Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1004     Reading:  76

Blood Pressure:     No longer taken at this     time unless necessary

Breakfast:  1115  & Meds What she ate:  1 hard over egg, heavily peppered 2 slices thick cut sugar cured lean bacon 3 slice toasted oat bran bread with 1.5 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	1/2 1000 mg tab with Niferex-150	helps the body metabolize iron
100% Aloe Vera gel/1 oz	just before meal	helps increase the cells' sensitivity to insulin when used with glipizide
Protonix/40 mg	1 pill at least 1/2 hour pre-meal	standard pre-breakfast med
glipizide ER/10 mg	1 pill with meal	standard breakfast and dinner med to increase cells' sensitivity to insulin
aspirin/81 mg	1 tab with breakfast	standard breakfast med - given for anti-coagulant properties
lisinopril/2.5 mg	1/2 of 5 mg tab with meal	given for kidney protection when her blood pressure can handle it
Daily Senior Multivitamin	with breakfast	standard breakfast supplement
folic acid/400 mcg	with breakfast	standard breakfast supplement
garlic/1250 mg	with meal	standard breakfast supplement; a natural antibiotic and anti-coagulant

    She was up-'n-attem on her own early this morning; bright eyed, good color, hungry, in full recall of last night, including her nausea from what she's decided was simply motion sickness; my point being, of course, that although she is prone to motion sickness, especially as a passenger, she was also smoking at least a half of her known day and churning up stomach acids galore, on both an empty and full stomach. No wonder she upchucked at the end of the journey.
    She was hungry but "not that hungry" which I took to mean normal breakfast, one egg, etc, although the bacon was quite shrinkable, this morning and she complained about the size of the pieces.
    Although I gave my word to Mom's FNP yesterday that I would back off dramatically from poking and buzzing her, I was curious to see how her blood sugar would settle out after yesterday's magnificent dinner. I was pleased.
    Since the plan is that we will have the German Chocolate cake for lunch, and I'll begin her DetrolLA samples (which will last four weeks) with today's lunch (yes I researched it; it may or may not work, there is a low risk of deleterious side effects in her case, so we're going to try it), and, I may decide, just for fun, to see how the cake shakes out before dinner, but, well, I may take her blood pressure too; the FNP told me that I would probably suffer stat withdrawal. I didn't believe I would but I must admit she's right. Already I'm slobbering with anticipation over the added monthly blood tests and urinalyses, of which I spoke in either this post or this one, all of which, with this, will be linked to a variety of posts regarding our trip yesterday, another of which I will be publishing shortly.

Non-stat Lunch

Lunch:  1445  & Meds What she ate:  A pretty big slice of German Chocolate cake with a fair amount of icing
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
tolterodine tartrate ER/4 mg	Once per day	4 week trial to see if it inhibits her incontinence

    You'll note the inclusion of detrol (tolterodine tartrate Extended Release - 4 mg) at lunch. We have 4 weeks' worth of samples which we're trying to see if they help. I've already noticed that her mouth becomes dry, so I am encouraging "gentlewomanly sipping" throughout the day to "keep her whistle wet", to which she responds by whistling after sipping.
    She was, of course, thrilled with the cake.

BM Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2036     Reading:  165

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2039     BP:  151/74     Pulse:  69

Dinner:  2058  & Meds What she ate:  buffalo steak salad with approx 3 oz chopped buffalo steak on a bed of greens with carrots, Bermuda onions, green pepper and chopped olives with approx 2 Tbl home made ranch dressing approx 8 oz augmented potato salad (extra onion, extra egg, extra potato)
Med/Dose	Administration	Explanation
100% Aloe Vera gel/1 oz	just before meal	helps increase the cells' sensitivity to insulin when used with glipizide
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 ER/10 mg	1 pill with meal	standard breakfast and dinner med to increase cells' sensitivity to insulin
lisinopril/2.5 mg	1/2 of 5 mg tab with meal	given for kidney protection when her blood pressure can handle it
vitamin E/400 IU	with meal	given for anti-coagulant properties
garlic/1250 mg	with meal	given for anti-coagulant properties
calcium-vitamin D/500-200 mg	with meal	believed to be an osteoporosis preventative

    Well, the FNP was right, it's going to be a hard habit to break. I was a little surprised at her blood pressure. I think I might check into amending the new lisinopril prescription to 2.5 mg X 3/day.
    Her blood sugar surprised me but only because it was so low. I expected it to be soaring a bit above 200. "The diabetes will take a vacation. Your mother's blood sugar is already under easy control with less than half the medications being used previously."
    Some of the literature I'm reading stresses the overall importance of regular Bowel Movements, one of which she had today, sometime between 1916 (when I arose from a fierce nap which overtook me) and dinner: Good consistency, good volume, excellent early reconnaissance, easy elimination, very easy clean-up. And, so far, we're accomplishing this with very occasional help from a very mild laxative, Phillip's Milk of Magnesia.