Going for a Walk

I last saw my weight loss doctor [who is also my PCP, but we do the appointments separately; in-person for general visits and telehealth (normally) for weight loss--she's an internist, but she was my weight loss MD first before I asked her to be my PCP when mine retired after I'd gone to him for 20 years] about three weeks ago. I'd gained about 15 lbs. since last December, mainly, I think, from going back to Ozempic, which doesn't work as well for me as Mounjaro (due to insurance--neither Medicaid nor the qualified assisted Anthem health plan I had in May and June covered the latter), and 2) I went through a period where I was overeating and eating a lot of calorie-laden food after I left Shriners and especially while my roommate was out of state for three weeks.

I've been much better with my eating for the last month/month and a half, but my weight hasn't budged a bit. Part of it is water weight--I just blow up ankle-wise in the summer, and while compression hose help, I can't go up on my diuretic because it was what was making me so dizzy a couple of years ago, so they cut it back. So about 5-7 lbs is water weight, because when we had a cool spell, I suddenly lost some. I had, at one point, been 328 lbs and had lost down to 208 lbs. I'm about 223 lbs now.

Sigh. So until (and if) I get insurance that pays for Mounjaro (or unless it goes to generic early--apparently that is being petitioned as the patent expires overseas first, even though it doesn't here for several years), we decided I would try to walk about three times a week, starting for about 10 minutes a day. I promised to do it the next day and did, but then the heat wave of doom came, so I didn't.

Today, it's supposed to get to 90°F, but it was only 76°F about noon, so I decided to put on some sunscreen and a floppy sun hat (since it is also very sunny and nice outside) and go up the street and back. There is an incline at either end. The close-up is me before I went for a walk. The other is me after. It took about 15 minutes to do the circuit. It's a small step, but it's a start. With the inclines, it's a fair little walk. Next time, I should actually bring my inhaler. It did hurt my back a little, but it should be better in the long run. The knees did pretty well, though. The key will be doing this and doing more activity.

Of course, since I got back, I've been helping my friend do some things around the house that apparently, despite normally being fairly minor, wiped both of us out, and I just woke up from a 2-hour nap, and he's still asleep. So I did more activity and kept on going, then my little windup key just wound down entirely. We have to put a fan together later (I'm talking one of those big shop fans) for his bedroom, so it's good I got some rest. It wasn't hard to put the other one together, but there was lots of bending, and if I remember, my back was not happy, even though he had to hold the fan part because it's so heavy while I dealt with all the screws because I'm the mechanically inclined one. 🙂

I know, it's a silly hat. I've got one in purple, too, though. They're good against the sun.

How do you like my 'Censorship is so 1984' shirt from the ALA? It's new. Also, look how tall my tomato plant is!

Apparently

Chair yoga is not for me. I used to do yoga back in the day when I could get up from the floor fairly easier, and I really enjoyed it and found it beneficial. I thought chair yoga would be great, so I went to a library programme, but I didn't think about how much arm work there would be, things like raising the arms above the head and hugging yourself. I have one torn long head on the biceps tendon and the rotator cuff is also torn on the right which was never repaired; on the other side both have been torn in a fall and repaired, but it has been hurti for awhile, so I've been wondering if I should go back to my orthopaedist. I still have range of motion issues on that injured side and probably always will. There's only so much moddification I can do. I did modify the legs a little. I didn't put my lower legs on my thighs, as that does hurt, even after knee replacement, although I can do it briefly. But my back hurts today from doing the twists, and I had to get dog food and cat litter today. Even though the food was 18.5 lbs and the cat litter was 'lightweight' (the torn rotator cuff/biceps tear on the right was from pulling regular cat litter off a shelf, so I'm really careful with that and only use the lightweight, but it's only 10 lbs. difference). So everything kind of hurts today, even with Tylenol. I'm signed up to do it again next Saturday. I'm thinking maybe not. If I do it, I may stick with books and at home videos where I can modify in peace. I know it's not a competition, but it feels like I'm failing if I don't try to do them as demonstrated in front of other people. And I suffered for that idiocy today.

The wheat loaf came out well

Although, unlike normal, I had to extract the paddle from the bread, probably because it's denser.  But it rose well--just not as large as a normal 'XL' loaf, more like a large one.  At YKWIA's suggestion, I'm making a large loaf of herb bread as well, and everything's cooled down, so I've got that measured out and in the pan mixing and now probably rising as we speak.

In the meantime, I have put a heating pad on my back, which felt nice--whoever invented the things should be applauded--and I've put my laundry away from yesterday, which is good, as I'm bad about procrastinating that.  At the apartment, I often lived out of hampers because quite frankly, the closets were full of books.

Sadly, the cat did not come cuddle while I was lying down.  He stayed with his master, which I suppose is the order of things.    For the last two nights, the little dog has stayed in there with him, too, although apparently, she started out with me, per YKWIA.  I'm wondering if the fans on are too cool for her.  I have them on low (there are two in the library/my bedroom).  They're very comfortable for me, although way too cold for YKWIA to stay long in this room when I have them on, especially tonight, as I may have given my crud to him.  I just made him tea and rubbed his feet.  I've given the dogs their nightly peanut butter treat, chained the door, etc.  I'll turn the light over the stove out when I'm finished with the bread and head on to bed myself, but that won't be for another hour.

Must admit, however, that I am getting sleepy. :)

It was nice to be back to work today

We celebrated Mardi Gras with doughnuts and King Cake, and I've probably screwed up my weight loss by a couple of pounds today alone.  Tomorrow we're having a potluck to celebrate Valentine's Day and also our volunteer's birthday.  It being the day before payday, and with me having about sixteen cents in my account, and a slightly smaller cheque due to the lack of time off to cover everything (although it wasn't too bad--I was less than four hours short total, and it amounted to about $13 in pay after taxes, etc.), I suddenly realised last night that my best bet was to make bread.  So tonight I'm making two loaves--a wheat bread that is really good and completely vegan (one of my co-workers is a vegan), using applesauce or olive oil (I used applesauce) for the creaminess, and honey for the sweetener.  Later I'll try to make an herb bread as well.  We'll see how it goes.  I haven't made the whole wheat in a while.  I put together the dough conditioner just the other day.  I love the recipe and both the bread instructions and dough conditioner ingredients can be found at https://beanland.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/whole-wheat-bread-machine-recipe/.  The only difference is I use olive oil instead of canola, sometimes. I don't like canola oil, to be honest, and olive oil works fine.  But I used unsweetened applesauce this time.


So, with the bread making, I swept the floor in the kitchen and mopped it.  Of course, it's going to start raining soon, and it's supposed to rain for most of the week.  On Thursday I think the high is supposed to be 62.  In Lexington, we tend to have localised flooding, but up in the hilly areas to the east of us, schools have been closed and the flooding has been pretty bad.  So I wish we had a drier forecast, for their sakes, and for the sake of the kitchen floor.  But that's okay.

I am working this weekend for about four hours to help make up for the lost time, as well as Monday, which, as it is Presidents' Day, we are technically closed, but a few of us have permission to work on rescheduling the grids.  That way I won't have to use my very low personal time off.  My boss said she was able to use some of the extended illness bank for yesterday and part of Friday, so only part of Thursday wasn't covered.  But working will help offset the loss of personal time off, anyway.

After work today, I took a co-worker somewhere and she gave me a little money for gas, which was great, because I was on my gas light, and this should get me through to payday.

Now I'm listening to some music.  I may lie down on the heating pad for a little while.  It was great being back at work, but I am a little tired and my back is still hurting.  I think after that, I'll watch Netflix, maybe the next episode of 'Sherlock', because YKWIA is studying and reading tonight.  I think he was very happy to have me at work today. :)

PS

The kitchen can wait until tomorrow to be mopped.  I waited until after dinner since invariably some vegetable winds up on the floor (and the dogs aren't particularly into vegetables), but I'm too tired after helping prepare the salad and some other chopping, along with the cleanup afterwards.  My back is hurting quite a bit today, and so the bending to unload and load the dishwasher and then to stand and do the rest of the dishes was painful.  YKWIA did most of the cooking, and it was an excellent meal (a frittata, cream of asparagus soup, and an arugula, radicchio, shallot, and fennel salad with balsamic vinegarette with garlic dressing).  We didn't even need to get into the bread.  I've taken my nightly medicine, and I added some tizanidine, which I use occasionally on orders of my doctor, when my muscles are in spasm, as it relaxes them.  It's a tiny dose, just 12 mg (three 4 mg tablets at bedtime).  I'm also thinking of using the heating pad for a little while.  I did finish all my other tasks for the day, including my laundry. Yesterday I did his, today mine, and tomorrow I'll do the dog blankets and bath mat.

Okay, I'm going to get on that heating pad and listen to some music. I already feel a little fuzzy.  These are not things I can take and drive, for example.  Usually, I go straight to bed, and they don't make me groggy in the morning, really.  I usually wake up before my alarm.  But I stayed up once and it was a weird feeling, where I wasn't coordinated and slightly drunk.  So I use them very sparingly.

I've been working on my health today some

For one, I made an effort to walk around the hospital regularly, as I've had a lot of back pain lately, and while that hurts worse when I stand or walk, the only way to help it, really, is to build up my core, which walking will do. So while I didn't overdo it, I reached my activity goal for today (my phone keeps that as well as my steps) and then some, and I walked 6,865 steps, which is better than I've been doing with this flare-up.

I also was careful today with sweets and took all my medicine with me, in their bottles (I threw them all in the backpack) so I could fill my pill box properly. As a result, my blood sugar was very good today. I'm still having problems with my ankles swelling; when they get big on a day I don't take my diuretic, like they did yesterday, it takes a day or two to get the fluid off of them).

But primarily, there was the meter issue. I see the endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. My values have been good on my blood sugar, for the most part. I should have a lower hemoglobin A1c than last time, and last time was an improvement. I hadn't transferred my results to the computer in awhile, though, and I like to so that I can print a report for her. But I discovered when I tried to bring up the software that it 1) didn't work anymore, with a runtime error and 2) wasn't being distributed anymore. So I couldn't just uninstall and re-download. Instead, Lifescan has created a combination web/mobile application called OneTouch Reveal, which allows you to upload values and find patterns, create reports, all the stuff the old standalone software did and more, and presented graphically and in an easily understood format. My meter, a OneTouch Verio IQ, has a cable that came with it that plugs into the USB port of the computer, and I used a downloaded transfer utility that they have you get (it's free) to transfer several months of readings across to the new web interface. I also downloaded the mobile application. I was very happy with the results. There is also a provision that if you get a code from your doctor's office, they can share the information with them, which is presumably more secure than my e-mailing the logs to the doctor, which is what I had been doing. So I have a call into the doctor's office for that. But along the way, I discovered a new meter that connects and syncs with the mobile application (which in turn, syncs with the web interface), so you don't even need the cable. That way, you can update frequently. It is the OneTouch Verio Flex. I checked, and it was available at the pharmacy for $20, and it's a flexible spending item, so I was able to go ahead and get it after work. It uses the same strips and lancets as the IQ, so that doesn't change. I've set it up, taken my first test, and paired it with the phone so I've already sent that one to update the database. Here's how the two meters stack up:

OneTouch Verio IQ
• PROS:
  1. Colour display
  2. Test strip port light that shines on the strip when you're testing
  3. Rechargeable battery
  4. Tags (before/after meal) can be made when you take a test on the meter itself
  5. Can use an included standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  6. Can browse results in multiples by day
  7. Alerts when high or low patterns are indicated
  8. Case zips to contain lancets, solution, etc.
• CONS:
  1. Must be charged regularly, either by using the USB cable in a computer, or using the enclosed power adapter with the cable.
  2. No way to communicate directly to phone; must use cable.
  3. Small lettering on menus.

OneTouch Verio Flex
• PROS:
  1. Can use Bluetooth to pair/connect directly with mobile application
  2. Can use a standard USB cord to download results to a computer
  3. Large numbers, easy to read screen
  4. Indicator easily shows whether high, low, or normal in range
  5. Small, compact case, so whole thing lighter, and it fits in a purse flat and easily
  6. Doesn't have to be recharged regularly, so no need to carry cord in case
  7. Holster comes out of case and can be clipped on belt and still hold meter, lancet, and strips
  8. Lightweight
• CONS:
  1. Monochrome display (the colour used to indicate high, low, or normal is part of the meter, and then an arrow on the screen is the indicator)
  2. USB cable not included
  3. Battery is a standard watch battery. While it doesn't need to charge, it does need to be replaced--but on the othe rhand, most meter batteries last awhile
  4. Tags are assigned in mobile application, not on meter
  5. No menus, patterns, etc., although it does allow you to go up and down the results
  6. Pouch for lancets doesn't zip--I have mine in a Ziploc snack-sized bag tucked into the pouch.
  7. Not as hefty, but also seems more cheaply made

I hope the above might help if you're planning on getting a meter. Here's what I decided: I'm going to go from now on with the OneTouch Verio Flex, because I have a phone with the mobile application and can sync easily. I'm going to give the other meter, the OneTouch Verio IQ, to a friend who has asked me to check his sugar a few times, so he can have one of his own and I don't mess my results up with his. I went ahead and gave him the new lancing device from this kit and kept my own (both of these come with a OneTouch Delica lancing device, so they're the same). I put some lancets in his pouch, along with a bottle of strips, so he should be good to go, and if the doctor wants him to start testing regularly, the strips would be covered by his insurance. I'm going to give him the user manual as well (I have the original papers and box). So it won't go to waste. It would be helpful to him, I think, because of the colour display and the light on the strip port. He doesn't have (or want) a cell phone, much less a smart phone, so that should be fine for him. The bulkier case shouldn't be a problem for him, as he'd mostly be using it at home. So it's a win-win scenario.

Okay, on that note, time to unpack everything an get ready for tomorrow. Good night.

I am getting a little frustrated with myself

I came home today, right after work (for a change), with the best of intentions. I was going to conquer the clutter and mess by which my apartment is currently under siege. If anyone were to judge by my desk at work, they would think me a neat freak--I always make sure everything is put away each day and than only papers being used at the moment are on top. But at home, well, I'm pretty much a hoarder, and it's a small apartment with lots of books--more than in my library at work--and I've never been particularly neat. The one complaint my parents ever had about me was that I was reluctant to clean my room. And when you live alone, it's easy to come home and just plop stuff down on the couch or dining room table. But it's reached a point where I need to purge the messiness, as I do on occasion. So that was my goal today--to at least get part of the stuff in some semblance of order and get rid of what wasn't important.

But like many middle-aged people (I never thought I'd describe myself that way, but it is true), I have some back problems. I did a lot of bending, lifting, twisting, etc., this weekend. I guess I overdid it. One of the problems with having a truly sit-down job is that I don't walk enough (I average about 5,000 steps or just over a day, rather than the 10,000 you're supposed to walk), and my core and back are weak as a result. Then you add a generally sedentary lifestyle and bursts of activity on the weekends, and it's not pleasant. I came in today, took some Tylenol Arthritis medicine, slathered the Kroger equivalent to Ben Gay (which is very strong) on my back, and stretched out for a half-hour to see if I could get some of the tension out, doing various stretches I'd learned in physical therapy. That seemed to help, but as soon as I got up and gravity hit, it hurt again. Even sitting hurts at the moment. So I went back to the bedroom, slept for a little while, and got up just now to take my evening meds and prepare for actual bedtime. I hate to do it, but I think I'm going to have to take a mild muscle relaxant my doctor prescribed for flare-ups. I've never missed work due to my back or neck, but I do occasionally have these periods of pain.

My plan is to get up VERY early--4:30 or 5 am, do some walking, if I can tolerate it (to help strengthen the back), do some of the stuff I planned to do tonight, and then go into work early, as I have an appointment later in the day. I'm going to try to get up and walk about some more at work; I'm at my highest weight ever and that scares me a bit. I'm going to try to satisfy my sweet tooth with yoghurt or fruit for awhile, which usually works, as I've been eating too many sweets (I was about to say I'd done well today, but then I remembered a small serving of ice cream I had this afternoon).

Oh, well, here's to doing better tomorrow. At least we did play the game (and I think we all enjoyed it) yesterday, and we're back in the swing of things. I did stay late last night trying to update my desktop (which is at YKWIA's, on loan) to the Anniversary Update of Windows 10, but it got almost to the end, and then reversed the installation back to the previous version. I'm not sure why--I'll have to do a little research. But it was a bit annoying; the laptop took a long time, but it did fine. Oh, well. Hope you have a good night.

It is late…

And I should be in bed, as it’s almost 1 am. But I just got in and it always takes me a bit of time to unwind. I’ve been spending some time with friends tonight, and trying to troubleshoot some issues YKWIA is having with my desktop over at his house. I also got the model number of his computer to try to match a decent power supply, as I think that is the problem he was encountering. If we can get his back up and running, that would be great, as he hates Windows 10 and Office 2013 (I’m eligible for Office 2016 for $9.95 through work, actually, but I’ll wait until I can properly download them.)

Last night I got some disturbing news and came home and just curled up in bed, thinking about the implications. I couldn’t really write; I just felt sad and helpless, and needed some time to come to grips with it. I won’t go into its cause; I feel a little better today because the shock of it has worn off a bit.

Today I went in early to work and had a performance appraisal, which went really well. Come March, I’m getting a 3% raise. Yay! I will have to go through an appraisal for the second part of my job there, as well, but I expect it will be the same.

One of my co-workers I was going to sub for in scheduling went on leave early, but they think they can handle things unless it gets super busy, in which case they might need me a day or so here and there. Since I have a stack of books waist-high to catalogue, on top of my regular duties, I’m fine with that. I’ve been putting off processing them until I had more time in the library. I’m doing well with the charge entry and reconciliation, but tomorrow I really want to give some extra attention to the referrals part of my job, as there is a report that is run on Mondays, and that gives me a couple of days to really get the queue down to just a few. Given the lateness of the hour, though, I think I’m going to just go ahead and shoot for my normal arrival time for work tomorrow. I need to still return that equipment to Time Warner Cable, but if all else fails, I can do that Saturday.

Today after work I went over to see my State Farm agent and discussed insurance with them. We'd already put in for a low mileage discount and the roadside assistance (replacing the AAA I had). My odometer was different than in my memory; I just passed 55,000 miles on my way there, but it still means that in three years I've only put on 20,000 miles, so I qualify. They like to meet their customers, and when I first got the car and signed up with them three years ago, we kept having scheduling issues, and I never came in. Because I wasn't sure if there was a physical inspection, I went ahead and finally cleaned out the car. After that I stopped by the store for about $10 worth of groceries, and then headed to my friends’ house. We watched some episodes of ‘Castle’ together, and then YKWIA and I watched ‘Lucifer’—which I really liked. I find it refreshing to watch someone who has absolutely no inhibitions or filter. YKWIA is a lot like that—very honest and blunt. I appreciate that in a person, and wish I could be better at it than I am. I helped him put away some things in his library and then worked on the computer. After that, I helped take care of some things to do with the dogs and made him tea. We also watched a few clips from 'Galavant'. I would like to watch Season 1 if we can find it somewhere. But I finally left, and when I started the car, I realised I had a thin glaze of ice on the car, and had to clean off the windshield, but the back looked clear until I went to back out. But by that time I was already moving, using the other mirrors, and just put on the rear defrost and hoped for the best. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to melt.

Tomorrow after work is physical therapy. I’m looking forward to it. Where we’ve had our sessions interrupted, I’ve been in quite a bit of pain if I stand for much time at all. I know things would be better if I could walk more, but it hurts to. My goal is to get to a point where my spine and hip flexors allow me to exercise. But it’s bad to do when you’re in acute pain, so I haven’t been. It’s very frustrating. I feel like I’m losing some of my mobility from it. Just walking from the library to the cafeteria, or doing things in the kitchen for about 15 minutes without sitting, is hurting. It’s mostly the lower back; my neck and thoracic spine are also stiff and hurting though, and improve with the manipulation my therapist is doing, plus exercises to strengthen the muscles. I’m hoping, if I just keep working at it, that it will help me be able to do what I used to.

I guess I can officially say I'm in perimenopause. I'm six (almost seven) days late on my period, with no chance of pregnancy, per my calendar log on my phone. The last period I had, right before new year's, lasted the normal time, but then I kept spotting for days afterwards, just a bit. So maybe that's why. But I've never been this far off before, maybe just a day or two at a time here and there. I guess I should start giving my libations at Dark of the Moon rather than with my periods, going forward from here. Still, it's weird.

Okay, I’m starting to really get sleepy. I suppose I should sign off here for the night. My lids are heavy and my legs are hurting a bit, so they need to be propped up and I need to stretch out on the bed. Good night.

I did not sleep well

despite coming in about 7:30 last night and going to sleep by about 8 pm. But then I was up from midnight to 1 am, no matter how tired I was. After that I tossed all night. I may have had too much caffeine by the time I went back to bed. Yesterday and Monday I'd taken care of a friend who was having some issues. Yesterday he had a painful procedure that should have lasted maybe 30-45 minutes but wound up taking 3 hours. I had to cancel my appointment for physical therapy at the last minute because it ran so long, plus he was in pain and I didn't feel like I could leave him. This is someone with a very high pain threshold, but this really hurt him. After someone else came home, I went and did some grocery shopping, and got some things for him.

This morning my lower back is feeling much worse, and I could probably have used PT yesterday. I'm thinking of going over to the complex gym to walk to see if it would help some. In the meantime, I've got the Macy's Parade on. I like the Rose Parade better, to be honest. And NBC is mostly just talking to various NBC stars with the parade in the background, without showing much, so frankly I think I'll turn it off. You may ask, why are we not cooking today? We've put off Thanksgiving till tomorrow to give my friend, who is the cook, some time to recuperate. In the meantime I'm going to go over there later and spend some time with them. But first, I think I'm going to see if I can stretch out my back.

I just called A and my friend is doing better, and his doctor called to check on him this morning. We decided we'd go for a walk later because the weather is so pleasant (it supposed to be sunny and 64 degrees today), so I'll forego the treadmill for now.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!