Words on my many absences

[Pete M]

keep us posted!    

[CoastChief]

hope you are ok man, wishing you the best.

[coheed]

As someone who has had 5 or 6 seizures in my life they are scary as $#!& man. Regardless of the cause they aren't something that will necessarily bring your life to a halt. I personally know a woman with moderate epilepsy that is a full time patrol officer for a nearby city.

[Minuit]

Alright, got back from the neurologist.

 

TL;DR: I'm epileptic as all hell. No driving, shooting, heavy physical labor or any other activity considered fun dangerous for a bare minimum of 6 months, starting from my most recent seizure which was on April 8th. They're starting me on medication immediately and I will probably have to look for a different line of work. If I am found to be driving or operating machinery during that time, I could be prosecuted.

 

I'm also prone to something called "staring spells" where I'll just space out for about 5 seconds. Those are actually a small seizure only affecting part of the brain. A particularly rough couple of 12 hour days at work combined with some sleep deprivation and possible dehydration allowed one of those to escalate into a full-blown "shaking on the floor" seizure - what happened on Wednesday. This was always gonna happen, it was just a matter of when.

 

SO - here's what's going to happen with me and my projects.

 

My life is going to get a pretty radical restructuring temporarily. The jeeps are safe. Nothing is getting sold, and nothing is getting abandoned. You radio customers will probably end up being very happy with this development. Not being able to drive my trucks (and not being able to go back to work) means a lot of good things will probably be happening to them. I reckon 6 months will probably be plenty long enough to get new floor pans and an interior in the 89, although the process of getting its prospective new engine to me just got a lot more complicated.

 

I'm not in any danger of running out of money, and I'll likely be opening the doors back up at the Radio Emporium at near full capacity fairly soon. At this point, about all I can hope for is that the meds work and put an end to this.

[89 MJ]

20 minutes ago, Minuit said:

TL;DR: I'm epileptic as all hell. No driving, shooting, heavy physical labor or any other activity considered fun dangerous for a bare minimum of 6 months, starting from my most recent seizure which was on April 8th. They're starting me on medication immediately and I will probably have to look for a different line of work. If I am found to be driving or operating machinery during that time, I could be prosecuted

20 minutes ago, Minuit said:

I reckon 6 months will probably be plenty long enough to get new floor pans and an interior in the 89, although the process of getting its prospective new engine to me just got a lot more complicated

 

Wouldn’t welding floors in be bad for your seizures?

[Minuit]

5 minutes ago, 89 MJ said:

Wouldn’t welding floors in be bad for your seizures?

Flashing lights have never been a trigger for my particular symptoms. I've done a lot of welding in the past and had absolutely no epileptic effects from that. Doc thinks the main reason this became a "real" seizure was hard physical labor combined with sleep deprivation.

[89 MJ]

Just now, Minuit said:

Flashing lights have never been a trigger for my particular symptoms. I've done a lot of welding in the past and had absolutely no side effects. Doc thinks the main reason this became a "real" seizure was hard physical labor combined with sleep deprivation.

Gotcha. I’ll definitly be looking into one of your radios in the coming months. 

[Pete M]

it sucks, but this is good info to have.   My uncle went through a handful of seizures back in the day but once they figured out the meds, it hasn't happened since (maybe 15 years now?) and he went back to being a volunteer firefighter and working for Ford. 

 

stay safe and heed the docs. 

[rokinn]

I'm assuming there was an MRI of your brain??  My mother and a cousin began having seizures and starring later in life.  I wouldn't want to appear to be second guessing your docs but there are a number of other reasons for seizures.  I'll leave it there.  Best of luck.

[Ωhm]

When things change, its called the new normal. I'm sure you've done it before.

[Minuit]

At the risk of turning The Pub into "Minuit's medical drama"... time to set the clock back to 6 months from today. It would seem that physical activity is one of the triggers.

 

Earlier today, I had my first seizure since being put on meds. I'd been feeling "foggy" for the past few days and my typical solution to that has been to do a bodyweight exercise routine. I wasn't sleep deprived either. As expected, I felt better afterward and my energy level seemed to take a bump up. Unfortunately, a couple of hours later I woke up with my parents standing over me and a very worried dog in my face.

 

My day job prior to the first event has a significant element of physical activity. Lots of walking and occasional heavy lifting. It's helped me get in the best shape I've ever been in, but if I'm right I may be looking at a career change once this is all over.

 

Since you all seemed interested in how things were turning out, I felt like you deserved an update.

[fiatslug87]

What did your doc say? Need to adjust or change medications or is it too early to tell?

Wishing you the best.

 

p.s. dogs are great aren't they!

[BeatCJ]

One of the guys that works for me has a seizure disorder. He manages it just fine, 99% of the people that know him have no idea. His last couple have always been when he has been short of sleep. As the father of 3, you would think it would be a regular thing for him, but it's been close to 8 years since his last. Many, many people live with seizures, and it doesn't change their life at all. Keep your head up, you'll get it figured out.

And for many of us, Fake internet Friends are all we have.

[Pete M]

I know it's hard, but ya gotta be patient.  this will take some time to sort out.  Maybe think of it this way, Knowledge is key here and now you know more you knew before.   

 

 

Nothing fake about internet friends if they care about how you're doing.    I'd hang out with you guy more often if y'all didn't live so friggin' far away.

[Minuit]

Welp, fired neurologist #1 today after a week of not being able to get in touch. I'm now a patient of the top neurologist in town as of today.

 

As far as condition goes, I'd say I'm about halfway to where I need to be. The partial seizures have not completely stopped but I can go multiple days between them. I've been slowly ramping up my workout regime and I can fit into size 34 pants again... feels good.

 

Also, I made this overly complicated clicky relay thing.

[Pete M]

um, so progress?  plus an upgrade in doctor?  Sounds like things are moving along.  

[87MJJeep]

I hope your next update is even more positive than this one.  

[Minuit]

Figured I'd check in.

 

New neuro seems to actually give a damn, and outlined her current plan and the back-up options in case that doesn't work.

 

I'll likely get at least one more change of medication. Current meds aren't quite doing everything they want them to.

 

How do I feel? About 80% of what I was before. I'm not as good at carrying on conversations or short-term memory as I was, and I get dizzy a lot easier. The two seizures did damage to my brain, and the medication sometimes adds a layer of "fog" to everything I do. I've put on about 12 pounds since April (I was 182 lbs at 5'10 before this happened... almost healthy!) and that's not doing me any favors either. I figure with time and medicine/habit changes I'll get back up to about 90% of what I was.

 

Mostly as an exercise to keep my layout skills sharp (I will eventually go back to work, after all) I've been on a woodworking kick. I intend to have a shop that isn't a complete damn mess or "purgatory for clutter that we just HAVE TO HAVE but have no place to put it" so I can do some vehicle projects before November 14th, and this is part of it. Lots of stuff getting thrown out or moved, and what's staying is getting optimized. I have 360 square feet of usable space in here, and I fully intend to make the best of it.

 

This is the new "utility shelf" - current features include a charging station for power tools, and hanging hooks for cords and other stuff. It'll have a power strip and built in phone charger pretty soon. Yeah, I know the shelves have a serious crown to them. That actually makes it stronger, and that's pretty much the straightest plywood I could get on short notice in "either rainy, or so hot and humid you're wishing for death within 30 minutes" August in Tennessee.

 

Most of you have seen this one before, but basically an exercise in "how much test equipment and radios can I fit into the smallest space possible" - it's been coming together slowly for the last few months. The chair is made from what used to be the driver seat of my '89. It cleaned up amazingly well.

 

I also did something other than tightening a line or checking the oil to my '91 for the first time since the beginning of April.

[neohic]

Thanks for checking in, Jeremy. Good to hear you’re on the up and up even if it’s slow going. 

[buxmj]

Great to hear that you are on the mends, glad you have a doctor who is wanting a different result from the meds. Keep taking it easy when you need.

 

I wish I had the time to do more woodworking. Most all my woodworking tools are bench top tools, I can spread them out in the garage when I pull the 2 cars out, I have been happy with that setup and the tools are adequate to do what I need them to do. 

[Pete M]

progress is progress.   good to hear you're on the right path.

[OldSch88L]

Just saw this thread, what happened to you really sucks But glad to see you're in good hands and getting better!

[JimB]

[Minuit]

First of all: I have not had more seizures.

 

Hey I disappeared again. Three weeks this time. Most of it with no access to a computer and quite a bit of it with literally no internet at all.

 

Where was I? In the north for three weeks, where the vast majority of family (and family friends) I still keep in touch with live. For context, I live in TN, but more than half of my family live in North Dakota and surrounding areas. Those of you who have met me in real life will probably know that I really don't sound, look, or talk much like a Southerner. That'd be why. To be honest, I'd be lying if I said I was 100% happy to be back home.

 

Why did I do this now, especially with current events and the torrent of radio orders that are coming in? I needed to get the hell out of the damn house for a while. This was also a family trip months in the making. Pretty much all activities were done outside with masks being worn when appropriate.

 

So what did I do?

 

Visting Yellowstone has been a bucket list item for years. Its unique features exist because you're standing right on top of an enormous volcano. The park is normally packed with tourists, but going in late September makes it a lot more peaceful, and the pandemic probably didn't hurt.

 

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is pretty cool but Yellowstone blows it out of the water. Probably a lot more to see if you hike the trails, which I'd love to do someday.

 

Yours truly, in "obnoxious tourist" mode:

 

I also flew on some airplanes,

 

Went to a musical,

 

Rode a horse,

 

Pet a really big dog,

 

Pet a really fat Corgi,

 

and stayed in a pretty cool log cabin hotel.

(side note: there was literally no internet in this part of the country)

 

 

Car reviews!

2020 white rental Toyota Camry: Professional car reviewers rave about how good this car is, but I'm not seeing it. The 4-cylinder engine sounds like a tractor, the seats aren't very comfortable, and the touchscreen infotainment system is obnoxious to use. Terrible offroad. Almost 40 MPG on the highway, and it's neither fast nor slow. I put a few miles on it for irrelevant reasons and it kinda reminds me of my 1996 Ford Thunderbird. Typically annoying electronic throttle, completely dead steering, and truly awful engine sound make it less fun to drive than my 24 year old grandma car. I didn't even take a full picture of it. It's a car. The base sound system sounds "meh" with artificially boosted bass. Fairly quiet on the highway with some wind noise. My Thunderbird on mileage-optimized tires is quieter.

 

People talk about "don't let the internal combustion engine die" but if these are the kinds of gasoline engine cars that are going to be around in the future, I'll take my Tesla in black.

 

2020 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk: Owned by a family friend. I rode in this thing for almost 3000 miles. I like old Jeeps so I really wanted to hate this thing, but it's really not that bad. It's ugly, but completely competent otherwise. It had the 270hp 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, which is one of the worst sounding car engines I've ever heard in my life. The seats are good enough and it's surprisingly fast. The optional brand-name sound system has at least one speaker and sounds adequate. But damn, it's ugly. Also, Sirius XM plays the same 20 songs over and over again, and by the end of the trip the repetition (regardless of the station) made me want to gouge my eyes out. The factory all-terrain tires are kind of noisy at low to medium speed. Probably better offroad than a Camry. One thing I noticed - the paint job is actually pretty nice. Lots of metal flake.

 

I wouldn't spend 40 grand for it.

 

 

So what do I have to look forward to? I need to work on cars, clean the gutters, pick out the good pictures (of over 1500), and do some other stuff. Radio orders will be finished when they're ready. But mostly, I need to get some sleep. I have extreme difficulty falling asleep, and air mattresses, hard motel beds, and people snoring make that even worse.

 

[jdog]

Beautiful area around Yellowstone, went a couple years ago. The dog looks like he wanted you to pet him longer. Ooh log cabins reminds me of old camp days. Looks like you had a good time and always good to get away every once in a while