Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Busy day for everyone yesterday? Ours was filled with errands including food shopping. And the ring came (picture on TT). It's really gorgeous and now I am worried about keeping it clean.

Today more projects will be addressed including having a new pendant light installed in the kitchen centered over the table. The old ugly fan light was centered on the walls which meant it was on the edge of the table since there is a walkway to the laundry/garage next to the dining "nook". The placement annoyed the heck out of me. The original electrician did some weird stuff here with other lights centered strangely and light switches in totally unpredictable places. The other main project is having my 10 year old car checked out for any issues while also having the oil changed. It seems to be in great shape and I have kept up with regular maintenance but you never know with older cars.

Not much else planned. Have a tantalizing Tuesday!

Hi everyone! I had a glorious time in New York as you probably saw on Facebook. I did have to take it easy in some ways though, because the shortness of breath still bothered me. Otherwise, I felt good.

So the last online doctor I saw said I needed to follow up with an in person visit if the breathlessness didn't resolve. It is absolutely impossible to get an appointment right now, so I spent hours wait at Urgent Care yesterday. I'm glad I did though, because after lots of testing there, they sent me to the ER for a CT scan, and it turns out I have multiple small blood clots in both lungs!!! They are not interfering with my heart function, and are small enough that they said I didn't have to be admitted, and could be treated out patient.

So now I'm taking Eloquis, a blood thinner, and I need to follow up with a hemotologist. Or in my case, they said contact my oncologist, because all oncologists are also hemotologists. Makes sense, as many cancers are blood cell related, like leukemia and lymphoma.

I stayed home from work one more day because I didn't get out of the ER until 10pm and then I still needed to go to the 24 hour pharmacy in a different town etc. And i was worn out from all the testing etc. Test and wait. Test and wait. The first thing you want to know is what caused them, but at this time, it's undetermined. Anyhow, it's another thing to wrap your head around. Now I'm somebody with high blood pressure, obese BMI, brittle bones who gets blood clots and who had cancer. I preferred my medical profile in May 2020, a 58 year old woman with an overweight BMI who took no prescription medications of any kind. Sigh. The important thing is I'm still here and all of it is treatable.

Liz, your ring is just gorgeous!! Lots of sparkle, and well worth the wait to get just the right ring.

CC glad to hear you are taming the static monster. It's definitely the humidity or lack of in the winter. In the deep of winter here, I would barely be able to separate my clothes after drying them without using fabric softer in the wash or dryer sheets. Or sometimes both.

Diane, hope your Halloween party preparations aren't too onerous. I love to entertain, but the house prepping is daunting sometimes. I envy people who have access to a "party room" in their HOA. Our friend's parents have a lovely party room in their condo building and they've hosted some great gatherings there. Not as personal or as intimate as your own home, but less work in some ways.

Wow! I am so glad you went. SIL has been on Eloquis since shortly after she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I think the treatment might pre-dispose you? I do know that she has been told she will stay on it forever. The downside seems to be more dramatic bruises and clotting after needles or cuts takes a long time.

Yes, lung cancer treatments can create blood clots, my Mom got some pretty serious ones (she was monitored in the hospital for almost a week) after radiation. Mine might be from the Tamoxifen, or might be from deep vein thrombosis. My calf was hurting a few weeks ago, but then it went away... I might find out more when I see my doctor for follow up. They said they could ultra sound my calves last night, but it would keep me 3 more hours and wouldn't change the treatment plan. It looked like a war zone there, every ER bed was full, people all over in various states in the waiting area, I was so glad to leave. I felt like burning my clothes when I got home.

Definitely the right decision to get out of there and do follow-up with your doctor. But still good that you went and got started on treatment.

There is a savings card you can get from Bristol-Myers Squibb for Eliquis (and from Janssen for Xarelto) that brings the cost down to $10 a month if you're eligible.

Covid and the Covid vaccine are also making people prone to clots. My good friend who is my age ended up with multiple lung clots 3 weeks after his last booster. Hematologists are innundated.

Lest you think I'm wearing a tinfoil hat, this is from the British Society for Haematology this month: https://b-s-h.org.uk/about-us/news/guidance-produced-by-the- expert-haematology-panel-ehp-focussed-on-vaccine-induced-thr ombosis-and-thrombocytopenia-vitt/

I got my last booster in May. I will definitely discuss this before I get the Omicron booster.

I have a board meeting later today. Blech. And I need a walk. Food is still good, but I'm reached that post initial drop scale stagnation that often leads me to lose steam. Trying to maintain the steam through it.

Liz, your rings are beautiful! You can get an inexpensive sonic jewelry cleaner on Amazon that will keep it nice and sparkly.

DD, I hope you're feeling better soon!

I miss everyone when it gets quiet in here!

4 days until I get my house...

Advantage of being an established cancer patient, my oncologist will not be treating me for the blood clots, but her hematologist partner will, and got me in at 9am tomorrow. Yeah. I talked to both doctors' nurses, and felt so reassured. I am very happy with my oncology care at this clinic, and I'm sure I'll feel the same about the hematology care.