Umbilicus

Recently I was troubled by discomfort in my umbilicus that has never been the same since it was perforated in the course of my gall bladder operation back in mid-2016. The surgery was keyhole and four perforations were made in my body. The diagram below is not my umbilicus but it resembles it.

Fortunately the discomfort dissipated within a couple of days but it's quite unpleasant while it's active. I don't know what brings an attack on but at least it's relatively transient. Many people suffer from umbilical hernias and mine is very mild. I need to reduce the amount of fatty tissue around my waist so that the pressure on my umbilicus is reduced. I also need to avoid any heavy lifting. Hopefully I can avoid surgery.

The discomfort in my chest also dissipated during my recent visit to Sydney where the temperature was higher but now that I've returned to Melbourne the discomfort has returned. It's worse than it was before. Cold is definitely not a friend of thymomas or thymic cysts.

On a positive note, I did a lot of walking in Sydney and will continue to chalk up the kilometres here I hope. I've yet to resume my leg stretching or hand strengthening exercises since arriving in Australia some weeks ago. I don't know why I stopped but I've noticed that once I do, it's difficult to start again. All that can be done is to start again and once started, I tend to continue. 

My weight has decreased to 74.2 kg, down from 74.7 kg on the 5th July. That's a half kilogram drop in a little over two weeks. I'll try to get down to around 72 kg.

Hitting 74

I continue to ignore this blog and have wracked up the following totals for the first quarter of 2023 on this and other blogs:

• Mathematical Meanderings: 43 posts
• Pedagogical Posturing: 12 posts
• Mystical Meanderings: 6 posts
• Alternative Media: 6 posts
• Astrological Meanderings: 4 posts
• AstroWatch: 3 posts
• Staying Healthy: 1 post

As usual, this blog relating to my physical health is rock bottom. So what's the state of play as regards my health? What am I doing to stay fit? What do I weigh? I've taken to walking around the block on most days. I should measure the distance and the time it takes as I used to do back in Oz, after my retirement and enforced stay in that former penal colony. 

I do my leg stretches using the same pantihose that I pilfered from Sabina some years ago now. I try to keep my neck muscles flexible and break up the little spurs to seem to sprouting from the vertebrae. I weigh around 73 kg which is OK. I do hand squeezes using a device to keep up the strength of my grip.

I spend a large part of my life sitting in front of my laptop but I do take breaks, keeping busy with taking out the garbage, gardening and household chores in general. I should be doing more but at least I'm doing something. 

One physical problem that has arisen recently is centered on my umbilicus which can feel very tender if any undue strain is put on it. Even lifting something moderately heavy can trigger it. I used to do abdominal exercises to strengthen this area but I stopped because of the emergence of this problem. I know the groin and umbilicus area weak areas of the human body where hernias can occur.

I think some damage was caused to the umbilical muscles during surgery for the removal of my gall bladder back in 2017. The feeling I get is not really painful but it is oddly disabling as I don't feel like doing anything except to lie down. I seem to get tired more easily these days even after minor physical activity. 

So now that I'm in my 75th year of life, what can I do to improve my physical health? Certainly continuing what I'm doing is a start. That means a brisk walk of about twenty minutes duration most days, leg strengthening exercises and head rotations. It would be good to spend some time each day in a regular exercise routine but I need a suitable environment. 

Ideally, I'd like to turn the downstairs room into an exercise centre, not with exercise machines or anything like that but just a space where I have a mat and maybe soft tiles on which to perform simple exercises. I could have some music playing, a little incense etc. Creating a welcoming vibe would encourage me to establish some sort of routine that might include breathing exercises and meditation.

More time in the garden is also important. Now that a garden seat is arriving, it could be the start of a garden renaissance. This activity is good for my mental as well as my physical health.