My morning health checks were much better today than they were the previous two days.
And I’m definitely happy to see that.
I dropped a little over three pounds since yesterday, bringing my weight back down to about where it should be. Considering the weight gain, increased body water and swelling I was seeing over the last couple of days, it certainly looks like I had been retaining fluid.
My blood pressure was also lower this morning at 114/68 with a pulse of 57.
That’s lower than yesterday, but not something I’m particularly concerned about based on how I’m feeling. It’s simply another number I’m going to continue watching.
My feet also look almost normal again.
I think there’s still a little swelling because they feel somewhat stiff, but there’s a noticeable improvement. Yesterday, they actually hurt.
Today is definitely a better day.
This Is Why I Do Morning Health Checks
Days like today reinforce why I’ve become so committed to doing these checks every morning.
It can seem like a hassle.
Get on the scale.
Check my blood pressure and pulse.
Look at the body-water reading from my BIA scale.
Check my feet and legs for swelling.
Pay attention to how I’m feeling.
Record everything.
Then do it all over again tomorrow.
But there’s a reason I do it.
I’m trying to catch changes early rather than waiting until I’m sick enough to end up back in the hospital.
Yesterday, several things were moving in the wrong direction at the same time.
My weight was up for the second consecutive day. My BIA scale showed increased body water. My blood pressure was a little higher, and I could see swelling in my feet.
Today, most of those things are moving back toward normal.
That’s exactly the kind of trend I’m looking for.
A Good Day Doesn’t Mean I Stop Monitoring
It would be easy to look at today’s three-pound drop and think:
Great. Problem solved.
Not quite.
My feet still appear to be slightly swollen.
And more importantly, I still don’t know exactly what caused the fluid retention in the first place.
Was it too much sodium?
Was there more sodium in the shrimp I ate than I realized?
Did the fruit I ate add enough additional fluid to make a difference?
Was it a combination of several small things?
Or is something happening with my heart that has absolutely nothing to do with anything I ate or drank?
I don’t know.
And that’s exactly why I can’t stop monitoring just because today’s numbers look better.
Sometimes There Isn’t an Obvious Answer
I think that’s one of the frustrating parts of managing a chronic illness.
I want there to be a simple cause and effect.
I did X, so Y happened.
Unfortunately, the body doesn’t always cooperate with that logic.
I can retrace everything I ate.
I can look at how much I drank.
I can check nutrition labels.
I can look at my activity.
And sometimes I still won’t have a definite answer.
What I can do is continue collecting information.
If something starts changing again tomorrow, I’ll know.
If my weight continues downward and the swelling disappears, I’ll know that too.
The individual number matters.
The trend matters even more.
The Goal Is Staying Out of the Hospital
I’ve spent enough time in hospitals.
If taking a few minutes every morning to check my weight, blood pressure, pulse, body water and swelling gives me a better chance of catching a problem early, those few minutes are absolutely worth it.
Are morning health checks sometimes annoying?
Yep.
Would I occasionally rather just grab a cup of coffee and forget about all of it?
Absolutely.
But I also know the alternative.
A few minutes checking numbers at home sounds a whole lot better than spending several days checking the ceiling from a hospital bed.
So tomorrow morning I’ll do it all again.
Even though today’s numbers were better.
Especially because today’s numbers were better.
I want to know they stay that way.
❤️ Greg’s Take
Yesterday was a little concerning.
Today was encouraging.
But neither day tells the entire story by itself.
That’s what I’m learning from tracking my health every morning.
One bad number doesn’t necessarily mean disaster.
And one good number doesn’t necessarily mean everything is fixed.
It’s the pattern I’m watching.
Today, I’m more comfortable knowing my weight has come back down, my feet look considerably better and most of the signs I was watching are moving in the right direction.
I’ll take that win.
But tomorrow morning, I’ll still step on that scale.
I’ll still check my blood pressure.
I’ll still look at my feet.
And I’ll still write everything down.
Because as much of a pain as this routine can sometimes be, I know which is worse:
Five minutes of morning health checks or another few days in the hospital.
That’s an easy choice.
