Today's Stats:
BM Breakfast
You'll notice the inclusion of her temperature (arterial, taken on the forehead. I'm doing this because she's still having a bit of pain with her side (we're continuing the acetaminophen, today; she had two extra strength tablets with her breakfast, at about 1130) and I want to make sure I monitor her for the possibility of internal infection. Her temperature last night, by the way, was 99.6°F.
Her high blood glucose? That was probably the piece of chocolate cake last night. She doesn't often get a hankering for sweets, anymore, but when she does, well, she tells me about it with a look on her face so beatific it's as though having something sweet would be better than going to heaven. Last night, after dinner, she said, "I don't suppose we've got anything sweet around here, do we? Something with chocolate." As it turns out we still have several frozen pieces of that chocolate cake I bought a couple of months ago at Costco, so I gave her a piece. Apparently, her body was still savoring it this morning. Adversely, her lower-than-usual-in-the-morning blood pressure was probably also due to the chocolate cake. You lose some, you win some.
Her Bowel Movement happened probably between 1000 and 1015 this morning. When I arrived back from faxing and Costco (I took a very early trip, hoping I'd get home before she awoke), she was on the toilet looking around for something with which to wipe herself. I deduced, from the closed windows and Arcadia door, that she'd been up since sometime between 0930 and 1000. Anyway: Consistency was excellent; Volume was excellent; elimination was apparently very easy (I asked her); clean-up was easy...not an awful lot of slick sludge and almost no tracking to her urinary area. Could be that as her muscles become stronger all over we'll have less of a problem with shit tracking. Good.
Lunch
Well, that's better, a blood glucose reading that's normal for lunch. I guess her body has stopped licking it's lips over the chocolate cake last night.
Lunch was really just a snack. Olives and yoghurt. She wasn't that hungry, which means she'll be ravenous at dinner. Good. We've got pork ribs.
No acetaminophen this time. Her feet are swelling a bit. I don't like to use that stuff, anyway, because she's got an old liver that is working overtime on all that iron. And, although she answered in the affirmative when I asked her about right side twinges, here and there, I can tell they aren't debilitating. I'll probably give her acetaminophen at dinner, though.
Shitting. In Two Movements. Dinner
One good sign, as far as her right side problem is concerned, is that her blood pressure is not registering any signs of undue distress. I'm pleased and hopeful about this. She was, indeed, indeed really hungry tonight. Continuation of her normally healthy appetite is a good sign, too.
That's right, folks, two Bowel Movements today, the second one happening at around 1800. It was obviously a continuation of the first: slight volume, easily eliminated, excellent consistency, somewhat less easy clean-up. Interestingly, tonight, for the first time, the connection between the olives and her easy bowel movements clicked with Mom. When I mentioned that clean-up was going to be a bit more involved than earlier she said, "Maybe I'm eating too many olives." I was so surprised that she'd remembered this, as, I think, the last time I mentioned it was some months ago, that I didn't respond. Actually, I don't want to feed her any less. She typically gets six olives a day, four to five out of seven days, usually at lunch, which isn't a problem because she loves olives. I usually give her a choice of olives or dill pickles on those days when I don't think it's absolutely necessary that she consume olives and it's 50/50 whether she'll take one or the other. I also use olives in what she calls "mixtures", a lot. So, over any particular week, she's getting a lot of olives. Truthfully, it hadn't occurred to me that she could get too many, but, when she mentioned this I thought, hmmm...maybe the difference between almost no magnetic smearing throughout her vulva and a lot has to do with olive intake. So, I'll keep this in mind, now, on a day-to-day basis. I don't want her feces to become rocky on a regular basis but maybe a little more control wouldn't hurt.
I gave her two extra strength acetaminophen, tonight, with dinner, since her blood pressure was excellent and the swelling in her feet had begun to subside. Tomorrow, if she is still experiencing pain that could use some relief, maybe I'll try one at each meal and see how that works. It could be that the standard dose is just a bit much for Ancient, put upon livers.
|
Blood Glucose: Time: 1111 Reading: 140 |
Blood Pressure: Time: 1111 BP: 129/60 Pulse: 64 |
Temperature: Time: 1120 Reading: 99.4°F |
You'll notice the inclusion of her temperature (arterial, taken on the forehead. I'm doing this because she's still having a bit of pain with her side (we're continuing the acetaminophen, today; she had two extra strength tablets with her breakfast, at about 1130) and I want to make sure I monitor her for the possibility of internal infection. Her temperature last night, by the way, was 99.6°F.
Her high blood glucose? That was probably the piece of chocolate cake last night. She doesn't often get a hankering for sweets, anymore, but when she does, well, she tells me about it with a look on her face so beatific it's as though having something sweet would be better than going to heaven. Last night, after dinner, she said, "I don't suppose we've got anything sweet around here, do we? Something with chocolate." As it turns out we still have several frozen pieces of that chocolate cake I bought a couple of months ago at Costco, so I gave her a piece. Apparently, her body was still savoring it this morning. Adversely, her lower-than-usual-in-the-morning blood pressure was probably also due to the chocolate cake. You lose some, you win some.
Her Bowel Movement happened probably between 1000 and 1015 this morning. When I arrived back from faxing and Costco (I took a very early trip, hoping I'd get home before she awoke), she was on the toilet looking around for something with which to wipe herself. I deduced, from the closed windows and Arcadia door, that she'd been up since sometime between 0930 and 1000. Anyway: Consistency was excellent; Volume was excellent; elimination was apparently very easy (I asked her); clean-up was easy...not an awful lot of slick sludge and almost no tracking to her urinary area. Could be that as her muscles become stronger all over we'll have less of a problem with shit tracking. Good.
Lunch
|
Blood Glucose: Time: 1555 Reading: 147 |
Blood Pressure: Time: Forgot to take it |
Well, that's better, a blood glucose reading that's normal for lunch. I guess her body has stopped licking it's lips over the chocolate cake last night.
Lunch was really just a snack. Olives and yoghurt. She wasn't that hungry, which means she'll be ravenous at dinner. Good. We've got pork ribs.
No acetaminophen this time. Her feet are swelling a bit. I don't like to use that stuff, anyway, because she's got an old liver that is working overtime on all that iron. And, although she answered in the affirmative when I asked her about right side twinges, here and there, I can tell they aren't debilitating. I'll probably give her acetaminophen at dinner, though.
Shitting. In Two Movements. Dinner
|
Blood Glucose: Time: 1854 Reading: 90 |
Blood Pressure: Time: 1902 BP: 121/60 Pulse: 51 |
Temperature: Time: 1855 Reading: 99.5°F |
One good sign, as far as her right side problem is concerned, is that her blood pressure is not registering any signs of undue distress. I'm pleased and hopeful about this. She was, indeed, indeed really hungry tonight. Continuation of her normally healthy appetite is a good sign, too.
That's right, folks, two Bowel Movements today, the second one happening at around 1800. It was obviously a continuation of the first: slight volume, easily eliminated, excellent consistency, somewhat less easy clean-up. Interestingly, tonight, for the first time, the connection between the olives and her easy bowel movements clicked with Mom. When I mentioned that clean-up was going to be a bit more involved than earlier she said, "Maybe I'm eating too many olives." I was so surprised that she'd remembered this, as, I think, the last time I mentioned it was some months ago, that I didn't respond. Actually, I don't want to feed her any less. She typically gets six olives a day, four to five out of seven days, usually at lunch, which isn't a problem because she loves olives. I usually give her a choice of olives or dill pickles on those days when I don't think it's absolutely necessary that she consume olives and it's 50/50 whether she'll take one or the other. I also use olives in what she calls "mixtures", a lot. So, over any particular week, she's getting a lot of olives. Truthfully, it hadn't occurred to me that she could get too many, but, when she mentioned this I thought, hmmm...maybe the difference between almost no magnetic smearing throughout her vulva and a lot has to do with olive intake. So, I'll keep this in mind, now, on a day-to-day basis. I don't want her feces to become rocky on a regular basis but maybe a little more control wouldn't hurt.
I gave her two extra strength acetaminophen, tonight, with dinner, since her blood pressure was excellent and the swelling in her feet had begun to subside. Tomorrow, if she is still experiencing pain that could use some relief, maybe I'll try one at each meal and see how that works. It could be that the standard dose is just a bit much for Ancient, put upon livers.
posted by Gail Rae @ 23:59
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