The Crotchety Old Man

Tag: doctors

  • No More Romance for Me

    Since my first novel was published in 2012, finding the right shelf in the bookstore for my stories has been a challenge. I’m talking, of course, about genre. Turns out, my stories don’t fit in any particular genre. Genre is a handy label to give readers an idea of the kind of story they’re about…

  • The Longest Night

    Winter is my least favorite time of year. I hate cold weather, and the shorter days trigger my Seasonal Affective Disorder. Throw in all the holidays that revolve around food and a tendency to carb-load, and the biggest gift I get every year is an extra twenty pounds–or more–that I spend the next twelve months…

  • It’s Working!

    Two years ago this month, I was diagnosed with macular degeneration. I have a mild case in my right eye and an advanced case in my left. To have the condition at my age is unusual. To have such an extreme case at such a young age is practically unheard of. For once, I’d prefer…

  • Stop the World!

    Swapping the vacation my partner and I had been looking forward to for Dad’s funeral ended up being a good thing. We were already off work, and since we were driving anyway and had a free place to stay at the beach, changing our plans at the last minute didn’t cost anything. Any other time…

  • A Little Good News

    Finding out a few months ago that the miracle cure for macular degeneration wasn’t working for me hasn’t made going in for my monthly shot in the eye any easier. Until last month, at least things weren’t getting any worse. Struggling to see the big E at the top of the eye chart and then…

  • Going, Going, Nearly Gone

    I had another appointment with the retina specialist this morning. I go about once a month for an injection to treat the macular degeneration in my left eye. Both eyes have macular degeneration, but the case in my left eye is among the ten percent of cases so severe that it bleeds into the fluid…

  • Results!

    My monthly appointments with the retina specialist roll around entirely too fast. Seems like I had one just last week. Hard to believe four weeks have passed since my last injection. If you’ve been following along, you know I have Age-related Macular Degeneration in both eyes. At 54, I’m young to have this condition–much less,…

  • Confession Time

    Yesterday I had an appointment with my regular doctor. Because of cholesterol medications, I see the doctor about every six months to make sure my liver is okay.  For the math impaired, my last appointment was in May. Regular readers know I’ve made quite a few rather significant lifestyle changes since May.  Back then, I…

  • My Shifting Line in the Sand

    Everyone has a weight above which they refuse to go. Years ago, my line in the sand was 200 pounds. Now 200 pounds is my goal weight. Funny how things change with time. Back in April I weighed 246 pounds–dangerously close to 250.  Other than shoveling too much food into my mouth, I never got…