As mentioned in an earlier post, based on Tom’s family history and his age of 70, he felt it was time to have a screening for Aortic Aneurysm, resulting in several deaths, treatments, and surgeries for several of the men in his family. Also, he needs a chest x-ray since he coughs more than he should.
Doc Theo arranged for these tests for him at Mediclinic, where I had open heart surgery in 2019. I offered to go with him, but he insisted he was happy to make the drive on his own when he knows I don’t like that long drive through the gorge and don’t necessarily feel enthused to relive the memories of being in that hospital for four surgeries. I didn’t press the issue.
Obviously, if something were wrong, I’d go with him. But, he has no symptoms of heart or artery disease. This test is for preventive care and caution only. He should be done in a short period, other than the waiting time, which can be for hours at the busy hospital. His appointment is on Tuesday at 11:00 am, and he’ll leave around 9:00 am, hopefully returning mid-afternoon.
Tom takes no medication and has no known medical conditions. Theo said it was time for him to get checked out, and he ordered a plethora of blood tests and scheduled not only the two tests at Mediclinic but also next Friday, at Theo’s office, he’ll have him do a cardiac stress test on the treadmill, all of which is set up in his office.
Then, it was my turn, and of course, the big topic of conversation was the long-term Covid triggered headaches, itchy eyes, runny nose, and overall itching. He put me on a 10-day regime of Prednisone, tapering off gradually over this period, and prescribed three other allergy medications to help me get through this challenging period.
We then headed to the Komati pharmacy, where I got the prescription filled and then grocery-shopped for everything on my list. I was prescribed six-five mg. tablets as soon as we got home. By then, it was 1:30 pm, and within three hours, my eyes stopped itching and burning, my nose stopped running, and the pain in my left forehead was almost completely gone.
I took the remaining meds as prescribed, and today, I feel much better. There’s still a little discomfort on the left side of my head but nowhere near as much as I had a few days ago. The pharmacist told me many people have been suffering from severe allergy symptoms over the past many months. Mine started with Covid and continued with the massive amount of allergens in the bush.
This issue has come and gone, as I described many times in past posts. There were times I thought it was gone and wrote about it here. Alas, a week later, the symptoms were back. But that’s how allergies are…they come and go when exposure to allergens changes with weather and circumstances.
Doc Theo explained that the more accurate and comprehensive treadmill street test would be a better assessment of how my heart and arteries are doing, so I am scheduled with Tom for next Friday morning. We’ll have the stress test results right away, along with the results of Tom’s blood tests, and we are praying all is well for us to continue. It will give us both peace of mind.
Of course, we’ll report the results here next Saturday, and hopefully, no further testing is required. As “they” say, “it’s hell to get old,” and such testing becomes necessary as we age, whether we have health conditions or not.
After returning from Komati, we put the groceries away, and both of us took a nap. It’s a rarity for me to nap, but after being awake sneezing the last night, the rest was refreshing before we got ready to go to Jabula for sundowners and dinner. As usual, we had a very fun evening and are returning with Louise and Danie tonight for another great evening.
On Sunday afternoon, we’re going to another party at a house overlooking the Crocodile River hosted by local friends, where we bring our meat to cook on the braai with sides prepared by the hosts. Since we don’t eat most South African side dishes since they rarely are low carb (Tom is back to healthy eating with me now that he wiped out the disgusting jelly candies he brought back from the US).
This morning we made a keto chicken salad which we’ll eat instead of bringing meat for the braai, which makes the party more relaxing for us when we don’t have to wait for a turn on the braai or watch some type of meat cooking. I like steak rare; it is often difficult to cook correctly when sharing a grill with multiple conversations occurring nearby. Invariably, when we’ve brought steaks to such events, they end up overcooked.
Tomorrow morning, I will make coleslaw and place them in two individual containers along with the two containers of chicken salad, which will also serve as plates. We’ll bring a few forks, napkins, and our beverage with glasses and ice. Easy peasy.
If we’re hungry later in the evening, after returning to the house, we can also have leftover chicken salad and coleslaw so we won’t have to cook. Many of these early afternoon parties end by 6:00 pm, 1800 hrs. when everyone goes home to continue their evening plans. We don’t mind these early parties.
As for today, we’ve had a busy morning feeding the wildlife, prepping food, and doing a few loads of laundry. Norman and Big Daddy have stopped by several times, and of course, after chopping vegetables, Norman had a nice bowl of “Norman’s Lunch,” including a few bananas and apples tossed in. He enjoyed every bite. When we got up this morning, he was the first visitor of the day waiting in the garden, as often is the case. We never tire of seeing him, Nina, and the baby.
We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Have a fantastic weekend.
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, March 25, 2022:
Hey Jess, after reading about your challenges after covid, I’m wondering if, in your long covid research, you’ve come across MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome)? Not knowing your medical history, other than what you’ve shared here, I’m wondering if it might have been something you’ve had for awhile and it’s been aggravated by covid? Many with LC and no previous allergies, end up with it as researchers believe it’s related to the cytokine storm that happens due to covid even in mild cases. One symptom is called dermatographia and you can research a simple test (it’s shown in a video online), but there are many other tests to have done also (not your standard IGE or IGG skin poke tests). Anyway, thought I’d mention it in case it might be what’s going on. I have a great protocol for testing and treatment by a top specialist if you are interested and if you research it and it seems to resonate with your symptoms, just let me know. I hope you both do well with all of your tests. Kindly, Lisa Smith-Inman
Lisa, thank you for sharing this important information. Perhaps if one of our readers sees this, it may help further their research and medical care. After reading about this condition in detail, it doesn’t apply to me. I have had allergy issues since I was a child. I believe they were exacerbated by contracting Covid but only worsened when we got back to the bush where pollen, dust, and dust mites are prevalent throughout the year. When we were in the US in November, my symptoms disappeared. Once we returned to Marloth Park, in a matter of a day or two, they all returned.
Thank you for writing, and I pray you are feeling better.
Warmest regards,
\Jess & Tom