Mom's Blood Pressure Still Low

And she is not pleased that I am making her lie down and elevate her feet. Today I talked with Dr. Pham, her primary care physician, who wants Mom to remain prone until her blood pressure comes back up to normal; Mom keeps asking why she needs to lie down all the time. We are also having her drink more water and not giving her the lisinopril or furosemide until after Mom sees Dr. Pham next Friday. I need to have Mom weigh herself every day; if she begins to gain weight I need to give her half a furosemide. If Mom's blood pressure gets so low that she passes out, she needs to go to the ER.

I took 14 blood pressure readings over the course of the day. (I'm glad its all automatic now!) All of the systolic readings were above 90 mm Hg, with 8 of them in the normal range (90-120 mm Hg); the rest were over 120 mm Hg but none over 130 mm Hg. Only one of the diastolic readings was within the normal range (60-80 mm Hg); the rest were between 46 and 58 mm Hg.

Aunty Judy came for a visit today; she helped keep Mom from getting too bored with having to lie down and keep her feet elevated. (Aunty Judy originally went to school to be a nurse so she understood exactly what was going on when I told her about the low blood pressure.) Aunty Judy also brought bento for us. We had a great visit!

Xander is back! He is still constipated but there has been a little movement. They gave him subcutaneous fluids so he would be well hydrated, meds to keep him  from vomiting, and meds to stimulate his intestinal mobility. They sent cisapride and mirtazapine back with him. I need to monitor the litterbox and track what he passes (~3" so far). He also has a special I/D diet dry cat food that is supposed to help with good digestive health. He is spending the night in the utility room with the Cat Genie, which is turned off so I can see what he deposits overnight; Shiro & Chibi will have to use the litterbox in the cat run.

The wind is picking up, not sure if it is the leading edge of Hurricane Lester, which has increased to Category 3. Hawai'i County, Maui County, and O'ahu are all under Hurricane Watch, which means hurricane level winds are expected within 48 hours. Currently the predicted path of the center of Hurricane Lester is just north of the islands with Lester now about 600 miles east of the Big Island. Since hurricane level winds (>74 mph) extend 35 miles from the center and tropical storm level winds (39 to 73 mph) extend up to 150 miles from the center, we will likely get some high winds. I will check the cat run tomorrow to reinforce the connections.


Here are the solar lights that I have; I showed them to Mom and Dad last night, they liked them. I leave them in the west-facing window in my room so they get charged every day. The two on the left are the Solar Puff, the one on the right is the Solar Helix; I like the puffs better than the helix. I got them as part of a Kickstarter that I supported to provide solar lights to people in Haiti and Nepal. They are supposed to last 8-10 hours on a full charge, can be stored flat when not in use, and float! They have 3 light settings; low, high, and flashing. I think they will come in very handy in rural areas with frequent power outages. (Although it doesn't look like it below, they really lit up my room while I was taking the photo!) 

Happy Birthday to Aunty Jeanne and Troy! Happy 43rd Anniversary Mike & Marilyn!