My playlist? July 13, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Notes , add a comment
Testing Forms July 8, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Notes , add a commentSummer projects June 29, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Lists , add a commentPriority is health; September visit to doctor, weight and fitness/exercise; look at the other lists and see what I want to bring forward
Write Joan about October reunion
Write Catherine a newsy letter about trip
Do understair and get rid of off-site storage. Research attic and my weight/stairs
Work on book? ($100 a month I could “save” and use as excuse to drop it) ~ emailed M. 6/28 that I wasn’t going to be able to work with her on the book; that and the off-site storage will make $200 a month. Want to keep a reign on buying from Amazon/Target, etc.
Help with finances again, write own “instructions” on how to deal; analyze food/credit cards
Gardening/yard cleanup
Genealogy: fix Savidge, do Cardin, work on McPhillips for boys and Scott’s brothers, etc.?
Clean and consolidate both computers, get a grip on what I would copy from each onto a new computer (birthday)
Finish or abandon XML course/site, work on genealogy site, figure out what to do with Asynch-Ed; Hiveware?
Gather electronics; what to do with phone, camera, recorder (never used), DVD player, PS2/games, XM radio; learn how to use TV/music/DVD (including record)
Birthday, anniversary and Christmas ideas: new computer, bicycle/tricycle, wii (wii fit) treadmill desk
Doctor Visit June 26, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Notes , add a commentIt was good. What I like is my new “Ventolin” that has a dose counter, unlike my regular Albuterol. Now I won’t get as anxious as I use to and have to do all the charting and counting, etc. Psychologically it makes me feel much more comfortable.
Too, the doctor and I agreed to lower the Synthroid dose so I’m hoping that works better.
I have a few things to work on but that’s good as it gives me new goals and a date, September 18, when I see him again. I want my arm to be “smaller” and fit the large blood pressure cuff without pain and read “right” so I can get an idea of what my blood pressure is really doing. I don’t trust the whole setup now.
The office got a new, digital scale and I’m not sure I like it very well. I guess I don’t like it because it weighed me more than mine did the other day :-) but there was a difference of clothes and time of day, etc. so I’m not going to fret. It will be less next time anyway, 10-15 pounds less at least I hope!
I feel like I have a clearer picture of what I’m supposed to be doing the next 3 months and what I want to achieve; Ventolin and Flovent, Synthroid every “morning” and CosaminDS, CoQ10 and the women’s multivitamin (as well as the calcium and magnesium as long as they last). I think only the Ventolin might run out before September, would be nice if I didn’t need it after the second cannister?
Working on the knee June 25, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Charts , add a commentI’ve decided to try to get to bed/turn off the light at 10:30 each night and get up at 7:30 and immediately go out and walk. At first I’ll walk 15 minutes “out” then turn around and come back for a total of 30 minutes a day.
Today, Wednesday, June 25, 2008: I turned out the light at 10:30 last night and got up around 7:45 and went out. I only walked 18 minutes total though, was huffing and puffing a lot. Did 1550 steps.
I go to the doctor’s tomorrow and will get new inhalers so maybe it won’t be as scary or worrisome on Friday. The knee didn’t feel bad walking, “heavy” maybe but both felt about the same. Later it was bad again but maybe not as bad. I also took a vitamin and calcium/magnesium pill. Maybe nutrition can help also. I may work on treating it for inflammation.
Thursday, June 26: 22 minutes but only 1433 steps. I am more interested in time out than “speed” or number of steps walked. I have trouble believing it was fewer since I came home around the spot I walked to yesterday. Maybe the “furtherness” of the block made a difference or where the stepper was on my pants. I’ll experiment with that tomorrow and Saturday. I had it more to the side today I think than I did yesterday; I’ll put it in front, centered over my leg tomorrow and walk the same route around the block.
Friday, June 27: 22 minutes, same route in reverse, 1765 steps. The knee seems much better than before because of the CosaminDS! Awfully early to blame it on that though but I had no trouble with knee, just breathing. Stopped to use the Albuterol once on the way back, the huffing and puffing with wheezing was getting to me :-) But I think I went faster as I turned around halfway across the parking lot and came back and got keys and sun glasses and fed Calvin and went back out. I have to get out before 10:00 though, that sun was getting hot!
Saturday, June 28: Didn’t sleep well and both asthma and knee bad again, hopefully from the weather front that went through. Still, walked half the route at 9:30, 1097 steps in 14 minutes. Found the Bumblebee walking site: http://www.beewellmiles.com/Default.aspx and registered and will keep track of actual mileage there. I like that their “contest” ends September 30 and I’m only focusing on my next doctor’s visit which is also in September. When we get back from the store this evening and it’s cooler, I’ll walk the half route again.
Walked around the “circle” 3 times and it exactly made up for the morning default. 200 steps per time around, 2 minutes per circle.
Sunday, June 29, 2008: Forgot my inhaler as I went out so turned around when I was huffing and puffing, just past the Rumsey mansion. I want to pay attention in the next few days to when I start doing the mouth breathing thing so I can see if that gets better, the more often/further I walk? I kept walking, as I realized I was just breathing, not having asthma problems but then it got uncomfortable and I didn’t want to be too far from home. I’ll make it up and then some on the circle this evening. 1133 steps, 15 minutes.
Last entry until doctor’s visit May 30, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Charts , add a commentSleep is fine and asthma is under control. I’ll set up and start recording in my memory minder journal this weekend:
http://www.amazon.com/MemoryMinder-Personal-Journal-Wellness-Symptoms/dp/0963796801/
When I return home/Saturday the 21st, I’ll check to see how vitals are going for doctor’s visit the 27th.
Is it Flovent or is it Memorex? May 29, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Notes , add a commentI feel better. . . sort of. It is so frustrating to me not to be able to untangle all the strands of what could be better or causing troubles. The weather has changed, I’ve lost weight, I don’t need as much meds, the Flovent is near when the package says it will work by, I have less stress in front of me, the cold is over; how do I know what’s doing what?
I guess the weather will change “back” at some point and I’ll see how much worse I get with that. I don’t know about the Flovent, but I’m backing off one of those until we go on vacation, then another to see if I can get it to last until close to seeing the doctor again. I guess I have to take the weight loss and cold being gone, less meds/better sleep as givens that they would help.
The only thing that leaves that needs investigating in the future is the Flovent (so I’m back where I started). Have to figure out if it is the weather/season or weight loss (and/or better sleep, less meds) that’s affecting the asthma. Going away will make things better or worse as will getting further into the summer and/or Fall returns? By my birthday the end of October, I will have lost nearly 50 pounds. I think that would make a substantive difference with with weight equation; I’ll weigh less than I did before the asthma started.
So, doctor visit, end of June:
- blood pressure </= 165/85 (or what?)
- lower dose Synthroid (new prescription)
- more Albuterol and Flovent (new prescriptions) but off Flovent if no Albuterol since return from Florida
- full blood tests including TSH
- appointment for September/October (3 months and then 6 months?)
There’s other more subtle differences. I just threw out the second pair of jeans, found 2 more, lightly worn, next size smaller in my bottom drawer and another, less worn, “this” size. I was going to wear the next size smaller, even though they’re a bit tight, to remind me to keep working, get a pound or two more off but then the less worn this size one’s will do for awhile; they’re too long but I cut off the draggy parts (which I don’t know why I didn’t do earlier). But as well as feeling better physically, all this is affecting my psychological well being. Some things seem so obvious in hindsight, we don’t know why we don’t do them to begin with?
Tuesday May 27, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Notes , add a commentIt’s a dreary day. I was so anxious last night; an odd, overwhelming anxiety in all directions with depression. I hope some of it was thyroid related. I didn’t know how to fight it. Was a little interesting to look at though, if I could feel better and know I’d get out of it, only had to look at it temporarily!
It doesn’t help that I can’t find the cat sitter’s card this morning, had to send an email and ask them to ask him to call. I’m not feeling really confident about the whole arrangement and have no idea of “backup”.
I haven’t gotten any confirmation or tickets, etc. for the trade show; Scott has and keeps asking me have I got “mine”. I don’t feel very much a part. I’m worried about clothes and my hair. . .
This cold is lingering for both of us so long. Hard to tell how much depression and lack of interest is tied to it either. SP is not interesting anymore or others. I think today I’ll try to stay off the computer as much as possible and just work around here, figure out plans, menus, what to take, etc. Do some straightening, especially of the dining room, clean the litter, maybe laundry (depressing he didn’t think his fresh towel was clean). 9:00 appointment for him; he should be back around 10:30? I’ll go to the store then.
What would I like for myself. The anxiety out of my chest. Don’t know what could help that. I’ll assume something can and look for it. Work on section 12; getting that to M. will help.
Keeping track May 25, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Notes , add a commentWorking on SparkPeople.com to keep track of my exercise and what I eat and here to keep track of my meds, I haven’t had any time or need for my other two blogs. I just deleted the Google one but kept the private journal one and will try to get back into that.
My SP account wasn’t working properly for awhile this afternoon and that was a bit worrisome; I started thinking what I would do if it were broken for a couple days or more, it being a Sunday and a holiday weekend. Fortunately when I rebooted my computer that did the trick so I wasn’t inconvenienced. But I think I may change around how I do things, start getting use to having a “sense” of what I eat, etc. that I keep with me instead of in blog so I would be fine for awhile just following it. That should go with the meds here too; I do export this blog to my computer ever couple days so I could recreate and do everything on my computer if I needed to. Maybe I want/need to do that with the SP site info as well, get calorie tracker software for my computer. Their stuff can be printed; I want to do some of that but that is such a pain and hardcopy rather than somewhere accessible where it can added to.
I think my next goal is going to be horses or the boat. I still have the vehicle so I could carry a boat on top, made from a kit. Maybe though I’ll work on my balance and legs and see if I could do kayaking next Spring? I think we could do a little canoeing.
Lots to think about and choose from.
Effects May 24, 2008
Posted by keepingtabs in : Notes , add a commentI’m feeling much better from the cold, it is passing I think but my Albuterol use seems to have gone from nearly 6 hours back to 4. I don’t know if the Flovent rx is too “low” or if it’s just not as good as newer meds like what the doctor would like me to use. Too, I haven’t been as active in the last couple days so it could be something simple like that.
What I’d love to see if the asthma go away when we go down to Florida and then the weight loss and exercise keep it away when I get back.
Darn, I’m eating an artichoke, one of my favorite foods in the whole world and can’t taste it. Hmm, ate a few large leaves without the mayonnaise (since I can’t taste it) and the lack of taste experience was okay but the texture experience was not! One needs that little bit of creaminess to keep the whole thing from tasting grainy. I would have never known that! Makes we want to explore a few things.
So, other than taste and smell, and obviously texture, what else is there? Sight. The lack of taste is messing with my head because I “see” what it is and know the whole experience “should” be a particular way for me only it’s not and that’s puzzling to my eyes/brain?
Too bad I just took a cold pill; I should have seen if that would help with taste or not in a few minutes. I’ll be done by then.
Update
Next day. Cold has moved into chest, can minimally taste again but breathing sometimes difficult, coughing, Albuterol use up substantially.
Worrisome; just estimates and even with 3 Albuterol cannisters if I’m using them up 13 days at a time, will be done before the doctor visit; so have to worry about both that and the Flovent. Think the cold is in the way, get rid of that and I might be okay. I think I’ll back down each night to the 1 at-a-tme use of Albuterol.
I just had the Albuterol, think I’ll try a walk, see if exercise can help the cold or usage. It’s beautiful weather.
It’s later in the evening and I feel at least 75-80% better. Looks too like the Albuterol might be going back, it’s nearly 4 hours again. The worst could be over and everything else salvagable.