It was DH's annual visit to the cardiologist. By the time we get ready and drive the 45 minutes in, kill the 30 minutes to l hour in the office and come back home, we are both worn out.
It is a good thing though, once you have had a heart attack, to really keep up on all appointments and tests. We also scheduled a stress test on the treadmill for April.
It has been two years since he had one. I feel he is a little short of breath after doing most activities. I hope it is just the cold or my imagination, but will feel better after the test. We will have to wait a few days for the cholesterol test results.
This is a good opportunity to tell everyone to be very proactive with regards to your health and dealing with doctors and test labs.
For example: They don't routinely schedule the stress test unless it is much longer between than his two years. If I hadn't asked about it, it wouldn't have been scheduled.
Also I asked about the blood work....she rechecked the computer and said yes, it had been scheduled on the last visit. So we went down one floor to the lab, and they said the order had expired.....so they called and got it approved again.
You just have to be on your toes and ask questions.
We probably should have canceled the appointment since we had received another two inches of snow and it was beginning to snow when we left at 8:00AM....we didn't. The roads were covered and very slick in spots and the traffic was horrendous. We sat through a couple of stop lights because of backed up vehicles. We made it fine and even stopped by his folks to see how they were doing. They didn't need any supplies brought in and her housekeeper finally showed up the day before so all is well there.
By the time we got home, DH (who had to fast) was starved. I just did a quick warm-up of beans, made cole slaw, fried potatoes with onions and did a hamburger patty. I had made a pumpkin pie the day before....no whipped cream. and he had a regular pie and I had sliver. I have a goal of loosing weight this year...a must.
Prednisone did not help me in this.
I made myself bundle up and go out and do the chickens, mixed them some warm mash and watered them. They gave me 4 very clean eggs, so I was happy.
Then I refilled all the bird feeders since I knew our overnight temperatures were going to be so low.
They were chirping and flying to the feeders before I would leave them. I think they were very happy to see me.....all feeders were completely empty.
The sun is shining brightly; we will have to wear sunglasses when we go out.
Random Bird Picture
oh dear, nothing worse than going to the dr. I cannot believe you guys were out in the snow and cold, but glad you made it ok and got home safe! We ended up with 20" after our big blizzard yesterday and it was -17 at Fayetteville this morning. Is this Arkansas or Siberia? One thing for sure we won't go hungry, I can just see you in the kitchen...20 minutes and you have it on the table ready to dive in! haha Tell DH to take care of himself and also tell him he's a "lucky duck" to have you to spoil him!
ReplyDeleteI, too, am hoping for the best results of DH's chol & stress tests. But good grief, woman. You went out in THAT WEATHER? LOL
ReplyDeleteHere's a tip. When I (or Mom) have to have fasting tests, I always tuck a pack of peanut butter crackers or a granola bar in my pocket (actually you should always have something like this in your purse for emergency). Then, right after they draw blood, we have something to eat right away to prevent light-headedness or (in Mom's case) crankiness! ;-) Take care - keep warm.
I'm with you on being proactive. Especially when they start prescribing medicine for you that you've already had a bad experience with. Plus you have to ask them every time to please prescribe medication that comes in generic if at all possible, because they don't remember that from last time you were there, and then you end up being prescribed something that's $3.50 a pill. But I think it's sad that we have to do all that. I remember a time when my doctor didn't need to be reminded.... Now when you meet your doctor out shopping somewhere and speak, he/she looks at you blankly like, "....do I know YOU?" I guess I should be grateful I'm not in the doctor's office that much for them to get so they can remember who I am.
ReplyDeleteKris, that's a good idea about the granola bar in the purse. When I worked at the ophthalmology clinic, we did cataract surgery every Wednesday. They couldn't eat beforehand and sometimes the last patient wouldn't come out of surgery till 1pm or so. We always provided a little snack after surgery but it was sugar laden stuff, like juice and sweet rolls or cookies. Coffee or tea. I thought it was great planning whenever the person who came with the surgery patient brought something more nutritious, especially if the patient was diabetic. There were lots of breakfast places around, but just out of surgery, lots of people don't feel up to that, they just want to get home as soon as possible and sleep it off.
It's a good thing you're on top of things, Glenda! I'm like that as well. Speaking of questions, how do you get such a good close up of your birds? ...:)JP
ReplyDeleteGreat tips on keeping track of your own health.
ReplyDeleteGrampy and I carry some cheese crackers and also peanut butter crackers along with a bottle of juice when we go out. If we are gone longer than expected we can have a snack to hold us over until we can get back home.
The quick meal sounds delicious. I love fried potatoes with onions in them.