I had planned on getting this post written last week; but a series of escalating TMD headaches made me postpone pretty much everything.
It started last Monday afternoon (03 Feb) with a creeping headache that slowly worsened as the day went along. On Tuesday, the pain increased to a solid 9 all day, which forced me to take my strongest pain med. This helped ease the headache down to a 5, or so; and stayed that way most of that Wednesday. But on Thursday, the pain ramped up once again, hitting and staying on a good 7. The headache was somewhat manageable all day and that night.
But on Friday it kicked up yet again and stayed there for three more full days, sitting at an unmovable 10...not budging one bit, even with strong meds all three days.
It was a doozy!
I was photo and audio sensitive, and not only had the shades drawn all three days, but I also wore my sunglasses in the house to help alleviate the intense pain! Plus, sound had to be kept low, as well. Finally, late Sunday evening, the headache finally began to ease. By Monday morning (10 Feb), it was minimal once more. What fun!
I spent all of Monday with that minimal headache, which was well-managed with just Excedrin. It was a welcomed relief!
Yesterday, I had my follow-up visit with the Kidney Clinic. The doctors are pleased with my weight loss, as well as my lowered blood pressures. They made two changes to my meds: 1) I am to take the Torsemide every other day, from now on, unless any untoward side effects occur. 2) My twice-daily Clonidine has been increased to 0.1 mg both morning and evening. I was already on 0.05 morning, and 0.1 evening, so doubling the morning dose is no big deal.
I am to maintain this overall dosing regimen until at least my next yearly review, which is coming up in May; unless--again--something in my labs or daily vitals goes wonky. IF that happens, I'll just call the Clinic and proceed from there.
One of the doctors explained why I will continue with the Torsemide...
When you are on several BP-controlling meds, the body just needs some help getting rid of all of the fluids you take in; hence, a regular diuretic. I cannot explain the pathophysiology of the whole interaction, but that is the reason I might continue using a diuretic for the foreseeable future.
My daily BP's have been doing better, but are still not stable. The morning systolic readings range from the mid-100-teens, up to the mid 130's; while the evening readings range from the high 120's to the high 140's.
My weight has stabilized around 121 Kg's. It will rise one day, then dip into 120 Kg's the next; so 121 Kg's seems to be the current norm.
With the twice daily uniform dosing of the Clonidine (in conjunction with the other BP meds), it is hoped that I will finally see stable, consistent blood pressure readings both morning and evening.
My sleep has continued to be decent in overall hours, but still poor in quality as I have been somewhat dragging around...headache aside.
My energy is still increasing little by little. While there are days that are better than others, I find that I am walking a bit faster, climbing the stairs in the house with greater strength, and have days that find me getting a bit restless; which is excellent!
I think that I'll end this entry there.
Next week I have my monthly Labs and Infusion of Belatacept. I will post those lab results either next Wednesday or Thursday.
Until next time...
Have a terrific week, and remember to always smile!
Good Health to All!
ScottW
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment