Eye update

It's my third try posting this entry. Blogger is so frustrating right now!

I'm actually posting from my cell phone instead of my Mac mini. So far, so good. 

I visited my opthalmologist on Friday. The good news is that I don't need to get injections. Instead, I'm in monitoring mode.

There is a chance that my blood vessel in my eye will burst again. I have been able to keep my blood pressure and stress levels down for the past three years. 

I go back in two months. I'm a bit sad that I'm going back more frequently, but like how cautious my ophthalmologist is.

I am fortunate that I have made a decent recovery and that my eyesight is practically what it used to be. I'm so thankful.

Bloodwork, fasting, food, and work

In a few hours, I go in for some bloodwork at the the lab. I am in fasting mode.

I'm not sure why I decided to spend half an hour looking at eateries where I want to have breakfast. It's not helping me right now! I'm just sitting here, salivating over my upcoming meal.

This week is odd. Yesterday, I was at the office. Today, I'm working from home. Wednesday, I'm back at the office. I work from home on Thursday and Friday.

I'm pleased that I get to take a break from my long daily commute. Next week, I'm at the office for the entire week, so my commute balances out in the long run.

Eye is doing well

On Friday, I had my eye injection. Even though I have been doing eye injections for over a couple of years, I am still not used to getting a needle in my eye.

I am thankful for each injection. I have recovered well from blood in my central vision, which was pretty scary when it happened. My ophthalmologist continues to tell me that I'm doing well. I like it.

Hong Kong breakfast - so good!

I fasted for my bloodwork. All went well. I will wait patiently for the results.

Afterwards, I was hungry and needed breakfast. I visited a Hong Kong-style eatery. For just under $7, I got macaroni with luncheon meat in soup, two fried eggs, two sausages, buttered toast, Hong Kong milk tea, and hot water.

The macaroni and luncheon meat in soup reminded me of the food my mom made growing up. I never had it for breakfast until now. It was so filling.

This breakfast special is an all-day menu item. I may need to go back and get more. I can see myself hanging around that place when I am retired.

Mac mini is happy again as I prepare for bloodwork

My Mac mini has good and bad days. Yesterday was bad. Today, my Mac mini is operational and happy.

I know that it's time to get a new Mac mini. I just don't want to shell out for one. They aren't exactly cheap. I can always use my laptop, which works fine.

I'm currently fasting for bloodwork. I had a decent salad for dinner from Chipotle. I am oddly still full from it. However, I am planning where I want to get breakfast after I'm done with my bloodwork.

My sugar levels are great and I'm glad I can touch-type!

On Friday, I went to see my family doctor for my routine three-month checkup. The last time I was there, my sugar levels were higher than normal.

I had bloodwork done on Wednesday. She shared the results with me. Everything looked great. Yay!

I shared that news with my guy. He's proud of me. Getting back on the low-carb routine does wonders.

My doctor has changed her process of note-taking in her office. She now uses a computer instead of writing notes down everywhere. She complained to me that her typing takes forever.

Touch-typing is second nature to me. I suggested that she take a touch-typing course when she has a chance. Once you learn, you're good. I'm so glad that I took this course in my final year of high school. It has served me well.

A visit to the lab - how much water should I drink?

December is a busy month as far as medical appointments go. I typically have to visit my dentist and doctor. I require blood and urine samples. On top of all these appointments, I also have an eye test.

On Tuesday, I had to visit the lab. I normally work from home after such a visit. However, I had to go into the office to make sure that my student, who was training a new contractor for the first time, was okay. She did well and I told her so. She felt good, too.

I always have a challenge when it comes to figuring out when and how much water I should consume before hitting the lab. I typically have an issue with not drinking enough water. On Tuesday, I finally got my formula down.

Roughly an hour before I visit the lab, I need to drink a bottle of water (500 mL). Half an hour before visiting the lab, I need to double that and drink a litre. I then drive to the lab, sipping on a bit of my bottled water. I get there and I am good.

I needed to have this method of madness documented somewhere as a reference.

My bloodwork is pretty straightforward. I don't look at the blood being drawn out. The nurse doing it has a gentle manner. I typically don't even feel the needle go in. We chatted. She liked my berry nail polish.

I am pretty beat, though. I am not sure if having blood drawn makes you more fatigued.

Canning delays and relaxing with Airpods

I am hoping that this post is the last one about the toxic diva for a bit. She is still going to be canned. My manager has already initiated the process. The downside is that there is a legal process within the company. As a result, she won't be gone on Monday, so there is a delay.

I can only hope that she is gone sometime next week. She worked from home on Friday. Her e-mails got me so annoyed that my manager hinted that I should watch my blood pressure. Although he has the occasional, odd lapse in judgment, his heart is generally in the right place. He stepped in and replied, putting her in place. I de-stressed by getting a cup of hot chocolate.

He had a conversation with my mini-me, in private. He basically hinted that he was going to give her a number of added responsibilities, which she welcomes. He asked her to keep it confidential until he works out all the details. In other words, he has not let her know about the diva being canned, which I expected.

He proceeded to tell her that we need to be respectful with others and be professional. He added that there have been a ton of negative comments and rumours taking place about others. He confided in me, saying that judging by the look of my mini-me, she nodded. He knew that she had been affected by such negativity recently.

It's interesting that I don't see my working relationship changing with both my mini-me and my student after the diva's negative comments. My stance still holds true. If you have worked with me and know me, you know the truth. I don't need a diva to poison their minds with false, negative perceptions about me.

Thank goodness it's the weekend. I am unwinding. 

I recently got a pair of AirPods. I don't think that I have paid so much for a pair of earbuds. However, the sound is incredible and I am enjoying not being chained to my device. The fact that they automatically connect and disconnect when you put them in their pod case is pretty cool. And, yes, I have them paired with a non-Apple device. They work well.

Coughing fit after seeing poultry blood at the supermarket

It has been an interesting learning experience when it comes to having bronchitis and how my coughing gets worse when I am mildly stressed out.

On Saturday, I felt well enough to go out and get some groceries. I haven't had much to eat for breakfast, other than cereal and English muffins. Then again, my appetite has been shot until now.

The person in front of me at the supermarket checkout had packages of chicken drumsticks. One of the packages had the plastic wrap torn wide open. I was watching the man try and put it back together. He then had chicken blood and juices on his hand, which he decided to wipe on his jeans.

I used to work in food services. It's not the proper way to handle food. I sensed a ton of food contamination happening, among other things. Considering that I am recovering from being sick, I am sensitive to spreading germs.

I spotted chicken blood that his package had started by the product scanner. Sure enough, the cashier scanned my mixed bean salad across the blood and the scanner. I had to point out that she needed to wipe the blood off her scanning area as well as my bean salad container.

She was good with my request. I was so grossed out, but thanked her. I paid for my goodies, put them in my bag, and headed over to my car.

By the time I had loaded everything in my car, including me, my coughing fit had started. A minute later, I was okay.

I am typically not that squeamish when it comes to seeing poultry blood. However, I am not my normal self, so it was an observation that I found intriguing when I am sick.

My vision is getting better

I am glad that the weekend is here. I am beat.

On Friday, I had my ophthalmologist appointment. I have good news.

A month ago, I went to my first ophthalmologist appointment. One of the tests consisted of wearing my glasses, covering my left eye, and trying to read the eye chart with my right eye. My right eye is the one that has blood blocking my central vision. I could only read the largest font presented to me. Everything else was blurry.

A week ago, I went out for a drink and appetizers with my manager after work. I recall looking at the TV over his head. Everything looked clearer. I covered my left eye and remarked that it did.

Switching back to my appointment on Friday, I read the eye chart with only my right eye. I was able to read up to the sixth row before things looked fuzzy.

My eye is getting better. My ophthalmologist is pleased. I got my second eye injection.

My third one will be a bit later than what we had wanted, simply because I am going on vacation and so is he. He says that it's okay to get my next injection in over a month. Getting the injection before I leave may be risky.

For nearly a month, I have been venting about my insurance company and my experience dealing with various folks there. Today, I got confirmation from the receptionist at the eye office that she, too, dislikes dealing with my insurance company. We both ended up venting. We both felt good that we were on the same page.

We both agree that it is best to go with my ophthalmologist's pharmacy to get the drug that I need injected in my eye. However, my insurance company insists on using its own, regardless of what I want when I was asked. My say meant nothing, so why did my insurance company pose the question to me? We both find that the process makes you do way too much work and gets you frustrated.

It was nice that it wasn't just me feeling this way. The reception has to fill out multiple forms every time I need an injection.

I am thankful that my vision is improving. Despite getting incredibly stressed out dealing with my insurance company, this stress hasn't stopped my vision from getting better. Let's hope that this progress continues.

New hires, training, and my eye

It has been a busy workweek, which isn't surprising considering how crazy my workload can get. However, there are quite a number of exciting changes.

First, my longest-serving student is training two new students and a new technical writer this week. It is odd that I am not fully doing the training. My student doesn't know all her stuff, so I need to fill in the knowledge gaps. As a result, I still need to be a part of the training sessions.

I always find meeting new hires to be exciting. I get to know them and understand how they learn. We haven't scared them, which is great. They are also good at asking questions. So far, so good.

My manager has odd expectations that my student will train and I will provide support, meaning that I don't have to do much. However, we both know that his assumption is false. He is pretty worried that I will be away for more than two weeks. It is new territory for both of us.

My guy and I talked the other day about my being away. He says that my manager should be worried. He is dependent on me. I have hinted that he is far too dependent, particularly being his go-to person for team expenses. My being on vacation for a longer period shows my point to be the case.

Today, I have my second eye injection for my eye stroke. I find that I am seeing a bit better. However, I can't tell if the drug injection is working, time is helping to clear up some of the blood in my central vision, or my eyes are simply adjusting to my eye's current state. I can only hope that my vision improves as much as possible.

The good news is that I no longer get dizzy when I look at objects. When it first happened, looking around made me so dizzy that I would have to either close my eyes or look down. The latter works because I don't see the blood and my vision is clearer that way.

I am working from home afterward my appointment. It simply means that I am on a conference call, listening in on my student training and following her presentation, and my taking over when there are gaps.

There are plenty of gaps. It's not unexpected. I am more a part-time trainer this week.

My student is doing a pretty good job for her first attempt. It simply means that there is room for improvement as she acquires more experience.

U is for under control #AtoZchallenge

I am on the quest to lower my blood pressure, reduce my stress, and eat better. It helps that I have supportive people around me.

On Tuesday, my free blood pressure monitor arrived. It is fancy. It even detects arrhythmia. The device is recommended by Hypertension Canada.

As crazy as it may seem, I enjoy taking my blood pressure. I relax and do the reading twice. So far, my blood pressure has been under control.

Trying to reduce stress is challenging. My stress is definitely work-related. I tend to put my instant messaging program in do-not-disturb mode these days. That way, folks can only contact me through e-mail. For my manager, he knows that I am online being in this status. If I could, I would log off completely. I have found that I am happier and definitely not as stressed when I take this approach.

I find that I feel obligated to respond to folks when they send me an instant message. I also get worked up when I am focused on something and I get inundated which such messages. They are a distraction. I get annoyed when folks send me an e-mail to ask me something, I respond, and then the person has the need to talk further on our instant messaging program. Ugh!

My guy is supportive. He keeps telling me that work is not important and to take it easy. I find that cuddling with him reduces my stress. Well, being with him always does.

My manager has been equally as supportive. The other day, he sent me a green drink blender recipe. Blending a green apple, celery stalks, green pepper, spinach, and cucumber helped his brother lower his blood pressure. After work on Friday, I went to the grocery store to prepare. I will give it a whirl (literally) using my fancy blender tomorrow. Here's to healthy green drinks!

Q is for questions and questioning #AtoZchallenge

It has been an interesting Monday. I'm beat, but I'm still going.

At work, I get a bunch of questions fired at me from various folks. My co-op students take some coaxing, though. I have to ask them whether they have any questions for me. They seem more comfortable asking me through e-mail. It's a different generation, I suppose.

Tomorrow, I am attempting to get my tourist visa for China. I have spent some time filling out forms. There are a few questions that confuse me, so I'll need to ask someone about them. Ah, the joys of figuring out what people truly mean.

On Monday, I also spent some time creating documentation builds with my students. I like how everything we did worked and made logical sense. The problem was working with the software build person. She wanted the old documentation build, to be safe. Luckily, I am the type who plans everything. I had archived the old version. For me to quickly recreate the old documentation build was straightforward.

I am working from home tomorrow, which allows me to visit the Chinese consulate and relax. I do tense up more at work these days.

I am waiting for a free, new blood pressure monitor to arrive at my doorstep. It's one of the benefits of being on blood pressure medication, being the optimist. Still, I'd like to see how my blood pressure is doing these days.

O is for odd customer service #AtoZchallenge

I am going to use customer service loosely as a term in this post.

On Friday, as I was driving home from work, I received a phone call on my cell phone. I picked up. I have bluetooth in my car, so the call went to my speakerphone.

This woman said that she was calling from an eye program. This program is a part of the drug used for my eye injection. The first injection is covered by this program.

I asked what the nature of the call was. She repeated herself by saying that I had my appointment on April 7th and that the injection was paid for by this program. Okay, I got that information the first time. It was obvious that she was reading from a script. I asked her specifically what she needed from me.

She said that she needed to ask me some questions. I asked her how long would they take. She said ten minutes. I told her that I needed to pull over and park. I was also starting to get annoyed with her constantly repeating April 7th (she is now at the fifth mention of my appointment date) and talking over me.

I was parked. I was getting so annoyed. I asked her point blank what information she needed from me. Clearly, my ophthalmologist gave her details about my date of birth. She was asking for my drug plan information. I fired back by asking whether she had it, as my ophthalmologist would have forwarded all information to her. She first disputed my claim, but then backtracked.

She then decided to call my insurance company and patch me in. I knew exactly what she was up to. She wasn't upfront with me.

I know that in Ontario (I don't know if it is Canada-wide), medical folks who need to know what coverage patients have on their medical insurance for whatever category cannot get this information directly from the insurance company. Patients need to either call and relay the information to the medical folks who need to know, or in my case, this woman decided to have me on the line, which would allow her to get the information that she needed by calling my insurance company.

She didn't get my consent. She just called. My drug plan covers 90% of the cost of all injections. I could have told her that.

We disconnected with the woman from my insurance company. This woman proceeded to explain that, should I get approved, this program would cover the remaining 10% of the cost, provided that the 10% does not go over $500 for each injection.

I basically let her have it. I gave her this feedback:

• Right off the bat, you should let me know that this program would pick up the cost of my injections, depending on my drug plan and my eligibility in this program that is sponsored by the drug used for my injections.
• You should point out that you need to know whether my drug plan would cover this drug. You should ask whether it is okay for both of us to call my insurance company to figure out what percentage is covered.
• You should then let me know that a decision needs to be made as to whether the remaining 10% will be covered by the program. That decision should take another week or two.
• When you call me, you do not need to repeat April 7th a grand total of seven times during the call. I am fully aware that I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist on Friday, April 7, 2017. I do not need it repeated seven times. Once is good enough, especially when this call is being recorded. Repeating this date so many times does not add value to our conversation. Perhaps your demographic is geared towards older folks, but it is patronizing and is not helping me relax when you won't tell me what information you need from me or exactly why you are contacting me right off the bat.

I flat out told her that I am going through enough stress that I don't need some woman to beat around the bush. Get to the point, so that I can get on with my life and you can get the information you need to continue processing my coverage.

This call, which would have taken ten minutes, ended up being 25 minutes. I vented. I told her that no patient should deal with such customer service. I am going through enough. I don't need added frustration from a woman who is reading from a script. 

I even told her to stop talking over me. This call is being recorded? Good. Let's hope that someone is monitoring it and she actually does indeed provide my feedback to her supervisor. I have worked in a call centre in my past. Often, it falls by the wayside.

She assured me that she would forward my feedback to her supervisor and apologized again. Well, thanks for delaying my drive home, making my blood pressure boil, and wasting so much time when all of this aggravation could have been avoided.

Frankly, I am at this stage where I don't care much about the 10% cost. Being stressed out isn't worth this company paying for it. I am perfectly fine with not dealing with the stress and paying for the 10%. I should be covered, but we'll see what would cause me not to be accepted in this program. My tearing a strip off her? If that happens, I'll be back again to file more grievances, even though I should focus on my health and not dealing with annoying small potatoes like this woman.

My favourite line was this woman repeating her name at the end. I told her that I already got it when she first introduced herself on the phone and when she did the same to the woman at my insurance company. Frankly, I want to forget your first name. I don't want to deal with you after this ordeal. Let's hope that I do not need to call and speak to you again. Ever.

I stands for injections #AtoZchallenge

My blog post's title sound eerie and perhaps negative, but I don't feel this way. It's all good.

On Friday, I went to see my ophthalmologist. The clinic looks like a place where you would go select your frames for a spiffy pair of eyeglasses. It's in a fairly modern, new building. I actually had to ask if I had the correct unit number, for it wasn't displayed at the front.

The receptionist wasn't exactly the most friendly person to deal with. Everything coming out of her mouth felt like a rapid interrogation:

• May I help you?
• Can I get your health card?
• Can you confirm your birthdate?
• What's your family doctor's name? Do you know her first name? Address?

After she had all the answers that she needed, I sat in the waiting area. There must have been thirty people sitting there at 10:00 am. Naturally, you can't get too comfortable.

Moments later, you hear one technician call out your name. The problem is that you don't know which room the woman is in. For some reason, she chooses to sit in the room and yell out names. So, I followed the voice and had some scans done on both eyes.

I went back into the waiting room. Another technician yelled out my name. This time, if felt like a maze. I had to ask where she was. I followed her voice again. It's an odd setup.

I had more vision tests done. My eyes were dilated. I am getting used to this procedure where everything close up ends up being fuzzy.

During my second hour there, I got to meet my ophthalmologist. He has a calm tone to his voice. I felt reassured and in good hands.

He took a look at my eyes. He confirmed what my optometrist has concluded the other week. This time, I got a better diagnosis and a thorough explanation. I had a stroke in my right eye, which caused a vessel to explode. The blood is blocking my central vision. It explains why some of my vision is blurred.

He recommended injecting a drug in my eye, which will provide oxygen and nutrients. The idea is to break the blood clot and see how much of my vision can be restored. The uncertainty doesn't shock me. My mom had a serious stroke that has left her right side of her body rather weak. However, she has made good progress under the circumstances.

I realize that making a full recovery is difficult. However, if I can get most of my vision back in my right eye, I'll be happy. 

So, I have six injections with this drug. I had the first one on Friday. I am thankful that I have a decent drug plan. Otherwise, I would have to pay $2000 for all six injections out of my own pocket.

I go monthly for each injection. We'll see how things go.

My manager pinged me on our instant messaging application a few hours after my appointment. He told me of some news that made me happy. I will save that for a future blog post.

He asked me about my appointment, so I told him. He told me never to get injections in my eye. My mood changed. I could feel some stress moving in.

My ophthalmologist advised that injections are safe. I risk infection, but the odds are slim. As long as I don't rub my right eye or have water seep into it during the first 24 hours, I'm good. I did get a bottle of sterile artificial tears, which made a world of difference.

In my case, using drops containing medicine in my eye won't get down to the blood clot. My manager is a worry wart. He has an eye condition and is adamant to not have anyone pry into his eye. In his case, he has a pupil that will not close. He simply puts prescription eye drops in his affected eye.

I frankly think that our eye problems aren't similar. He wants a face-to-face discussion about my eye situation. I really don't.

I changed the topic and said that I need my workload reduced. He tried to be jokey, but it turned out worse. He first suggested to get Portuguese egg tarts, which I love. However, he wasn't willing to buy any. Instead, he suggested that I do and that he would eat them. Again, I didn't find it funny.

I basically told him that our instant messaging tool causes me stress. I get distracted when folks want information from me immediately. I told him for a long time that I have been thinking about not logging on to it. My mentioning it on Friday wasn't a first. 

I told him that his remark about never having injections doesn't make me feel good, as I have already had one. He apologized. I also said that I was logging off the instant messaging application. We were done.

I have no regrets. My health is more important than hearing nonsense that was making my blood boil. Again, I need to reduce my stress and this online conversation did not help.

My ophthalmologist has asked that I see my family doctor. So, I have an appointment on Tuesday. I need to talk to her about whether I need to be on high blood pressure medication or if there are techniques that I can employ to destress. 

I am trying meditation. I exercise daily. I need something else.

My vision

Late last week, I developed a headache at work. I told my guy about it. He told me to take it easy. We both felt that it was due to work.

Last Friday, I went out for lunch with my two students and my manager. I didn't like the food at the restaurant that we had chosen. We asked for separate bills. My manager asked me to read his bill. The print was faint. I couldn't read it. It was dark at the restaurant, too. It was a sign.

On the weekend, I noticed that my right eye's vision seemed fuzzy. I thought that perhaps my astigmatism had become worse. However, my vision has never experienced such a drastic change. It was different. Things looked wavy, such as signs, depending on the angle at which I was looking. Other times, things looked okay.

Monday made me decide to get my eyesight checked out. We had a manager come visit us. His head was alongside the person who was sitting in front of me. I got dizzy looking at both of them. It is unlike me to feel that way. I decided to get an appointment with my eye doctor first thing on Tuesday morning.

I took a sick day on Tuesday and headed to my appointment. After doing a series of tests, including a fancy retina exam, it was found that I have bleeding in my right eye that is affecting some of my central vision. This bleeding explains why my vision seems wavy.

She said that this vessel bleeding is either due to diabetes or high blood pressure. She was leaning towards the latter. I had visited my doctor two weeks ago. My blood pressure was normal.

My eye doctor then asked me whether I was going through some stress. For a while, I didn't think that I was. However, when I think it through, I have inherited another person's workload. My workload was already pretty loaded. I am essentially doing the workload of nearly three people.

My body is saying that I can't handle the stress.

She has set up an appointment for me to see an opthalmologist, which is slated for the following Friday. In the meantime, my eye pressure is fine and she doesn't deem my situation to be an emergency.

I wrote an e-mail to my manager, indicating that I'd need a private conversation with him about my health situation and my workload. I get to discuss that later on today. I do not want my entire team to know my medical condition at this stage, especially when I don't know much until I get more answers.

I will be stating that I need to reduce my workload and pace. I will pass tasks off to my two students. My health is non-negotiable. Without my health, there is no me.

I updated my guy on the situation. He is still hoping that all will be okay, but he is concerned, as am I. He is sweet and told me that he wished that he could hold me.

Even far away, it's nice to feel his love.

In the meantime, lying down has helped me out. I find that I get dizzy if I am looking at my computer for a long period. It's not bad blogging, as it's brief. It's worse when I am working for a full day.

Costco and real Coke

My guy loves shopping at Costco. He called me tonight while walking on a treadmill at the gym.

"The new Costco is fifteen minutes away from my place if I walk there," he explained. "It opens in early November."
"That's great. You might as well live there. You can set up your bed with a new mattress and call it home," I replied.
"Shopping makes me happy," he admitted.
"I know. You get high on saving money," I said factually.

He loves talking to me while working out. He shared the results of his blood test. He knows that I have plenty of supportive suggestions to offer, as I have been there.

He is on a mission to reduce his sugar. His medication that he is on for depression spikes his sugar levels. He is doing well and has lost some weight.

We had a discussion about Diet Coke recently. When we first started dating, he told me that he'd take me to a movie and buy me real Coke instead of a generic cola.

"You can tell when a guy is really into you when he buys you real Diet Coke," he hinted.
"That's true. You are into me in more than one way," I said.

We both chuckled. So true.