07/08/2016 - My Post 4th of July Georgetown Checkin

I was slated to go in every two weeks but from my last post, you know I was in the ER so that plan didn't work so well.  From now on, I was to go in locally for blood work every two weeks at Quest Diagnostics, and then every off week I head in to Georgetown for Labs and then doctors visit.

The most important things to track are my blood work at this point to make sure my liver is functioning well and we have a controlled dosage of Prograff (anti-rejection drug).  Also to check to make sure my kidney function is good because they tend to get worked hard with all the drug consumption.

So I've mentioned the pills that I take but maybe that doesn't hit home.  A picture is worth a thousand pills, right? Morning pills up top, Noon is just a single pill (covered) and then evening pills at 8pm.  Bedtime is just painkillers if / when I need them.

My Prograff level was slightly high so my one 5mg pill at 8am and 8pm is now Four 1mg pills at 8am and 8pm. More pills but lower dosage so it's a rob Peter to pay Paul type of thing.  Every two weeks they've been whittling down my Predisone dosages too. I was taking Two 5mg pills at 8am and now I'm taking One 5mg pill at 8am.  In two weeks, I hope to be off the steroid.  If I am, that means I can be off another drug too, my Nystatin 5ml, 4x per day.  The Nystatin is an oral medication that I have two swish around for two minutes and then swallow.  It's like a generic mouthwash that tastes like chalky gumball powder. Not in a good way, like, those gumballs that taste good for 5 seconds and then lose all their suga / flavor.

The reduction in meds will be a big win for me hopefully getting back to feeling more like myself, a big milestone.  My calves were cramping last week in the middle of the night so badly that I had to stand up out of bed to stretch.  It turns out that my prograff works to deplete my magnesium levels, so they added a Nooner dose of magnesium.  So now, 5 mag pills daily, Two @ 8am, One @ 2pm, and Two @ 8pm.

My blood pressure was ok but I was asked to keep an eye on my pulse which is flirting with 100 to see if I may need some additional meds to keep my pulse in a lower range.  Oddly, I also lost 2 pounds from my last weigh in two weeks back.

All in all, a pretty good appointment. Below are the bags of drugs and how I layout things when I create my weekly pill-box.

Until we have other news, I'm signing off.....