Doing Everything All At Once

The past 4 days have been rather stressful, starting with Friday's glaucoma doc appointment to have a SLT (laser therapy) procedure on my left eye. My eye socket aches as if I've been punched. The eyeball itself aches a little as well from being zapped with over a dozen tiny laser blasts. The IOPs are still high (for me) at 17 instead of my usual 13-14. It's feeling as if drinking beet juice and doing high reps may not have caused this burst of higher pressure since I've discontinued both, and my pressures are still high. 

I'll have a new pressure check in 6 weeks to see if the SLTs worked. Otherwise we'll have to consider more drastic treatment. Meanwhile, my health insurance, which has been giving me a really hard time about one of my eye drops, suddenly relented and stated they'd cover the medication again. Yes, I'm relieved, but WTF? And even though it's now "covered" is still really expensive compared to my other eye drops.

After the SLT, I had enough time to make my appointment to get my car inspected for the annual NYS sticker. The tech tells me he passed the car but that I need rotors. Ugh. Last year, I had a different shop do the inspection and they told me my brake pads were bad and changed them. But I didn't realize that I also needed rotors and just assumed that the shop had replaced both components. Oh, and that rattling is a loose heat shield under the car which could be removed. But the Valvoline that does the inspection can't do any major repair work. Which means I need to make an appointment with the dealership repair shop 'cuz while they're at it, they can replace the broken bearings that make my car sound like an airplane. I just don't know if it's one or more bearings that need replacing.

On Sunday, I started prep for the "routine" colonoscopy initiated by the Cologuard's report of a positive result. Of course, Cologuard's proprietary formula means no one really knows what a positive result means. Prep means fasting, drinking clear liquids (no red or purple), maybe eating green or yellow jello, and taking a lot of laxatives. Unfortunately, the magnesium citrate is in a saline solution and the salt causes my blood pressure to rise a lot and I develop a bad headache and an upset stomach. I have to repeat the laxatives Monday morning and then not drink any fluids 3 hours prior to the procedure. I don't stray far from the bathroom! (But the dogs still go to the park every morning.)

On Monday, my blood pressure is a whopping 174/80 when I get to the procedure location, just around the corner from the gastroenterologist's office. While my O2 stats and pulse are excellent, the BP fluctuates. It's the magnesium citrate. The label says there's only 36 mg per ounce and you drink all 10 ounces at once. That's only 360 mg of sodium, which isn't a lot, but I have the worst headache and heartburn from it. Next time (in 10 years), I'll try the Miralax instead. Unless I have kidney problems. At my annual a few months ago, my BP was high at 142/80. My glaucoma doc would be happy with that since she thinks higher BP would help the blood flow to my optic nerves. But a higher BP is bad for everything else. So, do I have to choose between retaining vision or potentially stroking out?

My procedure was quick and uneventful as there were no polyps or other abnormalities, except I have a redundant colon, which means it's longer than usual and susceptible to twisting. I've always been convinced that part of me was meant to be a different, much larger person, and this little fact supports that. Cologuard had delivered a false positive result and I'm good with not doing this procedure for another 10 years.

I go to the gym and it's not very crowded. I see a few regulars. I get cardio done and a few pull-ups. The Aerobics Room has several people laying on mats, all doing their own thing. So happy I'm plugged into my own tunes. My sciatica barely bothers me and I'm surprised at how effortless push-ups are today. Seriously. I wish my pull-ups were this easy! Even the air squats feel decent. 

The only time my glute/lower back bothers me is when I do the Cat/Cow stretch, but it's my left side that aches. So weird. I have a 'script to go to physical therapy 3x a week for a few months. It's only after I do this (at $25/visit so $75 a week) that I'll get approval for an MRI of my back. I might wait until my 2nd Shingrix shot in September since I have a vague suspicion that there might be nerve inflammation from the vaccination. We all know that the sciatic nerve is the biggest nerve in the human body. My only concern is whether I should get the flu shot before or after, because I'm the one person who'll come down with the flu if I don't, even if it's a mild flu season. 

I wear new sneakers to the gym and I'm very pleased. This time I bought "expensive" NB 840 sneakers (EE) and they have a wide, comfy toe box and a snug heel. So snug that I really don't need to lace my trainers and the shoes will stay on. But I double-knot the laces anyway. And the laces are shorter than I'm used to, because everyone is cutting costs. These shoes are much better than my last pair of NB, which were "fresh foam" but seem to be cut tighter and don't fit as well. I have three pairs of "fresh foam" NBs of varying ages and all for under $100. Lately, though, they've been making my feet sore, and if your feet hurt and you can't walk, then life is absolutely miserable. Always invest in comfortable, well-fitting shoes!

1 Aug 2023 10:52-12:11
Tuesday post-everything

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5522)
Distance: 2.81
Cal: 311
Avg Hr: 144, 183-74

HGPU 16

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
  Right glute Sciatica Cat stretch 12
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Push-Ups 25 (feel effortless!)
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

HGPU 16?