Phillip Sherwood

I am completely run down and fatigued. Either I’m not eating the right things or my small intestine is not absorbing the nutrients like they should leaving me depleted of vital vitamins responsible for strength and energy. My iron is low thus putting me at the anemic level and my testosterone level is very near zero or no longer being produced. On top of all that I’m dealing with a potential UTI, incontenance and the difficulty of controlling my bowels. When I have the energy, I spend it cleaning up my messes but things could always be worse. That’s the readers digest version however I’m in good spirits and am as positive as I can be. I’m really looking forward to my upcoming vacation with my family and am so thankful I have so many friends who care about me and check in to help keep me continuing to march forward.

During the past several weeks, I’ve been seeing a complete new team of health care professionals due to the lack of patient advocacy with the local Veterans Administration (VA) medical system here in Huntsville, AL. I am now receiving civilian medical services in the form of Coumadin checks, a new family practice physician and a new vascular physician. During my initial visits over past several weeks with these new care providers, I’ve focused on my extreme fatigue and continued swelling in both legs. After a battery of blood tests, it was discovered that my testosterone, vitamins B & D3 levels were depleted far below the minimum threshold levels.

I’ve been away these past six weeks distracted by life issues, poor health and engulfed in the development of my Smart Home. I went through a period of anger primarily stemming from the lack of patient welfare with the local VA health care system. I became totally frustrated with the VA because I was getting sicker and sicker and not only was the medical staff inaccessible, when I was able to get in and see a doctor, I could not get the results from any of the lab tests I took. One afternoon I did an audit of my insurance claims from the last 18 months and found the VA had been charging my civilian insurance even for those things service related. I then decided it was time to cut my ties with the local VA and search out a new team of specialists and care providers. It has been a difficult process because the majority of health care providers are not accepting new patients however my physiatrist Dr. Beck was very persistent and determined in finding me the best doctors who would make considerations.

Things began to spiral down around a month ago where my bowels became loose and I lost any and all intestinal control. Within a couple of days, my bladder became neurogenic causing me to also not be able to control my urine collection output. By now my washer & dryer was in a 24-hr surge mode as I had to clean up one mess after another. Totally exhausted by this point, I began urinating blood to the point that it looked like it was bleeding out so I went to the local ER. After some short tests, it was discovered that I had a Urinary Tract Infection (my first) so the doctor gave me a prescription for Lovequin antibiotics and a foley catheter. The following day I was on board an airplane heading to Arizona for work. For the next couple of weeks I was operating off of 10% battery power at my peak. The antibiotis threw my blood thinning way off the charts and I’ve never felt this level of continual fatigue before in my life. I spent the following Memorial Day weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun & Mon) in bed 20 of 24 hours per day. My UTI cleared up and one of my blood tests came back saying I was anemic but there’s still many more test results pending. I am starting to feel better and with more energy but I’m about 75% at best. My blood thinning has almost stabilized. My girlfriend Denise has been so helpful in being here to help me get through this black cloud.

My next report will come shortly with an update on my home automation systems. It’s come a long way and has become a hobby to occupy my time.