regain my health

The “other things” they discovered turned out to be nothing to worry about. The more tests they run, the more such “nothing to worry about” things they are likely to discover. I seem to be improving, most of the time. However, there are still a couple of worrisome things going on, so they have scheduled me with a cardiologist. I’m on a diet and very slowly dropping weight. My ability to do heavy work is improving.

The latest test showed no problem with my lungs. It suggested some other problems, which we are tracking down. I have decided to start a diet and exercise regime. I have the blessings of both of my doctors on this. Just the other day I put on some belly dance music. Slow stuff. Did easy moves. Lasted one minute. It is a start, though, and I love to dance. It also gives me something I can do when it is too rainy to walk, which happens often in the winter here. Today I shall work in the yard.

For the last few years I have had worsening problems with my lungs. It is quite disableing. My pulmonologist tells me that it is cureable with some rather extreme surgery. Some risk of death, but possibly a complete cure. If we do nothing, there is a high risk of death in the next few years. I’m going to follow up on this, and will do it if the surgeons think it is adviseable.

Afterwards, I will need to drop some weight and get back into condition, since I’ve been unable to do much in the way of exercise for the last 7 years. I’m currently 60 pounds over the feed limit. Being able to exercise again will make this much easier to do.

I’m still having health issues, but they’re gradually improving. My treatments used to be once every couple of months, with regular check-ups in between. These days, my appointments are once every two months for one of my specialists, and yearly for the other one. It’s been two months since my last treatment, and although I will need another at some point, it hasn’t been scheduled yet and is unlikely to be any time before September.

It’s entirely possible that I will have this condition for the rest of my life, but both I and my doctors are optimistic and cheered by my recent improvements.

Went for my first run in ages today. It wasn’t as hard as I expected. Maybe it helped wearing my City2Surf t-shirt (I’ve never actually competed – a friend gave it to me, ha.) I can’t wait until I’m past the plodding stage and back into needing my daily fix of runner’s high. I miss that feeling.

I’m also rediscovering yummy healthy food and feeling a bit better as a result. Thai mango coleslaw for breakfast! Om nom nom!

I went for yoga today and thursday.Plan to rest at home tomorrw.

Since september,I’ve been struggling with back pain, and now I have cough and cold to contend with. Gotta get my energy and health back.

I have two consultants who manage my medical condition. One of them handles the medication side of things, the other one operates on me. I saw the medication doctor a couple of months ago and he said that he wanted to start me on an immuno-suppressant steroid with some nasty side effects and said that if that didn’t work then the next step would be chemotherapy. I saw him yesterday though, and he said that because I’m responding so well to surgery I won’t need to be put on medications for at least the next 6 months!

I do have several operations ahead of me over the next few months though. The next one is next week; I hope it goes well.

Don’t rely on anyone else for this one, use your inbuilt sense of what works for your body, explore all the options (alternative medicine, yoga, healthy eating not starvation) and keep slogging away. This time last year I was sick and just got sicker, today i’m just back from a mile’s swim and I’m determined to stay feeling healthy! Still a ways to go – addiction to pints and creme eggs – but it’s so worth it! Remember to pat yourself on the back sometimes, don’t make it a constant struggle, reward the little positives with something that makes you feel good.

The best ways to strengthen my heart is through diet (lose 19 lbs), healthy eating, continue vitamin/mineral/herbs supplementation, volunteer work, hobbies and reading.