Dr appt outcomes

I had a doctor’s appointment this morning. It was a sudden appointment. What I found out was that the cardiologist who did the procedure requested that my primary physician do an immediate follow up. During my visit this morning, we discussed the exhaustion I have been feeling lately. The doctor and I agreed that the issue is that my heart rate is too low for me to function properly. That is a pharmacological issue. Right now, my heart rate is about 58-60 beat per minute while resting. That is a great thing. However, when I begin to exercise, that rate does not go up enough for my muscles to get the oxygen needed to keep me going. Within a few minutes of beginning to do anything that requires any effort at all, I tire so quickly it is very frustrating. My primary care physician is not inclined to make any change to my medications until I have done my follow up with the cardiologist, but she is completely okay with my experimenting with the dosages. I am okay with that. We will see how that works out I can make the adjustments I need to the doses of my medications to enable me to not so dramatically lower my heart rate.

Mama is out this morning with Grandma and Grandpa. They are doing their monthly shopping trip to Sam’s and WinCo. They have Mama drive them around Denton or Wichita Falls whenever that shop those two areas because Grandpa’s eyesight is failing enough that he does not feel safe driving in a lot of traffic. The way Grandma was feeling this morning, I do not think they will be out very long. Just long enough to get the items they need to stock up for the month. Lately, she has more bad days than good days. As I spent five hours lying flat on my back watching the clock slowly crawl through those hours, I can sympathize with Grandma about the length of a day when you are dealing with significant pain as well as immobility. Plus, Mama wanted to get few items we did not get Tuesday after my procedure. She is itching to do some shopping, but that will not happen today. Today will be minimalist, but it will still allow her to get a few things and take Grandma and Grandpa out for a birthday lunch. If we continue to do our shopping this way, I may actually save money.

As far as saving money, when Mama and I went to Sam’s Tuesday we bought a rotisserie chicken. When we got home, Mama would not allow me to help unload the groceries. I was forbidden to lift anything over a few pounds because of the wound to my groin. In getting the few items we bought into the house, she forgot the chicken. I found it the next evening. Needless to say, we did not eat it. The dogs got a very good treat. I made salmon patties instead of the chicken we were going to have with our salad. That turned out to be a great choice since Mama discovered she liked the salmon patties.

Victoria has me on several oils to try to lower my blood pressure. I do not know if the oils are working but I smell like I spilled a jar of spices on me. I am also amending my diet to lower salt and fat. A colleague of mine in West Virginia posed the idea that there was a nutritional triangle of fat, salt and sweet. Each food, he postulated had to fit into a balance of those three basic flavorings. If you were avoiding sweets, the food you had to eat would be heavier in salt and fat -think sausage or bacon, and deep fried foods. If you were avoiding salt, the foods available would have to be heavier in fat and sweet contents – think doughnuts or ice cream. If you were avoiding fat, the foods to choose from would be heavy on sweet and/or salt – protein bars, trail mix, and breakfast cereal. I am finding a lot of support for his idea. So, as I try to avoid all three of those basic nutritional varieties, fats, sugars and salt, there is very little available to me that has any flavor. I suppose bland is not the worst flavor for lowering my salt intake and my weight – think oatmeal with honey, or lightly oiled or steamed vegetables.

Not impossible to do, just a habit change.