Odds & Ends
I wrote this for last month, so it didn’t get posted. Since then, my weight dropped as low as 193, the first time I’ve been under 200 in several years. Maybe 185 is do-able after all. That’s still higher than the CDC says I should be. I’m still doing my two-mile walks five or six days a week which is good, though not as much as I probably should do.
I’ve now gone in and out of A-Fib four times since my cardioversion. Or is it five? Right now it’s out which I suppose is good. I check it every morning with my Kardia Mobile device. I take five pills a day for it, so I hope it’s under control. I’ve been doing really well with my alcohol moderation, something strongly recommended for my heart. I’ve limited myself to two glasses of wine a week, never two days in a row.
Another cause of A-Fib is sleep apnea, aka snoring. I don’t think I snore, but I’m not sure. I found a not-too-expensive monitor on the internet, but wanted to check with my cardiologist about its efficacy. I have an appointment in the not too distant future, so I’ll ask then. In the meantime, I guess I’ll have A-Fib on and off, which is fairly common.
My nephew, Keith, just had a quadruple bypass. He came through it fine and is now recouping. He had the problem while out backpacking in the Sierras of Washington state, and his friends had to climb to a hilltop to get enough of a signal to get help. He was to have started his new job the next day, but that didn’t happen. I slot was held open for him!
A few months ago, I reported that I had what looked like a large blister on my left big toe. I had my dermatologist look at it, and it was a cyst. It’s still there, but the discoloration is pretty much gone and is causing me no problems. I was told to report back if it started to grow, but that’s not the case, so that’s one less thing to worry about.
Before that, you may remember that I took a fall on a basketball court and had what felt like a deep bruise on my right hand. At least I think it was my right. It may have been my left. This uncertainty is in itself a good thing, because other than going back to look at the original article I wrote, I have no easy to find out which hand it was because I can’t make either hand hurt. So I guess I just waited that one out and it healed itself. Yay! The only downside is that I now have no excuse to not do push-ups.
The Physical Shin
Last update: September 7, 2023
The John Shinnick Website
I used this pic of my scale just a few months ago, but since it recently told me "193.4", I thought I'd use it again.
I still have managed to avoid COVID-19. Some of my friends recently caught it for the first time. Too bad, and I suppose it’s still waiting to get me. I still wear a mask to a few high-risk places (grocery shopping and trips to Target and such) but I’m finding that I’m enjoying our general return to normal. Recently, one of my favorite breakfast places returned to about 85% full service. I still have to order at the counter, but servers bring the food out to the customer’s table when ready, and stroll the floor to give coffee refills. My other favorite place, Inn Kensington, is full service for breakfast and lunch, but hasn’t opened for dinner yet.
My biggest problem seems to be a general fatigue which seems to accompany my sleep patterns. I’m getting to bed about 11:30, typically get up two or three times a night, and then will wake up either before 7:30 (too early) or after 9:00 (too late). Mid-day naps are common. I think this is a subject for my next general physical.
Oh, I had another root canal. My third. It was pretty straightforward. A little problem with an extraneous nerve that got too close to the proceedings. Nothing an extra shot of Lidocaine couldn’t fix. Other than that, this was as easy as my first one. The second one was horrible, because it turned out I had an infection and they had to finish the procedure at a second sitting!
