Main » June 2005
June 28, 2005
Nuclear stress test
Tomorrow is the day for the radioactive potassium stress test. I'm very concerned since I've had heart pain in the past when doing strenuous physical work. I don't want to wind up having to get a bypass or a valve,depending upon what they find. I really do not trust doctors. My cardiologist and the hospital are supposed to be very good, but even the good ones aren't perfect when it comes to surgery. Death has been on my mind lately. My wife and I are getting a will this Friday. I've spoken to her about our finances and what she needs to do in the event that I'm not here. Mortality stinks. The cats, bunny, and bird all depend upon me.
Funny, but the rosacea is still pretty good. I suppose all of the worry has actually helped with the flushing. I've heard other people with rosacea say the same thing. I wouldn't recommend this as a treatment for rosacea.
Posted by Ken Albin at 02:26 PM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2005
No fun at all
I've been cursed by the Chinese motto "May you live in interesting times." It's certainly been 'interesting' lately. I haven't had any more major heart palpitation bouts but every few minutes my heart is skipping a couple of beats. I had an ECG during my annual physical. A followup at a cardiologist showed a possible partial right branch bundle blockage on the ECG. It could be harmless or it could indicate coronary disease or other heart damage. Over the next 3 weeks I'm scheduled for a nuclear treadmill stress test, an echo cardiogram, and a holter monitor for 24 hours. All of this is supposed to give a clear picture of exactly what is going on and if I will need surgery or medication. Yep, interesting times indeed.
The rosacea has actually been fine lately, which is a litte ironic considering the other possibilities. I feel llke my body is betraying me lately. I guess this is what I get for 25 years of stress in teaching. I'm rather fatalistic in my thinking about this mess. Here I am 50 years old and I'm having heart problems. Assuming I make it to old age, what shape am I going to be in for retirement? Those 5 years to retirement are beginning to look a long ways off.
I'm still attending a weeklong workshop this July if I don't have any worse heart problems. It's more an uncomfortable distraction now than anything. It is interfering with my sleep by waking me up every couple of hours.
Well, I've poured out all of the 'woe is me' I need to for one day. If I'm still around after the tests I'll post the results. I really hate this.
Posted by Ken Albin at 10:37 PM | Comments (1)
June 16, 2005
Summer update
Hello,
Things have been busy here the past couple of weeks. Sebastian the cat is now eating normally again and putting on weight. I'm still working with him four times a day to maximize his food intake but he is occasionally eating some on his own at night. Whew! Don't let anyone tell you that animals don't have psychological disorders. Sebastian is a mental bundle of insecurity. The Feliway spray helps calm him a lot. I've been slowly introducing him to the smaller new cat Beau. He sometimes hisses at Beau but has stopped trying to claw him. Sebastian actually seems a little curious about Beau but is still afraid and hides under a table. If I ever get him to the point where he is comfortable with Beau, I'll start introducing him to Velvet, the larger new cat.
The rosacea has calmed down a lot. There is still a lot of dryness and I'm still using the moisturizers and clonidine. Almost all of the redness from the end of the school year is gone now. See what less stress can do?
I'm working this week on updating my website. When I'm finished I'll upload the pages and provide a link. Well, time to feed Sebastian and hit the sack.
Posted by Ken Albin at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2005
The need to just relax
You would think that the end of the school year would mean that I get to kick back and relax. I wish! Stress has a funny way of adding up until you 'crash and burn' and that's what has been happening to me. While the rosacea has actually gotten much better (except for the very dry skin), Daddy Cat's death hit me harder stresswise than I could have imagined. I've had bouts of deep depression th past two weeks and I haven't always channeled it in a healthy manner. I did manage to do more work on the Daddy Cat tribute page. You are welcome to visit the Daddy Cat Tribute Page to learn more about why he was so special.
Additionally, one of our other rescue cats, Sebastian, stopped eating. 4 vet visits and $600 later we found out that it is probably due to insecurity because we brought in two new cats. So..... I've been spending a couple of hours each day coaxing him to eat a few bites and popping appetite stimulant pills down him. Being feral, this has REALLY been interesting. Both hands are covered with bite and scratch marks and I am now on an antibiotic for a systemic infection from one or more of these wounds. I am happy to say that he is gradually eating more now and we are on a program to gradually acclimate him to the new cats (with the help of a cat pheromone spray that relaxes him a little.
All of the fun I've described finally caught up with me several days ago. Due to the stress, I think, I've had two bouts of heart palpitations with skipped beats, racing pulse, and a little pain down my left arm. Today I have made a real effort to just relax as totally as I can given the circumstances. I feel better today so I intend to stay the course. I postponed the derm and GP doc visits one week so I can get myself together and lose some of this killing stress. So far, so good. I need to get healthy so I can attend a one week AP Biology course coming up as well as a meeting I plan on attending of a large group of internet friends in the group called PetBunny. We all have indoor bunnies. (and they say I'm not a party animal!!). There is even a woman from England coming over for this gathering. I would really hate to miss meeting these wonderful people.
Posted by Ken Albin at 07:31 PM | Comments (0)
