this is not a journal title

I've been trying to get a good picture of what adjustments your body makes to cope with high altitude, and over what timescale these different adjustments happen. Since I'm not finding this information clearly in one place, I'm needing to piece it together from multiple sources, and I process information better when I actually, y'know, process it, so here's what I'm figuring out.

Problem:

• Same percentage of oxygen, but less overall pressure of it.
  
• Less oxygen in the air means less oxygen present in the lungs.
  
• Lower pressure of oxygen means that what oxygen is there doesn't diffuse from the lungs into the blood as easily.
  
• Less oxygen to many organs, especially your brain.
  
• Less pressure of water vapor, resulting in faster evaporation of sweat.

Response:

• Immediate-2 Days:
  
  • Common symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, headache, feeling sleepy, and unable to sleep. Yes, both drowsiness AND insomnia, both T$ and I have experienced this at times due to altitude. It sucks.
  
  
• 2-5 Days:
  
  • Body responds by breathing faster, which also means you're taking CO_2 out of your blood more quickly, which changes your body's pH balance, which the kidneys try to fix. Increased breathing rate also results in more water loss.
    
  • Body also responds by attempting to pump more volume of blood, so heart beats faster and pulse goes up, heart beats stronger and blood pressure goes up, and more liquid is added to the blood, dehydrating the rest of your body.
    
  • Between these two things (and don't forget that you're also evaporating sweat more quickly due to the lower water vapor pressure), if you're paying attention you will notice that you're always thirsty, and if you stop to think how much water you drank you'll be shocked. Please pay attention and drink LOTS of water.
  
  
• 2-6 Weeks:
  
  • Lungs increase in size to help you take in more oxygen.
    
  • Build additional hemoglobin-containing red blood cells to help you absorb more of the oxygen in your lungs, and carry it to the cells.
    
  • Additional capillaries are grown throughout the body and/or existing arteries/veins/capillaries dilate in diameter to let oxygen get to the cells more readily.

Sources:

• http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_3.htm
  
• http://www.exercisephysiologymd.com/altitude/how-long-does-it-typically-take-to-adjust-to-altitude/
  
• http://www.livestrong.com/article/446093-how-long-does-it-take-to-acclimate-to-elevation-when-running-a-race/

I'm not finding any good info on the cause of the edema (increased fluids causes swelling and/or pressure) which can take place in the lungs (pulmonary edema), brain (cerebral edema), or even the extremities, but my guess is that when the body tries to pump more blood places it just goes overboard.

Originally posted on Dreamwidth. comments there. Comment here or there.

I haven't posted about Kappa in this space in a while (check out her Twitter if you want more near-daily Kappa dosage), so I thought it's time to do so.

Kappa has really warmed up to me. She really loves having me scratch her head. She's fine with me touching her feet and I'm starting to get her used to my bringing nail clippers near her feet. I've been lifting her wings too, and will soon start bringing scissors near her wing to simulate trimming feathers. She's got a strange clip I plan to post a photo of later - ALL her primaries are cut except one in the MIDDLE. Considering that, she flies remarkably well (at a nice 45º angle). She's a bit slower on accepting the harness - she REALLY wants to play with it, and I don't want to let her, so I haven't touched it to her body yet. But I have high hopes that she'll learn to be ok wearing it. It's amazing what she'll put up with from me. ^_^

T$'s starting to learn her body language - he's still really excited to interact with her, and doesn't understand why she's afraid, but he's starting to learn that regardless of *why*, she *is*, and therefore he must move slowly, physically and metaphorically. I'm trying to expose her to him while she's on my shoulder. She's still nervous about new places though, so it's slow going.

Kappa's a good eater - she eats her veggies every day, up to a whole "ice cube" of them. She's picky about her pellets though, and tosses many of the varieties out of her bowl, preferring Natural Gold (which I don't know much about, I should research it, I don't even know the manufacturer). She eats nearly twice what Gabe or Peeper did, despite being only around 97g to their 94 and 75, respectively. I think it's b/c she NEVER stops moving. It's really adorable to watch. ^_^

She enjoys making interesting sounds during the day when she doesn't think we're around to hear. Right now she's imitating a blue jay. Yesterday afternoon/evening she was doing a cardinal. She also started making kissing noises to me when on my shoulder - they're not very good yet, but she's starting. The wolf-whistle seems farther away.

Her favorite toys are the ones she can destroy, from a popsicle stick, to a clam-shell from Birdy Booty. She loves it when I change her toys, but quickly loses interest - like within minutes - before choosing her favorite for the day later.

And that's my update! Late for work!

The treatment went fine.
( Needles and other squickish stuff contained herein, but mostly it's amusing. )

I was discombobulated for work after, and that hand's been feeling tingly all day since - I'm sure it's just psychological, or that I'm holding the arm at a funny angle b/c of the bandaid in the elbow, but I'm glad I requested my left arm rather than my right. I've heard two weeks as the date people start to notice improvement for rheumatoid arthritis. I've also got my next appt in two weeks, March 8. Updates will come.

Jacket Potatoes are something that T$ and I discovered in London this summer, upon the recommendation of someone he knows. The concept is that the potato serves as a jacket for some kind of animal filling, in single-person portions. As such, there are two parts to any jacket potato.

( Baked Potato )

( Filling )

( Combine )