Today's Stats:

BM Breakfast

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.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1018     Reading:  109

Blood Pressure:     Time:  Forgot to take it

    I was trying so hard to get Mom up, bathed, dressed and out the door for her blood/urine draw that I forgot to take her blood pressure. It was a fasting blood draw, so we had breakfast some time after noon.
    Administered two extra strength acetaminophen tablets with her breakfast this morning. Explanation in this report at the main site, to be posted within some few minutes.

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1632     Reading:  129

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1628     BP:  108/50     Pulse:  61

    Hooh...that's better. Exact same breakfast as yesterday, probably about the same shortened break between breakfast and lunch, nap between breakfast and lunch, blood glucose within Mom's normal range for lunch. I guess, occasionally, her body's cells just decide, "Ahh...what the hell, not interested in insulin today." At least it only happens once in awhile.
    Administered two extra strength acetaminophen tablets with lunch.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2023     Reading:  87

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2022     BP:  145/67     Pulse:  55

    Administered two extra strength acetaminophen tablets with dinner. Hopefully, tomorrow we won't need these.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1152     Reading:  108	Blood Pressure:     Time:  1156     BP:  150/76     Pulse:  54
Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not taken	Blood Pressure:     Time:  1208     BP:  133/59     Pulse:  58

    First BP taken upon arising, as usual, while she was still sitting on her bed. Second BP taken while she was sitting in the bathroom awaiting bathing.

BM Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1624     Reading:  185

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1622     BP:  118/63     Pulse:  55

    Whoa! Not quite sure why her blood sugar was so high, although she didn't begin eating breakfast until about 1230 and lingered over it, especially the orange juice, for almost an hour. As well, the wheat bread slice I toasted for her, today, was from a pretty dense loaf I'd made. She didn't nap between breakfast and lunch, though. Staying up usually lowers her blood sugar. I guess it's just one of those occasional blips that I can never explain.
    Her Bowel Movement occurred between 1330 and 1400: Easily eliminated, excellent consistency, fair volume, which is to say good but less than normal. Very easy clean-up, which has been true, lately. The stickiness and magnetic quality of her shit seems to be subsiding, which is good, which bodes well for fewer UTIs.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2043     Reading:  106

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2042     BP:  118/56     Pulse:  66

Current Medication and Supplement Review:

The following is what I faxed to her PCP, today, in preparation for her upcoming appointment on 6/21/05, as an update of her current meds, supplements and how, when and why they are administered:

45 mins - 1 hour Before Breakfast:
  Niferex 150: 150 mg (elemental iron; 53% Ferrochel/47% polysaccharide iron complex)
  Vitamin C: 500 mg + 50 mg included in above med
  Cholest-Off: 900 mg plant sterols

1/2 hour to 45 minutes Before Breakfast:
  Protonix: 40 mg

With Breakfast:
  Glipizide: 10 mg
  Lisinopril: 2.5 mg
  Multivitamin for Seniors
  Folic Acid: 40 mcg
  Buffered Aspirin: 81 mg
  1/4 tsp Cinnamon - to increase cell sensitivity to insulin
  1 oz. 100% Aloe Vera Gel - to increase cell sensitivity to insulin
  1,250 mg Garlic
  12 oz cup Detox or Peach Detox tea (see notes below on ingredients)

1/2 Hour Before Dinner:
  Cholest-Off: 900 mg plant sterols

With Dinner:
  Glipizide: 10 mg
  Lisinopril: 2.5 mg
  Niferex 150: 150 mg (elemental iron; 53% Ferrochel/47% polysaccharide iron complex)
  Vitamin C: 500 mg + 50 mg included in above med
  Garlic: 1,250 mg
  Vitamin E: 400 IU
  Calcium/Vitamin D: 500/200
  1 oz. 100% Aloe Vera Gel - to increase cell sensitivity to insulin

Very Occasionally for Pain or Physical Discomfort:
  250 - 1000 mg acetaminophen - within the last week she’s been taking 1000 mg in the evening almost daily for back and muscle aches from walkering and exercise routine.

Other Dailies:
  Opticon A: Once or twice a day during allergy season for watering eyes
  Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride 2% Cream: Morning and night, after thorough washing, in thigh creases and around underwear area to alleviate and prevent irritation and itching from urine leakage.

Almost never unless necessary (I have all of these on hand):
  Metaclopramide for nausea (have not used since her last appointment)
  Furosemide for fluid retention (have used once, 20 mg [half a pill] since last appt.)
  Albuterol Inhaler (used twice this spring)
  Phillip’s Milk of Magnesia for minor constipation (have used three times since last appt.
  Docusate Sodium for constipation (recently purchased this as a substitute for Phillip’s since it doesn’t have magnesium in it - haven’t yet used it)

Uses Oxygen:
  3 Liters lately, when sleeping, because her allergies cause her nose to clog badly and this insures, on continuous flow, that she gets some oxygen at night.
  3 Liters when moving, depending on how vigorous the movement is
  2 Liters occasionally when sitting recently because of allergy season: When her nose clogs badly and she starts mouth breathing, I put her on it for awhile.

Testing Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar:
  Normally test once per day, alternating before breakfast, lunch and dinner, for about a week each. This week, previous to her appointment, I’ve been testing three times a day to give an all-meals daily review of what her numbers have been doing.

    Although I included a list of the ingredients of both detox teas I use with her, I'll not include it here. You can get those lists from the web site linked in earlier posts.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1056     Reading:  100	Blood Pressure:     Time:  1132     BP:  163/70     Pulse:  54
Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not Taken	Blood Pressure:     Time:  1137     BP:  132/68     Pulse:  56

    The first blood pressure was taken a few minutes after she was upright on the bed. The second blood pressure was taken 5 minutes later after she had settled herself on the toilet for her bath. Significant drop in systolic. I wanted to catch this: How stressful it is for her to arise from bed in the morning, but how quickly she recovers from it.

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1541     Reading:  145

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1539     BP:  115/61     Pulse:  61

    Despite the walkering today, her blood glucose was within range but out of normal range. I remember the bird clock hooting noon about 15 minutes before she ate breakfast, and she ate slow, as usual, so there was not quite a four hour break between the time she'd last had food and lunch. Usually, she takes a nap between breakfast and lunch, which translates into a 4.5 - 5 hour break.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2002     Reading:  99

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2001     BP:  110/50     Pulse:  56

    All's well, at least in the stat department.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1126     Reading:  119

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1146     BP:  121/62     Pulse:  63

    Not sure why her blood glucose is as high as it is. Might be the "inactive ingredients" in the Cholest-Off. I've noticed, though, that this has been happening more frequently than before. Her dinner would not account for this: braised country style beef ribs in a modified hoisin sauce and a piece of corn on the cob. We haven't had any desserts in the evening for a long time. In a way, though, this development is optimistic, indicating to me that her diabetes still hasn't booked it's vacation, which means her Chronic Renal Failure is probably under excellent control.
    Her blood pressure this morning is hip-hip-hooray excellent. I waited until she'd settled into the bathroom before I took it, though. I imagine her struggle into an upright position immediately upon arising still boosts her pressure. But, I have to take into consideration, as well, the moving around we've been doing.

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1745     Reading:  109

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1748     BP:  117/63     Pulse:  61

    Looking amazingly good!

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2030     Reading:  74	Blood Pressure:     Time:  2029     BP:  140/61     Pulse:  58
Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not Taken	Blood Pressure:     Time:  2126     BP:  146/62     Pulse:  63
Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not Taken	Blood Pressure:     Time:  2202     BP:  139/62     Pulse:  60

    First, I know that lunch and dinner were pretty close together. Lunch, in fact, was very light...yoghurt and olives...for that very reason. She napped somewhat longer than I expected, today, but I let her go until I got a little concerned. She's been moving a lot more than normal the last few days so I figured her body could use the time to rest and heal.
    Second, I have no idea why her systolic is so high. She had an exercise session about a half hour before I took her stats and about 45 minutes before she ate. So, I gave her dinner, her pills, and took her blood pressure again an hour later. Systolic even higher. I can't explain it. She's relaxed and watching TV in her rocker. I gave her two acetaminophen for dinner because she worked so hard during the exercise session and was beginning to ache in the arms and legs. Maybe that cancels out the lisinopril. I don't know. I should check. Oh well. I took it again just before she went to bed. Slightly lower but still pretty high, systolically speaking. Could be her annoyance at me insisting on an exercise sessions, and the fact that the exercise session went slowly and lasted longer because I explained proper form to her and corrected it.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1101     Reading:  103

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1125     BP:  156/75     Pulse:  54

    If I can keep her moving this time around, maybe she'll only need to take 5 mg lisinopril at night, and maybe only for awhile. I hope this is the case but I'm not too worried about ratcheting up this particular medication, as she is already on the lowest dose available.
    Since it is my intention to keep her moving right up to the day of her appointment next week, probably walkering one day, exercises the next, some days maybe both, I'll be able to get a good idea of whether the renewed movement is going to affect her morning blood pressure. Arising from a night of sleep and bathing are probably the most strenuous activities in which she indulges, at the moment. Hopefully, the conditioning that extra movement will provide will help her body deal with mornings less stressfully.

BM Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not Taken	Blood Pressure:     Time:  1615     BP:  101/49     Pulse:  65
Blood Glucose:     Time:  1618     Reading:  124	Blood Pressure:     Time:  1617     BP:  97/48     Pulse:  65

    You'll notice I took her blood pressure twice at lunch. I couldn't believe how low it was. I think this was marginally due to the exercise she got today during our trip, but mostly due to dehydration. I'm expecting it to pick up at dinner, as I'm pushing fluids. It's very hard to get her to drink plain old water. We took a full bottle along on the trip and I harrassed her a bit to drink from it, but she was a very hard sell, as usual.
    At Costco, though, which was our first stop, she asked if we could stop to "get something to drink" at the lunch stand as we passed it on our way out. I suggested that water would be better and we had some of that in the car. Stupid me! She, of course, wasn't thirsty for water once we got to the car. From now on, when she wants to stop somewhere to "get something to drink", we'll do it!
    Her Bowel Movement occurred at about 1400, just before we headed out on our errand trip. It was easily eliminated, good consistency, small volume. Probably a continuation of yesterday's, eliminated at the behest of the Phillip's Milk of Magnesia I gave her last night.
    I want to mention that, for lunch, as well as her usual non-fat/artificially sweetened yoghurt, we both had about 8 oz of a dazzlingly tasty artichoke salad I picked up at our local natural/organic foods store, New Frontiers. We stopped there to pick up a more Detox Tea, some almond extract and my menopause supplement on our way home from Costco. She likes that store and perused the deli counter on our way out. We both spotted the salad and decided to try it. It was a delectable mixture of artichokes, chopped green olives, roasted peppers, fresh dill, fresh parsley, chopped celery and chopped garlic (probably elephant garlic, as it was very mild). I think I'll try producing it on my own...it's a bit pricey at the deli.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2037     Reading:  90

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2037     BP:  120/60     Pulse:  64

    Tonight we added Cholest-Off to her supplemental regimen. She saw the product at Costco, today (yes, she accompanied me to Costco), while we were restocking on two other supplements, garlic and daily multivitamins. She's been watching the add on TV. Each time she sees it run she says something along the lines of: "I should try that. You know, my cholesterol has always run high." I hadn't really consciously registered her interest in it. Hadn't thought to look for it, either. But her long term supplemental interest kicked in while we were in that aisle and, although I don't think she was looking for it, she spotted it while she was perusing the aisle. I'll be taking it for at least a couple of weeks to see if it has any side effects...I always do this with her supplements and OTC medications. This is how I figured out that naproxin sodium wasn't a good idea for her (it only took me a couple of doses to figure that one out). I'm not sure how long we'll keep up this supplement. She occasionally has very good readings, when her cholesterol is tested, although her triglycerides usually remain high and this product doesn't mention anything about whether it affects triglyceride levels.

Review from May 26 - June 12, 2005

    First, since it's fresh on my mind, I believe I did take blood pressures on the mornings of May 26th, 27th and June 1st, but this blood pressure cuff only holds 20 readings, so I screwed myself by not keeping up with stats. I have a vague memory, though, of being surprised and pleased at my mother's "normally" low readings on those mornings. You'll notice, however, that I began, soon after, taking her blood pressure with abandon, sometimes before meals or immediately upon arising, sometimes not. I am beginning to think that it may be a good idea, for awhile, anyway, to boost her to 5 mg lisinopril twice a day. I'm hoping I can convince the FNP to prescribe it as two 2.5 mg tablets twice a day...that way, if she moves more, as is beginning to happen, finally, if her blood pressure begins to recede, I can cut her back without having to split tiny, fragile pills, which inevitably crumble during the process.
    You'll probably notice that there are gaps in taking her stats. I try not to punch her too much and if I should forget or forego blood glucose readings for a day or two, I don't worry about it. Normally. I have noticed, though, lately, a bit of a rise in the morning, so I've been punching her a bit more frequently than usual, trying to check out glucose readings throughout the day. Some of the higher readings can be attributed to desserts she's been requesting a little more than occasionally, and with which I've been treating her. But, during the Christmas season when this was happening she usually came in "normal" in the morning. This hasn't been happening lately. It has, though, been a bear to get her to move, as well, lately. More about that in what will soon be the latest post over at The Mom & Me Journals dot Net to which the previous link will take you, once I finish it.
    Otherwise, "stuff and things", as my mother would say, have been proceeding normally. Her Bowel Movements have been, mostly, regular as clockwork, although over the last three weeks I've had to administer Phillip's Milk of Magnesia three times, just to make sure she stays regular. Once, as it turned out, she didn't need it, but, it really out the detritus the next day. I've been assiduous about giving her olives, but getting her to move has been a problem and she's been sleeping so much lately, absolutely stubborn about not rising until she goddamn well feels like it, that, of course, hydration has been a bit of a problem. I think these two situations have been the primary factors is her slight constipation of late.
    Well, since I feel like it, tonight, I think I'll go on over to the main journal and do a little entering.

Breakfast Stats:

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1053     Reading:  123

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1108     BP:  139/66     Pulse:  56