Thursday, February 14, 2013

A New Lifestyle Begins

Tomorrow morning I will be discharged from the Yuma Regional Medical Center.  All my blood readings and my blood pressure/heart rate are back to normal operating ranges thanks to the miracle of modern pharmaceuticals.  I now have a Medical Team in Yuma that will manage my med’s on a regular basis to ensure my blood consistency stays at a desired level.  This includes a primary care physician, a blood lab and a Cardiologist.

I am assured that I do not have to leave our chosen RV travel lifestyle.  Communications today allow for all the adjustments to my meds to happen long distance.  The cardiologist said that an active RV lifestyle is preferable to sitting at home in a recliner watching television.

The biggest adjustment for me will be in my diet.  Most of the food and beverages that I love will be distant memories.  Alcohol will be limited to one glass of wine a day max (gosh I will miss my Smirnoff).  No pork, period.  I love bacon like life itself, so I guess I will have to adapt my taste to turkey bacon.  No butter, period.  Margarine is in my future.   Red meat consumption was negotiated with my cardiologist down to one 8 ounce steak a month.   No fried foods; French fries are history.  Poultry consumption is all ok except for the skin (I loved crispy chicken skin on thighs and drumsticks).  No sausage products.  Seafood is all ok, but not battered and fried.  Most interesting to me was green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach, etc.) are forbidden.  They contain vitamin K which raises havoc with the blood thinner Coumadin.  Fortunately, this is one food group I did not like, so I am fine with that restriction.

Our daughter, Michelle, drove down from LA today to spend some time with us over a long weekend.  It is good to have her here.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.

8 comments:

owensontheroad said...

Glad you are able to continue with your RV life, even though it means not having fun food anymore ;) Glad you are feeling better anyway.

Donna K said...

Bet you are glad to get out of that hospital. Glad you are doing better and have a good medical team to take care of you.

DNPC said...

Brenda and I are happy for you, and although the change in diet will be tough, it's a small price to pay to continue to live the RV lifestyle. We've made a lot of changes to our diet also; the web is an amazing source for innovative and healthy recipes, so don't despair!

Jim and Judy said...

That trip to the walk in clinic probably contributed to saving your life! I have RV friends that wait until they can hardly continue before they will go and seek medical care. Sorry your new diet sux bit it is better than the alternative. Have you thought about going vegan? Neither have I! I know it is a matter of time until I am placed on a similar diet. The good news is you are able to stay on the road.

Merikay said...

Changes as big as these will be a challenge. But then so are many things. I think if you try to spend as much energy looking for new foods to enjoy as thinking about what you are giving up, you will soon find many new favorites.

I'm sure you will see a big improvement with a new way of eating and living.

For me giving up wine was the hardest
.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Jim is home again!
Their daughter Michelle is there and they are moving on with life.

Hitchitch said...

See my blog www.fulltime.hitchitch.com with my adventure with A-Fib and A-fultter. You do not need to take Coumadim with all the blood tests.... Xarelto is a new drug for blood thinner and you do not need continuing tests for at all. It just came out in Aug 2012. Google it.
I pay co Pay $75 for 90 days of it.
I just spent last week in Tucson Medical Center for A-Fib and A-Flutter... They did a Catheter Ablation. First read my blog and if you have questions email me and I will give you my cell number. We should talk.

Hitchitch said...

Jim PLEASE read both these blog posts.
http://www.fulltime.hitchitch.com/jan2013-1.html
AND
http://www.fulltime.hitchitch.com/feb2013-1.html

What I have been through should be very helpful to you.