The Brochure on Updates: Gophers, Health Diaries, and Pet Love
I dream of an all-you-can-eat fudge buffet. Can you imagine? There would be the milk chocolate section, the dark chocolate section, the maple fudge section, the white chocolate section and then they could have the funky flavor section like boysenberry fudge or pistachio fudge.
Today I want to update everyone on some things I’ve discussed in past episodes and what happened to us yesterday. Can you believe it’s already December? The year is almost over! Time really flies.
First of all most recently, our gopher situation. We haven’t gotten very far with this. There are a lot more mounds in the yard. We did receive the humane traps I ordered but we haven’t put them out in the yard yet. Busy with other things. I did go introduce myself to the neighbors who live behind us. They are very nice. Have two kids in college, the wife told me. Now they used to have gophers several years ago, but got rid of them. They started out humanely but ended up using poisons. She cautioned me against putting the hose down the holes. She said the gophers just dig faster to block all that water. The husband gave me a great tip. Use gloves to place the food in the trap so our human smell isn’t on it. But from listening to their stories about ridding their yard of the gophers, it’s nothing short of the Caddyshack gopher-groundskeeper storyline. At one point the husband was sitting out there waiting for the gophers. He was also going through the yard with a screwdriver, plunging it into the dirt to see where holes were. It sounded like he kind of lost his mind, and then they started arguing between them in front of me about who threw out the bodies. Awkward! Again, it’s a marathon not a sprint. The only thing that gives me hope is that our dog Brownie focuses on one or two of these areas every day and she often will start digging through the soft dirt left behind. I can’t imagine that a gopher would want to be around a dog. Go Brownie, go. I keep telling her she’s a gopher hunter. I hope it takes.
Now, back in October 2022 last year, my episode, “Death Can Be a Telling Tale,” explored my feelings for Anderson Cooper’s podcast, “All There Is,” where he talks about his journey of grief over the loss of his mother Gloria Vanderbilt, his brother from suicide and his father when he was just a boy. And how he’s not getting very far going through all the belongings left behind. I can so relate. Well, he just started with Season 2 of the same podcast, realizing that he still had his own personal grief to deal with and had so much more to say and explore. I found myself listening to the first episode twice because it’s so rich. Author Francis Weller is his first guest this time. Lots of good stuff there, and I hope you’ll take a listen. One of the best ideas was this: Grief work opens the heart to compassion for others. The idea being that working through your own grief makes you a kinder and more compassionate person. It helps bring you joy, ultimately. I know, it’s counterintuitive, but just go with it.
Now I have to be totally honest with you on one subject. Back in August in my episode, “The (Funny) Brochure on Weight Gain after Knee Surgery” I told you all that I was going to take the pledge to lose weight. I truly meant to live the life again but I’m here to tell you that the struggle is real and I’ve been a failure at this round. Of course now it’s the holidays and one of the worst times of the year to try to take weight off. But in my mind, I still try to think about cutting back. There are just too many things to tempt you. The best food of the year. Eating this time of year is like an Olympic event. There are fudge making kits in the market for God’s sake, and I’m not sure I can truly make a good pan of fudge, but I dream of an all-you-can-eat fudge buffet. Can you imagine? There would be the milk chocolate section, the dark chocolate section, the maple fudge section, the white chocolate section and then they could have the funky flavor section like boysenberry fudge or pistachio fudge. I mean, whatever floats your boat! It’s FUDGE!!! I don’t really have a chance of losing weight, do I?
I was reminded of my weight this week when I had the last of the first round of tests for my…um….condition that I discussed back at the end of October in “The (Unflinching) Brochure on Navigating your Healthcare Needs.” I told you about the challenging journey that started after my knee surgery in March. The knee surgery was successful, but left me with a UTI that wouldn’t go away. I finally saw my urologist, but wasn’t satisfied with his diagnosis, if that’s what you can call it. He threw some drug samples at me and threw in the comment as he was about to walk out the door that losing some weight might help me. Well, later in May I found a urogynecologist but it took until late September to actually see her. These specialists, even in the Los Angeles area, are few and far between. At that point, she ordered three tests, one of which was me filling out a bladder diary for three days. I logged everything I drank and peed, which wasn’t very much fun. I also made notes about any urgency I felt, or god forbid, leakage. Last week I went in so they could put a small camera into my bladder. Yes, it wasn’t even as much fun as it sounds. But it was quick and it showed the inside of my bladder is in good shape. Hey, it’s something, right? They also had me jump on the scale when I got there, so I was pretty disappointed that despite sometimes not eating much during the day AND being more physically active too I’ve gained more weight. I’ve been doing a lot more work in the garden, doing a lot more cleaning and organizing here at home, and a lot more with the horse at the barn. It’s so frustrating.
Let me just say that the difference between a doctor who spends little time with you and doesn’t do any due diligence to figure out your issues versus a doctor and their team who really know their stuff, go above and beyond, and pretty much treat your issue like it’s their issue? Now that’s a good doctor. After my bladder made its Hollywood debut, I mean I have a picture and everything, the doctor sat with me and gave me a lot of information, which I was able to take in, although, yes, it was dizzying. And answered all my questions. Imagine! And now they have a plan to address my issue. The doctor told me that the overactive bladder symptoms didn’t happen overnight, and they won’t go away overnight. I was given some paperwork to retrain my bladder. Yes, bladder training. Bladder retraining. Now it’s not about taking your bladder out for a walk, but it’s about getting a regimen where you drink a limited amount of fluid at certain increments during the day, and you go to the bathroom at certain times during the day as well. You retrain your bladder. It’s like teaching an old bladder new tricks. I already am dreaming about sitting with a big bottle of Smart water, or a big glass of lemonade. I’m just thankful it’s not summertime. I already feel completely deprived. I still have some questions, like what about my kidney stones? But we’ll get to that.
Then there’s a pill. Not one of the ones my urologist threw at me. But the bad news about this option is that they cause you to have dry mouth. This is going to be more challenging than I had hoped. Not free drinking of whatever I want, including water, and dry mouth? I feel like I’m being left out in Death Valley. Okay, deep breath. I can do this, right?
And their final recommendation is to use Botox injections in my bladder. Whhhhhaaaaatttt? Yes, they would get up in there and make about 15 small Botox injections all over the inside of my bladder. In the flesh, not just loose in there. 15? I started to feel a little lightheaded. Now I can be pretty brave. No, I can’t. Who am I kidding? So I asked for the details on how they prick your bladder with a Botox needle 15 times and your fingernails aren’t bleeding because you’re gripping the table so hard! But I admit, the way they explained it makes some sense to me that it could be possible. We’ll see. They didn’t have an opening until early April. They’re busy. They’re good, they’re busy. That’s the other part of this. Patience. In the meantime I have my bladder training, it’s a regimen and I actually have a prescription for pelvic floor physical therapy. Yes, that’s a thing. The doctor said it’s more than just doing the Kegel exercises because you can actually be targeting the wrong muscles. Seriously? How many muscles are in there? Sigh. I guess there are really more ways to try to keep your body young than you might have expected!!!
I’m so grateful that I was finally able to see a urogynecologist for my issue. Finding the right specialist, and having a health plan that supports it? Priceless. I know not everyone is so lucky. So, I’m not complaining. I’m just a little nervous about the Botox injections.
And then back in July in, “The Brochure on Finding Hope Amidst a Furry Friend’s Health Crisis” episode, I shared our story about Bubbie, my beautiful tuxedo cat who is now diabetic. He also has asthma. Well, overall he’s been doing pretty well, but he started having asthma attacks recently. I’ve been trying all the things I know I can do. A humidifier, cleaning up the dust, on and on, all the while keeping up with his diet and his insulin shots. They prescribed an inhaler for him. Now, if you have a cat who is somewhat opinionated about his care and you come at him with an inhaler. I mean the insulin shots alone were slightly challenging but to put an inhaler on over his mouth and nose. I mean, give me a break. Anyway, yesterday afternoon he let out a loud yell, kind of a combination of a yell and a meow. Bill heard it and thought he was just being vocal, like he saw a bird, but I said no, that’s a bad meow, and sure enough he started going in and out of his litter box and not producing anything. We wrapped him up and took him to the emergency vet.
He's had this condition before, but I was hopeful that we were in good shape because he has a cat water fountain and three other water bowls and he drinks a lot. And he is a good drinker. They checked him and found that he didn’t have a blockage thank goodness but his bladder was pretty small. Like his mom? Yeah. Or maybe because he was dehydrated, part of being diabetic. They said they would work on doing the x-ray and the labs and we could go get something to eat and come back later to get him. We took Brownie with us because as we were packing Bubbie up she got hysterical and started crying. I’m not sure that it’s because she’s quite so bonded to him but she has separation anxiety and hates to be alone. Taking her with us was easier than coming home to clean up multiple pee and poop sites all over the house. And the best part was last night she was mentally exhausted from the trip and went to sleep right away. She got to see a lot of dogs and smell a lot of cats.
Because Bubbie isn’t a very good patient, they had to sedate him and they also wanted me to continue with pain meds at home, which are oral syringes. Bubbie isn’t good with putting things into his mouth. We’ve tried before so they suggested a transdermal ointment that would be absorbed through the skin that they would administer and last for up to five days. I went back and brought him home and he was hungry and used his litter box. He was happy to be home. But later he was so wired I called the vet again and they said to bring him in. They were worried that he was so wired that he was at risk of cardiac issues. At this point I was about to have a meltdown but we got him back in his carrier, which he wasn’t happy about, and they checked him and said to monitor him at home. I guess his vitals were in range. He’s still somewhat wired but he’s better than last night, and I’m trying to get the gabapentin in him to calm him but also for pain. They said if he has any pain he might act like this too. For now he's happy looking out the window from his bench at the birds.
I'll say that going to the emergency vet is always somewhat of a lesson in gratitude because every time we're there, we end up seeing somebody going into the room or coming out of the room. The room that they've set up where they do euthanasia on pets, and we're so familiar, at least I'm so familiar with the look on an owner's face that it brings back all the loss that we've had.
And, of course, it makes me appreciate our pets even more. Having pets is such a hard thing sometimes, but we love them as much as we can while we have them. I'd love to go take a nap, but I'm going to go watch Bubby and monitor him for a while and give him a hug if he'll let me. That's all I've got for today. Next week, we'll tackle another topic together. I hope you'll join me.