Serial Starters
Replies
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hickchic67 wrote: »Am trying to come to terms with the results from my older brother's CT scan he had last week. He has always been as healthy as a horse. Early last year he had a sudden issue with congestive heart failure. That finally worked itself out and he was fine. Then late last year he went to ER thinking he had appendicitis - dr said it was actually stage 4 colon cancer. He had surgery to remove it and started on chemo. All previous scans show the chemo was working. However, the scan last week showed the chemo has stopped working and the cancer has grown and now spread to liver, kidney, lungs, lymph nodes, and even into his skin. The family is devastated. I have always tried to be there for him but right now I feel so incredibly helpless. I dont know what to do for him.
Oh, Kathryn - I'm so sorry about this terrible news.1 -
Kathryn - Such terrible news.
As for what you can do:
Call him every day, and be available to listen to him anytime. This is how you can help.
Is he married? Have children? Does he live far away?
Lana2 -
I agree with Lana and could not have said it better.
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Okay dinner and shower over....
My pcp only works part time and is leaving so she is booked solid but there are "same day" appointments possible I will try for Wednesday......
Will wait for hair to dry before going to sleep - real rat's nest otherwise.
Under Lana's Palm Tree with Miss T. Will bring reading1 -
Woman's day
During apartheid men classified as black had to carry a DOMPAS or an internal passport in order to visit towns or "whites only regions" as part of the Group Areas Act. women didn't carry them but the government wanted to ammend the law so women classified as black would have to carry them as well. The women didn't like that so they marched to the Union Buildings (our version of the white house) in protest. We commemorate the day every year as a reminder that women's rights are important etc. etc.5 -
TUESDAY
Good morning,
Kathryn, I will add to Lana that in fact you have already done "it" you have shown your brother in your actions your support for him. So just 'keep on keepin' on".
Put hot water bottle on Tillie's tummy - to see if it would stop the rumbling. It is quiet this morning, we also had a grass eating outing last night, so we shall see.
Meals are in place, now to walk more and sneak less....
Wave to all who follow, will lurk from work.1 -
Tuesday
Sorry I have been MIA again. I've been checking in to read, but haven't written.
Kathryn, I am sorry to hear about your brother. You are all in my prayers!
I think I'm finally on track after an entire spring/summer of "false starts". I actually made it through yesterday without drinking any pop! The headache has found me and hopefully will pass soon. I am having a bit of coffee this morning, so that should help. Yesterday would have been stellar as far as carbs/sweets go except we had our church's youth group director over for supper which ended up being more carby - and included dessert. Just is. Today will be better. And I will stay away from pop.
My back got kinda snarly over the weekend so saw chiro yesterday and will have my regular monthly massage today. Am doing my stretches and exercises pretty consistently. So, we will see. I asked chiro about talking to regular MD about this. My hesitation is I don't just want pain pills shoved at me. He said due to the chronic nature, he might think about talking to regular MD to see about having further x-rays or MRI to look for any other issues in lower back and hips. The x-ray the chiro did a few years ago on my back/low back didn't show anything - but an MRI might? Or maybe I have a hip issue that is manifesting as back pain? Chiro doesn't really think we will find anything if I go for further testing. So, not sure what to do.
We were supposed to go camping this weekend - in a tent - but the weather is looking rainy. I think we will scrap those plans and look for other things to do. I will still take Thursday and Friday off of work.
Have been looking at houses and found one we love although the yard is almost non-existent which might not work with our big dog - and our kids. And it's a bit over our budget. We could make it work, but I hate to be house poor. Trying to convince hubby we will need to stay put in spite of neighbor and work on really stockpiling $$$ so maybe next summer we can be in a better place to sell our house and have a large enough down payment for something newer/bigger/etc. He just wants to do the deal and not worry about the finances. He says "I'll get an extra job" and I tell him that is not a solution to this issue. He can't work an extra job for the next 30 years!
Better get some work done. And I might need to break down and take some ibuprofen for this headache!
Will lurk from work.
Annie1 -
rsamuelsgold wrote: »Woman's day
During apartheid men classified as black had to carry a DOMPAS or an internal passport in order to visit towns or "whites only regions" as part of the Group Areas Act. women didn't carry them but the government wanted to ammend the law so women classified as black would have to carry them as well. The women didn't like that so they marched to the Union Buildings (our version of the white house) in protest. We commemorate the day every year as a reminder that women's rights are important etc. etc.
Thank you for the description! Hope you have a great day tomorrow!
Lana1 -
Thank you for your words of encouragement. will see if the oncologists try a different chemo & biologic. maybe something new will get it under control.
Lana - he is married and has children, in fact he just got his second granddaughter - the "nibling" I told you about in July. everyone is just devastated. He lives a few hours from me but I have not been able to talk to anyone since they told me about the scan results. They are not answering the phone or emails right now. I have not been able to drive up to see him yet due to work. My plan is to go see him this weekend.
rsamuels - very interesting part of history! I think its impressive it has become a national holiday. Mother's Day is about as close as we have to any holiday for women at all.
Annie - dont feel rushed or pressured into moving. that is a huge monetary commitment. you husband may think its a quick fix to get out of neighborhood but it sounds like it may not improve your lives. i tend to think you have the better plan by saving money to get what you really want. you are right, an extra job is not a long term option. i hope you can reach a solution.
Am on a new start to get all the processed food I have indulged in out of my system and keep it out of future meals. It will be a challenge because at new job, there are no real alternatives to the vending machine if I forget to pack a meal or snack. I have done it before, so I know I can do it again, just have to push myself a bit harder this time.1 -
The head cold is in full force today, but I coaxed myself out of bed to get going and feel a bit better. Now to plan the day's meals....
Annie - look for a sports medicine physician--one who has a physical therapy clinic. Get an MRI to see exactly what parts of your back are in what condition. I did that many years ago; it was very informative.
In the meantime, if you are able, do abdominal exercises, which strengthen the back.
Lana1 -
Thanks, Lana! I am working on ab exercises as prescribed by PT and chiro. I'm doing planks and bridges, but I have admittedly been lax about them. Realizing I must be consistent and build strength - it may do more good than I realize. Stretching is nice but I am understanding the strength may help keep things in line better and make it less apt to getting out of joint.1
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Kathryn - so sorry to hear about your brother... hope they find something that helps....we are all here for you if/ when you need us0
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Hi everyone,
Kathryn, I am sorry to hear about your brother, please keep us posted. My prayers are with you & your family.
Lana, I hope your head cold gets better really quick for you.
So I was only able to walk my dogs once last week. I intended on waking up at 5 am to try an early morning walk but as usual I allowed myself hit the snooze button and didn't wake up until 6. After work walks don't usually go over well but will still try to get at least 30 min in today. We'll see how the evening goes. Not sure why, but I used to get up at 4:30 do a workout on the treadmill at home then get ready for my day but now my body overtakes my mind and I just don't get out of bed until I absolutely have to.
The gym at my work will be going under new management (as of Sept.) & they are increasing (doubling) the membership cost so I am contemplating canceling it and relying on me actually do my workouts in my home gym
I hope everyone has a great evening!
**waves to all**
Saltine1 -
Good evening,
Soon another dog walk, wondering if I should take book again so she can wander /eat grass while on leash.
Hoping I can get dr apt tomorrow. Need some information about an issue. Read too much online....not sure what to do.
I have 5 things to do tomorrow, library, hair cut, Michael's (buy an organizing system for work info), pedicure and with any luck dr apt. 4 out of 5 are good.
Dawn - now you work days again - has your sleep gotten back to "normal"?
Under Lana's Palm Tree with large fan and cold drink. Dog is flirting with cboys again.....
Wishing all a good night1 -
Sara - I'm back to sleeping nights and being alert during the day... for the most part...I have been so tired lately, I've been falling asleep between 8:30pm and 9:30pm..
Which, I used to always be a night owl... so, not sure what to think... especially since I still feel tired in the morning... even if I get up and make myself breakfast...0 -
Tilliesmommy1 wrote: »Good evening,
Soon another dog walk, wondering if I should take book again so she can wander /eat grass while on leash.
Hoping I can get dr apt tomorrow. Need some information about an issue. Read too much online....not sure what to do.
Sara, good luck with the doctor's appointment. I understand about reading too much online - while I find WebMD & others useful, sometimes the conflicting information can be nerve-wracking. I hope you can get some good - and reassuring - info from your doctor.1 -
Weather is beautiful these days - low 80s, no humidity. We have the windows open this evening - love hearing the night sounds and our two cats are busy running from window to window. We're hoping this will tire them out enough to sleep all night instead of waking us up at 2:30....at 4:00....at 5:00....
Good night all.
Tess1 -
Tess- Windows open here as well... very nice evening and days have been nice as well... surprising for August... but, definitely enjoying it...1
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Hello Ladies~~
Sara - I hope you can get an appointment with your doctor. Enjoy all the frills of tomorrow~~
Time to hit the hay here....
Lana1 -
WEDNESDAY
Good morning,
Dog up with paper, I wanted more sleep, but she is on her schedule.... and chicken flavored wet meal was rejected
and I thought she ate everything - luckily I had a beef flavored one. Liverwurst back on tap starting Sunday.
Window open with nice air coming in.
Nail lady can be flexible today, so I will call on the dot at 8 to get an appointment and then rearrange the other to do things.
I know of 2 ladies at work who are much younger than me who are going through their own health problems, I just remembered this as I was getting online - I am just feeling old at the moment.
Dog is done, her meds are taken care of. I will leave window open for a little while longer and then back to ZZZ with any luck.
Wave to all who follow. BBL1 -
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Happy Wednesday (Hump) Day, all!
Weather continues to be gorgeous in DC and it has gotten SO QUIET now that Congress is in recess and lots more people are on vacation. Just a few of us left, with a ton of tourists.
Sara, I appreciate how you feel about health issues at a certain age. I'm 50+ and now when things crop up, they take on a certain urgency where they didn't before (ah, the resiliency of youth!). So know you are in good company here. Hope you are able to see the doctor soon (and have that pedicure- perfect combo!).
BBL,
Tess
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alwaysbloated wrote: »Starting again today. Any tips? I tend to want to over exercise so I can eat more- otherwise I struggle to stay within my calories budget.
Hi alwaysbloated - welcome back! I'm Tess, and I just started posting here a couple of weeks ago.
First, good for you for starting again (or, as I like to think of it, "continuing the journey to health.") I restarted/continued at the beginning of this year and found this particular group of amazing folks helpful for keeping on track. Here's what's worked for me so far, in case it would be helpful to you:
* track everything, every day. Even if it's a "bad" food or exercise day. It helps me see the patterns in what I eat and how certain exercises affect the scale
* I only weigh in once a week, usually Sunday mornings. Whatever the scale says it is, that's what I write down. Sometimes, it's discouraging, like a couple of weeks ago when I had exercised hard during the week and the dang scale hadn't moved an ounce. In that case, it was helpful to review what I ate during the week to see if I could tweak anything. Then I came on this forum to read about other people's lives to get out of my own head.
* Realized that exercise won't solve everything. If I did a ton of exercise but then ate away those points, the scale still wasn't going to move.
* Slow and steady. Targeted 1 pound per week and that's about where my average has been. Lost a lot the first month (11 pounds) but it slowed down right after that to the 1 pound/week average. It adds up and I find myself now wondering how it happened "so quickly" when it wasn't quick at all!
* Portion control. Looking back, I realize I haven't eliminated anything from my diet; just now eat less of it. I love ice cream - I still eat it but now it's 1/2 cup instead of 1+ cup. I have also found that there are foods I don't feel like eating.
* Think about what my body issues are. As I lose weight, people are noticing and commenting. What does that kick up for me?
* Surrounding myself with positive images of people of all sizes, ethnicities doing things in the great outdoors, since nature soothes me. My Instagram is filled with images from #UnlikelyHikers, #OutdoorJournalTour, #NatGeo and others (including cats, because I like cats). Instagram has become the positive place I go to when I'm feeling low.
I don't mean to make it sound easy. It's not - it's been damn hard at times and will be. I just try to forgive myself and move on, keeping an eye on the bigger prize.
Hope some of this helps and I look forward to learning tips from others! Welcome again.
Tess
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Lana - sure hope that head cold clears up soon. summer colds seem to be the worst!
Going to the state fair tomorrow. Anything I get I will be splitting with friends so that will keep calorie count down a smidge. Will try to stick with the healthier options like grilled chicken, corn on the cob, etc. But I do know I will have to get a small shake at the dairy barn - that is a state fair tradition!
Scales this morning show I am down another pound. Yay! Now I hope I dont ruin it with state fair.
*lying on lounge chair, impatiently waiting for Cboys to apply sunscreen*3 -
Kathryn - yay on the weigh in!! Enjoy your food at the State Fair - shake flavor? Massage oil with that sunscreen on your lounge chair?? I will have to give them the evil eye they are being slow today. I will throw things on the ground for them to pick up. I am so rotten sometimes
hehehehe.
Got a dr apt today and will be my last thing to do. Save the best for last ?? Hmmm
Tess you and I are in the same decade and things dont heal as quickly . I see babies falling on their butt knowing that would hurt me..... Just better to be safe with our health. Nice to do list for "alwaysbloated" I need to reread it myself......
Lana - should the cboys bring facial tissues to your door??1 -
Hello all!!!
I am back from vacation. Mom is getting transferred to a rehab hospital near to me tomorrow yay.
I had such a fun time on vacation. We visited hubs' uncle's cottage and it was us, the uncle and aunt and their son and his two kids. We took the kids to this place they could swim the one day and that was neat. I made cookies with the cousin's daughter. Most of the other time we just hung out. I found the cousin super easy to get along with and we spent every evening sitting on the deck just hanging out. I needed that relaxing, fun, easy going, staying up until 3 am drinking and just laughing and being silly. I really needed that after the past few months and especially the last week.
But back to the land of normal. Gotta get mom sorted out and the laundry done and I should get back on the ice. I'm pretty sure no weight was gained on vacation yay1 -
Hello All~~
Sara - I hope you get answers at the doctor today - let us know how it went.
Ali - Glad you had a great vacation. Is your foot the same? Better?
Kathryn - Congratulations on the great weigh in. Go easy at the state fair; the sharing idea sounds good. Add some exercise, and you should be all set.
Tess - that is a wonderful thing you wrote out for "AlwaysB." Keep it on your computer and paste it here for us once in a while. Lots of good advice! Thank you~~
Oh, and enjoy the quiet city. I understand.
Waving to Annie and Dawn and Missy and Samuels and Saltine and ENichols and anyone else who stops by later on.
The Cabana Boys have gotten the notice that we cannot wait until Friday and need a special Happy Hour today. They have zero-calorie drinks and snacks and our favorite lotions at the ready for 5PM. Also, I asked them to get us a bunch of new pool noodles in a rainbow of colors....
*tossing hat and bag on favorite lounge chair for later*
Lana
242.4 today
250.0 highest
185.0 goal2 -
I was just thinking of going to State Fair... ours starts, tomorrow...I do enjoy it... it's just a bit of a drive and tons of temptations.... but, it's always fun to walk around and look at stuff... don't do the rides, anymore.. guess I got too old...
I think I have decided, there is no good weigh in time for me...I weighed myself in the evening and it was lower than the morning (after bathroom break)... but, still higher than I really feel it should be... maybe I'm wrong... or maybe it's time for a new scale?
A friend of mine went to Dr few weeks ago, just to get her thyroid checked and she was dehydrated...I messaged her to see if she was feeling better... turns out, she has several ovarian cysts and has to go to Dr next week to find out what they can do... she is only 30 and has 2 small kids at home... hoping it all goes well for her... definitely not what I expected to hear from her. ..
We got an older Yorkie in, yesterday...her owner had a stroke, so we are boarding her... sadly, she's terrified and has had no socialization.... so, she growls at you, not sure if she's a biter, not pushing it... but, I've been trying to spend some time with her, to see how "aggressive " she truly is... they are discussing euthanasia, because of that word...that drives me crazy, if they're just truly scared... and, it's not the dogs fault, if she was never around people... people don't realize how much they're actually hurting the animals by not socializing them and then it comes to this... so sad
Ok, enough whining..
Have a good afternoon...0 -
Dawn - i haven't ridden rides at any fair since i was a teen. saw a ride come apart once and that did it for me. also the recent tragic accident at the Ohio state fair reinforced my fair ride phobia.
may just need a new scale. mine old one was psycho. gave different weight almost every time you got on it. i usually had to get on it repeatedly & take best 3 out of 5 each morning i weighed myself!
are they just cysts that your friend has? like polycycstic ovaries?
so sad about the yorkie. i put a paragraph in my living will regarding "custody" of my pets should i ever be medically incapacitated.
Tess - i will be printing out your words of wisdom!
Sara - any new news from the doctor's visit?
Ali - sounds like a great vacation! i need one! LOL
good to hear your mother continues to improve!
*waving to all who drop in*
Lana - thanks for whipping those Cboys into shape! *reaching for the blue pool noodle*
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Wednesday
Today is my Friday. Woo hoo! We were supposed to go camping but the weather is going to be pretty rainy. We decided not to go in our tent. Instead, tomorrow the younger kids and I are joining my sister at the county fair to watch my niece ride her horse in the 4-H competition. Will try to be good while I'm there!
Sore from massage yesterday, but it is a good sore. I hope I see improvement now. New bed was delivered today. We bought two new dressers and a new bed frame (headboard, footboard, side rails) from IKEA and this is the first time in our 23 year marriage we have had an actual matching bedroom set. I bought new bedding over the weekend and our room actually looks like a grown-up room! The bed is so high I might need a step-stool to get into it! Hoping it improves my back issues a bit (I know it won't be a cure-all).
Doing so-so with my low-carb diet. I have stayed away from pop (Day 3) but having a hard time with sweets at home since we've had leftover dessert on hand from Monday. That should be gone tonight or I'm going to throw it out!
More drama with drug-dealer neighbor. My husband was outside mowing yesterday and a police officer who patrolled through the neighborhood stopped to talk to him. She stated that the owner of a truck that was sitting in the driveway has a warrant out for his arrest in a neighboring county for drug possession. She asked if my husband could call in to the police when the vehicle left the house so the cops could have a chance to pull it over and arrest the owner. So, last night my dear hubby hopped in one of our vehicles and followed the truck while he called the cops and continued to follow it until he knew the cops had it. But much to our dismay, the truck was back at the house this morning when we got up and we don't see any bookings online that appear to be the guy. We also learned that they did find drugs in that house during the drug raid, including meth, but not enough to arrest anyone. I do not understand that. If a drug, such as meth, is found, how can there "not be enough" to arrest someone? It's illegal! So, my DH is back to talking about moving. He really wants to buy that house even if it's a stretch for us because the cop told him it's so hard to get rid of these people and these drug houses. He felt disheartened after talking with her and after it appears no one got arrested last night.
Hoping I win the Powerball tonight!
Have a good evening,
Annie
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