VSG Maintenance Group
Thursday, May 9, 2024
I started the next dose up of tirzepatide this morning. I considered staying on the lowest dose as it seemed to work well for me over the last week but then decided to increase it after all. If I feel the same way in 4 weeks I might hold at that point.
On the blister issue, my BP has remained very low after decreasing the medication by 1/2 for a week and a half but I got some new blisters yesterday. So I stopped taking that medication entirely. I will reevaluate if my BP goes up but my feet need a chance to heal. I see my PCP 2 weeks from today and he is aware of what I am doing. I did a lot of googling yesterday and my issue (peripheral edema) is the number one side effect for this medication and the reason people are most likely to stop taking it. I didn't like the ankle swelling but as I saw it as a cost for lower BP. But this blister stuff is unmanageable. Can you imagine if I had to wear closed shoes? I can't even put sneakers on for walking.
Company is still here. We are going out on a boat this morning. Good day for it as it is supposed to be in the 90's. Yikes!
Can't wait to hear how the vote went by DD's union. I hope the contract is a good one.
Have a tenacious Thursday!
166.6
Fingers crossed and hope that the blisters and need for the medication causing them leave your life posthaste! Definitely sneaker, sandals, and pretty colored nail polish season (especially in Florida) is here. Sending healing juju your way.
The weather has cleared and sun is out with temps in the mid 70s. This is when Kansas is at its best. Outdoor time in yard and on deck in order.
Not much else cooking round here today. Fingers crossed for an equatable contract, DD, so you can refocus and better enjoy the ending school year. It is needless BS like this that is sucking the joy out of teaching.
Smiles everyone's way, today.
Down a few tenths of a pound today. Still up a pound from my low. And so it goes...
Tonight is shot night. I will stick with a 20 unit dose of semaglutide. I'll hopefully make the switch to the trizepatide next week after Westminster. The new meds should be here by then.
Blitz is beginning to look like his old splendid self. It's amazing to me how just little bits of hair pulling can make such a significant difference in over all appearance.
I had my LAST evaluation meeting this morning. I signed off and am good to go. One of the suggestions on the form was for me to carry noise canceling ear phones for sound sensitive students. I could not help myself... The first thing I did was open my backpack and pull out the noise cancelling earphones I always carry for my noise sensitive kids. LOL! The other suggestion was that I not use terms of endearment when speaking to the kids. 
My response to that was, "I'm old. That's how I grew up, that's how it was when I started teaching, and it's a hard habit to break. I will watch that. Thanks." Blah, blah, blah....
Liz, sure hope your feet heal up quickly. Multiple blisters on your feet sound terribly unpleasant.
Hair cut for me and more grooming for Blitz and Molly today. Jiffy seems to be on the mend. No more sedation for her. The meds make her sick to her tummy. No bueno!
Buh Bye!
Devon, I'm old, too. While at the juvenile detention center, I never had a student ask me not to respond to them with a, "good job, kiddo - or- sweetie pie - sweet cheeks ". Trust me, those kids let you know in no uncertain terms when you violated their space in any way. There were a few times (I knew not to touch ever) when I inadvertently entered personal space, or approached from what was a blind spot. But, the verbal affirmations ? Heck, how many students don't hear at home .
Agreed, students need warm words. When a student is hanging around my desk, I often ask, what can I do for you, my dear? They seem to like it. Because I have teenagers, I'm very careful about personal space, with fist bumps being about as close as I get. But you can tell what students would cringe, and what students need lots of space. But some need our genuine human responses. When a student stands before me, telling me they were in the emergency room for suicide ideation, and I have a close relationship with them, I'm going to hug them. If they come into my room sobbing, looking for me, I'm going to hug them. If I get in trouble, then I do. So far, so good.
on 5/9/24 11:02 am
Brr, I'm actually cold right now! I need to get a sweatshirt, but I have a dog on my foot.
The door repair guy came and got my lock fixed, lubricated my screens, put one screen back on the track, put a new window crank on, and caulked the doors where they had heat shrinkage of some rubber pieces. Nice man. The lock gave him fits, so he was here over 2 hours. The whole freaking time Kirby cried/whined. He wanted to get to him. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I HATE the whining!!! Hate it! Now that he's exhausted himself, he's conked out.
Back to my low on the scale after 5 days. I did my last compound shot form my first batch yesterday. 75 units was a lot to inject!! I ended up with a big lump in my arm for hours that burned. Seems to be working fine. No side effects from going up to the 7.5mg dose. My next compound arrives today.
No other plans after the door guy. I might go look at some galleries for some art pieces. I did get a new painting I'll pick up Monday. It's much more modern than my usual taste, but I liked it and colors are perfect for my new furniture...
I think that's it! Enjoy your day!
Liz, That medication sounds brutal. Yes, weeping blisters would explain people going off the meds. I'm glad your BP is responding well while you tapered off.
So the contract was okay. Its a 2 year contract, retro pay back to July 1. We are getting a salary increase of 2.25% this year, and 4.75% next year. A small increase for hourly reimbursement for hours outside of our contract day, like if I come in during the summer to work on a project etc. (not likely! It's never worth the money or the hassle) Insurance is only going up 2.5%. Some Union busting language that at one time we were willing to compromise on is totally gone. So while many other districts settled for 4%/6%, I think we took less of a hit on insurance. That being said, the other districts already paid more, and the gap is widening as they got bigger raises. I would advise younger teachers to go check them out.
We're leaving for my parents house in a few minutes. DD wants to see them while she's here. I thought about going on the weekend, but I am really tired, and just want to rest and recover. I am probably going to call in sick tomorrow. So, I'll do my part tonight, and then sleep for the next few days.
I haven't weighed for a few days. So not sure where I'm at, but I sure have peed a lot today, so maybe I'll find I'm down a bit.
