May 21-May 25, 2012 First Full Week of Clinic Visits

This week we go to clinic 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The clinic routine goes like this. We get up early and head to the hospital, lugging my big blue bag with the meds, my blue notebook, glasses, iPad, maybe something for breakfast, a big 28 oz jug of water, my kidney pillow to tuck into the seatbelt, and a jacket for me because the clinic waiting room gets rather chilly. We check into the clinic around 7 a.m. and wait to get called for blood and urine tests. I usually have a one hour wait before I get called. The earlier you sign in, the earlier you get called. So, we start leaving a few minutes earlier each visit, trying to beat the clock. After you get blood drawn and give them a urine specimen, you get asked if you need to see the doctor. I figure I should say yes, and the nurse signs me into another waiting list. Now we are free to go the breakfast and take my meds at 9 a.m. (within a 30 min. window). We head back out to the waiting room where I sit while Ramiro goes to Starbucks to get us coffee. Then we pull out whatever we've brought for breakfast and eat in the waiting room. We see other people doing it too, although quite a few head out to the cafeteria. We're not sure how much time we have before we get called for the next part of clinic, so we don't want to go the cafeteria and run the risk of not getting back in time. Our fears are groundless, since it usually takes about another hour to get called for the second part, which is a meeting with a nurse to go over the meds you are taking, and also a check of vital signs and weight. The vitals lady asks if there is any pain (no). She takes my temp (normal) and weighs me. On Monday, May 21, I'm down to 110, a lot closer to my old weight, and I'm able to hope that I may be able to get into my regular clothes at some point. My legs are still somewhat swollen, but nothing like they were last week. After vitals, weigh in, and med check, we either get sent to an exam room to wait for the doctor or get sent back out to the waiting room to wait for an exam room to become available. When I see the doctor, he asks about the incision, checks it for seepage, redresses it, and listens to my heart and lungs. Everything is clear and good in that area. Then he goes over the blood and urine test results with me--blood sugar, blood pressure, temperature, creatinine (the holy grail of this quest), phosphorus, potassium, sodium, calcium, etc. Everything is great he says, my creatine is 0.6, a great value. This first week goes like that--all the values stay in the normal range. Of course, at home I'm required to test my blood sugar 4 times a day (fasting, pre or post lunch, pre or post dinner, and bedtime. My fasting numbers are in the 70's and low 80's; my bedtime numbers are acceptable, it's my pre dinner numbers that are high--in the 200+ range, and these scare me. But I don't take the glyburide because I've been instructed to take it only if the fasting number is 120 or higher, which it never has been. At home I also take my blood pressure upon arising, at bedtime, and at random times of the day. My numbers at home are quite low--in the range of 110/50! My temp is also on the low side--97.5 or 97.6. I usually run a little cool, so this is not unusual, it's my normal. So ends the first full week of clinic visits. We don't come to clinic on Monday because it is Memorial Day and the clinic is closed. The doctor says that since I'm doing so well, I can come just twice next week, he won't ask that I come in on Sunday, like I had to do yesterday. Good, we get a little reprieve from he early morning.