Bill's cough has gotten worse, yet it still seems like it stems from sinus drainage. But, it's starting to worry me, so next week, like it or not, he's going to the dr. He also is getting very winded with any type of movement. And it could be all related. The only therapy we haven't do ne is a breathing treatment. I had him use his therapy breather yesterday and he doesn't like using it.
We did make it to Dyersburg...twice! The first time was Sunday night and we just went to eat the new Southern Fried Chicken at Cracker Barrel. It was really good, but since they give you half a chicken, we brought home enough for another meal for each of us and sent some home with McKenna and her friend Carrington. I noticed that Bill was very disoriented and uneasy at the restaurant until the food came. There were so many people there and it was so loud, as it usually is in Cracker Barrel. But, crowds bother me now too, and if he's uneasy, then I'm naturally uneasy. We talked about it in the car on the way home and he said he's felt a little uneasy at home lately. He couldn't pinpoint anything, just that he felt like he should be doing something or something was supposed to be happening that wasn't. So, I'll ask Connie about that, too. He may need a low dose of an anti-anxiety med.
We went back to Dyersburg Wednesday and the ID office is closed until Monday. So, we went back home and I looked online for other facilities in the area that issue IDs and there was one in Jonesboro. I called them and got an appointment for the next morning. It was easy to find (with navigation, but won't need to use it again) and the woman was very nice. As I was attaching Bill's oxygen to his wheelchair (there's a huge lawn area, even from the handicap parking so I knew Bill couldn't walk it), a young man walked by to his truck and then came back and asked if I could use some help. I had just gotten the hardest part done, so I thanked him for the offer. As we were approaching the door, another young man in uniform came and opened the door for us and then told us where the office was, which was right inside the door. We had a 10 minute wait and then it only took 10 minutes to get the ID. I found out that the reason it was only done for 1 year was because I was approaching 65. I had to show my Medicare card and then she switched me from standard Tricare to Tricare4Life. She said it would now continue to expire every 4 years until age 75 and then it would not expire again. I didn't know either of those things. The person who did it last year should have told me that it was only going to be done for 1 year, and maybe she did. But, Bill was in the hospital, or had just gotten out, so I had other things on my mind.
I took Cat to the vet for her yearly check-up and she's been sick ever since. She threw up on the way home in her carrier and as soon as she was release she had bloody diahrea. She's been sleeping most of the time, but this morning her stool, while soft, was more normal and there was no blood. I told Bill it was just like when the kids got their shots as babies. Cat is still in the bedroom sleeping with Bill which is very unusual. I don't know what time she came in the bedroom. I had to adjust the air sometime in the night and she was still on the back of the loveseat. But she's on her favorite box now and was when I got up at 4:45. Yes, Mouse let me sleep a little longer today.
Today we have 2 granddaughters celebrating birthdays. McKenna is 15 and Kiyann is 12. We have a tradition of going out for breakfast and usually going shopping for gifts, but they both just wanted money this year and I don't think Pa is up to shopping.
It hasn't been quite as hot this week, but the humidity is building again and we could get some rain tomorrow. It has actually felt like fall in the mornings, only in the low 60s.
That's been our week. A little nerve wracking at times, but we'll get Bill figured out...I hope! All of his vitals have been good, except that he's lost a little weight even though he's eating, which is also worrisome. And yesterday afternoon his blood sugar went way up for no apparent reason. So gave him some extra insulin and when I check it after dinner it was still higher than it should have been, but was coming down. It will be interesting to see what it is this morning. The odd thing was that he hadn't eaten anything sweet all day, and no heavy carbs, just a few chips at lunch, and it had been several hours after eating when it was so high. But, he never can do anything the easy way!
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Saturday, July 20, 2019
I had a little insight into what Bill would do should something happen to me, and it wasn't a good feeling. I woke up Wednesday with an episode of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I get them every 3-4 weeks, just something to deal with. But, we were supposed to take McKenna to the dentist to have her braces tightened. Luckily Emily was able to get her niece Kassidy to take her. But, I needed to go back to bed and as I was getting Bill's meds and glucose meter and insulin ready, I told him he needed to learn how to check his sugar and how to administer the correct dose of insulin and get his meds out (they were already sorted) and he told me that, as far as the blood sugar/insulin was concerned, he just wouldn't do it. So, I guess it's time for a talk. I already have all of his meds listed in his medicine box with the dosages and when he takes them so that if someone else had to give them they could get them sorted. But I hadn't done anything with the insulin. So I guess I need to do that, sooner than later. Luckily the episode didn't last long. Amodium, pepto, sleep and light food took care of it. Bill was on his own for breakfast, but there was cereal so he was fine.
I don't remember if I said last week that I've started Bill back on his inhalers. But, I did. He's had some problems walking and breathing. Part of that would go away if he walked more, but getting him to move is proving very hard now. And he's coughing more, but he still assures me that it's all upper airway and because of how our weather has been, I believe him. He says he has no chest pain and the cough isn't coming from down deep. My sister had read something somewhere that using an albuterol rescue inhaler before using maintenance inhalers is actually the better way to administer the drugs. The albeterol opens the airways immediately so that the other medications can get into the lungs faster and farther. So we've been doing that and that seems to be working.
The first week in August we're to get labs done for Mayo. I think they will take him off his Lasix, but the rest of the meds will probably stay the same. I would be surprised if they were changed.
We didn't get as much from the hurricane/tropical storm as feared, but the track moved farther west than predicted. Most of our rain came in the night and the winds were just the perfect rate for me. I told Bill the morning the wind was here that I wished we had an enclosed place to sit outside. It felt so good. A friend came by and told me they had been sitting on their enclosed back deck and having their coffee in the mornings and any time I wanted to come sit I was welcome, but I don't think she would want me there at 4:30!
After the storm came through the heat arrived, as it has for most of the Mississippi Valley and Midwest. Mid-week our temperature was 91, but the heat index was 110+. We've been under a heat advisory or heat warning every day this week. This morning at 5 the temp was already 77, and it is so muggy you can hardly breathe. Bill has not left the house and I've only done what was absolutely necessary out. I've made sure the outside cats have fresh water more and I've noticed they aren't eating as much, so the heat is affecting them too. They are staying under the house or under the "jungle" that separates the 2 backyards. There were a couple of them laying in the grass the other night at dusk when it was a little cooler, so they are instinctively doing what we humans are also doing.
We've got to go to Dyersburg before the end of the month to get my military ID renewed. I renewed it last year and she only did it for 1 year instead of 4 like they usually do. I just happened to look at it the other day and caught it. Otherwise it would have expired and getting it renewed then is really difficult. I know this from experience!
That's it for this week. Stay cool as most of the country is now under this heat dome. See you next time!
I don't remember if I said last week that I've started Bill back on his inhalers. But, I did. He's had some problems walking and breathing. Part of that would go away if he walked more, but getting him to move is proving very hard now. And he's coughing more, but he still assures me that it's all upper airway and because of how our weather has been, I believe him. He says he has no chest pain and the cough isn't coming from down deep. My sister had read something somewhere that using an albuterol rescue inhaler before using maintenance inhalers is actually the better way to administer the drugs. The albeterol opens the airways immediately so that the other medications can get into the lungs faster and farther. So we've been doing that and that seems to be working.
The first week in August we're to get labs done for Mayo. I think they will take him off his Lasix, but the rest of the meds will probably stay the same. I would be surprised if they were changed.
We didn't get as much from the hurricane/tropical storm as feared, but the track moved farther west than predicted. Most of our rain came in the night and the winds were just the perfect rate for me. I told Bill the morning the wind was here that I wished we had an enclosed place to sit outside. It felt so good. A friend came by and told me they had been sitting on their enclosed back deck and having their coffee in the mornings and any time I wanted to come sit I was welcome, but I don't think she would want me there at 4:30!
After the storm came through the heat arrived, as it has for most of the Mississippi Valley and Midwest. Mid-week our temperature was 91, but the heat index was 110+. We've been under a heat advisory or heat warning every day this week. This morning at 5 the temp was already 77, and it is so muggy you can hardly breathe. Bill has not left the house and I've only done what was absolutely necessary out. I've made sure the outside cats have fresh water more and I've noticed they aren't eating as much, so the heat is affecting them too. They are staying under the house or under the "jungle" that separates the 2 backyards. There were a couple of them laying in the grass the other night at dusk when it was a little cooler, so they are instinctively doing what we humans are also doing.
We've got to go to Dyersburg before the end of the month to get my military ID renewed. I renewed it last year and she only did it for 1 year instead of 4 like they usually do. I just happened to look at it the other day and caught it. Otherwise it would have expired and getting it renewed then is really difficult. I know this from experience!
That's it for this week. Stay cool as most of the country is now under this heat dome. See you next time!
Saturday, July 13, 2019
For those of you who are early risers and read this early, I'm sorry it's late. I was still tired when the cats woke up so I pushed them out of the bedroom and closed the door and slept until 6:30. I still feel tired, but haven't had any coffee yet (it's in my cup, just haven't taken the first sip).
Not much happened this week. It was hot, very, very hot. We've had heat indices between 105 and 110, so there is no leaving the house then. It's too hot to sit in the car and going in and out of places just saps all your energy.
After my post of last week, which I re-read this morning, I woke up Saturday morning feeling like my old self, with some energy. I was able to get some things done around here and didn't nap at all in the day. I woke up Sunday raring to go. Got all the laundry done, washed, dried, folded, put away. Bill helped some with hanging his clothes which he hasn't done in a long time.
The energy lasted all week...until yesterday. It was another day of dozing and sleeping in my chair with no energy. And I think I've found the culprit...Zyrtek. I had started taking it again since the weather has been so bad for breathing and I had taken it in the day with no problems. (Bill takes it twice a day with no problems). But, that's the only thing different. So, I didn't take it this morning but I'm going to take it tonight. I've noticed the last few nights I'm back to my tax season sleeping...awake every 2 hours and then sleeping really good when it's time to get up. So maybe the Zyrtek at night will help with that.
We got Bill's insulin this week, and it's all messed up. I don't know if they sent 3 months at a time, or just 1 month. I can't tell from looking at the prescription. With the medium acting one, which he gets 5 units twice a day, we got 3 vials, which would be for 3 months. But, for the regular acting, which he gets only if his sugar gets above 200, he got 9 vials! If we do have to supplement the medium acting, he gets 1 unit starting at 200 and it increases 1 unit for every 50 points its above 200. So we use very little of that. I don't know what is going on. I guess I need to call the dr and the pharmacy both to see what the deal is. I told Emily to let me know if anyone uses the kind of insulin we have and has a hard time getting it. They can have the extra we have. She said Connie may want to use it for the free clinic here in town. So we shall see.
I started Bill back on his maintenance inhalers this week. He's been coughing so much and when I checked his oxygen level it started at 88 and took it awhile before it got to 90, which is his baseline. He was also having trouble walking, not the physical act of walking but breathing when walking. Part of that is because he is so sedentary, partly the COPD. He told me that the coughing was still all upper airway and he had not heaviness in his chest at all. Yesterday when I check is O2, it went straight to 96 and didn't move. So, we'll keep using the inhalers. I had to get a new prescription for Advair but it's already been sent to ExpressScripts and should be mailed out in the next few days.
We're bracing for the Tropical Storm/Hurricane. I haven't looked at the current track lately but I know we had a flood watch issued starting tomorrow afternoon and going through Monday night. The last I saw last night before we went to bed was that it had moved a little farther west and should track right up the middle of Arkansas. And we will be on the rainy side. They were forecasting 6-8 inches of rain before it's completely out of here and 30-40 mile winds. So the next few days could be a little rough. I'll make sure today we have all the supplies we need as far as food for people and cats.
Today it's a beautiful sunny morning and it was 76 and pleasant when I fed the cats. I guess the calm before the storm. But 76 with no heat index is better than 80 with a heat index of 93 like we've been having in the mornings.
All for this week. If you're in the path of the storm stay safe. If it's hot where you are, stay cool. See you next week!
Not much happened this week. It was hot, very, very hot. We've had heat indices between 105 and 110, so there is no leaving the house then. It's too hot to sit in the car and going in and out of places just saps all your energy.
After my post of last week, which I re-read this morning, I woke up Saturday morning feeling like my old self, with some energy. I was able to get some things done around here and didn't nap at all in the day. I woke up Sunday raring to go. Got all the laundry done, washed, dried, folded, put away. Bill helped some with hanging his clothes which he hasn't done in a long time.
The energy lasted all week...until yesterday. It was another day of dozing and sleeping in my chair with no energy. And I think I've found the culprit...Zyrtek. I had started taking it again since the weather has been so bad for breathing and I had taken it in the day with no problems. (Bill takes it twice a day with no problems). But, that's the only thing different. So, I didn't take it this morning but I'm going to take it tonight. I've noticed the last few nights I'm back to my tax season sleeping...awake every 2 hours and then sleeping really good when it's time to get up. So maybe the Zyrtek at night will help with that.
We got Bill's insulin this week, and it's all messed up. I don't know if they sent 3 months at a time, or just 1 month. I can't tell from looking at the prescription. With the medium acting one, which he gets 5 units twice a day, we got 3 vials, which would be for 3 months. But, for the regular acting, which he gets only if his sugar gets above 200, he got 9 vials! If we do have to supplement the medium acting, he gets 1 unit starting at 200 and it increases 1 unit for every 50 points its above 200. So we use very little of that. I don't know what is going on. I guess I need to call the dr and the pharmacy both to see what the deal is. I told Emily to let me know if anyone uses the kind of insulin we have and has a hard time getting it. They can have the extra we have. She said Connie may want to use it for the free clinic here in town. So we shall see.
I started Bill back on his maintenance inhalers this week. He's been coughing so much and when I checked his oxygen level it started at 88 and took it awhile before it got to 90, which is his baseline. He was also having trouble walking, not the physical act of walking but breathing when walking. Part of that is because he is so sedentary, partly the COPD. He told me that the coughing was still all upper airway and he had not heaviness in his chest at all. Yesterday when I check is O2, it went straight to 96 and didn't move. So, we'll keep using the inhalers. I had to get a new prescription for Advair but it's already been sent to ExpressScripts and should be mailed out in the next few days.
We're bracing for the Tropical Storm/Hurricane. I haven't looked at the current track lately but I know we had a flood watch issued starting tomorrow afternoon and going through Monday night. The last I saw last night before we went to bed was that it had moved a little farther west and should track right up the middle of Arkansas. And we will be on the rainy side. They were forecasting 6-8 inches of rain before it's completely out of here and 30-40 mile winds. So the next few days could be a little rough. I'll make sure today we have all the supplies we need as far as food for people and cats.
Today it's a beautiful sunny morning and it was 76 and pleasant when I fed the cats. I guess the calm before the storm. But 76 with no heat index is better than 80 with a heat index of 93 like we've been having in the mornings.
All for this week. If you're in the path of the storm stay safe. If it's hot where you are, stay cool. See you next week!
Friday, July 5, 2019
It's nearly 11:30 on Friday night, at least I think it's Friday night, and I can't sleep. I'm tired, and I slept for 90 minutes or there about, but now I'm up. There's been something going on with me this week, and I'm going to have to go find out what it is. But, let's start with Bill and the week.
We had some friends in from out of town last week-end and we tried to get together several times. One day I didn't feel well, one day we were in Jonesboro picking up a book Kenna needed to read for school, and one day Bill didn't feel well. We finally decided on Monday morning for breakfast before they left town. We met at Perkins and had a good visit.
Bill has had a good week. He did catch both arms on the security door while getting the mail and banged up both elbows. They have healed over now. His skin is so fragile that the least little knock gives him a bruise if not a skin tear. He still has his cough, and he still says it comes from up high. He also tried to fall getting to the front door to open it for me after a trip to the grocery store. He got his feet tangled in his oxygen tubing. He winds it up, like a cowboy does a rope, and lays it on the floor at his feet. Then the first thing he does when he stands up is get a foot right in the middle of it.
I think we finally got the problem with the insulin straightened out. I went to the doctor's office Monday morning with the information I got from ExpressScripts. They told me that they needed more information on the prescription. But, Amy showed me the prescription they had transmitted and it was very plain. Anyway, Jamie was going to call the numbers I gave her and when I checked online it said it was being processed. It was supposed to have been shipped on the 3rd and it still shows in process, but that could be because of the holiday.
We had a quiet holiday. Bill had seen some sausages cooked on TV and thought they looked good so we planned on grilling them. I decided to use my grill pan for the stove because it was horribly hot. I got ready to cook them...and couldn't find them! I had put them in the freezer! So, before I could cook them, I had to thaw them in the microwave. They were actually better re-heated today for lunch.
Allergies have plagued both of us this week. We've both used inhalers and allergy meds and most of the time it doesn't make any difference. And it's rained again today and may rain more throughout the night.
I think I've said before that my potassium has been low for some reason. It was low before and then I started taking potassium and it came back up and even though I continued to take it, it was way down again when we went to the dr. a few weeks ago. So, the dose was doubled and I got it checked again after a week. It was still low, but had come up and was almost at the normal range again. When my new prescription was called in, it was for the higher dose, but for twice a day instead of once.
Most of this week, and part of the last week, I've noticed I've had absolutely no energy and I sit and can just fall asleep. And not just a light sleep, I go to sleep. That is not like me. I don't want to do anything, including knitting or reading, because I fall asleep in the middle of a row or a sentence. And I think it basically stems from the low potassium, although I had the fatigue when I was on the medicine for my foot, which is better, by the way. I told Bill today that my entire body hurt today. It may have been from the rain. And tonight, not only do I hurt everywhere, I itch everywhere. I don't have hives, but I just itch. I did take the extra potassium tonight so don't know if it's that or something else. I've looked at the side effects of all my meds and, even though I've been on them for a year or more, I have several of the side effects. So, since we both need blood work again this week, I'll ask Connie about it. When I got up tonight I took some Ibuprofen and Benadryl. I'm still itching but I'm not hurting like I was. It's hell to get old!
That's been our week. I'm glad Bill has felt like venturing out some. Oh, and I got a "good job" from the wound care doctor when Barb went in this week. I changed the bandage on it again Thursday and it is much smaller than before so it's healing quite well. They are going to try some artificial skin next week and then I won't have to change it. Now, my cursor just went wacky and I've got to find where I've typed or someplace won't make sense. It's almost midnight and I'm getting sleepy again so maybe this time I'll be able to go to bed and rest.
Goodnight all! (I didn't see any glaring mistakes, but then my eyes are tired now, so any words that don't make sense, just ignore them)!
We had some friends in from out of town last week-end and we tried to get together several times. One day I didn't feel well, one day we were in Jonesboro picking up a book Kenna needed to read for school, and one day Bill didn't feel well. We finally decided on Monday morning for breakfast before they left town. We met at Perkins and had a good visit.
Bill has had a good week. He did catch both arms on the security door while getting the mail and banged up both elbows. They have healed over now. His skin is so fragile that the least little knock gives him a bruise if not a skin tear. He still has his cough, and he still says it comes from up high. He also tried to fall getting to the front door to open it for me after a trip to the grocery store. He got his feet tangled in his oxygen tubing. He winds it up, like a cowboy does a rope, and lays it on the floor at his feet. Then the first thing he does when he stands up is get a foot right in the middle of it.
I think we finally got the problem with the insulin straightened out. I went to the doctor's office Monday morning with the information I got from ExpressScripts. They told me that they needed more information on the prescription. But, Amy showed me the prescription they had transmitted and it was very plain. Anyway, Jamie was going to call the numbers I gave her and when I checked online it said it was being processed. It was supposed to have been shipped on the 3rd and it still shows in process, but that could be because of the holiday.
We had a quiet holiday. Bill had seen some sausages cooked on TV and thought they looked good so we planned on grilling them. I decided to use my grill pan for the stove because it was horribly hot. I got ready to cook them...and couldn't find them! I had put them in the freezer! So, before I could cook them, I had to thaw them in the microwave. They were actually better re-heated today for lunch.
Allergies have plagued both of us this week. We've both used inhalers and allergy meds and most of the time it doesn't make any difference. And it's rained again today and may rain more throughout the night.
I think I've said before that my potassium has been low for some reason. It was low before and then I started taking potassium and it came back up and even though I continued to take it, it was way down again when we went to the dr. a few weeks ago. So, the dose was doubled and I got it checked again after a week. It was still low, but had come up and was almost at the normal range again. When my new prescription was called in, it was for the higher dose, but for twice a day instead of once.
Most of this week, and part of the last week, I've noticed I've had absolutely no energy and I sit and can just fall asleep. And not just a light sleep, I go to sleep. That is not like me. I don't want to do anything, including knitting or reading, because I fall asleep in the middle of a row or a sentence. And I think it basically stems from the low potassium, although I had the fatigue when I was on the medicine for my foot, which is better, by the way. I told Bill today that my entire body hurt today. It may have been from the rain. And tonight, not only do I hurt everywhere, I itch everywhere. I don't have hives, but I just itch. I did take the extra potassium tonight so don't know if it's that or something else. I've looked at the side effects of all my meds and, even though I've been on them for a year or more, I have several of the side effects. So, since we both need blood work again this week, I'll ask Connie about it. When I got up tonight I took some Ibuprofen and Benadryl. I'm still itching but I'm not hurting like I was. It's hell to get old!
That's been our week. I'm glad Bill has felt like venturing out some. Oh, and I got a "good job" from the wound care doctor when Barb went in this week. I changed the bandage on it again Thursday and it is much smaller than before so it's healing quite well. They are going to try some artificial skin next week and then I won't have to change it. Now, my cursor just went wacky and I've got to find where I've typed or someplace won't make sense. It's almost midnight and I'm getting sleepy again so maybe this time I'll be able to go to bed and rest.
Goodnight all! (I didn't see any glaring mistakes, but then my eyes are tired now, so any words that don't make sense, just ignore them)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)