Day 123 - what a Wednesday

Today is the 4th day of the 18th week, the 3rd day of the 5th month, the 123rd day of 2023, and:

• Garden Meditation Day
• Great American Grump Day  (( I resemble that remark ))
• National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day
• National Bike to School Day
• National Chocolate Custard Day
• National Day to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy
• National Deaf Interpreter Day
• National Lumpy Rug Day
• National Montana Day
• National Paranormal Day
• National Raspberry Popover Day
• National SAN Architect Day  (( SAN = storage area network ))
• National Skilled Trades Day
• National Specially-abled Pets Day
• National Textiles Day
• National Two Different Colored Shoes Day (( nothing like getting out of the car in the parking lot and realizing that you have on one black and one dark navy shoe.... this is what happens when you buy the same pump in different colors because they are comfortable and you're not careful putting them away ))
• Paranormal Day
• Project ACES Day
• Public Radio Day
• Sun Day  (( designated back in 1978 to promote solar power ))
• Wild Koala Day
• Wordsmith Day
• World Press Freedom Day

Quote of the day:

"A curious, connected mind is poised for insight. This is also the mind that is in awe of this fathomless universe, that can read patterns, make choices, play with language, and use concepts while knowing that the map is not the territory."

~  Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, “Finding Freedom”

Construction update:

You can see where they have been smoothing and covering over all those holes that were opened up

Obviously over there they have been using the jack hammers in-between the rain showers because there's a lot of plywood covers over the exposed areas.  

When I don't feel good [reprise]:

So I had my appointment with the doctor at 8 AM - or rather I talked to the nurse practitioner who talked to the doctor then called me back.  There are advantages to working just down the hall from your GP!

I whined, I listed all the symptoms, said forcibly that I did not want to go to a dermatologist about the rash because it was medically caused and that I wanted to know what the next steps were, and if I needed more than a GP, then refer me to an internist.  The NP listened with great patience and sympathy, examined the places I am breaking out, went over my blood work from Friday, and said she would talk to the doctor for confirmation that what she felt needed to be done was the best course of action.  Then she called me back at lunchtime and asked if I could pop in for a quick echocardiogram and to talk with her, so I did.  

Heart was fine, they just wanted to check because my pulse rate had been elevated and they wanted to make sure there wasn't an issue there.  Yes I needed to go to the dermatologist because they had given me four treatments of the intense steroid treatments in the past nine months and that was pushing the envelope since the symptoms kept returning.  And since my sodium levels were very low, and she had confirmed the amount of water I was drinking [well over a gallon a day], she felt the fatigue and weakness I was describing meant I was overhydrated, and I should cut my fluid intake to half.

Wait, what?

This was the same doctor that told me I had to drink at least a gallon of water a day to keep my blood sugar down and to keep my kidney's healthy while taking the insulin-encouraging medications!

Yes, yes they did tell me that.  

But the leg cramps at night, the muscle weakness, the intense leg and foot cramps plus the very low sodium level were all symptoms of overhydration.  And when the sodium levels in your body get very low, then the fluid tends to move inside your cells, causing inflammation - which is one of the issues the pulmonologist is trying to curb in my lungs.

I just blinked.

Please drastically reduce your water intake for the next week, then come back and get another blood test - we'll check your sodium, potassium, and magnesium levels and see where you are.

*sigh*

Oh, and here is the dermatologist that comes pretty highly recommended.  Let us know if you have any issues getting an appointment quickly since you said the itching was getting very bad.

*glare and deep sigh*