Health

LA Times article on annual physical exams

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The L.A. Times has an article on annual physical exams, discussing what doctors look for and suggesting that there should be a different balance between the physical portion of the exam, and the discussion of personal history and health questions and concerns. The problem is the headline and introductory paragraphs, which suggest that going to an annual exam at all may not be neccessary. It’s not until the end of the article that they say “Instead of receiving a standard battery of tests, adults should be given more targeted health screenings, according to preventive health authorities. Here are the main tests they should have, and when…” And then they provide a list of the standard things many of which my physician covers in my annual exam, along with things that should be checked regularly if more infrequently than once a year.
If I hadn’t gone to my annual exam last March, I’d be dead right now. No joke. My friend Jen’s sister finally gave in and went to an exam, and doctors discovered a grapefruit sized tumor that she had probably been developing for years. Stephanie went to her exam and found a fibroadenoma that needed to be removed.
I don’t think regular health exams are anything to screw around with, and while I agree that massive tests for things that may not be in your family history are probably silly, I don’t think we should be discouraging people from going to the doctor “regularly.” Let’s be realistic; most people don’t go every single year, but they should be talking to their physician and getting some routine tests on some sort of schedule, at least.
And the worst thing about this is that the distinctions are subtle enough that people are reading the article and taking it as a license to avoid the doctor altogether. I found the article on Fark.com, and that was the direction of some of the discussion surrounding it.

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Home from New York

Stephanie and I are home from New York. It was quite a trip; we had a wonderful time and her cousin Kerry’s wedding was beautiful and fun and amazing. I met most of Stephanie’s mom’s side of the family and they are such nice, fun people.
I have a lot to write about because we did a lot of stuff, but I’ll get to that when I can.
I still have to pick up Spike from the doggie hotel, which I will do in the morning. But since we didn’t get any emergency calls from them, I presume he’s doing just fine.
I did discover that my heart valve repair ring and sternum wiring don’t set off the regular walk-through security sensors at the airport, but they do set off the wands. I got selected for a random search, and they did the whole pat-down thing, so I had to explain my surgery to the airport security, who were very helpful and understanding. But that’s helpful to know for future reference.

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Aptronym

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a Wikipedia entry via Kotte.org:
Aptronym, a word allegedly coined by United States newspaper columnist Franklin P. Adams, refers to a name that is aptly suited to its owner. Fictional examples of aptronyms include Mr. Talkative and Mr. Worldly Wiseman in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.
One of my new cardiologists (who is taking over for Dr. Yee) is named Dr. Valentine.

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speaking of hating stuff: antiseptic hand sanitizer

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I think that Methodist Hospital has gone back to using the hand sanitizer I loathe the smell of. When I was in the hospital for the heart surgery, I know for certain the brand (and scent) was different than the foul stuff that they used back when I had my appendix emergency two years ago. When I was in the hospital then, I couldn’t figure out for the first several days what the smell I hated so bad was, until they took me off the catheter and I had to use the bathroom myself and wash my hands with it. I hated it so bad at the time that I got out of bed and went outside the hospital with my rolling IV bag and everything, just to get some fresh air.

But the same stuff was back when I was in the emergency room last week; I could smell it today in the hallways when I went in for my appointment. I need to learn what the brand name of that stuff is, so I can write hate mail to the company that makes it.

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Don’t lift anything heavier than a shoe or a telephone

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… is what my surgeon, Dr. Beckman told me this morning when I went to see him. I didn’t ask what sort of telephone he meant. Cell phone, or the large old-fashioned Ma Bell special?
I do have some swelling in my chest, but that is apparently strained muscle tissue from lifting too much stuff last week. The x-rays show my heart has healed great and my sternum is structurally good, just not ready to do 100% of what I used to do. Which is very frustrating, because I’m so used to just grabbing something and taking action, and I’ve always been pretty strong compared to other people. I feel kind of helpless and girly, which sucks, because that’s so not me.
As far as the incision goes, the irritation and pain I’m feeling from that is because I have a keloid, which is a thick, hard, painful piece of scar tissue where the incision was. There’s not much I can do about that until a year or two down the line when they might be able to do plastic surgery to make it look better, after it has healed completely and the skin has repaired itself. Until then, I just have to deal with the annoying prickly burning sensation.
So there you go.

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I came home around noon

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The conclusion the doctors reached was that I lifted too much and put strain on my sternum. Funny, I could have told them that when I went in. I did, actually. So I have painkillers, which didn’t do much.

I still think there’s something more wrong than that, but they didn’t, so I’m home.

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Emergency room fun

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I’m on my way to the emergency room because I think whatever I did this weekend was pretty serious and now I can’t really lie down or even sit without pain shooting through my chest and back, when I breathe, it hurts like hell. I think I must have hurt my sternum.

Stephanie’s coming to pick me up now…

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The sternum is an important part of the body

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Which you find out when you have your sternum cut up for surgery. It’s been five months since my surgery, and my sternum still bothers me regularly, and hurts like hell, especially when I lift heavy stuff, like I did this weekend. I always browse through https://www.stealthbelt.com/ to find any product that would help. Today it’s been particularly bad, to the point where when I breathe out and my chest moves, I feel a sharp pain that makes me gasp.

On top of that, the incision scar hurts too, although in an entirely different way; it’s more of a dull ache. So I have these two different types of pain going on, pretty much constantly, which sometimes I can tune out, and sometimes not.

And the whole bra thing doesn’t help. One of the things that was kind of crappy about all the documentation they gave us for the surgery was that most of it was written with men in mind, and didn’t cover the unique problems that women have with the surgery due to having breasts, which pull on the sternum, necessitating wearing a bra, which irritates the incision. They could have done something to address those issues and offer advice on dealing with them, but they didn’t.

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Open-Heart Surgery on TV

Battlestar Galactica: on a recent episode, Captain Adama was shot, and was starting to code blue. Not having a defibulator handy, the medic opted to crack open his chest and massage his heart to restart it. Immediately after the procedure they show him lying on the table, with very few monitors around, with a simple tube in his nose. The scar from the surgery was too high up, it started at the base of his neck, and it looked like a simple red mound, not sewn-together flesh, as it should have looked. It should also have a lump at the top of the scar where a hematoma forms, and there should be other scars where drainage tubes would be inserted, etc.
I know the show is set thousands of years in the past, when their technology was far more advanced than ours (according to the show’s mythology) but not a very convincing portrayal of the surgery, nonetheless. I’m betting that, contrary to what it would be like in real life, he recovers soon and is up and about giving commands and being active.
Wonderfalls: In one of the episodes, a security guard from the gift shop has a heart attack during a robbery. In the cut outtakes of the show, the guard returns later after bypass surgery to show off his (very unrealistic) scar.
Heck, costume & makeup guys, you can find video on the internet that not only lets you see a surgery in progress, it shows what the scars looks like immediately afterward and at various points during the recovery process. There’s no reason you should not get the scars right on a TV show.

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Weekend Update: King Kong at IMA

Stephanie and I saw King Kong with Dan and Doug, Josh, and David and Garrett on the Terrace at the IMA. It was great fun; the sound was much better than in the past, and I love seeing movies with Dan and Doug; I haven’t done that much recently, and I miss it. I spent a few minutes in the giftshop of the IMA while I was waiting around to buy tickets. They don’t carry as many art books as they used to, but it all looks very nice. I’m looking forward to visiting the IMA to see exhibits.

George and Timmy enjoy Kong

George and Timmy enjoy Kong

Photo Set: Pictures from the King Kong.
On Saturday, I got a lot of weeding done (I filled my entire trash dumpster with weeds) and managed to put a few items on eBay, so I rewarded myself with playing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on Xbox. It’s an older game I got used, but it’s a lot of fun. Stephanie and I caught up on watching Big Brother 6 in the evening.
Sunday morning, I mowed the lawn for the very first time since my surgery. I felt fine and really had fun doing it. I love mowing the lawn. I also did more weeding and cleaned up the side of the house where we broke out the stairs a bit. There’s lots more to do there, but it looks better. And I spent the afternoon at Stephanie’s house helping her and her dad get her basement organized and building shelves for her VW collection.
I’ve been feeling much better lately; like I did before the surgery, only with more energy. There were times before where I was doing something active and I felt like I was climbing a steep hill; now I can do the same things and have energy left over. I’m not as strong as I used to be; I can’t lift things like I could before. But that’s just because I was fairly inactive for four months. I’ll regain muscle as I keep working.

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