Longer than usual time between treatments..

OK, so last week I had to switch my dialysis days around...
So I went in on Monday/Wednesday/Friday instead.
That means that I'll have a longer time between treatments this weekend, since I don't go back until this Tuesday. Friday--Tuesday=4 days. Usually we're not supposed to go that long from one treatment to another, but there's really no avoiding it this time. This makes me a little nervous, but as long as I'm careful, I'm sure nothing will happen. Sometimes dialysis patients slip into a coma if they're not careful...but I'm VERY careful, so I should be okay.
Just wanted to let you know that.
Hmmmm....I must need another transfusion. I feel like I've lost my good looks again...(*sigh*) (last May, I had to have a blood transfusion because I was so anemic; and it perked me up so much that I got all my long lost good looks back, as my picture is proof of!).
I may possibly have found a potential donor--right here in the Cleveland area. In 2 to 3 weeks (WHY so long, I have no idea!), we'll find out for sure.
So far, my weekend is--in a word--FREEEEEEZING! I need more than one or two of my cats to warm me up! I sure wish I could have stayed in San Diego!!
By...the...way: in case you're wondering, my blog was kind of/sort of named for my car (er...ah...SUV, I mean), which I no longer have, which was an Isuzu Rodeo LS. I sure miss that thing, even if it wasn't that great on gas (17 miles to a gallon, usually). I had to leave it in San Diego, with a screwed-up transmission, when I came back here last year. It's in good paws--just not mine. I sure do miss California in general! Know what, though????? I'll NEVER say that I won't visit! I'll visit, I'm sure. I'll be back, California!! With enough careful planning, and coordinating with the dialysis center here as well as there, it'll work. We dialysis patients aren't supposed to have to give up traveling, I know that. Thank goodness, because I'm at the point where I could use a good vacation.
Thanks for reading again! I'll be back soon. Hope you have a beautiful rest-of-the-weekend!
Love ya!

My 7/12th birthday...

I just realized something. It's January 16th. And that means, I'm 38 & 7/12ths today. And to think I almost didn't make it this far. But, here I am.
Sometimes I wonder exactly why I'm still here, after everything I've been through. But, I'm glad I'm still here. I mean, in general, I'm glad. Sometimes I lose that feeling, but eventually it comes back...for some reason.
Today is supposed to be a dialysis day for me, as I changed my schedule all around this week. Usually Friday is an "off" day for me, but not this week.
I'll tell you more later...or tomorrow...or over the weekend.

Truth be told, I could use a hug---

What a long, long day this was.
I had four pre-op appointments, to get ready to have a graft put in my arm for "better" dialysis treatments. That's still set for the 28th (2 more weeks).
Unfortunately, this took longer than I thought. The last appointment was supposed to be at 1:45. I didn't get out of there till about 3:45. I was having kittens by then.
I'm definitely not looking forward to all this, but I'm told it has to be done. (Notice I put the word "better", like so?? My idea of "better" does NOT involve using needles for dialysis...much less for anything else!)
Anyway, so that's the main thing. At this point, I haven't taken any Excedrin OR Percocet yet, so I'm going to have to find one and/or the other, as I feel a slight headache coming on.
Oh...I didn't tell you about that, did I??? How I started using Percocet?? Well, first of all, I'd gotten Percocet to take after one of my previous surgeries. I don't remember which previous surgery, really. So, I had a leftover bottle. And this past September, I was stricken with what was called Intractable Sciatica: my tailbone hurt so much that I could barely even walk without using crutches or a walker. That went on for about a month, during which time I discovered that the ONLY painkiller that worked for me was Percocet. So, I managed to get one more prescription of it, which I still have a couple more left over from. Generally, I don't take that anymore, now that I know Excedrin will work fine for a headache. But, if I ever need it, the Percocet is here--for a little while.
While all this is going on, I'm feeling like a good hug would help. If nothing else, it could be very therapeutic.
Thanks for reading!

Update (Yes, again)

I got an e-mail from my potential donor this evening. (I hope I'm not jinxing this whole thing by not being too overly optimistic--although, I'm trying to have enough optimism to not wish it away completely).
He says he just got tested, and we'll know in about 2 or 3 weeks if we're a good match. (that's for a transplant, of course)
Let me check my calendar. Damn! The surgery to put a graft in my arm is going to be in about 2 weeks, I think. (28-14=14...yup...2 weeks from Wednesday) So, I guess I won't be able to avoid that after all. I am NOT looking forward to being a "one-arm wonder", but it could be worse, I presume. Damn! I'm NOT going to be looking forward to having needles in my arm three days a week for almost the whole day.
Not only that, but I had kind of a rough night tonight. Somehow, I feel slightly dejected. I'll get over it, as usual. But, for now, I feel dejected....and flirty too. What a hell of a combination! It's been a long time since anyone appreciated my flirtiness. More on that later.
Hugs to ya--till next time. :-)

More good news--to a point

I almost forgot. More good news--to a point.
Well, first of all, we didn't get snowed in. That's a plus, I'd say. And, we didn't get snowed out either. I was able to get back in the driveway.
The other thing is, I got my appetite back today. Now, I'm not sure how long it'll stay, but at least I won't starve, per se. To a point, I'm glad for that.
Just wanted to add that on.
And, I'll let you know what else is going on as I find out for sure.
Keep strong--for me.
Thanks for reading!

Good news--I think

First of all, the fact that I got in for dialysis today was good news, as I have my appointment with the surgeon tomorrow.
But second of all, I went through the whole treatment without a splitting headache afterwards. To me, that seems almost like a miracle, as I flew out of the house without taking Excedrin Migraine beforehand. So, the fact that I'm holding up this well is absolutely amazing. I feel slightly fragile, though, so I'll make this a short one.
Just wanted to keep my blog updated.

This could be a lonnnnnnnnnng week...

Well, this is the week I have to try to switch my dialysis days.
You see, usually that's Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday. Anyone who's known anyone that was on hemodialysis is probably familiar with how that works.
My graft surgeon (yes, I'm going through with the pre-op appointment, even though I feel like chickening out of the surgery on the 28th) only sees people in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To me, that seems ridiculous, since I'm sure I'm not the only dialysis patient who's faced with having to switch my schedule around because of that.
The other thing is, I have something else going on this coming Saturday. So I really have my heart set on having my dialysis changed to Monday/Wednesday/Friday for this week--if only I can do that. And the following Sat., 24th, I'd like to switch that to Friday the 23rd.
Damn!! Too much schedule-changing. Oh, wait. Hang on a sec. WHEW! OK. Thank goodness I can still take my cat Tony to the vet on the 21st. I'm sooooooooooo tired of not being able to do other things without going all-out to change my schedule around. Geez!
On the upside, I may possibly have found a donor. It sure would be nice if that works out. I'll keep you posted. It would be verrrry nice if that works out so that I can get a transplant instead of going through with the graft thing. I'd truly NOT be looking forward to having two needles in my arm three days a week!
Thanks for reading! I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, hang in there for me! Love ya!