Went to see my doctor today about my knees. Truth, Tanya made the appointment and dragged me there but it was necessary. A lifetime of flat feet and two decades or more of 50 kg of extra lard are deleterious to the health of one's knees. (I know, I know, if you get stiff in the joints, stay out of those joints).
My right knee has been trouble for at least a year now when I drive any length of time. The driver's side of the Kia was not made for giant economy size and my knee would pain so bad after about 30 minutes on the gas pedal that I would have to get out, walk around the car with my leg straight and then get back in for another 30 minute drive.
The last couple of months my left knee would take a notion once in a while not to support me when I was walking down stairs. Not good. So off to the doc it was.
Quick exam by the doc in his office. X-Rays next. Talk about speedy. The tech gave Tanya the four negatives, still dripping from the vat and we hurried back to Dr. Rosenberg. He had a quick look at them, and said likely the beginnings of arthritis. He then hung them over a register to dry and will give them a thorough look before we go back to see him. The X-Rays will be added to my medical file which Tanya keeps for me (people here are responsible for their own medical files).
He gave me a prescription for some blue pills (no smart remarks) which we will try for a month and then maybe injections into the knees beginning in February. At $75 each x 3 in each knee. A fortune in this country.
Dr. Rosenberg has a huge Samurai sword in his office. He says it is for when his operations are not successful. Doctors bury their mistakes. Architects can only plant vines.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sunday
Rained all night and again all day. Slow soaking in kind. I hope it doesn't freeze before the surface dries off a bit or it will be unfun driving the rest of the winter.
Tanya and I went to visit Tanya and Masha. Andrei was in a billiard tournament. I think that is one way he supports his family. He doesn't lose often. Masha showed us her new room which is quite nice, lacking only a computer which she will get when I get a new notebook. The kitchen and hall are still to finish but it is home.
Masha brought out her English lessons and did her vocabulary for us. She sounds the words out silently to herself. It is cute that she phones every night to get me to say words for her that she has trouble with - purple, hippopotamus, orange are some she has called about. She and the other students taking English have to go for private lessons as there is no English teacher in the public school she attends. Given pay and other conditions at the school, it is a wonder there are any teachers at all. The private lesson books are much superior to the ones from the public school, too.
Too wet to walk the dogs today and I don't think they even came out of their room. Kuchma goes outside only on demand (our demand) and the rest of the time stays curled up on the carpet. Or chair. He is towel trained in that if a chair or couch has a towel on it, he knows he can sleep on it. If there are no towels on the furniture he sleeps where he wants, so it is up to us. Last night Tanya was doing her nails and had a towel across her lap. Kuchma is NOT a lap cat but he saw the towel, climbed onto her lap and went to sleep.
We've been doctoring this week. Tanya's bronchitis finally cleared up but her blood pressure is bad again. She is supposed to get an IV of something for 10 days once a year but had not bothered as she "felt fine". So now she has had two infusions and goes again tomorrow for a third etc. Takes about an hour and already she is feeling better.
If you haven't contributed to The Guy's effort to raise money for Prostate Cancer this November, it isn't too late. The site is HERE. I went for two more tests this week - blood test and ultrasound. All good. So after three tests if there is a problem with my prostate, no one has been able to put their finger on it.
Tanya and I went to visit Tanya and Masha. Andrei was in a billiard tournament. I think that is one way he supports his family. He doesn't lose often. Masha showed us her new room which is quite nice, lacking only a computer which she will get when I get a new notebook. The kitchen and hall are still to finish but it is home.
Masha brought out her English lessons and did her vocabulary for us. She sounds the words out silently to herself. It is cute that she phones every night to get me to say words for her that she has trouble with - purple, hippopotamus, orange are some she has called about. She and the other students taking English have to go for private lessons as there is no English teacher in the public school she attends. Given pay and other conditions at the school, it is a wonder there are any teachers at all. The private lesson books are much superior to the ones from the public school, too.
Too wet to walk the dogs today and I don't think they even came out of their room. Kuchma goes outside only on demand (our demand) and the rest of the time stays curled up on the carpet. Or chair. He is towel trained in that if a chair or couch has a towel on it, he knows he can sleep on it. If there are no towels on the furniture he sleeps where he wants, so it is up to us. Last night Tanya was doing her nails and had a towel across her lap. Kuchma is NOT a lap cat but he saw the towel, climbed onto her lap and went to sleep.
We've been doctoring this week. Tanya's bronchitis finally cleared up but her blood pressure is bad again. She is supposed to get an IV of something for 10 days once a year but had not bothered as she "felt fine". So now she has had two infusions and goes again tomorrow for a third etc. Takes about an hour and already she is feeling better.
If you haven't contributed to The Guy's effort to raise money for Prostate Cancer this November, it isn't too late. The site is HERE. I went for two more tests this week - blood test and ultrasound. All good. So after three tests if there is a problem with my prostate, no one has been able to put their finger on it.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Hospital Number Four
Schools and Hospitals in Ukraine are numbered. Streets have names. Like Lenin, Karl Marx, Heroes of Stalingrad and the Glorious October Revolution. Changing street names is fairly low on the priority list. Repairing them is only slightly higher.
Tuesday, Tanya made an appointment for my annual check-up with one of the top Urology specialists in Dnipropetrovs'k. Prostate glands are the bane of men and angels. Angels, you say? Certainly, there is even a song about "Let angels' prostates fall". I think it is in the Hymn about the Royal Duodenum that my cousin Lorne and I used to sing 40 or 50 years ago. But I digress.
The appointment was for 11:00 and at 11:2O we were ushered into his office on the 3rd floor of Hospital Number Four near the west end of the city in the industrial area. At 11:40 the examination was over and at 11:45, with hand written report to put in my medical records (individuals, not the doctor's office, are responsible for maintaining their own records) and having paid him $25 we were on our way home. With a clean bill of health and the satisfaction of having done my duty as an aging male and actually gone for a check up.
And I'll put in another plug for my Number One Son-in-Law who is growing a one month wonder mustache to raise money for Prostate Cancer Research. You can donate HERE.
Tuesday, Tanya made an appointment for my annual check-up with one of the top Urology specialists in Dnipropetrovs'k. Prostate glands are the bane of men and angels. Angels, you say? Certainly, there is even a song about "Let angels' prostates fall". I think it is in the Hymn about the Royal Duodenum that my cousin Lorne and I used to sing 40 or 50 years ago. But I digress.
The appointment was for 11:00 and at 11:2O we were ushered into his office on the 3rd floor of Hospital Number Four near the west end of the city in the industrial area. At 11:40 the examination was over and at 11:45, with hand written report to put in my medical records (individuals, not the doctor's office, are responsible for maintaining their own records) and having paid him $25 we were on our way home. With a clean bill of health and the satisfaction of having done my duty as an aging male and actually gone for a check up.
And I'll put in another plug for my Number One Son-in-Law who is growing a one month wonder mustache to raise money for Prostate Cancer Research. You can donate HERE.
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