A quick personal update for you
Health problems have kept me away from writing more content for you
Good evening again my friends,
I just published the “Summer Substack” article, but I thought I would post a personal update for you as well. I must apologize for the lack of content recently. I have been meaning to write but have been distracted by some health-related issues.
First, I went to the doctor after years of not doing so, as I hadn’t had medical coverage until I got on Medicaid. Thank you, Lyndon Johnson, you were a shit in some ways, but Medicaid was a great achievement that has helped many poor people.
I had a back x-ray and found that I have arthritis in my lower back. This was not a surprise, as my lower back has been problematic since I turned 40, and now I am 55, and it’s turned into full-blown arthritis.
Most days I am functional with it, but when my back goes out completely, I must hobble around with a cane. Yes, a cane. When it is really bad, it is impossible for me to straighten up and walk or to get out of a chair without using the cane to pull myself up. I imagine it is quite a comical thing to see an undead hobbling around with a cane. 😂
Thankfully, it does not get that bad most days. When it does, I must rest it and take Motrin. It is impossible for me to do any sort of significant physical activity as it is too painful. Even rolling over in bed is extremely painful. I think it must be some sort of disc slippage or something.
My doctor thinks some sort of physical therapy will help me, but I have not connected with him to talk about it yet. I will do so as soon as my other test results are available. It seems I must do some sort of back exercises or core exercises or something like that.
I had blood tests and am still waiting for cholesterol results. Most of the blood tests seem fine, except for something called BUN. Before I got my recent blood tests, I had never heard of this before. But mine is apparently high, and it involves something to do with the kidneys or liver. My doctor has not yet commented on it, as I think he is waiting for the rest of the blood test results.
Anyway, if you have experience with BUN, please share your thoughts in the comments below. I’m interested in knowing how significant it is and what you did to deal with it. It is something entirely new to me. I expect I will have to change my diet or something.
I used to exercise more in the past, but it has been hard on my back. When it is painful, I do not wish to do much exercise. Plus, I am still doing deliveries, and when I am done, my back has already been stressed out enough that I don’t wish to add to it by engaging in physical exercise.
Beyond all of this, I seem to have picked up some sort of stomach bug. I wonder if I got it from going to the hospital for my tests? I didn’t seem to have it before, but I have felt under the weather for the last few days and feel very tired and rather flushed at the moment. Is there a stomach bug going around? 🤔
I did a morning delivery run today, and when I got back, I had breakfast and then spent some intense, quality time in the bathroom. Thankfully, the consequences of the stomach bug did not manifest while I was out delivering, but they sure did when I got home. Ugh, a most unpleasant situation that could have been much worse had it happened while I was out driving around. 😳
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know why content has been sparse lately. I am, I admit, somewhat worried about the BUN thing. It could indicate bad things, but I will not understand it until my doctor comments on all the blood test results.
As far as my back goes, I guess it is something that I must live with, as I am not getting any younger. But it’s a clear signal to me to drop some weight, as I have put on about ten pounds I do not need.
I will try to get back to writing soon. I wanted to comment on the Hezbollah pager thing, as I found the entire affair astonishing and a harbinger of bad things to come for mobile tech. I will see what I can do to collect my thoughts soon, hopefully before the story ages much more.
Somebody did a song for Donald Trump that I liked, and it’s gone right up the iTunes charts. So here is the video for it, in case you haven’t seen it.
I hope you are all well and healthy. May Christ bless and protect you. 🙏🏻
Morgthorak the Undead
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BUN stands for blood urea nitrogen. It's a function of how much waste your urine removes from your bloodstream. The kidneys filter all the liquid trash, usually depleted red blood cells, and refresh the red blood, and this passes from your body via urine. High BUN is a sign that you might get kidney stones and have renal failure.
Good news, BUN can be lowered by drinking plenty of H2O and a lot less sodas.
Hey sir,
Sorry to hear this. I think one thing that will help immensely is drinking about a gallon of water per day.
When I was 16, I was my heaviest; scale clocked in at about 290 lbs for me. I spent 13 months going from 290 to about 185 or so because I grew tired and frustrated with both myself and not being able to find clothes.
For the first six months of weight loss, I was too big to do any running, while also being flat-footed. Double-kick drumming was my cardio substitute (I love metal 🤘), in addition to mainly bodyweight workouts.
I really hope that this served as some positive encouragement and maybe spurred some ideas for some workouts. You don’t need weights! Body weight can do a lot.