Here in North Texas, we tend to have warm weather well into the Fall. I first planted tomato plants outside on Feb 28, and we had our first ripe tomato in May. The last of these tomatoes ripened in September, and I then pulled the plants.
About the sixth of September, I planted two new plant starts of the Roma variety. As I write this one month later, we have a nice-sized tomato on one of the plants that also has several additional blossoms.
It appears that we can safely double-crop tomatoes here in Pecan Plantation.
From left to right, the Albumin values are 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, 3.5, 3.2, and 3.4, being the most recent. The rationale for stopping IPN treatment should jump out of the above graph. When I started IPN on July 11, my nearest lab had albumin at 3.5. It was 3.5 in Aug, then 3.2 in Sep, with Oct 3.4, lower than when we started.
We are getting nowhere except expending lots of energy and funds.
Not a way to run a railroad. My dialysis nurse has asked me to stop by and has something else in a bottle for me to try, perhaps LiquaCel. This is what Perplexity has to say about this magic in a bottle:
LiquaCel is a liquid protein supplement composed mainly of hydrolyzed collagen. It provides 16 grams of high-quality liquid collagen protein and 2.5 grams of arginine per 1 oz serving. It is designed for individuals who have difficulty swallowing or digesting solid foods, such as renal, bariatric, wound healing, or dialysis patients. LiquaCel is available in various flavors and can be taken straight or mixed with beverages. It offers flexible administration options, including oral intake or via enteral feeding, and is beneficial for muscle preservation, wound healing, and addressing malnutrition. It is low in potassium and phosphorus, sugar and gluten-free, and has a moderately thick consistency according to IDDSI standards.mckinhealth+4
Most recent labs for October 2025 are in. My Albumin increased to 3.4 from 3.2. Since I am taking IPN with my dialysis, this is much less than expected. It has been bouncing around, up and down by 0.2. There is a very good chance that I will stop staking IPN in due course.
Another anomaly was Phosphate. Last month’s reading indicated that the trend was too low, so we reduced Velepro to one tab. This lab showed a big jump over the maximum, so I’m back on two tabs each morning.
The third reading of interest my A1c up to 5.4 from 4.7. This is a desired increase as both my nephrologist and GP suggest it could be higher.
My health continues on the upswing. Pretty soon, at this rate, I will be as normal as can be expected given the condition my condition is in. Got all that on board?
My lab visit this morning consisted of recalling all my biometrics for the technician, covering my hands with a special ointment, then washing them, and finally examining them under a black light to identify any missed areas. There were a few places, especially around the wrinkles in my knuckles, but no biggies. Then a blood draw, and lastly a flu shot of this season’s expected variety.
Stopped on the way home at a Chinese place we frequent and brought home hot and sour soup for lunch. It was too much on the hot side, so did’t eat much of it.
Our former dog walker’s last day was Monday, but luckily, we found another, and she walked Dickens yesterday morning for us. I will take him for a golf cart ride this evening, so he will have two “outings” per our plan to do this at least three times a week.
Going to chill out to ride time. Meanwhile, Let The Good Times Roll!
Today, we are to host our dialysis nurse visiting our humble abode for an annual home check. Not certain what’s involved, but we are what we are. Not expecting any trials and tribulations from the visit. Will advise tomorrow when we have completed the visit. It’s annual BTW.
Keep hearing from the Spinal Cord people. I get frequent calls from their tech reps asking me how it’s going. They outfitted me with an iPhone SE with their app on it, which I update how I’m doing. The app also informs me how much battery I have left in the battery pack embedded in my back. It was activated on 9/17/25, and so far, after 12 days, it shows three of four bars. Regardless, I’m going to recharge it on Wednesday. It has an inductive recharger that looks like a small ping pong paddle, and a battery pack for juice. The HFX (what the device is named) has a video link on its web page that is very easy to follow.
Our new domestic showed up today as planned. My wife and I split up her five hours allotted time. I had her do yard work for me, and my wife has her busy with household chores.
We are rolling along, getting stronger each day. Rationalizing meds has helped me gobs and now I wake up with a clear mind and ready to rumble.
Before I even got out of bed Sunday, my wife informed me that we were making a “To Do List” first thing. That generally does not bode well for me, as often as not, she has some task in mind that I’d rather pass on. So this morning I beat her to the punch and made up my own To Do list as follows:
Massague Linda’s legs – this was added first thing, and I didn’t mind.
Take Dickens, our Golden Retriever, for a golf cart ride. On days when our dog walker is not scheduled, I generally take Dickens for a 20-minute cart ride around Pecan Plantation, which he really enjoys, in the mornings and evenings.
After the ride, fuel the golf cart. I do that once a week. Takes 5.5 gal and topped up today.
Check tire pressures on wife’s car. We recently had new tires installed, and according to the car’s tire pressure monitor system, all pressures were off. Not now.
My wife has a stick vacuum cleaner; she does out tile floors with a Golden Retriever that produces gobs of hair. The brush was not going around was reported. I ran it on my workbench for some time without any difficulty, and also vacuumed floors, also no problem. So this one ended up as an open item.
We have a local gal coming in today to work in the house and do some yard work for me, which I had to get ready for. I filled our wheelbarrow with bark mulch – 2 1/2 bags, and loaded a cart up with 2 bags of mulch/compost for use tomorrow. We’re going to place bark mulch around three new trees we have recently planted in the front yard and replace the mulch that has floated away in the rainstorms we have here in North Texas.
We have a thornless rose that grows very, very rapidly and needs trimming almost weekly. I got the big Ryobi 40-volt trimmer out that we have and gave the bush a trimming.
The last thing on my list is to watch the Ravens-Chiefs game at 3:25 PM. I’ll be ready to sit by then.
Meanwhile, I’m going out and clean the front bumper on our truck that I recently backed into and left a little evidence behind. Keep in mind, all of this was accomplished before lunch by an 86-year-old on dialysis with heart conditions, a spinal cord stimulator, and diabetes. Not too shabby, I would say. Now to the ball game and Dickens’ evening golf cart ride.
You would think that a central piece of equipment for dependable peritoneal dialysis would be the Liberty Cycler from Fresenius. I have not found this to be the case. In this regard, the Cycler, often as not, has a mind of its own. It does what it wants to do rather than what it’s supposed to do.
Last night was a case in point. I had two bags on the cycler, a six-liter IPN bag on the heater tray, and a 5-liter bag hanging on the left of the cart connected to the first “White” bag lead. I went through a normal setup until the Cycler ran checks for bags and repeatedly informed me it found no heater bag. Usually, this is caused by not having cracked the cone enough, and over and over again, I checked the cone being broken on both bags to no avail. I had to shut the cycler down, replace the bags and cassette, and start over. Of course, this was happening on a night when I had to get up early to go to Fort Worth for an appointment regarding my spinal cord stimulator.
After the reboot and replacement of bags and the cassette, everything worked as advertised. I’m pretty certain the cassette was to blame, as this has occurred before. It is from a freshly delivered box, and the first one out. This is one of those instances where a call to tech support would only have consumed precious time and not have resulted in a more harmonious result. In this regard, Fresensisus’ “tech support” is an oxymoron.
Typically, one has a love/hate relationship. Not here, only hate. What’s to love about an inanimate piece of junk that lets you down?
And yes, my visit to the doc about how my SCS is doing went well. Got “See you in a month!” guidance.
Since the installation of the Spinal Cord Stimulator, I have been placed on six new drugs. Yesterday, after taking the appetite-enhancing drug Mirtazapine for the first time, I felt groggy and lacking in clarity for most of the day, which is why I’m posting this blog later than usual. I stopped taking it to see if my mind would then clear.
I woke up Thursday morning wanting to vomit, which is also not good. I had dry heaves, but nothing of consequence was expelled. So I just accomplished a review of where I stand on all the new drugs, concluding that one or more of them, in addition to the appetite drug, may be causing problems.
I was prescribed Ondansetron Tab 4MG for Nausea. Since this is intended to help prevent nausea, I don’t think it is causing any problems.
The antibiotic prescribed is Doxycycline Hyc Cap 100MG which I have completed taking. It was twice a day, for seven days, so I have excluded it.
Hydrocod/Apap 5-325 was prescribed for pain. I only took this for the first three days after surgery, switched to Tylenol for a couple of days, and have been off pain meds for at least three days, so not a problem here.
The last medication is Methocarbamol 750 MG, prescribed three times a day AS NEEDED for 30 days for muscle spasms. I think this is the culprit, along with Mirtazapine, so since it’s “as needed,” I’m knocking it off also.
IN summary, I’m back to the baseline drugs I was taking before installation of the spinal cord stimulator, and we’ll see how it goes. Wish me luck.
With each passing day, the site of insertion of the Spinal Cord Stimulator is becoming less and less bothersome. At this rate, in a week or so, I should be as good as new. Have a checkup in Fort Worth this Friday. During this visit, I’m certain they will look at the area on my back, ask if I have any questions, and send us on our way—no big deal.
When we visited my dialysis nurse to unplug my stopped-up catheter, which I previously reported on, she suggested getting our GP to issue a script for meds to increase my appetite. I was at a routine dental appointment yesterday and took the opportunity to go a couple of blocks up the street to our GP’s office, where I requested a call from him to discuss getting prescribed such a med. He is scheduled to call me at 4:40 PM on 9/22. We’ll see what he comes up with. This suggestion is because the IPN is NOT increasing my albumin, while a significant cost and inconvenience to us.
I quizzed Perplexity about such appetite-increasing drugs and received the following information:
Here is a table listing the most common drugs prescribed or used to increase appetite, ordered roughly by how widely they are used or recommended as of 2025:goodrx+7
Psychosis, bipolar, depression, off-label for appetite loss
Strong side effect of weight gain & increased appetitegoodrx+2
Megestrol acetate and dronabinol are the only appetite stimulant drugs approved by the FDA, especially for severe disease-related appetite loss.healthline+2
Mirtazapine is increasingly used off-label because it reliably increases appetite and weight.buzzrx+2
Cyproheptadine is often used for children/adolescents with appetite loss.droracle+2
Oxandrolone is now uncommon in the US due to safety issues, but is still used elsewhere.goodrx+1
Corticosteroids and most antipsychotics commonly cause increased appetite as a side effect, which is sometimes exploited clinically, but significant side effects may limit long-term use.webmd+2
Appetite stimulants are primarily prescribed for disease-related appetite loss (cancer, HIV/AIDS, or cachexia) rather than general weight gain.
This table provides an up-to-date, ranked overview for clinicians and patients interested in medically supported appetite increase.rxlist+7
Everything about the installation of a Spinal Cord Stimulator went as planned. At present, I am off the big bang pain meds and am only taking Tylenol, and that infrequently. Still have a ways to go on antibiotics and muscle relaxants, however. For those of you who shared my pain, I am grateful.
Keep in mind, please, how I got to the place I’m currently in. In brief, I served two tours off the coast of North Vietnam at 19 North on the USS Long Beach CG(N) – 9. After a cut-short tour in Long Beach Shipyard, I served In-Country Vietnam, traveling extensively in III and IV Corps, doing my job as ordnance advisor in the Brown Water Navy. The last tour was where I was really exposed to Agent Orange, big time.
I progressed from being diagnosed as a Type II diabetic, to having skin cancer extensively around my head area, to chronic kidney failure, to where I am now, a 100%++ disabled vet having lasted through a triple bypass, and am on dialysis with a numbness in my legs caused by diabetes that is being treated by the installation of an SCS. I am, indeed, turning into a bionic man.
Not enough is known about the why and how Agent Orange was used in Vietnam in the first place by the general public. Below is a short blurb about it, followed by a Wiki link where you can read in depth about it. It’s past time that the US Govt took the ramifications of such deployment seriously and stepped up to offer aid and comfort to the victims. Almost 50 years after my exposure, such support is somewhat begrudgingly being offered to those persistent enough to trudge through the red tape. And those of us who have been there, know that no other entity comes close to the US Govt when red tape is involved.
Summary: Operation Ranch Hand was a U.S. military program during the Vietnam War aimed at defoliating forests and crops to reduce enemy cover. Here are key points about the operation:
The program was officially terminated in 1971, but its effects are still felt today.
Initiated in 1962, it primarily used herbicides like Agent Orange.
The goal was to eliminate vegetation that provided concealment for Viet Cong forces.
Over 20 million gallons of herbicides were sprayed across Vietnam.
The operation had significant environmental and health impacts, affecting both soldiers and civilians.
It contributed to long-term ecological damage and health issues, including cancer and birth defects.
