Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[Lois R]

I heard Carnival said they want to start cruising again in August...…….

[jpalbny]

First night not on-call in a week, so the wine cellar is taking a hit. Also got lazy and ordered pick-up from a local restaurant. The food was amazing and we have leftovers for the rest of the week.

 

The resident woodpecker made an appearance over the weekend, but luckily he's still hanging out at the feeder and not nibbling on our house...yet.

 

We were amazed to see a bird with a striking red chest at the feeder tonight after dinner. He hung around on the deck railing long enough for a good picture!
 

 

The Cornell Ornithology app identified him as a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Quite a nice specimen! I definitely don't remember seeing one of these around before.

 

3 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

Did you notice my recent post on the previous page on your VA hospital and Congressman Samuel Stratton?

 

Yes, and thanks. Even though my family has been in Albany since the 1600s, I am too "young" to the Albany area myself to remember much about him, having moved here for college in 1986. I didn't start up at the VA in the mid-90s so by then his legend was already history. Enjoyed your story - thanks for sharing. I had meant to respond over the weekend but got distracted with on-call stuff.

 

****

 

My contribution to the funnies...

 

 

That will be my coffee with tonight's dessert! 

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by jpalbny

[mysty]

3 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

My contribution to the funnies...

 

 

That will be my coffee with tonight's dessert! 

 

Now that is my kind of coffee!  🥰

[jpalbny]

Lois, I haven't forgotten your question either. Just needed some time to think about it. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Most people can drink as much or as little as they want, using thirst as their guide. That will rarely steer you wrong.

 

With few exceptions, the body is very smart and precise about water regulation and prompts you to take in water when you need it. The brain and the kidneys work carefully to regulate the level of water in the body, so that the electrolytes in your bloodstream remain in the proper concentrations to keep things working the way they should. Too much or too little water, and concentrations get deranged, then things don't work too well. Though the body can adapt to lots of physiologic derangements, diluting or concentrating electrolytes too much can lead to significant problems.

 

You can get into trouble by drinking too much [water], but in normal people with healthy kidneys and no other metabolic abnormalities, that's probably 12 liters or more per day. The kidneys, if left to their own devices, can really get rid of water when they need to, but even they have a limit. People with certain medical conditions which prevent proper removal of water (some medications can do this, hypothyroidism can do this, etc) can get into trouble with lesser amounts of water intake, which are too much for them to handle.

 

People with diabetes should avoid getting dehydrated, unless their sugar is very well-controlled. The kidneys can spill excess sugar and prevent blood glucose levels from getting too high, but they can't do that if you're dehydrated, because you need fluid to flush out that excess sugar. Once the kidneys don't have enough water to work with, your glucose levels can climb to dangerous levels.

 

However, when you have kidney failure then the kidneys can't always handle a large amount of extra water, and you may have to modify your intake. That's probably the most important factor in determining how much water you can safely take in.

 

The long answer is that it's complicated and a doctor who knows ALL of your medical conditions is the best one to answer that question - because it depends on your specific situation. The old advice about 8 glasses a day is not applicable to all. There is currently some debate about whether caffeinated beverages or alcohol should count. But so far, nobody is recommending 4 cups of coffee and 4 glasses of wine per day. Damn. I'd be covered perfectly if that were the case.

 

Sorry I can't give a precise answer. Hopefully some of the examples above illustrate why it has to be an individual recommendation.

[Lois R]

Hi JP, thanks for the input.  I have a dr appt on Wed morning......follow up with my GP and will speak with him

about EVERYTHING.  Seems I can't win......right now both of my feet are swollen....they were NOT swollen

when I was released from the hospital.

[mysty]

I'm not coming out of quarantine until I know Who put the bomp
In the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?
Who put the ram
In the rama lama ding dong?

[QueSeraSera]

I'd like to echo the thanks from Lois to JP for a thoughtful post containing great information.

Hope tonight's quarantine coffee met expectations 🙂 for everyone.  Me, I have to get on the ball and figure out how to make a Manhattan.

[spinnaker2]

Mysty

Who was that man? I'd like to shake his hand!

 

Wait maybe it was Johnny angel...

Edited May 5, 2020 by spinnaker2

[mysty]

19 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

Mysty

Who was that man? I'd like to shake his hand!

 

Wait maybe it was Johnny angel...

Johnny Angel, how I love him
He's got something that I can't resist
But he doesn't even know that I-I-I exist

[zqtchas]

[Tothesunset]

I'm not leaving quarantine until Delilah gives her reasoning. 

[UKCruiseJeff]

8 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi JP, thanks for the input.  I have a dr appt on Wed morning......follow up with my GP and will speak with him

about EVERYTHING.  Seems I can't win......right now both of my feet are swollen....they were NOT swollen

when I was released from the hospital.

 

Good Morning Lois,

 

Symathies and thoughts to you with your latest challenges. 

 

My motive for posting is to encourage you to spend some time researching the latest thinking with respect to your diabetes and it's links to lifestyle/diet and how you might reconstruct and make useful lifestyle changes.  The good thing is that such research might encourage you to have some hope in that you can make changes that will improve your situation.  I'm presuming that you have type 2 diabetes being that it has been diagnosed relatively later in life.

 

I'm over-simplifying but in essence latest thinking is that our bodies have evolved over many milennia to cope with what was a largely unchanged diet but now has difficulty in coping with a lot of the diet we have bombarded it for the last hundred years or so.   Many people were advised until very recently - (and many still are) - with type 2 diabetes to eat lots of potato, rice, bread etc but latest research shows that these convert very rapidly into sugar and makes T2 diabetes worst.  Having a poor diet and taking insulin over time produces greater insulin resistance and a need for increasing medication hence the traditional belief that T2D is a progressive  chronic desease.    Also the relationship beween obesity and diabetes and lifestyle that is more than the traditional calorie in / calorie out tradition.

 

I suggest that a good few hours of self-study on several topics would place you in a better position to disuss your conditions with your doctor.  A really good Youtube starting point is "Low Carb Down under" channel and in particular watch as many of their lectures on reversing the condition. As a side topic some of the debate about what is a healthy diet and what isn't might be of interest.   I can say like many thousands worldwide who have made changes you can reverse this. 

 

https://lowcarbdownunder.com.au/

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/lowcarbdownunder

 

Some starting topics for you to review is  some lectures on reversing type 2 diabaetes on the "low carb down under" youtube channel, the invesitgative work on refined seed oils versus natural fats and oils by Nina Teicholz.  Seed oils was a product originally intended for engines!  There is also a really first class mutual support group in the UK where people who have successfully managed the condition diabetes.co.uk help each other.  The lead doctor in the UK on lifestyle reversal of diabetes is a GP - Dr David Unwin and you can see some of his lectures on Youtube.   eg

 

 

You must not do anything without the guidance and help of your doctors and advisors and I hope some of these pointers help give you some discussion points.

 

Good luck and wishes.

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe day all!

[Lois R]

Good morning,  Jeff, thanks so much...…..I appreciate it.

[zqtchas]

[TLCOhio]

14 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Even though my family has been in Albany since the 1600s, I am too "young" to the Albany area myself to remember much about him, having moved here for college in 1986. I didn't start up at the VA in the mid-90s so by then his legend was already history. Enjoyed your story - thanks for sharing.

 

WOW!!  Fascinating that J.P.'s family history goes back to the 1600's in the Albany, NY, area.  You must have some interesting family background and stories.  Understand that Congressman Stratton was a little before your times.  You are younger than some of us older folks with longer memories back into ancient history. 

 

 Many great post, funnies, comments and follow-ups here at the busy Cooler, including dealing with key health issues and important questions.  

 

Recently, J.P. mentioned his love for Rodney Dangerfield.  Did some more research and have pulled up a number of his "funnies" to share here.  The beauty of Rodney was that he was a "lovable loser"!!!  When he told his stories as to how his parents, wife, etc., treated him, we suddenly would feel better that our life might not be sucking as bad compared to his experiences.  Am sharing a couple below. His trademark line was "I don't get any respect."  Have many more of his comedy lines to help us to survive these challenging times.  See, you've been given a proper warning!!  Rodney had a certain "twist" to his humor and quick comedy items.  Others remember Rodney with affection?  Or, otherwise?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.).  Now at 66,245 views:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

 

[mysty]

I'm not coming out of quarantine until I find out "Where have all the flowers gone?".

Edited May 5, 2020 by mysty

[mysty]

[zqtchas]

19 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

That sounds like a classic line from Rodney Dangerfield. If it isn't, it should have been.

you had to go and mention "Dangerfield".

[TLCOhio]

1 hour ago, zqtchas said:

you had to go and mention "Dangerfield".

 

Did someone say "Dangerfield" as in Rodney?  Below are a couple more from him.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by TLCOhio

[mysty]

1 hour ago, zqtchas said:

you had to go and mention "Dangerfield".

The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club.   😉

[spinnaker2]

I will stay in quarantine until I know who will stop the rain.

 

[jpalbny]

18 hours ago, Lois R said:

Seems I can't win......right now both of my feet are swollen....they were NOT swollen

when I was released from the hospital.

 

Lois, there is a chance that this is a temporary problem. Obviously I don't know for sure, but here is a possibility:

 

When your glucose level is high, extra sugar is spilled by the kidneys. All that sugar moving through the kidneys needs lots of water to keep it dissolved and flowing through. 

 

The water which is used to dilute the sugar isn't pure water.. It also contains sodium, because it came from blood plasma. Now the kidney, being pretty smart, knows that it needs to spill the sugar. But it can't spill all that sodium along with it, so it works overtime to reabsorb all of it before it gets to your bladder.

 

So if you've had a high sugar for a few weeks, your kidneys are in overdrive, looking for every bit of sodium they can find, and conserving it. That works well until...

 

Once your glucose is controlled, great. But your kidneys are still primed to not lose any sodium, so you now retain sodium even though you aren't losing lots of fluid and sugar. And that can cause you to retain extra fluid and get swollen feet (edema). This is usually temporary and resolves once the kidneys calm down and realize they can go back to normal (a few weeks).

 

Hopefully it's just that and gets better. Fingers crossed for you. 

 

This is a variant of a disease we see in people who are abusing diuretics in order to lose weight. Diuretics work by making the kidneys spill sodium. But again, kidneys are smart! Kidneys have multiple channels by which they can reabsorb sodium, and diuretics only block some, not all, if them. So the unblocked ones rev up to compensate. 

 

They take diuretics for a while, get their kidneys primed to hold on to sodium, then get edema when they stop the diuretics. It leads to a vicious cycle of diuretic use to get rid of the very edema that they have caused! We call it cyclical edema.

 

You know, for a "lung guy" I have a healthy respect for kidneys. I tell all of my residents that kidneys are way smarter than doctors. 😄

[zqtchas]

[Lois R]

Hi JP, thank you-----your explanation makes it clearer for me.  I have a Dr appt tomorrow morning with my GP and

we will be chatting about ALL of this stuff...…...so hopefully this swelling is temporary. I am drinking water and yes,

my kidney's were a mess and I am hoping I am healing.  And to be honest,  the Dr said the same thing to me......

as far as what is more important...….I was told the kidney's are the most important---even before the heart.