Category: Health

Doctors and Dentists

This week’s prompt is: Remembering Visits to Doctors and/or Dentists

These are the questions that Lauren has asked us;

1) Where doctor/dentist appointments a regular part of your childhood?

Only when we needed to go. My father wanted to become a doctor when he was young and couldn’t, so he had read up a lot about different illnesses and would doctor us himself, that’s until it becomes obvious that his treatments weren’t working!

2) Did you go for well-checks or just when you were ill or in pain?

It was the later! Only when we ‘had to’

3) Were you frightened by the medical professionals? If so, were there specific reasons?

No I never was frightened of the doctors and was studying to be one.

4) Were your parents afraid of medical professionals?

Not afraid, but reluctant to go themself or take us in for a routine exam.

5) Was waiting in the exam room stressful to you?

Not that I remember. We all three older siblings went together and would amuse ourselves.

6) Did your early visits result in your being afraid of needles?

No, I never was afraid of needles. And when I was studying medicine, I couldn’t understand people being afraid of an injection or blood being drawn.

7) Does the sight of your own blood bother you?

It did when I was younger but not anymore. Though the sight of any of my kids bleeding makes me upset.

8) Did you ever have the need to go to an emergency room?

In college, I had an injury to my right knee and had to visit the emergency. It turned out to be a torn meniscus and I needed to have it removed a year later. That was my first surgery in general anesthesia. I went on to have three more knee surgeries later. One to remove another torn meniscus from my right knee and two for total knee replacements. I’ve had many more surgeries and am planning to have another one this summer to fix the pain in my left ankle. You can say that I’m not afraid of taking care of my health issues even when it involves an operation under GA!

9) Did your early experiences impact your current attitudes about medical care?

Yes, it made me want to be a doctor and help other people. When I was studying medicine, there were very few female surgeons in Pakistan and I wanted to be one. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way.

10) My nightmare dental experiences;

I won’t go into much detail about my dental experiences since my teens. Suffice to say that I’ve had root canal treatments without anesthesia which made me hate going to the dentist for a long time. Due to my thyroid disease, I’ve had issues with my teeth since my teens and had to go to the dentist since then. Now I’ve found a great dentist who has installed 4 implants in my mouth and has done many other procedures. I’ve no complaints regarding him.

In response to Throwback Thursday, hosted by Lauren and Maggie

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A to Z challenge V for Vaccination

Personal experiences, incidents and smiles

With the drop in infection rate of Covid-19, the topic of vaccination has taken a backseat.

But vaccines are nonetheless very important. Not only for Covid but also for other infectious diseases. Some time ago some people started this mid-information campaign against childhood vaccinations saying that they can cause Autism and other issues. There are many authentic studies conducted and they all disapprove this theory.

Preventive vaccination is the tool we have to protect ourselves and our children against deadly diseases like smallpox, polio, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and many more. It’s a long list and the latest is Covid vaccination which has doubtlessly prevented numerous deaths and hospitalizations. I myself am an example as I got a very mild case of Covid because of vaccination.

What are your views about vaccination?

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#AtoZChallenge

It was Covid!

It is strange to get the diagnosis after I’ve almost recovered, but today after taking another Covid rapid test at home, I tested positive for it. I had an online consultation with a doctor dealing with Covid who told me that I’ve recovered from Covid and today, my 10 day of illness is the last day I’ll have to quarantine.

Why am I telling you this?

When I got ill, I immediately suspected Covid, but the two tests done at home were negative. I treated myself ( based on my medical background) with a broad spectrum antibiotic, Tylenol/ paracetamol and cough syrups. After being moderately ill for five days, I was on the road to recovery, when my grandson developed similar symptoms and when tested, was Covid positive.

This made me more or less sure that I too had Covid. He, by the Grace of God, wasn’t very ill at all. A day and a half of fever, some cold-like symptoms, and not eating properly for a couple of days. Now he is back to his bouncy self and getting bored staying at home. He’s had one Pfizer vaccine but will have to wait for 6-12 weeks for the next one.

The whole point of my post is that when someone commented that I got Covid despite the vaccination, my answer to them is that I got a mild version of the disease, and that too because of the fact that I take immunosuppressant for my autoimmune diseases. If I hadn’t had two primary vaccines for Covid and two boosters, I probably would have had a severe case of the disease because of my pre-existing conditions. The other point I’m trying to make is that this current variant is way less potent and the symptoms it causes are milder!

I am now recovered enough to fast again and feel almost 100% restored to health. I want to thank all of my blogging friends for sending their good wishes and prayers for me. My heartfelt gratitude to you all.

Thank you so much!

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#Gratitude

A to Z challenge – G for Games

Personal experiences, incidents and smiles

I am not much into playing physical games. But I do like playing games on my phone. These can become addictive over time.

Back in 2013-14 I downloaded two games on my phone. One was Nemo derived from the first movie and the other was based on Ice age. I got so addicted to these that I had to start my day with doing the daily tasks that the games called for. I even spend money to buy the virtual stuff in these games, a lot of money. My kids used to make fun of my addiction to these games. Luckily for me that as I changed my phone they weren’t compatible with my new phone. This served to break my addiction and I had to stop cold Turkey.

Now I just play cards games on my phone. I can say that they are mildly addictive but I don’t feel that I have to play them if I don’t have time.

My elder brother, who is a doctor told me a long time back to keep my mind actively engaged by doing puzzles and playing games that make me think. It’s one way of preventing pre-senile dementia. So I do it for medical reasons, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Are you a gamer? What sort of games you like to play?

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#AtoZChallenge

A to Z challenge: C for cataract surgery

Personal experiences, incidents and smiles

When I was 54, I needed to see my ophthalmologist ( eye doctor) because I was finding it difficult to see in low light. After a detailed examination, he told me that I have early cataract in both eyes.

From my twenties, I’ve been suffering from an autoimmune disease, anterior uveitis. I get inflammation in the anterior chamber of my eyes which is treated by steroid medication. This caused the lenses to harden and become opaque, prematurely.

In a short duration of two weeks, I underwent cataract in both my eyes. Though I could see the difference after my left eye was operated upon, the difference was amazing when the bandage was removed from my right eye. It was like a powerful bulb had been lit in my world. The clarity and brightness were enhanced 10 times and the best news of all was that my new lenses were compensating for my previous myopia and I could see clearly without my glasses. The glasses I had been wearing for the last 42 years!

This reinforced my approach towards medical issues; If you need it now, don’t wait, don’t postpone it for it will improve the quality of your life.

Have you had cataract surgery done in one or both eyes? How was your experience?

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#AtoZChallenge

Spring weather means hay fever!!!!

Who doesn’t love spring?

I think we all do, but those who suffer from hay fever, pollen allergies are not very keen on this season.

When I was younger, I used to be plagued with constant fits of sneezing, watery eyes and runny nose as soon as the month of March started. I used to take anti-allergy medication but in those days they used to make me very sleepy, the non-drowsy meds were many years in the future. So the medication was reserved for severe attacks. The rest of the time I suffered with sneezing my head off.

It’s only since last 20- 15 years that the severity of symptoms have abated. And I take anti allergy almost throughout the year. Now I can smell the roses, and enjoy spring season without the sympathy inducing symptoms of hey fever.

Written for RFP # 10- Spring , hosted by Paula

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#RFP

Orange juice, anyone?

My idea of an indulgent breakfast was to start with a glass of fresh orange juice, followed by eggs and toast, and coffee or tea to finish it off.

This was when drinking juice was thought to be better than having the whole fruit.

But scientists change their minds quite frequently and they came out with this new advice, eat the fruit, all of it. It’s better than just the juice as it contains a lot of benefits when eaten whole.

So though sometimes I indulge myself with a glass of freshly squeezed oranges and kinnos, I mostly eat the fruit whole. This has the advantage of more fiber more vitamins and due to the presence of fiber, its glycemic index is lower too, which means it won’t make your blood sugar spike!

Written for Six Sentences Story prompt; Juice, hosted by Denise of Girlie on the edge’s blog

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#SSS

January 13th, 2022- Following the protocol

Covid protocols are in place for our own safety.

Why do people prefer to get ill, to wearing a mask? I will never understand this type of thinking.

Last Sunday I met a lady who was working at the local McDonald’s. She was wearing her mask on her chin. I asked her to cover her mouth and nose and she declined, saying that she felt suffocated. There were others there too, mask-less.

What people don’t understand is that Covid not only kills but also makes a person very ill and the illness can prolong. It’s not only death they should be worried about, but the disability brought on by getting ill. It

Anyway, since I cannot make others do as they should, I follow all the safety protocols of Covid and so does my family.

Written for Linda’s JusJoJan

Today’s prompt; Protocol, given to us by John

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Fandango Story Starter # 12 & Tuesday Writing Prompt- At this time…….

Fandango is the host of Fandango Story Starter

It’s time for my weekly Story Starter prompt.

This week’s Story Starter teaser is:

At a time when most people were struggling…

🌀🌀🌀


At the time when most people were struggling

When death was knocking at the door, indiscriminately

What tomorrow will bring no one was sure of

It was a battle of survival for people everywhere

There was no glory in staying alive, just misery

How could anyone be happy to have outlasted

When their loved ones had perished in that epidemic

The tragic reality was that these lives could’ve been saved

If people had listened to reason, been more cautious

🌀🌀🌀

I have included Tuesday Writing Prompt in this post as well.

Today’s prompt: Use the words tomorrow, death, and glory

The pandemic is still here, making people ill, taking lives. We still need to be cautious, we still need to get vaccinated. Please take all the care that you can.

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#FSS

#TWP

I got a temporary fix

A present from my granddaughter, because her “Nano” had an injection!

Apparently, people with flat feet are more likely to get arthritis in their foot joints. My arthritic foot was making walking an agony for me for the last few months. It would start to ache when I walked more than 30 minutes.

I saw an orthopedic surgeon few days ago and he advised a steroid injection in my foot.

Last Saturday, I got the injection. It did hurt at that time because my foot didn’t like its space invaded by a large bolus of medicine. It ached that day and into the night. But by next morning, it was way better. And by third day, the pain was almost gone.

My doctor told me that the effects of this steroid injection can last from few weeks to many months. I’m hoping it’s the later and I would need a repetition of this procedure after many months. In case it doesn’t work for long, they have another option, to fuse together the bones which are arthritic. That would reduce some type of movement in my foot but would cure the pain.

Let’s see how it goes.

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#Gratitude

#Health