4 April 2024
Yesterday, I was walking by the kitchen door and happened to see something moving out of the corner of my eye. It was a legless lizard on the patio (sometimes called glass lizards because their tails can break off).
It belongs to the genus Ophisaurus and there are four species in Florida. I haven’t seen one in a while. When I used to do my own lawn mowing, I would occasionally see one and unfortunately, sometimes run over one when I didn’t see it soon enough. They seem to burrow in the ground and I suspect the mower’s vibrations cause them to stick their heads out of their burrows (and sometime become decapitated).
A little later, I found him in a puddle on the pool deck after a tremendous downpour (I won’t have to add water to the pool for a while). I wondered if he drowned. This morning, he was gone and he either did not drown or some thing had him for breakfast.
I managed 0.9 miles on my walk this morning. I’m getting frustrated that I can’t seem to build stamina on my walks. I was completely knackered by the time I got back to the house. I realize that the Taxol destroyed muscle and nerve cells and that their regeneration will take a while but I don’t seem to have progressed since the last Taxol treatment in October. My hair is back and my taste buds are back (albeit a little different) so I know I’m recovering from some of the Taxol effects.
I have three questions for my GP this afternoon. First, is he willing to prescribe an antidepressant. Secondly, should I cut back on my blood pressure medicine – is that causing my arms to go to sleep. Thirdly, should I get a Covid booster. CDC is recommending getting another 2 months after your last inoculation. I had my last Covid-19 shot in August. I had Covid in January. Since I’m in a high risk category (diabetes, depressed immune system) I might go ahead and get it with his OK.
I think Holy Cross is screwing up the billing to Medicare and AARP Supplemental Insurance. They’ve billed me twice in two days. I went ahead and paid and then it dawned on me it was still insurance pending for the AARP policy. They normally don’t bill me unless AARP doesn’t cover the rest of the bill. I’ve also noticed that one procedure will be paid and the exact same procedure is listed as being done on the same date and is not paid. Someone is screwing up.
Dr. Dunhill prescribed 30 mg of Cymbalta. Said it was a very reasonable and understandable request. We’ll start at 30 mg but may move to 60 and as much as 90. It’ll take 2-3 weeks before I feel any different.
I can cut the blood pressure medicine out as long as I stay consistently below 140 systolic. He suggested I wait until April for the Covid booster since I have some immunity from my bout of Covid in January. He said immunity from Covid lasts approximately 3 months.
Stay tuned!