Posted inHealth Living with a catheter

Here’s how my first hypnosis session went

Today I had my first real hypnosis experience with Emily Cahal of Salem Hypnosis Solutions. Back in college I'd dabbled in self-hypnosis as taught by a Yoga teacher I was studying with. And I'd seen a form of "show business" hypnosis during an assembly at a high school where I briefly was a teacher's aide following my college graduation. A hypnotist did his thing on stage with a female student, then told her to go find Paul Newman in the audience. She walked by me, looking into the bleachers, then leapt into the second row where I was sitting and…
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Posted inHealth Living with a catheter

Time slowing down is a side effect of my chronic health problem

By and large, I'm sticking with my previous assessment of my atonic, underactive, neurogenic, screwed-up bladder: IT SUCKS, big time.  But here's a positive side effect. Time has definitely slowed down for me. Since I'm 69, and not getting any younger (which seems to be standard for everybody), I'm pleased that the days have been passing more slowly since my bladder decided to go on what appears to be a permanent work stoppage for the rest of my life. I'm curious whether other people with chronic health problems have experienced the same phenomenon, time slowing down. Naturally I Googled this,…
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Posted inHealth Living with a catheter

Here’s how I feel about my atonic, underactive, neurogenic, screwed-up bladder

Regarding the title of this blog post, in two words, IT SUCKS. Big time.  Before I elaborate on this, let me address what I tell myself, and what my wife tells me: there are many worse health problems.  For sure. Aside from not being able to pee properly without the aid of self-catheterization -- not fun, but better than getting kidney failure from a backed-up bladder -- I'm basically a pretty damn healthy 69 year old guy.  I wouldn't trade my bladder problem for, say, cancer, heart disease, or loss of a limb. And I've no doubt that people with…
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Posted inEntertainment Health Living with a catheter

Five observations about Ed Asner’s show, “A Man and His Prostate”

Last night my wife and I saw Ed Asner perform "A Man and His Prostate" at the Elsinore Theatre here in Salem, Oregon.   It's an entertaining reading by Asner of what a different Ed, Ed Weinberger, wrote concerning what he went through after he collapsed while on a vacation in Italy. Since I'm not going to describe the show in much detail, you can read a review to learn about it.  What I want to do is share five observations of A Man and His Prostate based on my personal experience of being also a man, with a prostate,…
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Posted inLiving with a catheter

Hope vs. Reality vs. Idiocy: my chronic condition conundrum

When my wife and I talked with an Oregon Health Sciences University urologist three weeks ago about my bladder/prostate problem, wanting to get a second opinion from Dr. Jonathan Witten, I told him that I was looking for a balance of Hope and Reality. Meaning, I explained to Witten, I was desirous of getting more hope for eventual recovery of my peeing ability than my local urologist, Dr. Mhoon, had offered up. But I also wanted to know the reality of what my prognosis was.  (For background on my urinary retention and weak bladder problem, which led to depression, see…
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Posted inHealth Living with a catheter

Too depressed to do anything else, I’ll write about my depression

It's a new experience, being depressed. Now, to be honest I haven't actually gotten a depression diagnosis. But my wife, Laurel, is a retired psychotherapist. And she tells me, "Brian, you aren't just tired. You're depressed." At first I didn't believe her. But Laurel gave me a Psychology Today article, "Depressed Without Knowing It," and that helped to change my mind.  I knew that several health problems had made me anxious, sad, worried, nervous about the future. I also was feeling a lack of energy, and was having trouble doing things that I used to enjoy. But since I'd never…
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Posted inHome life Living with a catheter

My wife says I shouldn’t tell you this, but I am anyway

I usually do what my wife, Laurel, says. But this morning, after we talked about my health problem, I went to my laptop and wrote just the title to this blog post.  It's taken me all day to decide whether to do what the title says. Since I'm typing this now (8 pm), that's a pretty good sign that while I recognize the truth of what Laurel told me -- there are nasty people out there in social media who will make fun of you for being honest about your urinary problem -- as a long-time writer and blogger I…
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Posted inHome life Living with a catheter

Given my peeing problem, be warned about asking “How are things going?”

Seems like it's time for me to come out of the closet. A medical problem closet. One that too many of us -- especially men -- keep ourselves in.  I've got a peeing problem. Now, this isn't unusual for men my age (I'm 68). I'd been taking several prostate medications that appeared to be working fairly well. But a few months ago a UTI, urinary tract infection, kicked me off into a state of hardly being able to pee at all rather than my previous state of having to pee too often. Urinary retention obviously isn't anything to ignore. I had…
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