Hallelujah!

I think we finally found the right (drug) cocktail for me. This after two visits to the ER, cardiac stress tests, and four days in the hospital.

BP is finally around 120/80, and best of all, my energy level is up.

Now, if we can solve the mystery of the falling hair...

Search for Holy Grail (or why is my blood pressure so high)

My blood pressure has been extremely extraordinarily high lately (220+/100). A lot of people have been surprised that I am still walking around with a BP like that.

It all started when we stopped the Amlodipine. Unknowingly, that drug has been causing some significant fluid retention. And I thought I was just getting fat. Back in November, when we doubled the dosage (because my BP was 170/90 then - still high), my ankles started swelling up. Worse case, my BP did not drop; I think it went higher.

It has been a quest for new blood pressure medications since then. Most of these drugs have names that sound like they were crafted from the mountains of Mordor: Doxysasin, Teraxosin, etc. I am hoping that Gandalf will come and fix my BP for me. I am already soooo pissed off that my BP is sky-high (and that absolutely does not help).

I hope my nephrologist fixes the situation soon. He is going to have me do an electrocardiogram to see what other meds I can handle. I am already on three BP-regulating drugs (four, if you count my dizzy pill).

The most frustrating thing about this ordeal is now I cannot even enjoy my activities. Walking from the parking lot to my desk is tough. I get tired easily and dizzy doing aikido. We have not even gone skiing since the end of January.

The good thing about this ordeal (if there is a bright side) is I have lost the fluid weight. For the first time, in a long time, I am below 160 lbs! Yey!

Now, let's just try to prevent a stroke.

Borrowed Time

I am feeling like I am on borrowed time lately. My ankles are almost the size of grapefruits, I am getting severely out of breath while walking to and from the parking lot, my energy boost from November is gone, my blood pressure is sky-high, and worse of all -- I have been advised that I may need to go three times a week in dialysis.

Maybe I am just tired, frustrated, sick, or a combination of all three, but there seems to be a lot of guessing and trial-and-error. I feel the doctors really do not know what is going on, and they do not communicate with each other. Why is it up to me to figure out what is wrong? If I knew I needed to do that, I would have become a doctor myself.

I am sick of this cough!!!

Eeek! About four weeks ago, I caught this really nasty cough at the dialysis center. Ten boxes of tissue, 7 bags of Ricola, and about 6 bottles of Robitussin later, it is still with me. Oh, I almost forgot about the nasal rinse.

It's not a cute cough either... it actually sounds like it's coming from the bowels of the earth. It reminds me of Lord Voldemort (Yes, I am re-reading Deathly Hallows - That is not a crime, is it?).

Hopefully, I am at the tail-end of it. My accupuncturist recommended Natural Herb Loquat Extract to soothe my throat. Tell you the truth, the loquat syrup has a minty mediciney smell, but it does not taste THAT bad (ha!). At this point, I am up for anything. At least I am doing my part to stimulate the economy, I am keeping the tissue, Ricola, Robitussin, and even the loquat people employed.

Tired...Dead tired

I've been working long hours recently, and I am so tired from it. One of the testers said I sounded pregnant since I am so punchy. She may be right -- I have "twins" coming soon. One is a web launch on October 23 and the other is an internal web launch on November 13.

Not quite "twins" but I will be glad when its over.

Hopefully, my drop in energy level is due to too much work and not too much dialysis.

Black and Blue Again

Yes, sir: another bad stick. This is the third time in a month, and my arm now looks like a leopard... or a zebra (a zepard?). Earlier this month, I've resigned myself to wearing long sleeved shirts, but then this California hot spell came. Oh, the horrors of displaying my arm in public!

The tech and the nurses decided that that spot may be cursed. Hopefully, another spot is luckier.

日本語を話しましょう (Let's speak Japanese)

ペスブクには “Let’s learn Japanese” ページが あります。 私は 新しい 漢字や 文法や 単語を ならって います。 毎しゅう 月曜日と 金曜日に 私は ふくしゅうを します。

Translation:
In Facebook, there is a “Let’s learn Japanese” page. I am learning new kanji and grammar and vocabulary. Every week, Monday and Friday, I review (my lessons).

I did not intend to show off my Japanese writing skills, but merely illustrate how I’ve been spending time during my three and a half hour “oil-change”. I feel somewhat productive, and with that and my almost daily lessons and practice reading Japanese posts in Facebook, I feel that my skills are improving. I am pretty sure I have a bunch of gramatical errors in that three-sentence post.

On a health note, my energy streak is coming back. In the last few weeks, I have had a summer cold, pinched nerve on my toe, gout, and that time of the month (ugh!). ENOUGH already! I’ve missed my workouts at the gym and the pool (which probably gave me the cold). I am glad I am at the tail-end of things. Maybe next week, we’ll do laps again!