Appointments - Day 174

The first of many appointments today was a visit with his primary care physician, Dr. Todd Butler. Weight is 128.6 pounds with clothes on. Blood pressure is 70/46. Jim's plan of action to reduce the frequency of taking Midodrine was curtailed by Dr. Butler, who said he really needs to be taking it three times a daily so it will last all day and raise his blood pressure. Otherwise the medicine only lasts a few hours and is of little benefit. Results of blood work drawn indicated his thyroid is fine and he is a little anemic.

The consultation with his dentist, Dr. John McGrane, resulted in an appointment Wednesday morning at 11:10 to remove the infected tooth. Then, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 11 a.m., he will have two fillings repaired.  

Another infected tooth - Day 173

Today, Monday, Nov. 2, Jim had a dental appointment. There was no indication it would be anything but normal, but something was wrong when the hour appointment stretched into 1 1/2 hours. When he returned home, he said he had another infected tooth - upper right this time. Jim said they took 21
x-rays. The tooth needs to come out soon, so we are having a consultation with Dr. McGrane at 2 p.m. Tuesday to determine exactly what to do and when to do it. Another expense.

We spent a good share of the day in Wilton, where we visited with Ron and Jim had an interview with a reporter from the weekly newspaper, Wilton-Durant Advocate News.

Last Tuesday, Oct. 27, Jim had a colonoscopy. He had one tiny polyp, which Dr. Gerke removed. He is to return in 5 years.

He has reduced the frequency of taking the Midodrine (which raises his blood pressure) from three 1/2 tabs daily to one 1/2 tab. He thought the medicine was causing a decrease in potty flow. It appears this plan has helped as the BP has remained good, with no dizziness, and potty flow has increased.

In addition to the 3-month clinic visit with Dr. Parekh on Nov. 11, Jim is scheduled to have an endoscopy Nov. 12 to see how the ulcer is healing.