Today's Stats:

No time for stats this morning...
...it was a crazy morning and I forgot. I was running like crazy from the time I awoke in order to take advantage of Costco's early opening time on Saturday, get in and out before Mom awoke, I also needed to ask a favor of one of my sisters and enjoyed our conversation much too much and much too long. Then, when I arrived home at 11:00 on the dot, Mom was up, sitting on the edge of her bed, wiping sleep out of her eyes. It was pouring rain, I hadn't unloaded the truck, the cargo of which included some of the heavier, waterproof items in the truck bed, protected but soaked, and a bunch of freezer stuff that couldn't wait for long to be transferred. I did it all, including bathing and entertaining the Mom and mollifying the Little Girl (she's scared of rain) and got Mom's breakfast on the table; all except taking stats.     I did want to mention, though, that I noticed Mom's feet were a little swollen, so was her belly, so I gave her 20 mg furosemide this morning. I'll probably check her blood pressure and blood glucose at "lunch".

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1718     BP:  153/73     Pulse:  51

    My only concern was her blood pressure, because of the slight edema, which is receding gently, so that was the only stat I took. I decided to give her another 2.5 mg lisinopril at lunch instead of waiting until dinner. Since I had already announced that I was going to make Blueberry Cobbler this evening, she and I decided her lunch should be fairly hefty and definitely nutritious. She had 8 oz of non-fat, artificially sweetened lemon yoghurt, 11.6 oz. V-8 juice and 6 oz each of two Mediterranean salads, one a lentil/carrot/rice salad, the other a black bean/corn/green pepper/onion salad. She ate it all, with gusto. Lots of potassium and sodium, to make up for the water loss.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1950     Reading:  153

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1948     BP:  147/59     Pulse:  56

    Yep, it was a Just Desserts supper, Blueberry Cobbler. Delicious. Lots of antioxidants. Lots of fructose, too; not that much sugar, although this batch of blueberries tasted as though they'd been picked green (that's probably why they were so cheap) and was low on pectin. The cobbler could have used a bit more sugar and cornstarch. Unfortunately, I didn't taste the blueberries before I put them in the cobbler, so I didn't catch this. But, it was delicious anyway, and as the rest sits in the freezer, it'll age into a higher level of sweetness and thickness.
    Considering the short break between lunch and dinner, her blood sugar looks good. I'm surprised at her blood pressure. I thought the lisinopril at lunch would take it a little lower. But, she's still expelling fluid. I gave her the full compliment of pills, so she received three lisinopril today.

Bedtime

Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2133     BP:  149/71     Pulse:  65

    This was actually taken about 45 minutes before she retired. I wanted to see if she was going to need a fourth lisinopril. She probably could have used it, but I thought about it, inspected her feet and her belly, and decided to wait until morning to see if she dropped the rest of the fluid. As well, her knee and back have been "giving her fits" today. Although that's her phrase, she actually hasn't been complaining about them. I was aware of the problem, though, because of the way she was moving. I decided to give her two extra strength acetaminophen, because it looks like we're going to be in for bumpy air pressure again tomorrow and I think the acetaminophen will nip some of her joint pain in the bud overnight. I hope so. She fought me on it, she hates to take pain medication of any kind, but I insisted.

Today's Stats:

BM Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1137     Reading:  104

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1140     BP:  133/63     Pulse:  56

    Everything looks good. I'm assuming that her BP will drop a little over the day with her usual lisinopril, but I'll probably check it tonight, as well, before she goes to bed.
    Her Bowel Movement occurred at 1320: This was the cleanser I'd hoped the ducosate sodium I gave her last night would initiate; excellent volume, good consistency (a little loose, but that was probably because of the stool softener); easy elimination; surprisingly easy clean-up.

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1703     BP:  110/57     Pulse:  71

    Everything looks good. In connection with the advice to "sugar" her a bit more lunch included a piece of grilled garlic cheese french whole grain wheat bread for lunch with her usual 5 mini dills and 6 olives. I also decided to cut back to two blood glucose readings a day, unless something makes me nervous.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2025     Reading:  234

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2024     BP:  112/53     Pulse:  64

    Yeah, I know, her blood glucose is unusually high. Perhaps I overdid it. At about 1800 we received a package from MCS containing three quart jars of her magnificent homemade bread and butter pickles. It was impossible not to open a jar and allow Mom a sample. She didn't eat a lot: maybe 1/3 cup. But, I guess the sugar was enough and the time between the snack and dinner wasn't enough to keep her blood glucose from soaring. I'm not concerned, but I think snacking between meals, which she usually isn't interested in doing, anyway, isn't a good idea unless it's fresh vegetables or something like unsweetened pickles and olives; or artificially sweetened yoghurt. I'll work on concentrating refined carbohydrates around her meals.

Bedtime

Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2246     BP:  148/67     Pulse:  62

    Her feet started swelling in the couple of hours after dinner. I'm not sure why, but, on a hunch, I checked her blood pressure. Because of the reading, I administered a third 2.5 mg dose of lisinopril before she began to prepare for bed.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1149     Reading:  114

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1154     BP:  124/64     Pulse:  55

    Everything looks good, this morning. When I awoke Mom her eyes were already open. She was ready to get up after 12 hours.

Midday Snack

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1720     Reading:  109

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1723     BP:  137/61     Pulse:  55

    She just had a snack, since dinner will be in a couple of hours. She slept a lot, today, still recovering, I think, from the trip and the new course of antibiotics. When it looks as though she's going to sleep a lot I usually ask her if she's going to bed because she's tired or bored. She's always truthful. Today she answered, every time, that she was tired. I believe her. I am concerned, though, that she will probably have slept about 16 hours today. I'll see if I can get her moving tomorrow. Hopefully, that'll help, her energy level, some.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1935     BP:  121/54     Pulse:  67

    Didn't take blood sugar because I didn't think it was necessary. We had left overs tonight: A little sauerkraut and polish sausage with fennel seeds and a little mac & cheese with chopped green pepper, celery and onion.

Bedtime

Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2147     BP:  139/62     Pulse:  73

    I gave her a third lisinopril this evening. I also gave her one tablet of ducosate sodium (Colace). From the volume of her last few bowel movements, I think she might need a cleansing movement.

Combined Stats: 7/26 - 7/27/05

Breakfast 7/26/05

Blood Glucose:     Time:  0613     Reading:  129

Blood Pressure:     Time:  0626     BP:  129/59     Pulse:  57

    This was the only time I took stats on Doctor Day; when she awoke in the morning. I remember wondering if she actually needed a 12 hour sleep at night in order to lower her blood sugar to normal range.
    She ate a healthy breakfast. We ate lunch at around 1130; well stacked tuna salad sandwiches on hearty, dark, whole grain bread that we bought at Starbucks. For dinner we went to Black Angus. She had an 8 oz slice of prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and a side salad, with a couple of hunks torn off the table bread. She left little on her plate. We were both hungry.
    Just as a note, although our day was not particularly active, quite a bit of it was spent in the motel room or in the car, she didn't take a nap. There were a couple of times when she could have, but refused, satisfied to watch TV in the motel, go along with me to Ulta to buy some shampoo that I can't get up here, and read the bible left in the motel room.
    She did want to try to walk into and out of the restaurant without the walker, with just my assistance. That's the last time we do that, and I told her so. Although she thinks not using the walker helps her maintain her dignity, I practically ended up carrying her into and out of the restaurant, and that lent dignity to neither of us.

BM No Stats 7/27/05
    I didn't take any stats today; gave her a rest of needles and numbers. Her Bowel Movement occurred at 1130, about an hour after she awoke, right after she dressed after her bath: Fair volume, excellent consistency, she said elimination was "a little difficult", clean-up, though, was very easy, as has been usual, lately.
     Although Mom was up for at least 10 hours, she was particularly hungry when she awoke from her nap; she only ate an 8 oz carton of yoghurt. She ate a very healthy dinner, though; asked for Kentucky Fried Chicken, which I got for us. She ate an original recipe thigh and a large helping of KFC macaroni and cheese and green beans, as well as a bisquit. Today was her first day of taking the daily antibiotic, 100 mgs Macrodantin, which I'll be administering at dinner every night, in order to prevent her UTIs.

Today's Stats:

BM Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1140     Reading:  100

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1200     BP:  109/53     Pulse:  56

    Her Bowel Movement occurred at 1235, after her bath, while she was dressing. She reported that elimination was "a little difficult, not bad"; volume was fair to good; consistency excellent, clean-up very easy.
    She was very slow this morning. It took 10 minutes for me to coax her hand over the edge of the bed so I could take her blood glucose; another 20 minutes to coax her into sitting up for her blood pressure. Everything looks good, though. I hoping to get an exercise session in sometime today, although I've got a lot to do before tomorrow, including Mom's hair, and something tells me that she isn't going to want to go without a nap, today.

Snack

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1739     Reading:  146

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1738     BP:  96/51     Pulse:  60

    Pretty dehydrated, yes, even after all the fluid I pushed while she was up. No, she hasn't had any furosemide since night before last. These were taken right after her nap. Her feet and belly look good, though. She's having a snack of yoghurt, since we'll probably be eating dinner about 2000.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2013     Reading:  110

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2016     BP:  137/62     Pulse:  53

    I'll be checking her BP before she goes to bed, of course, but, I'm actually pleased it's where it is. Her feet look good, as well.
    For dinner she had sauerkraut w/polish sausage and fennel seeds; toasted garlic cheese bread; a small dinner salad with a variety of fresh vegetables and homemade Ranch dressing.

Bedtime

Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2216     BP:  122/56     Pulse:  60

    Well, everything looks fine. No need for a third lisinopril tonight.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1237     Reading:  124

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1235     BP:  106/63     Pulse:  71

    Everything seems to be back to normal. Her pulse was a little high but I caught her just as she had shuffled into the bathroom.
    She had breakfast about 1330.

Before Nap

Blood Glucose:     Time:  Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1636     BP:  106/47     Pulse:  55

    I took this just before her nap, just to make sure her blood pressure was staying down. It's staying waaaay down. Although she's had a little over a quart of fluids since arising, she's still a little more dehydrated than usual from the furosemide. And, yet, her feet were swelling just a touch.
    I told her this morning that I was going to try to get an exercise session in with her today. She's awfully tired, though. The furosemide really takes it out of her. I hate using it on her, but sometimes it's necessary. We'll see how she feels when she awakens from her nap. She didn't want anything to eat before she laid down, so, we'll see how long she sleeps and how hungry she is when she awakens. We may do only two meals, today, or, yet again, a snack and then a meal.

Somewhat Before Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1919     Reading:  108

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1918     BP:  106/48     Pulse:  68

    We didn't have dinner until, oh, somewhere between 2030 and 2100. She awoke from her nap, though a few minutes before the time entered above. Since it was so late, I suggested that she have a very light snack and that I start about 2000. That worked for her.
    At the time entered above she decided to have a glass of V-8 juice. I'd already told her that she was going to need to consume an entire 16 oz. glass of water with her snack and she decided the fluid may as well be the snack. So, along with the 11.5 oz. V-8 juice I made her coffee, her usual instant decaf, which pleased her.
    Her fairly high pulse rate is because I accosted her with my tools immediately after she sat down after her trek from the bathroom to her rocking chair.
    I think, when I feel it necessary, I'm going to list what she ate, here, although not in as much meticulous detail as previously. Tonight, for dinner, I served her one of her favorites, mac & cheese with added ground beef, ground sausage, chopped onions, green peppers and celery, with added real cheese. She was hungry and ate all I served her, her usual helping. I wanted to make sure she got plenty of sodium and potassium, since her ragged skin clued me that she was still losing fluid from the furosemide last night. She also had her usual cranberry juice. The V-8 juice and her dinner filled the bill well.
    Her feet looked fine when she retired; a touch full from lack of movement, but not typical CHF edema, as her belly was not swollen.
    She asked for coffee refills three separate times throughout the evening, which is good; her thirst seems to be kicking in some, which I suppose is expected considering her prodigious loss of fluid from the furosemide.
    I want to note that she hasn't had yoghurt for two days. Yesterday she asked for cottage cheese at lunch instead of yoghurt. Today she chose V-8 juice over yoghurt. I'm going to make sure she gets yoghurt for the next couple of days.

BP Note to Self
...that I think I should probably take her blood pressure every night before she retires for awhile, just in case. I should have taken it tonight but didn't think of this until after her light went out at 2330.