Done Since 2023-12-17

[mdlbear]

Not a bad week, as weeks go these days, but not all that good either. There is reason for optimism, but also a lot of things to be pessimistic about, which are making it hard to get to sleep.

My sphincter control seems to be almost back to normal, as of Wednesday or so. I was feeling normal enough to start taking walks again, including almost a mile and a half with m and j. I read somewhere that every mammal from the mouse to the elephant can empty its bladder in 20 seconds except for elderly male humans with enlarged prostates. A category which included me for the past several years, but apparently no longer does.

And I attended E's Yule celebration Thursday. (The Yule ritual on Whidbey was last night, organized by G and with me, g" and k attending. We had cookies and a bottle of 10-year-old mead. I don't remember who gave us that, or whether we perhaps acquired it at an Interfilk auction.)

On the other hand, the place we had (Subaru)Stacey towed to does not do body work, despite what it says on their website. We were unable to find a body shop willing to accept it on short notice, so it's going to sit in front of our house until we do. Then it will almost certainly be totalled. That plus the fact that I should have started on selling Colleen's medical equipment two years ago mean that emptying the house out by the end of January is going to be a stretch.

On the gripping hand, I also had my first (of eight) accupuncture treatments (which was fascinating), and made an appointment with one of Fred Hutch's "spiritual health" providers (there must be a better word -- chaplains?), after a delightful conversation Monday. (See also, Wednesday's " State of the Bear" post.)

Good links for the week include The Future of Web Styling: Classless and Class-Light CSS | by Shalitha Suranga, and What Makes LISP Unique? | by Erik Engheim. Most of the others are discouraging.

Notes & links:
1217Su
  & awake multiple times, not tracked
  * up 8:45; some sleep w/o mask, S=191.2; shower, exercises
    * 08:47 abiraterone with am drugs
    * 09:50 prednisone with fiber cookies and prunes
  @ Zoom Acquires Keybase and Announces Goal of Developing the Most Broadly Used
    Enterprise End-to-End Encryption Offering | Zoom  100Gb FREE!  BUT...
    Keybase Review 2023 - The Pros and Cons | RestorePrivacy
    " On the downside, Keybase collects a lot of information about you and your activities
      that is not encrypted. Data that they collect and use for various purposes includes:
      your name, avatar picture, email address, social media handles, the names of the
      teams and subteams you join, their membership, when they were formed, account
      activity, your Keybase user ID, your IP address (which is stored only temporarily),
      the type of device you’re using, and the operating system you’re running. "
  @ Earth faces a mass extinction. Hawaii is ground zero. - Vox
  * guitar:  about half of The Mary Ellen Carter on Snuggles, because E asked for it.
  @ Markus Redeker: "Today is John Mastodon Day: On this day one year ago, a journalist
    misunderstood some facts and created the person of “John Mastodon”"
  & long talk with m mostly about gender, presentation, perception, etc.  fascinating
  * shopping trip.
  * pm s"'s bithday party at RE
  @ Pansexual vs. Omnisexual: Are They Different?
    " While both pansexual and omnisexual people are attracted to other people
      of any gender identity, pansexual people are gender blind, while
      omnisexual people are not. "
  % 20:50 hot flash? after having a cup of hot cocoa.
  % 22:33 woke up in chair
  % 11ish couldn't get to sleep; toilet.  dehydrated?

1218Mo  o litter boxen
  * up 7:30ish; S=7:09; shower, exercises,  o Dutch
  * 08:02 abiraterone with am drugs.
  * 09:09 prednisone
  % a couple of hot flashes; didn't record times
  @ Autistics Speaking Day: Sparrows and Penguins (andrewducker)
  @ Grendel and the Grinch | William Alexander (andrewducker)
  @   @ What it takes for WA trans youth to access gender-affirming care | Seattle Times
  * leave RE ~2pm after m's appointment
  % we stopped at Wendy's for (late, by that time) lunch (m's request)
    -> I was able to use the urinal in the men's room.
  : call from spiritual health person (don't remember the name, unfortunately) in the
    Wendy's parking lot.  Good conversation.
    @ Spiritual Health | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
    -> sounds like a counseling relationship worth persuing.  Scheduling will contact
    -> possibly more useful to me than psych counseling, which I never seem to have gotten
       much out of (alexithymia probably has something to do with that)
    -> N would be interested in some of the available support for family and caregivers

1219Tu
  * up 7:30; S=9:06, BP=128/77; P=67;
    -> with that amount of sleep no wonder I'm a little groggy
  * 8:00 abiraterone with am drugs
  % 10ish noticed, while going back for my phone, that I was feeling almost "normal"
    ... which probably means I'm both constipated and under-hydrated
  * 10:25 leave for 11am Memory Keepers realspace at Third Place
  * 2:50 leave for 3:30 checkin, 4pm accupuncture FredHuch Bldg 1 fl. 4
    Susan Veleber, DACM, MS, LAc | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
  & changed into the new sweatpants.  Longer than the FotL, but I knew I was going to have
    to shorten them anyway
  @ D.C.’s increased flood risk could wipe out some of the nation’s treasures - WaPo
  @ “If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing” | by Cory Doctorow | Dec, 2023 
    (copy of an article I'd already linked to.)
  @ The Future of Web Styling: Classless and Class-Light CSS | by Shalitha Suranga
    Semantic HTML markup.  Everything old is new again.
  @ What Makes LISP Unique?. Exploring the homoiconicity feature of… | by Erik Engheim
  * 22:15 300mg docusate
  * order cat fud
  * singing practice: The Mary Ellen Carter

1220We  * litter boxen
  & awake 5ish; S=6:56;
  * up 7am; S=8:11, BP=116/69, P=68; exercises
  * 07:14 abiraterone acetate with am drugs
  * COVID test prior to yule at E's  -> negative
  * 10:06 prednisone
  * bring wine bottle out to Molly
  * walk:  W. to end of block
  * call 206-606-1076  to schedule Spiritual Health Care
    -> Jan 3, which will start off with a lot to talk about
  * start second dragon tumbler (~10 oz, because there was ice left) of water
  @ How much water should I drink a day? - Harvard Health
    " it's a myth that caffeinated beverages or those containing alcohol are dehydrating
      because they make you urinate. They do, but over the course of the day, the water
      from these beverages still leads to a net positive contribution to total fluid... "
  * 12:55 third dragon glass.  Forgot to timestamp the last one.
  * 1:45 join zoom conf. for 2pm telehealth Susanna Myers (Integrative medicine)
    *- recommended probiotics
       roasted broccoli, cauliflower, pickled; kimchee; miso
       @ Why Miso Is Incredibly Healthy
    -> my immune system looks to be in good shape
    -> offerup.com better than craigslist for selling
  @ JN.1 Covid variant: WHO charts its rapid global spread
  * charge Molly -> QFC lot -> 80%
  % It's possible that part of my current problem is that I don't seem able to control my
    sphincters individually.
  * Prostatectomy Kegel
    Exercises for Men | Physiotherapy Real Time Radical Prostatectomy Workout
    Kegel Exercises for Overactive Bladder in Men | Physical Therapy Exercises

1221Th
  & awake 5:30ish; S=6:44
  * up 8:30; S=7:36, W=199.2, BP=117/74, P=74; exercises (+9 sit-ups!); Dutch
  * abiraterone: 8:30am
  * 09:29 COVID test
  * make sure Molly is charged - 80 miles round trip
  * 13:00 Kegels WORKOUT
  * write check, -card, envelope- for E's cash yule present
  * 3pm Yule at E's  -> leave ~6pm; select Snappy Dragon items before then.
    -> my gift (a check) went over very well.  *grin*  Still no idea what to give R
    -> Sang "The _Mary Ellen Carter_" at E's request.  Attempted Daddy's World, but was
       less successful because couldn't set up songbook so I could see it
  : Snappy Dragon order for tonight's dinner at RS
    *- hunan beef, cup of hot+sour soup, unless someone wants to share a different soup.
       Potstickers -- will split.  (Pass on these in the future.  Wrapper too thick.)

1222Fr  * litter boxen (E')
  & awake 5:30ish
  * up 7:45; S=9:08; exercises, Dutch
  : Mondly has finally gotten me disgusted enough to drop -- it asked for a traslation of
    "Zij is in haar slaapkamer" -- wanted "she's" and rejected "she is".  Screw that.
  * 08:00 abiraterone acetate
  * 08:11 eyedrops.  Mostly L outer corner, but both felt a little dry
  * 09:12 prednisone
  @ Octopus DNA may reveal when West Antarctic ice sheet most recently collapsed
  * Walk:  1.4mi:  to Bartell's with j and m; Monkey Grind on the way back
    1.4=2*0.7mi.  Monkey Grind on its own is 0.8=2*0.4 mi.
    -> 16oz Mexican mocha (more than my (previous?)usual 12oz)
    % my damned pants keep falling down when I walk.
  * take abiraterone, prednisone, tums
  * pack fiber cookies for RE
  * up to RE today (2:30?)
    : dropped my goddamn keys in Molly _in the ferry_.  In the crack between the seat and
      the console.  As it turned out I'd only dropped the housekeys, which had gotten
      detached from the fob, but Molly wouldn't start until I found the fob and put it
      on the side of the coat pocket _away from my wallet_.
  * order abiraterone refill -> pick up in person after accupuncture
  * set password for new WhidbeyHealth portal.  Request address update (via message to
    front desk at Clinton, because you can't do it via the portal.  Stupid.)

1223Sa  Festivus
  @ Festivus - Wikipedia
  & awake 5:30ish
  * up 6am; S=5:43; shower
  * 06:55 abiratrone acetate with am drugs,  08:00 prednisone
  @ Substack and "platform risk"
  * finally dumped the shoebox of old checks, into the "shred" bag.  Most have been
    deposited; some are just expired.
  % I've spent the entire day beating myself up about not having done stuff.  I had 2y.
  * SL: laundry det., butter, sour cream, chips (ruffles, I think), snack cheese, frozen
    waffles, Beecher's mac+cheese/potatoes, frozen chicken, hot pockets, pepperoni,
    chicken/ground beef for cooking, tomato paste, mozazrella, mushrooms, sliced olives
    baking powder, bottle of mead, pearl (if possible) or sweet onions
  % back, mostly R QL -> heat
  + (brother)Al finally signed the doc to split Dad's trust between us.  About time.
  - the bankers boxes I ordered are being held at the PO.  Growf!  They were delivered
    _yesterday_, so if I'd noticed I could have picked them up today.  Now, ...
  & fired up Blackroot; it booted into Ubuntu but the cursor was frozen; in console I
    couldn't remember the password.  I may have been a bit hasty tossing old CDRs.
    -> fortunately they were in the most-recently-tossed bag...
    -> _un_ fortunately I appear to have thrown most of them out _last_ week
  * solstice ritual led by G.  we used a bottle of 10-year-old mead for the purpose.
    Solstice vintage 2013; The Dragonfly and Faerie / Hand Made Creations.
  @ What happened to winter? - Vox
  * 8.6mg senna, 300mg docusate sodium

Comments

[gingicat]

Urinating completely is also a problem for humans with narrowed ureters - for me, caused by having been pregnant twice.

[librarygeek]

(raises hand) I'm hired and working as a "chaplain extern" with one of the biggest hospitals in the city here. If we're uncomfortable with being called chaplains ✡️ or Buddhist, we can also call ourselves spiritual care providers.

I had my first solo overnight shift (12.5 hours) last night. I regret being on my feet for about seven hours, but otherwise I'm good and feel I provided appropriate care to people in crisis.

[siliconshaman]

It's 23 to 27 seconds, and yes, you are correct. There is fixed ratio between bladder volume and urethra cross sectional area, (and no-one quite knows why) but if it's narrowed by something that throws it off.

[freyjaw]

No one told me about bladder spasms with fibro. It's why I have Poise pads and washable pads for the recliner and bed. It's not so much the fact that my bladder goes from somewhat filled to “OMC I have to GO” in short order, it's that I can't run to the bathroom. I can't run at all, actually. Sad. I have to see a urologist about the 10 mm stone in my L kidney, and the recurrent UTIs. I don't want sepsis yet again. Sadly, I've had it three times in under two years, all involving hospitalization. Blecch.

Chris sympathizes with you as well. He's on Flomax for BPH at the tender age of 62.