A Small Dip And Something New.

It has been a while that I have been writing a new post. My original goal was to write 1 to 2 posts per month. But as you maybe noticed from the date difference between now and the last post, it is already more than 3 weeks. In other words, it is getting time that I will write something again. And while I was writing this, I had a small dip but I also had started something new.

The Kidney.

For my health situation, the situation for my kidney stone has not changed. I am still waiting for my appointment for the operation. This would be the second time that they would try to remove the kidney stone. In my previous posts, you can read more about it.

But as you already know, COVID19 has his second go around. So far the second time this year, and to get a grip on things, they have made some strict guidelines again. This also means that in the hospitals that they have postponed all the operations that are not an emergency. And because my operation is not an emergency, I have to wait until things are getting better. For me it is ok. At the moment I am not in pain or have problems with my situation.

Retaining Water.

I noticed, that since the weather has turned colder again, I am slowly gaining weight again. Sometimes 1kg per day and that is not a good sign. It means that I am retaining water. So I am back on the pee medication again. This is helping. On the day itself, I need to go to the toilet more, and the next day I can see that I have lost that kilo again. But the day after, it is back again. It’s like a yo-yo.

I am watching what I eat, how much salt it has, and how much I am drinking, but still, it is going up and down. For my idea, it is the weather that has this effect on the body. Also in the heart failure Facebook Group, I can see people telling about this. So luckily I am not alone in this.

I also noticed that I am short of breath. And sometimes in the evening, it feels like I am bloated. Just to make sure, I contacted the heart failure department in the hospital and see what their thoughts are. And I was right. All the signs I mentioned to them, they told me that they are all pointing to me retaining water. Their advice was, that for the coming days and maybe weeks, I need to take the pee tablets, to get the water out of the body. Then maybe in the second week, try to see what happens if I skip the tablet for one day. After that then try to see how it goes if I skip two tablets in the following week.

Blood Check.

All of this also can have some effect on the kidney function. They will send me a form for the lab. After three to four weeks, I need to go to the hospital for a blood check. The next day, I can give them a call to get the results and see how we proceed from there.

On the day that I had checked with the hospital regarding my weight, it also was time again for me to check my INR. A check to see how thick or thin my blood is. My values need to be between 2.0 and 3.0. I can do this test myself at home. When I had checked this, my value was 1.8. Three weeks ago this was 1.9. When I reported my result, they told me to raise the number of tablets I take per day to three. And I need to check my values again next week. Normally I am already happy with checking it every three weeks. But when I need to check it every week, somehow this gives me a not so nice feeling.

The Dip.

Maybe both things don’t sound that much of a deal, but somehow I felt not so good about it. It had put me in a small dip. Not sure why. I think it is because you think you are doing your best. Or at least trying your best. And when you get to hear or see small things like this, it feels like a bit of a setback. Small things like this, can add up.

But later in the day, I suddenly had to think about my previous post, “Disappointed & Discouraged“. I should not feel bad about this. This is only a temporary setback. I should not give up. So I am trying to put it behind me and go on.

Trying Something New.

Maybe you have noticed it? Did you noticed the different? Maybe check out some previous posts.

I have changed the way I am writing. Did you see it? In previous posts, I started every new sentence on a new line. Starting with this post, I started to write like everyone else is doing. I have no idea why I was writing the way I was writing. I am already writing like that for a long time. At one point, you get used to it and stick with it. But I found out that for some programs I am using for writing, or some websites, it was not easy to write in my old way. At one point, I read that the way I was writing that someone called it poetry style of writing. After checking this with others and starting to look really at other writings, I saw that they all wrote just one sentence after the next.

Slowly I started to change my thinking and writing to this new style. I hope you like it and that it is maybe a bit easier to read. It takes some time and during writing, I still need to remind myself that I don’t go to the next line. But I think I am getting the hang of it.

Trying to Expand My Readers Circle.

I have made one more new step. Already for a few months, I am researching and reading information about writing and blogging. During one of my searches, I came across a website that is called Medium. This is a site for writers, bloggers, and readers. There are thousands of articles/items to read, about any topic that has your interest.

Only just at the beginning of this month, November 2020, I decided to join it. With this, you can read as many articles/items, as you want. You also can write on that site. You can follow other writers, bloggers, and they also can follow you. They also have different kinds of publications. It is almost like a magazine. When you have written something, you can publish it for your followers only, or you can publish it in different publications.

Once you have decided to publish something, they will have a curation process for it. If it passes their curation, they will show your item to more than only your followers. They also will show it to a suited publication and if it will pass their curation criteria, then they will show it in their publication. So more people will see it and can read it.

Right now I am busy with a draft and still busy rewriting and changing it. But my final goal is to also publish something on the site. They have several guidelines that you need to follow before you can publish something. This is a little strange to me because, for my own posts, I can write what I want and how I want it. But we will see how things go.

And later?

For now, I will be happy if I can share my writing with anyone. And if things go okay, then maybe I will expand a bit more on the website. Because they also have an option to get paid for what you have written. But right now, my goal is only to get used to the whole thing, and maybe if get a got momentum on it, who knows.

Maybe later I also will try to rewrite some of my old posts and place them on there. As long as it will pass their guidelines.

I am still nervous while writing my first item on there and I think I will have some doubts before I will press “Publish”. But I already had read somewhere; “no matter how long you think about it, no matter how many changes you make, no matter how long you will check for mistakes, according to your own standard, it would never pass. So just do your best and press publish“. Maybe that is the best I can do. Just do my best and GO.

Closing.

Life is still not easy and it has its ups and downs. Even a very small setback can place you in a dip. But we need to keep in mind, that these things are just temporary. We need to try to put it behind us, accept it, and go on.

I hope you like the way I am writing my posts now. And I hope I can keep it up this way. For sure, the first few times that I sit down and start writing, I need to keep this in mind. But after a few times, it should go automatically.

For my writing on Medium, I will keep you posted. As soon as it is published and accepted, I will share this with you and tell you me experience.

For now, please take care and stay safe.
God Bless.