WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JUNE 2016

Good morning! I'm excited for Penny and Heather!

Alison - I know everyone has already said it, but you should have access to your bank accounts and know exactly where all of the money is going. My ex kept me in the dark for most of the years we were married and heaven only knows how much he had stashed away when he left--leaving me with nothing. I also got an allowance like a child.

I've kept up with the reading but haven't really posted. I need to spend some time in my head this weekend to try and figure out why my self-care has become almost non-existent. Although this is time of year that depression usually hits, I don't feel particularly depressed. In some ways I'm really excited because I have my house back to myself again for two months, but I can't seem to shake off the lethargy. I would love to do some of this thinking outdoors, preferably walking, but it is supposed to be near 100 degrees. I hope this is not a sign of the way the summer temps will be!

I spent some time working with a co-worker at the end of my workday yesterday to teach him how to use Microsoft Publisher. He was easy to teach and complimented me several times on what a great teacher I am. It really made me miss my days of teaching basic computer classes at the local community college. It also was a boots to my self-esteem which has taken a beating lately.

Off to get some work done (and to take a walk around the building)!

Carol in NC

Carol not Carik

Eye exam today. This is no longer covered by my medical insurance, so it is "on me." Luckily I can afford it. DH and I have medicare plus supplemental insurance, but the policy doesn't cover routine eye exams for me due to Medicare rules. It covers him because he is diabetic. I wonder if I need to look at a Medicare advantage plan. Generally my health coverage is excellent, so I'll think about it and talk to my retirement system people to learn more. :huh:

I'm thinking about Heather and Penney, today. I hope they have a great time together. I'm also thinking about Becca and her DH. I hope things went very well for them at OHSU yesterday.

KetoneKaren wrote: »

Paulina1230 wrote: »

...my liver enzymes were through the roof 9 months ago. I was actually told a couple of years ago that I had fatty liver, but the doc never told me that it was serious, so fast forward to last august and it has now become cirrhosis and I better do something now. I changed my diet completely....no fat, sugar, or pretty much red meat either, because the liver has to work too hard to digest it and started excersising. It is reversing its self slowly. The horrendous pain is gone and Im not exhausted all the time. The worst symptom was the foggy brain. I really thought I was developing alzheimers, but it is because your body is slowly being choked to death by fat. I finally feel like Im thinking clearly again. Also stay away from sugar because fatty liver make you more susceptible to diabetes. You can turn this around, but it can become dangerous if you ignore it for too long. I was not a drinker so mine was caused strictly because of bad eating habits and being a sloth for most of my life. Its tough to change everything about your life at once, but the alternative was a liver transplant or death. Not much of a choice. Good luck to you and just remember it can be reversed ...

Paulina , Addy Washington.

Paulina Welcome!

To clarify my comments on fatty liver; Paulina is absolutely right, severe fatty liver can lead to cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), which is usually irreversible, although fatty liver itself is reversible. And even people who develop cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) often make new liver cells, the liver being a pretty amazing organ with a lot of capacity for regeneration. My comments were in reference to mild elevation of liver enzymes, the most common manifestation of fatty liver, not a dangerous condition, and totally reversible with fat loss. Mild fatty liver is more of a "wake up" call to do something before more serious problems develop. Sorry if my comments in any way minimized the potential dangers of severe fatty liver disease, a much more serious condition.

Karen in Virginia

Karen thanks for the welcome. I just felt I had to share my story. My first doctor 2 yrs ago casually mentioned, "oh you also have a fatty liver", but never, ever told me how serious it could get or how I could do something to reverse it. He made it sound like it was no big deal. I really never thought about it again till last August when I ended up in the ER doubled over in pain with a softball sized lump where my gallbladder meets the liver. Fortunately for me I work in a medical clinic and one of my favorite doctors took over my care. He had a very honest discussion with me about where I was headed. He made it clear that I may be too far gone for my liver to recover, but if I didnt make changes it would be a for sure bet that I would probably need a transplant in the future or die in a very painful way. In that meeting he told me that I would have to change everything...absolutely everything. What I ate, what I drank, my weight, my fitness, how I thought about food.....everything!!! I decided then and there that I would do everything he told me to do and I would give it my all....Im not ready to die yet. I have managed to lose 80+ pounds and I am now working out almost everyday. I have found out that I am pretty athletic...yay!!! Best of all my liver is better. That softball is still there, but not as hard and does not hurt as much...I have good days and bad, but I can pinpoint the bad days to something I probably ate that my body didn't like. Im learning to listen to my body now. I just feel that if someone is diagnosed with fatty liver the doctors need to be clearer on what the ramifications can be if they do not take care of it. It does not go away if you do not change the circumstances that caused it. I know theres a possibility that Im too late, but so far the results have been positive and Im ever hopeful that what Im doing will be enough.

Cracker is going to the groomer either this weekend or next. Haven’t decided yet. She had to have a toenail removed … now about 3 weeks out. Sometimes she still won’t put the foot down; but, it is usually when we have watched her ‘running’ on all 4. I don’t want to take her in, just to have them call me later and say they can’t do it. We’re going to take her to Louisiana with us in August; so she won’t have to stay ‘crated’ up the entire time. She is good rider; we’ll just have to watch when we go into a restaurant to make sure she is in the shade and that we can see her from where we sit. Never traveled with a pet before. Hope she will behave herself.


Beth near Buffalo – Teenage girls are about the ‘meanest’ they’ll ever be from the Sophomore year through the Senior year. Our DOGD was ‘new’ to school in her Freshman year; and, it was hard on her because most of the kids at this small private academy had grown up together. She joined the cheerleading and dance line, studied hard and got involved in Honor’s Society, was the Junior representative in Homecoming, and was Captain of the cheerleading and dance line in her Senior year. And most important she was the ‘Star Student’ … which mean more to her than anything.

Karen in Virginia – My DYS was pretty athletic; and when he was about 10; the catcher for their Dixie League team got hit by a very ‘fast’ ball and could not catch. So the coach asked if anybody wanted to take his place, nobody wanted to … so he said, ‘I’ll do it’! So a few practice throws later, the coach was impressed and let him catch. The other guy would not play that position even when he got over his broken nose. He enjoyed baseball. One game he hit 3 home run. He had Ray Knight as his coach for 2 years … one of these years is when he had him. He wanted to bat left-handed and Ray wanted him to bat right-handed. All 3 homers were when he batted left-handed, we found out later that he is left-eyed dominant and that is why he wanted to bat left-handed. He could keep his eye on the ball; while I played ‘golf’ in HS never on the team; because I needed left-handed clubs for the same reason. He even enjoyed HS ball; but, had a ‘jerk’ as a coach. He ran down a guy coming into home, when the coach was screaming at him to ‘throw’ the ball to the first base. He did not want for this guy to score; so they one he game instead of tying it. He pulled him over by his catcher’s helmet and literally ‘cussed him out’ in front of everybody. The parents were ‘livid’. After that the coach would not play him but, maybe one inning. We had bought him all the catcher’s equipment because the school’s equipment was not very good and out of date wherein the throat pad was on his and not on the school’s. When he wasn’t playing and they put in one of the younger guys, he’d ‘sit’ on his equipment and not allow him to use it. One of the neighbor’s boys was also a catcher, and he would allow him to use it. Whenever he got called out he wanted him to give the equipment to the younger boy; and, he’d come into the bull pen and throw out the school’s equipment. This coach made his year totally no longer fun; and, ‘if’ he had played him, there would have been little doubt that he could have gotten a college scholarship. He did not play his Senior year because of him. During his Senior year this guy was sitting in Krispy Kreme and some guy came him and beat the daylights out of him. Everybody in town thought he probably ‘asked’ for it – being ugly to this ‘homeless’ man.

I had a friend, who worked part-time. She gave her check to her husband; who put ½ of it in a savings account for her; and the other half she had to buy groceries and clothes and anything else she wanted out of it. She cooked a meal for them ‘every’ night. She agreed that she had that ‘nickel burning a hole in her pocket’ personality if he did not do this. Both DH and I have joint checking accounts; he is on one; my DOS is on the other We also don't bank at the same institution. Told my DOS that ‘if’ DDnL#1 ever wanted to add him to her account; he’d have to come off mine before going on hers. She can’t keep a bank account ‘straight’ for any reason, mainly because she doesn't post her debit card purchases until much later - usually they are in the car, which is always a mess; then she cannot understand why checks bounce. I should not talk, the bank shows that I have $160 in my account that I don’t show in my register … I got 3 months of statements from the bank and compared them to my register. All checks and deposits are the same. Gee, I don’t know what is going on. So next month, If I don’t balance, I am going to the bank to see if a check or checks have not cleared … as far back as they can go. I hate not being able to balance my account, to the penny, every month. GGGggggrrrrrrr!!!!! While we are both on the other’s account; we never use it unless we get permission to do so first. I pay certain bills; and he pays some.

Becca – Hope everything went ‘ok’ with your husband’s surgery.

Paulina and others with liver problems – The liver is an amazing organ insofar as a portion of it can be removed and it will regenerate and grow back; but, only if you get it into a healthy condition. Not eating certain foods, not drinking on a daily basis, and getting your overall weight into a ‘normal’ range and exercising and drinking a lot of water. My boss was going to have a liver transplant until during their pre-op they found he had a ‘heart murmur’ that he had been born with but had not corrected itself like they sometimes do. He drank every day (a mixed drink when he got home). Had another boss; whose son was a pure alcoholic; but he got a liver transplant, obeyed the MD’s instructions for a couple of years; and, then went back to drinking and ended up getting another liver. Why they gave one to him buffalos me; especially when he did not ‘obey’ the MD in the first place. I think that was the first time that I really realized that ‘money talks; and, *kitten* walks’.

Lenora

barbie what a special honor for your friend. Hope she enjoys it and recognizes what a gift she gave to you and that you are now passing that on to others. NYKAREN

tryingtolive1 wrote: »

Mary great to see you back and in a good place physically. Always an inspiration.

Welcome to all the new members. This is a great group of ladies.

Pip thinking of buying a bike any recommendations. Budget wise max I can spend is $200. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Becca my thoughts have been with you and your DH today.

Love to hear about everyones success. Keeps me motivated to make good decisions. I think maintenance has been tougher on me than I thought it would be.

Anne from Wisconsin

I will respond to your question after work when I get home

Heather and Penny- You two look fantastic! It is so nice that you could meet. It's sounds like you had a very nice time.



Mary from Minnesota

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Heather and Penny you two look faaaaaaaabulous! I want to see your workouts and your sightseeing.

evening ladies~
Penny and Heather~ you look mavvvvvulous..... and both look so happy...
Carol(Peach) reason for 2 fridge , my dad and dan have one that is side by side and not really enough room for there stuff.. I found there's on the side of the road in someones driveway for free.. my dad payed the 80.00 for the 2 veggie drawers it was missing..
yes I am worried about both Becca and her hubby and Sylvia.. hopefully we hear from someone soon..
Have the weekend off..

Lagopus wrote: »

Hi ladies!

May I begin with just a single picture?


/Penny at the North Pole

Wow! You two look great. Thank you so much for sharing the picture. :bigsmile:

Heather and Penny thank you for sharing. What a fun picture!

Went for my annual checkup yesterday and got a nice suprise. My bone density scan last November showed I had increased my bone density since the scan 2 years ago. Not on any pills to do this. We talked a bit about it and the only thing she could guess was my high vitimin D and calcium dosage helps and that I now keep moving. I do not lift weights (only heavy landscaping rocks) or work out, I just keep busy with projects and activities around the house that need to be done.

Previously had a very stressful job with most of my time spent sitting. That job was literally killing me. Since I retired I have been able to do more things than sit it a car in traffic and sit in meetings all day. She also noted that my blood pressure was excellent compared to what it was while I was working. I knew retirement would help lower my blood pressure.

A private downer for me was she didn't comment on my weight loss. Then again, she never talks about my weight. She hints by asking if I eat out a lot or eat a lot of processed food. (No to both questions) But never comes out and talks about it directly. So I decided to not mention my weight loss either.

Wait till we see each other next year...that will get her attention.

Charleen in Colorado (Seriously...turn down the heat outside!)