I haven't mentioned it before, but I also have ulcerative colitis which is, basically, a sort of ulcer in the colon. Ic can cause a lot of pain and, when there is a flare-up, blood in the stools (some times a lot) and, often, diarrhea. Right now I am suffering with a bad case and have been for a couple of weeks. I am on a medicine called Masalmine and my dossage was recently increased. Now I'm taking 12 pills a day (fun).
One bright side, (if it is a bright side) is that I have been loosing weight. I was down to 215 yesterday for the first time in probably at least 20 years. I have been as high as 250, so that's kind of nice. But I wouldn't recommend colitis as a diet plan to anyone.
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HEALTH MESSAGE:
1. If walking/cycling is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.
2. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water and is fat.
3. A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.
4. A tortoise doesn't run, does nothing ..yet lives for 450 years
AND YOU TELL ME TO EXERCISE!
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New on 10/23/2011:
Most of what follws has been told to me since I remember very little of it.
Last October (2010) I was trying to hep my wife, Brenda, outside with some garden work, and I just couldn't do it. I thought it was my heart because I am occassionaly more tired from that than I used to be in my earlier days (pre-atrial fib). I went into the living room, sat down in my recliner, and fell asleep. I slept all evening and then all night as well (which is unual for me).
Then, I stayed home from work the next day and slept most of that day and all night.
The next day I went to work (though Brenda told me I should go see the doctor). I lasted only a few hours and then decided I had better go home. Once there, it was sleeping time again.
Brenda drove me to the doctor the next day and he sent me to the emergency room at the hospital. In a short time I was admitted. I was there for three (very expensive) days. Afterwards I was told that I had had three small (fortunately small) strokes. I, sometime afterward, saw some images of where the strokes were in my brain.
I rested for a few days after I was dismissed from the hospital and then wanted to return to work, but they wouldn't let me until I had jumped through a few hoops. It was, I'm sure, for the best as I spent much of that time sleeping (and healing I suppose). I also had a bit of trouble speaking and controlling my hands.
After two weeks, I was allowed to return to work. After a few days, I felt funny at work (a strange feeling in my chest), I called Brenda to come get me and take me to the hospital but the called her back and told her someone at work would drive me. But I ended up calling the ambulance. Unfortunaty, by the time the ambulance got there, and got me to the hospital, Brenda was waiting at the hospital. She could have gotten me there faster (and she had to dive the 20 minutes or so we live out of Carson City, NV [we live in Dayton, NV]).
As it turned out, the funny feeling I had was my heart racing at 200 beats a minute (a bit fast, one might think). I spent another 3 days in the hospital (fun, fun, fun).
Now, after almost a year, I have very few reminants of the strokes. About the only ting I am aware of is that I have forgotten most of what happened, can't remember many other things (though my memory has not ever been very good) and I have a bit of trouble keying on the computer. I have to be very careful and edit even more carefully that I always have had to.
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In 1997 I went to Ireland for work and the plane trip was a disaster. We flew from Denver (I was working in Colorado Springs at the time) to Chicago to catch a plane to Ireland (I will post some picture on my vacation and trips page - since it definately wasn't a vacation). When we were on that plane, it sat on the runway for three solid hours because of a huge thunderstorm. The plane would get clearance and then it woud be rescinded. After three hours, we finally took off.
We flew to London and to Dublin. From there we went to Dundalk (which is were our workk was to be) and then a much smaller, quaint town called Carrickmacross. There we stayed in a very fancy hotel. We ate supper there and they went to bed. At 3:00 in the morning I woke up very sick (dizzy, throwing up, and very cold - shivers and all). I, fortunately, was able to get back to sleep, but at 5 or so I was up trowing up again. At 7 I was up for good. I called the other people I was there with and told them I was sick. Then I called the front desk to find out if there was a house doctor (I thought there might be since it was such a fancy place). There wasn't.
I had to wait until 9 until the local doctor was in her office. We called a cab and I walked out to get in, afraid I was going to pass out any second. The cab took me to the doctor, who wasn't sure what was wrong and called an ambulance to take me to Dundalk, 22 miles away. I was in the hospital for three days while they determined I had (and still have) Atril Fib.
If you don't know (and there is no reason you should unless you or someone you have know has it) this is a conditiion where one half of your heart beats much faster that the other half and the blood doesn't circulate properly and, thus, doesn'tget to the brain properly.
Of course, the condition will be with me for the rest of my life. To help, I take two medications, warfarin (generic) or coumadin which is a blood thinner, and I used to take Digoxon as a heart regulator (to stop my heart from running away with it) but now I take a different medication call Multaq. Over the years I have had at least one attack a month, sometimes one a week (and would have to stay home from work 1/2 or a whole day). I get nausious (and usually throw up), headache, and run hot and cold. When I am cold, I sometimes shake the whole bed I am shivering so bad. I do have to say since I have been on Multaq, rather than Digoxin my symptoms have subsided a lot and I only get mildly sick about once a month and have to stay home from work for only a few hours. It certainly is a relief not to be as sick as I used to be as often as I used to be.
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