Symptoms and snack foods

Prednisone knocks out the fever mechanism, apparently. I guess each of the drugs I take knocks out a different part of my immune system, but I was always able to work up a good fever before. Bah. I feel a little tired, but I can't tell for sure that I have a urinary tract infection. I don't think that's it.

So, what do you think, Koog?

I think my new kidney has twisted again, putting added strain on my host kidneys, which still work a little bit. Of course, I can't tell. It's too early to tell, but if Dr. A. hadn't been in a hurry, if he had listened to me on Wednesday when I reported my symptoms... I could be wrong. I could be completely out of my mind, because I have not reacclimated to the way my body and its systems behave now.

On the other hand, I know how I felt the last time this happened, and this is how it all started. I seriously hope I'm wrong, that I'm overreacting and that there's nothing the matter except a bit of a backache. But why delude myself. I know that without a fully functioning immune system the chances are pretty good that a symptom indicates something going on.

What I know right this minute is that when I lay down, the pain is worse, so I'm sitting up.

Now, while I'm up, I found something that Trader Joe's does not do well: cheese-flavored crunchy snacks that leave orange powder all over your fingers. I saw the legend on the bag 30% Less Fat! and got myself suckered in. Sadly, the contents of the bag miss the fat terribly; also, the orangey powder isn't quite right. This is a snack food that isn't supposed to be good for you, it's supposed to leave you shamelessly licking the powder off your orange fingers.

Frito-Lay does it better. However, TJ's does a remarkable job on hard pretzels. So crunchy and salty! Unlike Utz's, the TJ's pretzels aren't the least bit stale. I've enjoyed them crumbled and dunked in a bowl of tomato soup as a substitute for croutons, and dipped in both mustard and mango chutney. I've also revelled in their crunchy, salty goodness solo.

Now, seriously, I have to sleep. I don't care how much my back hurts, sleep cures all.

before - after