WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2020
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KetoneKaren wrote: »Vaccinations Soap Box
Just putting this out there for information. Vaccinations recommended for seniors 65 & over and the rationale for each:Flu High-Dose Vaccine: Annually. It contained four times as much flu virus antigen as the "regular" flu vaccine. It prevents flu or ameliorates the severity & helps protect others by way of the "herd effect". If 80% of the population is vaccinated, the other 20% are mostly protected.
Tetanus Vaccine: Every 10 years on general principles; within 5 years if you get cut or step on a nail. Since tetanus (lockjaw) has a very high mortality rate even when treated, this one is a no-brainer. Most seniors can just get the Td, but if you have regular child-care duties, get the Tdap at least once. The "p" stands for Pertussis, or Whooping Cough, and senior citizens are a significant vector in its spread.
Pneumonia Vaccines: Prevnar 13 (the "new" pneumonia shot) and Pneumovax (the "old" pneumonia shot). Once-in-a-lifetime shots for most people. It's often recommended that you get Prevnar 13 first & maybe a year later get the Pneumovax. Prevents Pneumococcal (or Lobar) Pneumonia, a killer in debilitated or predisposed senior citizens. It does not prevent pneumonia caused by anything other than Streptococcus pneumoniae. In other words, it doesn't prevent ordinary community-acquired pneumonia.
Shingles Vaccine Series: The new 2-part series for shingles (Herpes zoster) is recommended as a once-in-a-lifetime vaccine to prevent or ameliorate shingles, and especially post-herpetic neuralgia which can cause a lifetime of pain. It can be given to people who have had shingles, or have had the "old" shingles shot. It can be given regardless of whether a person has had chickenpox. Since it is a live vaccine, if a person is taking immunosuppressant drugs for conditions like Rheumatoid Arthritis or Crohn's, they should talk to their specialists first.
If you travel you may want to get additional immunizations/boosters for diseases like hepatitis A; hepatitis B; measles, mumps, and rubella; meningococcal disease; and varicella (chickenpox), as well as others specific to the region you visit. Immunity wanes as we age, and we may think we are immune to something because we had the childhood disease or have been previously immunized. That isn't always the case. I have had rubella boosters twice as an adult (required because I am in a medical field) because my immunity wanes rather quickly for that particular disease.
Adults have to make up their own minds about whether they want to be immunized or not. If you choose not to get immunizations as an adult, you do have some added responsibility to be very vigilant for the signs & symptoms of communicable disease so you can quarantine yourself if you think you have one. Also, even if you are only a little bit under the weather, avoid contact with immunocompromised individuals and very young babies who have not already had all of their immunizations, because you may be in the prodrome stage of a more serious communicable disease & be contagious without realizing it. Whooping Cough is not as severe in adults as it is in children and may go unrecognized. Influenza is highly communicable & kills people every year; the very old & the very young are the most vulnerable. And although Tetanus (Lockjaw) is not communicable, it is deadly, & diagnosis may be delayed because the doctor might not think of it right away since it is uncommon these days due to a large portion of the population being immunized.
Karen in Virginia
Prior to my husband's accident, I didn't get the flu shot and although I'm sure I had measles in 2016, I didn't think about getting vaccinated for it just in case.
After his accident, while I was sitting in hospital with him, one day they informed me that they were going to give him a flu shot and strongly recommended that if I were going to keep coming in every day to see him, I should get one too. So I did. And we had flu shots again last winter and will this coming winter too.
Then just recently I got the MMR vax and the shingles vax (the one-dose variety as the 2-dose variety is banned in Australia).
We got a whole set of vaccinations in 2012 as we were preparing to travel the world ... tetanus, yellow fever, and the lot. So we'll be due for our next tetanus in 2022.
We want to keep up to date with vaccinations etc. because:
-- with my husband's severe TBI and epilepsy, and multitude of hospital visits, he could be at increased risk of catching something. And because he's not as mobile as he once was, it's harder to shake some of those things.
-- with my husband's situation, I need to remain as healthy as I can.
-- I go to university with thousands of students from all over Asia, so who knows what I'm being exposed to. In fact, I'm a bit concerned about the Coronavirus which you've probably all heard about. My university has issued a statement about it already and quite frankly, I'd rather not attend classes in person next month, but ...
https://www.who.int/westernpacific/emergencies/novel-coronavirus
-- I also take the bus which puts me in close quarters with people who are sneezing and snuffling all over the place.
-- I am allergic to several antibiotics. I'm wearing a medic alert bracelet now to list them and it can be hard for people like my dentist to find one I'm not allergic to. This puts me at risk if I do end up with some sort of infection.
-- I had rheumatic fever as a child which puts me at increased risk around the Streptococcus bacteria ... and with my allergies to antibiotics ...
In addition to vaccines, I also try to do what I can to keep us healthy.
-- Exercise every day
-- Eat a reasonable, fairly well-balanced diet with lots of fruit and veggies
-- Drink water
-- Keep our weight in the normal range or close to it
-- No drinking alcohol or smoking
-- Take vitamins and minerals
-- Get enough sleep (this one I struggle with a bit, but I have upped my sleep from about 6 hours a night to 7 hours a night, most nights)
-- Wash my hands with a basic soap several times a day, like after getting off the bus
-- Staying as far away as I can from anyone who appears to be ill!!
-- Getting regular checkups ... recently, I've had a couple heart tests, I do go for my mammograms regularly especially since they did discover a lump back in 2015 which I had biopsied (benign, thankfully), I see my gynaecologic-oncologist about once a year for a check on my precancer situation, I am trying to go to my dentist fairly regularly, I will be making an appointment to get my skin checked, and so on.
Some other tips:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/27-health-and-nutrition-tips
I want to do what I can to give us both the best chances possible of living a long and reasonably healthy life.
Machka in Oz5 -
The family ask, why more tests. Response - we have to make sure he did not have the flu. We are all still wondering if the industry just wants to continue pushing the flu vaccine to the entire population and not just those at risk. Why would we need to make sure it wasn't the flu when medical issues could have probably filled an entire filing cabinet.
Working in the field of health statistics, I actually do understand why they would want to test for the flu.
Machka in Oz
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stats for the day:
starting to slowww jog
bike ride hm 2 gym, windy- 9.05min, 131mhr, 10.5amph, 1.58mi= 53c
apple watch- 57c
treadmill SLOW jog- 26.08min, 13.04min mi, 127ahr, 140mhr, 4.6-4.8sp, 1incl, 2MI= 221c
apple watch- 265c
bike ride gym 2 dome- 5.45min, 152mhr, 15.4amph, 1.47mi= 55c
apple watch- 50c
bike ride puy 2 sumn station- 16.43min, 145mhr, 10.9amph, 3.03mi= 143c
apple watch- 107c
really slow jog sta 2 wrk- 6.30min, 11.14min mi, 147mhr, .57mi= 75c
apple watch- 67c
jog wrk 2 sta sprinkles- 5.07min, 11.19min mi, 147mhr, .45mi= 57c
apple watch- 64c
bike ride dome 2 hm, rain- 22.19min, 6.9amph, 145mhr, 2.58mi= 194c
apple watch- 145c
total cal 7983 -
Eating healthy - I agree eating healthy is so much more expensive.
Sweeteners vs sugar - I gave up sugar in my coffee about 4 years ago, I tried Stevia but found a bitter aftertaste. I do have a coffee with sugar as a sweet treat once in a while. Other than that I’m not much of a sweet eater.
Allie - I saw the Beach Boys a couple of years ago. Brian wasn’t part of it though. They did play videos in the background of some of their older performances so it was nice.
Lisa - I’m with you, I don’t like cooked fruit and won’t eat pies of any kind.
Baby food - I made my own baby food too, but when my eldest daughter was about 7 or 8 months old my Dad started feeding her off his plate and she refused baby food after that. When my youngest came along I went right to feeding her a very mashed version of whatever we had. I figured it didn’t hurt her sister it wouldn’t hurt her. I also disobeyed doctors and put my girls on whole milk at a 3 months.
Amber - I have read a lot about allowing children to push their plates away. I would encourage that as well, my husband not so much. Of course, we only have the argument when the Grands visit but it’s an argument I hate. Congratulations on the pants, that’s a huge accomplishment.
I had a flu vaccine for the first time this year. I had to have it working in the nursing home. If we go into Outbreak mode we are paid to stay home but not paid if we haven’t been vaccinated. I had a tetanus shot last year, my doctor said the new recommendation is 5 years as they have found 10 isn’t cutting it. I had all my other vaccinations as a child. My doctor told me I need the shingles vaccine now, but I couldn’t afford it, I’ll look into it with my new benefits. I seem to be immune to a lot though because people get things all around me and I don’t catch them.
It’s been a long miserable two weeks at work, my boss is in a foul mood and it is infecting everyone. I hope that the stress she is under clears soon and she is back to her usual self.
The weather has been beautiful this week after our frigid temps last week.
Tracey in Edmonton
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Too adorable!1
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HeyPeachy. We moved from east Cobb up to Peachtree Corners - 25 years ago! We landed there after moving from NJ. We both grew up in Staten Island, moved to NJ for 5 yrs, then hubby transferred down here in 1988.
I hope you have gotten a few more days with your Pom. Cali is also still hanging in there.
Thanks everyone for the different food suggestions. She has such a delicate stomach....I will try the eggs though.
I was getting so confused reading this, u til I realized there were 2 Karen’s, and Peachy wrote my name to ‘speak’ to me! I was reading it, thinking, ‘huh, I used to live in East Cobb, but I don’t have a Pom’. It’s late is my excuse, (12:31), and I’m sticking to that!
Nite all!
Karen in GA6 -
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Rebecca - There must be loads of different singing groups on your island. It would be so great for you to be singing and sharing that blessing with others. It's the best medicine! We love ours and we only stumbled on the classical session by accident! We really went for the Pleasure section, but stayed on to see what the classical was like. I absolutely love all of it. Any kind of singing is worth it, even if it's not quite your style. Just give it a go.
Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx3 -
Rebecca - just in case you might like to find one of those singing groups, here are a couple near you: https://thresholdchoir.org/Whidbey_Island and https://sites.google.com/site/whidbeycommunitychorus/auditions. Both are asking singers to talk to them about joining them. The first one's religion-oriented and the second is secular.
Just saying.
Not that you have to do anything.
Lisa
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morning ladies~
I am up having my tea... and yuck I feel awful.. think im fighting off a cold, after a 10 hr work day today and another 5.5 today.. I think I will just come home do a load of laundry. and relax...3 -
The family ask, why more tests. Response - we have to make sure he did not have the flu. We are all still wondering if the industry just wants to continue pushing the flu vaccine to the entire population and not just those at risk. Why would we need to make sure it wasn't the flu when medical issues could have probably filled an entire filing cabinet.
Working in the field of health statistics, I actually do understand why they would want to test for the flu.
Machka in Oz
Hi Machka.
I understand too. However, testing for it once a day even after brain death is just questionable to me. And, in the States there is way too much lobbying by the pharmaceutical companies. Every new drug is over advertised and pushed here - hm, could it be because we have some of the highest drug prices in the world and the developers want to recoup?
The general opinion of the friends close to the situation is in order to "prove" to everyone, regardless of health, situation, risk, etc., should get the flu shot. If he had the flu he would have been another flu death to add to that statistic. Or maybe it was just another way medical bills are padded here. I am simply glad the family forced the issue and let the poor man's body go.
I am getting closer and closer to the magic number and will one day have to consider additional vaccines. I am grateful every day for my health and am well aware that can change in a heartbeat. And, like many here evaluate their needs, talk to their doctors and make informed decisions of what is best for them.
I haven't seen much on the news about the fires as the trial is taking up news time. Are things getting under control? Hopefully the rain dampened things a bit.2 -
And, in the States there is way too much lobbying by the pharmaceutical companies. Every new drug is over advertised and pushed here
That's true ... I was actually shocked at all the pharmaceutical advertising on TV in the US!!I haven't seen much on the news about the fires as the trial is taking up news time. Are things getting under control? Hopefully the rain dampened things a bit.
Trial?
Most of the fires are under control although some flare up now and then. Some areas are experiencing floods now. That often happens after a fire season.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/bushfire
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-19/australia-bushfire-carnage-from-above/11879534
https://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/floods
Machka in Oz1 -
Top of the mornin to ya! I have a very welcome ME day today as DH left at 7.45am to meet up with his birding pals. Looks like it will be mostly dry today so I think I'll walk to the local shops before lunch, then maybe do some patchwork after lunch. I do relish these 'please yourself' days when I can just follow my whims.
Rebecca & Heather: I do love to sing. I was almost always involved with singing groups until a few years ago. I was having difficulties with my sinuses and throat, and was advised by my doctor that the regular concentrated singing was exacerbating the problem. I still sing quite a lot, but no rehearsals or performances anymore. And I haven't had any problems since. I think it may have been a little stress related, to be honest, as I probably over-rehearsed in my desire not to let people down, especially when I had a solo performance coming up. I was never a professional singer. Just did it because I loved singing, and if people asked me to perform, I did. 😂
Well, gotta go shopping or I won't be back before lunchtime.
☘️ Terri3 -
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Just read through all of the posts for the week!
Vaccines-I get tetanus, had one pneumonia vaccine. Stopped getting flu vaccine a few years ago after I developed hives. Have had one sinus infection since then. Have noticed this year everyone around me at work getting sick with all of the stuff going around. I have dodged all of it. I think eating right (most of the time) and exercise makes a difference.
Diaries-never been much on them. Had one when I was young but lost its allure after a couple of weeks.
May have a bit of snow here today. Going to get shopping done and then settle in to home projects. Want to get an outside walk in today. I am thinking if there is light snow it would be nice to walk then.
Trainer gave me new exercises Monday. Went 4 days this week. During a couple of stressful days at work I found myself thinking "I'll be working out soon." Not only does it help me feel stress relief while exercising but looking forward to it seems to help me mentally chill a bit.
Time to decide on meals for the week. SIL will be making her weekly call soon, then the day begins.
Take care all,
Ginny in Ohio3 -
Finally caught up. Interesting discussions re sweeteners, organic foods. My kids were fed on whatever we were having. DD is vegetarian, since her teens. DS is giving veganism a whirl. DH still loves his meat and veg, plain cooking. Although he does eat more fruit now, he only eats twice a day.
Kate UK 4 -
Morning, afternoon and evening, all... and happy Saturday!
Machka - by trial, SuziQ means the impeachment trial of the president.
Immunizations - I have received the newest, one-time, 2-part shingles vaccine, and when the VA has them available, I also take the pneumonia vaccines. Considering all the garbage that we're still finding in the envrirons of the house, I should probably get my tetanus updated, and will ask to do so the next time I get a VA appointment. I've had pneumonia twice within a couple years of each other some while back, and they top the list as the most miserable I've ever been and still walking. Never had shingles, but have seen people suffer horribly with it. I do not take the flu shot, but I work at home and am seldom around anyone, old young or otherwise. I've not had the flu for more than a decade. I am aware it's a risk, and will have to consider as I age whether I should begin having the flu shot done. The VA gives it to me for free.
The weight is staying steady... which makes me happy. Still staying on the IF, at the moment 16/8. Want to move that to 18/6 or even 20/4, but not ready yet. I will be eventually. The elliptical made it in yesterday, so my husband and I will be putting that together this weekend. Pleased to have it here.
Nice change for us, boring for most:Even more pleased at some news we got earlier in the week. My husband works for some terrific people who own the firm he works for. They're too small to afford a retirement plan, so decided that, for permanent employees, they're going to put together a whole life insurance package. (As a landscaping company, they're very seasonal, so won't be offering it to the seasonal employees).
These incredibly generous people plan to make all the insurance payments, which is VERY cool, and of course, there's life insurance on top of the investment.
It's a huge bonus, and not something we could afford to do ourselves. He plans to work for them until retirement (at 9 years younger than I am, he won't retire for another 12 years), so it should be a tidy sum by the time he quits working.
And... we were going to have to find a new term life insurance policy for him anyway, as at his next birthday, his cost for his current policy will go from $360 a year to more than $4800 a year, as he just turned 50. Now we won't have to! Nice timing.
Last but not least, he had to go for a physical to get the whole life insurance. After having borderline high blood pressure for as long as I've known him, his was 116 over 68 at the physical, and his resting heart rate was 62. He's seriously healthier and happier than I think he's ever been. So pleased.
Have started writing short pieces again, which makes me quite happy, at a website called Medium. It's nice to write because I choose to do so (for those who don't know, my job is writing grants). My subject of choice, my own voice. Feels good to flex it again. It does make money (a whole 16 cents so far, woo-hoo!) so I can't post the link, sorry.
Got some writing to get done...
Love y'all!
Lisa in AR
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I don't think I will ever get caught up but I am trying. Trying to take it easy this morning as I have 2 MRI's this afternoon-brain & elbow. Now to fin some motivation for the day. Have to go to the health center for my weekly weigh in and hopefully some treadmill walking as it's wet outside.
Diaries-I've never owned one & never wanted one.
See you later today.
Marianne-WV6 -
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Burns Night tonight. Don't know where we've put the poem , so DH will have to print it out again. I start up the bagpipe music and he reads the poem 'Address to a Haggis' as we carry the haggis to the table. At the appropriate point in the poem I stab the haggis with a big knife.
I've made the mashed neeps and tatties which just have to be reheated and prepared the tenderstem broccoli. I also make a whisky and chive sauce from the Hairy Bikers. I did all my exercises this morning.
We're having blinis and champagne when they arrive at 6 pm. Chocolate truffles and cherries for dessert. I'm going to use the extremely posh crockery my stepdaughters bought us for Christmas for the blinis and the truffles. It really is over the top, but great fun.
'Wee Jimmy' hats for the men.
My cleaner came this morning, so we are all clean and tidy. I'm still waiting for the Amazon delivery to bring me a table centre bud vase for the gorgeous single red rose I bought yesterday. 'My love is like a red, red rose that's newly sprung in June.....' I looked all through my cupboards, but couldn't find a vase the right size to fit between my table lights on the mirrored tray I bought at Christmas. Amazon to the rescue, but I'm still waiting for it to arrive. I have fresh daffodils on the mantelpiece.
I love doing all this stuff as it's a big part of the pleasure of entertaining for me.
Speak soon. Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx10 -
I just weighed in and the scale said 175.8. Not even 179 or 178, I'LL TAKE IT. I went for a walk instead of the Nu-Step for today. Now to get back to reading.
Marianne
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Allie- It's hard to see when your favorite people get older and what happens to them. I remember seeing Brian Wilson and all the beach boys in the 70's. Glad you got to see him.2
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It's amazing what a good, solid night's sleep can do for both the body and the mind. With everything that's been going on the last couple of weeks, I haven't been sleeping well at all - sometimes only getting a couple hours. Last night I slept straight through the night, no getting up to use the bathroom (normally I'm up at least once), no waking up worrying about how we're going to handle this or that thing, just sleep. That, combined with a good bike workout first thing this morning has me feeling like I could take on the world today. Now I just need to figure out how to hold onto this feeling that everything will work out, we've done alright so far, we can keep doing OK. We'll probably settle for just tackling the basement for today. We've accumulated so much "stuff" over the last 30 years that the basement needs a good purge. So, since nothing's on the agenda for the weekend, seems like a good time to get started.
Have a wonderful weekend ladies!
Janet O - eastern MO8 -
Machka: I’ve been taking every vaccination that comes down the line in order to help protect my husband. He takes some of them but drew the line against the improved shingles vaccine, shingrix, that I took. So far, he hasn’t lived to regret it. My DH has MS and diabetes rather than TBI and Epilepsy. Your words are true for us, too:
“We want to keep up to date with vaccinations etc. because:
-- with my husband's severe TBI and epilepsy, and multitude of hospital visits, he could be at increased risk of catching something. And because he's not as mobile as he once was, it's harder to shake some of those things.
-- with my husband's situation, I need to remain as healthy as I can.”
The healthline article advises us to do the things we are doing. It is encouraging to know we’re on the right track. Thanks for sharing. :flowerforyou:
Allie: Don’t forget Peter Rabbit’s mother’s advice—Drink chamomile tea. I prefer peppermint tea, but they are both good.
Lisa: I’m delighted to hear that you’re writing again. It seems to feed your soul.
Heather: Enjoy Burn’s night. I’ll remind DH. His mom was born in Scotland.
DH got up in the wee hours last night and came downstairs. He is currently sleeping in his favorite chair. He endures quite a bit of pain, and there is no surgical fix. 
Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon
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Machka - The trial mentioned that is consuming the news in the U.S. right now is Trump's impeachment trial in the senate.0
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