Christmas Came Early for Me This Year

I'm pretty exhausted now although it has been hours since I got back from the hospital.

Well, I just got a great early Christmas prezzie... One of my doctors, i.e. the cardiologist is quite happy with my echo-cardiogram which I did this morning. According to him, my heart looks to be back to normal with the treatment I'm undergoing.

It was a very busy day at the hospital, with a lot of folks coming for their check-ups and etc. I had to wait for almost 1.5hrs to get my blood drawn for tests. Some kids had to get their blood drawn and being so small, I pity those kids who had to be pricked by needles.

This time, the technician somehow "chose" a small vein and it was difficult to draw blood out. -_-"

So, I was in a bit of pain. Funnily though, I'm not too scared of needles or blood. But then again, at one point, I did seriously think about taking up medicine but in the end didn't when I decidedly loved Physics more than Biology in pre-U.

Luckily, there was no queue at the diagnostics services but the echo-cardiogram took a really long time to complete. After all, the test was to scan all 4 chambers of the heart. I had forgotten that it was cold and by the time I finished, I was freezing.

All that time I did not have time to take my breakfast as I had to fast before my blood test. So, I only had a late breakfast/early lunch by 11:30am. After a quick bite, it was off to see the other doctor too.

The doctors did warn me about side-effects of the medication and should I experience any of the symptoms, I was to go back and see the doctors.

Other than that, I'm now free to do a bit more stuff at the gym... in small steps. That means, I can't start doing 20kg bench presses or dead lifts so soon but to do so gradually when I'm strong enough. It'll be mainly cardio and some light strength training to tone those muscles. I'm looking forward to doing some running soon.

I'll still need to see my doctors in about 2-6months time.

Meanwhile, I'm just glad to be able to celebrate Christmas in good health this year.

Thanks to everyone who kept me in their prayers and thoughts. (^-^)

Life Is Precious

I don't think most of us know how precious life is until something happens to us.

Anyway, as a quick update as I'm sure lots of folks are concerned about how I'm doing lately.

When I left the hospital I had lost 4kg. The nurses were quite shocked when I kept losing weight when they weigh me in the mornings when I was at the hospital. This is all water weight as I was taking some medication to get rid of water.

I had been given some medical leave by the cardiologist and I badly needed it. My BP (blood pressure) had dropped to almost normal and because of that new BP, I was feeling dizzy whenever I stood up. In fact, there were times when I experienced black outs and nearly fainted. So, I had to rest more in order to get used to that new range of BP.

For the last couple of weeks I've been closely monitored by my doctors and from the last visit, one of them decided to increase some medication, while the other has planned another echo-cardiogram scan next month.

The good news is that I'm allowed (and encouraged) by the cardiologist to start exercising, i.e. to concentrate on cardio more. I could do some resistance training to strengthen my muscles but not heavy lifting. So, until the doctor gives the OK, can I start to do vigorous exercising again. So, I'm limited to walking for cardio but not running on the elliptical trainer, which was what I like to do.

Besides that, no heavy lifting means that I can't really go running around with my laptop strapped to my back; which is what a lot of folks at the office see me do as I move around floors and between the two client sites.

I'm grateful for this new lease of life. To a lot of folks who knew me, I've already started my journey towards good health last year when I joined the gym and got educated on how to exercise and eat right.

All I can say is that, the cause of a lot of health problems was stress. I was stressed out. When I got stressed, I didn't sleep well, eat well or even found time to rest. When stress levels are high, we are drawn to unhealthy habits which would eventually lead us down a dangerous path.

So, from this scare, I'm grateful that God has led me down that path; and with His help and love, I can only get better in time.

My Health Scare

I'm finally well enough to touch the laptop. I don't miss it much for the past few weeks as I had to rest and it was a welcomed relief.

My silence is evident that I definitely needed to get away from the laptop and work. And I did.

It has been a couple of weeks since I had my health scare.

On 21st October, I went to SDMC (formerly SJMC) to see a doctor based on the recommendation of the family GP (General Practitioner) the night before as I had extremely high blood pressure. I went to see the family GP as I had been coughing very badly and found it hard to breathe.

When I visited the doc at the hospital, he was concerned about my BP and ordered some tests. I went for my chest x-ray and ultrasound scans first. I even had my blood drawn too. When the x-ray results came back, I had to be referred to the cardiologist.

That was the first scare but I was staying calm.

The cardiologist saw me, had my BP checked again and immediately asked me to stop all movement and ordered that I be admitted for full bed rest as my BP got very high and my heart was not doing so well. He had me go for an echo-cardiogram test.

I did not expect to be admitted but to be sent home with medication and perhaps a couple of days of MC.

Instead, the doctor ordered me to be admitted and have full bed rest. That meant that wherever I go, I have to be pushed in a wheelchair.

For that 1st night, my BP had a lot of difficulty being stabilized, so much so that I had to be given medication under the tongue to get the blood pressure to go down. My systolic BP hovered around the 200 region which was major cause for concern.

The blood pressure eventually did drop after I did some relaxing breathing exercises and bed rest. I ignored all phone calls except for those from my family. Some folks from work did come to visit but not my PM. She kept calling and probably wanted to ask about work or when I would be back. Not once did she visit me while I was at the hospital.

By Thursday, my BP was nearly back to normal and the doctor ordered a CT scan of my kidneys. Even then, my other PM called me just minutes before I went in to ask about work when I've e-mailed everyone about the status the day before I was admitted into the hospital.

Anyway, the CT scan was quite interesting where I ended up having an itchy allergic reaction to the dye. I had to take an anti-histamine which made me sleep. However, I did not realize that the nurses had twisted my IV needle in the back of my hand too tightly that I was bleeding for a bit. By the time I was ready to head back to my room, there was a small pool of blood on the floor and a slight pain in my hand.

Then, I had a call from the hospital telling me that they need to draw more blood from me as they did not have enough for a test. They wanted me to come in but I told that I'm already admitted in the hospital. Hmmm... Nevertheless, I gave them my room number so that they can come the following morning to get my blood.

I had a lot of visitors and was shocked that the customer came to visit too. My best friends dropped by, and one even sat down for 1 hour to give me a scolding. She had the biggest scare of her life as she said that she never expected to visit me at the cardiology ward.

I finally got discharged that Saturday and the doctor gave me 1 week to rest at home. I had an appointment to see the doctor again the following week. The doctor even assigned me a nutritionist to help me educate me about managing my conditions. Aside from the mandatory diet control, I've got to slowly get back to my exercise regime which cannot be too vigorous.

As of today, I will have a few more appointments with the doctors for the next few months before I return to the family GP for follow-up consultations.

I'm currently still resting as the doctor has given me another week off after I complained about feeling dizzy and being prone to black-outs due to my blood pressure falling very low.

However, I'm finding it hard to rest properly as I've to help out with the twins who are really a handful now. They cry constantly, cannot decide if they want to eat or sleep or burp or cry. They cry even when they are feeding!!

The biggest lesson learned is that I've not been taking good care of myself. Not enough "me-time" and too much "work-time". I'll always remember the look my family GP gave me about my attitude towards work. He said, "It can wait. Your health can't."

Hope that most of you know about your "numbers". No, this is not how much $$ you have in your bank a/c, your stock portfolio, # of skills/work experience you have but the following:

• What is your waist-line, BMI (Body Mass Index), % of fat?
• What is your blood pressure (during rest)?
• What is your heart rate (during rest)?
  
• What is your cholesterol levels?
• What is your fasting glucose level?

These are just 5 basic "numbers". If you have not done your annual health check-up, please do so.. especially when you are approaching 30 or above it.

After my scare, most of my friends are planning to do their annual check-ups and some will be doing their blood test for the 1st time.

To my friends, and colleagues who prayed and visited, I thank you guys for keeping me in your thoughts. I'm feeling much better now and am getting on track to being active again.

I've got to learn to manage my stress levels better as any stress will cause 3 things to happen: 1) increased heart rate (which is bad), 2) increased blood pressure (which is very bad) and 3) increased blood sugar (which is very very bad and may cause my kidneys to tapao if not managed well).

Take care all!

You Need To Be More Sick To Get Well Faster...

Geez... This year has been pretty bad for me... Health-wise that is.

I've already fallen sick at least 3 times within the last 6 months!! And each time I got sick, I seem to be taking longer to recuperate. :-(

This time is no exception. I went to see the doctor twice to complain about the medication. Because of my throat infection, he prescribed some antibiotics which I dutifully complete the entire dosage long after my sore throat is gone.

However, this time round, I developed a "side-effect". I started to have diarrhea because of the antibiotics... So, I went back to see the doctor.

Doc: So, what's wrong?
Me: I feel much better, can breathe with less wheezing but I'm having diarrhea. Is it because of the medication?
Doc: Have you been eating out?
Me: No (*thinking* - I thought the doc told me to eat soft, non-oily foods the last time round... )
Doc: Then, it must be the antibiotics. 1 out of 3 people will develop this side-effect
Me: O_O

The doctor prescribed a round of medicine to stop my diarrhea. I still have to complete my antibiotics but will have to treat the side-effect in order to get well.

That's the funny bit about this time's bout with the bug. Am sure my immune system must have had a laugh.

However, on a more serious note, I did complain to the doctor about my breathing difficulties which caused me to feel like shit. He heard that I was wheezing and was afraid that I would start to develop asthma. Genetics may make me pre-disposed to asthma and allergies but I'd guess it had to be due to something else. The doctor also suspected stress which can bring this out. Regardless, I will need to see another doctor for a second opinion.

I have been feeling particularly stressed out and finding it hard to de-stress (i.e. gym) due to work/home issues. Just that when you see the doctor and he mentions a disease which can stick with you for life, or can be life-threatening at any moment; it is a wake-up call.

With the advancement of technology, we're expected to live longer than our parents/grandparents; but if stress is a major factor of daily life, I think many of us are just ticking time bombs where health issues explode out of stress. The sad part is, it's lifestyle-related.

Hmmmm... I need to sleep. Enough talk, I'm feeling breathless...