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Husband had a painful leg 4 months ago and he had to insist to his doctor to schedule MRI to check on what was what. His doctor said it took work to get insurance to agree but MRI showed DVT there so husband was right to push. He and I have good supplement plan to Medicare, don't know why he needed to insist on this test. He's now got pain in other calf and will be talking to same doc Tuesday to get another MRI. Husband is not sedentary at all, does floor Pilates 1X week and table tennis 3x week and generally active. Clots happen. Husband is great weight, eats healthy, DNA counts for a lot.
Rather than wait for an MRI to get approved, your husband can ask for a Compression ultrasound with Doppler, which is actually the test recommended by guidelines for diagnosing a DVT. They may also want to do a D-Dimer test (blood test), but the ultrasound will show the clot, if there is one. It's rare for insurance to require a prior authorization for this kind of ultrasound, and if it is a DVT, you do not want to wait for insurance to say OK to an MRI. If your husband starts having shortness of breath, get him to the ER immediately, as a DVT can "launch" (embolize) and travel to the lungs, which can be fatal.
If I get cancer, I plan on "no chemo". I will just party until the pain and weakness shuts me down. Of course, I say that now... when the time comes, I bet I will be begging the Doctor for every possible treatment under the sun.
Best laid plans of mice and men...
You might actually live longer and certainly better (and maybe even go into remission) without chemo or radiation; there's evidence to suggest this, although for obvious reasons such talk is discouraged. Those "treatments" (not to mention bone marrow transplants) actually kill a lot of people prematurely and make their remaining time considerably more miserable than it might otherwise be without them and their side effects. My plan would be to start traveling and not stop until I dropped, staying in one hotel room after another as long as the money and morphine holds out. I would HOPE I wouldn't be one of those trying desperately to live just one more day regardless of quality of life although, as you say, one never knows for sure what one will do until the time comes.
Rather than wait for an MRI to get approved, your husband can ask for a Compression ultrasound with Doppler, which is actually the test recommended by guidelines for diagnosing a DVT. They may also want to do a D-Dimer test (blood test), but the ultrasound will show the clot, if there is one. It's rare for insurance to require a prior authorization for this kind of ultrasound, and if it is a DVT, you do not want to wait for insurance to say OK to an MRI. If your husband starts having shortness of breath, get him to the ER immediately, as a DVT can "launch" (embolize) and travel to the lungs, which can be fatal.
LoriNJ
Thanks for your suggestion, I'll print this to give to husband. He's having Zoom appt with his doc on Mon or Tues. Why wouldn't his doctor know to schedule the compression ultrasound? He may need a new doctor. My doc retired this year and I see her partner now.
We’re Retired and Healthy. But How Do We Plan for Our Decline?
An accident on vacation was an unpleasant reminder that retirement won’t always be like this
The first year in retirement is often the most difficult. But it also can set the stage for how you’ll fill the years ahead—both financially and psychologically. Stephen Kreider Yoder, 65, a longtime Wall Street Journal editor, joined his wife, Karen Kreider Yoder, 66, in retirement last year. In this monthly Retirement Rookies column, they chronicle some of the issues they are dealing with early in retirement.
The article begins,
It goes on
Food for thought.
We are in early 70s and in decent health—
My husband wanted to camp during CoVid vs stay at a motel on our trip to/from FL where we had 2nd home.
Stopped at state park in southern AL north of I-10.
I tripped stepping out of the tent after a horrible night. The tent was on slanted ground because campgrounds now cater to RVs so the level spot was concrete and we couldn’t drive tent pegs. That meant I was already off balance to start with.
I fell forward, put out my right hand (was trying to carry something in my left) and dislocated my shoulder.
Thankfully I was able to roll over and raise my arm over my head and use my left hand to get it back in socket.
Sounds so easy but didn’t seem so at the time.
We were in southern Alabama—there was no hospital within a 100 mi and no hospital I would go to much further.
My husband had to pack up the campsite, take care of a new puppy we had just gotten, and drive to our home in DFW with me in the back seat putting ice from the cooler on my shoulder.
That was not an experience I would recommend to anyone
Needless to say we haven’t camped since
I have friend couple of years older than me who has had a real problem with tripping/falling. She did it two or three times in the past 18 mo or so and finally did a rehab course in learning how to walk safer.
Several reasons why she was doing it—but hope she has leaned how to avoid it now…
I am actually pondering trying to practice my falls.
Putting your arms out to catch your fall is a sure prescription for jamming your wrists or worse.
I have found that falling on my side and hitting shoulder first is the best way to fall. I am thinking maybe I can practicing from the stop step of a swimming pool or maybe putting down a couple of mattresses, to see if I can kind of get myself to turn sideways if I am falling forwards or backwards.
Probably a fool's errand but I have a lot of time on my hands...
Falling backwards sucks. You have no control.
3 years ago I took a full face plant. I was walking in snow and ice. I stopped to check my cell phone, so my head was face down with my arms tucked in. I guess I took a small step onto ice. I fell in an instant. So fast, I couldn't register it. I woke up and apparently my forehead hit smack into the icy frozen dirt, which knocked me out briefly, and sent my glasses flying.
There is no practicing that fall. It was immediate. I guess most are. It doesn't help that my reaction time is much slower than when I was young.
So I may practice falls just for grins and "why not", but really, avoidance is your best plan. It always gets you when you least expect it. Distracted. Rushed. Falling down drunk.
But drunks never get hurt!
Maybe physical therapy instead. They will show you some isometric exercises. Or, something. Your plan sounds ill advised -- LOL.
My older brother is 80, has Parkinson's and falls now and then. Amazingly, whenever he feels a fall coming on, he does a shoulder roll and pops right back up.
We’re Retired and Healthy. But How Do We Plan for Our Decline?
An accident on vacation was an unpleasant reminder that retirement won’t always be like this
The first year in retirement is often the most difficult. But it also can set the stage for how you’ll fill the years ahead—both financially and psychologically. Stephen Kreider Yoder, 65, a longtime Wall Street Journal editor, joined his wife, Karen Kreider Yoder, 66, in retirement last year. In this monthly Retirement Rookies column, they chronicle some of the issues they are dealing with early in retirement.
The article begins,
It goes on
Food for thought.
Thanks for sharing this story. I had missed it in the WSJ.
It strikes a close nerve as I just went through it last year and am still going through it. Had a biking accident coming down from the Guardsman’s pass (a high pass near SLC/Park City) and broke my shoulder (clavicle and acromion) and wrist (and I was extremely lucky and could easily have been paralyzed for life). Even after shoulder and wrist surgery and tough physical therapy, I don’t feel 100% (probably never will) and am likely to go through another surgery to remove the hardware. Not retired yet but similar lifestyle and plans as the authors - active life and plans for (more) hiking in Nepal, Hokkaido, Iceland, Killi, and other international travel and domestic travel in our camper during the early retirement years. All this flashed through my eyes too many times. Although I have yet to get back on the bike (which needs its own x-ray before I can get back on it), I still hike a great deal and can’t imagine life without being outdoors. And, despite being careful, falls happen during hiking.
Have a fairly good balance and practice single left lifts to various directions on Bosu ball - something I can recommend.
The point of the article is well taken, and it isn’t about who pays for medical care. To me, it is more about uncertainty of life and lifestyle. As the age rises - there are some givens (decline), some that can be anticipated (rate of decline - based upon the health history), and others that are out of the blue and can rewrite the rules altogether. I don’t think one can prepare for them. One can plan resources to tackle them if needed (and the resources might not be enough to ease the burden). All one can plan for are the changes that are more predictable.
At age 78 I'm beginning to be off balance quite a bit of the time, I've tripped on the sticky soles of a pair of skechers shoes I bought, twice while walking on concrete, and once on the carpet in the living room. Face plants are becoming a thing for my aging family members, sister, (82) brother in law, (85) two other sisters both in their late seventies, some broken bones, sprains, and bloody skinned up knees. The stories always sound the same, totally unexpected tripping, slipping, or falling while getting out of a car, bus, etc.
I guess the only thing we can do is to practice our ability to stand on one leg, improves balance, get good shoes, be aware of our surroundings, and most of all, understand your weaknesses, know what frailties in aging can do to us and take caution when out and about. Moving to one level living is a great start, limiting our activities to that which matches our mobility range, but we need to keep moving, walking, stationary bike riding, also, keep going out to socialize with others. The mind begins to crumble just like the body when we lack stimulation. No one I know has been formally educated on the perils of aging but, we can still learn through the our mistakes and those of others..
This topic is very on point. I am 60 years old and at the end of 2022, I really started to have problems with my right hip to the point that we had to stop walking our dogs in the morning and I could not even bend down to feed them. My ortho suggested hip replacement. I was worried about it because my son is getting married next month and I was concerned about the recovery time. They said it was easy. I would recover quickly. I'd be dancing within a few weeks. Well that may be the case for most people but I had femoral nerve damage from the surgery that I had on St. Patrick's Day 2023. Only 1% of people get this issue. I could not walk without a walker for 3 months then moved on to a cane. I could not drive because I could not lift my right leg up. I could not go up and down steps. I was completely dependent on my husband and thank God that I have a husband because if I were alone, I don't know what I would have done. It was 5 months yesterday since my surgery and I still have a lot of nerve pain but I am now able to drive and walk again. It gave me a very clear picture of what it could be like in the future and it was not pleasant.
I absolutely know what you’ve gone through. My hubby had a recurring infection in his hip replacement for 7 years. Last year, the only solution was to remove the hip and put in a temporary cement rod. He was on a walker and IV antibiotics for 12 weeks….no weight on the hip. It was a nightmare. Now, the new hip is in and he is back to normal, except he will always be on an antibiotic.
Hang in there. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but I know it’s hard to stay optimistic sometimes.
I absolutely know what you’ve gone through. My hubby had a recurring infection in his hip replacement for 7 years. Last year, the only solution was to remove the hip and put in a temporary cement rod. He was on a walker and IV antibiotics for 12 weeks….no weight on the hip. It was a nightmare. Now, the new hip is in and he is back to normal, except he will always be on an antibiotic.
Hang in there. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but I know it’s hard to stay optimistic sometimes.
Thanks for that! I really do just want to be back to normal. Although now that I can drive again, it’s been a huge weight lifted of if me. Now I just deal with some pain but that I can deal with. Being immobile, not do much.
And wonderful that your hubby is back to his old self!
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