Like many Americans, I have been working from home due to the virus. On that first day at home, I noted that productivity decreased due to the masses on the VPN reducing capacity. I have about 250 Mbps at the office, yet on the VPN, 40 Mbps was a good day. As a result, doing the job takes about 20 to 30 percent more time to accomplish the tasks once completed in the office in a typical 45-50-hour week.
As a result, in the past 15 weeks, I have been working every day, including weekends. As of today, my average workweek is 69.6 hours work week. I know this is unhealthy, but I didn't realize the options besides not doing the work. My girlfriend says that when it comes time for possible layoffs, they may look at my division as we complete the job. Yet, I am still waiting for someone to listen to my concern about the activity level I currently require to keep the necessary tasks completed. This is taking me down a path of self-destruction. The good news is I am aware of the impact and taking steps to minimize the issues. Things can only get better. The main point is I am so happy to be employed!
The second concern, in addition to the health concerns I am trying to address, is that in January, I was forced to change health insurance and have a PPO. So, even though I am aware of the three long-term health issues I have been dealing with (breathing, blood clot risk, and anemia), I did not establish a relationship with the new PPO clinic/Dr. With the stress added to working from home and the decreased social activity, I may have the iron-deficiency anemia I have been fighting for years. In 2019, I only had two infusions. This improved from the four in 2018 and the lost count in 2017. The last injection was in July last year. Therefore, after several weeks of having many iron deficiency anemia symptoms, including but not limited to:
- Extreme fatigue and weakness
- Sleep issues
- Pale skin
- Chest pain, fast heartbeat, or shortness of breath
- Headache and dizziness
- Cold feet
- High Anxiety
- Weight gain: Although I track all calories and nutrition and stay under 2,000 daily (high-quality calories), I have gained 25 pounds since last September.
- I have found myself chewing ice - often!
Today, I logged on to my PPO clinic (Fairview in Eagan, MN) to make an appointment. The website stated that there were no online appointments and that you should call a specific number. I called and waited and waited and waited for 25 minutes. The caller on the other line was friendly, said they were not taking in-person appointments, and suggested I go to the emergency room if I was concerned.
WHAT - I explained after four years of battling the anemia, I could tell them to do a blood draw to see if there was an issue. I also stated a D-Dimmer would be good to verify there are no indications of clots. I had not experienced extreme calf pain like in 2017 when I was hospitalized, but so many other symptoms concern me. Why would I have to pay hundreds of dollars more (and more for the insurance company) to do a blood test? After arguing for about 20 minutes, they set me up with a 10-minute phone consultation for the next day. I felt like he was doing me a favor.
So, tomorrow, I will try to get a referral for the lab. I am not anticipating any success, yet it was either that or ER. With the COVID issue, I want to avoid the ER and the hospital; if these issues do not kill me, COVID-19 is one thing I am doing my best to avoid.
Until next time, Carry on, my friends, carry on!
