Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Health Review: 12/21/05
Faxed to Doctor: 12/23/05
Blood Pressure:
See attached chart. I finally figured out that taking her blood pressure every time she turned around was part of the reason it was running high. Even though it was hard for me, I took your advice to monitor it much less often. I slowly worked myself back to once a day in the evening every other day. Since I’ve been doing this her blood pressure has been very even, no episodes of high blood pressure and no extra lisinopril has been needed. Maybe I was the cause of some of her high blood pressure episodes because I just wouldn’t leave her alone! What a lesson to learn! Thank you, doctor, for encouraging me to pull back in monitoring her. She and I are both much better off for it!
Blood Sugar:
Very good control. See attached numbers.
Urinary Issues:
No change. Macrodantin continues to keep her UTI free.
Hydration:
No change from last month.
Energy Level:
She’s staying up more than last month. Although awaking later, she’s retiring much later. Her naps are shorter than last month, too. She’s not getting out much more but at least she’s not in bed as much.
Skin & Circulation:
Both continue to be excellent. No changes.
Appetite & Diet:
Both remain excellent. No changes.
Dementia:
Remains unchanged.
Will & Spirit:
Remain strong and high, respectively.
Medication & Supplements:
I’ve boosted her, yet again, to 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Benefiber a day.
She’s had two 200 mg ibuprofen pills in the last two weeks for temporary knee and back aches.
I’ve given her 20 mg furosemide twice in the last month for torso and feet swelling that wouldn’t go subside any other way. These are noted on her BP report.
I’ve boosted her lisinopril 7 times in the last month. These are noted on her BP report. All of these boosts happened before I cut back on measuring her BP. Since then, no boosts have been necessary. She seems to be doing well on 10/mg per day administered at 5 mg in the morning and at night.
CHF:
Only two mild CHF episodes since last report, both involving the administration of furosemide.
COPD:
No changes from last report.
Bowel Movements:
One episode of diarrhea after ODing on some diabetic candy. Continues to eliminate every 24-72 hrs; usually every 48 hrs. Fecal consistency, volume and ease of elimination remain excellent overall.
Additional Notes:
Blood Pressure:
See attached chart. I finally figured out that taking her blood pressure every time she turned around was part of the reason it was running high. Even though it was hard for me, I took your advice to monitor it much less often. I slowly worked myself back to once a day in the evening every other day. Since I’ve been doing this her blood pressure has been very even, no episodes of high blood pressure and no extra lisinopril has been needed. Maybe I was the cause of some of her high blood pressure episodes because I just wouldn’t leave her alone! What a lesson to learn! Thank you, doctor, for encouraging me to pull back in monitoring her. She and I are both much better off for it!
Blood Sugar:
Very good control. See attached numbers.
Urinary Issues:
No change. Macrodantin continues to keep her UTI free.
Hydration:
No change from last month.
Energy Level:
She’s staying up more than last month. Although awaking later, she’s retiring much later. Her naps are shorter than last month, too. She’s not getting out much more but at least she’s not in bed as much.
Skin & Circulation:
Both continue to be excellent. No changes.
Appetite & Diet:
Both remain excellent. No changes.
Dementia:
Remains unchanged.
Will & Spirit:
Remain strong and high, respectively.
Medication & Supplements:
I’ve boosted her, yet again, to 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Benefiber a day.
She’s had two 200 mg ibuprofen pills in the last two weeks for temporary knee and back aches.
I’ve given her 20 mg furosemide twice in the last month for torso and feet swelling that wouldn’t go subside any other way. These are noted on her BP report.
I’ve boosted her lisinopril 7 times in the last month. These are noted on her BP report. All of these boosts happened before I cut back on measuring her BP. Since then, no boosts have been necessary. She seems to be doing well on 10/mg per day administered at 5 mg in the morning and at night.
CHF:
Only two mild CHF episodes since last report, both involving the administration of furosemide.
COPD:
No changes from last report.
Bowel Movements:
One episode of diarrhea after ODing on some diabetic candy. Continues to eliminate every 24-72 hrs; usually every 48 hrs. Fecal consistency, volume and ease of elimination remain excellent overall.
Additional Notes:
- I still haven’t found an available flu shot up here but she seems to be doing fine without it, probably because she isn’t getting out much and although I do get out, I managed to get a flu shot before the shortage took hold.
- You will notice that a copy of her test results for her 12/21/05 draw are attached (CBC & BMP). Once again, the lab did not delete [Shiny New Doctor's] order from their system and printed the report to be faxed to him. This time, when I picked up my copy and noticed the error, I stood by the computer person and watched as she deleted the order, then had her pull up your order to confirm that they had your new fax number, not your old one. She said she’d fax you a copy of the report but, just in case she didn’t, I’m faxing you a copy with all this other stuff.
- Again, just for fun, I did her BP averages for 11/22/05-12/21/05:
pre-breakfast: 133/66 pre-dinner: 127/63
Chances are, now that I’ve slowed down on monitoring, next month the averages will only be for pre-dinner readings. I might, occasionally, do a run of pre-breakfast or pre-lunch readings but the truth is, she is more likely to get irritated when I take her BP prior to breakfast or lunch so I may stick with just pre-dinner readings. - Also, regarding the slow down on BP monitoring, if I notice more CHF episodes than usual and/or her BP seems to run awfully high during a particular reading, I’ll step up the monitoring (a little) to see if anything significant is happening.
