It's a Journey

On Monday I went to see my primary care physician. Can I just say that I think she is great!?! Anyway - I was down another 30+# and she was thrilled about that, as am I. And my blood pressure was absolutely perfect and so I am now off all blood pressure meds - a pretty wonderful non-scale victory! I am walking better and better all the time - but the knees and legs are still shot and going to require replacements in the future. At the moment the plan is to fight my way through the pain with hydrocodone and get at least another 75# off and re-evaluate. She also said that she thought that there was a good possibility that that could be my goal weight due to my height and bone structure. I have real mixed feelings about that. I would love to be "done" with this phase and on to the maintenance part but there is another part of me that doesn't want to stop there - I really do have a goal to become my best self and I don't think that is 75# away - but more like 125# away. However, I haven't seen that number in 35 years - so maybe I will be happy with it....

So tomorrow I go see my ortho dr. to discuss getting more synvisc injections. I hope he is as pleased with the weight loss as is Dr. May (so far I have lost 312# of pressure on my knees and that is pretty spectacular) - but I know his concern is to get me to the place that I can have the surgery and fully recover and regain strength, flexibility, range of motion, and full use. That will have to be a future thing - not there yet.

Did see my podiatrist last week and he was very pleased and at one time regaining full use of my replaced toe looked doubtful - but if I keep up the water aerobics and working it I may be able to break down the scar tissue and fully recover. I would like to give it another 6 months to see if I can do that before I decide which course of action to take with my other toe - a complete joint replacement or fusing...right now I would like to believe I can have the replacement - we'll see.

Rich's health continues to improve and maintain - lung functions are stable, cholesterol is down, weight is down, off all diabetes meds, no oxygen, and no A-fib. He is having some discomfort/pain in his upper left side of his abdomen and Dr. May had him have a CT scan this morning because there was blood in his urine. The blood in his urine has been a problem off and on for a few years and every investigation has determined that there was/is nothing to worry about. This is the first time that there has been pain - Dr. May wants to make sure that the kidney is fine and that there are no stones. If the CT scan is clear then he'll probably head back to the gastro dr. for another colonoscopy - it has been 18 months or so since the last one so he's not really due one - but with his mom passing away from colon cancer it is something to rule out. All in all I feel much better about his health now than last year! LOL duh?!?!