On The Subject Of My Health...
In going through the forum posts for the last *checks history* nearly four months since I was last here, I did notice that my latest round of health issues was mentioned briefly, so I thought that both people who might be interested but do not follow me on Twitter, where many of the appointments and procedures were all but live-streamed, should get an update.
In brief, there were two things going on:
1) I decided to take a mental health break from this place in April. It began to come up in therapy that years of moderating this forum had negatively impacted my ability to even cheer for the Wolverines, so I took the break with the intent of it being absent perhaps for 4-6 weeks to see how I felt.
2) I was admitted to the hospital on Memorial Day weekend and was there for eight days. Some of you will remember that, about five years ago, I was in the hospital for congestive heart failure brought on by a viral infection that no one could figure out. This time, it was CHF brought on by my own stupidity in relaxing my adherence to the medications and diet over time. The result of it all is that I will probably spend the rest of my life taking neuro-hormonal blockers because otherwise my heart uses jazz timing when it should be using standard rock timing, I will put it like that. June was a bad month. July has been much better and I even went back to work this past week, albeit on restricted duty.
So, I decided late Friday night that I was finally up to posting again and indeed even helping to moderate on a limited basis. Like everything else in my life right now, I will monitor myself on a daily basis and see how it goes. Since I can no longer drink or consume anything with more than a meager amount of sodium, I will be posting sober, and as some of you who might follow me on Twitter may have noticed, sober me is a harsh, judgmental and often cranky me.
Anyway, glad to be back.
Welcome back and wish you all the best. Stay healthy!!!!?
the details are none of our business, but we're glad you are on the mend. thank you for sharing that.
incidentally, since you were on hiatus they lot robf have the keys to the car. whoo-boy, that has been a ride. [imagine some kind of smile face emoji here]
Just wait til I get the keys to the tractor!
2nd cutting of hay tomorrow. you come right on up and jump in that tractor. i'll show you how it works, point you in the right direction, and you can drive to your heart's content.
unable to embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn8cSYMe8xc
song = 'big green tractor', it is so country you can feel it.
In?
I'm more of an open-air tractor kind of guy, so do you have something more the size of this Farmall:
https://images.app.goo.gl/EY6Az3c5KUiu1BJx6
...or maybe a Ford or John Deere like I'd often drive back in the 70s baling hay or pulling a farm trailer thru Grandpa's apple orchard?
would this do? not exact, but close.
Yep, that's more my size!
I was driving farm tractors on 3 different farms before even starting drivers training. My Uncle Bob first trained me when I was in my early teens because he had by then taken on 90% of running Grandpa's farm; getting me trained freed him up to operate his Hi-Lo and other farm equipment.
Those open air tractors get cold in the winter when you’re using them to clear snow.
tractors with cabs are for rich people. i'm kidding, but they do add to the cost. i also think they cost you a little bit on visibility but yeah, once in a while, a climate-controlled cab would be welcome.
we do enough bush-whacking with our tractors that i'd be scared of bashing in a cab taking it through the woods or other activities.
We just started second cutting of hay.
would've started this afternoon/tonight, but there's enough of a threat of rain and a big line of clouds rolling W to E on the radar that i am holding off.
That's definitely a good decision on your part, Farmer X. As I'm sure you already know, it's going to be a lot less humid once the front moves thru overnight. Dew points all week long are going to be in the mid-to-upper 50s down this way in the northern Kent County area, with clear skies. Probably even better up your way. Perfect hay-drying weather.
It probably will also be ideal for comet-watching and the upcoming meteor showers.
downpour as i write this. the week looks good though. cut tomorrow, long day cutting, let it sit and rake/bale before week's end. at least, that's the plan.
Watch out for gonorrhea on those tractor seats.
I don't mind sharing the details when asked.
Some of them are as bizarre as they would sound, with perhaps the most interesting one to everyone with whom I've discussed it being the weight loss.
How dramatic was that? I entered the hospital at 247 and, in the intervening eight weeks, have fallen to 190 between diet and medications. It was necessary for a lot of reasons, as a good deal of it was fluid weight.
you are young yet and congestive heart fluid would be scary as crap. i don't know if it makes any sense, but maybe take the same discipline about your diet and pour some of that into health and fitness (if you aren't already) might yield some additional fruit.
incidentally, good line re: jazz time by your heart. a little gallows humor is a good thing.
Yeah, this is not how I would have envisioned my 40s, if you had asked me when I started them anyway.
As for health and fitness, I was an athlete and I was pretty active even after the first incident. I have slowly begun to integrate walks and some other items into my routine. No weights yet while I have lifting restrictions, but those will come back eventually.
Consider yoga. You'll get many of the strength training benefits, but the breathing and mindfulness are what I find particularly valuable.
I second that. Yoga is great
I would third that. It’s also easy to modify so that you don’t overdo it.
I would add that I have found it helpful for a lot of my foot (plantar fasciitis), knee (arthritis) and back (sciatica) issues, and I frankly need to start doing it more often. It’s also helped with hip and shoulder mobility, which in turn has helped with weight lifting.
Welcome back man! So sorry...can’t imagine.
Heart issues suck. They suck even worse when you aren’t particularly old and you’ve kept yourself in decent shape. Glad to have you back and good luck staying on the program. While things going well is obviously a blessing, after a while it can definitely make you a little less focused on adhering to whatever heart healthy program you have to be on.
Dogs make great exercise partners. They insist you get out and at least get a walk even when the weather is lousy,
Sorry for the double post
I'm the same way in discussing my disease with others. I may help save a life.
and the details are interesting and relevant, i just don't want to be overly nosey. mildly nosey, i'm all of that though.
Good to see you are doing well. I have a relative who didn't know her father but after looking it up, she found out he died of some kind of heart condition before age 50.
She was probably tracking in the same direction despite being active and a healthy weight. When she developed high blood pressure at about 40 yrs old, she cut the sodium intake for the entire household by making her own salt free spice blends.
We started bottling. It's available in a couple of local specialty stores and mail order. We don't sell a ton of this stuff but a lot of people have been showing support.
I would post a link but I know there are rules regarding what can and can't be posted as far as non-sponsored businesses go. You could search "love salt free" or Donna Marie's. That may get you there.
Welcome Back. Stay Healthy.
Cheers
Glad to have you back LSA and best wishes to your health!
It's a better blog with you around, Lorne.
Stay well.
A harsh, judgmental and often cranky Mod is exactly what we need. RobF posts all of this positive content which is funny. We demand draconian management which puts us in our rightful place!!!
I know the perfect person but I’m afraid trying to keep me and the kids in line takes most of her time.
How can you have time to be on that foosball blog on a Sunday afternoon! Isn’t there housework that should be done!! Go take the kids outside and pick up the yard!!!
I can cover for her if she wants to be a Mod.
Glad to hear you are better. Not sure harsh, judgmental and cranky is something this blog needs more of, however.
Semi-seriously, speak for yourself. In the past few months I've confirmed that I share Michigan sports fandom with people whose idea of "doing your own research" amounts to reviewing the latest QAnon insights. (Their contributions, such as they are, stand out more than those of the SJW brigade, which are annoying in their own way.) IMO some harsh and cranky might be just the thing.
* * *
LSAClassOf2000, best wishes.
I'm VERY glad to see you back, LSA2000! Not just because of you being a mod but primarily because you got your health back which means your family has you back to full capacity.
Welcome back!
Welcome back! I hope your health continues pointing upwards during these crazy times. I am not a perfect poster by any stretch, but please don’t let some clowns jade your feelings towards Michigan Athletics.
Welcome back! It is genuinely good to see you haunting these threads again. Rob F let us stay up to watch TV until you came home, and Seth said it was okay if friends came over.
For the life of me, I don't know where anyone ever got the idea that viral infections were "no big deal" even long before Covid-19. There are some very nasty strains that circulate, and if your body is prone to accepting the candy and flowers from the right bug, you are in for a very bad time.
It's not cheap, but consider finding a MDVIP doctor (MDVIP is a so-called "concierge" model). My own chronic health problems led me to stay with my doctor when he switched from a traditional practice to MDVIP. The difference in the personalization of my care and the time he spends with me are extraordinary.
Haven’t gone the concierge route, but definitely do not settle on your Dr. I’ve gone through three cardiologists since I had my aortic valve replaced and the peace I’ve found finally being at a practice that I don’t feel like I’m settling for but that i truly feel comfortable with has made such a difference to me.
Totally agree. I really like my doctor and he was always exceptionally thorough and willing to work a bit harder to get to the root cause of issues I had around the age of 30. It built up a lot of trust that I wasn't going to easily replace.
Welcome back and please take the meds as directed. I think I better dance now.
This gif looks like the start of a POSBANG!
Damn. He is keeping the beat of the country tune I am listening too. He even does that little skip at the end of lines.
I, for one, appreciate the harsh, judgmental and cranky you on Twitter.
Good luck LSA
Welcome back and hope the condition levels out. Great to see the Rainbow Dash profile pic in any post.
Great to see the title of a great movie as someone's username!
XM, is that a Kubota M7040? That’s the machine I have at our place in mid-Michigan. Though I bet it doesn’t get used nearly as much as yours. LOL Bought ours new in 2003 and it only has like 260 hours.
yours is one of those lightly used units that are a great find when looking to pick up a used tractor. as to ours, it's up a few notches from the 7040. not fancy, but i think it could pull the house off the foundation if i hooked it up properly.
Welcome back. Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better, even with the newfound forced sobriety.
Welcome back...hope that your health issues resolve as best they can.