Week 20 - Spring Cleaning

Success. 

You already know I'm a spreadsheet geek, so it wouldn't be a surprise that I created a monster spreadsheet about two years ago to manage the program I'm in charge of at work.  Well, our new leadership wanted to see our numbers presented in a different way, so that caused me about 25 - 30 hours worth of work restructuring the spreadsheet to meet the new requirements.  (Told you it was a monster!) 

Anyhow, by Friday morning, I had completed it and it tied off dollar-for-dollar with the old spreadsheet.  I let out a not-so-quiet "Woo-hoo!!!" when I finished the validation.  At the end of the day, I wound up at the local watering hole celebrating with two of our financial analysts.  I'm now an official honorary Finance geek.  But an old one.  Their combined ages was still less than my age.  Ugh.

*     *     *

For some reason, over the last few days I've had a spring cleaning bug.  Unfortunately, the more I cleaned, the bigger the mess I had.  That's not how it's supposed to work.

It started on Saturday with me searching for something in my file cabinet.  The next thing you know, it looked like a paper explosion hit my home office.  I had crap everywhere.  Old bills, reports, notes from grad school--you name it, it was there.

I fired up the shredder and got rid of a lot of it, and reorganized what was left.  I still had a stack to shred on Wednesday night.

Saturday, I also got out and messed around with a little photography for the first time in a long time.  It was sunny, but colder than I expected, so I didn't stay out too long.

*     *     *

Sunday was tax day.  I had started them in late January/early February when I was still on leave, but sat on them until now (in part, because the IRS wasn't accepting itemized returns until after mid-February.)  I'm glad to have that monkey off my back.

*    *     *

BIOLOGY AHEAD!

Healthwise, I'm doing okay.  The head cold I had as all but gone away.  I still have a little tickle in my throat that will cause me to cough now and again (and the associated equal but opposite reaction down below).  Others who had the same cold said it took about two weeks for it to fully clear.

The incontinence continues to improve.  Not as fast as I'd like, but it's getting better, slowly but surely.  In fact, I spent Sunday around the house doing taxes and some other odds and ends, and I did it without wearing an absorbant pad all day long.  I found myself moving just a little more carefully to make sure that nothing happened, and it didn't.  Monday at work, I probably could have gotten away without the pads; Tuesday, probably not.  I can still get through the night without them.

And speaking of getting through the night... The multiple runs to the bathroom throught he middle of the night have all but stopped (except when I'm stupid and drink too much too close to bedtime).  That makes me a much more pleasant person during the day when compared to the sleep-deprived version of me.

Next week I finally have my appointment with the optometrist to check my eyes.  You may recall that I stopped taking the Cialis because listed side effects were blurred or complete loss of vision.  I'm not sure if he'll be able to tie the two together or not--or if it's just the fact that I spend 25-30 hours looking at one spreadsheet!

So that's been the last week.

Week 19 - Almost Forgot!

Dang.  I almost forgot to post something this week!  Sheesh.

So the head cold that I told you about last week kicked in full-force.  I missed work on Friday and spend the entire day in bed.  Saturday and half of Sunday, too.  I've had worse, but I'll have to admit that the post-surgery side effects made this one a little different.  Nearly everytime I coughed, sneezed, or blew my nose, I had an equal but opposite reaction at the other end.  Not fun.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday weren't too bad at work.  Each day was a little better.  I think letting my body have all that rest over the weekend was a good thing--it put the cold behind me for the most part.

The weather here had been great up until yesterday--a balmy 74 degrees.  Then the storm came through and it was 32 and snowing this morning on the way to work.  Ugh. March in Indiana.  It's supposed to stay cold through the weekend.

I did talk to another prostate cancer survivor at work yesterday, and we compared notes.  He went through the full-blown slice you from your navel to the pelvic bone surgery 5 years ago.  He reminded me to keep doing my Kegel exercises and to be patient.  He still does his every day 5 years later.  It will get better.  I sure hope so.  He also reminded me that it beats the alternative.

He also told me that he hadn't been to the doctor "in 20 years" prior to a free wellness screening offered at work.  That's how they discovered his cancer--an elevated PSA test.  His family physician had him wait a couple of months and retested, and the PSA was higher and that caused them to do the biopsy that confirmed the cancer.  He said had it not been for the wellness screening, he wouldn't be around to have this conversation.

So guys reading this: Once again, get tested!  Especially if it's been a year or two or twenty.

Have I made the leap on a new car yet?  Nope.  The head cold kind of put that on the back burner.

So that's about it from here.  I think if the weather's going to be as bad as they say it is this weekend, I feel a date with the IRS and Indiana Dept. of Revenue is in the works.  I need to finish and file taxes.

Week 18 - Everyone's Irish Today!

So I'm writing this on Wednesday night because it's supposed to be 70 degrees here for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow.  I have a funny feeling that I may not be available to put this together tomorrow night.  Something was said about green beer after work tomorrow...  (Where's that catheter and two liter drainage bag when you really need it?!?)

It must have been a pretty boring week, because I'm struggling to come up with anything of interest.  Oh.  I continued to kick tires on new vehicles. 

When I dropped off the car that I was allowed to take home on Thursday night, I asked if I could take a different model home on Friday night.  "No problem."  Off I went, in another new vehicle on just a handshake.

Have I made a commitment yet?  Nope.  Not yet.  The salesman worked up a price on the second car (much more of a joy to drive), but we're going to have to put some negotiating skills to use before signing on any dotted lines.  Plus, selecting the right options is akin to selecting a surgeon.  (Yes, only I can make a decision that painful!)

*     *     *

Both at work and at home, I've been playing with a lot of data and computer files this week.  I'm overhauling a massive spreadsheet that I use at work to accommodate a new reporting format, and I've probably got 25 hours invested in updating it, and I'm still only about halfway through it.  Fun. 

*     *     *

BIOLOGY AHEAD

About 48 hours ago, I noticed that I was getting a little bit of a sore throat, and it's continued to intensify since Monday night.  Luckily, there's no serious coughing or congestion with it.  If there was, I'd be in trouble.  Every time I cough, I leak.  Every time I blow my nose, I leak.  (You've seen my nose.  It takes considerable force to clear that puppy!)

There has been a good side to the sore throat.  I've taken NyQuil the last two nights, and I've slept from about 10:30 PM to 6:30 AM without interruption!  And without incident!  That makes me hopeful that I'll get back to a more normal sleep pattern eventually.  And, no, I won't turn into a NyQuil junkie--I value my liver too much.

Otherwise, I'm doing fine and more than ready for Spring to finally arrive.

So that's it on this St. Patrick's Day Eve. Enjoy!

Week 17 - On Track

Hello again, everyone!

It's been a pretty good week.  Work has been hectic and I think I'm finally settled back into the routine, as "routine" as things are these days.

On Sunday, I made a trip to Chicago and back to attend the visitation for my brother-in-law's mother; she passed away on Thursday after 88 years on this Earth.

Both my sister and brother-in-law instructed me not to make the 4-hour drive because the weather Saturday night was crappy--rain, freezing rain, and snow.  Oh.  And because I wasn't "normal." :-)  I guess they meant that I haven't fully recovered from the surgery.

I told them I'd check the weather in the morning, and if it looked good, I'd come up anyway.  I wanted to be there to support them (and to prove that I am "normal").  Everyone was surprised to see me and told me how well I looked (I need to buy them glasses).  I guess people think that I should look differently as a cancer patient.  Maybe it's that stereotypical image of the patient who's gone through chemo or raditation that gets lodged in people's minds.  I don't know.  Regardless, they were all glad to see that I was doing well and up and about.

I did stop for a good ol' Chicago Italian beef sandwich on the way out of town.  Mmmm-mmmm.  No one around here makes a sandwich like that!

So it made for a long day--4 hours up, 3 hours there, and 4 hours back--but I'm glad I did it.  It was a good test to prove that I can travel some again.  It wasn't without its differences though.  Before the surgery, I'd typically just make one "pit stop" at a rest area, but on both trips I had to make three.  No biggy.

*     *     *

BIOLOGY REFERENCES AHEAD

From the incontence perspective, it was a week where I don't feel as though I made much progress.  In fact, on Saturday, it seemed like a setback.

I was just working in my home office on some things for work, and it seemed that no matter what I did, I sprung a leak.  Blinked an eye.  Leaked.  Reached for a pen.  Leaked.  Stood up.  Leaked.  Hair fell out of my balding head.  Leaked.  I was quite annoyed at the situation and even a bit worried about what would happen on the trip to Chicago the next day.

Nothing.  Nothing happened.  I had one of my driest days in a while on the trip up and back.  Go figure.  Monday was fine.  Tuesday was fine during the day, but Tuesday night, I was doing chores around the house and it was Saturday all over again.

*     *     *

One of the reasons I'm posting this later than I planned was that I had my follow-up appointment with the surgeon late this afternoon.

We reviewed my case and he says that I'm on track and nothing seems out of the ordinary:

• The 2-4 trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night are typical for the first 6 months.
• The increased leakage late in the day is normal as the body is fatigued.
• There will be good days/weeks and worse days/weeks.

All-in-all, he was pleased with my progress and reminded me that the infection really did a number on my system, slowing the normal recovery process.  We've scheduled the 6 month PSA test for 4 August and another follow-up for 11 August to get those results.  Hope for another undetectable reading.

*     *     *

POTENTIAL PURCHASING REFERENCE AHEAD

Okay.  Another reason that this is a later than usual posting is, after the doctor's appointment, I stopped by my favorite car dealer to take a spin in a car that they've got on the lot that I've had my eye on for a while now. 

Rather than have me take it for a normal test drive, the salesman let me take it home overnight.  I told him that I have to stick around the house tomorrow for a delivery, and that I may not be able to make it back by their 6 PM closing time tomorrow night.  "That's okay.  Just bring it back Saturday morning," he said. Pretty nice of them.  (One of the reasons it's my favorite car dealer.)

It's a pretty sweet ride, but I'm not sure I'm going to make the leap on that particular car.  (It's a different model than my current car, and I wanted to check it out because I really haven't had any experience in that model.)  We'll see.

And, no, this isn't a true impulse buy--I've been thinking about this well before the surgery.  Of course, that assumes that I go forward with either model.  When it comes to something like this, I'm never impulsive!  I think I annoyed the crap out of the salesman who sold me my car 6 years ago for nearly 18 months.  :-(

So that's it for this update.

Week 16 - Making Progress

Last week when I wrote my first weekly posting, I actually came home each night and jotted down the notes from the day.  In essence, I was keeping my blog going each night without publishing it.  That kind of defeated the purpose of going to a weekly update so I could have more time to play.


This week is different--it's all from memory.  Of course, I can't remember what I had for lunch, so this will be a short blog.


I'll begin with general stuff, and then get into some detailed biology (a word of warning to those whose minds aren't so inquiring).

*     *     *

It's good to be able to get around more.  On the weekends, I've been able to get out and do things that I haven't done in a long time.  I ran to Jungle Jim's International Market in Cincinnati and one of the salesmen there convinced me to try Grimbergen Double Ale--a Belgian beer.  Very nice.  (He had to twist my arm--hard!)


I also managed to test drive a couple of cars on Saturday, thinking that I may deserve a "Life-is-too-short-and-I-kicked-cancer's-ass" present for myself.  Of course, a week earlier, my sister reminded me that people who go through major life events--like cancer--shouldn't make any major decisions for at least a year.  I'll give her advice due consideration.  Alpine White or Black Saphire Metallic?  J


I enjoy seeing the people at work again, but I think I returned at a crazy time.  There's a lot of new activity happening since I was out, and that makes getting caught up and refocused a bit more challenging.


I've been able to reconnect with folks over lunch or dinner, and that's been good (although it takes me off my post-cancer diet sometimes--I really am trying to eat more healthful foods!).


My boss was a bit surprised when I reminded him last Friday that I have 10 vacation days remaining that I have to use before 31 May.  I'm working on plans on how to use them.  I don't see a European adventure in my immediate future. I'm not quite up to that physically right now.

*     *     *

BIOLOGY AHEAD!

On the recovery front, things are progressing steadily.  With the incontinence, each day seems to be a little better than the one before, and as long as I continue to see progress, I'm happy.  Of course, there are moments of regression that temporarily annoy me. 


I feel as though I'm getting closer to the day where I may be able to abandon the absorbent guards that I use.  In fact, since the weekend, I've stopped using them at night without incident and, on Sunday, I went without during the day as I did things around the house.  I had only one minor incident.  It's still premature for me to go without at work--I'm more active there than here at home. 


I do notice that later in the day the number of incidents seems to increase.  Perhaps it's just that my body is tired after the long day, or perhaps it's because I've been drinking water all day long, or perhaps a combination of both.


I still have nights (like last night) where I'm running to the bathroom 3-4 times through the night.  And then I'll have a night where I can go 6 or 7 hours without having to make a run.  Those multiple run nights make for a fun and grumpy next day.

*     *     *

For several months now, I've been noticing that my eye glasses don't seem to be effective as they used to be, meaning that it's time for an exam and an updated prescription.  However, in the last few weeks, the problem seems to be gradually increasing, especially in my right eye.


Under normal circumstances, I'd say that it's merely me getting older, or the additional eye strain of sitting in front of a computer all day long again after being off work for 8 weeks.  I'd go for my checkup and get an updated set of glasses.


But one of the known side effects of taking Cialis is blurred vision and--in rare cases--complete and permanent vision loss.


So, being perhaps a bit overly cautious, I stopped taking the Cialis early this week and set up an appointment with my optometrist (unfortunately, the first opening was 7 April).  I also called my ophthalmologist this morning to get their take on the situation.  They wanted me to call my surgeon to get his advice, so I did.


My surgeon agreed with stopping the Cialis for now, waiting a couple of days to see if things get better, worse, or stay the same, and if they get worse, to get to the ophthalmologist.


Again, I think I may be overreacting and it's as simple as me needing an updated prescription.  Still, why risk permanent vision impairment for the sake of a boner?  Right?


I've had a routine surgery follow-up appointment scheduled for some time now (next Thursday).  I'm sure we'll talk about all this then.


Otherwise all the drain holes and incision points have healed nicely and there's no pain or sign of lymph fluid accumulating again.  Things keep progressing...