WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JUNE 2016

Kat209020215 – IF you are going back a page to read posts and have not saved what you have typed in the yellow box at the end of the last post, this can make you lose what you have typed. You need to save the post if you are going back and forth to answer posts. Then it will give you an hour to ‘edit’ it, ‘add’ to it, or ‘subtract’, or ‘delete’. There will be a black gear that will appear when you run your cursor over the upper right-hand corner of your post – and you have an hour to do any of this. That is one thing that will make you lose what you have typed. IF you are using a laptop with the touchpad turned on, and accidently run your thumb over it, that will also send what you have typed go to Cyberhell, never to be found again. I would suggest you open up a word processing program on your computer and minimize both it and the MFP page, that way you can scroll down and answer any post you want to answer as you come to it; then used the cut and paste feature by cutting what you type in the WPP and paste it the very last day of posting. Make sure you are adding it to the last page. When you come back and hit the gray bell up in the right had corner between the gray bell and gray gear you should get a dropdown screen that will take you directly to the last post you made. Do not read first, read as you come to them. Make sure you have ‘bookmarked’ the page by clicking on the outline of the start so that it will turn yellow. On the last day of the month barbiecat will post a ‘new link’ to take you to the next month. I hope this helps.

Penny – Funny about leaving car in airport parking lot with it unlocked and keys in it. So far, I have not wanted to do that to my cars. I’m trying to come up with a ‘name’ for my Champaign-colored Honda. My last one was named “Bandit” as in “Smoky and the Bandit” TV show. It was ‘smoky’ gray. The one before that had a sign in it “Estate Car” … and since I used some of the money I inherited from my Mother’s Estate finding that little sign (about 4” long and ½“ wide). Put it on the dash in front of the system notifications.

Miriam – I have ‘family’ bipolar disorder. My grandmother and an aunt had it. I was ‘scared’ of my grandmother; my aunt was a distant memory. My Daddy would make sure when she was having an episode that the got whatever treatment was available in the ‘50’s and 60’s. I was put on Lithium and became “Lithium Toxic” (almost killed me in the process) and had to have my kidneys flushed to get it out of my system. MD told husband that I might not survive the treatment; and, DH told him that ‘if I was going to die without the treatment he wanted him to try it'. Now I wear a medic alert necklace and carry a full ‘medical history’ and ‘medication list’ in my pocketbook. When I passed out at the bank on the 12th the EMT said I had had a seizure. I did not even remember how he ‘knew’ that and he lifted up the necklace and told me … 'this is how; and what people who had called the ambulance told him what you had done when you passed out'. He said, because of the top I had on, that her knew it had to be a special necklace and pulled it out. He said that I really needed to get one to wear on my wrist; so I have picked up an order form to buy one. So if I don’t have another one … I’ll be off my ‘driving restriction’ in mid-December. DOS and DDnL#1 are now ‘making’ their 15-year-old get her “learner’s license” so, if necessary, she can be the one “Driving Miss Daisy”. We think the reason she really does not want to drive is because of the two wrecks I have had, the first one, she and little sister were in the car with me; and it was apparent that a seizure caused the wreck. Rolled the car and then ended up on my side of the car. People were right behind us and broke out the back window and got them out. They ended up dragging me out through the sunroof. I don't remember anything until they got me up in the ambulance. I wanted to make sure my granddaughters were 'ok' and I kept telling the EMT that my DDnL#1 was going to be 'mad at me'. This last one, insurance won’t pay for since I have had a seizure disorder for 10 years, Started when I was “Lithium Toxic” and to this day, DH cannot watch any of the ‘medical shows’ if someone has a seizure. He’ll walk out of the room. I had seizures, almost non-stop for 3 weeks.

HOWEVER, Bipolar Disorder does NOT define me, I just happen to have it but it is ‘controlled’ most of the time by medication. Just never again with Lithium. There are a lot of people in my family who probably have it and it has never been diagnosed. I think my DDnL#1 is a ‘classic’ case although she isn't blood-related. I see a lot of myself in her and that is scary. It will take a total mental breakdown and a hospitalization for her to get any treatment; and, even then, I don’t think she would accept that as a diagnosis or medication needed if she listens to the prognosis. She enjoys making me feel ‘stupid’ after have a seizure because it means that I have to depend on someone else. The only thing that it has affected is sometimes I cannot think of a word I want to use. Or I need to type it and let spellcheck give me words if I type in what it sounds like phonetically. For someone to deny a diagnosis only makes it difficult for others to deal with. When asked by my present psychiatrist to try to think back when my symptoms appeared; I told him, for sure when I was “Lithium Toxic”; but I thought it was really when I was a teenager.

Karen in Virginia – I agree with what you said about the shooter; and, the father still denies that he son ‘might’ have been a homosexual. The fact that he was ‘abusive’ towards his wife might have been she was the nearest one he could take out his pent-up frustrations on.

Joyce and barbiecat – When I was driving, my DH was always a ‘front seat passenger driver’. When we go on vacation with the girls we make he sit in the backseat while DOGD drives. She’d rather have me or her step-mom tell her what she ‘needs’ to do (pull over to the left because the right lane is going to be a ‘turn only’ lane and stuff like that). We made her drive around Jacksonville on the Interstate so she’d learn how to drive on a busy one. She’s a good driver, doesn’t touch her cell phone, and usually turns it off. My DDnL#1 scares the HELL out of me with her driving. She will pick up her phone, even in MY car, and she seems to drive too close to the center line.

Paula in NE NC – My C-pap was my ‘saving grace’ … I even use it when I take a nap; or if I feel sleepy during the day. Before I could ‘snore’ in ANY position, so trying to turn me over did nothing. My ‘new’ C-pap machine is so quiet, it is almost hard to believe it is on. I use the ‘wisp’ mask because all the others made me too claustrophobic, felt like someone was holding my nose and mouth shut. The wisp mask only covers your nose; and that part of you face between your nose and lips.

“Cracker”, my dog, is pretty much a ‘Velcro dog’; but, she will go over and ‘talk’ to DH; then he will tell her “Go tell your Mama” and she will come directly to me. She can be sleeping in an unusual position or Louis can comment o here being 'spoiled, stinky rotten' and she'll pop her head up. She always sleeps with her head hanging over the side of her bed. I figure she does that because she had to learn how to find a comfortable position because of having to wear the 'cone of shame'. She’ll get into her bed and/or her ‘crate’ on command, usually walks right at the back of my heel, leash trained ... all of this since we adopted her at 4 months. Since she ran into my son’s truck tire when he was pulling out of the driveway, she has learned to stay away from anything that rolls. He thought he had ‘run over’ her; thankfully, not so – she would not have survived it. Although when he came in and told me, and then I saw DH holding her, I went berserk. We had only had her about a month and I was already ‘in love with her’. I took her to meet the vet on that Sunday afternoon. Bones too soft for a fracture to show up; but, he thought that she had a stress fracture and told me to keep her crated and take her outside on a leash. That did not work. The when she got over that, she stepped on a big thorn; and they had to dig it out, another case of limping, got over that and when she was still limping, too her back, had stubbed her pad, so he cut that off, still limping, so took her back and she had split her toenail and the only thing to do was to remove the nail. Took her back for her re-check … still sometimes favoring that paw, told him that she would run on all 4s until she either saw us or we said something to her; she’d pick it up so I was not sure if she still hurt of if she was ‘playing us’. He put her on an antibiotic and some more pain pills. He said he wanted to do that in case she might be getting an infection from having the toenail taken off. Said she was still having a little pain. So twice daily she gets her meds, same time that I take mine.

Lenora

Anne from WI: I am sorry your daughter has experienced intolerance and hostility. I don't think "gay" is a choice. I think it is biology. I hope your daughter and her partner are happy together. :flowerforyou:

Heather: Your cruise sounds like a great time. Isn't it great to know how really good he is at dancing! :bigsmile:

Barbie: "Be kind, no exceptions" is a very good message.

Linda IA: I think weight lost slowly is more likely to stay off. I lost at a rate of 2-4 pounds a month, and got rid of it all, learned new habits, and found a group of like-minded women. Pretty lucky, in my opinion. :bigsmile:

Gloria: I followed the link to Bragg.com and was immediately listening to a spoken message. DH is in the room and didn't appreciate the noise so I may go back for a listen later on. Thanks for sharing. :flowerforyou:

Kim: I think you must be the best Godmother, ever. I've never had that honor, but I grew up having a God Mother and a God Sister who was a good friend. It was nice while we were young, but we drifted apart in Junior High. She was a cheerleader in a school across town and I was a nerd. :ohwell:

Joyce: Lortab sounds like a diabolical punishment. What does it do? :huh:

Penny: Your comments resonate so well with my experience, although my DH is neither suspicious nor upset about my online friends. (now) He got to meet Rori in person last year when we were visiting DD in Colorado, and he was totally charmed by her. :bigsmile:

Lisa: I like living in a small town near a big city. In my case, Portland, OR is the "big city." From my experience, small town life is not risk free. Bad things happen everywhere. On the other hand, it has nice advantages. I know people, and they know me, even if it is only a causal sort of knowing. I volunteer and that helps me feel connected. I think it is the feeling of connection that makes a big difference in how people treat others.

Karen: I think you have some very good thoughts about the possible inner conflicts of the shooter in Orlando. That level of violence is difficult to understand. The Roseburg, OR Community College shooter was taking medicine to combat mental heath issues. The class of medicines he was taking has been connected with violence elsewhere. Unfortunately for me, I can't remember the name of the medications right this minute but I can't help wondering whether they were a factor in Orlando.

Becca: Thinking about you & your DH today. I hope everything comes out just right.


Yesterday I spent several hours vacuuming and today I need to look after additional housekeeping chores that have been neglected lately. I have a city meeting this evening and pages of material to study before I get there. I like the feeling of connection I get from participating in my town's government as a volunteer. Study first, cleaning second. And that set of priorities is how I get behind in my housekeeping. :embarassed:

Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon

Tibetan proverb: "The secret to living well and long is: Eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure..."

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison

Karen, thanks for sharing your perspective on the Orlando shooting. Your logic makes sense to me.

We walked our 3 miles this morning at 5:45 and it was already muggy. Dave came with me to the gym and walked his second round while I did a lower body workout. No Meloxicam today and so far so good. I'm calling my knee almost healed. We did a new move today: lunges on the treadmill with the incline at 10 and the speed at 1 mph. That was way easier than traditional walking lunges on my knee. The doc told my that working my glutes would strengthen my knee. Who knew? So, we did lots of glute bridges, too.

Off to play bridge. Catch you guys later.

K

Mary Goodie! about the Stronglifts app which I shall download presently!! Getting more & more excited about this. I have upped the weights I am using in Jazzercise to 8lbs without difficulty except for some of the exercises which involve holding the weights away from the body, which are challenging. We do squats, planks, wall-sits, etc., but I look forward to being able to get strong enough to do push ups, chin ups, and eventually my ultimate goal is to be thin enough and strong enough to do pull ups. I have a doorway bar with assists but haven't used it for about 3 years, will need to be sure nothing is dry rotted LOL! Will keep you posted as I progress, thanks for your encouragement.

Concerning what type of diet each of us is following, I am on 1200-1300 calories with goal of >90g protein and <60g net carbs. I really wish there was an adequate protein vegan gluten-free Paleo low carb diet LOL! (I don't think so!) I think I could eat chia seeds, coconut, nuts, avocado, berries, melon, and nonstarchy veggies and that would be about it! That wouldn't quite do it for me.

Vicki in Grand Island I hope you post soon and update us on your arm situation (did you have to have a wider excision?)

Thinking about Becca and her husband.

Heart breaking for Orlando

Karen in Virginia

Good afternoon! I've finally caught up with something like 300 posts. Welcome to all of the newbies!

Someone (Katla?) asked about me setting up a consulting type service to teach folks how to use their computer software. I've done some freelancing with that, as well as teaching at the local community college, but it is all very uncertain and I'm too much of a fraidy cat. I admire Kim for her bravery in being self-employed and single. With no backup, I'd be terrified I'd lose my home if I didn't get enough work.

Heather and Penny - the photos are beautiful!

On Saturday, I drove to Holly Springs (just outside of Charlotte) to attend a celebration for the completion of my son's training for his summer job. It was fun even though I drove four hours to spend two at the cookout! Andrew decided to come back home for a couple of days. He is leaving today to go back to Asheville--probably spending the night with my parents--and starts his "real" first day tomorrow. He's 19 and has a staff of three 18-19-year- old females as his staff. He was asking me how he should handle one of his team who chose to wear sheer pajamas to a staff meeting (the rest were probably in pajamas, too, but he couldn't tell for sure because so many wear shorts and t-shirts for night wear). It was a relaxed atmosphere so pajamas weren't the issue. The issue was that they were sheer. I suggested he meet with all of his team and remind them that modesty is paramount, especially since they will be dealing with younger teenagers all summer. If it happens again, he is going to ask a female chaperone from one of the churches to sit in the room with him while he talks to the young lady one-on-one. He's not really happy that there is not another male on his team. I must say that I thought it was both hilarious and amazing that he said he would tell them, "Modest is hottest!"

As I was reading about some of you fasting, it reminded me that I wanted to share with y'all the experience I had yesterday. I had a medical appointment in Chapel Hill yesterday morning so I ate breakfast before I left home (around 7:30 a.m.). I was sitting in my office talking to someone when suddenly I broke out in a sweat, got flushed, and started shaking badly. It was time to prepare my sandwich for lunch--I wasn't hungry so I was going to take it to job #2--so I did. As I dumped my salad greens into a bowl, I realized I was ravenous. I looked it up and figured out that I had probably had a hypoglycemic incident. It really scared me so I called my doctor's office and they wanted me to be seen quickly. I saw his NP this morning. She was concerned enough that they drew four vials of blood before I left! I really don't want or need another weird thing wrong with me, but I don't want to go through that experience again either!

Becca - I hope hubby's procedure goes without any hiccups!

I'm going to get up and move my body for a few minutes then finish up what I'm working on before I leave for job #2. I hope each and everyone of you have an awesome day!

Carol from NC

jmkmomm wrote: »

Becca, could you Skype or face time with your son who is at home???? I would think that even though he is a great kid, a video phone call from you and Dad would help.

Well, Joyce, our computer does not have skype capabilities. Eldest son works night duty, so he is mostly sleeping during the day, (he is a vampire!) and middle son is on a ship and just can't do internet just emails. If your talking about youngest son well we have no laptop to send him a message via the hospital, when we stay there. We are so not tech savvy but one day we shall be.
Becca

U

So Mondays' drive was OK. I kept my speed at about 50 because it was raining hard. Once I got into Portland, it was dry so life was good. By the time I arrived husband was already in surgery, but then had a nurse come into the room and say that the surgery was not successful. Husband was bummed but he said the doctors would come and talk with us on maybe doing something with a balloon. We got the go ahead to have him order lunch. At about 2 PM the nurse came in with a questioning look on her face saying the doctors had discharge orders for him. Kind of strange to have a patient leave before even explaining what the plan of action is... A doctor finally came in and stated that they wanted to wait a couple of weeks before trying the procedure again, (to let the nick in the bile duct heal). I was in contact with my eldest sister, and when we were doing the checkout paperwork, in she came with her daughter! I haven't seen her since last October, and for a moment I just froze. Then it was all hugs and tears... They were doing stuff in Portland, and were 20 minutes away, so they just dropped by. We visited for about 10-15 minutes then we went our way, and they went theirs. I hope she understood, I just wanted to get husband home and comfortable. Scary driving with him having a bag. And the rush hour traffic was horrible! Took us 1 hr to get to a point before getting on the freeway, that usually takes mere minutes.

So we are home presently, logging in how much bile is in his bag when I empty it. Fashioned a plastic bag over the bag to catch any leakage, (his gown and pad at the hospital was looking like a leopard skin with all the spots on them). So no leakage last night, it worked! Helped him shower this morning, but his incision site where the tube comes out weeps a bit. Went to the store and bought large adhesive pads, (with quilted pads that don't stick to wounds!), and some waterproof larger pads to put over the adhesive pads when he is in the shower. He is the type of guy that showers EVERY morning, and something that makes him feel good, (now that he isn't as yellow with jaundice and not itchy). All in all, not too horrible with the homecare. Thank goodness the fluid doesn't have a scent, or I would be having a hard time with all of this. Bile is a bitter greenish-brown alkaline fluid that aids digestion and is secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. What the doctors neglected to mention was that when you empty the bag you should be drinking twice as much as that in Gateraide because you had dehydrate easily. Of course this was said after 3 days of not doing that. Crazy doctors.

Hugs to all of you that are sending me good thoughts, feeling empowered by all of you.

Oh I have gained about 6 lbs, and husband has lost about 10. The song that was in my head when I was really big, and he was really skinny (pre-liver transplant) was...."Jack Sprat could eat not fat, his wife could eat no lean. But between the both of them, they licked the plates clean". Aaack. I hate that song.

Becca
Oregon

Linda in Iowa ... I will hold me head up without shame and admit to being a Bachelorette and Bachelor fan. And I think Bachelor in Paradise is back this summer. ABC Monday's is me drama night!

Becca so good to get an update, so sorry the procedure didn't work. The bile duct nick has had a siver lining in that the jaundice and itching have temporarily reduced, but I know you are just "over" this. Glad you got to see your sister. Quality, not quantity.

Oh gosh, my eyes are leaking again after watching the Yoga video. It certainly resonated with me, as I am still waiting to lose weight to start some aspects of my life. Truly inspirational, Thank You KJ (Kelly)

Somehow I missed the link to contribute to Pip's Cancer Challenge. Can somebody post it?

Karen in Virginia