Bloody eyes and MRI’s

Posted on April 26, 2016 by flowerjovia

MacGyver has my cold now and he didn’t really feel like coming down to Nokomis but we had to, and if you have to be sick all week I guess it doesn’t hurt to be sick in a place like this. It’s pretty much our paradise.

That’s me or rather my fishing pole hanging off the dock because… why not?

Anyway like I said, we had to come down. I had an appointment and after running 5 miles on the Legacy Trail yesterday morning, I went here:

A few weeks ago I was having some pain and tightness mostly in my back and it wasn’t going away so I went to see the chiropractor. While I was there he took my blood pressure and I don’t think anyone was more shocked than I to see that it was critically high because typically it is seriously low. My heart rate was actually lower than normal and it caused some concern. Those two things may not seem like such a big deal but there have been a few other things too.

For the past year or so I’ve been dealing with occasional blue toes. The thing is that once they turn blue, it takes days for them to go back to normal and there is no rhyme or reason to why it happens, it just does. The other alarming thing is my eyes. I’ve woken up several times with broken blood vessels in one or both eyes. Oh, and there were those two times I woke up with a blue bottom lip…. You would think that those three things combined would scare me into seeing a doctor but they didn’t. If I have a tingle or a pain that I think may prevent me from running or a cold or the flu, I turn into the biggest hypochondriac on the planet but blood in my eyes and blue toes, meh, it’s nothing.

It was ultimately the migraines or rather my family’s reaction to them that scared me. They’ve gotten worse than ever before and I’ve begun to lose my speech during them. The last time I lost my speech and my vision became very blurry, and then one side of my face went numb. It was scary. MacGyver said it looked like I was drunk but I lost all memory of what happened after I got the headache.

And that’s why Monday morning, I was here:

Answers can never come quick enough, especially when it comes to matters involving multiple issues with your health. I spent a lot of time with the doctor yesterday and even though my blood pressure is starting to normalize naturally, we need to get to the root of the problem so that we can fix it. Obviously there is a reason these things are happening and that’s what we’re looking for, the underlying cause. This is where that saying patience is a virtue comes into play!

So while the answers will be slow at least were headed in the right direction. Today, I’ll be going to the lab for lots of blood work. They’ll be doing the usual CBC, Metabolic Panel and such. They’ll also be testing my Sed Rate and my C-Reactive protein and there will blood work to test my kidney and liver function. The blood work is just a starting point.

The next step is an MRI of my brain. I’m waiting on the insurance company to approve the MRI and the imaging center but I hope I can have that done asap because my doctor would like the results before I go back to Clearwater later in the week. Besides, there’s nothing like dealing with your stupid insurance company when you’re having brain scans, good times.

So, that’s all we know right now. I’m telling you this because I said I would talk about it when I knew more but really, I don’t know anything. The doctor has an idea as to what she’s looking for but until there are more tests, I don’t want to speculate. So, that’s where I am and why I am where I am. Make sense?

Don’t worry though, it’s not all medical tests and blood work, in fact, I’ve spent every spare moment on the trail, running, fishing or canoeing and I’m loving every minute of it. (The doctor said slow running is actually helping to lower my blood pressure and that it’s good for me.) It’s been therapeutic really because if all I had to do was sit around and wait for doctors and my insurance company to get on the same page, I’d go crazy(crazier)!

This is my ‘it’s time to fish’ face!

See, I’m having fun because, fishing!

Last night MacGyver and I took out the little canoe and he caught a small redfish right at the end of our canal which only made me want to fish more. Unfortunately, this is Florida and no sooner than I got the fishing fever the noseeums starting biting and we had to head back home. Plus we were in the canoe which is really boring if Mom isn’t there. Nobody canoes like my Mom. She brings the party hard, trust.

What this boat needs is a mom!

We will definitely try fishing again today. MacGyver is feeling a little bit better and once the blood tests are over later in the afternoon, I’m sure some fishing will be just what the doctor ordered!

When is the last time you went to the doctor?
Ever had an MRI? What part of your body did they scan?
Do you have high blood pressure? If you do, does running help you?

Monday, the difference between a man and a woman.

Posted on April 25, 2016 by flowerjovia

Good morning. It’s probably later in the day for you, (I’m writing at 5AM and posting much later,) but I’m writing this post super early because I have a ton of stuff to do today. Please excuse me for any bad grammar, spelling, etc. that this entry may contain because, tired. I’m still working on an excuse for all of the other post that I’ve written.

This weekend wasn’t much different than the week because I still wasn’t feeling 100%. I did attempt some running/walking and I managed to get around 12 miles somehow. They weren’t anything of note, trust me, just a chance to get out of the house and breathe fresh air and stop at a few garage sales because doesn’t every runner stop at all the garage sales?

I did take some pictures of things in the neighborhood.

Like this guy,

It’s mating season, (not for me for the peacock), in case you’re wondering.

As I mentioned, I went to some garage sales on Saturday morning and I dragged MacGyver along with me. We only went to a few even though. I was starting to feel much better but MacGyver started to get a sore throat…and then…

While MacGyver slept on the sofa I mowed the lawn that afternoon. Well, in between bringing MacGyver juice, water, and fluffing his pillows. All kidding aside, he’s much easier to deal with than some people are when they’re sick. He’s not as tough as me but he’s close. 😉

I also fed the turtles on Saturday

Can you see the turtle?

And I took some some really nice pictures of the jacaranda tree and the purple blooms that sadly only last for a few months or so..

Look at all that purple!

And later that night MacGyver went to bed early so I decided to finish a project that I had been working on for the Nokomis house.

What do you think?

I swear the h looks better from head on. Here it looks like a k but it isn’t. Obviously.

On Sunday, I walked/ran and then walked again but after mowing the grass the day before, my sinuses kicked into high gear and I felt sick again. I decided not to push it and work out any more and instead I cleaned up around the house and then took a long nap before packing up the car. Around 6 in the evening I drove us down to Nokomis and that’s where we are now. We’ll be here until Wednesday at least. More on that tomorrow….

And that’s how the weekend went. I’m going to head out to one of my favorite places, the Legacy Trail, before starting my day, so I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.

What did you do this weekend?

Friday – Sick Shoes

Posted on April 22, 2016 by flowerjovia

Since I was under the weather for the entire week, there weren’t many favorites to tell you about. No favorite runs, no favorite workouts, no favorite trips, special recipes or special places and beside the nine thousand birds in the backyard, no amazing photos.

However, having a cold or flu does not come without its rewards because yesterday my sick shoes came in the mail.

MY SICK SHOES CAME IN THE MAIL!

You see when I get sick I also get bored, and then I get antsy, and then I get a little depressed. The longer I feel bad, the more depressed I get and the only thing that makes me feel better is shoes. Typically I bounce back pretty quickly but it was a long week and I must’ve been really depressed.

For the sake of my husband and our impenetrable bond, I’m blaming this week and my sick shoe purchase(s) on the fever. Yep, the fever made me do it.

First I got these because I needed some cute flats.

And then I realized I needed some fun heels for the summer so I got these wedge shoes.

And then I got these fun white sandals because let’s face it, it’s summer and it’s hot and you can never have enough sandals.

But ALL the sandals were on sale! All of them. And in case you didn’t know it, fringe is all the rage right now, so these happened.

I got the white ones too but they don’t arrive until today.

It didn’t end with the fringe because I got an email from one of my favorite stores and they had a sale and I had rewards…REWARDS! I have to use the rewards, how can you not use rewards!

So, cute lace heels in black.