Not sure if it was the three days of aikido training, being that time of the month, maybe a bad dialysis session, or the macaroni salad and lamb that I had for lunch, but I had probably the worst gout attack of my life this week.
It started at about 4:00 p.m. on Monday, right before dialysis, in the middle of the day. That made my dialysis quite uncomfortable. I was chilled and near cramping through the session.
The next day, I could barely walk. Being me (ahem), I attempted to work from home. My usual spot was quite uncomfortable, so I headed for the couch by mid-morning. I was miserable the rest of the day... (but still working to keep sane!). I did not have any appetite, but I knew that I had to eat to keep the colcichine down. For the first time in my life, I took acetaminophen with codeine. Boy, that knocked me down, and Hubby (by association) and I FINALLY had a good night sleep.
Wednesday was slightly better. I still could not walk forward, but I could do my version of the moonwalk (sliding backwards). Come afternoon, I could walk like a penguin, bobbling from left to right. Hubby said I looked cute.
The pain subsides as the days pass, but the swelling is another story. As I write this, my foot is about the size of a basketball (maybe half), in honor of the NBA Finals. No dancing for me tonight.
Through all this, Hubby, even with his mending broken ribs, continues to accompany me to my dialysis sessions and wait on me while I am immobilized with gout. I guess I am lucky to have him.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Transitions...
May was a tough month for us. It did not start out that way, but it became more challenging as the month went on.
As it turns out, we decided to switch dialysis centers last month. We had an ongoing care issue with my assigned technician in Dialysis Center A. Early on in the month, an incident happened that made me very mad. I was cramping and in so much pain, and instead of helping me, my technician and the nurse were chatting and commenting on my snacks. This was not the first time that something like this happened. I got angry, and demanded that I be taken off the machine. I have not been back there again.
After a face-to-face discussion with the area manager with Dialysis Center A and the director of Dialysis Center B (courtesy of Hubby) and a lot of "make-up" dialysis sessions (usually on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday during my work hours), we are finally on a regular schedule with Dialysis Center B. The center is not as pristine as the other one and about 10 minutes further, but the staff seems to be more on top of things and more attentive. It is also near an Asian market (pork buns -- yippee!!!) and the dojo!
So far, things are going well, and I have not cramped since I started there. The only downside is that they are not used to locating my veins yet, and I am back down to size 17 needles. I am hoping that even with that I can keep to my twice a week schedule.
As it turns out, we decided to switch dialysis centers last month. We had an ongoing care issue with my assigned technician in Dialysis Center A. Early on in the month, an incident happened that made me very mad. I was cramping and in so much pain, and instead of helping me, my technician and the nurse were chatting and commenting on my snacks. This was not the first time that something like this happened. I got angry, and demanded that I be taken off the machine. I have not been back there again.
After a face-to-face discussion with the area manager with Dialysis Center A and the director of Dialysis Center B (courtesy of Hubby) and a lot of "make-up" dialysis sessions (usually on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday during my work hours), we are finally on a regular schedule with Dialysis Center B. The center is not as pristine as the other one and about 10 minutes further, but the staff seems to be more on top of things and more attentive. It is also near an Asian market (pork buns -- yippee!!!) and the dojo!
So far, things are going well, and I have not cramped since I started there. The only downside is that they are not used to locating my veins yet, and I am back down to size 17 needles. I am hoping that even with that I can keep to my twice a week schedule.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Mein Fuß ist geschwollen
... Es tut mir weh.
I had another gout attack this Tuesday, and this was the first thing that I thought of after seeing my red foot. The phrase roughly translates to "My foot is swollen. It hurts." I think German language is finally seeping into my subconscious; this after listening to the Conversational German tapes in the car (over and over again - and this is my second pass) and reading the text while in the center. It's my way of making my commute time and needle time semi-productive. I listened to these tapes about a year ago when I started this long commute, and this is my second time listening to it. At least now, I have two sentences.
Incidentally, the first sentence is: Was ist los, meine Liebchen? ("What is the matter, my sweetheart?"). I say that to the cat a lot. Her normal answer is "Meow" which I think is not in German.
For now, I think I am done with these two tapes. I am thinking of learning some Russian next or reviewing some French (although I *really* should review my Hawaiian; I need that more). Look forward to some blogs starting in Russian.
I had another gout attack this Tuesday, and this was the first thing that I thought of after seeing my red foot. The phrase roughly translates to "My foot is swollen. It hurts." I think German language is finally seeping into my subconscious; this after listening to the Conversational German tapes in the car (over and over again - and this is my second pass) and reading the text while in the center. It's my way of making my commute time and needle time semi-productive. I listened to these tapes about a year ago when I started this long commute, and this is my second time listening to it. At least now, I have two sentences.
Incidentally, the first sentence is: Was ist los, meine Liebchen? ("What is the matter, my sweetheart?"). I say that to the cat a lot. Her normal answer is "Meow" which I think is not in German.
For now, I think I am done with these two tapes. I am thinking of learning some Russian next or reviewing some French (although I *really* should review my Hawaiian; I need that more). Look forward to some blogs starting in Russian.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Trimming the roses
I spent sometime this Sunday morning trimming our rose bushes. It is great to get up and do some chores around the house without pain. Funny, as it sounds, I miss doing the little things and almost forgot how to do them.
As I was trimming our beloved plants, I realized that our roses, one rose bush in particular – the Double Delight, seems to have paralleled my life the last two years. The rose bushes have been unkempt. It has a number of dried wood and leaves that needed to be trimmed and faded blossoms that need to be cut back. As I cut the dead branches and plucked the yellow leaves, I realize this is exactly like my situation the last two years: a number of health-related problems that needed (and still need) to be resolved. As time goes by and as the treatments and healing continues, my dead leaves are plucked away, and things become clearer – allowing things to grow, just like what I am doing to the roses. The roses have a bit more room to breathe and enjoy the sun now, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The bigger dried branches need to be trimmed, and with my compromised right arm, I will need hubby’s help for that… just like my health situation.
The roses have me and Hubby. I have Hubby. I hope Hubby realizes that he has me, the roses, and the cat to take care of him.
As I was trimming our beloved plants, I realized that our roses, one rose bush in particular – the Double Delight, seems to have paralleled my life the last two years. The rose bushes have been unkempt. It has a number of dried wood and leaves that needed to be trimmed and faded blossoms that need to be cut back. As I cut the dead branches and plucked the yellow leaves, I realize this is exactly like my situation the last two years: a number of health-related problems that needed (and still need) to be resolved. As time goes by and as the treatments and healing continues, my dead leaves are plucked away, and things become clearer – allowing things to grow, just like what I am doing to the roses. The roses have a bit more room to breathe and enjoy the sun now, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The bigger dried branches need to be trimmed, and with my compromised right arm, I will need hubby’s help for that… just like my health situation.
The roses have me and Hubby. I have Hubby. I hope Hubby realizes that he has me, the roses, and the cat to take care of him.
Happy Easter... Happy Renewal
Hubby and I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter weekend. Ours was very nice, including Hubby putting together my very first Easter egg hunt. He had six eggs with corresponding clues -- two of which were rather tricky. I worked through the clues and found them all. The Easter egg hunt was a lot of fun!
We also had brunch at the TempleBar and Grill in Berkeley. This is an institution in the Hawaiian community of the Bay Area, and it was my first time there. TempleBar is very island-style: cozy and laid-back. Uncle Kem, the owner and famous ukulele musician and instructor was the featured entertainment. He even stopped by our table to say hello and asked if I danced hula. Long story short, I unexpectedly danced to some of my group's standard songs to the Royal Hawaiian Serenaders' live music. I think everyone enjoyed.
For more happy thoughts, my dialysis treatments continue to improve. My kT/V (the measure of adequacy of dialysis and remaining kidney function) has significantly improved from 2.33 to 3.56 in one month! This is really great news! I am hoping that this will lead to my getting reduced session time for my treatments!
We also had brunch at the TempleBar and Grill in Berkeley. This is an institution in the Hawaiian community of the Bay Area, and it was my first time there. TempleBar is very island-style: cozy and laid-back. Uncle Kem, the owner and famous ukulele musician and instructor was the featured entertainment. He even stopped by our table to say hello and asked if I danced hula. Long story short, I unexpectedly danced to some of my group's standard songs to the Royal Hawaiian Serenaders' live music. I think everyone enjoyed.
For more happy thoughts, my dialysis treatments continue to improve. My kT/V (the measure of adequacy of dialysis and remaining kidney function) has significantly improved from 2.33 to 3.56 in one month! This is really great news! I am hoping that this will lead to my getting reduced session time for my treatments!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
(Almost) Back To Normal
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.
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 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!
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