Pins and Needles, Part Deux

Sometimes, an answer isn't an answer. It feels more like a question. My husband was weighed, and he appears to have lost a pound or two. On the face of it, according to what I've been told in the past, that's not-so-good news; however, the hospice nurse advised me to not be overly concerned. After all, she explained, the weigh-in method at the facility is something less than scientific, apparently.

In order to really track weight accurately, it should be checked at the same time of day, wearing the same clothing, having eaten the same amount of food and consumed the same amount of liquid, and having toileted. And sitting very still on the chair scale with your feet firmly on the footrests. There's really no way to do all of that consistently at a memory care facility.

He weighs about the same as he did at the January weigh-in, assuming that was accurate. Perhaps February's number showing a slight gain was off. Perhaps it wasn't. Maybe he has lost some, maybe not. So now we wait for next month's figure.

And then it'll be pins and needles, part three.

Seizures

January 2, 2019 (Happy New Year to you, dear reader!)

My husband had another seizure this morning. They seem to be happening with increased frequency and intensity, with the last two being December 22 and January 2 (this morning). These are not minor little "blank out seizures." They are more like grand mal, with foaming at the mouth and biting of the tongue. They seem to occur in the early morning generally, so far. I haven't witnessed one, but the description by the caregiver is quite dramatic. Since my husband and I have had no first-hand experience with seizures before, this is another learning curve for me. And of course it's also another source of stress. I find that my worry journal is very effective at helping me sort stress out these days!

The hospice nurse is called when my husband has a health event, and he or she visits in person to do an assessment, reports his or her findings to the doctor, and the doctor decides what to do about treatment, if any. Everything is handled direct with the facility, and I get a phone call from the facility to report the incident to me, then a phone call from the nurse to report observations, possible medication changes, and so on. When a stressful phone call wakes you out of a deep sleep and someone starts rattling off medication names and doses, it isn't always easy to grasp the conversation through the thick fog and the adrenaline. I've decided that whenever this happens, I will ask the medical technician at the facility for a new printout of medication orders for my file. I hope this will help me stay on top of things that have a tendency to spiral out of control at the drop of a hat.

When I went to see my husband today, he was rather lethargic, seemed to have a headache (He is unable to say, "I have a headache," but he did cup his hand on his head, exclaiming, "Ouch!"), and mostly wanted to curl up on his bed. All of that is apparently normal following a seizure. In spite of all that, he did eat all of his meal, which was served in his room. His appetite continues to be very good. And speaking of his appetite, I think I may have mentioned his substantial weight loss (from almost 200 lbs. down to 154 lbs.) and the fact that hospice has requested that he be given double portions if he will tolerate them. This is to ascertain whether his body is not processing nutrients or whether he isn't getting enough calories for weight maintenance.

The good news is that he tolerates the additional food and has gained five pounds! Anyone else would have gained 20 with the size helpings they put on his plate and the Ensure nutritional supplement, but I'll take the five. Apparently, his continuous pacing (though at a snail's pace) is causing his body to burn through the fuel provided. He can still absorb nutrition. Or at least if he isn't able to soak up everything, he's still able to absorb quite a bit.

I'd say this weight gain is an addendum to our Christmas miracle. Wouldn't you?