Might as Well Include Health in my Pact Too

OK, from now on, I will not comment on my emotional state regarding dialysis or my health in general. I will only state facts. I can state facts such as "I am depressed due to an antibiotic," as I did in an earlier post today, but it does no good to voice negative emotions. Voicing them merely feeds them. For most of life, I have followed this creed, but it seems that I have slipped quite a bit lately. I will be more diligent and self-controlled from now on.

Another Wait List Update

Well, the results of the MUGA test were not great--35 percent pumping capacity for the left ventricle. Dr. Phan says that anything 35 or lower is a sign of a heart that could stop at any moment without warning. He and Dr. Lee from UCLA are now thinking of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). This is generally used for patients with arrhythmia, which I don't have, but in my case it would be used as a preventative, that is, in case my heart does stop, this would restart it.

My trip to Canada will give them a month to mull it over. I have an appt. to see Dr. Lee on Monday, Sept. 14, after I return from my vacation.

Other than that, things are in a holding pattern for the next few weeks.

Belated Birthday Thanks

I would like to say a special thank you to Aaron, Bev, Diana, Chris and Mark for taking me out for my birthday. Aaron bought me a plant for a decorative pot my neighbor gave me, and then took me out for Indian food at my favorite Long Beach restaurant, Kamal Palace. Unfortunately, later that day, I had a violent attack of vertigo and up-chucked the chutney. Diana and Bev took me to dinner in old town Tustin at Rutabagorzand then to a small comedy club in a nearby office complex. We sat in the front row (of three rows) and laughed and laughed, which is always a good thing.

The event with Chris and Mark was a surprise. I knew that the two were flying into LA from San Francisco for Chris's birthday (one day before mine), and Mark and I had talked of the three of us getting together for a meal. But then they invited me to share their box seats at the Hollywood Bowl to see Grace Jones! Wow, what a show! Mark's long-time friend John Halsey accompanied us. This was quite a delightful evening: Grace Jones looked great, she was incredibly sexy, and her costumes were out of this world.



Mark and I are always tremendously silly together, which I enjoy no end. I'm sorry that Chris and I did not get more of a chance to talk, as Chris said, "You two have been speaking your own language all night long!"




So, thanks, guys, for including me, and thanks, Chris, for my ticket.

Off to Canada

I'm off to Canada on Tuesday. This is a huge step. My first trip since beginning dialysis, that is, except for one night away from home during Chick Cabin Weekend in May.

I have had three paramedic-ER-hospitalization dramas in the last five weeks. All episodes of severe vertigo (environment spinning, bouncing up and down, and side to side[ couldn't stand; couldn't walk; closing eyes didn't help), uncontrollable vomiting, and very high blood pressure. The cause of these crises is undetermined, but I tend to agree with my nephrologist, who feels the culprit is ciprofloxacin, which was given to me at the end of July to combat an infection in my dialysis tubing. Cipro was also responsible for bouts of depression and weepiness during the treatment time. Unfortunately, cipro is the only oral antibiotic that can attack micro-organisms living on plastic. The only alternative is to receive antibiotics by IV in the hospital. This would be much preferrable to these vertigo spells and to the depression.

The first bout of vertigo was July 2, which was prior to the cipro, but this was also associated with very low blood sugar. Vertigo has never been a symptom of hyperglycemia for me, but perhaps my symptoms are changing.

I had a less severe episode on Wednesday. I was simply talking on the phone when it came on. I had great difficulty walking (had to move along a wall or a cabinet to remain standing), but I didn't vomit and I didn't have to call the paramedics. Even though I stopped taking the cipro a week ago Thursday, cipro side effects can occur up to a month or more after discontinuation. And as I am a dialysis patient, toxins are removed from my body more slowly than in a person with healthy kidneys.

The long and short of it is that I am envisioning a paramedic-free, ER-free, hospital-free vacation in Nova Scotia!