I Think I Have It Sussed

It’s going to be a jugging act, though. The hospital system my cancer center belongs to has a “patient portal” where I can access things like lab tests, appointment schedules, etc., on line. Mine are mostly white blood cell differentials (how many of each kind of white blood cells), complete blood counts (how many red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, etc,), and basic metabolic panels (the amounts of a select group of substances i.e., sodium, potassium, uric acid, BUN, creatinine, etc., are present in the blood). Which means I can look at these test results on the computer whenever I want. I get these lab tests before I do the second day of chemo, so I can track that data over time.

What’s been causing my weakness is low blood pressure due to dehydration. I get IV fluids with the chemo to help my body flush it through my system. I empty out my legs for an hour or two every night, but then my sodium (table salt, one of those “electrolytes” that are all the rage these days) drops, and my output gets ahead of my input. What’s been causing my hand and foot cramps is not low magnesium or low calcium, but hyponatremia — low blood sodium (“Na” for the STEM crowd).

My sodium dips below a certain point and the “thirst” circuit in my brain gets switched off to protect what little I have left. My blood pressure falls (90/51 mmHg, for example, which is almost “fainting low”) because I don’t have enough water to go around. I need to drink, but I’m not thirsty. My kidneys need to keep the chemo chemicals and waste products flushed out of my blood, but I’m not thirsty. It’s a vicious cycle. My blood sodium levels are the key. If I can keep my blood sodium levels within normal limits, my thirst circuits will do what they’re supposed to do and we can keep the system flushed out.

Cardiologists put you on a low-salt or no-added-salt diet because eating a lot of salty foods causes you to retain fluids and raises your blood pressure, which makes your heart have to work harder, not just from the extra volume of fluids it’s having to push through the system, but because of the weight those fluids add to your body. The World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and American Heart Association (AHA) all recommend keeping sodium under 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) suggests aiming for about 1,500 mg per day. Because my cardiologist has me on a low salt diet, I keep an eye on how much sodium is in a particular food. (Don’t just look at the amount of sodium per serving, look at the serving size, too!) There are foods I’ve stopped eating because they are so high in sodium. Soft drinks, for one, particularly the “diet” soft drinks. Potato chips and corn chips for others. Wolf Brand Chili. (1000 mg per 8 0z serving, almost half the American Heart Association’s minimum daily requirement!)

It was blustery and rainy and down-right COLD today. I got up at still dark o’clock and hunted down my rain coat. The wind kept batting me around and trying to take my umbrella away from me, and I thought I was going to have to tack to get into the cancer center. (To tell you how much the salty food has helped, yesterday I slept through most of the 6-hour infusion and my blood pressure was 110/51 mmHg. Today, my blood pressure was 125/60 mmHg and I read for the 3 hours I was there.)

On the way home, I stopped by Market Street to get cheese, scallions and some other stuff, as well as a little pop up bouquet for my lawyer because she’s such a champ.

I was going to hold out for a blue orchid and then quit acquiring them (you can quit laughing any time . . . ), but today I rescued this little guy. He was the last of this color scheme and had obviously been bullied. His flower spike was almost completely broken in two and the top part was just hanging by a thread.

I had already decided to quit after I got one of the blue orchids owing to window room, and had already ordered the water container and orchid pot for it (arriving Thursday) but I will wait till he’s done blooming to repot him. Once I get the arrowhead plant rooted and potted, I’m going to “free to good home” it so that will open some window-front property.

Today my lawyer and her two witnesses came over at 1 o’clock. We signed papers till the world looked level and notarized about half of them before the witnesses. (My lawyer put herself through law school by working as a legal assistant for the law firm my mother worked for, which is how I knew her. When she was a legal assistant, the firm got her commissioned as a notary public, and she has maintained that status.) This is part of the ongoing saga of me getting my legal and financial ducks in a row. (Will, Powers of Attorney, Advanced Directives, etc.)

This afternoon, I tuned in to the “Suburbs of Goa” channel of SomaFM and got lucky. They were playing a block of “Middle Eastern” music. Then I unearthed my pasta pot, boiled up a box of small elbow macaroni, got 2 cans of Wolf Brand Chili (with beans), dumped them in my blue casserole dish, added a small can of sliced black olives, four chopped scallions (green onions), a heaping handful of Sargento’s 4 Cheeses Mexican blend, and about a cup of little elbows. (This was the first time I have used a stove since I moved to Carillon!) That makes about 6 servings. I had one for a late lunch. I had 16 oz of Dr. Pepper and a single-serving bag of Chex Mix yesterday, and my thirst circuits were firing on all cylinders today.

My Christmas cactus, bless it’s little green heart, sneakily put out this single bud, as though expressing solidarity with the local representative of Mother Nature. (G. Who) I need to go exhale on it a couple of five times and give it some CO2 love.

The small entryway rug arrived and has been put in place. It is in the same pattern as my big rug and in exactly the size I needed. The apartment last had thick pile carpet and the bottom of the door was cut to make allowances for that. But, because Carillon is also an assisted living and skilled nursing facility, health care regs require that when one occupant moves out, they have to trash the carpet. I chose luxury vinyl plank flooring but the rugs help define areas.

I think I’ve finally got my apartment the way I want it.

Oh, and our environmental tip of the day is to save and collect the little snibbies of yarn you snip off when you work in ends. In the spring, when birds are building/renovating their nests, they love these little bits of yarn to use to line the inside of the nest. You can rub the yarn snibbies over the rough bark of a nearby tree and snag them where they can easily find them. How snuggly for a baby chick!