Well, I went to the urologist Tuesday, and got a mixed report.

The good news is that there are no new kidney stones, and no urinary
tract infection. A very small stone is in the left kidney, but it poses
no threat or problem at this time. I will keep drinking 2 liters of
flavored water a day to keep hydrated, and flushed out.

The bad news is that I may have "low T" (low testosterone)...common in
males as they get older...just like an enlarged prostate is (and I
already have that...they had to remove part of it last year).

So, the first way to tell if I have low T is 2 separate blood draws,
before 10am, on separate days, when the testosterone levels are usually
the highest. With my having to be at my Mom's much of the time later
today (Wednesday) for repairs on a water line...then at my place
tomorrow morning for ADT to fix a glitch in one of the alarm
sensors...it may be Friday before I can get the first blood draw. If
that's the case, then I have to get a second one done on Monday.

If both of those show "low T", they will check 2 other blood enzymes,
as their status will affect how to proceed. I don't recall if those
other enzymes have to be high or low, but if they can proceed, the next
step is an MRI of my brain, to be sure that there are no tumors. Some
medical folks have joked that "they looked through my ears, and after
cleaning the wax out, they didn't see anything in my head". <G>

If no tumors are found, then they can go to the next step, which I
think was the medication. I had a choice of cream (which I will go
with), foam, or injection. But, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I hadn't really given much thought to "low T", even though I've heard commercials for it on the radio quite a bit. But, when I saw this poster
in the exam room on it, I asked the female nurse practitioner about it.
I didn't think it mattered, since I had undergone a vasectomy in 2003
(15 years ago), but out of 10 questions, I answered YES to 9 of them.

My next urology exam, with a PSA blood work (prostate specific
antigen), and digital rectal exam (DRE) will be sometime in October.

Later today, I will also call to get the results of the biopsy from
the colonoscopy...and I'm praying that will be negative...although I was "naked-tive" for the procedures. <G>

Then, in August, I have to go in for a yearly eye exam. The issue of cataracts was taken care of several years ago...but, I want to be sure I
don't have glaucoma, or macular degeneration starting.

Daryl

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