tests, no eating after MIDNIGHT! 3) Fungus seems to be GONE on little toe. 4) Peeling on knee-front may just be stress; report if it continues to happen. 5) Depression: "sounds like mild depression; take Celexa in lowest dose, 20mg, and make appointment to come back in a month." When I bought a combo-glucosamine-chondroitin for joint relief at Rite-Aid I decided to WAIT a month to have joint effects INDEPENDENT of possible depression-relief. 6) I didn't bother to mention that my right knee seemed better.
10/6/00: Chin appointment: 1) Call Valentina NOV. 20 for flu shot! 2) OK to dead-stop Celexa; he'll give me another, if I want. 3) Seligor kept the sleep-test results to give me his interpretation on Thursday. 4) Nothing (no studies) on Glucosamine/Chondroitin, so I can take harmless maximum dosages.
10/12/00: Seliger on sleep-study: 10:45 appointment ONLY at 11:46! I slept two hours. "Didn't find anything, but not much sleep. EEG not GOOD for "special brainwaves during my medication." Got ANOTHER authorization from Palgon, they will call me. I should request the windowless room AND come late. I decide I should bring my OWN pillow, bring slippers, and wear pajamas, which will be more comfortable for putting on the sensors. I can also ask for LIGHT fingertip pressure! "Usually we see SEVERE apnea in JUST two hours, but you should really have another test." I leave at 11:56---will probably get another HIP notice of their having paid him another $75 for his ten minutes! Not bad!
11/3/00: Chin appointment: cholesterol 185, triglycerides 230 (WERE 190!), LDL 107, OK; HDL 33, low, but stay with Tricor and Pravachol; eat more FISH. Blood pressure 120/80, but weight on HIS scale 205, when on mine it was 199! I say I "just had breakfast," and he lets it go, saying only "You're up 6 pounds." UGH! Another appointment, with week-prior blood-tests, in 3 months, 1/26/01!
11/17/00: First spot-fort in ages, from 2:30-3:15PM, last recorded 8/98.
Also 11/17/00: Things slowing down: tired from 5-hour sleep-night TWO DAYS after. Tired WAY after gym-day over. Thinking more of just NOT DOING, or NOT SCHEDULING, to make things easier. Wish I DID have more indexing work however.
12/2/00: 10AM: Actually PEED about two or three tablespoons in BED!
12/5/00: Right middle-finger "top" knuckle HURTS from arthritis for 2-3 days.
1/2/01: First acid reflux, diluted with water, since 8/20/99, 16+ months ago.
1/26/01: Chin's check on blood: triglycerides 408 (were 230!) (but he said that the effects of alcohol would stay in the blood for about a WEEK, so I drank at the Metropolitan Club on Thursday, 4 days before), so he said to come back in two months to see if it's still up and increase my medications. Cholesterol 177 (was 185, but LDL 84, where it was 107, and HDL (good) is only 27, when it was 33 before. Blood pressure WAY up at 140/86 (5/11/99 was 140/80, previous high!), but he's not worried. Weight 202, he said down 5 but only down 3 from before, which was all-time high. Can't make appointment then, but have to call 2nd week of February for 2-month appointment with blood tests.
2/14/01: Overdid Beard on Saturday, so to prevent a Sunday hangover I took two aspirin Saturday night. Still felt "blah" Sunday morning waking early to get to Ken's at 10AM for brunch, so I took two more aspirin. Ate too much at brunch and MAN, so I didn't eat anything for the rest of the afternoon except for a Neufchatel sandwich for my evening pills, along with two aspirin for a slight headache. Monday had a headache all day, getting worse, starting to worry about it. When it began to throb and become sensitive to movement late Monday, I took two more aspirin and resolved to call HIP for emergency. They changed everything AGAIN: 1) HIP-HELP no longer "works," must phone HIP-TALK to get anyone (and took the chance to ask about a) the drug-formulary $500 limit and found that the list puts FIRST the brand or generic name it supports, so Pravachol first, being brand, costs $15 per regular prescription and $7.50 for phone-mail prescription, and HIP only pays to $500 of the SOMEWHAT bargain-priced COST of the drugs, not to $500 of what I pay; b) HIP can only act as Medicare Part A AND B AND supplement!; c) I can only get gym-discount information WHEN I join; d) I can get direct-pay choice only AFTER I join), and emergency is just GO evenings, but during the day "doctor is on 24-hour call." So I call Chin and he puts me on at noon. Go in and wait in the new area on second floor of Montague, and he says "pinched nerve." All I tell about it only reaffirms his diagnosis. He prescribes "Anapron/Arapron" twice a day and "it'll be gone Friday." When I find it's Naproxen at 550g 2/day, I know I have my OWN (2½ tablets/dose) and CANCEL my prescription, which would have cost a LOT, I bet. I ask "Do you treat Medicare patients different from regular?" and he insists "No." No restrictions, no limitations. I ask "Since my HIP Medicare can't start till April 1 (since I sent in application after 2/10), would I have to PAY you for March appointment?" and he doesn't know, sending me to Administrator across hall. SHE doesn't know, since she's not MEDICARE, I'd have to phone HIP central office in Manhattan. SHE phones Special Services to find they DID get Palgon's referral to LICH doctor and will try to get appointment BEFORE 2/27. I change Chin to 4/23 from 3/20 and find now that it DOES work. LOTS GOING ON!!
4/23/01: Ask Dr. Chin about my taking lecithin and fish oils, and he says that's fine, any lipoproteins are GOOD from them. My cholesterol is 154, great; and HDL is 31, not great; LDL is 93, improving but not great; and triglycerides only 150! Liver function is fine, and weight is 200#, GOOD! He gives me a number on Nostrand to call about Palgon's referral to Dr. Turk.
7/25/01: Physical with Chin (last was 7/14/00): everything checks OK: eyes, ears, stomach, prostate, BP 130/80---maybe because it's so hot, liver OK, HDL is still low and LDL still under 100, total cholesterol was 185, so I should keep on taking Gemfibrozil and Pravachol (which may give me heartburn): he gives prescriptions. X-ray for heel spur; soak in warm Epsom salts and stay off it. Call for ophthalmology appointment. Come in for stool test. 3-month appt.
9/4/01: 1) Phoned Odinsky: try rolling-on-can and hot-cold rehabilitation programs for two days, and call back on Thursday to find if I still want to come in. 2) Visited Kopelowitz, the ophthalmologist, who could have been the optometrist if I just wanted to check for my glasses-prescription, but he took me and looked into my eyes and said there were no signs of glaucoma or cataracts and that my prescription didn't need to be changed a bit. Felt better about this, particularly when Mildred at lunch said she DIDN'T want to see her eye doctor, who said "You'll take these cataracts to the grave." Huh??
9/6/01: 1) Phoned Odinsky, said "Improved, but I'm still worried." She SAID he would call me back, but he didn't. 2) Finally phoned Chin for stool test: OK!
10/5/01: 1:15PM: Saw Chin with a list of NINE points: 1) Cold? 99° yesterday at 2:15PM, and he takes my temperature and it's 100°!, so he gives me a prescription for penicillin for ten days! 2) PSA? He gives me a blood-work sheet, but says it has to be fasting, so I can't do it then. 3) Side-stitch may be the liver, but he has to get liver results from the same blood test, which I'll try to get in on Monday or Tuesday. 4) Cipro Rx? He gives me one for 20 capsules! 5) Toe? He gives me an appointment with Odinsky again: the toe isn't growing OUT right, it'll have to be CUT a bit more! But there's nothing critical about it; it can wait till after the trip. 6) FART a lot? I asked him about red and green peppers and he laughs and says "Cut them out!" 7) Anxiety and depression about WTC? Everyone's there, "The HIP center has counseling sessions if you'd like." 9) Neck and chest blots: no dermatologist now, but there'll be one in two or three weeks, and I can make an appointment then. My blood pressure is 130/80, probably because I'm stressed, and I weigh 196#, which is good for me. Pick up Pravachol and Tricor, leave off Penicillin and Cipro, and get one Penicillin from Rite-Aid which I take at 1PM, after heating up a bit of tuna and noodles to put down a food base. Lots going on!
10/8/01: 4PM: FINALLY get to see Dr. Turk! My CURRENT notes go back to 8/1/01 through Gerard, Roxanne, Rita on 4/24!, Ms. Ramballi and Ms. Baker from 8/24, not to mention the fact that my FIRST sleep-test was in September 2000 and my second in December 2000, BOTH of which, he said, furnished good information for his diagnoses. HE threads a telescope through my nose and asks me to snore, saying that my septum is SLIGHTLY deviated toward the RIGHT, so that my snoring might be a BIT less if I were lying on my LEFT side, which is how I START trying to go to sleep, but I'm reminded that I was lying on my RIGHT side when Ken woke me in Vienna to "stop my snoring that was preventing his sleep." He told me that scores up to 5 were NORMAL, and that my 3.5 was WELL below ANY kind of abnormality, but that if I wanted a laser operation, not covered by HIP, for about $2500, I could get it for purely SOCIAL reasons. I replied that I lived alone and that the two guys I traveled with snored ALSO, so I wouldn't think that was needed. He said that my nasal cavities and associated areas looked "just fine," and I had "nothing to worry about."
10/9/01: 2PM: Waited until I got the call from Tina from Cadman Travel before going for my blood-taking for the liver functions and PSA readings, which I got about 12:30PM, and then got back to lunch about 1PM. Saw the sign for HIV-screening on the lab door and asked if I had to have a recommendation from Chin to get that, and they said yes. Also verified that the flu shots were going to be late this year, no knowledge now of WHEN they would be in. So I updates my questions for Chin when I get back to three: 1) results of 10/9 blood test, 2) flu-shot?, and 3) can you recommend me for the HIV screening, since I DID have my interactions with Michael, HIV+, AFTER taking my last test a couple years ago, and it's nice to be SURE, even though I can't say that I've had that much activity in the recent past, not Tony nor Paul even AROUND during that time. AND Chin says Cipro IS a five-day regimen, "unless needed."
11/26/01: Odinsky's 10:20AM appointment not taken till 12:30, "as usual," and though he was triple-booked, he still chatted about indexing while telling me that my left toe hadn't a root problem, as Chin feared, it's just been rubbing against the toe next to it, and I might want to look into a diabetic's shoe that has a "raised wide box" of Lycra to give the toes room, and for my hammertoes. But the two "spots" on the bottom of my RIGHT foot are WARTS, for which I should use Dr. Scholes liquid anti-wart medicine and rub off any excess skin. He puts some on, and when I take it off it's like a PATCH of black skin, rather sore to step onto, and I'll try and see how it works.
11/27/01: Finally get to Chin about my 10/9 blood results, which Donna had to put onto his computer files, and PSA readings good, total cholesterol 193, "good" HDL 41, "bad" LDL 130, triglycerides 86 thanks to Gemfibrozil, great; but test again in two months and may go from 10mg to 20mg Pravachol; pick up slip from Donna. Monica Walters is nurse who 1) gives flu shot tomorrow 11-4 and 2) can give HIV test after interview, no referral needed from Chin.
11/28/01: Monica 1) gave flu shot (saying "deadline" was November 30! 2) gave slip for HIV test, which I gave blood for on 11/29, will see her for results 12/7, when I ask Chin to put testosterone on the blood-sheet that he seems NOT to have left with Donna, because clerk couldn't find it today. MORE to do!
12/18/01: blood results: total cholesterol 187 (better than 193 before), Healthy DL 40 (worse than 41 before), Lousy DL 126 (better than 130 before), triglycerides 103 (much worse than 86 before), liver and kidney OK, and testosterone, first test (with Adrenlarge supplements) 240, where anything over 100 is normal. So he said I needn't change anything. Now for the dentist?
5/18/02: Got a cold somewhere over the May 4-5 weekend, either out in Jersey with Vicki or from the attendees at the Beard celebration at the Four Seasons. It went normally through Thursday 5/9 when I felt so poorly that I took my temperature at 8:48AM: 98.0°. Then at 1PM it was 99.3°. Woke Friday at 3AM deciding that if I had a fever I'd try to get an antibiotic from Dr. Chin, but my temperature was again 98.0°. But the stuffed nose and tired feeling hung on through the week of 5/12, though I forced myself to the gym on 5/17, which didn't feel too bad. But STILL stuffed nose today, Saturday, TWO WEEKS LATER!
5/30/02: Checked Chin for physical: weight 196, same as before; blood pressure perfect at 120/80. Shiny spot on thumb is "broken cyst," OK. Kidneys are OK, triglycerides 118 good, cholesterol 193, with HLD 40 and LDL 129 (so avocados aren't helping SO far!), "no diabetes," and testosterone is 186, where 200 is low normal. PSA 1.05, good. Liver test is HIGH: normal is 36, I have 44, where 90-100 is BAD, so he wants to check me for hepatitis, telling me to check blood in three weeks and see him in a month, which turns out to be Friday 6/28. He also give me Viagra 50mg prescription for 5, and rather than medication for depression gives me a referral to the Medical Group for a psychiatrist's check, calling for appointment on 6/13. Then Jean-Pierre calls!
7/5/02: Went to Chin on 6/25 to re-check my SGOT readings. Normal is 36, and on 5/25 it was 44, which Chin said he wanted to re-check in a month. It's NOT a fasting test, so when it came out 40 from the 6/25 test, he said it was OK.
Also 7/5/02: To summarize my "psychiatric" component: told Chin months ago that I was depressed and he suggested the 9/11 support group, which I didn't think would be worth it. Then told him again and he said "Would you like to see a therapist, free with HIP?" I said OK, made an appointment with Carolyn Anderson, who referred me to Dr. Jaffe, who prescribed Wellbutrin (buproprion) which I started taking ONE 6/26 and TWO 7/3, and will see him today at 11AM.
7/21/02: I GUESS it was May 26th at Sherryl's that I had that ACUTE pain just below my right knee that lasted 25 or 30 seconds, worrying me considerably. But it didn't come back until the morning of July 19, when it was so localized it felt it must be some kind of NERVE pinch, and I may have helped it (or not) by pressing in on the exact area about an inch below my kneecap, on the right where I could feel one of the knobs of the bone in my lower leg where it hits the apparatus of the knee. Then I seem AT LAST to be free of what must have been poison ivy gotten from the slippers I wore on my bare feet when I visited Pope on June 23, even though it didn't manifest until July 1, but it lasted until the last blotches seemed to dry on my left calf by Saturday's trip to the gym, the third time in nine days to make up for the 10-days' closing for "maintenance." But the pains in my thumbs certainly aren't getting any easier.
7/27/02: 3AM: TERRIBLE coughing jag, only taking two Fishermen's Friends helps.
8/2/02: Catching up with notes: poison ivy, starting July 1, ended around July 25, about the last application of the calamine lotion. I guess I'm not keeping track of Viagra notes HERE, nor gym-orientation notes, both to NOTEREPL today.
9/20/02: Having had my crotch-rot for two weeks, and worsening itch on my left little toes, I decided to phone Dr. Chin at 9:04AM, with 4 music-blips, and a "Hold-on" at 27 rings, it rings 45 times by 9:09, and I get a 10AM appointment which is taken about 10:20, to tell me it's athlete's foot on the foot, for which he says to buy Lotrimin AF, which I get as Clotrimazole by Rite-Aid, and Hydrocortizone 1/2%, but they only have 1%, and the crotch, which he properly terms my "groin," needs a prescription of Spectazole for my jock-itch, which actually HAS a good picture in the previous edition of my saved Medical book, and "it should clear up in a week." I give blood at 10:30 and pick up the medications and prescriptions and get home to put all them on, getting laundry.
9/26/02: To Chin for new Spectazole, twice the original tube, and get my blood reports from 9/20: cholesterol 192 (5/30 figures: 193, now better), triglycerides 99 (118, now better), LDL 134 (129, now worse), HDL 38 (40, now worse), potassium normal, and kidney and liver functions OK. Oh, on 9/20 my blood pressure was perfect 120/80.Forgot to ask about C-reactive protein test.
10/18/02: Athlete's foot seems to be gone for the past few days, but the crotch-rot is still there, though lessened in area and intensity, still Spectazole.
10/21/02: Only DOCTORS can give flu shots before November, so I make an 11:30 appointment with Chin, he sees me at 11:50, gives it, says "No more Spectazole."
1/9/03: Reflux 4AM mildly after LESSER Beard meal in two days (1/7 and 1/8).
1/29/03: Medium reflux 2:20AM after big chicken dinner 9:45-10:05 & bed 11:05.
4/21/03: Report on 4/15 bloodwork: Cholesterol 197 (higher, but OK), HDL 47 (up by quite a bit!), LDL 130 (down a bit), PSA not in yet, triglycerides 86, lowest ever? Good C-reactive protein test will be ready in JUNE with PHYSICAL!
8/20/03: Make list for my next physical, WAY behind-time: 1) right-shoulder ache started on trip with KEN in late May, still sore: arthritis? 2) blood tests, INCLUDING C-reactive protein. 3) prostate enlarged, causing dribble, weak flow and repeated-urinations-in-one and frequency? 4) crud at scalp-back? 5) GROWING forehead blob? Do they have a dermatologist yet? 6) want an ophthalmology check so I can get new glasses before the frames on the old ones break. 7) PSA results from 4/15 bloodwork? 8) Deposits building up in hands, giving more pain? 9) Varicose veins "better" with horse-chestnut seed extract?
9/19/03 Physical results: 1) Right shoulder? X-ray for bone or tendinitis. 2) Stool, liver, kidneys, blood sugar all OK. 3) Cholesterol 176 (even lower), triglycerides 63 (no such things as "too low"), LDL 120 (nicely down), HDL 43 (down 4, but then total was down 21!). 4) Prostate enlarged, prescribes Proscar. 5) Dermatology appointment later for forehead blob and chest blob and "pimple" on right cheek. 6) PSA now 1.14, test not taken 4/15. 7) More hand pain? X-rays to compare with long-past X-rays, ready in 10 days (Donna: now taking 3 weeks!). 8) Horse chestnut extract NO good for varicose veins. Forgot to ask about C-reactive protein number and testosterone and flu shot. 9) Crud at back of head: no problem.
10/21/03: Saw Dr. Chin for flu shot (and cancelled the appointment made for 10/27, too soon before my trip), and he said x-rays showed "thin bones" and recommended more calcium. Left blood for 1) C-reactive protein, third time, and 2) testosterone. Call next week for results.
12/12/03: Saw Dr. Chin to say 1) no Proscar side-effects (fatigue?), so he renews my prescription for 5 months, 2) C-reactive protein is "normally 1-5, and mine is 2," which isn't quite as good as 1, but it's not bad. Checking my total cholesterol/HDL gives 4.09, giving me a relative risk from the Scientific American article at 3.5, not the best, but low-poor. 3) testosterone is low, but he agrees when I say it's not worth the risk to take a supplement, 4) there's NO new-flu-strain vaccine available, 5) neither Proscar nor Pravachol is available in generic for the next two years, but the "Medicare new prescription law should help." Sure. My blood pressure was 140/80, MAYBE caused by the gym, but he wants to check in 6 weeks, Jan 28, 11AM.
12/17/03: Saw Dr. Rendler, sweet and considerate, on the second floor across from the Mental Health wing, and he froze the spots on my forehead and chest, saying that I don't have to treat them in any special way, though I was surprised when the chest-spot welled up softly and BLED onto my clean T-shirts. I couldn't even FIND the left-thigh lump, outside and below my shorts, and he put a dot of nitrogen on my right cheek also, and scanned my entire body when I stripped so he could check, seeming to think it was a good idea. The scabs took about 10 days to fall off, and the forehead scar is barely noticeable, while the chest spot is visible, but getting less so with the passage of more time. Glad to get THAT over with.
1/28/04: Linda says my teeth look great, Dr. DeMatteo counts my root canals: 1) top right last TWO teeth, "Next last has huge post, last huge filling." 2) None on the lower right. 3) Second in on bottom left. X-rays say I have a darkening area around upper rightmost tooth, "You know it'll go eventually, but it won't develop quickly, won't hurt the tooth next to it, and your bridge WILL hold if that's taken away." We'll wait and see. I feel good.
1/29/04: Dr. Chin says my blood pressure is perfect: 120/80. "No trace of pneumonia from Malta cold." Gives me blood-test sheet and Rx for Ambien for sleep, and the next day an Rx for Larium for Ken-announced malaria in Vanuatu. Makes an appointment with an endocrinologist to see about my hormones for sex.
2/6/04: Gave blood 2/2 and phoned for results: 1) cholesterol 183 (up from 176), 2) LDL 120 and HDL 43 EXACTLY as before, 3) triglycerides 99 (up from 63), 4) no PSA, 5) liver OK, 6) testosterone 318 (normal is over 280). GOOD!
2/13/04: (Friday the 13th!): Gym produces a pain in my left knee that persists on Saturday---start of something awful?
3/23/04: Cold starts after South Pacific cruise, cough lasting until 4/3!
5/4/04: Appointment with endocrinologist "made" on 1/29/04, dated 2/20/04, for noon on 5/4/04, "only" 97-day delay! Make a prescription/vitamin list for her:
PRESCRIPTIONS: 1) Gemfibrozil, 600mg 2/day, since 8/4/94. 2) Pravachol, 10mg 1/bed, since 5/11/99. 3) Proscar, 5mg, 1/bed, since 9/19/03.
VITAMINS: 1) Multi (A/C/D/E/B1/B2/Nia/B6/B12/Iod) 2/day. 2) Vitamin C 2g/day. 3) Calcium 1800mg/day. 4) Vitamin E 400iu. 5) Glucosamine 1500mg. 6) Lecithin 1200mg. 7) Omega 3/6 400mcg. 8) Folic acid 400mcg. 9) Aspirin 100mg. 10) L-Arginine 500mg. Arrive 11:55AM, at 1:05PM: "She's usually like this. When you came in at 11:55, there were 2 people in front of you, one whose appointment was at 10:30AM. She just takes a long time." I'm in at 1:06, then she has an emergency diabetic crisis on cell-phone 1:06-1:24. Tell her 1) "On way to Urologist," 2) Sex problems: a) severely reduced libido, NO AM erections, b) constricted cum non-emission OK?, c) testosterone OK? d) "vanishing cock" normal with fat? 3) Irritability. She asks about stress, takes blood pressure of 130/85, saying "That's normal with stress of coming to a strange doctor with your sexual problems." She palpates my testicles and finds a CALCIFICATION in right testes. I leave at 1:45, late for Chanterelle, handing two appointments ("They'll call you") for 1) Sonogram for genitalia and calcification and hypogonadism, 2) Bone density study for osteoporosis. I'm to give Chin 3) request for urology consult and take in 4) blood test for TSH, HCG, total testosterone, LFT, SMA-12, S-prolactin, and LH/FSH, done at 7:30 to get my HIGHEST testosterone level, and 5) Semen analysis---don't know if I "take it home" or "give there." WHEW!
WEDNESDAY, 7/14/04: Finally have Urologist, Dr. Surasi, see me 9:55-10:25AM: his first question was "Why do you want to see me?" and later tells me he's mainly a SURGEON, which I don't need the services of. I tell him my problems from above, and he says my testosterone is 265, where "normal," which he seems to say does NOT vary with age, is 280 and up. He says my prostate is normal size, NO evidence of right-testicular calcification---and when I FIND the tough spot I think the endocrinologist found, he says that's normal, and the sonogram found nothing wrong. "You have veins on your left testicle, but that's normal; you have veins on your right testicle too." My blood results I have to discuss with my family doctor or endocrinologist, not him. When I insist on asking him about the semen analysis, he says there's NO sperm, which is not normal, but it's been true for a long time, Proscar would have nothing to do with it. Hypogonadism means low SPERM, not small SIZE. He says this'll be the last time I see him, and I say I hope so and he smiles. Make an appointment with Chin for when I come back from Rome. Debate asking if I should stop taking Proscar, but get a refill today and he's also accepted my request for a refill on Ambien, both of which are ready at Rite-Aid by 2PM.
WEDNESDAY, 7/27/04: Ken gives me 10 Cipro back, so I don't have to ask Chin for it. He gives me a blood-test slip for a month from now and a prescription for Effexor, an anti-anxiety medicine that I start taking a week BEFORE I want it to go into effect. We'll see. Bone density was normal, sonogram was OK of the genitals and the vanished calcification, cholesterol 194, triglycerides 90, HDL 50, LDL 126, testosterone is 260 (normal starts at 280), but we agree I don't want medication to improve it, particularly since my bone density is OK. Blood shows no anemia, urine and kidney are normal, liver readings a bit high, so test in a month. Blood pressure 140/80, not nice, but he says it's "normal." temperature 98°, throat NOT infected, and weight is 204. Sugar is 121 where diabetes "starts" at 126, so cut down on carbohydrates and try to lose weight. No written tests good for Alzheimer's and no medications have been proven to do ANYTHING to slow its progress, so forget about THAT. He IS now Medical Director, or whatever, of the whole place, but seems to have lots of time since he took me in five minutes and told someone on the phone to "come right in." He seems to have it made and I'm glad I have him as a doctor.
Also 7/27/04: Forgot: scabs behind left ear are actinic keratoses, nothing wrong.
9/13/04: Stopped in Grant's for glasses, which I got, but wore and felt like they were uncomfortable, so I stopped for a bit. Checked my blood test results with Chin, and he said it was only to check liver function, which is normal.
11/23/04: Called at 9:15AM for an 11AM walk-in, got there at 10:40 and in at 10:50 and out at 10:57 with a colonoscopy appointment for 12/22, which Arnold will go with me for if needed, though he fussed about the "day before" cleanout needed related to a 6PM colonoscopy! AND he looked through a magnifying glass at the cheek-mark and pronounced it a benign skin polyp, and when he checked the dermatologist's appointment sheet, he marked the 7-10 days, rather than the 2-3 critical or 24-hour emergency box, and assured me that the removed polyp would be benign, as Carolyn reported about HER results when I phoned her about my appointment. Was slightly worried for a while there.
6/8/05: Awful BLOOD from penis for two days after events listed in NOTEREPL.
6/10/05: FINALLY got the colonoscopy through NUMEROUS delays, most notably after I'd MIXED the mixture for a 6/1 exam, only to have it cancelled 5/31 at 2:30! Tried to find my last physical, but it seems it was BEFORE 5/4/05! CALL!
6/16/05: Physical with Chin: last blood tests were 8/04 at last physical! Blood pressure 120/80, GOOD! Prostate NORMAL in size, so Proscar is WORKING, so keep it up. Colonoscopy results not in yet: check tomorrow with Donna. Will get a dermatology appointment to look at the sun-damage to my right cheek-spot. Call next week for blood-test results, which don't need to be tested with fasting, but the blood-taker says that if the sugar or cholesterol are HIGH because I've just EATEN, I'll have to REPEAT the tests, FASTING, so she'll save my forms for my coming in tomorrow, fasting! On street at 2:50 from 2:15 appointment, seen about 2:30, weight 202, but with everything on.
6/24/05: Chin calls with results: Total cholesterol OK at 189, but LDL poor at 125, and my liver tests up so I should STOP NOT with Pravachol and Gemfibrozil and pick up a slip and get tests two days before my appointment with him in three weeks to see if liver goes back to normal. He may put me on Zetia (blocks cholesterol that I eat) and niacin. Colonoscopy reported small hemorrhoids and I have diverticulosis, which is normal with age: eat more fiber.
7/7/05: First reflux (since 1/29/03) at 2: 54AM after big Beard dinner.
7/15/05: 1) Liver SGOT WAS 51 on 6/17 test, now 41, normal is 30, BAD is 300!
2) My right knee has arthritis, so I should STOP Stairmaster & start SWIMMING!
3) He gives me Zetia prescription, 30 Diazepam, and says blood test and return 2 MOS!
7/28/05: Dr. Buchen, dermatologist, 1:10 appointment I waited about 40 minutes for: 1) "Pimple" on upper right arm gone; 2) Large pimple below right eye, for which I'd tried an appointment before and never got, now gone; 3) Blood mark to right of front part no problem; 4) Hanging tabs inside legs no problem; 5) "Blackhead" below left ear: "Do you want it removed?" "Yes," so he sprayed it with liquid nitrogen and it hurt; 6) "Sun damage" on right cheek sprayed and swelled into a white blister which I kept moist with Vaseline, as recommended; 7) Blob in front of right elbow no problem; 8) Pink spot on near right wrist gone; 9) Smelly slimy under-penis-foreskin called "normal" and given Westcort Ointment prescription; 10) Looked at back "not usually looked at" and saw only "normal marks after you reach age 40; I still have a year to go; does your girlfriend say you have green or hazel eyes; light eyes should beware of sun."
9/6/05: Catch up: hospital in Idaho Falls reported blood pressure as high at 180/90, but then down to 150/82 or so. Cellulitis diagnosed on 8/9/05 STILL recovering four weeks later! DEPRESSED from TV (but Westinghouse will EXCHANGE it!), and too-many indexes (accepted ANOTHER from SPR when he PLEADED and I said I couldn't have it back to him before 9/23.
9/10/05: Stand to pee and a small turd surrounded by brown mucus slips out of my rectum and has to be cleaned up after I sit on the toilet to shit.
9/22/05: Lipids 12 hours after HUGE Beard eat-and-drink: Cholesterol 186, HDL 32 and LDL 90, but triglycerides 400, which he said is what's USUALLY affected by "fatty meals." So he gives me ANOTHER slip to take after NORMAL fasting.
10/28/05: Last week's test results: parasites in stool: negative; cholesterol 173 (down a bit), triglycerides 119 (up a bit), HDL 40 (up one), LDL 109 (down considerably from 6/24). Only occult-blood test remains to be done next week. AT LAST! Occult-blood test was OK.
2/3/06: Chin didn't have Wednesday's (next day) results by Friday, so he told me to tell Donna to have Lab FAX him results: Cholesterol 174 (unchanged), triglycerides 185 (he said good), HDL 35 (lower), LDL 102 (down more), and liver is normal. So Zetia is working OK!
3/7/06: 1) Went in to ask for clarification of my cholesterol-related nausea: he said it comes from age-related hardening of the arteries: the arteries themselves grow thicker; not because of any plaque deposits narrowing the opening. He said MRI would be useless, because "even if 99% occluded, the risks of the operation still outweigh the condition," as would the screening recommended by that mail-order operation. Only danger-point would be extreme upper-body weakness and dropping things, which I don't do. 2) My current nausea was probably related to that: "as you get older, you can get dizzy from getting out of a chair too fast." 3) My knee was probably bumped, and I was surprised to see a small yellowish bruise at the point of pain. Zetia won't help with hardening of the arteries. Get "blood counts," which he put onto the computer, didn't need fasting, and I went across and got blood drawn. Blood pressure was 120/90, which he said was good, and I finally improved from many of the recent 130/?? readings. So just check on blood-count results next week.
3/13/06: Blood work good: 1) no anemia, 2) sugar OK, 3) kidneys OK---all GOOD!
7/13/06: Finally get my PSA reading (0.49, good) from Chin from June 2!
8/7/06: Get to Dr. Wynchofsky---checked back to 9/4/01 to see that it was Kopelowitz---who said he last saw me in 2001, and I'd mistakenly thought an optometrist did the same checks as an ophthalmologist, until my optometrist told me differently, and he checked my eyes and said they were perfect, adding that they would NOT change now that I'm 70 "but don't look it." Then he puts in the drops to dilate my eyes so he can look further to the sides, and I read until just before he comes in, so that he can say "You could still read?" when he enters, and looks again and says my eyes are perfectly clear: no sign of cataracts, glaucoma, and I even recall that I haven't even seen any FLOATERS recently. Ask how often I should have an appointment, and he says at my age every two years is sufficient, and when I mentioned my two pairs of glasses, having been wearing my old pair for convenience but wearing my new pair to the appointment in case he has to check vision, which he did, saying it was excellent, he says that my prescription won't be changing by very much these years either. Feel very good about it, but still worried about tiredness: do I have to check with Dr. Chin to see if I picked up sleeping sickness in Africa?
SATURDAY, 8/26/06: 1:46AM: First anal pain in AGES, quickly goes.
WEDNESDAY, 9/06/06: "Physical" with Chin: I start with my two panic attacks, and he asks for what I felt, and I described in detail the "feeling out of body," and pleasant, and then "coming back in" and feeling short of breath, rapid heartbeat, achy body, great feeling of FOREBODING, like before a flight, which I assure him I don't feel CURRENTLY, since I can take Ambien to sleep and Valium if I DO feel anxious, and he suggests I call Mental Health for an appointment. 1) blood pressure normal at 120 over 80, which I find amazing since I feel quite hyped-up and anxious, 2) come in tomorrow morning, fasting, for blood work, and get stool sample equipment also, 3) stress test is ONLY given if I have chest pain, not given as a routine matter, 4) tetanus booster due in two years, only needed every ten years, 5) shingles shot will be available in the near future, 6) pick up a sheet about the flu shot in October, 7) foot swelling no problem, since he feels that the circulation in my legs is perfectly healthy, so I don't have to worry about the type 2 diabetes that he diagnosed Spartacus with. Both he and Shelley scoff at my "If I'm happy, God will punish me, or something bad will happen" point of view. He addressed 8) my panic attacks, first, and 9) lip-sore is a canker sore, which lasts 7-10 days, ascertaining that I'd gotten it four or five days ago, saying it's different from a cold sore, but it'll go away (it's gone by 9/14), and otherwise I'm in good health! 10) Spartacus's "white spot on cheek" only a fleck of missing pigmentation, no worry. Call Jaffe, leave message, who leaves my name with Aaron Cohen, who calls back to say I have to call Referral Service, who calls me with EIGHT people in the neighborhood, and I make an appointment for next Wednesday with Sharon Byrnes on 55 Pierrepont.
