Update Shmupdate

Oh, peopoe, peopoe, peopoe, I haven't really been into/had time for blogging lately.  I feel much better now that my high bp's been addressed.  I was 115/75 at my week-later checkup.  I return in 3 months for another checkup.  Amazing what one little pill a day can do.  I asked the doctor about what else to do and he said lose weight and watch the salt.  The latter's not too hard.  I like a little added salt, but I came late in life to liking added salt, so I can go back to not adding it.  The former is the toughie.  I've been watching what I eat since my diagnosis -- nothing like the threat of stroke to get one's attention (or simply the threat of those narsty headaches returning; again, it makes one wonder what do people with greater, chronic pain do?  Do they not want to off themselves?) -- and been successful so far, but the challenge is long-term success, once the shock and awe of high bp has worn off.  One thought I've found helpful is the idea that if I'm not hungry enough to eat an apple, preferably a crunchy red delicious (photo courtesy of and (c) by NY Apple Association), I'm not hungry enough to eat anything (i.e., fries, ice cream, even a second helping of something healthy).  I meant to pick up actual apples at the store yesterday, to put some bite (so to speak) into the idea, but I forgot.  In its practical stead, I use rice cakes.  Granted, they're caramel corn rice cakes which have a little sweetness to them, but they're not scrumptious like cookies and cream ice cream, my current nemesis.

The cats are doing well, for the most part.  We're currently working on figuring out what Dolly's problem is.  Symptomatically, it points to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).  The drug of choice is prednisone, which she received orally for a while, but which she also vomited up within 10 minutes of taking it (even with prepping her with pepcid and/or food).  So we're going to try and get us some transdermal prednisone to apply to her ears.  That will bypass her stomach.  We hope to see a reduction in vomiting and diarrhea and increased weight.  It could also be pancreatic insufficiency -- those test values were elevated, further suggesting that that's the problem -- but the vets lean toward IBD, based on her overall presentation.

A definitive diagnosis would require an endoscopy, but we've decided to just go w/the prednisone for a couple of reasons.  (a) If it is IBD, we're doing the right thing.  (b) An endoscopy would be another several hundred dollars, maybe close to $1,000, and we've had an expensive 1+ years or so what with Nosey's IBD and diabetes and Smudgie's head case.  Of course, if it's not IBD, we've wasted time.  It's possible that she has lymphoma, like her late littermate, Archie, but I tend to think not bc she's had this problem for some time now.  I think it would have progressed to lymphoma and she'd have been dead by now if it were lymphoma.  But, as Dr. Slade mentioned recently, the surprise diagnoses we've received lately teach us not to get cocky.

The others are  doing well.  Smudgie's eye is looking better.  He'll be on an anti-fungal pill for a while, probably months.  Sounds like getting rid of a fungus is a long-term endeavor.  His right eye hasn't returned to its former beauty, but it looks much better.  He has some kind of grey area on the right eye.  Don't know what that's from.  Also don't know how affected his vision is.  Even if he has lost some/all vision in that eye.  cats do phenomenally well with reduced or absent vision.  He'll be fine.  The important thing is that he no longer has a portabella thriving in his head.

Oh, man, the thing about hungry-enought-to-eat-an-apple thing is that if I am hungry enough to eat an apple, I'm usually hungry enough to gnaw off my arm.  Okay, where are those stupid rice cakes?  Nom nom nom.  And only one point each!

Wrt school:  :(  I did not have enough money to pay for school this semester, so the director kindly agreed that I could start next semester.  (I know what you're thinking: spend less money on cats and you'd have enough to pay for school.  Answer: not an option.  I'll give up pretty much anything else before I give up their medical care.  E.g., I've obviously given up fashion bc (a) I have no sense of fashion to begin with and (b) it's not as important.  That I only have a few outfits I can wear to work is less important than that I have healthy cats.  Anyway....)  I have to figure out something so that I can consistently pay for school each semester; otherwise, it will take me eons to finish with a one-class-one-semester-on/no-class-one-semester-off approach.  And I'm no spring chicken as it is.  Not that I'm ancient -- and they do say 40 is the new 20 -- but still: my time here isn't unlimited.  Plus, I'd like to graduate before I die of stroke.  So, with that positive attitude, I am thinking ever so hard about my options on this absolutely gorgeous Labor Day weekend.  Details on the decision will be forthcoming once a decision has been made.

Changes are ahead, nay, already afoot, although I am making sure to enjoy this lovely weekend.  This weekend is the town's annual Firemens' Labor Day Celebration.  Gawd, do they love their Fire Department here.  It's pretty much the social organization in town.  But hey, I love a a parade and yesterday was a great day for a parade.  We'll go to the carnival and fireworks tonight.  Now that we've cut down a few trees in the backyard, we could watch the fireworks from home, but we like to go to the carnival.  It's small and very little changes from year to year, but that serves to make it comfortingly (word?) traditional: you can count on it to be there every year.  For us, it's especially nice bc we can tote our chairs to the parade and to the fireworks.  We just leave our chairs and/or blanket or whatever, go enjoy the carnival and then come back to find them safe and sound for parking our butts to watch the fireworks.

Bonus goodness this weekend: we're catsitting our friend Carol's cats, Tigger and Choco.  I have pictures to prove it so they'll be guest cats for Friday Cat Blogging later this week.

Kevin's been working hard all day, weeding and mulching.  Perhaps it's time I go and be  productive as well.  Or perhaps not.  Or maybe just look productive.  But my work here is done for now.  Hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!