Sunday, February 22, 2004
You are waiting with bated breath...
...yes? Blood sugar a half hour previous to dinner and 4 hours after lunch, no snacks in between (although lots of liquid, including some heavily spiced Celestial Seasonings Gingerbread Spice Tea with extra cinnamon): 109. In some circles that is normal. In others, it's 9 points above normal but good, nonetheless. Depends on how strict one's nutritionist wants to be.
Dinner:
6 oz. country style pork ribs braised in hoisin sauce
3/4 cup green beans with sauteed onion, green olives, bacon, tarragon vinegar and lemon pepper seasoning
We eat well and imaginatively, here
12 oz. diet root beer
10 mg glipizide 1/2 hour before dinner
425 mg metformin at dinner
1/4 tsp cinnamon in diet root beer
15 ml (15 mg elemental iron) Floradix
guaifenex
Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm curious to know what her blood sugar was just before bed. She retired about an hour and a half after finishing dinner. She was tired but she looked good, although still a bit underhydrated, no doubt due to the influence of the guaifenex. As long as her salts and her kidneys look good I can load her meals with salty flavor, something we aren't used to and tend to tire of quickly, anymore, but it's a nice treat every once in awhile and should aid her body in water retention.
She's been wanting popcorn every day lately, which normally isn't a problem. Since she's been spending so much time either in bed or as sedentary as possible while remaining upright, though, the popcorn seems to be, well, unnecessary, to say the least, challenging, to say the most, in regard to her regular bowel movements. I'm going to try to get her moving tomorrow, although tomorrow is supposed to be our worst weather day yet. I'm not sure what that means. It was supposed to snow and rain all day today. Although it was cloudy and cold we got very little precipitation. One way or another though, I'll need to make a supply run. If I bundle her up well and put her in the wheel chair I see no reason why she can't go along, depending on how volatile the weather is. If it seems cruel to force her out into it maybe by tomorrow she'll be sick of sleeping [A girl can dream, can't she?] and will be able to stay up while I'm gone. If not, maybe I'll wait until she is secure into one of her Sacred Naps.
I have some business to which I need to attend tomorrow, too. I'll definitely need to get out for at least an interim trip to the grocery, if not a full supply trip to Costco, which, depending on the weather, might be tricky for even me, alone.
Now I need to go to bed. It's funny. I woke up very, very early this morning, walked, was back here, thrilled with the day and journaling before 0500. It felt like the day was going to be mine and mine alone, something I haven't experienced in some time. Several hours later, as I became aware of the approach of the time to awaken Mom, I flitted in and out of this state in which it seemed to me as though there was no reason why I couldn't just let her sleep through the day so I could just, well, have a day to myself. I didn't seriously consider doing this but the fantasy delayed me awakening her. I'm sure she wasn't upset but I have to be careful how much I let her sleep because, especially when she's anemic or battling anything else, she can weaken quickly. Once I got her up I kept her up, enjoyed myself, enjoyed her company, she's a funny, funny woman. Now she's in bed and I remember the luxury of those seven or so hours before focusing on my mother and how I was so hungry for them that they weren't enough. Sometimes, the only thing that gets me through in good humor is my ability to allow myself to be overwhelmed by my mother's needs to the point where they become my needs. I'm lucky I'm doing this after a life long lived independently If you know yourself very well it is impossible to really lose yourself in someone else. What is possible is for you to become the other so the other no longer exists and the needs of two become interlocked.
It's been a long day. Sleep sounds wonderful.
Later.
Dinner:
6 oz. country style pork ribs braised in hoisin sauce
3/4 cup green beans with sauteed onion, green olives, bacon, tarragon vinegar and lemon pepper seasoning
We eat well and imaginatively, here
12 oz. diet root beer
10 mg glipizide 1/2 hour before dinner
425 mg metformin at dinner
1/4 tsp cinnamon in diet root beer
15 ml (15 mg elemental iron) Floradix
guaifenex
Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm curious to know what her blood sugar was just before bed. She retired about an hour and a half after finishing dinner. She was tired but she looked good, although still a bit underhydrated, no doubt due to the influence of the guaifenex. As long as her salts and her kidneys look good I can load her meals with salty flavor, something we aren't used to and tend to tire of quickly, anymore, but it's a nice treat every once in awhile and should aid her body in water retention.
She's been wanting popcorn every day lately, which normally isn't a problem. Since she's been spending so much time either in bed or as sedentary as possible while remaining upright, though, the popcorn seems to be, well, unnecessary, to say the least, challenging, to say the most, in regard to her regular bowel movements. I'm going to try to get her moving tomorrow, although tomorrow is supposed to be our worst weather day yet. I'm not sure what that means. It was supposed to snow and rain all day today. Although it was cloudy and cold we got very little precipitation. One way or another though, I'll need to make a supply run. If I bundle her up well and put her in the wheel chair I see no reason why she can't go along, depending on how volatile the weather is. If it seems cruel to force her out into it maybe by tomorrow she'll be sick of sleeping [A girl can dream, can't she?] and will be able to stay up while I'm gone. If not, maybe I'll wait until she is secure into one of her Sacred Naps.
I have some business to which I need to attend tomorrow, too. I'll definitely need to get out for at least an interim trip to the grocery, if not a full supply trip to Costco, which, depending on the weather, might be tricky for even me, alone.
Now I need to go to bed. It's funny. I woke up very, very early this morning, walked, was back here, thrilled with the day and journaling before 0500. It felt like the day was going to be mine and mine alone, something I haven't experienced in some time. Several hours later, as I became aware of the approach of the time to awaken Mom, I flitted in and out of this state in which it seemed to me as though there was no reason why I couldn't just let her sleep through the day so I could just, well, have a day to myself. I didn't seriously consider doing this but the fantasy delayed me awakening her. I'm sure she wasn't upset but I have to be careful how much I let her sleep because, especially when she's anemic or battling anything else, she can weaken quickly. Once I got her up I kept her up, enjoyed myself, enjoyed her company, she's a funny, funny woman. Now she's in bed and I remember the luxury of those seven or so hours before focusing on my mother and how I was so hungry for them that they weren't enough. Sometimes, the only thing that gets me through in good humor is my ability to allow myself to be overwhelmed by my mother's needs to the point where they become my needs. I'm lucky I'm doing this after a life long lived independently If you know yourself very well it is impossible to really lose yourself in someone else. What is possible is for you to become the other so the other no longer exists and the needs of two become interlocked.
It's been a long day. Sleep sounds wonderful.
Later.
