h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We haven't heard much from you lately. I hope you are doing OK.

I post bits... mainly journal entrys, TBH, and occasionally In a few more general convos, about the site... but... well, its really rather quiet on here, seemingly increasingly so, so I'm not exactly online very often...
Actually, thesedays, I rarely turn on the computer more than once a day, and then only for an hour or so, just to go through E-Mails and suchlike, I just don't have the concentration like what I used too all thanks to the hormones of course
I spend nmost of my time either at the gym, or cooking and calculating calories, and things to cook etc Also spend a lot of evenings out, just to get out, really, mainly at the pub and chatting to people, RL
Hospital apps have thinned a lot, at the moment, have a new bone density scan in a week or so (yes, the Dr gave in to my threat, of refusing treatment unless we had a new, up to date scan; really hoping the full hormone replacement, plus exercise etc., have got my bone density up to a level where I don't have to take the horrible drugs to treat bone density; their side effects if I got even a few, would be devastating to quality of life )
I guess I'm inh good health; well, I'm constantly ill due to all my various problems now, but within that, I'm doing a lot better than I was a year or two ago, coping better with it anyhow, and physically I'm stronger, and fitter than I've ever been, yet the nasty hormone side effects persist... lethargy, apathy, brain fog, messed up thinking, messed up sensory stuff, and just feeling spaced out, a lot of the time... at least the physical fatigue is basically gone I think
still awaiting to hear from cardiology, ment to have another scan soon, but their communication is rubbish actually they seem the most useless department I've had to deal with so-far
Hmm. basically most days, unless I'm at the gym, cooking, or doing basic minimum daily things, I just sit on the sofa, and do nothing cept drink trying to arrange a trip to Sweeden, but finding it hard to think right and find and decide on flights, or when to go, etc... but... basically OK... I guess...

Glad you are doing better than last year. Dmitri and I will keep praying that your bone density improves. The side effects of those drugs can be awful. I'm impressed you get yourself to the gym. I don't have many things (other than financial) to keep me from going --I figure I get enough exercise taking the dog on block long walks although this does NOT constitute a increase in heart activity.

I don't know; walking is a very good exercise... Ment to be quite benifical for bone density too... - If you really want to maxamise walking, as an exercise, one is ment to vary the speed.... - similar to in the gym, doing interval training, when you go very hard/fast (say on the ski machine/cross trainer), raising the heart rate high (70% or 80%), then go slower for a while, dropping the heart rate down, then speed up/increase intensity again, raising heart rate up, then slow/lower intensity etc... - ment to burn more calories and be good training for the heart, as it enables the heart rate to alter, and return to normal, in quicker time intervals

I do interval training on the cross trainer, where its easier to alter the speed by just going faster; I find it harder on the running machine as you've got to push buttons etc, to increase speed... - I'm still working on increasing my running speed; I'd like to get up to 15 KM/H- so I could make a 5K race in 20 mins... currently I can only manage half an hour, at about 7.5 KM/H, or 15 minutes at 8.5 KM/H ... so some way to go!

. -

we were out last night at a LGBT/lesbian disco in a nearby pub... - the DJ's are from a local lesbian DJ group, and as the pub is also run by a lesbian couple, it tends to have a higher percentage of females to males, which is nice, as it changes the atmosphere a lot from the normal pub mix of more males than females... - last night was organised by a trans girl I know now...

But it was so warm last night even walking home at 2 AM, about a twenty min walk, I was plenty warm, in a totally sleeveless light summer cotton dress

looks like being even warmer today - I really don't cope well with heat

No gym today, probably back in on Monday - after the last three days, straight at the gym, my arms are feeling rather fatigued, so a rest is probably a good idea

The odd thing with the bisphosphonate side effects (the bone density meds), is that the side effects concerning me the most are the ones they consider less severe!- calcification of the bones in the ear (causing hearing loss? - they don't say...) vertigo, dizziness, etc, plus neuropathy= if the scan comes back that I still require treatment, I'm going to need a proper conversation with the bone Dr, now I know more about th emeds

And, just having re-discovered this convo... - if you missed it... - I persuaded the bone Dr to not* start me on the bisphosphonates, until after* doing another bone density scan... - I was right; my gym efforts, plus hormone replacements, means I no longer have osteoporosis, only osteopenia; and hence require no bisphosphonates a win by me I think - I assume the density will continue improving; they will monitor it again, once a year or so I think - I also had a bone resorption blood test (looks at bone turn-over), and results of that were good; I.E., I'm making the same, or more bone, than is being broken down, at any one time (not got the full results from it, mind, doubt they'd mean a lot to me anyhow )

Just feeling a bit rubbish At the moment; testosterone injection Friday coming, and still recovering from a hospital stay due to low sodium; loks like may have more tests to examine why I had low sodium, - at least I assume that is why someone I know not who, has booked me in for a brain/head MRI scan

Good for you, working out an all. Anything to rob the white coats of their prey. Sorry about the brain scan ---that sounds scary.
I just wanted to let you know that there are people over here thinking of you and praying for your well being. Anyone who has brought such good humour and joy to people needs to be loved and appreciated.

Thanks!

I've had hundreds of brain scans before.... CT, MRI, with and without contrast... MRI on the pituitary, full body MRI and CT scans, too, of course, back with my cancer in 2014/2015... and the regular heart MRI scans too, now - I never had any fear of scanners... I know some people find them clostrophobic, but even when I had my radiotherapy CT scans, whilst wearing a 'mask', and unable to move, I didn't panic or anything... - actually I useually fell asleep during the radiotherapy, despite hardly being able to breath with the face/shoulder 'mask' on - the mask is still hanging on the wall, here, in the house! just to terrify visitors, and also somewhere to hang a hat, and my hair lace-things

Just a bit annoyed with this scan; as no one at the hospital has had the decency to even tell me what it is for.... - my best guess, as I say is that it is to rule out a cancer in the pituitary, as a cause of the low sodium/hyponatreamea, which landed me in hospital a couple weeks back... - unlikely but probably best to rule out... - unless of course they did* see something on the head CT I had, back a few weeks ago, whilst in hospital - something will get me in the end... unless I really am emortal... but I don't think its imminant - if anything, its the heart defect likely to get me first, as things go sadly nothing I can do about the heart thing, it only gets worse with time, and the operation is very dangerous itself, if I ever get far enough to get the operation (full on snapping your rib cage, sternum etc, to get to the heart, stopping the heart, replacing a valve, and a big section of the main vessel leaving the heart)... - months and months of recovery if indeed I can recover, plus the whopping big chest scar - hoping that operation may be a fair fe years off, I just still feel so generally ill everyday, all day, from all the hormone stuff... - which oddly seems to get worse the longer and more hormone replacements I'm on still can't but help thinking they've missed something, or just got it wrong somewhere, with all the hormone nonsense....



Very much now getting symptoms of the low testosterone; injection this Friday, coming... - very poor performance today at gym though got a reasonable amount of weight lifting done, and a little bit of cardio - think this afternoon may be time for a nap - assuming I can sleep, my insomnia seems ever present, even when hormonal things are driving mne to such levels of tiredness and fatigue