Chapter 485 - Becoming Too Tired to Care Much

To West Beer on Thursday to see Dr F in his rooms, preceded by a nerve conduction study on her right side as soon as we got there a little after 1PM. About 1 1/2 hours later we saw him and this time I was not to be rushed so we had about 25 minutes. I gave him the usual summaries about her medications, etc and asked him pointedly about the CBS suggestion of Dr W as well as showing him a letter from Dr B down in Pivot City about possible CBS. Dr F said there is no sign of that and he said the MRI's he had done on her at the beginning of her care by him when I pointedly asked. He gave me pump setting changes for the next 3 months until her next PD Clinic. He was puzzled that I had been giving her a night rate of 2.2 when he thought he had said otherwise, but I told him I had followed scribbled note instructions from the last Clinic. He had copies of the FitBit graphs I thought had been rejected by the neuro we saw at the last Clinic but perhaps I had enclosed them with the Xray of her abdomen that neuro had asked for. He seemed impressed with the graphs, saying that changing dose rates at that time had no effect on her dyskinesias. He even asked whether I had bought the FitBit specially!

Month 1 MD 5.5 DR 5.7
Month 2 MD 5.0 DR 5.9
Month 3 MD 4.5 DR 6.0

The new pump settings were implemented from yesterday, Saturday 24th, when I also attached the FitBit to her right ankle. Daily Rate 5.7, Overnight Rate 2.2 (no change), Morning Dose 5.5. FitBit traces began about 11AM, none between 1400 & 1600 when she slept, a burst up to 1700 and some between 1900 and 2100. Unfortunately, I forgot to change the cassette but not her eye drops at 1700. Here was I thinking that keeping notes would prevent me forgetting medication steps. In consequence, when I changed the cassette at 0625 this morning I found the old one empty and it would have been so for some 2 hours by rough calculation. She was hard to wake, very groggy, seemed half asleep until about 1100. Coincidental perhaps that she had 4 bowel motions today, each of reasonable quantity. So up until early afternoon her day was not very good.

She began removing cables from her MS Surface Pro this afternoon, just to tidy things. Also made attempts at installing down loadable crap so I must complicate her machine by giving her a bland user account.

I checked the daily rate and morning dose flows from the main Duodopa pump into a medicine glass were reasonably accurate (the spare pump was used today.

Wild Dog sent their resident physio on Tuesday to assess the exercises she has been doing and advise the carer that usually comes 3 days each week to give her exercises.

I must place another Duodopa order tomorrow since Easter weekend is approaching. The fridge calendar is marked into 28 day periods so that I can fit another week long holiday into our cycle of Duodopa orders and PD clinic visits.

I'm tired and beginning to ramble. I never used to go to bed at 8PM.