Everything seems to be doing OK now that I have finished three rounds of the Carafate. This has to be taken an hour before eating and at bedtime, and it coats the stomach lining where the infection, ulcer, irritation is, so that it can heal. It doesn’t taste great, but mostly I’m glad to be off of it, because it meant remembering to take it and to be sure my stomach was empty before taking it. Adhering to the empty stomach rule put a serious dent in my herbal tea intake. But now I can get back in the habit of drinking about 8 cups a day. We’ve decided to cut the amount of Stevia I put in each cup in half, both as a precaution that I might have been getting too much of it each day, plus it will save money. Nothing wrong with that, and it has such a sweet taste that half a packet will do, anyway.

We decided to wait a week after going off the Carafate before starting to add back in the vitamins and supplements I have been taking for the last few years, so I’m not taking as many pills right now as I’m used to. That way, if I have any digestive problems adjusting to the pills again, we’ll know the problem is from the pills, not that my stomach wasn’t healed yet. It’s kind of nice taking so much less medicine for awhile. I am still on the MiraLax and the metamucil, and I’ve started eating prunes for my afternoon snack again. I can’t afford to let myself get constipated, as it really throws my whole system off when I do.

We’ve had a long record breaking cold spell here in Alabama, so I haven’t been out of the house much of late. Today’s our Date Day, but there are only a couple of brave souls trying to have yard sales and such, so I’m not sure what we’ll do today. Our weather is getting back to normal temperature range, so it will be good just to get out of the house for awhile, no matter what we end up doing.

I’ve even worked on a little bit of our taxes already, so I really do feel like I’m keeping my resolution to be more efficient with my time usage. It’s so easy to while away the days when you’re retired, if you’re not careful. And now that I’m feeling better, I get a lot more done. When I don’t feel well, my brain just goes into slow motion.

I did have one very upsetting thing happen this last week. Out of nowhere, someone I went to high school with called me. Sadly, I didn’t remember him at all. He had located me from the WHOIS information about our website. It was a very pleasant conversation, but he kept asking me if I remembered so and so, and it’s all a huge blank. I can only remember a few people I went to school with, and that’s mostly boys I dated LOL. I guess they made a bigger impression on me, eh? But I was very upset by the time the conversation was over. I had to tell him that I was having some memory problems to get him to stop bringing up name after name that drew a complete blank for me. It was extremely embarrassing and frustrating.

So I get reminded at such times that all is not right with my brain. Between age related forgetfulness, drug related brain fog, and just plain old neurological brain fog, I am pretty much a complete blank on my past. It’s scary when I allow myself to realize that, but mostly I just live for now.

On a happier note, I continue to lose weight slowly, and I’m doing much better with my exercising. I’m up to 3 minutes twice a day on the treadmill, and I’ve recently started back on the recumbent bike for about 5 minutes twice a day. The treadmill is on an incline and not adjustable (translation = cheap), so by the time I’ve been on it 3 minutes my heart is really pounding. That should improve with time, though, and it’s good for my heart, anyway.

All in all I’m feeling very good, and hope to keep it that way, with the daily blessings God brings my way. I’m blessed to have a wonderful family who love me and I love deeply, and we all live in the same state. That’s better than most people my age can say!