LEWY BODY DAILY JOURNAL

This is the story of Pam and John; she in her early 50’s and John is 62. Pam is a college professor. John taught at a local community college until diagnosed with Parkinson’s in March 2008, then Lewy Body Dementia in April.

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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Quick update

I want to write about the trip, but I've run out of time again today. But let me write about being home because that is what is on my mind right now.

John has trouble with constipation when traveling. Miralax helps a lot (though he has trouble finding the right balance) but as has happened before things weren't going well when we got home. He felt he was impacted and might have to go to the emergency room, and he couldn't urinate either (that problem came and went). After the last trip I was reading about the issue and found that some people who went to the emergency room were sent home with a bottle of magnesium citrate to drink, so I suggested John try that. It worked in June, and so he was hopeful that it would help him again.

In the morning he sent me out to buy a second bottle, which was probably more than he needed. He was going to take our son to the dentist and back to school, but instead he had to stay home to be close to a bathroom all day. He was still glad to have solved the problem at home.

It meant that my day yesterday was spent driving our daughter to the airport (an hour each way) then driving our son to the dentist and then back to his school (an hour and a half each way). I was tired and what I really wanted was time to unpack and do laundry and it was a strain. Now I miss our kids and today I had a busy day back at work.

I had a sinus infection and cough before the trip but I got a second round of antibiotics before we left and it got better while we were away. But it got worse on the way home--either I caught a new cold from my youngest niece or the dry air of the airplane did in my sinuses. I'm so tired of coughing.

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