Oh my, tell me about it! Susan, you and I live in the same province, and are both retired with similar drug plans. The first year on biologics, my co-pay was around $2000. The second year, a massive premium rise made it cheaper for me to go on the government drug plan. My copay on that was $6000 per year, for two years. I couldn’t wait to turn sixty-five. What a celebration that was: the co-pay for my biologics is now about $25 per year. No kidding, do I notice a difference in my budget!
Drug coverage truly is the achilles heel of the Canadian health care system.
TNTLamb pointed out earlier that the swelling shown in the opening post could be caused by heart failure as much as by arthritis. My mum has had swollen feet and ankles for the last 60 years after nearly dying with thrombosis in her twenties, but they had got more swollen over the last few weeks. None of us really thought a great deal of it, although she’d had a few other minor ailments at the same time.
On Monday, I was doing a gig in a pub, and Mum was in the audience. She had a heart attack while I was singing, and is now suffering from heart failure. She’s lucky,she’s going to be OK with meds - although a slightly slower and more tired 82 year old than she was to start with. But my point is that we shouldn’t just assume everything we have is to do with something we’re already diagnosed with.
So, if in doubt - get it checked out! I was worried about my own feet swelling recently, but the steroids have now made it vanish almost completely and so think it’s arthritis, but will still have a check up when mum is back at home and everything has calmed down, just to make sure.
Regarding the heart attack while I was singing, oddly my dad had one at one of my gigs 12 years ago. I only do two a year - pretty bad odds, right?!
Geez, what are the chances? Are you beginning to think you’re jinxed? Glad your mum is okay. You are right about not assuming anything and going with your gut regarding new symptoms. My foot isn’t nearly as swollen but there does appear to be a vascular or veinous issue. I have an appt the end of the month to check. Since prednisone made zero difference I don’t think it is PsA related.
Just want you to know @darinfan that we are pretty open to most posts on this community BUT oif you ever post a video of you singing, it’ll be taken down immediatly LOL. Seriously what kind of music do you do?
I’m only really a jazz singer - basically the standards of the 30s to the 50s in the main (Ellington, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart etc). It’s not like folks are jumping around to punk rock!
Thanks for the get well wishes for mum. It’s a bit of a weird situation as the heart failure is “severe” but her day to day symptoms are not. She feels fine. Tomorrow when I go up the hospital, I might take her off for a bit of a walk around if they’ll me and see just how well she is doing in that regard, as that might be more telling as to how good she is and how she is likely to be. But at the moment she seems fine, she’s not out of breath or anything when getting up and out of bed, and so that all seems positive.
Okay maybe you can post a video, (in fact please do) there are some real jazz fans here (myself included) although I’m more of a Miles Davis/Earl Hines fan.
Heart failure even at your mums age can and is rehabed.if she is willing to take a LOT of walks.
What do you mean “only a jazz singer?” That’s awesome! You are singing the classics and that beats punk rock in my book. As to the heart failure, my stepdad (just Dad, to me) had congestive heart failure for many years. He had a heart attack at 64 and 5 stents were placed. Then 11 years ago he got a pacemaker. He did really well except for pitting edema in his legs. He passed away this past January from a severe ischemic stroke at 87. So if your mum was just diagnosed she may do well for a long time. Hope she will be home soon and best wishes to her.
I echo the ‘only a jazz singer’ notion. I just love jazz almost all types and especially traditional. So you need to post that video! Hope your Mum continues to do well.
Hmmm, well TNT is not the only moderator, but I suppose if it’s “only jazz” it can’t hurt that much…, as long as no one is on the cusp of heart failure.
Oh well, someone has to declare the greater good!!
Please post (and understand my earlier comments were a special kind of black humour - a weird Australian thing if you will).
I hope so. I was with her in the city on Saturday and she walked around for four hours with no problems at all. Apparently she has had the heart failure for a while and nobody knew. Her heart is pumping relatively little of the blood that it should be (less than half it should be), which is what caused the fluid build-up. Arteries and valves are fine. She looked tired today, but apparently she didn’t sleep last night and so that’s probably why. But she was wandering around the ward quite merrily, and doesn’t seem to get out of breath now they have “dried her out.” Pulse, oxygen levels and blood pressure are all fine.
Part of the issue has been, apparently, that she has MGUS (a paraprotein in her blood) - and she’s been told to drink a great deal over the last twenty years because of that as it is meant to keep her healthy. Whereas the MGUS hasn’t done her any harm (yet), the heavy water intake has combined with the now-weak heart and caused what happened on Monday. They now think the heart attack didn’t happen Monday, but several weeks ago, but it was just that everything came to a head on Monday for various reasons.
She’s been very active for an 82 year old - up the city all day once a week with her friend, etc. I hope that doesn’t change any time soon. She’ll go nuts if she gets so she has to stay at home. It is worrying. And, like us here, she and we now have to adapt to yet another “new normal.” But hopefully the meds, the now-reduced water intake, and doing as she’s told regarding salt intake etc, will mean she keeps relatively symptom free for a while to come.
As for the singing, if you’ve recently had a medical, you’re welcome to click on the YouTube video - not jazz really, but a little-known big band number written by Bobby Darin back in 1964, that is a pastiche of his hit Mack the Knife. There’s a few more if you follow the link to the YouTube channel.
Wow darinfan, just wow! Here I was sipping a cup of coffee, waiting for the body to get unstiff so I can walk the dog and get the Sunday papers, feeling relatively grumpy too and clicked on this this and now have a huge smile on my face. Brilliant - just brilliant. You can certainly sing and it’s gorgeous.
You mum will do well, especially because she is so active. My dad also had AFib and refused to exercise at all. The fact that your mum doesn’t want to be shut up in her home will keep her moving, and we all know exercise is the best thing for any of us. Hope she is doing well today!
Hi all, Thought I would follow up with what seems to be a diagnosis after almost 3 months. I had vascular testing last week and yesterday saw a vascular surgeon. Above my ankle my blood flow is good. Below the ankle, especially my big toe, there is very little flow in the microscopic arteries or veins. Diagnosis is small vessel disease which falls under peripheral vascular disease. Since I had an acute onset he thinks a plaque broke loose from an artery and “showered” into my foot causing blockage. This created the swelling and numbness in my toes. Prescribed aspirin and a low dose statin for the plaque. Not crazy about the statin therapy but will try it. Now I have a PsA flare in my left foot. (No doubt this time.) So I’m back on a walker and miserable!
Answers are always useful, if nothing else they stop the awful escalating fear. But I’m so sorry yours was such a ‘poo’ one. Whatever though keep the asprin. Like you I’d not be crazy about the statins but you never know. Big hugs from someone who also spent a miserable time on a walker all this summer. However I’m most certainly not using a walker now. Therefore have hope and optimism too. x
Glad your mum is okay. You are right about not assuming anything and going with your gut regarding new symptoms. My foot isn’t nearly as swollen but there does appear to be a vascular or veinous issue. I have an appt the end of the month to check. Since prednisone made zero difference I don’t think it is PsA related.
