The Indignities of Aging
As I approach forty, I notice more and more wrong with my body. I've got aches in my joints, a little bit of mitral valve prolapse, a degrading C6-C7 disc in my neck, a white-matter hyperintensity on the front of my brain, and my hearing's been going since my days in the Army. And now there's a new interloper on the block: asthma.
Miscellaneous Crap
- I have a doctor's appointment today. Follow-up on a few things, and going over some new things. I won't go into detail here -- not until I know for sure what's up and the people closest to me have been made aware of anything important that comes out of this.
- The Vikings have eked out a 6-0 start to the season, but I suspect that that won't go past Sunday, as they travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. Minny's pass defense has been lacking, and was really hurt by Winfield's absence after the first quarter against Baltimore. All in all, I have us down as losing to the Steelers, Bengals, and Giants, though that second one could go either way now that they've lost Odom for the season. Final record, most likely 13-3, possibly 14-2. Unless the Saints get some catastrophic injuries, they eat us alive in the NFC Championship game.
- This weekend looks to be interesting. Will be "up north" this Friday night and Saturday -- for you non-Minnesotans, "up north" is defined as anywhere north of the exurbs (Monticello, for example). We're going to be doing food tastings at caterers and looking at reception sites. After that, it's back to the Cities. Sunday, I've got my framebuilding class, which I'm looking forward to. More welding and mitering. Possibly some blueprinting.
- Been spending a lot of time and lovin' with the Cyclist's Training Bible lately. Figuring out a two-peak plan for next racing season -- with peaks in August and November. Wanting to do well at the various State Championship races next year. Going to be competing in road, track and cyclocross. Need to find a yoga class to start attending, too. I think there's a weekly one at the Y. Maybe.
- In the geek realm, I'm designing a new website for my framebuilding venture, wondering what the hell the point of Google Wave is, and thinking about getting another Airport Express on the home network -- this one for the living room stereo, which I should really get around to hooking-up one of these days when I have some time.
- Have I mentioned lately that I am madly in love with my wife-to-be? Yeah, well, I'm going to mention it again. I look at her and I get butterflies in my stomach. I think about all the awesome things we've done and all those still to come, and I can't imagine doing those things with anyone else.
Hello, Doctor
How the time played out at the VA last night:
Check-in: 30 seconds.
First episode of Simpsons on iPhone: 22 minutes.
TED Talk #1: 17 minutes.
TED Talk #2: 14 minutes.
Triage: 3 minutes.
Time spent totally idle: 15 minutes.
Time spent reading while waiting for doc: 20 minutes.
Time actually spent with doc: less than 5 minutes.
Beats being uninsured.
Health Addendum
Okay, so results of the MRI are in: I have some degradation of my C6-C7 disc in my neck. This does not come as much of a surprise to me. My upper back problems are strictly muscular in nature. The one big surprise was the WMH (white matter hyperintensity) on the front of my brain. While I was nervous, I've been assured by two different doctors (one within the VA, one from outside the VA) that this is nothing to worry about.
As part of my work-up yesterday, they opted to run an EKG, a PFT (pulmonary function test), do a chest x-ray, and draw a couple of vials of blood. The end result? A left anterior fascicular block in my heart, which is nothing to worry about. Bradycardia (slow heart beat) -- in an endurance geek, go figure. Again, no big deal. Lung capacity is above average -- in an endurance geek, go figure. Lung function is generally good, but they're considering giving me an inhaler because the mid-range of the exhale volume is a little below average.
The bloodwork I'm still waiting on, obviously. That doesn't get turned-around on the same day.
I have a PT consult set up to deal with my upper back/shoulder problems, but the huge issue there is that it isn't until October 29th. I need to get back on the bike now if I'm going to be ready for cyclocross season. Going to find myself a massage therapist and pay them a visit. Soon. I need to get this fixed.
Hello, Medical Day
I've got a physical at 1pm today. That was on the agenda well before the weird neurological symptoms that landed me in urgent care over a week ago, and the subsequent scans of the head and c-spine.
Speaking of those scans, I'm still waiting for results. I'm hoping I can get that addressed today. I'd really like to know what the fuck is going on people -- even if I am convinced that it's just a pinched nerve. I've been off the bike (agonizing pain) since this came to a head, and it's killing me that I can't ride. 'Cross season starts in like 2 weeks and I'd like to know what I am up against.
EDIT: Just called the VA. MRI results will be addressed today during my physical. I'm taking it as a good sign that I don't need to talk directly with a neurologist.
The Fun Continues
So remember my shoulder issues? It's taken an interesting turn, and I suspect it's related to an upper-back injury I acquired over a year ago. Yesterday, while watching TV, I realized that my left hand had the pins-and-needles feeling -- as if I'd just struck my funny bone about two minutes prior -- and it spread to the left hand gradually.
I gave it a few hours, and watched We Are Marshall (eh) until midnight. It was still there, and so I went over to the VA and saw the docs. I have an appointment tomorrow for MRI and CT scans of my head and c-spine. Awesome!
More as it develops...
Shoulder Issues
So as I'd previously mentioned, I have some shoulder issues. Earlier this week, a run-through of the Fit Kit revealed a seat that was too low and a stem that was too long. The seat was easy to fix and a new stem is on-order and should arrive on Saturday.
I've been paying much closer attention to that trapezius muscle since then, and discovered that I have some really bad habits that -- when combined with my tendency to store stress in my shoulders -- are not helping the issue, either.
At work and at home, when at my desk, I slouch. That's being resolved. I've also spent a lot of time leaning on my left arm. That's being resolved.
I may track down a massage therapist, or visit the training accupuncture place in Bloomington, this week and get some time and attention paid to that general area. Need to get that dealt with before 'cross season kicks in.
The New Diet
So far, so good.
Operation: No More Crisco Arteries is underway. I've got the heart-healthy multivitamins from GNC, plus a CoQ-10 supplement. And I've got Udo's Oil that I'm mixing in with my meals. I saw greasy/fried food today, and it actually repulsed me. Wow. Not sure how I'm going to make it through the MN State Fair this year.
The other big thing underway is a logging of my soda intake, so I can figure out what the baseline is, and reduce from there. I know it ain't good, but I gotta get this shit under control. Going to reduce the number of ounces by 15% each week.
A Few Things
1. This Friday marks four weeks remaining for Kate's NC Biz Trip from Hell. I cannot tell you how excited I am that she'll be home full-time again. She was home for 9 days recently, and wow it was tough to see her go. There might have been some choked-up sadness in the car when I left her at the airport. I'm just sayin'.
2. My cholesterol test that I had last week was bad. OMFG bad. Like "overhaul your diet and live on your bike" bad. The latter part of the equation I can live with. But I still want fatty, disgusting food. However, that's not going to happen. Diet changed on Sunday morning, and I've been well-behaved and eating sensibly. Not a long stretch of time, granted, but please recount the old adage about a journey of a thousand miles.
3. The Las Cruces has been lobotomized, and I now have a few more chainrings sitting around, plus a front derailleur. Yup, I cut her down to a 1x10 for 'cross season. My new shoes, which will hopefully prevent any sort of foot injury, have also arrived. I'll be going through the heat-based form-fitting this coming Saturday, and we somehow managed to have a set of the Sidi half-inch toe spikes in stock, which should keep me rockin' the muddy run-ups this year.
4. There's more, but it's mostly boring.
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Why does everyone assume I'm in my twenties? #helpidontunderstand [fontosaurus]
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Beat. 3 hours on bike. 8 hours at shop. 2 hours rearranging. Day's not over yet. Contacts pick-up and the Northeast Palace yet to come. [fontosaurus]
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Checked in at SuperAmerica - Lynlake
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I'm at SuperAmerica - Lynlake (801 W Lake St, Aldrich Ave S, Minneapolis). http://4sq.com/5GaQUl [fontosaurus]
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I'm at Penn Cycle Uptown (710 W, Lake St., at Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis). http://4sq.com/7Xn9Ev [fontosaurus]
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Checked in at Penn Cycle Uptown
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Shared 2 photos.
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First day back at @penncycle. Excited for another season at the shop. [fontosaurus]
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I'm at Surdyk's Liquor (303 E Hennepin Ave, at University Ave, Minneapolis) w/ 2 others. http://4sq.com/6n6XNM [fontosaurus]
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Checked in at Surdyk's Liquor
