just water

I used to be a big iced tea fanatic. Between the two of us Terry and I would go through a gallon a day. No longer.

Some months back my doctor noticed that some of my bloodwork numbers were outside the normal range. That started an investigation. At one point it appeared that the issue was kidney-related. Eventually it turned out that the problem was elsewhere.

In the meantime, however, I cut way back on iced tea. When I am working at the computer or reading or watching television I drink ice water. I drink iced tea at home for dinner or when I’m eating out. In fact, not even that. Our iced tea at home has taken on a metalilc taste for me, perhaps because of my medication. So now it’s water at dinner as well as the rest of the day.

It’s better for me and I don’t get iced tea burnout. Those are Good Things.

not so sweet

I used to have quite the sweet tooth. I would keep a bag of snickers in the drawer in the bedroom for munching in the evening. But some months back I didn’t replace the bag when I finished it. That tin of blackcurrant travel sweets on the kitchen counter? I hardly ever touch it.

At a recent Access Control Committee meeting the owner of our security service brought pastry. I declined, until the meeting dragged on and I needed something to eat. It was a chocolate-covered, cream-filled pastry, not really an éclair, and I didn’t enjoy it all that month.

Seems my body is making some good decisions.

pharmacist knows best

There seems to be, or at least there once was, a perception among some doctors that patients are more likely to take their medication if they only need to do so once a day, and at bedtime. Author Susie Bright discussed this when explaining why doctors preferred to prescribe a certain brand name medication that required one dose a day, as opposed to its generic counterpart that required two.

My doctor in Silicon Valley seemed to have that perception. When I first started seeing him I wasn’t taking any medication, but eventually I was taking both blood pressure and cholesterol medication. The blood pressure medication evolved to include a diuretic, but my doctor continued to reiterate the “once a day at bedtime” regimen. At one point my pharmacist in Gilroy raised his eyebrows when I said I was taking everything at night, but I didn’t change my routine.

When we switched to Kaiser this year we had to do consultations with the pharmacists on our medications as we were new in their system. Again, the pharmacist mentioned taking the diuretic combo pill in the morning. I decided that maybe I should pay attention.

I switched all of my medications to the morning. Big difference. Fewer bathroom trips at night and longer blocks of continuous sleep. My daytime routine is hardly altered at all.

It pays to listen to the pharmacist.

image credit: clipartfest.com