Category: health

Loss

My fat ass is finally seeing some weight loss. Matrimonial bliss and 2 surgeries put me on the complacent path some time ago. I’m better at getting back to the gym on a regular basis but still don’t consider myself on a consistent schedule yet. [1]The struggle is real! It is good to see results of my efforts so far and I’m inspired to keep at it.

I’m down about 15 lbs to 202. I could actually put on my "regular" jeans yesterday for the first time in months. To be fair, I could still wear them before but they looked like they were sprayed on body paint. And the idea of camel toe for guys was a major concern. heehee Yesterday, they were snug for sure but looked pretty normal.

I hate feeling out of shape but the complacency has been strong. Video games and erratic schedules makes for a lot of impromptu (read ‘not very healthy’) meals as well. The combo of bad eating and no gym has made for a fat Moby. I can clearly relate to how often you see straight guys get married and then blow up in size. It’s so damn easy.

It doesn’t help that our society focuses on convenience over health in our diet. But that is only an excuse so no need to go down that path. Hope springs eternal….

References

References
↑1 The struggle is real!

Bionic

[iframely] http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/can-procedure-give-you-superhuman-vision [/iframely]
I must say I was pretty excited when I read this. It is scifi come to life even if it does sound almost too good to be true. But seeing it move into human trials means it is past the theory phase and moving into implementation. The implications are staggering. [1]It helps if you go read the not-very-long article first. It wouldn’t help every problem but it would cover a large percentage of people who experience declining vision or have certain genetic issues. Image you could get a surgical procedure on your eye and never worry about most vision problems ever again. Your eyes could focus w/almost perfect clarity. It raises a whole host of questions but I still love the idea. It could help a lot of people see better or even see again.

There are a plethora of questions that come up, of course. What is projected life span of the insert(s)? What happens if one fails? Can it be replaced? Cost? Insurance? The list goes on and on. But a bigger question might be, would said person now be considered bionic? This would certainly fit the bill of artificial enhancement.

*

For myself, I doubt I’d qualify any time soon as my actual vision has only deterriated every so slightly as I age. I don’t even qualify for Lasik right now. And the diplopia issue, being muslcle related, would not be repaired by said replacement either. So clearly it wouldn’t fix every problem. But this last year has taught me how fragile our vision can be. Reading up on advancements like this are amazing.

References

References
↑1 It helps if you go read the not-very-long article first.

Walk

The city has been doing a big ‘wellness’ kick this years and as part of that, my dept was able to secure a treadmill that fits at a workstation.

At first thought, it sound a bit gimmicky but after seeing (and using) it in action, I’m sold on it. It is basically the tread part w/o the top. The control panel is attached by a wire which makes it incredibly mobile. It only goes up to 2mph for safety reasons. [1]It doesn’t sound like much but walking at that speed and typing does take a little adjustment. lol It sticks out far enough to be seen but not too far so that people are tripping over it.

I scoffed at the idea at first. I am happy to be wrong. Not only does it appear to be a success so far, but I even find myself using it. On a 10-hour shift, I tend not to get a lot of walking in. I will sometimes walk for lunch but I don’t always feel like shlepping all over the area. Having an option to walk and work is definitely nice.

References

References
↑1 It doesn’t sound like much but walking at that speed and typing does take a little adjustment. lol

Back

The desire to get my butt into the gym regularly seems to finally be overcoming my desire to sit on my ass and be lazy. I’ve been slowly getting back into the gym on a more consistent basis.

OY, my muscles ache! Even doing super light weights, I almost couldn’t walk the next day after my chest workout. [1]If you wan’t to maximize the release of growth hormones for that lovely buff chest, you better be doing at least 1 squat exercise on chest day. The posterior chain is the largest muscle group … Continue reading I’ve even been getting up in the mornings to go before work! If that doesn’t signal how my motivation is returning, nothing will. haha Joking aside, I really have missed it. I walk into the gym and I instantly feel better. I look around and see others working out and I’m inspired. Plus, I miss the tightness my muscles used to have. Nothing is sagging or dragging but everything has clearly ‘settled’ and I hate it.

I wouldn’t say I’m back on a completely consistent schedule yet, but I’m on my way. Speaking of, I knew I’d be weak but boy was I ever. Doing a full 3 sets of a measly 135 lbs left me weak. (That is one 45 on each side of a 45 lb bar.)

You should expect more posts about my progress, and a few pics too. I tend to post quick pics to Instagram these days. So if you follow me there, you’ll see more pics.

Wish me fat-ass luck!

References

References
↑1 If you wan’t to maximize the release of growth hormones for that lovely buff chest, you better be doing at least 1 squat exercise on chest day. The posterior chain is the largest muscle group on the body.

Crunchy

Ever leave contact lenses out in the air for more than an hour? They turn into tiny brittle discs of plastic. They crumple under any but the lightest touches. hehe

I took a pair out the other day and sat them on the coffee table. I’d had them in all day and it was time. Normally, I discard them but I was gaming and left them. I had completely forgotten about them when I found the little discs later. It took me a few minutes to realize what I was seeing.

It was kinda creepy. Only because of the idea of these things having been in my eyes just a couple hours previous. I even had a dream that night that they dried up inside my eyes and I was running around with crispy eyeballs. lol

I should have taken a picture. It would have been cool to share. I wonder if they would have reshaped themselves if I had put them back in water? Hmmmmm?

Fit

I’m still struggling to get back into a consistent gym schedule. I just can’t seem to find the motivation I used to have. hehe I’ve gained a few pounds but overall I’m just squishy vs being over-weight.

I guess being in a relationship will do that to ya. It isn’t that I feel I don’t need to workout anymore so much as I just seem not to prioritize it like I used to. Being on a 4-day 10-hour schedule didn’t work very well for me last time I did it so I’m sure being on said shift now isn’t helping. But that is a bit of a cop-out. lol If it was important to me, I’d make it happen. I still go at least once a week, it is the consistency that is the struggle.

The irony is anytime I go to the gym, I immediately miss all the things about it that I like. I’ve just gotten complacent and content. Said duo are turning out to be a powerful combo to overcome.

Yet, I keep trying. I’ll eventually find my groove again. It may not be as intense as it was in the past but I know eventually my desire will override the complacency.

Which

I’m settled into a final prescription for my contacts. Ironically, my prescription is now identical in both eyes. Leave it to me to continue being the odd ball. I’ve had to go with disposable dailies vs single monthly lenses. Blame it on the astigmatism correction. Everyone has said that the disposable dailies will be more comfortable for me. Maybe I’m out of touch but it seems so wasteful to me. At lease I never have to worry about putting the lenses in the wrong eye. hehehe 

Now that I have figured out how to put my contacts in properly and to know when they are in backwards, I do struggle less. I’m down to about 5-6 mins total. As mentioned, I prefer the contacts for a variety of reasons but there are moments where just being able to put glasses on and off are quite appealing. I thought I’d ditch the glasses one I got contacts but I think I’ll hold onto them. They’ll come in handy for those times where I just can’t be bothered to hassle w/putting contacts in.

I’m curious to know how often most people where there contacts? Daily, every other day, etc?  I’ve been trying to wear mine every day. I do notice toward the end of the day a lot, my eyes seem to get tired of focusing. Or maybe a better description is I have to focus more on keeping them in line. Does that sound right?

I won’t see the specialist again till June. She’ll decide then on whether I should proceed with the muscle surgery.

Contact

Well, I’m starting to try out contacts for my eyes. While I’m waiting to see the new eye muscle specialist [1]he is apparently very busy I’m back to the original Optometrist for my actual vision issues. I hate wearing my glasses and riding a motorcycle certainly isn’t conducive to said activity. I’m hoping I’ll be a good candidate for contacts. The Optometrist gave me some trial pair after retesting my eyes. There was only a slight change in my prescription since the first exam, prior to the surgeries. Unfortunately though, having a astigmatism is apparently a hard fix using contacts. Apparently, they didn’t even offer you contacts in the past for said issue. Because mine is not severe, I might be ok.

The first trail trial pair was a disaster. I had a headache within hours of wearing them. [2]Work’s "spring cleaning" my have exacerbated it a bit I promptly threw them out. The second pair has turned out to be much better. I’m working on wearing them all day, then every other day, and finally every day. I have enough ‘daily’s’ for two weeks. Overall, the fit well and don’t really bother me much. Getting them in/out of my eyes was the biggest challenge, even though the lab tech said I was a natural. I tend to blink a lot more and seem to "feel" them more as the day wears on. Is that normal?

Leave it to me to have issues that can just be fixed. The contacts work very well for the right eye, which affects most of my vision. The slight blurriness is all gone and the world takes on its normal crispness when I wear them. This will mostly likely help in the efforts to cure my diplopia left over from the eye misalignment. However, the left eye with the astigmatism may be the deal breaker. Reading up close (like on a phone or tablet) is worse than not having the lenses in. And I read a lot. On the flip side, using them at work is fine. I guess the distance between my face and the monitor is enough to even it out. And while the eyes do adjust a bit given a little time, I’m not sure yet how effective this approach is. I’m going to see how things go. The Optometrist mentioned one other trial pair I could test out.

Keep your fingers crossed for me. I really want to be able to wear contacts. I might try to do glasses over contacts (even though the Optometrist wasn’t a fan of that idea) or alternating between glasses and contacts.

Of course, if this is the worst I have to go thru as I age, I can live with it.

​

References

References
↑1 he is apparently very busy
↑2 Work’s "spring cleaning" my have exacerbated it a bit

Better

The wonky eye saga continues.

As previously mentioned the last eye surgery was a success. It fixed the structural problem with my right eye. Sadly, the diplopia has not disappeared. I should clarify it is much improved but I’m still having some issues. The doc who did the surgery doesn’t deal with that so I’ve been referred to yet another doctor. This will be doctor #5 in the series.

I put off contacting him as there is still a chance my eyes my just readjust on their own. It seems the eyes are improving ever so slightly every month. It is possible that they my slowly go back to normal given enough time. That said, I’m just not willing to wait that long. And to be fair, it has gone from a chronic problem to a minor annoyance. It only affects the extreme angles of my vision now.

Anyway, the new doctor deals with eye muscle problems and possible rehabilitation of the muscle. I’m hoping it doesn’t require another surgery and its looking like it won’t. He is booking a month out so won’t even get to see him till late March. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the eyes will be even better by then.

Of course, I still have the underlying vision issues that started this whole caper. My right eye happens to be the weaker of the two in vision as well. It’s minor but the combo of weakness and double vision is what makes it so frustrating at times.

I’ve finally reached a point where I can wear my glassed pretty much all day w/o getting severe headaches. I’m down to a dull ache after a day of wear. I’m forcing myself to get used to them so I can switch over to contacts permanently. Luckily, I’m still eligible for contacts. I go back to see the optometrist in a week. They’ll recheck my eyes and if no major prescription changes, I’ll get my contacts within the month.

I’ve noticed that if I wear my glasses for awhile, the next day my vision seems slightly better. I’m wondering how common such an occurrence is? Is it possible to wear glasses to temporarily retrain you vision and then not need them anymore? I’m sure the Opt doc can tell me.

Still Double

​I had my first follow up with the doc since the surgery. Structurally, everything is pretty awesome. Both the docs seemed overly pleased with how well the implant placement and eye adjustment turned out.

Sadly, I’m still seeing double vision. It is much improved in many ways but still happens enough to be bothersome. It doesn’t help that the right eye is also weaker from a vision stand point. He said it is still too soon to know for sure. It is very possible my eyes may just start adjusting and the double vision could go away completely.

Worse case scenario, he says if it doesn’t improve more I could go back for an additional surgery. This time they would adjust the muscle of the eye where it attaches to the eyeball. If the muscle has atrophied too far away, this might be the final fix.

He told me I could start wearing the contacts/glasses again. The extra sharpness would benefit by brain trying to refocus my eyes in sync with each other. I’ve reached out to my original optometrist and will mostly likely see her this Monday or Tuesday.

It is hard to be upset because my vision has improved a lot. As previously mentioned, I hadn’t realized how much I was compensating until after the surgery. Hopefully, my ‘old eyes’ will kick in and readjust themselves. I really do not want to have surgery again.

Time will tell. And as always, hope springs eternal….