- Broken record, but how are we almost halfway through the year?! Whoa.
- I mentioned fly bites in my weekend happenings post – this is what they do to me! They swell so large! And itch. And feel hard. (This photo is from Monday, and the swelling has gone down.)
- I had my annual with my gynecologist Monday, and she recommended I have a blood draw to test for anemia. I was like, “oh, what are the signs?!” And she listed several, starting with fatigue, and I was like “AHHH! I am so tired all the time!” (aren’t we all?) But my results came back fine (and she confirmed I am not anemic – I didn’t think I would be). As many of you pointed out in this post, I’m probably tired from working out so much, so I purposefully cut back my workouts this week! And! And! This morning when I woke up at 5:00, I didn’t get up and work out! I stayed in bed until 6:00!
- I did something yesterday I haven’t done in over a year – had an alcoholic drink! We were going out for happy hour after work, and I normally have lemonade (or nothing) – alcohol usually makes me feel like garbage, and I’m not really supposed to have it with the blood thinners – but it’s been such a month with work I just wanted to have one and let loose. And it felt nice. Then I started work again today and it was all an s-show again. UGH.
- Speaking of blood thinners, my INR was 2.1 last Thursday, the same it was a week prior, so the pharmacist upped my Warfarin dosage a bit. For the first instance, they thought maybe it would come back up with diet (my goal range is 2.5-3.0), but this time, the pharmacist wondered if my body metabolizes the drugs faster because I’ve lost weight… so it may be a higher dosage for a while. I’m not surprised it’s so up and down, since it’s so affected by diet and I’m constantly tweaking it. It’ll probably be like this for a while if I continue to lose weight. It just stinks to drive there so often since it’s not close to home, but I have sick leave, and work is totally cool with it, and I really like the pharmacists. And I’m going to ask my PCP about home testing (that’s a whole thing I won’t get into today).
Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 411
I’ve got two huge bug bites on my back. I have no idea where/when I got them, but they’re big puffy suckers like yours. I feel like I always have a bigger reaction to bug bites than most people. I’m keeping Cortisone in business.
If losing weight is messing with your dosage that’s OK/good even with the annoyance of extra pharmacy trips. You won’t be losing weight forever – BECAUSE YOU WILL REACH YOUR GOAL!!! That’s worth an extra drink to celebrate!
I bet they are flies too! UGH! Those EFFERS!!!!! I hope they calm down soon. Does Cortisone help? Maybe I should try it!
YESSSSSSSSSSSS! Yes yes exactly! Thank you so much for that vote of confidence; I really needed it!
Oh, that bite! It looks so painful! The only good thing I have to say about how dry it’s been this year is that I haven’t had a single mosquito bite all year. Now, if we ever get any of this promised rain, that’s sure to change, but we’ll see how it goes.
It must be quite frustrating for you to figure out dosage for medications since it’s so reliant on diet, weight, and probably a million other factors. I’m so sorry this is such a persistent issue in your life!
Yes! We have to look at that bright side at the lack of rain!
Thank you! It is! Half the time I am frustrated and half the time I am like, well, it is what it is (said as if I could not be more diligent, ha).
Ugh, I remember horse flies (from Germany – we don’t have them here, or at least I’ve never seen one) and their bites are so painful. Your arm looks awful. Has it gone away yet?
I am glad you don’t have them there! And yes, the swelling has finally gone down!
Ugh, you poor thing with those bites! I can swell up bad like that with mosquito bites. It’s no fun at all. Does bug spray help? I hate using bug spray because it smells so bad but it becomes necessary for me in the summer.
Home testing!! I hope this can be a reality for you because I know those long drives are a lot of deal with.
You know my pain! Ugh, it’s the worst! Spray does help but yes it smells and I can’t sweat through it. I have tried the bracelets and those don’t work well for me. I can definitely use the spray when I am not working out though!
Thanks! Cross those fingers!!! 😀
Oh, Kim – those bites! Use hydrocortisone cream – there are generics everywhere, your pharmacist for the INR can probably show you where they are in that store (assuming it’s a pharmacy?). And, Benadryl will also help, but make sure that you can take it on your warfarin (that’s what you’re on, right?). That’s an antihistamine and will help with the reaction, too.
Here, a very basic site:
https://familydoctor.org/bug-bites
And, here’s hoping that your INR plays nicely in the next few weeks. Although – honestly – improving your diet and losing weight are awesome, and you will eventually stabilize. Hang in there, though – hope the home testing comes through soon!