So I have been working from home, like many Americans, due to the virus. It was that first day at home; I noted that productivity decreased due to the masses on the VPN reducing capacity. At the office, I have about 250 Mbps, yet on the VPN, 40 Mbps was a good day. As a result, to do the job, it 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 not healthy, but not sure what the options would be besides just not doing the work. My girlfriend says that when it comes time for possible layoffs, they may look at my division as we are getting the job completed. Yet, no one will listen to my concern about the activity level I currently require to keep the necessary tasks completed. I believe 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, 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) did not establish a relationship with the new PPO clinic/Dr. With the stress added 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 was an improvement from the four in 2018 and lost count in 2017. The last infusion 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 even though I track all calories and nutrition and stay under 2,000 calories a day (high quality calories) yet 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 there are no online appointments at this time and to call a specific number. I called and waited, and waited, and waited, for 25 minutes. The caller on the other line was friendly and said that 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 is an issue. I also stated a D-Dimmer would be good to verify there are no indications of clots. I had not experienced the extreme calf pain like 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 avoid the ER and the hospital, as 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!
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