Updates: Shoulder, Husband, Car

Tags

arthritis, Carla Kienast, dr. burkhead, Lexus IS 250, Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Shoulder Surgery

 

First of all, for those of you who are aware of my marital history, no, I’m not getting a new husband.

Second, about the shoulder. Went to the shoulder doc today. Everything is as it should be. They’ve added some strength building exercises to the ones I’m already [supposed] to be doing. I go back in 2.5 months (late August). As long as I continue to progress with my home exercises, they’re not going to send me to “real” physical therapy, which is a good thing. The last thing I need in my schedule is another doctor’s visit. I do need to start being better about actually doing my exercises, though.

Next about the husband. Jack has had some issues being out of breath when walking briskly or otherwise exerting. A nuclear scan showed some potential narrowing or blockage of one of his coronary arteries. We go in Wednesday for an angiogram with the possibility of having a balloon procedure or a stent inserted. (Well, actually, Jack goes in. I’m just the chauffer.) If all they do is look, Jack will be home Wednesday afternoon. If they actually do something, he’ll have to stay overnight at the hospital and come home Thursday. Probably be back to work on Friday or Saturday. Right now no one is getting too excited about this. It doesn’t sound life-threatening or even appear to be significant enough for the doctor to rush him in for the angiogram. However it is something that we need to check into and I give Jack a lot of credit for stepping up and getting it seen about. I’ll post more Wednesday night after the procedure to keep everyone informed.

Now about the car. (Picture below) The car (we’ll call him George to protect the innocent), has blended in quite well with the family. He’s almost the same size as the white CTS Cadillac that he shares his room (the garage) with. Jack thinks he’s wonderful and is now considering getting a twin — or at least a cousin — when his lease on the CTS runs out later this year. I think it’s a wonderful car. It’s plush and powerful and safe. But I can’t help but miss my Smart Car. It was cute and fun to drive and it made me smile every day. Now I’m just another Lexus-driving,  middle-aged, Dallas workaholic. Everyone should have my problems. Thanks for checking in. I’ll update on Jack’s condition after the procedure on Wednesday.

2009 Lexus IS 250

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Dr. Update

Tags

arthritis, Banerjee, Carla Kienast, Humira, Lexus, Lexus IS 250, rheumatoid arthritis, Shoulder Surgery, Smart Car, Williarm Tucker

Over the last couple of days, I’ve seen Dr. Tucker my hip doctor, and Dr. Banerje, my rheumatologist.

I went to see Dr. Tucker because my hip had been bothering me a bit after a fall and I wanted to check it. Also my knees have been giving me a lot of problems and I wanted to see if there had been any arthritic changes in them since the last time we looked. The answer was “no” to both questions. The hip looks great on the X-Ray as do the knees. However, as Dr. Tucker pointed out, the pain and stiffness is due to the RA, which attacks the soft tissues and doesn’t show up on the Xrays.

Which brings us to Dr. Banerje. Bottom line is that she’s left me on Humira, but added some dreaded prednisone. I’m take two 5-mg tablets a day for two weeks, then dropping to one per day until I see her again in a few weeks. She also drained some fluid out of my right knee and shot it full of steroids. This was not a pleasant procedure. Then I had to get my labs done and the girl had to stick both arms to get enough blood. Also not pleasant. I went home and felt sorry for myself for the rest of the day.

In much more pleasant news, I guess, I’m taking delivery of my new Lexus IS 250 this evening. I’m trading in my much-loved SmartCar for something more substantial, with more power, and more air bags. Jack’s just worried about me driving such a small car in Dallas rush-hour traffic. He does have a point, but the SmartCar is one of those pure joys in my life that make me smile every day, and those are few and far between. I’m probably the only person in America who’s not just absolutely thrilled to be driving home in a new Lexus. Poor me.

On yet another topic, I may have to go to South Africa for a couple of weeks on business. I’m looking forward to the trip, but I’m not sure what that will do to my medication schedule. I don’t think I can travel that far away for that long with my Humira.

I think that’s all I know for now. Thanks for checking in.