18 May 2013

In the eleven days since my last full entry, I've had five dialysis sessions;
so, let's start there...

09 May 13
Starting Weight:  105.3 Kg
Ending Weight:  104.1 Kg
Water Removed:  1.20 Kg

11 May 13
Starting Weight:  105.4 Kg
Ending Weight:  103.8 Kg
Water Removed:  1.60 Kg

 14 May 13
Starting Weight:  105.6 Kg 
Ending Weight:  103.5 Kg
Water Removed:  2.10 Kg

16 May 13
Starting Weight:  106.0 Kg
Ending Weight:  104.1 Kg
Water Removed:  1.90 Kg

18 May 13
Starting Weight:  105.8 Kg
Ending Weight:  104.3 Kg
Water Removed:  1.50 Kg

As you can clearly see, 'consistency' remains the word of the day when it comes to my dialysis weight management. You'll find absolutely no complaints from me!

A few weeks ago I began to notice a general numbing of the bottoms of both feet. At first it was just irritating. However, the numbness gradually increased its intensity, growing to uncomfortable; now, it is slightly painful. I have never had this happen, and since it is unusual for me, I decided to tell my nephrologist about it on Thursday when he came by my chair during his weekly dialysis rounds.

Besides the above info, I also told him that wearing shoes was becoming painful as well. He suggested I go see my chiropractor just to rule out spinal chord or nerve impingement. I'll go this coming week. He also prescribed a med in case the spinal adjustment doesn't solve the issue. In the cases of such Peripheral Neuropathy, a common Rx is the med Neurontin, aka Gabapentin. There are various adverse side effects--there always are!--but the common side effect I am most likely to notice is sleepiness and excessive tiredness. That certainly won't be anything new.  ;o)

Anyhow, I will be titrating the dosage upward in order to find relief from the neuropathic pain. I will start out at 100 mg/day x 1/week. Then, 200 mg/day x 1/week. After that, if no relief has been achieved, we'll keep going up in dosage until relief occurs. Hopefully the chiropractic adjustment will do the trick. If not, then I'll start on the med right away.
I will, of course, fill you in on how the treatments go.

My headache, now forty two months long, and counting, has had a bit of a resurgence to a consistently higher pain level. As far as I'm aware, I haven't done anything to exacerbate the headache; it is just more painful than even a week ago.

My sleep is once again all over the place--no surprise there, eh? My naps are fewer, my nighttime sleep is still 8+ hours, but I am waking up a lot every night, and I am walking around unusually tired again. By now, I think we've learned that I just have to endure this cycle, and that soon enough, my sleep will readjust itself...again.

On the good news front, my incidences of diarrhea have actually decreased over the past month. I'm not doing anything different, it has just calmed down. I absolutely don't mind this correcting itself for a while!

My appetite and fluid intake remain the same since my last entry. I don't expect any changes in either area anytime soon.

My overall energy level is down again. No surprise there. I am doing less and resting more. Since moving to our new place last March I am having to walk more, which only does me good. But, even since moving in, I have had a noticeable drop in my energy level. I will keep an eye on this, looking for any ongoing loss of my energy.

And that...I think...is all I have for today.

Good Health to All!

ScottW