I forget whether I mentioned my blood pressure is through the roof? Anyway, turns out the diuretics that have me running to the bathroom all night have also been washing away my body’s potassium — which is how I ended up in the emergency room all day Friday.
I had no idea what was wrong; my stomach hurt, I wanted to throw up, and it felt like the room was spinning every time I stood up or sat down. So off I went.
(Humorous aside: My doctor was defensive when I asked him why he was wearing a Yankees surgical cap. He said, “Can’t we both agree that we hate the Mets?” I had to admit, he was right.)
Turns out lack of potassium affects pretty much everything: muscles, nerves, organs — which is why I was so dizzy and fatigued all week. For the next two weeks, I have to take a potassium drink twice a day ($62 with GoodRx. I’m still not feeling normal, so forgive any typos.)
So I went and found a salon that was open on Mondays and got all my hair chopped off. It was pretty long, but summer is coming and I felt like making a clarifying statement — which is, damn, I’m tired of all this bullshit.
Now I have to get kidney function tests today. I am annoyed at all the attention this demands. And I am very, very tired. No, I don’t know what my blood pressure is, I stopped taking it. If I’m doing everything they tell me to do and I’m not getting better, fuck it.
Yesterday was sixteen years since my stroke. I still use a quad-cane to walk. Riding herd on your blood pressure may be annoying, but not as annoying as the little chunk of brain you lose in a stroke…
Well yeah. Salts are what make the electrical impulses move around and that makes everything else work. Too much is one thing but zero! really scary. Watching is a pain in the a__ yes, but better than the alternative. Take care.