Monday, January 20, 2020

Today is my 7^th anniversary here in Medellin.  Happy anniversary to me!  Okay, party’s over, back to work.

Last night I took half a Zopiclona with 3 Trazadone and went to bed at 10:45.  I got up once about 1am, took another half Zopiclona and returned to bed, got up again at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.  I’m about ready to give up on the Trazadone.  I’ll ask my new doctor about it this afternoon.

Oh, I see today is Martin Luther King Day in the States.

Teresa left at 9:15 for a quick gym workout returning at 10:15.

We left the apt at 11:15 and arrived at Luz Naranjo’s office (Torre Salud y Servicios, Ciudad del Rio, Calle 19A #44-25, Officina 2401, (317) 620-4480)) by 11:40.  We were taken into her office about 12:10.

I gave her a list of the medications, vitamins and supplements I’m taking and a spreadsheet showing my blood work results for the past 15 years.

I asked about the Atorvastatina that I’m taking causing flatulence and she said it’s common with all high cholesterol drugs. 

She said I need to stop taking the Dololed (marigold flower) because it’s not as pure as they advertise; it contains an ingredient that is an anti-inflammatory drug that can damage the kidneys.  Yikes!  And she didn’t have any replacement which means I will soon be back to pain and weakness for the 1^st 90 minutes every day.

I asked for an English speaking doctor to check my hearing and and an English speaking Urologist.  She texted me the names of an Otolaryngologist (ear/nose/throat) named Dr. Ignacio (311 733-5995) and Urologists, Dra. Juana and Dr. Juan Carlos Castaño (315 572-0750).  She said I could use Whatsapp to contact the hearing doctor but Teresa would have to call the Urologist as their receptionist doesn’t speak English.

She checked my umbilical hernia and told me it isn’t deep and as long as it doesn’t get bigger and there isn’t any pain I’m okay for now.

I showed her my colonoscopy and endoscopy results from 2005 and since I have no family history of colon cancer I don’t need another one.

I mentioned the occasional arthritis in my wrist, thumb and hand.  I told her about my shoulder discomfort since September 2^nd and she checked its range of motion and told me not to lift anything heavy or raise my arm for exercises until it heals completely.

I mentioned my sleep problems due to my enlarged prostate and that I’ve tried Trazadona but it doesn’t seem to be helping so I’m going to stop taking it.  I mentioned my throat phlegm and nose congestion but she had no answer for that.  I also mentioned the strange sensation of hot air blowing on the inside of my left calf but she had no answer for that either.

She gave me a mini physical and noticed a slight swelling in my ankles so she wants my thyroid checked.

She wrote up a list of things to check for in a blood test and hopefully nueve eps will pay for it.  When I get the results I’m to text a copy to her.

The office visit only cost 100mil and we quickly caught a taxi back to La Buena Mesa where we had the menu of the day at Asados Rogelio.

We returned to the apt and at 2:30 I walked to Otra Parte and met Juan Castro for another chess lesson.  I learned that tonight he should find out if his team is going to the Aeroflot chess tournament in Moscow next month.  I understand he may be buying an apt in Sabaneta in September or October; he mentioned putting 20% down and paying the loan over 15 years.

After, I had a couple chess notes printed then stopped at Parva for a café con leche while solving another set of chess puzzles.

I returned to the apt about 6pm.

On the news, how timely, we heard that Dololed (marigold flower) contains an unlisted ingredient Diclofenaco (an NSAID) which can cause heart damage.  Well, that seems to confirm it.

I watched another episode of You on Netflix.

I don’t thing we even reached a high temp of 80 degrees today.  Until the weekend we’re supposed to have highs between 75 and 80 degrees, much cooler than usual.

5,212 steps today.

Joke of the day

During World War II, my father often found himself with KP duty.  One day, convinced he could improve things, he told the head cook, “If you give me a paring knife, I could peel these potatoes faster.”

The cook turned slowly to my father and said, “Son, you’re in the Army.  You have plenty of time.”