Organizing Your Medications

Whether you have a liver condition like I do, or some other health issue for which you need to take multiple medications, there is a website that makes it a snap to keep track of your meds.  You just need an email address and a password to create a sign-in.  Then choose your medications (name brand and generic options are all listed).  If you want them in a certain order, you can drag them around (alphabetical or by prescription vs. over-the-counter for example).  Go to the next step following the super-easy navigation and your list is there!  Click the drop-downs for the number of times you take it per day or what time and you're done.  Save it with whatever name you want (My Meds, Sue's Meds, etc.).  Then you can print the list, print a schedule, or even a little wallet card.  Get rushed and forget to take your meds?  Click to set up a reminder and you'll get an email or text message reminding you to take them.  I love the reminders, and trust me--your doctor's office will appreciate the printed list when you hand it to them at your next appointment.

My Med Schedule

The website is sponsored by a company that manufactures anti-rejection medication for transplant recipients, but they do not restrict others from using the site.  I got information on the site from the company when they sent a big box of resources to me when I was put on the transplant waiting list.  The pill box alone is a great freebie!

Salt-Free Cooking

Cooking with little or no salt can be a challenge.  Last year I stumbled upon a website that sells many different seasoning blends with no salt (sodium cloride) or potassium cloride (check the label on Lawry's salt-free seasonings and many of the Mrs. Dash blends--they contain potassium cloride).  I ordered a couple of them, and they are DELICIOUS!  I don't have to keep tons of other herbs and spices in my cabinet.  Mostly I just grab my bottles of Benson's.  Whether it's a replacement for salt at the table, or if you're into hunting fowl or big game, they've got something for everyone.  Ordering a combo-pack can save a few dollars, too.  Their service is great, and they have a recipes section on their website.  My parents love them, too (Mom is salt-restricted due to a heart condition).  Check them out in your favorite recipes and enjoy the results!

Benson's Gourmet Seasonings

They're so good, I've even cooked salt-free and taken it to work.  No one knew until I told them!  Try using the Bravada with a little Gusto in Stuffed Peppers.  Super yummy!

Good Appointment at the Doctor

I went to see Dr. E., my hepatologist, yesterday, and it was a good day.  All of my numbers were stable, and my albumin was finally normal.  It hasn't been since I don't know when.  So that was all great!  I'm going back home to Pierre tomorrow, and will be back at work on Monday.  My brain can't wait.  Of course, I'll have to go through Young and the Restless withdrawal again.

Even got to do a little shopping yesterday.  So now I'll have some sweaters and such that not everyone else in Pierre has.  With only four stores that sell clothes (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, JC Penney, and Christopher and Banks), it gets a little touchy not showing up in something that someone else wears.  No, I'm not including the teeny-bopper stores or the "couture" store since that's not my thing anyway.  I rarely even do Christopher and Banks since they apparently think that women are never taller than 5'6".  I don't like short pants, or tops that don't come to my waist.  I know there is online shopping, but for some reason, I just don't really get into buying things without trying them on first.

So today, I get to pack everything back into my bags and load it into the van so we can head home early.  I really hope they still have a Black Diamond watermelon at the stand in Forestburg.  Yum!  But only a little bit of that.  A nice small squash would be good, too.  Or maybe a smaller muskmelon.  Not one of those basketball sized ones again (although that was amazingly good).  And I have a pint of refrigerator dill pickles waiting for me when I get home.  My sweet neighbor Helen wanted a recipe for them, so I looked up a couple online and she said they turned out great.  Of course, I'll have to share those since I can't eat a lot of sodium.  Maybe home canned are better and have less sodium?  Can't wait to find out.

I may not be able to post for a few days after I get back home, since I had them suspend my online service at home while I was gone.  They should be able to just reactivate it since it was already paid for.  I'll have to check on Monday.  And I have to make the pecan pie cake next week as well.  The callers did an awesome job and hit their goal, so I guess they were motivated by a little baking.

It's still cold . . .

Ok, I'll admit I'm always cold.  But today, even mom broke out the sweater--and she's usually warm.  Very glad we have leftover potato leek soup from yesterday for dinner tonight.  It kept me warm for a little while.  Supposedly it will be in the 70's tomorrow.  I'll believe it when I see it.

I did make a couple of changes to the blog today.  I added a search box so you can search for anything on the blog, and I also added links to additional pages so that you can go right to the recipes or the resources if you're looking for something in particular.

As for me, I'm still doing really well.  It feels great to  feel like myself again.  Now I just have to remember not to overdo and to eat the right way (no more taco salad binges!).

100.5

So, what is 100.5?  Nope, not running a temperature.  Not listening to KIKN Country radio, either.  The temperature outside?  Not likely, since it's an unbelievable 45 degrees this morning!  It was 90 on Sunday and Monday.  Half that temp now?  Brrrrrr . . .

Nope, the significance of 100.5 is that before my gall bladder was removed not quite a year and a half ago, I had puffed up in weight.  Nothing I did diet-wise helped.  I just kept ballooning.  I lost about 80 pounds from the time the gall bladder was removed until I got sick in June.  Then I started puffing up again.  Put back on 20 pounds.  Well, as of this morning, that old 20 pounds plus another 20.5 pounds are gone!  I feel great today, and had a couple of good days.  Yesterday I did quite a bit and still felt good and slept well.  Except for that hour I spent at 1 AM watching Overhaulin'.  Chip Foose is kind of a short guy, but he's pretty funny.

Today we go to Sioux Falls so mom can pick up her special shoes (not brown shoos like they wear on the colony) but white sneaker kind.  I have to go to the bank, and then we're off to Super Waldo's to pick up a few things.  Maybe I'll get lucky and find a pair of cheap jeans that will stay up without suspenders.  It's bad when you have your cell phone on vibrate in your pocket, but your jeans are so baggy that you don't even realize that it went off.  Even my sweats are baggy!

Off in search of a cup of hot cocoa or something warm (maybe just some fuzzy socks on my feet).  Definitely wearing lots of fleece today!

Welcome!

I had to find something to keep my brain occupied (other than thinking about getting a transplant of a monkey liver--more on that another time!), so I figured I'd blog.  Probably a totally worthless activity, but at least it gives me a place to jot down things I'm thinking about, experiences, resources for other transplant or liver disease patients, and to keep in touch with friends I'm away from during all of this.  So here goes . . .

Today I'm tired.  I couldn't get to sleep.  Once I finally did fall asleep, it was good.  But I wake up several times during the night to use the restroom.  I slept really well Saturday night--nice and warm.  Thursday and Friday nights I slept little and was cold and uncomfortable due to "liver flats" or myoclonus spasms that cause my leg and hand/arm to jerk.  There are many reasons for this to happen--mine is tied to the cold.  Not that it was cold yesterday.  I would call 90 degrees pretty warm for mid-September.  But I get cold.  All the time.  When I could work, I would wear a fleece jacket and still be cold.  So I'd drag out the fleece blanket for extra warmth while sitting at my desk.  I figured I needed to be warmer at night to stop the spasms.  So I have one sheet, one thermal blanket, one bedspread, two purloined Delta airlines blankets (they owed me for having to sleep in the airport last October), and a fuzzy fleece Christmas blanket.  No fans or ceiling fans.  I actually have to roll the covers to move them off.  But to sleep, I roll back on the blankets, then forward, creating a cocoon for extra warmth.  It worked.

I suppose I'd better figure out how to save this thing before lunch time.  Egg salad on a whole wheat pita.  Good protein, not too many carbs.  And made with little or no salt, good for me.  I may even post some of my healthy recipes on here from time to time.  And maybe some not-so-healthy things that I wish I could eat or that friends keep asking for.  The pecan pie cake recipe?  Not likely gonna be here--sorry Paula, James, April and Juanita!  So, bye for now!