Fred’s Progress

Fred just got back from the kidney doctor’s and now has a new diuretic to take three times a day and which is, apparently, going to blast all the excess fluid from his body. {He plans on moving into the bathroom on a permanent basis! LOL}

He went to see his kidney doctor because his legs were swelling, his blood pressure was rising alarmingly, he was gaining weight like crazy with no change in what he was eating or doing  and his knee hurts. Now, apparently the hurting in the knee is from a Baker’s cyst. This is not what bakers get {that was my first thought—like housemaid’s knee!} but named after the first doctor to describe one. It is actually a leakage of synovial fluid {which lubricates the joints} caused by some other problem like  arthritis. It is cured by treating the underlying reason {like the arthritis}

Anyway, he has to rest and elevate the leg  for a few days and he will be having an ultrasound so that they can find the underlying cause. Surgery is seldom needed. This is probably just as well since  you are all aware that after his last experience in hospital, it would take a team of determined weight lifters to get Fred physically back into hospital! The only thing that might be needed is a procedure to withdraw the fluid from the cyst and from reading the procedure, I bet that could be done on an out-patient basis. He has said he would go for that if it would help.

Until later…