Done Since 2025-11-09

[mdlbear]

So I did, in fact, need a live appointment about the pain in my right ankle. Edema, which I could have checked for a couple of weeks ago if I'd thought of it. (I did think of it late last week, and immediately made the appointment.) I am now on two more blood pressure meds, and I'm supposed to keep my feet up and avoid salt. So much for brine pickles and pizza with anchovies.

The only places where I can put my feet above the level of my heart are in bed (with my feet on the wall, so I can only do it for a little while in the morning), and the living room couch. And about the only thing I can do in that postition is breathing exercises. Growf. I have a follow-up appointment this coming Wednesday.

I re-stacked the plastic bins under my desk, so I can at least keep my legs level if not up. Don't know whether that will help much, but it can't hurt. (Much; it's a little hard on my unsupported knees, and starts hurting after a little while..) Still no idea why I always feel cold in the late afternoon and evening, but I've gotten Colleen's fake-fleece-lined scooter cape out of the closet and it helps. The cold feeling might be partly -- or even mostly -- anxiety, but, well, Colleen's cape.

N is back from London, after getting m and Cricket settled there. Not clear what that will do to our recording schedule -- not much given that it was already a shambles. Lizzy, the folding mobility scooter, is also back. She appears to need some work, and definitely needs a new battery.

I don't think I've mentioned N's book, The World As It Ought to Be, since it came out in hardcopy and Kindle. Go get yourself a copy. I finally got her author's website more-or-less done; she's having it professionally desighed, but the one I hacked together will do until that's done. I got the Website Portfolio, which I mentioned last week, more-or-less done as well.

Some links: The rebellion will be federated – 2025 edition - Elena Rossini. She saved a baby goat. Now they travel the country, share a bed.

Notes & links:
1108Su
  % ibuprofen 400 20:49 
  @ Pluralistic: Facebook’s fraud files (08 Nov 2025) - Cory Doctorow
  @ Some thoughts on information in the Information Age: tacit — LJ (andrewducker)
    " design is no longer a proxy for legitimacy. You can no longer measure something’s
      validity by how it looks.
      But millions of people, mostly Boomers and Gen Xers, haven’t got the memo. "
  @ displacementdiaries | Welcome to Displacement Diaries (ysabetwordsmith)
  @ Pluralistic: The 40-year economic mistake that let Google conquer (and enshittify)
    the world (06 Nov 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
  * walk: 10:25 Erasmusweg 10:51, 1.2km, 24mm, 26:34min, 2128st; almost a bridge too far
    % in quite a bit of pain at the end, and was starting to stumble?  shamble?  that.
    % good walking weather -- sunny.  Not exactly warm, but the sunlight _felt_ warm
  @ This Physicist Says We Don’t Take COVID Seriously Enough | The Tyee
  @ Why Erlang Still Laughs at Rust’s Concurrency Guarantees | by BugsyBits | 2025-09
    " Rust gives you concurrency. Erlang gives you resilience in chaos. "
  * kf/hx work session
    * guitar - talking blues, Freight Train -- _really_ rusty
    % also fingernails need trimming; do that after dishes so they'll be soft
    * fix nav colors in N-R.com
    & maintenance in hsx -- move Done etc. to Log, making it more like Dog

1110Mo
  * walk:  Erasmusweg 1.2km, 15hp (!), 24mm, 32min, 2140st
    % taken at a good pace, didn't have to stop.  Little hip pain, some leg stiffness
  % looks like there is edema in the area above my R ankle.  thumb test.
    When should I see my healthcare provider?
    -> Swelling of only one limb.    -> Pain or discolored skin in a swollen area.
    <- since at least early-mid October.  Possibly earlier.  amlodipine?
    -> make GP appointment for 9am tomorrow
  @ How a Medieval Poem Fooled Historians About the Black Death for 700 Years
  @ Wait, JavaScript Is Faster Than Rust Now? Here’s the Benchmark Nobody Expected
  @ The Most Terrifying Graph I Have Ever Seen | by Will Lockett | Nov, 2025 | Medium
  @ AI isn't replacing jobs. AI spending is 
  * call the ophthalmology outpatient clinic (070) 210 2400. 9 for English
    -> will be called; appointment probably in January. need to be seen within 6mo
    <- last opth. appointment was 2024-01-25, so almost 2y ago
  @ Supreme Court rejects call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage
  @ Vast collection of historic American music released via UCSB Library partnership with
    Dust-to-Digital Foundation | The Current
  & update emergency info.

1111Tu  Armistice Day
  @ Armistice Day - Wikipedia
    as it was called until it was renamed in 1954, when I was 7yo, to Veterans Day
  % slept _very_ badly -- brain hamsters.  Mostly the website.
  ~ 8:30 summon uber for 9am appointment at GP
    -> damned website made me an appointment at the other practice, somewhere across town
  : 2 years since my prostate cancer diagnosis
  * 12:15 summon uber for 1pm Parnassia Groep/PsyQ
    tried to call to verify in person or otherwise; nobody can find me.
    -> finally found the previous appointment; it has yet another number 088-3575799
    -> referred to psychiatry for drugs; will get called probably in january
  : took over an hour to get an Uber home.  Phone went into power-save at 20%.  Sheesh!
  * load drugs -> need simvastatin

1112We
    * walk:  09:20 DSB804 (a bridge not too far) .75km, 7hp, 17mm, 13min, 1032st
      % cut short because of worries about leg and the possibility of a blood clot
  * 11-14 or whenever kf/hx work session
    . I don't have a website portfolio -> Stephen.Savitzky.net/Websites/  IN PROGRESS
  * 14:45 summon uber for 15:30 appt at GP
    *- edema of R ankle and the area between there and mid-calf.  painful
    *- edema in lower L leg, but no pain in that area
    -> BP very high (!)
    -> Lisinopril 5mg, furosemide 40mg; cut down on salt; keep feet elevated
       -> using two pairs of the larger bins.
       -> keeping feet up is NOT comfortable
       -> Furosemide, sold under the brand name Lasix among others, is a loop diuretic
       -> Lisinopril is an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
       @ Edema - Wikipedia
         " The condition is more concerning if it starts suddenly, or pain or shortness of
           breath is present "
       *- the lisinopril tabs need to split (2.5mg dose).  Split one with a knife.
  * complete Bol order
  @ The Incredible Machine. When Corporate Theater Met the Dawn of Unix | Tim O'Brien
    MATRIXSYNTH: The Incredible Machine (1968)

1113Th
  $ I HX $7 from Bandcamp for October
  * Saw email saying the Framework stylus is back in stock -- managed to get it this time
    Also ordered a Displayport expansion card.  €97.00  order#  R595847146
  @ She saved a baby goat. Now they travel the country, share a bed. - WaPo
  * put together the new bamboo shelves.  Should have gotten the taller one.  I thought
    this one was adjustable, but...  So the question is whether to leave enough of a gap
    that I can easily get stuff in and out of the bottom shelf, or put in the second shelf
    -> the Caiway box is just the right height to support the second shelf.  HAH!
  * split lisinopril tablets for the rest of the week
    
1114Fr
  * walk:  DSB804 (a bridge not too far) 09:10; 75km, 5hp, 15mm, 11min, 1020st
  * 11-14 or whenever kf/hx work session
    working on website portfolio
  @ Joan Baez: A Legacy of Integrity and Courage That Still Resonates – New and Tips
    taking her music off $A.  " Her words—”Truth doesn’t age, and neither does courage” "
  @ Drop in U.S. Religiosity Among Largest in World
  * Pay AX
  @ 'Nuremberg': Can You Diagnose Evil? | MedPage Today  TL;DR: no
    " evil ignored is evil enabled "
  & acquired a fabric watchband, to see whether it's more comfortable than the silicone
    rubber one.  Bright orange -- matches my phone.  There's a metal mesh one on the way.
  % Put my feet up under Colleen's scooter cape, which makes a good blanket.  I can't seem
    to get warm.  22:37 should go to bed

1115Sa
  * walk:  DSB801 - bridge before turnaround, .75km, 8hp, 22mm, 24min, 2000st
  @ The rebellion will be federated – 2025 edition - Elena Rossini
    This is what resistance to the digital coup looks like
  @ The Future is Federated - Elena Rossini 27 blog articles.
    The Future Is Federated: My Fediverse Starter Guide
  @ Lawmakers Want to Ban VPNs—And They Have No Idea What They're Doing | EFF
  @ Lexend - Google Fonts
    Lexend — Change the way the world reads.
  % 13:02 some dizzyness (postural hypotension, not vertigo), R side headache
  % legs up for 5min (timed) while doing breathing exercise.  Got up to ~26.
  @ A crisis unfolds in the Pacific as humpback whales form never-before-seen defensive
    patterns against fishing fleets (N)
  % 20:20 still cold - put on Colleen's scooter cape, which isn't as soft as a fleece
    blanket but probably about the same insulating value.  The fleece bathrobe is warmer
  @ Tired Of The Modern World, He Built A Home & Life Like No Other - YouTube
  % realized belatedly that I had mistranslated the instructions for the new drugs --
    they're supposed to be taken in the morning, not the evening.  Makes much more sense
    (one's a diuretic).  Moved the next doses, so there will be a short interval between
    tonight's and tomorrow's.  -> split the diuretic, so I'll take it tomorrow am and pm.
  : sounds like Lizzy needs a new battery, and some other parts looked at.

Comments

Please ignore this entirely if you don't want advice/ideas re leg elevation

[kyrielle]

But, after the broken knee and surgery (and again after the subsequent health mess following), I had to keep one leg up a fair bit and found several tricks for that which might help:

Anywhere you have a level surface, a pile of pillows - or, given for you it's feet rather than knee and you're not in a straight-leg brace, maybe just a wedge pillow. If you want to sit up rather than lie down you just need more pillows until you're in a slightly-annoying-but-able-to-do-stuff V shape.

If it becomes a long-term thing, an adjustable bed can help, but that's a very expensive solution if you can find others that work more easily.

I never did manage at the desk - there just isn't enough space under mine to the wall to put it straight out - but in the setup you describe I'm wondering whether a large cardboard box, topped with a blanket (folded thicker at the end for the foot?), might be a lot more comfortable than trying to just raise the foot with no support for the rest of the leg.

Re: Please ignore this entirely if you don't want advice/ideas re leg elevation

[mdlbear]

Advice is welcome -- thanks! Extra blankets and pillows are a little scarce around here; we didn't bring very many with us when we moved. Might be able to figure something out, though.

Re: Please ignore this entirely if you don't want advice/ideas re leg elevation

[kyrielle]

Might be worth laying in a further supply of them if they're not too expensive. They're medical items now! (And probably cheaper to get locally than bringing them with you would have been, honestly.) And dreamshark mentioned compression bandages - for me it was reusable compression stockings, might be worth asking your doctor if those could help and what compression level, or just getting and hoping. They're a bit of a pain to get on if they're the right size, of course.

[dreamshark]

Echoing Kyrielle's advice - the secret to leg elevation seems to be getting pillows in the right places. I love her suggestion to use other items like cardboard boxes under the pillows if you don't have enough soft stuff. Just keep experimenting.

If you don't mind a little more unasked for advice - when my husband had an edema incident a few weeks ago he also went on a quick get-the-water-weight-off diet. Cut way back on salt and carbs and increased diuretic fruits and vegetables for a few days. He lost 6 pounds in 3 days. Obviously mostly excess water weight, since there is no way you can lose that much "real" weight in such a short time (especially lying on your back!). Between the leg elevation and reducing the water bloat, his legs recovered without needing diuretic medication.

He also wears cheap elastic compression tube bandages on his lower legs most of the time, since he has a recurring problem with venous insufficiency. I don't know if you want to go that far, but you can order the compression bandages by the roll on Amazon.

[mdlbear]

I'm borrowing a pair of compression socks; they at least fit and aren't intolerably uncomfortable. And I'm taking a diuretic, but didn't think to weigh myself last week so it's hard to say how much it's working.

[dreamshark]

Here's a link to the compression tube bandage that my husband uses. It's a roll of elastic tubing that you cut to the length you like. The advantage over true compression socks is that they are much easier to get on and off. You can wash and reuse them, but they wear out after a few weeks (depending on how often you wash them). He's been using the "light to moderate compression" ones. Fully formed tube socks seem to start at a higher compression level than this.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXRTZLBH?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

[mdlbear]

Thanks! Those look useful. I seem to remember Colleen using those for a while in a hospital.

[ellenmillion]

Got a copy of N's book for Kindle!

[andyheninger]

Lisinopril is the same drug I've been taking for high blood pressure. It definitely lowers my BP; I hope it works for you.

The problem is, my BP varies widely, sometimes high, sometimes low, and the lows can get troublesomely low while on the drug. The doctor says to keep an eye on it, and adjust the dose as needed.

So I've been taking my BP a lot. It seems that my high readings are mostly associated with cool weather and being a bit cold; dressing more warmly helps.

None of which may be relevant to your situation; just a bit of anecdotal data.

[mdlbear]

All pretty relevant. I should be taking my BP and weight more often.

I also have a bit of postural hypotension, but not as bad as I did the last time I was on that combination.

[teddywolf]

To echo what others have said, adjustable beds can be quite helpful for keeping legs elevated. Two decades ago I did in-home sales for a well-known adjustable bed brand, and a lot of people found them useful. (whether they bought was another story)

You might also want to talk with the doctor about compression socks. I don’t use mine often, but they are good at keeping fluid from building up in my calves and lower legs while I wear them.

[mdlbear]

Haven't spoken to the doctor about compression socks, but they seem like a good idea, so I'm using them. I can't keep my legs up for very long, but the socks keep working all day.

[teddywolf]

Quite a few people I saw back in the years doing those sales mentioned they spent time resting in recliners with their legs up, some of them even using them to sleep.

[mdlbear]

I miss the adjustable bed that I had in the US. Invacare -- most often seen in nursing homes. We got a pair of them when Colleen started having serious mobility problems.