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Not being able to sleep, yet having a difficult time getting to anything, I finally pushed and took a shower. Then I went out and tore the pallet of plywood and roofing underlay apart, stacking them in the garage. I then grabbed the pallet of steel roofing and, whole, moved it into the garage. I was not sure I was going to be able to do that. Once the pallet of wood sheets was released, it was easy enough to handle sheet by sheet, but even in good times I was a bit doubtful about the steel roofing pallet, since I really did not want it taken apart (I think I had reasons not to do so... I think). My muscles have been hurting. My legs and arms have been cramping, I would guess from the lack of use and the constant position of either being in my chair at the computer, on the couch, or in bed for the last... week? two weeks? In any case, and oddly, I had zero problems doing any of the work. And, while I was out I thought I would back the X into the garage now that it is clear to do so. Then, once in the vehicle, I decided to check my mail. Hey, almost a work bonanza!
I received a report from the V.A. My doc, at our last visit, had prescribed some diabetes medicine. In the mail I found that medicine and some other medication as well as a letter, the report. It seems my diabetes is being controlled through diet! My A1C is 6.3. However, my potassium is very low, so low that the doc has prescribed pills for that. There seems to be some other problem as well. Something about creatinine creeping up and "mod microalb". Creatinine deals with kidneys, higher levels are risks for failure. But "mod micralb" I have not really been able to nail down. Now, and again, I will probably see if I can find a munchable way to add potassium, as, well, I hate taking anything. Further, I have doubts about the bodies ability to utilize raw vitamins and minerals. The rest will just have to be suffered through. No medicine past my lips will go.
I am planning to drive to SLC today. I may try to rest some yet this morning. I hope to leave here, or Logan, by 11:00, but even when life is good that is often... negotiable. It is a plan until my feet hit the floor, my butt gets planted in the seat, and I feel vent in my face. Then it is usually called 'late'. I am a man, it is how some subsection of us operate.
Anyway, I was pleased that I was able to do the little bits that were done. And, in the middle of the night the only one to tell was... Blogger.
Update: (already) Uh-oh... looks like I may HAVE to take the potassium. If it were not a major item, I would not worry about it. But it is vital for the heart to function, among other things. The problem with simply eating more potassium is that I already am eating everything they recommend at the top of their list, two gallons of milk a week, several potatoes with the skins, cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream by the albeit small buckets, beans by the ton, and a decent amount of beef and pork, if I do miss the fruits and vegetables. Everything I eat is on their recommended list of things to eat to add potassium. That is just plain weird.
When the body doesn't produce or utilize enough of a certain element, it is more than difficult to make up the difference just through diet.
ReplyDeleteSometimes meds/vitamin supplements are a wise choice, my friend.
Perhaps wise, but that doesn't have to mean I like it. I will ask my doc about that the next time I am in. Since I am consuming a potassium glut, there might be more of a problem than a lack of potassium. Not that I would do much else about it, docs aren't all that successful with me seeming to only aggravate my main issue, add side effects, or both while not solving the problem(s). Still, it's nice to know what's eating a guy.
ReplyDeleteBananas. A couple hands of bananas a week and you should be swimming in potassium. The thing is, pill supplements are limited in how much they can put in them. Compared to dietary sources, there's not much per pill.
ReplyDeleteBananas are high in potassium however.
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/potassium-foods.htm
ReplyDeleteThe link has a list of foods and their potassium content. Bananas are listed as having 467 mg per medium banana. You could probably easily eat two a day and be getting close to 1000 mg. What do those potassium pills have in comparison?
Here are a couple more thoughts:
ReplyDelete-Lisinopril (BP med) helps your body retain potassium.
-Too much salt (sodium chloride) tends to flush potassium out of your system at the same time as the excess sodium is being flushed.
-Potassium chloride (salt substitute) can be used in place of some of the salt in your diet to help with the sodium/potassium balance. This can be especially important when replenishing electrolytes lost due to heavy perspiration.
Well, lisinopril is out, it causes extreme exhaustion. It replicates my down times, and goes a step further, not even allowing me some memory retention, at least without ritalin. I would take them in unison, at a minor level, but not lisinopril alone or at the higher levels of lisinopril they keep trying to force (the higher levels negate the ritalin completely and the falls are harsher and longer than with lisinopril alone).
ReplyDeleteAs for salt, I am actually registering as low on that, too. I am reading 137 on a scale of 137 to 145. So it isn't excess salt. If anything I should probably try to add salt to my diet. I generally cook without it, adding only light amounts at the table and only for a small portion of what I actually eat (meats, mostly). Which sort of negates the need for a salt substitute.
All right, I will try the bananas. Plus, it is much easier to know, on any given day, whether I ate a banana or not. I need to go to the store once a week for milk, so supplying these should not be too difficult. I will give it a whirl. Why, when I have shown to have dietary discipline, do they insist on sending medications, even if it is merely a mineral? Oh well. Of course, since I suggested I am eating high potassium foods, maybe it is the only way. I will find out shortly. Though, and admittedly, eating two bananas a day indefinitely is probably not very sustainable. A few weeks, maybe a month. Then again, I would get more potassium from those than the pills probably, along with the rest of my diet, and taking pills is just... a mess of a thing for me.