Detrusitol SR 4mg

There was a change in his demeanour from the usual. I thought he was perhaps thinking about his other patients’ problems.

“Have you been taking your Detrusitol?”

I mumbled a soft “Yes.”

“How often do you catheterise?”

“Every four hours.”

“Do you have any problems?”

I told him about the fever prior to the bloggers meet in KL.

“When you have a fever next time, come in for a culture. One day of infection is enough to wipe out your kidneys.”

I could only nod. I had a feeling that what he was to say next would not be good. He went on to say that my creatinine had shot up to 262 umol/l from the 180s. The normal threshold is around 100 umol/l. I was on the way to acute renal failure and he was really not happy with the figures. My kidneys, however, were not swollen, which meant that the intermittent catheterisation and Detrusitol are effective. I have to see the dietician again for my diet to be evaluated and revised. My protein intake of two servings per meal has to be reduced to one and one half. That is like cutting down to 75% from the two matchbox-sized portion of meat that I am allowed now.

“If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to go back to see what Dr. Liong can do for you further,” the dietician said.

This calls for another drastic change in lifestyle and dietary intake patterns. The dietician has also advised me to keep a diet log to track accurately what I have eaten. My medication was also changed. I am now to take one dose of 4mg Detrusitol SR just before bed. A one-month supply costs RM249 and it is supposed to be for the long-term. Detrusitol is prescribed for overactive bladder which may result in a reflux of urine back into the kidneys. I am still digesting this sudden assail of bad news. Hopefully the next review, which has been changed to quarterly from half yearly, will show better results.

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First there were four of us. Lucia, HK Teh and me.
Wuan was the photographer

We also had a contest this time – The Longest Ponytail Contest.

KS Tang, HK Teh and Ong BK.

Lucia, Joyce and somebody.

Nasi Kandar Pelita – Our Meet venue.

HK Teh with his videocam.

Group shot. From bottom right: Lucia, Joyce, somebody, Jasdev Singh,
Lim Chee Aun, KS Tang, Ong BK and me.

Lucia, Joyce, somebody and Jasdev.

Kew (standing up) updating us on the Penang Bloggers Portal.

Jasdev, Chee Aun, KS Tang and Ong BK.

HK Teh has a video of the meet here.

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Victor Liew and I met for the second time last week. He had already impressed me deeply the first time we met at Mid Valley Megamall in 2002. I have never encountered anyone quite like Victor. His zest for life is remarkably inspiring. That second meeting was no exception. We had arranged for Victor’s mother to pick us up from St. Francis Xavier Church after Mass. That short distance from the church to their house in Old Klang Road was another experience I will never forget.

You see, Victor is a tetraplegic. He is paralysed from his neck down. Going out, even for a short distance for people like us is always a problem, more so for Victor. Therefore, he has a specially outfitted van with a ramp and the interior customised to fit his electric wheelchair. That is the least of the problems. Imagine sitting on a plastic chair atop a moving lorry speeding along a stretch of uneven road. Imagine not having the use of your hands and legs for balancing. That was what I went through. That was what Victor went through every time he goes out.

Victor is an inspiration to me. Despite his disabilities, he has a great desire for life, not only for his own but for others as well. Without the use of his hands, he controls his wheelchair with his chin. He is currently working on a rehabilitation project for the disabled. He surfs the Internet not with a mouse and the keyboard. All navigation and functions are activated with his voice. Is he one cool dude or what? Truly, he lives up to his namesake. He has conquered all with his pure grit and determination. Victor’s fortitude is what all of us should emulate.

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