Down For The Count

I'm still here, but not completely.

Three weeks ago I pulled a muscle in my left shoulder. I had absolutely no use of my left arm or hand. I couldn't even turn a spinning reel if my life depended on it. I couldn't pick up a cup of coffee with that arm.

I now have use (mostly) of that arm, but another problem has cropped up.

Last Summer when I was replacing the fence in the back of the house, I started to have more back problems than I normally have. Went to the doctor and had him prescribe Meloxicam which is a anti-inflammatory. I had used it previously when I had tendentious back when I had a real job. Cleared it up in about 6 months.

Early in January I changed Cardiologists and he took me off Plavix and put me on Eliquis. Both are blood thinners for those of us Geezers with heart problems.

I went to my primary care physician because the above mentioned pulled muscle was getting better, but the pain caused by it was still pretty bad. Hoped I could get something a bit stronger than Meloxicam. That coupled with the back pain and the extension of that pain through my butt and down my legs, I have to say I was in pretty bad shape. Fishing as the last thing on my mind.

The first thing my primary physician did was take me off Meloxicam because Meloxicam is Ibuprofen and researchers say that Ibuprofen and Eliquis don't mix. His response was, and this is a quote "Ibuprofen will cause stomach ulcers and you'll bleed to death". Did I believe him? Yes, my life long best friend back in Missouri died of just that.

So what about the pain? He prescribed Celebrex. You go down the list of Ibuprofens and just below Meloxicam is Celebrex. What the hell? Obviously I didn't go any further with that one.

So, I have an appointment with another doctor in the same group as my new cardiologist and we'll see if she can fix the back/leg problem, but it's not until the 21st.

Needless to say, I won't be doing any fishing because I can barely walk. I'll update after that appointment.

Stay tuned.