06 June 2014

First off, Today is June 6th, and it is the 70th Anniversary of Operation Overlord; the day Allied forces breached Fortress Europe; the day the end of the European side of WWII began. Many brave men--on all sides-- lost their lives that day on the five beaches of Normandy.

It is our duty to remember these men from the Greatest Generation who so bravely, selflessly waded ashore under a terrifying storm of bullets and cannon fire in order to begin the liberation of France, Belgium and so many other nations. Many of our finest young men failed to return to their families; though their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Every year I offer a prayer of thanks to these gallant men who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

As always, my thanks are but few words and feeble; while your sacrifice was extraordinary.

Thank You.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, after that incredibly important note, let's get on with the latest blog...

Dialysis Weights:

29 May 14
Starting Weight:  102.1 Kg
Ending Weight:  99.4 Kg
Water Removed:  2.70 Kg

31 May 14
Starting Weight:  101.9 Kg
Ending Weight:  99.2 Kg
Water Removed:  2.70 Kg

03 Jun 14
Starting Weight:  103.9 Kg
Ending Weight:  99.4 Kg
Water Removed:  4.50 Kg

05 Jun 14
Starting Weight:  101.9 Kg
Ending Weight:  99.3 Kg
Water Removed:  2.60 Kg

Great weights going into, and great weights afterwards. I seem to have control of my water gains, and my body isn't giving back too much. This is good. It's looking like my body is finally recovered from my surgery back in November--(It's been THAT long ago?!)--as the wide swings in weight are gone, and I haven't had any fluid buildup in my lungs in several months.
Plus, my sleep is deeper, my energy is a little better, and I am feeling a little better every day. In fact, I haven't had any vomiting now in almost three weeks. The constant nausea is decreased, my headache is not as intense, and I've had several people remark to myself (or my wife) how much better I'm looking from the pre-surgery days. I'll take those comments any day of the week!

On the other hand, healing is slow, as is my overall progress. This frustrates me every so often; but I remind myself that I had major surgery, am still on dialysis three times a week, and have no kidneys. This is going to take time.

Good news...

After speaking with a Clinic doc yesterday, I am cutting my Atenolol in half once again. Why? Because, after more than three weeks since initially halving my daily dose--enough time to drop the therapeutic level to its current dose--my BP is better than great. I went into yesterday's dialysis with a 113/75 BP. My exit BP was 100/83.
So, the Atenolol, still at 1 dose/day, is down to 25 total mg. In a few weeks, if my BP continues to be stable and low, we may cut the Atenolol out all together.

Labs were drawn on Tuesday, and I have all the latest:

*Albumin (20 May): 4.00 g/dL     (+0.20 g/dL from 22 Apr)
  (A measure of Protein in the blood)     NR (Normal Range) 4.0 g/dL or Higher

*Hemoglobin (03 Jun): 10.00 g/dL   (-1.20 g/dL from 06 May)
  (A Measure of Anemia)

*Ca Corrected (03 Jun): 9.70 mg/dL (-1.00 mg/dL from 06 May)
  (A measure of Heart and Bone health)     NR 8.40 to 10.20 mg/dL

*Phosphorous (03 Jun):  5.70 mg/dL (-2.20 mg/dL from 06 May)
  (High Phosphorous affects the health of your Heart and Bones)     NR 3.0 to 5.5 mg/dL

*PTH Intact (20 May):  255 pg/mL  (+104 pg/mL from 22 Apr)
  (A measure of Vitamin D absorption and bone and tissue health)     NR 150 to 600 pg/mL

*K+ (03 Jun):  6.10 mEq/L     (+0.50 mEq/L from 06 May)
  (Proper potassium levels keep your nerves and muscles working well)     NR 3.5 to 5.5 mEq/L

*spKdt/V Dialysis (03 Jun): 1.24   (-0.20 from 06 May)
  (A measure of the effectiveness of dialysis and blood filtering.)     NR 1.20 or Higher
The phosphorous drop is huge, so the Nutritionist has ordered another draw tomorrow to verify this number. If it holds up, the GREAT! I've been working on this, and my efforts paid off. If the number rebounds higher, then I still have lots more work to do.

The Potassium (K+) remains elevated in spite of my cutting out the obvious sources of potassium altogether. I will continue trying to find potassium in my foods and eliminate those, as well.

After I was finished with my dialysis yesterday, one of the buttonhole clots popped, and I was bleeding all over the place. Luckily I hadn't left the clinic, so I immediately clamped my hand over the buttonhole, and called for a nurse. They came over, cleaned me up and put fresh bandages on the sites; after which I held for another twenty minutes, then let it sit another ten beyond that before I headed out.
Any time a clot pops on you, immediately apply pressure to the site. If you leave it, you could, with the proper amount of time, Exsanguinate--bleed out. I don't care if you're squeamish around blood--you put one hand on that site, and THEN get a nurse. Stopping the blood is more important than anything!

Alright, that's all I've got for today.

Have a great week! May it be successful and filled with all that you need.

Good Health to All!

ScottW