If you can call it "cheese"

Today was hard.  Ron was in a lot of pain and very ugly as a result.  He was nice to everyone else, pretty much.

I got up, slept with Biscuit again.  I really love that cat.  I'm going to put up a photo of him.  Done.

So all day was spent with Ron in a horrible mood, extreme pain, lots of complaining.  He reminds me of a woman in labor.  It's the neuropathy, which we all know is worsened by alcohol.

Ron swears alcohol is the only thing that "helps" but said it didn't help today.  It didn't stop him from drinking, though.

Last night we had the bath.  That was miserable for Ron because any kind of rubbing or touching on his skin makes him scream.  Yeah.  Imagine washing his back.  I'm not sure what was worse, the grimacing or the screams.

I ended up going to bed late and I slept late because I had a sweet, fat, Biscuit in my bed.  He is so lovable.  Who cares if he has a dirty butt?  And vomits?  He's a good boy.

I got up and took my shower, got us dressed.  Ron wore sweatpants which turned out to be a good idea.

We had a rather long ride to the doctor.  Finally got there, about 40 minutes early.  We checked in.  Ron's blood pressure was high because he was in pain, and had trouble standing on the scale.

We waited in the exam room for a long while.  I read all the patient literature.  Doc wanted a urine test for Ron, I think to test for opiates, but Ron couldn't give a sample.  Ron had gone in asking for pain relief.

Ron talked to the assistant for a while and she left.  Doc came in about 10 minutes later.  He was impressed when Ron specifically said he did not want narcotics, or anything addictive.  Doc and Ron figured out a medication that can help Ron sleep but is not addictive.  Doc also increased Ron's dosage of Neurontin.  Hopefully that will help.

Ron said he can't do an MRI but Doc had them take a series of back x-rays.  Hopefully they will show some details on what's wrong with Ron.

Our copay (traditional Medicare) was $30.  Not bad.

We had about an hour after that, before out pickup.  Ron didn't want to wait in the waiting room "With all the sick people".  I agreed.  We went outside.  It was a little chilly but not too bad.

There was a Starbucks nearby.  Ron wanted a coffee so we went.  He got a latte but it made his symptoms worse.  I reminded him caffeine is a stimulant and he got rid of it.  I got a piece of pound cake.  Normally I don't buy anything at Starbucks because I don't agree with their politics (extreme left) but I was pretty worn down.

Our ride finally came.  We had 2 other people in wheelchairs.  Ron had to sit in the far back.  One woman was dressed in a nice outfit, knee high leather boots, nice leather purse, custom deluxe wheelchair (not a Medicare model), cut-dyed-styled hair, etc.  We dropped her at the food bank.  She was hoping they had turkeys.

"It's for the needy, not the greedy" Ron said, when I told him.  I agree.

The other passenger had a tantrum when he found out we were next.  Hey, buddy, we rode all over North Houston this morning.  We got dropped off and went in.

I checked on the status of the prescriptions, they were being processed.  I did a little shopping.

Since I am having such an extreme dry mouth lately, I decided to get some new test strips for my blood sugar meter.  I'm not a diabetic and I'd like to keep it that way.  But if my sugars are getting a little whack I need to know before I have any damage.  A lot of diabetics don't find out they have a problem until they go blind, lose a leg, etc.

I will test my fasting sugar every morning for a while, and after certain meals.  I wonder if Fitday has a way to put blood sugar readings into your daily info.  I will have to check.

I bought my stuff and we waited on Ron's drugs.  They told us they couldn't do the Neurontin because it is prescribed at 6 a day for 90 days.  That's 540 pills.  They absolutely don't have that in the little pharmacy.

They did have the other medication.  So I checked, and it was ready.  90 days for $10.  Not addictive.  We'll see if it works for Ron.

While checking out, I said it was funny to buy someone else's pills instead of my own, and thanked them for "keeping me out of prison".

We had some time after that so I went to McDonald's and bought a hamburger with just ketchup.  I can't stand mustard and onions.  Ugh.  Actually it was a cheeseburger, if you can call it "cheese".

I logged everything into my Fitday and waited on our ride.  It was a longtime driver we like.  We went home.

I was mentally and physically exhausted.  I had taken my medication at Walmart and it always wipes me out.  I took a nap for a couple of hours, and woke up to Biscuit in my bed, purring.

Such a good baby.  I can't believe someone threw him out, can't believe someone else wanted to kick him in the head.  Can't believe no one looked for him (I ransacked every board and link I could to find his "owner").  But he's mine now and he couldn't be better.

He was a really nice bright spot in my day.  I think that's why God gave me the cats.  He knew I'd need some unconditional love.

We got up and went to Denny's.  I had already eaten my big meal (the cheeseburger) and taken my pills, so I just had a lava cake.  It was good.  I just hope it doesn't give me a headache tomorrow.  Ron had some soup.

He took his Tylenol, and his Neurontin, at the restaurant.  Hopefully they will help him.  He took the increased dose so I am hopeful.

Doc seems to have a pretty good handle on pain control.

We came home.  Now Ron is calling a cab driver (Chuck said he couldn't help Ron get vodka, today) to buy him vodka because he ran out.  If I were an alcoholic, and buying it by the case, I'd be getting the next case when I got down to 1 and half bottles.  But that's me.  I'm certainly not going to suggest it to Ron.

He creates these crises for himself, and I won't help him drink.  So it's on him.

I checked the mail.  The last thing for my gifts arrived.  So I just need to wrap them and tape up the box for the shipment to Mom and Dad.  That will get mailed, probably, Monday.  Not sure if it will get there in a week if I send it priority but I will take the chance.

Baby Girl got out when I went to check the mail.  I had to chase her through the neighbor's yard (#2) to catch her.  Now she wants to go out again.  And she has a catio!

I've got a lot on my plate.  Thank God Dad will be managing his own care; I don't see how I could help 2 people.  And no one's going to ask me, I'm disabled, and I'm already helping Ron.  Thank God Dad doesn't "need" me to help.  He just needs me to take my meds, get my sleep, and stay straight.

I can manage that.