what's the lactaid for?

Well, I'm taking it for my A-fib prescription.

"That's something new per the cardiologist?"

Actually, my nutritionist suggested it. I had an appointment with her yesterday and I ended up missing almost half of it because of a screw-up with my PCP's nurse.

"Yeah. I don't know what that means."

Well, I had a 1 PM with the lab to get blood work done before my meeting with my PCP next week. I've had the appointments set up for months, right? But the lab did not have the orders for which tests to be run. So they contacted the PCP's office upstairs at the VA Center and awaited word. After twenty-five minutes and no response to two queries, they asked me to go speak with the nurse. Fine. So I did. Only the nurse blew me off, too. By that time, it was almost 1:30 and, when the nutritionist popped her head out to see if I was there early, she saw me sitting over on the wrong side and came over to check on me. No worries, she said, get the blood work done. And so I waited... and waited. As the clock approached 1:45, I saw Ms. Barker come out with two people, so I waited until she was alone and went up to her. Her nurse had not even brought it to her attention that the lab didn't have the orders for the blood tests to be done! She got onto it justthatfast, sending them the orders immediately as she sent me down to them before they closed at 2 PM. I was so frazzled by the time that part of my day was done. I was nearly in tears from frustration when I went back up to talk to Elizabeth Carley.

"She's the nutritionist, right?"

Correct. I had looked forward to out meeting, as I needed to talk about the weight gain I've been experiencing the last six weeks or so. It's coincided with a soft puffiness of my abdomen, something I only have when I've been ingesting foods that aggravate my lactose intolerance. That also coincided with Publix changing suppliers for the Sotalol I take for A-fib. APOTEX had been the supplier, and they use sodium stearate and microcrystalline cellulose as filler for the pills. The new source, TEVA USA, uses six fillers: magnesium stearate, corn starch, FD&C Blue No. 2, indigotindisulfonate sodium, povidone K30, and... drum roll, please... lactose monohydrate. I had asked the pharmacy about that, but they assured me I should have no issues.

"And yet..."

And yet, I seem to be having an adverse reaction. When I asked Elizabeth if she thought that could be the problem with my weight gain, she said it was very likely, given that millions of millions of lactose molecules are being given twice a day to the bacteria in my intestines. She suggested that I try taking Lactaid with the Sotalol and monitor what effect that has. She also said I should start getting that Rx through the VA, so I have that on my list of questions for Ms. Barker at that Tuesday appointment. Elizabeth said to also check on the TSH blood results, as my Synthroid might need a dose adjustment. So that's on my list, too.

"Well, at least you have some Lactaid handy for this new experiment."

Yes, I guess. I just hate the thought of having to take those twice a day, as that's how often I take the A-fib meds. Since each Lactaid costs about fifty cents, that means the TEVA USA version of the Sotalol is going to cost me an additional $30 a month, just so I can take it with no lactose intolerance reaction. Very aggravating.

"Don't be counting chickens until they hatch. Give it at least a week before you make any conjectures. And, definitely, talk about the situation with your PCP. You know Ms. Barker is very helpful and attentive to your needs. It helps that she and Elizabeth are both chemistry fans."

I know. That's all very true. Thanks for listening. It's just been a bit frustrating. As I told the nutritionist, I've put back on at least ten pounds, but have made no changes to my food or my exercise. I even had the sheets on which I've been tracking all of that. I told her I was so frustrated about it that I thought I would stop tracking for the rest of the year. And you know what she said?

"I can guess, but why don't you tell me?"

She made me promise to stay with the program and keep tracking. She told me I've come so far since I started with her in 2021 and that I should not give up. So, I promised her I would keep on keeping on.

"Good for you. You hang in there. Today is a new day and you have a new science experiment to conduct."

So I do. One step at a time...