Today's Stats:

BM Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1309     Reading:  105

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1322     BP:  132/65     Pulse:  66

    Late retiring, late rising, or something like that.
    I wasn't concerned bout her rather high systolic as she seemed to be exhibiting some distress on the toilet prior to her bath which resolved itself in a "surprise" Bowel Movement at 1335: Good volume; excellent consistency; very easy elimination; very easy clean-up.
    Nothing untoward for breakfast this morning so we're good to go.

Mostly Non-stat Day
    I don't know what happened. About a quarter of the way through Mom's day I conked out. I fell asleep on the couch, again, soon after breakfast. At some point during my nap Mom decided to take a nap (of all the chores I didn't do in a timely manner yesterday, I did make her bed). She also awoke before me and was politely sitting in her rocker, not having leaked through, watching the Dog Show on TV.
    We pretty much just ate what we wanted. I ate very little; I wasn't up enough to eat. Mom ate a banana, some popcorn, a rootbeer and an 11.5 oz can of V-8 juice throughout the evening. She wasn't very hungry either. She got all her pills at a time that would have correlated with "dinner" if we'd had a formal repast. She and I both were up for a long time, well into today's "following morning". Mom's light went out at around 0130. The last time I looked at the clock before retiring it was 0354.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1251     Reading:  109

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1245     BP:  113/60     Pulse:  67

    Everything looks good. I should mention, in anticipation of what stats will look like the rest of the day, that she had two sweet rolls for breakfast this morning: A cake donut Long John without icing and a cheese/cream cheese danish with icing.

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1813     BP:  107/55     Pulse:  81

    In case you're wondering, yes, she's been "running on low" for the past several hours and I can't seem to get her interested in drinking.
    She had a light lunch by choice: A banana, 6 pimiento stuffed green olives and 11.5 oz. V-8 juice; and, I suppose I should mention, a 12 oz. cup of her usual instant decaf coffee. I mention this because she voluntarily drank both amounts within an hour of lunch.
    With the banana, I can't wait to see her BG reading at dinner.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  269     Reading:  2038

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2038     BP:  132/63     Pulse:  61

    Whoo-ee Mama! I shudder to imagine what her blood glucose was an hour ago!
    For dinner we had home made hamburgers spiced with Worchestershire sauce on onion buns with a medium slab of Vermont White sharp Ceddar and a dollop of dill pickle relish. I baked a potato and served half to each of us because she wanted French Fries and I didn't think that would be a good idea on this particular day. I slathered our halves with Greek Feta dressing and freshly shredded Parmesan. She ate only a quarter of her potato. She also drank a root beer and asked for a cup of coffee later in the evening.
    Again I considered a third lisinopril but decided to go with a vigorous leg and foot rub instead. She should be fine by morning. She retired at 0030 and her light went off around 0100, so I'll start checking on her about 1230 tomorrow.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1128     Reading:  90

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1139     BP:  110/58     Pulse:  61

    Looking good.
    I am keeping her a touch more dehydrated than usual. She seems livelier, somehow, when I don't freak if she doesn't get quite 2L fluids in a day.

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1616     BP:  111/53     Pulse:  64

    Doing nicely, doing nicely...
    For lunch she had yoghurt, finished off MCS's Bread & Butter pickles (probably had a half cup) and had some v-8 juice.
    Lunch was immediately preceded by a nap of less than an hour.

BM Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1927     Reading:  110	Blood Pressure:     Time:  1927     BP:  148/66     Pulse:  57
	Blood Pressure:     Time:  1923     BP:  160/71     Pulse:  64

    You're noticing the first BP, taken four minutes before her second and the dramatic difference in the both the systolic and diastolic. I guess I somehow irritated her, although I didn't mean to. Throughout the first pressure process her arm was as tight as a drum.
    Her Bowel Movement occurred at 1830: Poor volume; excellent consistency; very easy elimination; very easy clean-up. I expected her to have another before retiring but she didn't. She's probably a little backed up from the reduced fluid. I may need to give her a light dose of the laxative Ducosate Sodium tonight or tomorrow.
    For dinner we polished off the pizza we'd ordered the night before. Although I considered giving her a third 2.5 mg dose of lisinopril, I decided against it. We'll see what her BP is tomorrow.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1448     BP:  121/64     Pulse:  59

    That's right, folks. She awoke for the day at 1438. I won't go into the detail. It involved very early morning hours and a nap later on my part. It also involved "just being tired" on Mom's part.
    I made sure she had hearty breakfast and finished all her fluids before she left the table because I could see, before breakfast was over, another nap coming on in about an hour. I was right.
    I can't remember when she napped but I do remember that we ate dinner at 2030, because we ordered pizza and I checked the clock, as is my habit, when I returned home.
    I administered her normal pills and a generously rounded teaspoon of Benefiber®, which has become habitual.

Non-stat Dinner
    As I mentioned in today's previous posting, Mom and I had an elongated day, hers a day of rest, and ate dinner, one of only two meals, at about 2030: Delicious pick-up pizza from a local shop containing green olives, fresh garlic, fresh onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and pepperoni, "litechz" and "xtrasc", please. Mmmmm. We went through half the pizza.
    Although she was down a lot yesterday, when she was up she was minimally lively and felt good. She refused two separate offers of any kind of analgesic.
    After a "vigorous" leg rubdown she retired. Her light went out at 2315.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  0953     Reading:  116

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1239     BP:  120/57     Pulse:  58

    The huge discrepancy in the time I took her separate stats is a reflection of her morning. She made me swear, practically on a stack of bibles, that I would awaken her "no later than 1000." Which I did. She was extremely drowsy but I bid her hand over the edge of the bed and got her blood sugar.
    She was dozing again when I completed the test. "Another half hour," she mumbled after I assured her that our company had arrived about 0730.
    Followed a plea for another 15 minutes and then a plea to be allowed to sleep.
    I, too, relaxed abnormally and slept for about an hour, with company there, who were transfixed by the gossip tabloids Mom saves for them over the months between visits.
    Mom is still asleep as I write this. About an hour ago she roused, looked at the clock and decided to remain in bed. She looked like she could use it.
    We'll probably have only one more extended meal today: What would be considered either a heavy lunch or a light dinner. Maybe a little bit here and a little bit there. Considering that she didn't eat until about 1330, I don't think there will be a problem. She's dehydrating as we speak, of course, but she had a little fluid rentention last night.
    When I mention fluid retention in the evening she always consciously and out loud makes the connection between that and the amount that she sheds at night, knowing full well the overflow is urine. In the morning, invariably, it is first "sweat".
    I gave her 200 mg ibuprofen before she laid down. I think she went in around 1500. Yes, because I asked her if she wanted to watch Murder, She Wrote and she gave me a hang-dog expression and said, "I just want to go to bed, now."
    I let her go.

BM Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1826     Reading:  99

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1840     BP:  121/56     Pulse:  60

    Since Mom slept most of the day and once she awakened she felt as though MCS & daughter's visit had happened "yesterday", knowing that her favorite meal is always breakfast, I suggested a hearty breakfast-dinner: skillet sizzling fried ham slice from last week's baked ham, a hard-over highly peppered egg, two slices of warm home made bread slathered with margarine, a 12 oz cup of decaf instant coffee and 8 oz orange juice diluted with 4 oz water.     She assented with, "Sounds great!"     No problem getting her to eat. She was not particularly energetic tonight. She turned down playing board games and reading. While I was searching for another idea she said, "I just want to sit."     She and I vegged out in front of TV until she headed into the bathroom for her Bowel Movement at 2150: Very good volume; good consistency, a little slick; very easy elimination; fairly easy clean-up.
    "Since I'm already in the bathroom," she announced, since I'd rubbed her legs down previous to her bowel movement, "I may as well get ready for bed."     I complied, scurrying to get her pajamas and clean paper underwear. She was sitting on the edge of her bed by 2200. As of this publishing her light remains on; she's reading, I'm sure. I'll start counting down twelve hours when it's extinguished.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1123     Reading:  106

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1123     BP:  122/63     Pulse:  59

    Everything looks good.

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Not taken

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1610     BP:  119/64     Pulse:  78

    Although this isn't classical high BP for her, I'm a little concerned and have a feeling she'll be high by evening.
    She had a very light lunch today, by choice. Today she's taking a rest from all the activity in the last few days and is mostly immobile or napping. This is fine with me, as we have day company coming tomorrow and she'll be moving around and walkering again. For lunch she had 8 oz non-fat, artifically sweetened yoghurt with a heaping teaspoon of wheat germ and a banana. That's all she wanted. She even refused V-8 juice, which she rarely does.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2102     Reading:  223

Blood Pressure:     Time:  2107     BP:  137/65     Pulse:  64

    Her BG was savoring a thick, buttered slice of home made apple-pecan sweet yeast bread she decided she "needed" about an hour and a half before dinner. Since she hadn't had much lunch I figured, good, her appetite's coming back, and gave it to her.     I gave her two 2.5 mg lisinopril for dinner. Since we ate so late and I had a feeling she'd be slipping into bed around 2300 or before (I was right), I decided to give her the third pill with the second. We'll see how it shakes out in the morning.
    For dinner she had home made ham and bean soup and a hearty slice of wheat French bread grilled with garlic butter and Parmesan cheese.
    We're having day company tomorrow so it'll probably be a pretty high stat day, BG-wise, since we'll be going out to lunch. She'll be getting in some walkering, though, and will be up more than usual, which will be good.

Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1120     Reading:  92

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1137     BP:  131/60     Pulse:  60

    Although her BP reading would normally be cause for slight concern, I didn't consider it so this morning. This evening we're going out to dinner with MPS, MPBIL and MPNC. They are attending the folk festival up here and we'll be meeting them at a local restaurant around 1800. Mom not only remembers this but is so excited she awoke on her own at 1100 and we had an extended, animated pre-bath conversation about who would be there and what fun we're going to have. When I took her BP it was impossible to get her to relax her arm enough to get a resting blood pressure.

BM Non-stat Lunch
    Lunch was so light that it could be considered non-existent. Mom wanted to "save" her "appetite" for dinner, so she had a banana before taking an hour's nap to "rest up" for going out. I couldn't see any reason to take stats.
    Her Bowel Movement occurred at 1615: Very good volume; excellent consistency; very easy elimination; very easy clean-up.

Non-stat Dinner
    I couldn't see any reason to interrupt what I knew would be a delightfully social evening meal so I didn't take stats, although she received all her medication previous to dinner.
    She ate hearty: She polished off an 8 oz filet mignon, her favorite cut of beef; all her vegetables, a mixture of freshly steamed and lightly seasoned carrots and green beans, the green beans being a vegetable which she normally claims to hate; about half a healthy mound of garlic mashed potatoes, which she also claims to hate; a couple of torn chunks of fresh, warm sourdough table bread slathered with "real butter", which she requested of our waiter; a decent pre-dinner salad with a surprising variety of greens and fresh vegetables, croutons, grated Parmesan and a healthy dollop of Thousand Island dressing. She also insisted on drinking "leaded coffee", which is how she refers to caffeinated.
    She was in heaven throughout the leisurely and social dinner. She was a determined walkerer, too, into and out of the restaurant. I couldn't see any reason to spoil our after dinner evening by taking stats so I didn't. She retired at 2345, well fed, well visited and glowingly happy.