Dealing with the “Ups and Downs” of health issues
can indeed be challenging. Just when you get good results with one issue you
have been dealing with, out of the blue something else crops up and “hits you
for a six”.
Last Friday, I saw my doctor to get the results of
my latest (fasting) blood test. Need these numbers for my next appointment at
the diabetes clinic and also need to know what the iron in my blood is doing as
well as what is going on with my cholesterol and TSH levels.
AS I SAY WHEN I GIVE TALKS TO OUR LOCAL CARDIAC REHAB UNIT AND
ELSEWHERE, EACH AND EVERYONE OF US NEEDS TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR BODY AND
UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON IF WE ARE TO BEGIN TO UNDERTAKE THE CHALLENGE OF
IMPROVING OUR OWN HEALTH AND CORRECTING WHAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED – i.e. STRESS,
EXERCISE, DIET, ALCOHOL, SMOKING.
AND ONE WAY TO DO THIS IS TO BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS OUR BLOOD
TESTS TELL US!
Well my results came back the best I have had in
years – I was happy and my doctor was happy and I am sure my diabetes doctor
will be more than pleased when he sees these results:
My HbA1c came back at 7.5 which is a number I have
been able to maintain now for a number of years and which my cardiologist is
happy with.
Considering that a number of years ago my
cholesterol was up above 11-12, my current total cholesterol number of 4.2
mmol/L is more than satisfactory with HDL of 1.01 and LDL 2.56 – not perfect
but pretty good for me and my body.
My Triglycerides at 1.2 mmol/L are more than
acceptable.
Another number I need to be on top of is my TSH
given I have (had) Grave’s Disease and had my thyroid burnt out in 1998 and am
now on thyroid replacement medication. Keeping this balanced is and has been a
long battle and my current number of 2.3 mU/L is also quite acceptable.
One of the biggest issues I have had in recent
years is my blood iron level, especially given that I have had a history of
bleeding issues in recent years. Last year I had an operation to address this
issue after 3-4 years of numerous procedures and my latest blood test indicates
that at long last my blood iron levels have improved since that operation with serum
iron at 17 umo/L and serum ferritin at 67 ug/L up from 24 at my last blood test
and the highest level I have had in 3+ years.
So all in all you can see why I was pretty pleased with the results of
my latest blood test, especially as my blood iron issues seem to have been
resolved at long last.
Whilst at the doctors last Friday I mentioned that
I had developed some back pain earlier in the week, something I am not unused
to. I mentioned to him that on Sunday I had moved a piano with my brother and I
thought I had simply “pulled” something. I told him I had been having trouble
sleeping on my side and that I had been taking Panadol for the pain/discomfort.
He did a quick check, felt around the spot in
question and mentioned the area was somewhat tight and tender and said that possibly
I had strained something. He suggested that hot/cold packs might assist as
indeed might my TENS unit.
That night (or was it Saturday morning) I noticed a
bit of a rash on the right side of my body, didn’t pay much attention and in
fact thought it might have been a reaction to a mosquito bite or even a small
spider – lots of them where we live at this time of the year. The area was a
tad itchy so I put Isocol on to soothe itchiness. The skin around the rash was
also super sensitive, “tight” like stretched and even felt numb in a few spots
and was very uncomfortable to touch.
Whilst the back pain had worsened over the previous
24-48 hours for the life of me I did not see a relationship between the back
pain which was wrapping around my abdomen from my belly-button to around to my
liver and the “little” rash which was in the middle of the band of pain.
Sunday night I spoke to my eldest daughter on the
phone to wish her happy birthday. In the conversation I mentioned the rash, the
symptoms and sore back and she came back with the observation that it could be
shingles and that given my heart and other issues I should get it checked out
asap. Did I mention she is a doctor?
So yesterday I went to see my doctor and sure enough
he confirmed I have a case of “classic” shingles and he put me on a course of
antiviral tablets for seven days and Panadol forte for the pain. Doc said that
starting the course of medication within the first three days of the rash
appearing was very important to dealing with the problem before it spreads. Now
need to wait for these meds to kick in and hopefully resolve the problem.
So just as I get over one issue, the bleeding issue, I now have another
condition to deal with. There are times when I just feel that I cannot take a
trick but have to make sure this latest setback doesn’t take control of me no
matter how uncomfortable nor how much pain I might be in. That is the name of
the game when it comes to dealing with illness and disease!
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