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Ill-fated bicycle ride
After having a good bike ride recently I decided I’d try for another one yesterday instead of going to the gym. It wasn’t extreme heat yesterday but it was hot and I left home just after 4:30 pm with hopes it would be cooling off soon. The first thing I noticed was the ride wasn’t as easy as the last time. But I pushed on and lowered gears to make things easier. Things were going okay for a while but then the heat started to get to me and instead of continuing to my usual turnaround place, I took a short break to drink some water and stopped once more along the way. I was mostly feeling okay but as I approached the ramp onto the overpass, I realised it was going to be a huge struggle to reach the top. It just happens the path has an offshoot that goes under the bridge so I headed that way to find a stopping place in the shade. One thing I didn’t know is part of that path now shows a sign not to enter as though moving onto a one-way street. Except this was the pathway. I continued anyway because I was desperate to get out of the sun for a while. I did find a small shady area and stopped. I finished my first bottle of water and sat on the path where there were fewer ants around. When my heart rate finally returned to some normality, I started off again.
This is where things got rather tricky. I didn’t have the energy to ride very fast so I kept to as slow a pace as possible. But then I noticed my back tire wasn’t feeling right and it soon became clear the air I’d pumped it up with had gone out and I was riding on the rim of the wheel. I pumped it up and it was wobbly for a while before deflating again. This was a terrible place to be stranded as there was no access to the path for several kilometers. I got off and walked the bike for a long while and then called the Scientist. It took a while for me to communicate where I was. It was noisy from the highway next to me and my pronunciation may not have been clear to him. We finally connected and it was clearer where I was headed. There is one street that crosses with the highway and intersects with the bike pathway so that was my target for us both. I carried on walking my bike and got there about ten minutes later. Part of the pathway was shaded there so I got off and waited. I was nearly finished with my second water bottle at this point.
I knew my bike wasn’t going to fit in the car so my plan had been to lock up my bike near my location with intentions of returning the next day. The Scientist, however, was too concerned it would be stolen and decided he would walk the bike home. I was about 4.5 km from home via the bike path at this point. I took the car and returned home where I showered and rehydrated with V8 juice I had in the fridge. I wasn’t quite sure how well that would work but figured it was better than just water. It seems to have been fine and I started to feel better after a little while.
Meanwhile, the Scientist opted to walk the bike along the road he’d travelled to reach me instead of along the pathway I’d been on. It was quieter there and there was some shade for part of that way (although I’m not sure that was his consideration). He ran into issues closer to home that required a lengthy detour. In the end, he’d walked 8+ kilometers and was about to drop once home. Also, his leg was battered from the bike pedal hitting it regularly along the way. He’d already done his own exercise not much earlier so I can’t imagine his exhaustion.
I guess it might be a while until I ride again. I can get another tube easily but I’m concerned about the wheel being damaged from riding on a flat tire. That said, I will have to replace the tube in order to get it to the shop.
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Assorted
The premier of our state just did his daily update and there were nine cases of covid. It seems all were related to previous clusters. So far the numbers haven’t exploded but it still seems likely to happen at some point. While I haven’t been avoiding going out, I haven’t been spending as much time in more crowded locations. The press conference also outlined the plan to deal with high case numbers when we reach that point. That is still a long way off but obviously could change at any time. I also noticed that rapid antigen tests are now available locally and must be in demand because my pharmacy has a sign saying they don’t have any. The Scientist ordered some tests a couple of weeks ago but they haven’t arrived yet.
I’ve been attending a pilates class at a local leisure center for the past few weeks and I feel like it’s really helping with core muscles. Meanwhile, in the gym, I’ve been avoiding those exercises and doing more cardio and more weight machines. Still, my muscle mass hasn’t changed from several months ago even though I can feel changes in arms and glutes, etc.
One of the support workers who share support for my client has been promoted to a coordinator position. This opens up several more hours per week with him and I’ve taken on Tuesday hours. I chose this day in order to provide an opportunity to attend a special exercise class on a regular basis. The changes in support workers are going to be disruptive for a while but I hope he is able to settle in for the longer term. This does create another day where he may be unsupported while I’m away though. The extra hours will nice after losing so many hours from my other client. I don’t want to take on too many with this client, though, because he’s a family friend and I want to keep a decent balance between work and personal life.
We had several days with milder weather but that has now ended and we’re back to another heatwave. We haven’t had any rain so far this year but that is pretty typical for this time of year.
I got out onto my bike almost two weeks ago and it went quite well. The last time I went out I had quite a struggle to go very far. This time I didn’t struggle at all and managed what might have been a normal ride back in the time I was riding regularly. This was a nice surprise. I will admit to being tempted to go farther than planned because I was feeling well enough. Common sense did prevail and I stuck to a normal distance in the end.
I got a message from my doctor’s office that I needed to come in to discuss some results. I was only there on Monday so I assume some of the tests took longer to be processed. There were two tests from earlier that had been repeated so I suspect this might have been one or both of them. I got an appointment with yet another gp that I’ve never seen since she has the earlier available time on Tuesday.
Yesterday I stopped at a local park to eat a sandwich I’d gotten from the nearby bakery. While there, a black swan approached the side of the pond/small lake where I was sitting and seemed quite interesting in making contact. I took several photos, even approaching the swan and taking an overhead shot. I’ve been to this park before but never had any of the creatures approach me. It was pretty neat.
I started playing the Wordle game that has taken the internet by storm lately and I’m enjoying my daily dose. What I like about it is it’s just a single game that takes a couple to a few minutes and won’t be a major time sucker. It works much like the old Mastermind game but it’s for five-letter words. You get six tries and I’ve been able to solve each puzzle so far. I do it really curious how so many people need to share their results each day. And it’s weird how so many people get so annoyed by that. I personally don’t do it but I have no concerns about others. I just find it strange they need to share so much.
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Iron levels
I had several blood tests done and went to the doctor yesterday to review the results. So the good news is my ferritin is now something like 275 whereas it was 15 before. All the other numbers were fine too. I still don’t feel particularly energetic but perhaps I am not quite so tired either. Less good was the fact I had raised liver tests again although they are only slightly above normal. It seems they alternate between normal and slightly raised lately. I had to see yet another doctor because the ones I’ve seen before are no longer there. One of the reasons I moved to this practice was the lack of continuity of care at the previous one. But I think the problem is much worse where I am. It seems all the doctors aside from the main one are registrars (training gps) and so have less experience. The main doctor isn’t taking new patients although I did see her the one time. There’s another main doctor who is on long-term leave at the moment.
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Specialist appointment
I went to see the gastroenterologist on Friday to follow up on the gastroscopy and colonoscopy in November. One weird but good thing was I didn’t get charged for the visit. I am not quite sure how that works but I won’t complain. :) Anyway, I had a good visit with the doctor and after discussing the recent paint job in the rooms, we got on to more important business. What I got from the visit is that it’s quite likely my iron levels will be fine now I’ve had the infusion and we may never know the reason for the drop. But she ordered more bloodwork and a CT scan of my abdomen and it’s possible I may end up with a capsule endoscopy. I’ve been given the information but it’s not a sure thing at this point. There is a small risk of complications on the endoscopy, part of the reason for the CT scan. I go back to see her on the 3rd.
I did the CT scan today and it all went fine. I had to have dye injected. I was asked if I’d had this before and I couldn’t recall for certain. I definitely have had a couple of CT scans before though. The whole process only took about fifteen minutes and most of that was prep time. As often happens the wound from the injection took a bit longer to clot but was fine with an extra couple of minutes.
I have some other bloodwork that needs to be done for my gp so will do it all later this week. I am doing a follow-up with yet another gp next week. It seems every time I find a doctor I like, they end up leaving. The one I was seeing was only there for a few months and now she has dropped off their list of doctors. The other one I saw has no appointments so I am trying a different one who was away but came back recently.
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It’s here
Omicron has now been confirmed to be in Western Australia. I should clarify and say it’s now in the community because I suspect many of the positive cases coming from elsewhere have been omicron already. But those people have been in quarantine or isolation. But now it’s in the community I am curious to see how things play out. We are back to wearing masks here, which I don’t have a problem with. It’s more just getting used to doing so right now. Our borders are still set to open on February 5th so I guess this will just get us ready. One thing I liked that our premier did on that announcement is his acknowledgment of concerns from those who are immuno-compromised. But even so, our hospital system is in terrible shape so I really hope the local spread is kept controlled. But I just don’t see it happening based on what I’ve seen in other states. Even those with better control measures are struggling with high numbers.
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Changes already and other things
Yesterday I received an email from Japan Airlines that my stopover in Sydney is now five hours instead of three. This means I’ll be in Tokyo for fifteen hours. This doesn’t affect my travel time in any way so I accepted the changes. I recall when I made travel arrangements two years ago that there was a change in that plan too. Of course, that trip never happened in the end.
Originally I wasn’t bothered about spending the better part of the day in Tokyo. But I have learned I won’t be able to use the capsule hotel as I am not a Japanese resident, due to COVID issues. So I now don’t know how I will spend so much time. The one hotel is expensive and is not an option unless they lower the rates when I get there. In any case, the capsule hotel is also in a different terminal and I’m not sure how much hassle going to a different terminal might be. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem but there might be limitations.
In other news, even though we have low numbers of COVID cases here in WA, the supermarkets have started placing limits on some items due to shortages. In a lot of cases, it’s hard to source the items at the moment. I suspect in others it’s just some forward planning. I was surprised to find toilet paper shelves empty last night and today while shopping. This is not an issue for us since we have been having it delivered every few months since last year. But it must be quite a problem for others.
I had ordered a few new masks a week ago or so and they hadn’t yet arrived. I wasn’t worried as there have been delays with the postal deliveries. But I got a notice from the post office that another package had arrived today. This was for some melatonin for Lego Lover that I ordered a while back. It’s been sitting in limbo at some place here in Perth for a while. But today it was delivered to a parcel locker. While checking the postal service app I noticed the other package should have been picked up from a parcel locker and was being moved to the post office. I never got a notice to pick it up and most certainly would have done so in a timely manner. Hopefully, it will be available tomorrow and I can pick it up.
I have a follow-up appointment (from the colonoscopy/endoscopy) with the gastro doctor tomorrow. I’m not quite sure what to expect as this will be the first time I see her in an appointment setting. I haven’t had my iron levels checked since my infusion so I don’t know if the levels are dropping still. Like the previous infusion, I haven’t noticed any marked improvement in energy although I am pretty sure I am doing somewhat better.
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Boosted
It’s been five months since I got my second COVID shot and the current guidelines say to get a booster at four now. So yesterday I walked into a public clinic to get mine. Except they changed it to only bookings and I couldn’t walk in after all. I returned home, set up an account, and booked for my booster. I ended up at a different location as the one near me didn’t have appointments available the same day. I was going shopping and it happened there is a clinic in the same shopping center. So I planned it for my shopping trip. Except when I got there I couldn’t find the clinic and walked up and down and finally called a phone number listed. Just as I was finally getting through menus, I walked outside and found the clinic. That was the only issue I had with getting my booster. Everything else went smoothly.
I got the Pfizer shot this time, a change from Astra Zeneca which I had previously. With dose one, I had arm soreness develop, and that lasted a week or so. The second dose I barely felt it go in and had no side effects at all. This time, I had nothing last night but my arm is sore today. So it’s mostly typical for a vaccination for me.
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Iron infusion
On Friday I had an iron infusion to replenish my iron stores. I went through this before several years ago after a bad bout of menorrhagia which depleted my iron. The infusion fixed me right up as I didn’t have any more extreme blood loss after that.
My appointment was at 8:15 am at my doctor’s office. The Scientist said he’d drive me even though it wasn’t exactly needed. It was kind of a just-in-case sort of thing, along with moral support. He even missed some of the cricket match to be there. :) Anyway, we left in plenty of time and arrived a few minutes early. As we pulled in, I took note of the pharmacy and then realized I’d left the iron at home. I had to get the prescription filled and take it to the appointment. So we had to return home to get it and return. Fortunately, my doctor was okay with that and I was fit into the schedule.
It took a little while to get everything set up by the nurse. Then the doctor came in and placed the canula in my hand and then got it started. She left at that point and the nurse handled the rest. It was all pretty ordinary and not much of note happened. My blood pressure was a bit on the lower side of normal this time, which is kind of unusual these days.
It was a good thing my appointment wasn’t for a couple of days earlier because there were massive power outages in the area and they weren’t able to operate during that time.
After the infusion finished, I came home and took a nap. I hadn’t had enough sleep the night before and I was already feeling sluggish. The extra hour or so made a difference later on when I had to work. It takes two to four weeks for the infusion to fully kick in so I don’t expect any major changes just yet. Last time it happened really gradually so that might be the same this time.
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Short term
As I posted yesterday, I was in to see the doctor about my test results today. My usual doctor is currently away so I saw a different one, who is a registrar (sort of gp in training although not really training). I saw this one before about my fracture in my foot and she was fine then. This time her inexperience was really obvious.
Since my iron stores keep dropping so fast, the plan right now is to have an iron infusion, which is scheduled for Friday. I’ve had one once before when I had iron deficiency from menorrhagia and it worked well. This one should keep me in good shape for a few months and hopefully, answers will be available on the dropping iron before I need another one. I must admit I’m not very confident the capsule stuff will uncover anything but you never know.
Most of the other irregular results weren’t anything to be concerned about in isolation. A couple of tests will need to be done again. And then there is the antibody testing that again showed super-high anti-nuclear antibodies. That’s nothing new though. There was, however, mention of cytoplasmic antibodies and my questions showed this doctor knows almost nothing about them even though it’s a fairly common finding. There is also a positive test on a liver antibody which can relate to autoimmune liver issues. This had a note but was not highlighted and she would have missed it had I not pointed it out. She’s not concerned since my liver is looking really good right now. But in the past, I’ve had an ANA pattern that has had some associations with autoimmune liver disease. If something is developing I would rather know earlier than wait for it cause issues. She’s going to consult with my regular gp when she is back. Also, my liver results are “deranged” which apparently means they are up and down. About every second test shows some abnormal results. While they look great right now, they might not be quite so good next time. I never heard of deranged results before but on searching, I found it’s a common term in the medical community. Weird. They weren’t that high last time so I can’t help thinking my doctor had concerns when she ordered the tests.
All that said, my main concern is the low iron and that will hopefully be sorted, at least temporarily, after Friday.
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Stuff
I am still keeping up with exercise to some degree. That isn’t translating to any weight loss as yet and it also isn’t translating to increased muscle mass. I am a bit stuck on that part because I know I have built up muscle but to stay the same that would mean I’d have to lose muscle somewhere else and I don’t think that’s happening. That said, I am not sure how much stock to take in the scales that do all these fancy computations on the body. I am finding it’s been a struggle to get through exercise sessions lately. Usually, I will start feeling better after going for a while and the rest comes more easily. Not the case recently though.
I don’t think I mentioned here yet that my dad went home just before Thanksgiving and is doing okay. It seems he is suffering a bit of confusion since the second stroke but other issues don’t seem to have changed a lot. I did speak with him a few days ago and had a slightly longer conversation. Still quite brief but he was able to get more out on that occasion.
Game Fanatic has been trying to get hold of a Playstation 5 for some time and the pickings have been limited since its release whenever it was. Then EB Games said they had some available for pre-order last month and I rushed there to get an order in to find out they had sold out. I was put on a waitlist in case more units arrived than predicted. These units were supposed to come fairly soon after the orders were taken but I didn’t hear anything further. So I stopped in one day last week to check on the status. It turns out they were still working on calling people about orders and I was able to collect mine after all. So Game Fanatic now has the monster-sized machine which blocks our tv and was able to add a couple of items to his limited Christmas list.
The Scientist hasn’t had any real holiday from work in ages. I don’t count the time taken off when he had surgery earlier this year. As of tomorrow, he’s off until early January. Here’s hoping the time off allows him to recharge a bit for next year. Also, the Scientist had a birthday last week and he’s now started his last year of his 50s. I took him out for lunch at a Thai/fusion restaurant where they had robots to deliver meals to tables and it was a good meal. Then we went to Holey Moley to do mini mini-golf and a game of bowling, both of which were lots of fun for us.
We still don’t have any definite dates on our borders opening here in WA but it feels like it’s getting close to reality now. I have been playing around with dates for travel for next year and it seems like it might be okay in the second quarter barring any delays from newer variants.