The frequency of my posts is following a comfortable pattern: hourly, then daily, then weekly, then monthly, and now about one or two per season. Spring is near, so it’s time for an update.
I think I’m still healthy, and I’ll have more information in a few weeks when I go in for my every-three-month chest X-ray and blood test. My strength and mental acuity are back, my lungs are normal, my headache went away, and miscellaneous aches and pains lately have been just annoyances rather than causes for worry. I do have a few complaints that I’ll mention to the doctor at my next visit. One, my tinnitus is still there. Some days it’s more noticeable than others, but it’s always there. Two, I seem to have developed very sensitive skin; my forehead and chest (just around the dip above the xiphoid process) occasionally break out in a bumpy red rash, and I’ve developed something that seems a lot like dandruff. Three, around the same time that the rash is present, I have fleeting itchiness on some parts of my body, often behind my ears or around my beard area, very occasionally on my legs, arms, or back. Being an expert in Internet- and fear-based self-diagnosis, I first assumed that this must be Hodgkin Itch, but after reading descriptions from people with confirmed lymphoma diagnoses, mine was nowhere near the severity or consistency of theirs; moreover, since it seemed to be associated with a visible rash (albeit on other parts of my body), it probably wasn’t a sign of a more systemic problem.
The fourth complaint is very odd. Part of my mustache and beard have disappeared! It’s almost the exact opposite of a goatee — almost every hair directly below my nose has stopped growing, with the exception of a thin John-Waters-style line right above my upper lip, as well as the philtrum. This happened about two weeks ago, when I shaved normally and then a few days later noticed that some parts weren’t coming back. Fortunately, I don’t depend on my facial hair for anything, so I suppose I don’t care, but it means I have to shave more often because it looks weird, and I do want to mention it to my doctor in case it’s a symptom of something sinister.
I have a feeling that complaints 2, 3, and 4 are related. Maybe I got a fungal skin infection that gives me a periodic itchiness and rash, and maybe it’s interfering with the follicles on certain parts of my head. I did read that sebborhoeic dermatitis (which causes symptoms like dandruff as well as hair loss) can particularly affect the nasolabial fold. Who knows. I believe a dermatologist is in my future.
Other than all this, I’m fit as a fiddle. I walk at least 30 minutes a day and can carry sleeping kids from the car to their beds. I have resumed working, and I sleep about eight hours a night. For a 40-year-old guy, I’m probably pretty typical. Quite an improvement from six months ago!
Updated to fix horrendous grammatical error in first sentence.
We’re glad to hear that you are feeling so well, Mike.