Skip to main content

On the road to recovery

Had a good visit with my cardiac surgeon and his assistant yesterday. They both thought I was doing good, and gave me an upbeat prognosis. All my stitches were removed, and I was told it was OK to stop taking the Furosemide, Tamsulosin, and even the vitamin C, which the surgeon is very big on.

The bad news was the physician assistant told me my pain would likely last another 4 to 6 weeks. Something I didn't anticipate hearing, but at least she refilled my prescription of Oxycodon for another 23 days (based on my current intake of 1 pill every 3 hours). Hopefully that won't be an issue, and I can extend the time as I attempt to wean myself off it.

I was also told I could walk upstairs, and not worry about exceeding my current heart rate by 20 bpm. In fact, he couldn't understand why I was told that. So this morning I went for a 10 minute walk, and my heart rate never exceeded 80 bpm. I guess I'm going to have to lift the intensity just a little, that is as I feel comfortable.

So with the stitches gone, my pain meds seemingly figured out, I'm actually starting to feel human again, and I dare say a wee bit [a very wee bit] optimistic.

Comments

Alan said…
Glad you're doing well.
Doris said…
So glad you are doing so much better. Take care, love you.

Popular posts from this blog

The green tea phenomenon

Despite being a heavy drinker of green tea since my diagnosis, mainly for its cancer prevention, and hopefully cancer curing qualities, I recently have developed a new found enthusiasm for green tea. Now whether it has been the green tea I have been drinking for the past 6+ years, my heavy exercise routine, or just pure chance that has kept my MCL stable, or at least [very] slow progressing, for the past 7+ years is certainly open to debate, but based on past research, I have chosen to believe green tea has at least helped to some degree. So what has given me this new found enthusiasm? Well, a friend of mine, and cycling buddy, was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer, and knowing my daily regimen called to ask my advice on green tea. He had already done a lot of research on the subject, so when I told him my obsession with green tea consisted principally of drinking the least expensive, decaffeinated green tea available (Trader Joe's brand of 18 tea bags for $3, and more recentl...

Alternative treatment blowback

I received some interesting criticism the other day for my stance on alternative therapies. I ......... cannot for the life of me understand why you would not use supplementation and then use an over the counter poisonous liquid which has proven liver toxicity. Especially while taking a statin. She was referring to the use of an over the counter cough medication, I have been taking to help ease the symptoms of my upper respiratory infection. I did this once and vow to never use it again! I have gotten off Lipitor by using Nicotinic Acid and getting much better results but still use COQ10 to protect Liver as you must do while taking Statins. If you are not using CoQ10, I urge you to research this issue. MCL reduces your D3 and should be taken everyday! I use 5000mgs a day. I was sorta taken aback. She was partially correct. I'm against taking supplements, but when necessary I don't have a problem taking over the counter medication, when my ailments finally get the better of me. ...

When is enough, enough?

Today I learned, Lance Armstrong, the most drug tested athlete in the history of sport, is being accused of doping, again . This time by the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA), who claim they have collected blood samples from him in 2009 and 2010 that were “fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions.” Really! What took them so long? The French have been trying to make allegations of drug doping stick for years, ever since he won his first Tour d'France, but to no avail. And now the USADA claims to have evidence to support that claim, and they've waited almost 3 years before releasing this evidence. Needless to say, I am skeptical. Then there's this from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack eventually would increase Medicare and Social Security spending, slightly. Eventually? What is the CBO suggesting here? That we should encourage smoking, because if we don't, in...