Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  0856     Reading:  124

Blood Pressure:     Time:  0924     BP:  111/60     Pulse:  72

Breakfast:  0957  & Meds What she ate:  1.5 oz pork sage sausage scrambled with one egg, heavily peppered 1 slice toasted oat bran bread with 1 tbl Fleischmann's margarine 1/4 tsp cinnamon on bread 6 oz orange juice diluted w/8 oz water
Med/Dose	Administration	Explanation
Niferex-150 [150 mg elemental iron]	1 hour before breakfast	to pull her out of what I hope is her temporarily severely anemic state
vitamin C/500 mg	1/3 1000 mg tab with Niferex-150	helps the body metabolize iron
glipizide/10 mg	1 pill at least 1/2 hour pre-meal	standard pre-breakfast and pre-dinner med
Protonix/40 mg	1 pill at least 1/2 hour pre-meal	standard pre-breakfast med
aspirin/81 mg	1 tab with breakfast	standard breakfast med - given for anti-coagulant properties
Daily Senior Multivitamin	with breakfast	standard breakfast supplement; I also consider it her 1st calcium/vitamin D supplement of the day
folic acid/400 mcg	with breakfast	standard breakfast supplement
garlic/1250 mg	with meal	standard breakfast supplement

Conspicuously Absent Meds & Supplements
Med/Dose	Administration	Explanation
lisinopril/2.5 mg	1/2 tab with meal	her blood pressure was right on target and I didn't want to lower it any, so I didn't give her this, this morning; we'll see how it is at lunch

    I intended to get Mom up earlier, but I slept in. Today is my "aahm taard" day, although I'm not sure why. Just letting down, I guess. I almost had a problem getting Mom up, but she rallied when I mentioned sausage with her eggs. One again, only an hour from opening her eyes to starting breakfast. It's wonderful.

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Time:  106     Reading:  1403

Blood Pressure:     Time:  95/58     BP:  1447     Pulse:  74

Lunch:  1410  & Meds What she ate:  sandwich w/2 oz lean pastrami, 1 oz swiss cheese, 2 slices oat bran bread, 2 Tbl stone ground mustard 11.5 oz V-8 juice with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1 Costco oatmeal raisin cookie
Med/Dose	Administration	Explanation
18 mg Iron Protein Succinylate	1 18 mg tabs with meal	to pull her out of what I hope is her temporarily severely anemic state

    I forgot the vitamin C. And, yes, her blood pressure is correct. I also took it just before I served her lunch, got an error, then, again, during lunch, at 1421 and got 83/47, Pulse 75. This is dehydration, folks. I'll write about it later this evening. Suffice it to say that her short term memory has not forgotten that one of her doctors, in her presence, said, "have her drink only when she's thirsty". Now, getting her to drink anything is a pitched battle, and, finally, this confrontation ended up dehydrating her. Luckily I caught it very early, precisely because I take her blood pressure 3 times a day. I should have noticed something was a little strange about her blood pressure being so good this morning, but my only reaction was to celebrate that it was back in range, and so quickly, and at 6,000 feet of altitude. I figured, great! I don't have to worry about that anymore, I just have to worry about trying to figure out when to give her lisinopril. Needless to say, I started hydrating her, again, despite her protests.
    I'm very pleased with her blood glucose, though, and this is not related to her dehydration. It's why I allowed the cookie. She really wanted some chocolate doughnuts at Costco, and, unfortunately, a stray shopper, one of those, "Ah, go ahead and let her have it, she's old, after all" people, who had taken care of his mother for 8 years and admitted that he did not follow the same philosophy with her and did not regret it, tried to get me to allow her to head toward the cash register with the doughnuts. I didn't budge. The cookies were an acceptable trade-off for her. When I gave her the one, she, of course, wanted to sit down in front of the box and polish off at least half the 2 dozen. I told her, "Savor the one cookie, Mom, don't wolf it. You're only getting one, that's enough for your blood sugar. One cookie tastes the same as 12 and, believe me, your body will thank you."
    Some minutes later, of course, just before she headed in for a nap, she mentioned, "You know, I don't hear my body thanking me for that one cookie."
    "Well," I told her, "just because your body is ungrateful or never learned manners doesn't mean it isn't healthier for having only one."
    She responded with a comic glare.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1912     Reading:  177

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1817     BP:  126/61     Pulse:  78

Dinner:  1950  & Meds What she ate:  Nachos, made with Doritos tortilla chip cups, generic canned chili, chipotle salsa (no sugar), lots of chopped green onions, grated sharp cheddar and a very generous sprinkling of MPBIL's Southwestern Fire spice mix 2 Tbl sour cream to calm the fire
Med/Dose	Administration	Explanation
36 mg Iron Protein Succinylate	2 18 mg tabs with meal	to pull her out of what I hope is her temporarily severely anemic state
vitamin C/500 mg	1/2 1000 mg tab with iron supplement	helps the body metabolize iron
glipizide/10 mg	1 pill at least 1/2 hour pre-meal	standard pre-breakfast and dinner pre-med
vitamin E/400 IU	with meal	given for anti-coagulant properties
calcium-vitamin D/500-200 mg	with meal	believed to be an osteoporosis preventative

Conspicuously Absent Meds & Supplements
Med/Dose	Administration	Explanation
lisinopril/2.5 mg	1/2 tab with meal	Didn't want to discourage the nice rise in her blood pressure from hydrating her, again, with lisinopril
garlic/1250 mg	with meal	given for anti-coagulant properties; I forgot it

    Her blood glucose? That was the cookie at noon crumbling. But, that's fine. I did not administer insulin. I did not worry. She enjoyed the cookie. I enjoyed her delight in it.
    She ate well, looked very good, did well with her therapy exercises before dinner, mentioned that they caused her to "work up an appetite", mentioned several times how good the Nachos were, barely touched her sour cream, "it spoils the spice", she said (that's a new one).
    Yes, by the way, I did take her blood pressure more than an hour before she ate, as soon as she'd recovered from her nap, in fact. I wanted to make sure that the liquid I'd made sure she drank before her nap was having an effect on her hydration level. It was. I saw no reason to take her BP again, an hour or so later, before dinner.
    And, yes, again, I forgot one of her supplements. This is becoming a habit, but I'm not worried about that, either. I don't forget the ones I consider important, the ones she can get in no other way but through pills. However, I do wish I'd catch up with myself, soon.