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I made it in, after having a large meal at McDonald. I was starving. They did an x-ray, a CT-Scan, and another where they wired me up. Some blood testing was done. And then they watched my vitals for a while. Even after that huge meal, my blood sugar as tested through the finger vampire yielded only 160! I could easily say 40 of that could be removed because of the meal. How much else could be removed from having a couple of sodas before heading out in order to head out? Long story short, I seem to be in excellent condition. I seem to be suffering from congestive heart failure. Assuming the reason for the congestive heart failure can be found and treated, I am told I will do quite well, living every bit as long as anyone else. Further, I am told nothing vital is out of order. The issues found are mild and probably quite correctable. I was given an order for diuretics and sent home. They can do nothing else for the breathing. Isn't congestive heart failure, well... a really bad thing? I am going to look it up. I thought I had. If so, I must have forgotten whatever I read. Every other doctor says I am dying or conversely to begin planning for the next half of my life. And they call ME bipolar.
Hey, didn't I just see this show? This time, when they added the liquid form of the diuretic to my injection site, I ended up voiding 24 ounces there and probably another 10 to 14 ounces when I returned home. I can't say I feel better. Well, the headache is back. When I complained about the conditions regarding taking the diuretic I was told I would be put on a lesser dose and sort of told those conditions shouldn't recur, if they do just call back in. Arriving home I compared apples to apples. Same dosage, one was generic and one was brand name, both were prescribed at their lowest dosages. Well, I will try again. I now have supplements to take along with it, if I can keep it all going.
I also stopped to pick up my new scripts and do some shopping while I was at it. I now have gatorade, as well as milk, a bit of bread, and some meats. Even if I can't get to the dishes soon, yesterday while I was out and smoking my pipe I lit the grill up and burned it clean. I can begin using that to some degree. I also grabbed a few other odds and ends.
My breathing, actually, might be better. Only slightly and I will see in how well I sleep. I do, however, now have a pretty horrible headache. I took a few pills for that. Pills pills, the more you... Never... mind. The headache could be from the sudden voiding of so much fluid. It might also be from shopping. I had to go slow, pick things up and place them gently, and take my time needing to catch my breathe ever so often. I also kept my mother apprised, calling here when I went in and shortly after returning home.
I don't think they understand. This is probably as close to being waterboarded as one could legally get, at this point. The difference? I don't know when this will end, or if it will end. I will try to contact my primary tomorrow, and cardiology as well. I need much closer follow-ups in any case, or I will drop the medicines again. If I have issues with the medicine, they have to be able to suggest something besides "Just keep taking it, you'll be fine. Those blisters on your lips and tongue, and the cramps, will all magically get better and go away". Gah! What a mess I am in. At least, according to the most recent accounts, I am not really dying... probably.
Oh, I am not editing this, at all, tonight. I am dead dog tired and I need to sleep. I can't focus at the moment. I hope it makes some kind of sense. Good night.
FWIW, I've been taking the Acetyl L-Carnitine and Alpha Lipoic Acid combo plus grapeseed extract now for just over a week, and so far it appears that my diastolic pressure is down ten points from the usual level in the evening. The systolic is down somewhat but not consistently yet.
ReplyDeleteI can't say if my added stamina is due to these as well, or the restoration of a handful of other supplements I had run out of.
I know in your case ten points is small potatoes, but it may be worth trying, given that I, at least, haven't seen the usual negative side effects of pharmaceutical BP drugs.
My mother, on the other hand, swears that it is the daily fresh crushed garlic that she takes that has brought her BP down from borderline levels just after Dad died, to 120/70 normal today. Maybe these are additive in conjunction?
I had to put everything on hold as things deteriorated, but I really am right on those supplements. As was, and sort of still is, I was not able to continue taking everything. Actually, I have heard garlic tabs are good and my chiro offered me a bottle for the bp (same effect but without the possible halitosis). If I can get back on my feet, and juggle all I am taking, and may need to take, those are next.
ReplyDeleteThe deal is this, if nothing else a few points here, a few points there, and then they really might put me on something like Ritalin again. As is they are afraid of adding funny car fuel to a motor when their is some unknown problem. Even if they figure out what the problem is, it might preclude Ritalin without shaving some points somehow.
A lot of people swear by garlic tablets, but...Mom saw no real benefit from tablets. Only fresh crushed garlic was potent enough to start making a difference. The reason, is that the active ingredient (allicin) is only created when the garlic is crushed (alliin plus alliinase mixed together in crushing = allicin). Unfortunately most garlic and garlic supplement products are worthless when it comes to allicin content. The thing to look for if you really don't want to do fresh garlic is a supplement that has a standardized allicin content (% or by weight). Everything else, including "aged" and so-called "deodorized" garlic products, "fresh-garlic equivalent", even "allicin-rich", "allicin-potential" or standardized alliin content (note the difference is alliin versus allicin) are snake oil.
ReplyDeleteI am onboard with fresh crushed garlic whenever I get any kind of chest infection. My colloidal silver, which works great for sinus and nasal problems, doesn't touch that, even with a nebulizer. The active ingredients in fresh garlic come out in the lungs, right where it is needed and knocks back the bug effectively with a few days' consumption.
Halitosis is a biggie, but if you time your consumption right such that you don't eat garlic sooner than twelve hours before you need to interact with people, it clears your system by then.
Interesting. So, to avoid halitosis, take it at about 20:00, a bit before bedtime? What would the dose be, a clove or several? I do love me some garlic anyway, so it isn't an issue that way. Crush it on buttered toast if nothing else, though there is a ton of stuff that would take kindly to garlic. Adding it to cream cheese for bagels, putting it right into a salad... I am not sure about how well allicin would hold up to cooking though? I'll check on that. Sauteeing with mushrooms or over a steak or hamburger would be easy enough. I have two crushers, one from home and one I bought locally until I could unpack. As I said, I loves me some garlic... when I can cook.
ReplyDeleteOops, a quick check shows that allicin does not handle cooking. Even without cooking, it only lasts a few hours natively. However, after letting steak, burgers, or mushrooms set, I would think adding fresh to it would work if eaten promptly.
Here is a link, if you want to know more. I will read it more thoroughly too. For more than just health reasons. I love knowing my good eats trivia and lore. http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/cooking.htm
Yeah, cooking knocks it out unfortunately. How much depends upon whether you are supplementing for blood pressure and blood lipid control or whether you're fighting an infection. For an infection I try to hide 6 to 10 crushed cloves into whatever I'm eating. For daily supplementation probably 1 fresh clove a day might be enough. But for trying to knock down extremely high BP, I'd suppose eating as much as you could stand every day, watching the BP numbers and then titrating down to an effective quantity.
ReplyDeleteI just did a bit of research, and it appears the only processed products out there that have a *stabilized* version of allicin are those that contain the AC-23 stabilized version. There are a number of brands that use this form, but they are...expensive. I'm thinking I may buy a couple of bottles to have on hand strictly for infection-fighting purposes. Still, if I could not use pharmaceuticals for my blood pressure, it may very well be worth a dollar a day for AC-23 if it works.
Amazon carries them, also Vitacost.com
Cooking might kick allicin to the curb, but that is no reason to exclude it in cooking. There are a lot of other things garlic brings to the table. Onions are great as well. They are, after all, if ugly, kissing cousins.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to know there are stabilized versions. That is excellent for travel, or if breath is an issue at a time when the need is great. A couple of bottles sounds reasonable to keep on hand, replacing as needed. Thanks for that part.