I feel that things are almost back to "normal". I felt I had more energy this week and actually was up and about and doing things around the house. I did not realize how much I miss that. It seems that it has been years (actually, it's only about a year and a half) that all I've done is come home from work and crash. Being up-and-about is a good feeling. With my new dialysis schedule, I was also able to go to aikido on Wednesdays as well. It feels good to be back on a twice a week schedule.
The biggest challenge to normality are the weekend gout attacks -- I had another one this week, but luckily it was less painful than the others. Nonetheless, it still prevented me from running my Saturday errands and had spent the day on the couch resting my swollen right foot. Life will be good when the gout attacks go away.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
We live in interesting times...(written by Hubby)
It has been "interesting" for us here lately.
On the one hand, Sweetie had another serious case of gout, followed by the three-days of the flu, followed by "that time of the month." She also had to dialyze in the middle of all of this. In a word, "challenging".
On the other hand, Sweetie's dialyzing, although sometimes painful and there are complications, seems to be working. We were informed last week that she can go twice per week, rather than stay at three times. This is very very good news - quite heartening.
We also enjoyed a couple of days in Las Vegas this week: me for a trade show and Sweetie for some "fun-and-games." A great dinner was shared at Emeril's ('bam!') and yes, some shopping. The only bummer, the Star Trek Show is no longer at the Hilton. We were both looking forward to being assimilated.
And too, we also had a great birthday weekend -- NO GOUT THIS WEEKEND! We celebrated by our enjoying a day of skiing at one of our favorite ski resorts. We were there at 9 am and had four runs before 10! Sweetie even risked having a snuggler (hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps with whipped cream - the adult peppermint patty).
On the one hand, Sweetie had another serious case of gout, followed by the three-days of the flu, followed by "that time of the month." She also had to dialyze in the middle of all of this. In a word, "challenging".
On the other hand, Sweetie's dialyzing, although sometimes painful and there are complications, seems to be working. We were informed last week that she can go twice per week, rather than stay at three times. This is very very good news - quite heartening.
We also enjoyed a couple of days in Las Vegas this week: me for a trade show and Sweetie for some "fun-and-games." A great dinner was shared at Emeril's ('bam!') and yes, some shopping. The only bummer, the Star Trek Show is no longer at the Hilton. We were both looking forward to being assimilated.
And too, we also had a great birthday weekend -- NO GOUT THIS WEEKEND! We celebrated by our enjoying a day of skiing at one of our favorite ski resorts. We were there at 9 am and had four runs before 10! Sweetie even risked having a snuggler (hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps with whipped cream - the adult peppermint patty).
Sweetie even played 'Happy Birthday' for me on her ukulele!
I guess, all for now - have a good attitude and please take care!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Uglier
This weekend was quite an adventure.
It started out with a relatively decent dialysis session. I only gained a kilo (about 2.2 pounds). I was keeping a track of fluids that I've been taking, and that kept my weight gain in check. I thought that would be better for me in the long run, but I may be mistaken...
The session went fairly smooth until about the end. The machine was beeping every 5-10 minutes. In the end, Jen and I decided to cut my time by 10 minutes since the machine would not run properly; it was just acting up.
Saturday morning... I woke up with severe gout pain on both feet. I can barely walk and stayed in bed most of the morning (Sadly, I also missed my aikido class). The pain lasted the entire day, never subsiding, inspite of the colcichine and tylenol that I've been popping. It was horrible -- I even missed a surprise birthday party that I was looking forward to attend. It was quite sad.
Well, today I am happy to say that all is well. The colcichine has taken effect, and I can now walk. In retrospect, I think the only thing that varied was my restricting my fluid intake. I think its good for most dialysis patients, but not for me. Everyone is different.
I also had a fairly good session today, no beeps and I am definitely keeping hydrated.
It started out with a relatively decent dialysis session. I only gained a kilo (about 2.2 pounds). I was keeping a track of fluids that I've been taking, and that kept my weight gain in check. I thought that would be better for me in the long run, but I may be mistaken...
The session went fairly smooth until about the end. The machine was beeping every 5-10 minutes. In the end, Jen and I decided to cut my time by 10 minutes since the machine would not run properly; it was just acting up.
Saturday morning... I woke up with severe gout pain on both feet. I can barely walk and stayed in bed most of the morning (Sadly, I also missed my aikido class). The pain lasted the entire day, never subsiding, inspite of the colcichine and tylenol that I've been popping. It was horrible -- I even missed a surprise birthday party that I was looking forward to attend. It was quite sad.
Well, today I am happy to say that all is well. The colcichine has taken effect, and I can now walk. In retrospect, I think the only thing that varied was my restricting my fluid intake. I think its good for most dialysis patients, but not for me. Everyone is different.
I also had a fairly good session today, no beeps and I am definitely keeping hydrated.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
It has been almost a month since I've last posted, and a lot of things have happened. Here are the highlights of the last few weeks.
The good: We enjoyed a wonderful Valentine's Weekend. Hubby gave me flowers and a giant greeting card (it must have been 2 by 3 feet). We also enjoyed a very nice evening dining out at our favorite local sushi place. It was great!
We're also planning a March ski trip sometime in the next couple of weeks to our favorite resort.
The bad: A recent dialysis session last week started out good but turned bad - out of nowhere, my blood pressure shot up to 192/114 with a pulse of 40 -- obviously, very dangerous. Hubby was not very happy with the staff and their attentiveness, and in his own way, rather said so!
We are still working out how to approach the staff and/or our case manager on how to make things better. It is a dilemma -- I need to be comfortable when I am treated there and vice versa. It's a puzzle that we are working through; we don't want to chastise anyone, but my health is the most important thing (ask Hubby!).
The ugly: It's about that time of the month to do bills and my monthly stay-at-home lab test (I really need to stay at home -- ask me by e-mail about this if you are curious). Add to that: our trying to figure out annual tax preparation b%*)#@! I do not think I need to say any more.
The good: We enjoyed a wonderful Valentine's Weekend. Hubby gave me flowers and a giant greeting card (it must have been 2 by 3 feet). We also enjoyed a very nice evening dining out at our favorite local sushi place. It was great!
We're also planning a March ski trip sometime in the next couple of weeks to our favorite resort.
The bad: A recent dialysis session last week started out good but turned bad - out of nowhere, my blood pressure shot up to 192/114 with a pulse of 40 -- obviously, very dangerous. Hubby was not very happy with the staff and their attentiveness, and in his own way, rather said so!
We are still working out how to approach the staff and/or our case manager on how to make things better. It is a dilemma -- I need to be comfortable when I am treated there and vice versa. It's a puzzle that we are working through; we don't want to chastise anyone, but my health is the most important thing (ask Hubby!).
The ugly: It's about that time of the month to do bills and my monthly stay-at-home lab test (I really need to stay at home -- ask me by e-mail about this if you are curious). Add to that: our trying to figure out annual tax preparation b%*)#@! I do not think I need to say any more.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Getting some fresh air
I took a walk to today in my old jogging route -- to the fountain and back. I thought that the fresh air would cheer me up. I was tired after 35 minutes, but it did feel good to be outside and catch some sun. The "cheering up" part still needs work... hopefully, we are getting there.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Just when things seem better, things go worse
Yeap - just like what the title says. Don't want to elaborate any further, I just wish the dark clouds in my life start to go away.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wet inserts
It's that "time of the month," and I need to dialyze. This is not a happy Wednesday.
I am actually very tired from work and the drive home from Pleasanton to Walnut Creek through the 680 traffic maze. Now, I have to face the needles. I am not looking forward to this.
It took four attempts to get my veins (luckily, just one attempt for the artery). The venous needle hit a blood clot on the first attempt. The next two could not get sufficient blood flow. We were about to give up when someone suggested a "wet insert". Although that sounds rather erotic, believe me... it's not erotic at all! It just means that saline is added when they insert those big needles in you. It was rather uneasy especially when you are listening to three technicians talking their way through puncturing your skin with a wet fat needle. It is like getting the blow-by-blow to surgery, not a very comfortable feeling. At least, that puncture was successful, and they were able to get a flow.
The next two and a half hours were somewhat uneventful. I noticed that my temp was dropping low, but everything seemed normal.
Until the needles were pulled...
Jen had to stop the eight minutes machines early since I was starting to cramp. When she started to dismantle the tubes, she found that I almost clotted the machine with my thick blood. The blood from the venous needle is almost as thick as honey!
On the other hand, the arterial side was spewing blood all over. I made a big mess and felt really bad for the clean-up needed. I needed Hubby's help to put enough pressure on it to make it stop, even then it took three gauze! Quite traumatic!
Not looking forward to Friday. Maybe I should come back after "that time of the month" is over. Things are usually easier then.
I am actually very tired from work and the drive home from Pleasanton to Walnut Creek through the 680 traffic maze. Now, I have to face the needles. I am not looking forward to this.
It took four attempts to get my veins (luckily, just one attempt for the artery). The venous needle hit a blood clot on the first attempt. The next two could not get sufficient blood flow. We were about to give up when someone suggested a "wet insert". Although that sounds rather erotic, believe me... it's not erotic at all! It just means that saline is added when they insert those big needles in you. It was rather uneasy especially when you are listening to three technicians talking their way through puncturing your skin with a wet fat needle. It is like getting the blow-by-blow to surgery, not a very comfortable feeling. At least, that puncture was successful, and they were able to get a flow.
The next two and a half hours were somewhat uneventful. I noticed that my temp was dropping low, but everything seemed normal.
Until the needles were pulled...
Jen had to stop the eight minutes machines early since I was starting to cramp. When she started to dismantle the tubes, she found that I almost clotted the machine with my thick blood. The blood from the venous needle is almost as thick as honey!
On the other hand, the arterial side was spewing blood all over. I made a big mess and felt really bad for the clean-up needed. I needed Hubby's help to put enough pressure on it to make it stop, even then it took three gauze! Quite traumatic!
Not looking forward to Friday. Maybe I should come back after "that time of the month" is over. Things are usually easier then.
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