Albert's Place

Oddly, I found a way, when I have those occasional blown out vision and dizzy spells, to "clear my head", IF I have the energy to do it. It has worked twice in the past couple of days.

Overall, I think my happiest decade was the 1980's, except for attending high school...THAT part of it sucked for the most part. During that decade, I hung out more with friends, and had a job that I enjoyed, with great co-workers.

Everything has been pretty much "downhill" since then.

Went to the primary care doctor appointment this afternoon that my surgery doctor made for me Friday before my esophageal dilation that morning, because my blood test had excessive glucose levels. I now have more prescriptions added to the four I'm already taking for blood pressure/acid reflux. Metformin tablets and a glucose monitoring system have been added to my daily regime.

I'm becoming a walking pharmacy. :-/

Woke up last night around 2:30 coughing and gagging up thick clear mess that tasted like the rubber tubing they put in my nose during my esophageal dilation procedures smells like. Also went through about half a box of tissues blowing my nose. Felt like I was about to cough up a lung. My head is feeling very "open" this morning for a change however. :-/

Had that issue again this afternoon where, after I ate, my vision got all blown out and I got light headed. Had to lay down about an hour to let it clear up. Happens every so often since the surgery. :-/

Just got home from my esophageal dilation procedure. Doctor asked "Who are you seeing about your diabetes?". I replied that I wasn't aware I had any issue with diabetes, just the high blood pressure.

Apparently, my glucose levels were high in the pre-op blood tests I had Tuesday. They took more blood after my procedure today and set me up with my primary care doctor at the hospital for this coming Tuesday. My next appointment with him was originally going to be in November for a blood pressure check up.

Then I have another "follow up" appointment on June 21 for another consultation regarding my esophagus issues. I just can't seem to stay out of doctors offices. IF I now have diabetes, on top of everything else... what next? Am I going to spontaneously combust???

Took the old Sony Bravia off the dresser in the bedroom because of that annoying blue line in the picture, and replaced it with the Panasonic Viera mom used to have when she lived in the trailer next door, which hasn't been used since she moved in here.

The Panasonic is working fine. The "mistake" was me lifting the TVs, mainly the slightly larger Sony. Been shaky legged and lightheaded ever since, and sore around the area of my surgery again. :-/

I got on the riding mower again Friday since the yard was getting extremely "shaggy". Just like the previous time late last month, feeling "bruised" around the area of my surgery, even though it's two days later. Mowed all the areas I can get with the riding mower. Some small parts can only be accessed with the push mower. No WAY I'd be able to use that. Luckily, both times I've mowed since the surgery, mom has asked Uncle Barrett to come over and get those riding mower inaccessible parts of the yard, and he has obliged. Really thank him for the help, since he's not in the best of shape himself.

The "bruised" feeling hasn't bothered me much, because, as a nurse at a regular hospital visit told me when I brought the subject up last week, it's probably the results of being jostled around driving around the yard on the mower. I would only immediately get it seen about if I were having a "sharp" pain instead of that "bruised/sore" feeling.

While watching the "Bewitched" season three episode "Accidental Twins" on the DVD set, one thought crossed my mind. IF a wallet was actually made that would hold THAT many photos, where would you have room for anything ELSE in the wallet???

Today is the birthday of one of the few "longer term" girlfriends I had in the past. We broke things off on decent terms then. Still have a fondness for her, even though I haven't seen her in years.

Is it strange I remember her birthday, yet can't currently offhand remember the ex-wife's birthday?

There was a question on the questionnaire on my "MyChart" online account for the hospital this morning for my upcoming procedure, asking "Do you snore loudly?" The choices for an answer were "Yes" and "No". It needed a third... "I Don't Know".

Sucks that ever since the surgery, I get exhausted just washing and changing the linens on my bed. I used to have considerably more energy. :-(

Mom got set up at Ochsner Health System Monroe to be her primary healthcare provider this afternoon, since her old doctor is retiring soon. They sent a prescription that she was running low on in to Walgreen's. There was an "issue" with her insurance, which usually makes her medicine low cost. The pharmacy has sent a form to the hospital for the doctor to fill out, so it will be approved by her insurance.

It will HAVE to be approved by her insurance. According to the email from Walgreen's, there is NO WAY she would ever afford the ACTUAL cost. Some medicines cost WAY too much!

Only thing about having that #30 molar extracted, even though I'm mainly chewing on my left side until it completely heals, I still manage to get small bits of food settling in that space.

Mom was so impressed with the care she got at the Ochsner/LSU/Conway Monroe Hospital that time she had to be admitted herself for four days when she drove me to one of my procedures a few months ago, she is currently there seeing about getting set up for primary care there, since her old physician is retiring soon.

Unless there's a dramatic change in my luck, I doubt seriously I'll ever get the chance to "share a bed" with a woman again before medical issues eventually do me in. Guess I should be glad for the four or so years I WAS able to experience it.

Just watched this Techmoan video about an unboxing of a 40th anniversary reissue of the Star Wars soundtrack on vinyl. I still have the original 2-LP set on vinyl, released on 20th Century Records, complete with insert sheet, before the title "A New Hope" was added...

As if I don't have enough issues, for the past few days, my head has been feeling like it's in a plastic bag... damn sinuses. That's on top of the area where the tooth was pulled Tuesday before last is still hurting me. Another follow-up with the dentist Wednesday.

Got three more doctor appointments before the end of the month. Tomorrow morning, I see my surgery doctor for another "update" visit, no dilation procedure THIS time. Then Tuesday, I have an appointment with my "primary care" doctor at the hospital, who has been treating my high blood pressure. Then a day later, I go back to the dentist who pulled the tooth, so he can see how my healing is progressing. Still having to take a couple Tylenols a couple times a day to deal with the pain I have from the tooth extraction. He said, being a molar tooth, it will probably hurt for some time.

All this is why I've applied for disability. No job that I know of would put up with an employee having to take this much time off to see doctors. Plus, I only know "manual labor" jobs, and since it hurts to lift anything around 30 pounds or more, and have occasional lightheadedness, that would also be a reason.

After I laid down for a nap earlier, I heard the cellphone in the other room ringing. I only answer it when I'm out somewhere, because the few times it does ring, it's a spam caller. We have given that number to no one important. I looked at the number I "missed" after I woke up, it was from the hospital I get all my treatments at.

They ask for a cell number when I get those dilation procedures, just in CASE mom leaves the hospital during the time I'm having them, and they might need to phone her. I went to the "MyChart" website, apparently they put the cell as our "Primary" number. WRONG. The house phone is our "Primary" number. We only bought the cell in case an emergency crops up when away from the house. 99% of the time, that phone is in a separate room hooked to a charger.

So... while at the website, I deleted the cell number. If it was something important, they will call back on our house phone.

Having to go to doctors WAY too much this month. Went to the dentist to get stitches removed from the tooth extraction last week. Have to go back next Wednesday so he can examine it again. Still on soft foods. Then Friday, appointment at the hospital with my surgery doctor, then next Tuesday, appointment at the hospital with my primary care physician.

Well, it's 1:30am, and I STILL can't seem to get to sleep, so I'm doing the "Publishers Clearing House" online games I usually do later in the day most days. If I'm still awake after I complete those, I'll read my daily comic strips on "GoComics" and "Comics Kingdom".

If I complete all that, I'll have very little left to keep me occupied online the rest of the day. This insomnia I've had since after the surgery is screwing around with my old timetable. :-/

Not asleep yet (1:20am), and nasty weather is gettin' close...

Mom and I just watched "I Dream of Jeannie: Meet My Master's Mother / Here Comes Bootsie Nightingale / Tony's Wife / Jeannie and the Great Bank Robbery" on DVD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_I_Dream_of_Jeannie_episodes .

Haven't watched these DVDs in several years. Matter of fact, not since I had the old Sony Trinitron CRT television. Never noticed it before, but for about 10 minutes around the middle part of the "Bootsie Nightingale" episode, the disc suffers from a VERY noticeable "interlacing" issue, jagged lines during heavy movement. Fairly certain it's not a disc defect, just something wonky with the way Sony Home Entertainment mastered the episode onto the disc.

Geeky Rant Over.

Laid down to go to sleep a couple hours ago, just laid there. Couldn't sleep, so back up sitting in front of the desktop. Been having those kind of nights more and more often since the surgery. Not sure if it's related to the surgery or what.

Kind of figures that my esophagus is currently open enough that I can eat solid foods, albeit in small bites, due to the occasional dilations, yet, because of the tooth extraction yesterday, the dentist instructed me to only eat SOFT foods until I see him next week to get the stitches removed. Guess my weight will be staying down as a result :-/

Oh well, after a trip to the grocery this morning, I got some various canned soups, and some tasty soft "desserts"...

Thinking maybe I started lifting heavy things a little too soon. Stomach area feeling a bit "bruised" and like little needles sticking in it (not sharp pains though) after carrying a case of water into the house after mom and I went shopping.

Well, just discovered I'll have to blow my nose very lightly for the time being. Got a throbbing pain where the tooth was removed this morning. But that reminded me I was past due to take another of the pain pills I was prescribed. I was already starting to get "uncomfortable" after the numbness shots started wearing off anyway.

Tim Conway

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1933 - 2019

I'm now minus the bad tooth. Only took about half an hour for Dr. Bradford to extract it, roots and all. The space has four stitches, and I go back in a week to get the stitches removed.

He injected plenty of Novocaine, only thing I felt was a bit of pressure, and the vibrations of the drill. No pain during the procedure. I'm keeping gauze on the area at the moment, since it's still bleeding a bit.

Nothing solid to eat until after I go back next week, since they don't want me doing any chewing, just stuff I can swallow, like soups, mashed potatoes, very scrambled eggs, etc. For TODAY however, only cold liquids, and NOT through a straw, so the clot won't dislodge, which would cause more bleeding. Glad I have some Ensure in the fridge, since it has some "substance" to it.

Just got home from my main dentist. The part of the tooth where the break was located went down close to the nerve, so he said, because of that, he COULD try extra filling, or a crown, but being so close to the nerve, either fix could last a day or it could last 10 years. He couldn't guarantee either long term, and said he hates to see people waste their money (yes, he's an HONEST dentist). He also mentioned root canal (WAY too expensive), or just having the tooth extracted. Being without significant cash, I opted for the cheapest way... the extraction.

However, since the roots of the tooth are fairly deep, Dr. Hughes didn't want to remove the tooth himself, since he's just "general dentistry", so he referred me to Dr. Bradford on Forsythe Avenue. He called ahead, gave me my x-ray and a note for Bradford. At Bradford's, they took another x-ray (digital). Bradford looked at it, said he can remove it tomorrow morning at 10:00am. Bradford wrote a couple prescriptions, one an antibiotic, one a pain medicine, and told me to get them filled today and bring them with me tomorrow, so I can start taking them immediately after the extraction.

This is where things currently stand. Bradford asked had I considered an implant, but ain't nobody got the money fo' dat!

My run of bad luck is continuing. I'm certain my body just doesn't want me to eat. If I wasn't ALREADY having enough issues due to my esophagus problems, last night a tooth on the lower right of my mouth has developed a chip in it. Guess tomorrow morning I need to call the dentist to make an appointment, then figure out how to pay for it, since I don't think dental is covered on the Medicaid I'm on, and the "GoFundMe" I set up before my surgery to help with bills hasn't really been much help. :-/

After every one of those esophageal dilation procedures, that "new plastic" smell from the oxygen tubing they put in my nose before they "put me under" sticks with me a for couple days or more.

Got the call earlier reminding me of my appointment at the hospital in the morning for another esophageal dilation.

Just been thinking, if mom ever got to the point she was unable to drive me to those things (they require someone to be there for the entirety of the procedure), I most likely wouldn't have anyone to drive me there and stick around for it. Because they have mostly everyone in outpatient surgery arrive at around the same time, sometimes I'm there six hours or longer.

Part of the roof gutter I attempted to repair a couple of years ago blew off. I've never been good at those kinds of repairs, and currently in no condition to mess with it again.

Might need to keep better track of what little I DO eat, to see if there's any commonality that causes my vision to start looking like a photographic negative, causes my heart to race, and makes everything ultra bright and washed out if I look outside in the sunlight, a bit after I finish eating.

I'm going to bring it up to my surgery doctor if I see her on May 10th. Sometimes she doesn't show up until after my procedure has started, and I'm already "knocked out". In that case, I'll bring it up to my primary care doctor at the hospital on my next appointment on May 28th.

Only thing about having a mobile phone with "rollover" minutes, and you rarely make any calls with the thing, the minutes tend to build up...

Got out yesterday afternoon on the riding lawnmower for the first time since the surgery. Might have been a mistake. I can barely move today, soreness in my mid-section around the surgery area, and a pain in my lower back. :-(

For quite some time, I haven't remembered details in long, drawn out dreams, but last night was an UNUSUAL exception...

It started with me and a former co-worker at Burger King, Robert Neal (who has been deceased for quite some time) sweeping the floors. I was sweeping the kitchen area (which seemed a lot larger than usual), and he was out sweeping the dining area. Former assistant manager Ricky Noles was sitting at the manager desk. Two unidentifiable female employees in the drive-thru window got into a verbal shouting match, which quickly resulted in punches being thrown. Ricky didn't move from his desk, or seem like he was even paying attention. One of them, a short blond, quickly ran past me. I said "Don't hit me in the stomach, I recently had surgery."

I then had to take a break from sweeping to go to the restroom. While in there, out of the blue, my Uncle Barrett showed up in the restroom and started talking to me. That conversation is vague to me this morning. By the time he left, it was time for me to leave for the day.

Somehow, after leaving, I ended up at podcaster Stu Shostak's place to witness a live show, although in the dream, it looked NOTHING like it does on video. He offered refreshments, some beverage I still can't identify. He asked how things were going, I said I sometimes get a numb, tingling feeling in the right side of my chest (which I still do) from where they had put in the drainage tube for a while after my surgery. He said "That sounds bad", and said he was calling a doctor. I replied I didn't need a doctor, but he insisted. Then almost instantly, I was laying in a hospital bed, at his place, wearing one of those hospital gowns. I got up and said I was leaving. I went outside and started walking down a sidewalk, still in the hospital gown, having to hold the back part closed.

By that time, it was either later in the evening, or just extremely cloudy, judging from the amount of sunlight. I was walking past several old, seemingly abandoned, boarded up, wood frame houses. Walked up to one, which seemed in better shape than the others, and went inside only to discover it wasn't "abandoned", but instead was some kind of vast hat shop. I turned around to leave, saw Danny John-Jules ("The Cat" from "Red Dwarf") trying on what looked like a gray cardboard hat with some kind of designs on it and the word "Brandy" written across the front. After thinking about that part of the dream this morning, the only thing I could think was that "Brandy" was in reference to might be longtime online friend Brandy Pepperman.

Leaving that place, I was somehow in a vast yard, with a very tall chain link fence surrounding it. I wandered around, trying to find a way out. Discovered a gate, locked from the inside, with someone standing on the other side trying to get in. I went closer, it was actress Pamelyn Ferdin, who looked like she would have in the early 1970's. I opened the gate, let her in, and said "Thanks, how can I repay you?". I figured I must have entered some kind of "time vortex", so replied that in 40 years or so, she could let me follow her on Facebook, then proceeded to explain that the "internet" and "social media" would be a thing in a few decades. This was the last thing I remember from the dream.

IF dreams have "meanings", fuck all if I know what this one meant! It had more "elements" than any dream I've had in recent recollection. There were former co-workers, relatives, online acquaintances, and random celebrities. Plus, the subject of my surgery was brought up more than once.

My energy level has been WAY down most of the week. Might be because I haven't been sleeping well for some reason. Last night I woke up sweating several times. Just something ELSE I'll have to bring up to the doctor on May 10th.

Ugh. Remembered to open the little MP3 player I used when I spent that last week in the hospital a couple months ago and remove the battery. The battery was only in the player a couple of months, yet had started to corrode. It was an Energizer battery. Not buying those again!

That's as bad as the Duracell batteries I had a while back that were nowhere near the use by date, yet started corroding in the PACKAGE. Not buying those again either. Only batteries I've bought recently that HAVEN'T tried to corrode are Panasonic batteries... and they are actually lower priced than the other two, and last just as long, if not LONGER.

I feel like I should just go back to bed today. First, the water pressure in the shower slowed to almost a trickle this morning for a few minutes, then returned to normal just about when I was going to step out. Now the internet is going in and out.

I remember the old days of chat online. I used AIM, ICQ, IRC, MSN, and Yahoo. Now I'm down to just Facebook Messenger, Skype, and IRC (for various live podcasts I watch), since the others are now relegated to the dustbin of history.

Is there some weird atmospheric shenanigans going on or something? I've had trouble sleeping several nights in a row. Mom has had trouble sleeping the past couple of nights. Scott Johnson, on "The Morning Stream" podcast told his co-host this morning that HE didn't sleep well last night.

Although I still feel like crap for the most part, I went outside and sprayed some weed killer around the house since it's a sunny day. Yard is STILL extremely squishy in parts, so still don't know when I can get around to mowing. I think I'll be able to use the riding mower once I CAN mow after the yard dries enough, but using the push mower for the "hard to reach" spots will currently be out of the question. Got kind of weak carrying the sprayer around.

Riiiiight.... This was in my email this morning. I got rid of Netflix over three years ago and did not use the Gmail address back when I signed up for it. Marked it as "Spam" and deleted it.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I just can't see spending hundreds of dollars for a freggin' cellphone. This occurs to me every time one of the technology podcasts I watch starts talking about them. Highest I'd ever go for ANY phone would be $75. My current cellphone cost $15, and does all I need. It makes and receives calls when I'm away from the house.

I WAS going to bed after "Dateline NBC" this evening, but that once or twice a week case of "the dumps" I've been getting since after the surgery decided to hit me right after I laid down. Been to the bathroom five times in the past hour and a half or so. Currently down to LOTS of "air" being released.

I'll need to remember to tell the doctor when I go back on May 10th about how, a few minutes after I finish eating, my heart rate increases a while and I get extra sleepy. Keep forgetting to tell her. Never happened until after the surgery.