BM Full Stat Day

A.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  1321     Reading:  130

A.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  1316     BP:  105/57     Pulse:  66

P.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  2128     Reading:  107

P.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  2124     BP:  114/58     Pulse:  60

    Today seemed to go much better than yesterday. I was surprised, this morning, at how "low" her BG was, considering the ice cream dinner last night.
    Normal breakfast. Cottage cheese and peanuts for lunch. Leftover meat marina with egg noodles and loads of freshly grated Parmesan for dinner.
    Her Bowel Movement occurred immediately when she hit the bathroom this morning at 1300: Very good volume; good consistency; very easy elimination; slightly messy clean-up.
    I think she may have twisted her knee in bed last night, then she spent a loooong time reading at the breakfast table with her feet kicked back underneath the chair. I rarely allow her this much table time for this very reason: kicking her legs back like this causes her tendons to stretch and if she isn't already having knee problems that day, she has them after a long session like this. I don't know why I let her go like this except that she was so peaceful and alert, reading her magazines, the newspaper, cheating her way through a crossword, that I hated to disturb her; which led, unfortunately, to her right knee "bothering the dickens out of" her all day. She spent more time awake, today, than yesterday, but had so much trouble moving around that at one point after her nap that she asked to use me as a walker, which I not only allowed but was glad, and surprised, to do. I gave her an ibuprofen then and another before she retired, even though her knee seemed to be settling down.
    She retired at 1145. Her light went out at 0015, 6/4/06.

Quarter Stat Day:

A.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  1307     Reading:  140

Blood Pressure:     Not taken

    Although Mom was technically up for her usual amount of time, she was tired and slow and hurt and a little dingy, and I worried a bit about her. When she slept I let her sleep when she was awake I didn't demand much of her. It was hard to hydrate her because she just wasn't interested and was too tired to be "ordered" to drink, so I tried to make sure, after breakfast, which was normal, that she snacked, all day was never hungry enough for a full meal after breakfast) on foods with lots of water in them. Beef Cup A Noodles. Cottage Cheese. Some pomegranate juice. Radishes, carrot sticks and celery sticks. She had some peanuts, too. Finally, I served her a Just Desserts dinner of ice cream, three scoops, just to make sure she downed more fluid. It seemed to work. I managed to get all her medication and supplements in, as well.
    As you'll notice, I didn't bother her with stats today, either, once I discovered, after taking her BG, that she just wasn't into it.
    She retired at 0030, 5/3/06. Her light went off at 0045.

BM Full Stat Day:

A.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  1437     Reading:  140

A.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  1434     BP:  115/66     Pulse:  72

P.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  2129     Reading:  120

P.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  2124     BP:  137/64     Pulse:  65

    Breakfast substituted bulk sausage for bacon; otherwise normal.
    Eye drops again today; three times so far. Got in all three iron capsules.
    Lunch was heavily peppered cottage cheese with peanuts and coffee (decaf instant).
    Dinner was a Marie Callendar's Pot Pie, Creamy Chicken with Mushroom. I noticed, the other night, that she really relishes pot pies and it's getting too warm to heat up the oven for an hour or so in the evening, so I thought we'd try Marie's. Hit the spot for Mom.
    Her Bowel Movement occurred at 1910: Fairly good volume; excellent consistency; easy elimination; very easy clean-up.
    She hasn't retired yet. I don't expect her to even be interested in retiring for several hours, yet, seeing as how her days have been ending, lately, in the early morning and beginning in the early afternoon. I'll report back when she goes to bed.
    Well, as it turns out I was wrong. She announced that she was "awfully tired" at about midnight. I insisted that we rub down her legs. That and getting her ready for bed kept her up until about 0030, 6/2/06. She read for a good half hour before turning out her light, which was dowsed at a little after 0100.

Full Stat Day:

A.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  144     Reading:  1524

A.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  1521     BP:  107/57     Pulse:  63

P.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  2128     Reading:  112

P.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  2123     BP:  130/62     Pulse:  65

    In case you're wondering, the time recorded for her BG and BP readings in Mom's "morning" is actually about the time I served her breakfast. She awoke at around 1400, as she's been doing lately, I administered her first four pills of the day, then we hung out in her bedroom, enjoyed the warm weather, talked, joked, played with and petted our cats and finally made it into the bathroom at about 1445. Some "mornings" are just like that.
    Once again, no lunch to speak of. I think she's adjusting to the suddenly very warm weather. She took a marathon nap and I didn't disturb her, as she was sprawled in ultimate relaxation and "purring" with The Little Girl, who has taken, once again, to sleeping with her during nap time. She hadn't gone in for a nap until 1830 so her marathon nap lasted until almost 2100. By that time it was more like dinner than lunch time. I asked her what she wanted. "Well, it feels like morning. How about breakfast food?" So, I served bacon, eggs and, at her request, "Do we have any more of those muffins?" Yes.
    We had a special movie to watch: Ladies in Lavender. She considered it so satisfying that she wanted to watch another immediately after. I pulled out My House in Umbria, which is yet another "adult fairy tale" movie and she watched it as if for the first time.
    She retired at 0200, 6/01/06. Her light went out at 0230.

BM Full Half Stat Day:

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1432     Reading:  134

Blood Pressure:     Not taken

Blood Glucose:     Time:  2031     Reading:  129

Blood Pressure:     Not taken

    Her BP's been up lately and, because there is no other evidence that would point to a reason, I can only assume that it's because I've been in what she would call "a rare mood" (can mean either "good" or "bad", in this case it means "bad", not nasty but silent and a little glowery) and I'm irritating her, again, when I take her BP, so, today I gave her a BP break. We'll see how things go tomorrow.
    Three meals but these didn't include lunch, since she awoke so late and was never hungry for it, so she received only two iron capsules. However, dinner extended itself into what could be considered two meals: The first at about 15 minutes after her second BG reading: a beef pot pie I'd made and frozen some time ago and forgotten about until I cleaned out the freezer today. At that time she hinted that she "ice cream later sounds good, don't you think?" So, I dashed out and got a quart of one of her favorite flavors, Baskin Robbins Jamoca Almond Fudge. She had two modest scoops at 2330, in the middle of watching "Walker, Texas Ranger" (she's become an addict of that show; I think she likes it's morally stark black and white nature and the unbelievably benign and all-knowing nature of the "Walker" character).
    Her Bowel Movement occurred during her morning bathing: Very good volume; fairly good consistency; very easy elimination; slightly challenging clean-up.
    Although she retired earlier than last night, 0130, 5/31/06, to be exact, I noticed her light was on until 1415.

Full Stat Day:

A.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  1254     Reading:  141

A.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  1317     BP:  149/65     Pulse:  53

P.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  2018     Reading:  128

P.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  2014     BP:  136/62     Pulse:  57

    Very late "mornings" and nights, again. Normal breakfast. All pills given. No extras. Eye drops twice. Lunch was cottage cheese and peanuts with coffee.
    Dinner was a reimagined version of some home made vegetable, the overflow of which I froze. When I thawed it today I added curry powder and a beef flavored thickener, which turned it into something that I imagine would qualify for the category "slumgullion", a word an old friend of mine uses to refer to food mixtures of finally indistinguishable elements. My mother liked it. I didn't. I was planning on throwing the rest out but she protested. "I'll eat it again."
    She retired at 0150 5/30/06. Her light went out at 0230.

Rear Salute to Yesterday's BM Half Stat Day

A.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  1448     Reading:  165

A.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  1457     BP:  136/70     Pulse:  56

    Today was mostly a sleep day, again. I attempted to awaken her at 1300 but she wasn't having any. I figured I'd try again at 1430 if she wasn't up on her own. She awoke on her own at 1415, but was verrrry sloooow getting out of bed. We played with the kit kats and talked about many things before I finally got her in the bathroom.
    Then she decided on a nap at 1700 and didn't awaken until 2015. So, we had only two meals and I was able to administer only two iron capsules. When she awoke she said, as she usually does after her nap on a sleep day, "Well, I really needed that. I feel so much better." Not that she'd complained of feeling bad, before. But, you know, sleep is an official domain of hers, now.
    For dinner we had chili dogs. Later, around 2300, she wanted "a little something sweet". I thawed the raspberry-pecan crostata. She only wanted a "sliver". Sometimes, that's all she needs to assuage her sweet tooth.
    The "rear salute"? During Mom's bath this morning, when she stood for torso bathing, I noticed that there was some shit detritous, looking a little like gnocchi, floating in the toilet. I decided it might be a good idea to clean her ass. It was. There was enough shit strewn up and down her eliminatory/genital area to be considered a "poor volume" Bowel Movement. She had no idea. She wasn't even "gassy" (which is what she calls a fart attack). So, I guess I need to keep a closer eye on her back end for rear salutes, for awhile.
    She retired at 0020, 5/29/06. Her light just went out, at 0050.