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Darkmage
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:58 pm

Oh boy, where to start? It's been a long time since I posted an update and so much has happened since then.

Let me be brief... No, that will take too much time. Let me sum up:

I'm fine. Today was the last test to verify that everything has been destroyed by the radiation. Next Tuesday I will go over the results of the CT scan with my radiation oncologist. I expect no problems. My vision is back to normal, the swelling in my eyelid is almost gone and my eyelashes are slowly growing back. I'm good to go.

My lovely wife, on the other hand, has had a rough time of it.

[Removed - see post on 12/10/08]

So it's been kind of nuts around here. 2008 sucked, medically. But we seem to be coming through it.
Last edited by Darkmage on Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus
 
metalhead
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:08 pm

Glad to see things are finally looking better for you two. At least 2009 is right around the corner!
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:52 am

I'm glad to hear your doing well, and that whilst your wife has had a tough time things seem to be going better now. Best wishes for the next year!
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:53 am

Sorry to hear about your illness, I hope you have a speedy (and relatively painless) recovery.

Good to see that you're still upbeat about the whole thing.

And mattsteg, funny you mention that. My mother keeps telling me a story of when I was a "baby" (no idea how old), I disassembled the doctor's scale. He was apparently pretty peeved about it, because he just had it calibrated.
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:52 pm

Oh man dark, I hope your wife makes it through that OK. Sounds rough, but apparently she is recovering? Hopefully things get to normal again for ya'll! Glad your vision made it through OK too.
And is that mask still on your desk?
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:56 pm

Nice to hear she is recovering and her seizure count has dropped way down and you got your vision back to normal.

Here's to a healthy 2009.
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:11 pm

I'm curious, she was only out of commission 2 months without driving? My ex's brother had a brain tumor removed and after he was physically able to drive, he had 1 seizure and they said no driving until he can go 6 months without one. It took a long time.

Really happy that things are calming down. Enjoy the new year!
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:47 pm

Come to that I'm curious as well. My wife experinced siezures as late as early college but she hadn't had any for a few months by the time we started dating (and hasn't had any since we got together)...but she had a valid D/L then? I'm sure it varies state to state tho.
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Darkmage
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:10 pm

I have been instructed by my wife to not talk about her physical condition with non-approved personnel. I'll try to convince her to come back to the thread and tell you herself, but I doubt it will work.

I'm editing the previous thread to remove most of the details now. Sorry for the hassle, but she's on the warpath about this right now.
If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:40 pm

Eeek! Sorry Darkmage! Hope SWMBO forgives you :oops: Let her know we wish her well (unless that'd get you in trouble again)
Ugly people have sex all the time. We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion humans if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
 
Darkmage
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:04 am

It's been a year, so I thought I would warm up the old necroposting skills.

I'm still fine and my lymphoma has not returned. I've been getting regular optometrist visits and every six months the radiation oncologist goes looking for stuff. Six months ago I had another PET scan which came back negative. My most recent oncologist appointment was yesterday and I still seem to be in good health. I am now on annual instead of six month visits. My vision is still 20/20 and apart from what I am told is the normal deterioration from getting to be a cranky old fart, I am back to my previous all-seeing self. 2009 was much less medically intensive than 2008, for the whole family.

In the past year, one of my coworkers had a relapse of her breast cancer, and two more of my coworkers have been diagnosed with breast cancer and colon cancer respectively. We've formed a club. :) Yet another person at my company thought she had a tumor behind her eye and I got to go talk to her about my experiences. It turns out it's not a tumor, it's a detached muscle in her eye socket or something. She doesn't get to be in the club, but we invite her along anyway.

The point is that I'm getting lots of opportunity to pay it forward for all the support I received during my personal cancer scare. See you again in another year. ;)
If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:55 am

Thanks for the update Darkmage. Great to have you around. :wink:
Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations-these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. -C.S. Lewis
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:17 am

Wow, I just read through this entire forum...very interesting. Indeed.

Secondly, congrats that you are still alive! Makes life more appreciable.

Thirdly, get your office checked for some bad chemicals or radioactive materials... Too much cancer in one place. No bueno.
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Darkmage
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:33 am

Okay, I'm a little behind schedule. :)

No return of the dastardly lymphoma, so I'm given a clean bill of health from my radiation oncologist for another year. Whee!

Alas, the news isn't all good. The eye exam has confirmed that my vision is deteriorating, partly because I'm an old fart. My vision is now about 20/50, down from its teenage high of 20/15. Annnnnnnnd the cataract has started. Right now it's a small patch of fuzziness in my vision in my right eye. It's just about right in the center, too. So far, it's only really annoying when looking at bright objects, such as small text on computer screens and projected movies. The prognosis is that it's going to get worse over the next year, to the point where most of my vision in that eye is going to get fuzzy. Worse, the cataract will scatter light, which means the headlights of oncoming cars will essentially wash out the vision in that eye.

It's easily correctable. They replace the lens with an implant and no more cataract. You can even get bifocals! I asked about telescopic, but sadly no. It takes about 15 minutes and the surgery is so routine they don't do it in a hospital, but rather an office park nearby. It's really just a hassle.

Once again, if you have to get cancer, do it my way. It sure beats some of the other ways.
If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus
 
notfred
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Sun Jan 23, 2011 9:43 am

Glad to hear about the clearance from the oncologist.

One of my colleagues had the cataract op a couple of years ago. He said they had the patients lined up outside ready to go in to the operating theatre as the surgeon was so quick. The new lens not only cleared the cataracts but fixed up the rest of his vision problems. We were writing the software for the Cisco CRS-3 20x10GE PLIM at the time so were hopeful that he could get one with a built in laser to talk to the hardware directly, but no such luck. :D
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Sun Jan 23, 2011 12:17 pm

Great to hear that you've got a clean bill of health (again)!

About a year ago I started getting lots of floaters in my right eye; according to what I read at the time that can be a sign of an impending detached retina. An eye exam revealed nothing serious amiss (just an above average number of floaters). They are more visible in bright sun, and every so often one of them will just get in the way of something small I'm trying to look at, which is annoying. There apparently aren't any good treatments for this, so I guess I will just have to live with it.
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Darkmage
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:52 pm

Lots of news, all of it good. The radiation oncologist gave me another clean bill of health last month. So it appears that we got it and it's not coming back. Yay for low-energy particle physics!

The cataract has definitely gotten worse in the past year. It's now a large blob directly in the center of my right eye. I can't read anything with that eye smaller than a "Hello my name is Bill" tag on a shirt. Everything is fuzzy and it's like looking through wet glass. The left eye is still going strong and I can definitely feel that it's doing most of the work.

My surgery to remove the cataract is next week. I discussed some of the nifty new lenses with my doctor, but the technology isn't quite there yet and if there is an issue, it's expensive and risky to fix. So we're going to play it conservative and fix my lens for distance vision. I will definitely need some corrective glass in front of the right eye for reading. I'm thinking of sporting a monocle, just to be different.

There are a lot of doctors appointments all of a sudden. The regular eye exam, the surgery certification, the pre-op consultation, the surgery itself, the post-op consultation the next day and the follow-up three weeks later. I can't come out and play, my calendar is full.
If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:16 pm

Go you! That's great (continued) news. And you'll see well enough again soon. Cataract surgery seems to be less and less of a problem as time goes on. Now is a great time to have one, as opposed to 20 years ago.
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Darkmage
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:41 pm

Surgery is over and the recovery has begun. The surgery itself was no big deal. Everyone was telling me that it would be quick and painless and they were pretty much spot on. My eye itches like something is stuck in it, but other than that I'm fine. I probably could have driven myself home from the surgery center, but the policy is no driving for 24 hours.

Oh, how I missed having clear vision! The new lens is perfectly clear and things are once again in focus for that eye. Interestingly, I have a slight difference in tint between the two eyes now. The left eye and organic lens seems to have almost a sepia tint to it, while the right eye is a bit brighter and possibly a blue tint. It's kind of like the difference between fluorescent and incandescent lighting. The doc says my right eye is humming along at 20/25 vision the day after the surgery, so I can't complain too much.

Two more appointments and I'm completely done. The follow-up in three weeks where I get to find out my corrective adjustment, and my final appointment with my radiation oncologist in December.
If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:45 pm

Congrats on the successful surgery!
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FireGryphon
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Fri Feb 17, 2012 1:06 pm

Congrats on the successful surgery, dude! That's the way to do it.
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ludi
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Fri Feb 17, 2012 1:35 pm

Darkmage wrote:
while the right eye is a bit brighter and possibly a blue tint. It's kind of like the difference between fluorescent and incandescent lighting.

A natural lens is an excellent UV filter, so it's possible the artificial lens is admitting more higher-frequency light. Did the doctor give you any special precautions about using sunglasses?
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Darkmage
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:59 pm

ludi wrote:
A natural lens is an excellent UV filter, so it's possible the artificial lens is admitting more higher-frequency light. Did the doctor give you any special precautions about using sunglasses?
Yes. I should wear sunglasses outdoors for the first week. I think that's more of a dust/particle protection than UV protection thing. Although that is an interesting question. I'll have to ask.
If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus
 
StuG
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:23 pm

Let me just say this was the first time reading this, and it was interesting to read it from start to finish in one go. Great to hear that you are doing well and it all worked out! Felt like a book sometimes, waiting to see what happened post after post. :) Once again gratz on the successful treatment.
 
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:45 pm

Good to hear!
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paulWTAMU
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:13 pm

glad it's going well...I'm confused, I guess you have an articifical eye lense, but the bulk of the eye is still, well, the natural eye?
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notfred
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Sat Feb 18, 2012 4:29 pm

Can you see UV?
 
Captain Ned
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Sat Feb 18, 2012 4:44 pm

notfred wrote:
Can you see UV?

Doesn't matter what passes the lens. If the retina can't pass UV to the optical cortex, it ain't gonna happen.

Darkmage:

Glad to read that Lenny is good and dead. May your face cage hang proudly on your wall as a symbol of triumph. One of these days my job will again require me to spend a week in Arlington (3501 Fairfax Drive, to be specific) and when it does I certainly intend to buy you a couple.
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ludi
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:13 pm

Captain Ned wrote:
notfred wrote:
Can you see UV?

Doesn't matter what passes the lens. If the retina can't pass UV to the optical cortex, it ain't gonna happen.

That's the thing -- the retina can interpret some of the UV range. It just normally doesn't because the UV range is attenuated by an unmodified lens.
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Darkmage
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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Mon Feb 20, 2012 2:17 pm

StuG wrote:
Let me just say this was the first time reading this, and it was interesting to read it from start to finish in one go. Great to hear that you are doing well and it all worked out! Felt like a book sometimes, waiting to see what happened post after post. :) Once again gratz on the successful treatment.
Heh. In that case, I'll have to go and write a wrap-up post at some point. An epilog for my long strange trip, as it were. Glad you enjoyed it. Now that I'm approaching the far end of the journey, I get less and less loquacious as the news gets less and less interesting.

notfred wrote:
Can you see UV?
Oooh, interesting. I wish I had seen that beforehand. Oh well. I have a black light at home that I use when searching for cat pee. I'll have to fire it up and see what's different between my natural lens and the new lens.

If you follow the links in the post to the website, he talks about the Crystalens product. My doc and I discussed this briefly. She is of the opinion that the technology just isn't quite there yet. In about 10% of recipients, they get severe halos around light sources. Bad enough to the point that they want the lens removed and replaced with a straight plastic lens. Since going back into the eye is more dangerous than the first surgery to replace the lens, she recommended that we just go with the boring, plain plastic lens. Since I still have one fully functioning eyeball, I didn't see the need to take the chance on a multifocal or flexible lens. We agreed that I would wait until she can install a full eyeball replacement with a telephoto option.

I also really wish I had just violated the doc's orders and driven myself to my appointment the next day and then on to work. You're supposed to wear the eye shield for the first day and the best way to keep it in place is with an eye patch. (Incidentally, don't buy your eye patch from Amazon. The one at CVS is slightly more comfortable). So for a day I got to walk around with a legitimate eye patch. I note three things about eye patches:
  1. Everyone stares at you. If you are an attention slut such as myself, this is kind of cool.
  2. Despite everyone staring at you, nobody is curious enough to actually ask you about why you're walking around with an eye patch.
  3. You will attempt to talk like a pirate. I made it about three sentences before I started annoying myself and that was the end of that.
If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus

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