Good grief...
So. The lack of wound care was due to this company not having shift coverage on that day. Not that it helps me any.
Change of dressing well overdue and surprise surprise, there's pus. Mind you, the antibiotics were done weeks ago. So, fresh infection. Oh, and in the process of getting rid of said pus pocket(s), the wound opening is now bigger.
And then measured again today, bigger and now it's *deeper*. As in, the measurement went from 1.8 to 2.2.
...
...
...
Then throw in the visit to the endocrinology center today.
Mind you, I am already recovering from work stress. (Thanks a lot, OpenSSL, the tip of the iceberg of recent stress.) Now I have an infection, which means I'm back to uber-glucose-fuckery. Prior to that, I was stable around 130 to 145 or so, to the point where i didn't have a base correction at meals, and that's not bad considering that knee pain sidelined me for 2 days on exercise, and my work schedule took out a few more days. (This is the first full weekend I've had off since going back to work.) My diet is simple, within limits, and yet still allows flexibility. I haven't eaten a single meal over 70 carbs since leaving the hospital, have only had fast food once (and even then the burger only and Sprite Zero).
When I got out of the hospital, I had to throw away every single eating habit along with half my fridge. And I didn't do it overnight -- I've had to transition and wean myself off things. I was pretty bad at snacking on pickles and bacon (both carb free), but I've cut myself back to jello and cheese. Is it good? No. But it's an adjustment phase, and considering I'm just barely over a month out of the hospital, I'm quite happy with my progress so far.
This morning's visit was a persecution (or sure felt like it) of what I've put together. I don't give a flying fart if sugary cereal is going to burn quicker than the other types of cereal I eat, because frankly, I haven't felt a damn difference in how I feel whether my blood sugars are at 190 or at 80, and my energy levels don't fluctuate much at all. To be nagged that "you need to stop the cheese snacking" and the ABJECT HORROR displayed that "OMG you eat that much cheese" pissed me right the fuck off.
You know what my eating habits were before? Full bag of chips for dinner. Average serving size of 19 chips, a full bag is what, 3-6 servings? Figure out the sodium intake from that. Then add in breakfast, which included sausage, and lunch, which would inevitably also be salt-heavy. Comparatively speaking, my sodium intake has tanked -- 0% breakfast, 66% lunch, and about 66% dinner.
Yes -- still above normal, but again, ADJUSTING. I'm only just how really past the cravings for a Coke and the urges to just hit fast food instead of dealing with dinner. And frankly, I don't think the sodium/fat is going to be adjustable further because of my lifestyle. (YOU try explaining to your boss that you need a full kitchen setup at work because you're working late and the doctors don't want you doing that microwave soup anymore but that thou shalt cook a full, healthy meal.)
I'm *happy* with my progress. Will the cheese go away? Probably. Will I probably just be replacing it with sugar-free Jello? Absolutely. Will I wean myself off that as well? Probably after summer.
Drinking water? Not really, I say. I'm not that thirsty. Because my blood sugars are more in control, so I'm not reacting to the diabetic thirst, and being off caffeine means I'm not reacting to demand for more of that. I'm just not genuinely thirsty or feeling parched.
Oh god, did that launch another fire ship against my defenses.
Then they switch my insulin pen needles over to the shorter kind. Great, because I mention *again* that I have to inject at an slight angle (as instructed by the HOSPITAL, with THIS SPECIFIC NEEDLE IN MIND) because if I go in straight, I'm drawing blood. Not kidding about that either -- my long term insulin goes in my thighs and every night it's a question of "and how long will THIS bleed?" Not to mention the meal injection sites are showing bruises from being too deep. And I get the whole schpiel of how I should be injecting straight in because going in at an angle can damage tissue on the way out because you tend to pull perpendicular out.
The fuck? No, I use my fingers from the "pinch" once the needle is in to hold the pen at the same angle it went in and avoid moving my other hand on the pen as much as possible. It keeps the pen from pulling at wrong angles when pulling out.
Diabetic supplies and insulin... hospital let me go with just one refill on everything. I'm finally starting to run low again, particularly on testing strips. "huh? how many times a day are you testing?"
3 meals, the pre-long-term-insulin test, and on the days I manage to get to the apartment complex gym, a test afterwards and sometimes before (usually when it's a weekend and I'm exercising mid-afternoon as opposed to right after dinner.) This isn't rocket science -- it's what I've generally been advised to do! And this doesn't even count for the times where my poor blood flow to my fingers comes into play -- like if it's cold outside on the walk back from exercising, or if I keep my arms up for any length of time, or if I curtail blood flow into my hands because my arms are in a bad spot on the desk. (How do I spell "frustration"? "Oh, that drop should be big enou.. WHAT? ohshitshitshit squeeze more out befor... dammit, it's too late and the test strip is dead, FUUUUUUUUUUUU...")
Trust me, when you have to prick your fingers THIS many times a day, having to repeat AGAIN is not a highlight.
Then I get the wound care today (fun) and find out that yeah, there's nothing to be done about Mondays, and that they'll just stick to a Su/Tu/Th schedule. Nice to have a schedule, not nice to hear that Mister Pussbucket gets to stew an extra day between dressing changes on a weekend.
Oh, and my blood pressure. ::sigh:: All that work cutting my sodium intake and my blood pressure has GONE UP on average, and hasn't been going back down. High as in the high "150/90" range.
...
I'm hoping that my body is just taking longer to drop the blood pressure from stress, but at the rate things are going, every time I reduce stress at work, it just flares up elsewhere. And in the meantime, the insurance company has let me know I have a $5K hospital bill coming in, yet I have yet to actually get it... and let's face it, if the Return of the Infection gets any worse, I'll probably wind up back IN said hospital. ::sigh::
Really hoping that this weekend will be a vital stress detox session. I'm just going to try to enjoy it and not think of work or the bandage on my back. I just wish my brain and body responded to destressing efforts that easily...
Change of dressing well overdue and surprise surprise, there's pus. Mind you, the antibiotics were done weeks ago. So, fresh infection. Oh, and in the process of getting rid of said pus pocket(s), the wound opening is now bigger.
And then measured again today, bigger and now it's *deeper*. As in, the measurement went from 1.8 to 2.2.
...
...
...
Then throw in the visit to the endocrinology center today.
Mind you, I am already recovering from work stress. (Thanks a lot, OpenSSL, the tip of the iceberg of recent stress.) Now I have an infection, which means I'm back to uber-glucose-fuckery. Prior to that, I was stable around 130 to 145 or so, to the point where i didn't have a base correction at meals, and that's not bad considering that knee pain sidelined me for 2 days on exercise, and my work schedule took out a few more days. (This is the first full weekend I've had off since going back to work.) My diet is simple, within limits, and yet still allows flexibility. I haven't eaten a single meal over 70 carbs since leaving the hospital, have only had fast food once (and even then the burger only and Sprite Zero).
When I got out of the hospital, I had to throw away every single eating habit along with half my fridge. And I didn't do it overnight -- I've had to transition and wean myself off things. I was pretty bad at snacking on pickles and bacon (both carb free), but I've cut myself back to jello and cheese. Is it good? No. But it's an adjustment phase, and considering I'm just barely over a month out of the hospital, I'm quite happy with my progress so far.
This morning's visit was a persecution (or sure felt like it) of what I've put together. I don't give a flying fart if sugary cereal is going to burn quicker than the other types of cereal I eat, because frankly, I haven't felt a damn difference in how I feel whether my blood sugars are at 190 or at 80, and my energy levels don't fluctuate much at all. To be nagged that "you need to stop the cheese snacking" and the ABJECT HORROR displayed that "OMG you eat that much cheese" pissed me right the fuck off.
You know what my eating habits were before? Full bag of chips for dinner. Average serving size of 19 chips, a full bag is what, 3-6 servings? Figure out the sodium intake from that. Then add in breakfast, which included sausage, and lunch, which would inevitably also be salt-heavy. Comparatively speaking, my sodium intake has tanked -- 0% breakfast, 66% lunch, and about 66% dinner.
Yes -- still above normal, but again, ADJUSTING. I'm only just how really past the cravings for a Coke and the urges to just hit fast food instead of dealing with dinner. And frankly, I don't think the sodium/fat is going to be adjustable further because of my lifestyle. (YOU try explaining to your boss that you need a full kitchen setup at work because you're working late and the doctors don't want you doing that microwave soup anymore but that thou shalt cook a full, healthy meal.)
I'm *happy* with my progress. Will the cheese go away? Probably. Will I probably just be replacing it with sugar-free Jello? Absolutely. Will I wean myself off that as well? Probably after summer.
Drinking water? Not really, I say. I'm not that thirsty. Because my blood sugars are more in control, so I'm not reacting to the diabetic thirst, and being off caffeine means I'm not reacting to demand for more of that. I'm just not genuinely thirsty or feeling parched.
Oh god, did that launch another fire ship against my defenses.
Then they switch my insulin pen needles over to the shorter kind. Great, because I mention *again* that I have to inject at an slight angle (as instructed by the HOSPITAL, with THIS SPECIFIC NEEDLE IN MIND) because if I go in straight, I'm drawing blood. Not kidding about that either -- my long term insulin goes in my thighs and every night it's a question of "and how long will THIS bleed?" Not to mention the meal injection sites are showing bruises from being too deep. And I get the whole schpiel of how I should be injecting straight in because going in at an angle can damage tissue on the way out because you tend to pull perpendicular out.
The fuck? No, I use my fingers from the "pinch" once the needle is in to hold the pen at the same angle it went in and avoid moving my other hand on the pen as much as possible. It keeps the pen from pulling at wrong angles when pulling out.
Diabetic supplies and insulin... hospital let me go with just one refill on everything. I'm finally starting to run low again, particularly on testing strips. "huh? how many times a day are you testing?"
3 meals, the pre-long-term-insulin test, and on the days I manage to get to the apartment complex gym, a test afterwards and sometimes before (usually when it's a weekend and I'm exercising mid-afternoon as opposed to right after dinner.) This isn't rocket science -- it's what I've generally been advised to do! And this doesn't even count for the times where my poor blood flow to my fingers comes into play -- like if it's cold outside on the walk back from exercising, or if I keep my arms up for any length of time, or if I curtail blood flow into my hands because my arms are in a bad spot on the desk. (How do I spell "frustration"? "Oh, that drop should be big enou.. WHAT? ohshitshitshit squeeze more out befor... dammit, it's too late and the test strip is dead, FUUUUUUUUUUUU...")
Trust me, when you have to prick your fingers THIS many times a day, having to repeat AGAIN is not a highlight.
Then I get the wound care today (fun) and find out that yeah, there's nothing to be done about Mondays, and that they'll just stick to a Su/Tu/Th schedule. Nice to have a schedule, not nice to hear that Mister Pussbucket gets to stew an extra day between dressing changes on a weekend.
Oh, and my blood pressure. ::sigh:: All that work cutting my sodium intake and my blood pressure has GONE UP on average, and hasn't been going back down. High as in the high "150/90" range.
...
I'm hoping that my body is just taking longer to drop the blood pressure from stress, but at the rate things are going, every time I reduce stress at work, it just flares up elsewhere. And in the meantime, the insurance company has let me know I have a $5K hospital bill coming in, yet I have yet to actually get it... and let's face it, if the Return of the Infection gets any worse, I'll probably wind up back IN said hospital. ::sigh::
Really hoping that this weekend will be a vital stress detox session. I'm just going to try to enjoy it and not think of work or the bandage on my back. I just wish my brain and body responded to destressing efforts that easily...