I haven't written in here for almost 2 months! Man, time flies when your having fun. I want you to know that John is still on the program. I will have to update this further with all the details. Hopefully I will get to this by this weekend.
Just for the record though, he has continued to lose weight and inches. He is wearing clothes he hasn't worn for years.
His bowel movements are still "cow patty" consistency. He has about 6 bowel movements per day on average. It is amazing how "full of it" he really was.
His blood sugars overall have been excellent. Yesterday, for some reason, they read 195. That is the only time they have been that high. One other time it was 168. That was when his finger tried to get infected. He still burns himself easily and I am treating three burns now.
He has developed a fidgeting of some sort with him swishing his tongue around. Mentally, he seems different in several ways. One, he is acutely aware of what he "can't do". Overall, he has been more depressed because he is not able to participate in the day to day family activities. I hope I can help him more that way. His hands are somewhat crippled and his balance and stamina are way off. So those are definite challenges that somehow need to be overcome or this program may all be for naught.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Continuing to make progress
Well we have slowed down. Not much day to day going on, but definitely enough to write in here every week.
John is continuing to make progress. He doesn't have diarrhea anymore. They are at the consistency they should be and he having at least 3 good bowel movements per day. The Dialysis center wants him to continue on taking diarrhea pills because he sometimes has a BM there and it interferes with his treatment. I say "No" because it's not "diarrhea". They don't like me to well.
His weight loss has slowed down to about a 1-3 pounds per week. He is at 228.8. He has been on this for one month now. His starting weight was 263.1. So he has actually lost about 34.3 pounds. He looks it too. I have him in shirts now that were too small before.
He is on less oxygen. This last week, he has gone at least 4 nights without his oxygen. One morning, after I had gone to work, my son went in to wake him up for breakfast. When he went in, he noticed his dad's oxygen tube on the floor. He got scared and watched his body to see if it was going up and down from breathing. He then shook him to make him move. He just didn't know he could go without the oxygen. It was funny to listen to him tell his story. He is so animated.
This week was a real milestone, because we had another small heat wave. It got up to 100 degrees or better the other day. John did just fine. He wasn't even on his oxygen very much that day.
His sugars have been near normal for a month now. I had to give him insulin once early on when his sugars were over 200. Since then it went to 173 and a few days ago it went to 162, but otherwise they have mostly been in the 120's or lower. Nothing below 110 though.
He says he feels better. He has been better to not ask for foods he knows he can't have. He still asks, it is just not as much. He has been a "pretty good boy" because he has not been "sneaking" or getting into foods he is not supposed to have. He continues to have lots of fruit, vegetables and grains. I need to supply him with more nuts and seeds. I did add sunflower seeds. I have offered almonds, but he has not wanted them. He is still on all the herbs foods that I have listed earlier. We made stir fry the other day. He really enjoyed that. Monday, we had to make a trip to Portland right after Dialysis. So we went to Wendy's and got him two baked potatoes for lunch. I had also brought fruit with us. He was satisfied. Popcorn is his lifesaver when it comes to something to snack on because he is still on the nervous side. It seems to be calming down though.
I had a heart to heart talk to him about exercise. He definitely isn't getting enough. I told him that he has to take the initiative to get exercise. His heart is doing better than it has for so many years. Now it is time to get himself stronger. Let's see how motivated he gets.
John is continuing to make progress. He doesn't have diarrhea anymore. They are at the consistency they should be and he having at least 3 good bowel movements per day. The Dialysis center wants him to continue on taking diarrhea pills because he sometimes has a BM there and it interferes with his treatment. I say "No" because it's not "diarrhea". They don't like me to well.
His weight loss has slowed down to about a 1-3 pounds per week. He is at 228.8. He has been on this for one month now. His starting weight was 263.1. So he has actually lost about 34.3 pounds. He looks it too. I have him in shirts now that were too small before.
He is on less oxygen. This last week, he has gone at least 4 nights without his oxygen. One morning, after I had gone to work, my son went in to wake him up for breakfast. When he went in, he noticed his dad's oxygen tube on the floor. He got scared and watched his body to see if it was going up and down from breathing. He then shook him to make him move. He just didn't know he could go without the oxygen. It was funny to listen to him tell his story. He is so animated.
This week was a real milestone, because we had another small heat wave. It got up to 100 degrees or better the other day. John did just fine. He wasn't even on his oxygen very much that day.
His sugars have been near normal for a month now. I had to give him insulin once early on when his sugars were over 200. Since then it went to 173 and a few days ago it went to 162, but otherwise they have mostly been in the 120's or lower. Nothing below 110 though.
He says he feels better. He has been better to not ask for foods he knows he can't have. He still asks, it is just not as much. He has been a "pretty good boy" because he has not been "sneaking" or getting into foods he is not supposed to have. He continues to have lots of fruit, vegetables and grains. I need to supply him with more nuts and seeds. I did add sunflower seeds. I have offered almonds, but he has not wanted them. He is still on all the herbs foods that I have listed earlier. We made stir fry the other day. He really enjoyed that. Monday, we had to make a trip to Portland right after Dialysis. So we went to Wendy's and got him two baked potatoes for lunch. I had also brought fruit with us. He was satisfied. Popcorn is his lifesaver when it comes to something to snack on because he is still on the nervous side. It seems to be calming down though.
I had a heart to heart talk to him about exercise. He definitely isn't getting enough. I told him that he has to take the initiative to get exercise. His heart is doing better than it has for so many years. Now it is time to get himself stronger. Let's see how motivated he gets.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
We haven't given up
Sorry I haven't written in here for over a week. Several things have happened. Last Wednesday, early evening, I took John back to the hospital. He was having a hard time breathing. Like he was the previous week. He was at one hospital for a couple of hours, then they transferred him to another hospital that could care for cardiac patients. Since John couldn't lay flat, they put a ventilator tube down his throat. He was sedated the whole time. They put it in around 9 pm. While out, they did an angiogram and a heart cath. He didn't get back to his room in Intensive Care until 2 am. They started waking him up around 7 am. He was breathing hard again. He finally calmed down enough to take the tube out around 9:30 am. When the test came back the doctor came in to tell John that his heart was in fairly good shape. There was a little bit of diseased tissue, but everything was clear. He didn't have any excess fluid buildup either. That meant that his rapid breathing was because of him being anxious or nervous. He had to go through all that to find that out. It was good news over all since his heart has been bad for over 15 years. Yesterday at John's regular doctor visit, John found out that his injection fraction is between 45 and 50%. That is the best its been since we first found out about his CHF.
So the other piece of information I needed to clear up was his weight. When I was figuring his weight, I was including his wheelchair. So his actual starting weight was 281 lbs. He is now down to 231 lbs. right when he comes out of dialysis. He is not doing ALL of the stuff he should be doing, but the ones he is doing is making a difference. I will add more as I feel he can handle it. Other positive gains are: His sugars are under control for the first time since he became a diabetic back in 1991. They have been running between 112-140. I have not given him insulin but once since he started. His bowels movements are exactly how they should be. Cow patty consistency 3-4 times a day. (for him he needs to go more often. A healthier person about half that much.)
His diet consists of all the fruits and vegetables he wants. My garden has lettuce (romaine and leaf) tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, onions, and cauliflower. He will get corn, pumpkin, and watermelon soon. I supplement that with other veggies from the store. He also eats brown rice and wheat that has been slow cooked until the grain has just popped. I will add beans and other grains soon. He loves popcorn. So I season it with Mrs Dash, a little butter and olive oil. I can't make enough.
To his supplements I have added Super Green Foods (barley grass, wheat grass, spirulina, chlorella, dulse, kelp, and olive leaf) (my own recipe), enzymes and cayenne. The cayenne I have added a capsule every few days. He is up to 4 capsules a day now. I would like to work it up to 10. Not sure if that will happen. He is continuing on some of his doctor prescribed meds for his heart, stomach and nerves.
He still breathes rapidly on occasion, but he is much more calm. He still sleeps alot, but he is not up all night. Matter of fact, if he continues to sleep through the night, then I will start putting the fomentations on his back and feet again.
So the other piece of information I needed to clear up was his weight. When I was figuring his weight, I was including his wheelchair. So his actual starting weight was 281 lbs. He is now down to 231 lbs. right when he comes out of dialysis. He is not doing ALL of the stuff he should be doing, but the ones he is doing is making a difference. I will add more as I feel he can handle it. Other positive gains are: His sugars are under control for the first time since he became a diabetic back in 1991. They have been running between 112-140. I have not given him insulin but once since he started. His bowels movements are exactly how they should be. Cow patty consistency 3-4 times a day. (for him he needs to go more often. A healthier person about half that much.)
His diet consists of all the fruits and vegetables he wants. My garden has lettuce (romaine and leaf) tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, onions, and cauliflower. He will get corn, pumpkin, and watermelon soon. I supplement that with other veggies from the store. He also eats brown rice and wheat that has been slow cooked until the grain has just popped. I will add beans and other grains soon. He loves popcorn. So I season it with Mrs Dash, a little butter and olive oil. I can't make enough.
To his supplements I have added Super Green Foods (barley grass, wheat grass, spirulina, chlorella, dulse, kelp, and olive leaf) (my own recipe), enzymes and cayenne. The cayenne I have added a capsule every few days. He is up to 4 capsules a day now. I would like to work it up to 10. Not sure if that will happen. He is continuing on some of his doctor prescribed meds for his heart, stomach and nerves.
He still breathes rapidly on occasion, but he is much more calm. He still sleeps alot, but he is not up all night. Matter of fact, if he continues to sleep through the night, then I will start putting the fomentations on his back and feet again.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The start of a start
Today John is going to start on a healthy diet. Based on Dr. Christopher's teachings, he should eat fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds. I decided to pull him off the liquids. After the stent in the hospital last week and having liquids over the weekend. His heart just couldn't handle it.
Sunday night, he was having a hard time breathing; almost as bad as last Tuesday. Monday morning, he weighed in at a little over 131 kg. He felt better after dialysis. He did the Wheat germ oil massage. He didn't want it. I kept him out for 16 min. He didn't have any bowel movements until evening. He would have come in at 2 minutes if he could physically do it. He sure asked often enough. He felt better afterwards.
He didn't have any bowel movements until evening. When I was changing him, he urinated a decent amount. Still not a normal amount but more than usual for him. Up to that point his side was hurting. The pain went away after that. He was doing pretty well until evening. He slept some and then he couldn't sleep anymore. He was up until 2 am. He tried to get into the bananas. Everything else was away, including popcorn. He asked where I put it.
This morning he had his capsules and his heart medicine. He also had apple cider vinegar and honey. He didn't eat anything right away. I made him a fruit smoothie with molasses and bee pollen. He then rested until a little past noon. I made him a salad. Almost an hour later, I made him brown rice with tomato sauce, Mrs. Dash, and pressed garlic. He also had some Pau D' Arco tea. He really enjoyed the rice.
His massage went better than yesterday. He sat out there for 20 minutes without asking me every 2 minutes if he can go in. His mind seems to be clearing again. He is acting more "grown up". He is not as anxious. What a relief.
He says he feels like he can't breathe as well. He doesn't look like he is having problems. I am keeping a close eye on him though. Don't need to have him get like he was a week ago.
I have limited his liquids and started him on Cranberry capsules and Melatonin.
Sunday night, he was having a hard time breathing; almost as bad as last Tuesday. Monday morning, he weighed in at a little over 131 kg. He felt better after dialysis. He did the Wheat germ oil massage. He didn't want it. I kept him out for 16 min. He didn't have any bowel movements until evening. He would have come in at 2 minutes if he could physically do it. He sure asked often enough. He felt better afterwards.
He didn't have any bowel movements until evening. When I was changing him, he urinated a decent amount. Still not a normal amount but more than usual for him. Up to that point his side was hurting. The pain went away after that. He was doing pretty well until evening. He slept some and then he couldn't sleep anymore. He was up until 2 am. He tried to get into the bananas. Everything else was away, including popcorn. He asked where I put it.
This morning he had his capsules and his heart medicine. He also had apple cider vinegar and honey. He didn't eat anything right away. I made him a fruit smoothie with molasses and bee pollen. He then rested until a little past noon. I made him a salad. Almost an hour later, I made him brown rice with tomato sauce, Mrs. Dash, and pressed garlic. He also had some Pau D' Arco tea. He really enjoyed the rice.
His massage went better than yesterday. He sat out there for 20 minutes without asking me every 2 minutes if he can go in. His mind seems to be clearing again. He is acting more "grown up". He is not as anxious. What a relief.
He says he feels like he can't breathe as well. He doesn't look like he is having problems. I am keeping a close eye on him though. Don't need to have him get like he was a week ago.
I have limited his liquids and started him on Cranberry capsules and Melatonin.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
We are back in the game!
We have started back on the program. We will only go through this week. Hopefully it will be enough. Three days off the program set us back some, but it isn't a total washout.
Saturday, John started on the grape juice. We have toned down a couple of things. For one, I haven't been doing the fomentations. I may though if he keeps from being anxious or up and down. The last couple of nights he has been doing great. Second, I haven't been making him stand up during sunbathing. I just have him sit the whole time in such a position that he gets most of his body in the sun. I may have him switch sides, but that is just getting him up and switching chairs. His colds showers aren't as "cold" and they only last literally 2 seconds. He also gets to sleep a little more than he had been. He is asking if he can have crackers, salt, Mrs. Dash, pepper, popcorn, "anything?". He asks about every 5 minutes.
He is not having the diarrhea like he did before. His sugars are more normal, except tonight they were 219. I was not in the best of moods yesterday. It was probably because I usually fall apart after a crisis, like John being in the hospital. He came home Friday evening. He weighed 248 lbs coming out of the hospital. They did 2 dialysis treatments in a 12 hour period on Wednesday. They pulled off 8.5 kilos of fluid. That is 17 lbs.
This morning, he did not want to get up. He got mad that I insisted he get up. He went back to bed and slept another 3 hours. This afternoon, he is up and continues to ask for something. the list is above. Otherwise it has been a pretty good day. He does say his side hurts about where his kidneys are. I am hoping that is because they are trying to work. Not sure what else it could be. It is only on one side.
Saturday, John started on the grape juice. We have toned down a couple of things. For one, I haven't been doing the fomentations. I may though if he keeps from being anxious or up and down. The last couple of nights he has been doing great. Second, I haven't been making him stand up during sunbathing. I just have him sit the whole time in such a position that he gets most of his body in the sun. I may have him switch sides, but that is just getting him up and switching chairs. His colds showers aren't as "cold" and they only last literally 2 seconds. He also gets to sleep a little more than he had been. He is asking if he can have crackers, salt, Mrs. Dash, pepper, popcorn, "anything?". He asks about every 5 minutes.
He is not having the diarrhea like he did before. His sugars are more normal, except tonight they were 219. I was not in the best of moods yesterday. It was probably because I usually fall apart after a crisis, like John being in the hospital. He came home Friday evening. He weighed 248 lbs coming out of the hospital. They did 2 dialysis treatments in a 12 hour period on Wednesday. They pulled off 8.5 kilos of fluid. That is 17 lbs.
This morning, he did not want to get up. He got mad that I insisted he get up. He went back to bed and slept another 3 hours. This afternoon, he is up and continues to ask for something. the list is above. Otherwise it has been a pretty good day. He does say his side hurts about where his kidneys are. I am hoping that is because they are trying to work. Not sure what else it could be. It is only on one side.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
John just starting out
This is John on the first day of the program. He has in front of him the Slippery Elm Gruel. He wasn't really as "happy" as he looked eating it. He was a good boy and ate it like I asked.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
