Project Jason: Initial Impressions

When my work hours suddenly spiked and adjusted into later in the day I grew a bit concerned. Up until that point I had been heading to the gym after work before heading home, making it just in time for dinner, and then collapsing in my bed.

But with these extended hours, I'd be making it back home around 9PM each evening if I went to the gym after work. So I decided that I would start going to the gym in the morning, and then driving off to work when I was done.

Clearly, I overestimated my love of sleeping in.

ZZZZ...

Unperturbed, I simply did the obvious. I went to the gym late. And I came home late. Problem solved. The fact that my family knew that I was working late added credibility to my fatigued body as I stumbled into the house.

I've been pushing myself. If I don't feel like a bruised meatbag the next day, I know I haven't done my job right. In fact, one issue that I've been having on leg day is that my calves and soles of my feet keep cramping up. This often forces me to cut my session short. Stretching only gives me an extra 10 or so minutes, I've eaten plenty of bananas for potassium and drank milk for calcium but this doesn't seem to help much either.

Anyone with any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Oh god I can feel my leg twitching in anticipation of a cramp just by thinking about it.

But for some positive news, I have gained weight. I know, some of you may be shocked or surprised or horrified. But for someone who has stayed at the same weight (or less) for the last decade, the sudden addition of 5-10 pounds is incredible. My body is actually changing.

I've also had an improved appetite and have been eating like crazy. And because I've been recording the amount of weights lifted each session I can see a definite improvement for each day. 5 pounds here, 10 pounds there, even double what I was initially lifting.

If only my progress reflected on my physical appearance.

Maybe one day.

They say that within 6 weeks of working out, you notice the changes. In another 6 weeks, your close friends and family begin to notice, and after 6 more weeks, everyone else notices. I've been working out since the beginning of August so I can definitely say that I'm following this outline so far.

Also, an unexpected outcome of working out has been improved posture. I had a terrible tendency to slouch due to my height. But I realized that even if I had a more toned body, it was all wasted if my back was constantly curved.

So I stand and sit straighter now too. More health benefits.

Now I can't tell if my back hurts from the gym or from sitting up for the first time in years.

I'm fairly proud of myself. This is one of the few projects that I've been able to consistently dedicate myself to regardless of obstacles.

I hope I can keep it up. I'd rather not stop at a mere 10 pound weight gain.

More Medical Tests

Well, it's about time I started getting the medical tests done. I've been putting them off for way too long. It's been over two months since I've gone and seen the specialist so maybe it's about time I do something.

I would have done it sooner, but I've been busy and lazy.

My computer has a vice-like grip on me.

First on the list was the blood tests. I don't mind needles too much, except when the people sticking them in me are terrible at their jobs. I have massive veins, they have been described as "you could drive a truck through them". So if you can't get the needle in on the first try, you probably should get a new job.

This applies to the terrible nurses I had when I had surgery in the hospital, and some technician at some other clinic drawing blood for some tests.

Luckily I got someone good and after drawing 7 tubes worth of blood from me I was allowed to waddle off to the bathroom to urinate in a cup. Yep, turns out I needed a urine test too.

Yay.

An x-ray clinic was above the clinic where I got a blood test and I have some time left over so I took the elevator up to get my x-rays too. I laid down on a hard, cold metal bed which was exceptionally uncomfortable because I'm way too thin. My hip bones kept me balanced at the price of bruises.

I understood why they needed to take different photos of my lungs, but I'm not sure why they needed spinal x-rays too. Luckily it didn't take too long and I was off on my way.

But that leaves one last thing, the genetic test questionnaire. Started off good, just personal information, nothing I can't answer.

And then the questionnaire needed me to start gathering information about my family members and extended family members.

I barely know anything about my Dad's side of the family.

Some of you will wonder why this is an issue for me. How hard is it to ask your parents for some information? Any of my regular readers will recall that my parents have no idea that I've been visiting the doctors and getting these tests for over a year now.

To approach them with this genetic test questions would finally reveal all of this. And again, some of you will wonder why this is a problem. Simply put, my parents would start worrying nonstop. There's no proof that I have any of these medical issues but there's no point in having them worry unnecessarily while I wait for the results.

Also, as I've gotten older, I've begun to hate the "interrogations" that I get from my parents. They might mean well, but I they're not helpful to me or them. When I got the call from Recruiter B the other week my Mother began questioning me nonstop, asking why I would be even interested in a "marketing" job, would be as "lowly" as my other marketing job, how much did it pay, didn't I want to be a psychiatrist at one point, why didn't they contact you sooner, etc. etc..

This is exactly why I don't share details of my life with my parents anymore. If something bad happens, they won't know about it. If something good happens, they can't really bombard me or question my decisions.

You might care a lot, but the way you're showing it isn't the greatest.

So I need to find a clever way of either getting information or completely forgoing the genetic test. The chances of me having Marfan's is pretty slim already so maybe I can just ignore this.

I've also booked another appointment with a sleep clinic. I'm going to get another sleep study done sometime in July after my little trip to Vancouver. I want something more conclusive as to how bad my sleep apnea is.

Status Report

The last of my midterms are done. Round 2 is finished. I have maybe 2 papers left to do and then the term is done. Which is good, I can breathe easy for a little bit now, maybe try and relax. Work on some other things that aren't academically related for the time being.

You know, until finals rear their ugly head.

I was reading through comments and I think it was Dezzy who mentioned that I tend to have really negative and depressing posts. I really apologize for that, I assure you that writing those posts are just as painful as reading them.

And it's probably worse considering that Grumpster recently gave me a shout-out and anyone coming to my blog for the first time is just going to be overwhelmed by this mass of recent negativity from me.

Um, here's something more positive:

But yeah, I apologize again. I'd like to say everything is going fine right now, but it isn't. And I'm not about to delude myself into thinking so. That's even more unhealthy and kind of stupid.

Speaking of health, the appointment with the specialist is looming closer and closer. So it'll be time to confirm whether or not I have Marfan's. Also I'm really, really tired. Daylight saving's is still affecting me I think and the studying has not been helping.

Maybe I'll go to bed early, I'll see you guys on Friday.

Me not Healthy: Intestintal Adventures (Part 2)

Alright, it's been a while since I've talked about my health conditions. Not sure if anyone still remembers when I went and got the ultrasound and fluoroscopy but the results have been in for a while and I think it's about time I shared them.

Basically, it boils down to the picture below:

I'm serious. There is nothing wrong with my gastrointestinal track so far as the tests show. The fluoroscopy showed nothing. The ultrasound revealed microscopic kidney stones but my doctor assures me that if you search hard enough, you can find these in just about anyone.

Still, I probably should keep drinking copious amounts of water. I've heard enough horror stories of people passing these things.

I can only imagine the pain.

So, what's the cause behind my intestinal issues then? Doctor's not sure, he thinks that maybe my fibre intake isn't enough. And that's quite possible, I mean, my favorite food group is meat. So he suggests that I get some Metamucil and try that for a while.

Also, my frequent chest pains still haven't been explained. We thought it might be due to acid reflux but the antacid tablets did nothing for me. Though it could just due to stress. Who knows. None of the tests have revealed anything.

It really does feel like heartburn some days though.

But let's focus on the positives! I'm not as unhealthy as previously thought. Maybe this is just a few small things that are causing major problems with me. Though I guess it is kind of obvious that stress does all sorts of horrible things to your body.

It could also be due to lack of sleep as well I guess. I'm not going to think too deeply on that though. I'll talk about my sleep problems another day.

Me Not Healthy: The Lung Cysts (Part 1)

As some of you are aware I'm not exactly the pinnacle of good health. Some of it is my fault, I could sleep more, eat healthier and exercise more frequently so I wouldn't be such a skinny nerdy Asian. But there are some things I have no control over.

I was a happy and active child but a problem began to appear as I grew older. Occasionally I would be short of breath without pain. It didn't make much sense but I ignored it until one day it happened along with tons of pain and breathlessness.

I thought I was having a heart attack.

No one knew what was going on during these bouts. X-rays revealed pockets of air spontaneously popping up in my lungs so they shoved a tube inside me to suck it out the air and left it at that. I don't know how many of you out there have ever had a foreign object half dangling inside and out of your body but I can confirm that it's not fun or painless. After this little episode I was informed should another bubble appear I would need surgery.

For the next year or so the frequency of breathlessness increased. There were times where I'd feel anxious, suddenly fatigued or "uncomfortable". Occasionally there would be pain. Each episode was different, it can feel like heart burn, muscle fatigue/soreness, a cramp or combination of the above and many more.

Finally after enough pressure from family I went and got additional x-rays which showed nothing. So I went and got a cat scan done on the left side of my body which most of the discomfort was coming from. Turns out, I had cysts in my lungs.

And the cysts just lined the top.

See, the thing about the lung cysts was that I was probably born with them. And everytime one of them burst, the air, blood, pus, etc. would come out, press down on my lung and BAM, breathlessness. They think that a drop in barometric pressure increases the likelihood of them bursting because whenever there is a drop, there's an increase in these kinds of incidents.

The doctors gave me a choice, get surgery now and (hopefully) get rid of the problem OR leave it alone and risk having more "Oh god is it a cyst bursting or am I having a heart attack" moments.

I opted for the surgery.

Which I will share with you in my next post.

I did not look forward to it.