Please send good thoughts

So the sensor to my glucose meter is expiring in a little over an hour, but I can't replace it, even though I do have others, because Tuesday morning I have an MRI and I can't wear it (it has metal in it), and I don't want to waste a ten-day sensor for just a little over a day's time. So it's back to pricking my finger for about 36 hours. Not bad, really, in terms of the timing.

I am nervous about the MRI for a few reasons. One, I'm claustrophobic. They've given me hydroxyzine to take a little while before to take the edge off. Second, it looks like I'll have to lie flat for about 45-60 minutes. I sleep with a CPAP. I'm a little iffy on breathing while flat for that length of time. I may ask if they can put the fan on. Third, it's an MRI/elastography of the abdomen to measure the pliability, of lack thereof,  of my liver. Back on the summer, I had an ultrasound/elastography and I had to spend some amount of the time exhaling all my breath out (in a mask) and then holding without breathing over and over, so my abdomen would be still. It made me light-headed. I'm thinking this might be the same, and that's why she didn't want to sedate me. (An open MRI was not an option, as the images would not have been clear enough). Lastly, this is to see just how damaged my liver is. I know it's enlarged. The ultrasound indicated cirrhosis due to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. If that's the case, it's very serious. It could mean liver tumours, advanced liver disease, paracenteses (drawing fluid off the abdomen that had built up with a long needle), encephalopathy from a build up of toxins (think loopy as someone dealing with dementia--my mom once put a lighter in the microwave, and my stepfather caught it before she turned it on...she'd thought she was making soup), even an eventual wait for a transplant. If it isn't full-blown cirrhosis, but a milder stage, that's great, and there are things I can do to reverse our stabilise it. I've already lost 25 lbs., although that was mostly from being put on another diuretic. That's one thing I can do, along with lifestyle changes and exercise. So it's good to know exactly what we're dealing with. But I'm nervous and a little scared. My mom died of this, and it was terrible. If you wouldn't mind, send some positive thoughts my way Thanks!

Argh!!!

 I'm pretty technically-savvy.  I may not be able to do much with the smaller components on a laptop or build a whole computer, but I can change out periphery device cards and upgrade memory.  I know a lot of Windows and Android tricks, and I'm proficient with both.  I used to program in three older computer languages, so I know the basics of coding. And I've always been able to troubleshoot things to do with my computer or phone, eventually.

Enter the Amazon Fire.  This tablet (the latest generation of the Fire 10, which is the 11th generation) is so good in so many ways, and I'm actually able to use it as a min-computer because I have software compatible with Office and a keyboard.  I did the game notes entirely on it yesterday because my roommate was using my laptop (as a kind of desktop, as all sorts of things are plugged into that). But one trouble I have had is the headphone jack.  Right after I got my Fire this summer, the headphones I'd bought specifically for it that were wired, didn't work when I tried them.  I tried another pair, with nothing. I tried all the things I'd found on Google, including a factory reset, to no avail. I contacted Amazon and they couldn't help.  It hadn't even been a month, so they replaced it.

I usually use wireless Bluetooth headphones anyway, but sometimes I don't want to use up the battery, such as on Sunday mornings, when the wireless ones are better for my chores.  So I tried wired ones again, and lo, on the replacement tablet, it was the same.  The headphones didn't work. I tried everything short of a factory reset to no avail. As a last ditch effort, I tried a pair of headphones that I'd never used before, one that came with my last phone, the Samsung S7 (I'd preferred the ones from the S5, until they'd finally died, and the S20 has a USB-C jack instead of the 3.5 mm one).  I plugged in those, so frustrated with how my morning was going...and they worked, unlike two other headphones.  I checked the one set for any kittly nibbling and didn't find any.  I guess they were just somehow incompatible, even though they work on other devices.  So sending the other back didn't need to happen.

So everything works now. Now to determine why my Bluetooth earbuds are not pairing with each other (i.e. only the right one works).  But that is for another day.