Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

IllinoisLady

Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow humans. It then appears that we are among the privileged. -Helen Keller

IllinoisLady

Sunny here this a.m. but we could easily see a rain come. Temps. dropped dramatically yesterday evening right about dark with an ominous looking sky but only a few minor drops. At least it was cool. Turned off the air and opened the windows again. I think for a while we can get along without the air on. Hope so.

I did some more gardening chores. Moved some plants out of one big pot and into another as I wanted the pot that stuff was in for something else. Had some ground covers to put in a couple of places as well. Little by little we are getting some organization going in the yard. Still a lot to do, but so far I love the progress.

Glad you like the avatar Sandy. I tried a number of pics for it and the others didn't seem to work well -- but this one is delightful. I haven't learned on Windows 10 how to resize things, or maybe you can't. I couldn't even change fonts on W-10 until I went to Internet Explorer and got out of Microsoft Edge. So, likely some way to do it but I haven't taken the time to figure it out.

Cooler all this week now I think -- so maybe we can work outside a bit more. After Dh working so much for so long we are really behind in details. Hopefully we will get where we need to be.

Hope you all are going to have a wonderful day...………….and good weather too.

Wren44

Your avatar looks like my very first cat. We got her as a kitten and she would retrieve.

carolehalston

Cute kitten! Nothing is more appealing than a kitten or a puppy.

I'm taking a coffee break after cleaning the master bath and our bedroom. I like to leave the house relatively clean when we leave.

Late this afternoon I will drive to the nursing home for their Spring Fling. Families of residents are invited. There will be bands playing in three areas of the home and each of those areas will serve food. DH will not be going with me. I'm taking pity on him this year. I twisted his arm the two previous years. It gets dark late enough now that I will be able to drive home in daylight. My night vision isn't great for driving.

ChiSandy

Prototypical "cooler by the lake" weather today. The burbs got up into the mid-70s, but here we only got to 54. Sometimes I check my computer's Dashboard or my Apple Watch for the temp, but a more reliable thermometer is Stan, the old Polish guy across the street, who likes to sit on his front porch, sip hot tea and smoke a stogie or two whenever it's not raining too hard. If he is bundled up with a lap robe, it's no warmer than the 40s. No lap robe but wool ski cap and winter jacket? 50s. When the ski cap turns into a golf cap and the jacket is open, 60s-low 70s. But when he's clad in his Hawaiian shirt and Bermudas (but still with the golf cap)? 80s.

Wren44

He sounds like a reliable source. Wish I had a neighbor like that.

Today DH was sitting in front of his computer, I think with a cat on his lap. He passed out and fell out of his chair. Scraped his forehead, owie from his glasses on the bridge of his nose, a sore neck and shoulder. Fortunately, he has a doctor's appt tomorrow for something else. This is about the 4th time he's blacked out, and the second that he's fallen. I think they need to do an eeg and a ct scan to rule out tias. I'm trying to get him to let me drive him, but he's a male so it's not a sure thing. His appt is at one clinic and the eeg and ct scan would be at another. I'm sure they won't want him to drive. If I take him, I can also transport between clinics. If he drives to one and they send him to another but won't let him drive, I'll have to take the bus over to retrieve his car. I would have to adjust every single solitary thing since he has long arms and legs. I don't drive his car because all the adjusting takes forever. Wish me luck in the morning.

I'm hoping the crows do their usual thing and wake us up very early since his appt is early.

IllinoisLady

It's been said that to wonder is to begin to understand. Wonder most definitely creates possibilities! Where's your sense of wonder? Have you gotten so bogged down in the minute-to minute "stuff" that life has become dull? Bring forth your curious, creative, sense of wonder and dust if off -- lighten up and wonder about everything! We are all amazing and awesome beings and our world is extraordinary even when days may be dark. A sense of wonder reminds of just how vast the unknown is and how much we have to learn each day.

Beth Burns

IllinoisLady

Wren,

I do wish you luck. I really think you should be along and driving. Men can be so funny about some things. My Dh has grown to prefer that I drive most of the time so no problem for me. I hope the problem can be found and a really good solution. Sounds so scary to just pass out. Sounds like not bad ouwies right now but this 'good' luck could change so time to fix it.

Took Dh for his physical this a.m. He is pretty good for a 79 yr. old. Nothing major at all -- so no new meds. B-12 blood test since he is always sleepy but other than that he's good.

Wren44

I did drive DH to the doctor. He took him off a medication he thinks is responsible and referred him to cardiology. Also did an EKG and blood panel. They checked his heart out when he was in the hospital, so I don't think that's it. He had bypass surgery 29 years ago and has been fine ever since. They only guarantee it for 10-15 years, so he's been really lucky. Of course a total life-style change helped also. I'm hoping it's the medication because that's an easy fix.

IllinoisLady

There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of
themselves, that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet.

Brooke Medicine Eagle

IllinoisLady

Wren -- good news that you got to be in the driver's seat. Like you I hope for the easiest fix to a solution and I do know that meds can do/cause strange reactions. Stunning about the by-pass being fine -- almost double the amt. of usual time. Here's hoping that the issue is nearly solved with skipping the medication and the rest of the road goes gently up-hill.

Worked last night overnight and back again tonight. Whew !!!! Not fond ( never was ) of night work. My system likes to go on overdrive first thing in the morning and that is definitely something of a downer. Relatives of the Dr. I worked for so I felt highly compelled. I have been with them before for brief periods so we do have a relationship. I don't think I'll be needed for too long. Patient is on comfort care so a bit sad and emotionally trying but certainly far more for them.

carolehalston

Much to my surprise, my partner and I won 2nd place in the 2nd flight of the member-member golf tournament. Our prize is a $20 gift certificate for Fresh Market for each of us. I managed to survive the heat, partly thanks to a breeze. Now I'm settled in my chair enjoying the air conditioning. No more golf here in Louisiana until October when we return.

There is lots to do but I'm too tired to do anything constructive this afternoon.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

IllinoisLady

Congrats Carole. Your golf tournaments seems to have good prizes. Age has some great benefits like the sorts of things that satisfy you. Another thing ( though I wouldn't know which was the top of the golf club and which the bottom ) that I'd find delightful is a current book from the Best Seller's List. Restaurant gift certificate, or a couple of certificates for free blizzards from Dairy Queen. Now that is really age -- most of my 'likes' are food. Sigh !! I gripe but truth is I sort of like having reached a space in life where I'm happy to wear comfy shoes rather than stylish and same goes for clothes. Don't need the latest fashions -- just need to be covered up so as to avoid either jail or the massive shock.

Going to miss you when you are in La. but I do know that you usually favor us from you summer place. Don't work too hard getting ready which is a bit easier since you left your house in Mn.? Don't know if I have the abbreviation right.

ChiSandy

Anyone been following the "Laurel/Yanni" online debate (shades of 2015's "The Dress")? When it first made the news on TV, I heard "Yanni," no matter what channel or type of program (news, talk, comedy). The NYTimes today ran an article about it, with an online "tool" to help you determine not just what you heard but when you heard it begin to morph. The tool consisted of a straight line with a slider at midpoint, which was the actual word recorded--you press "play" and move the slider slowly right or left, at which point you are supposed to click another button so that the Times can determine who hears what & when they hear it change. Expecting to hear "Yanni" again, I was flabbergasted to hear "Laurel." I began moving the slider to the right, and at about 2/3 of the way to the right of the spectrum I began to hear the morphing. ("Laurel" is bass-heavy, "Yanni" predominantly treble; it's the proportional loudness of the bass & treble overtones that determine what you hear at first and when you begin to hear it change. I turned the volume down a bit--and this time I got 3/4 of the way to the right when I heard "Laurel" change to "Yanni." (If, with the slider at dead center, you hear "Yanni," then move the slider left till you hear the bass overtones predominate and the word change to "Laurel").

The NYT asked the original poster and confirms that the word is definitely "Laurel:" the guy was looking on www.vocabulary.com for the word for a victor's crown of leaves, and the site had a text-to-speech button on which he clicked, which also produced a visible sound-print. He was intrigued by the waveform and started playing with EQ; and found that a mostly-treble sound had a different waveform. He decided to simulate the name "Yanni" (or "Yanny") by first recording "Yangtze" and then overdubbing "uncanny." He then recorded his "Yanni" over the site's true "Laurel" and posted the result as an experiment to see who would hear what.

As to "The Dress?" In 2015 I was sure I saw white & gold. But back then I still had cataracts, which lend everything a yellowish cast. In 2016 I had the cataracts removed and replaced with colorless lens implants, which allowed me to see blue vividly. So I decided to give it another go. Nope, I still see gold & white. I turned off the "Night Shift" feature in Preferences (which warms up the screen color and suppresses some blue). Still gold & white. Took off my glasses, which block blue light. Nope, still gold & white. And by now we all know the dress was blue & black--its owner said so. Apparently, some of us have fewer blue cones in our retinas. Dang.

So, a little poll, ladies: are you hearing "Laurel" or "Yanni?" And did you see a gold & white or a black & blue dress?

ChiSandy

Just got the notice that CVS has refilled my Rx for 90 capsules of Dexilant--$409. (That's one helluva case of heartburn, but there's no generic available till 2020; and the OTC forms of Prevacid--its precursor--Nexium, or Prilosec just don't cut it, nor do Protonix & its generic version, pantoprazole). Hoping this isn't the script that kicks me into the Part D donut hole again--which would raise the cost to $900 for the next refill (although that might also raise me back up out of it by the end of Nov.).

Bob suggested looking up the price on Canadadrugs.com--$337 for 90. The largest quantity they'll sell us is 270. Of course, that wouldn't count among the $2K+ needed to haul me back up out of the hole. So if my CVS Rx puts me into the hole, I will refill it with CVS one more time in order to be able to climb back out--and use the Canadian stuff next year. Unfortunately, per a consent decree with the U.S. DOJ, the site's going out of business after July 13. The only other drug that I use that would be cheaper from them than my PartD co-pay is Ventolin HFA inhaler--they have a generic version for $20 (my co-pay is $31). Of course, in Italy it's five bucks. I barely use my inhalers--Gordy's asthma is worse than mine and he's already burned through one of the four I brought back from Rome three weeks ago. (Maybe I can have my sister smuggle some more for me when she goes to Rome next month).

OTOH, we can buy ibuprofen, naproxen & antibiotic ointment here OTC. Big deal. Back in the day, I used to buy Tylenol #1 OTC when visiting Canada, but now their pharmacists are asking for photo ID, passport, college transcript, etc. Almost as onerous as trying to buy actual Sudafed here. Besides, I don't want any opioids--however weak--around the house. If I ever need them after surgery, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

carolehalston

Sandy, there may be a manufacturer's coupon for your prescription drug. When I started taking Benicar, there was no generic and I got a cheaper price than I pay for a generic with our insurance. The only stipulation is that you have no government plan. I guess they mean a medicare plan. Now I take the generic.

IllinoisLady

"Instead of cataloguing your flaws, shortcomings, and everything you lack, inspire inner growth by focusing on your gifts, strengths, and yearnings, and devote yourself to making them flourish. The self needs a committed gardener."

-- Peg Streep

ChiSandy

Carole, the coupons cannot be used with any Federally-subsidized insurance--Medicare, Medicaid, V.A., Federal Employees', etc. That is because the pharmacies pay the full cost and are reimbursed by private insurers (with a kickback then paid by the pharmacy to "pharmacy benefits managers" like OptumRx). The law prohibits anyone on gov't plans from using these discount co-pay coupons, and even if one were to try and go 100% out-of-pocket (outside the system) using them, no pharmacy would honor them--both because they could be prosecuted and because nobody would reimburse them adequately even if legal. Most GoodRx coupons' discount prices are higher than most PartD co-pays. And even if you could use them, you'd have to go outside the system--while it doesn't count towards the threshhold for the donut hole, neither does it count towards the out-of-pocket necessary to drag you back out.

What's tremendously unfair is that PartD carriers count not just what you paid out of pocket but they paid too towards the donut hole threshhold--but only your out-of-pocket costs towards the amount necessary to pull you back out. And those latter out-of-pocket costs do not include what you pay outside the system--whether using GoodRx or buying from outside the U.S.; not even what you pay Costco for its own "insurance" for its members. When I first sprained my wrist, my ortho prescribed diclofenac (aka Voltaren) gel. My Part D carrier refused to cover it at all at any price, whether brand or generic. Cash-out-the-door price was anywhere from $60-100 everywhere but Costco, which sells it to members for $33. Tided me over till I could buy it cheaply OTC in Rome. (CanadaDrugs is prohibited from selling it online to Americans because it's OTC there too).

So once you and your Part D carrier together pay more than $3750 you go into the hole. Once you alone have gone out-of-pocket $5000 (up from last year, contrary to the promise to gradually "close up the hole") you are back out, into "catastrophic coverage." But nothing your carrier pays while you're in the hole counts towards the threshhold for emerging from it. Supposedly, it's going away by 2020. Not holding my breath--it hasn't seemed to get smaller since I went on Medicare in 2016, though it was touted to.

And about "catastrophic coverage," where your covered drugs are much, much cheaper? Not so fast. Once your PartD carrier realizes it has to pay much more so you pay much less, drugs suddenly get dropped from the formulary, or more often the carrier drags its feet on approving them until after your new benefits year starts. This happened to me at the end of 2016, when it came time to renew my Flector diclofenac and Lidoderm patches for back pain. Because I was out of the hole, and they were expensive, Lidoderm patches were pulled from the formulary and patients advised to go OTC for the weaker ones; and because the normally $250/mo. co-pay for Flector patches would have dropped to $25, (in)Humana waited till 1/1/17 to approve them, costing me $250 again. I didn't refill that script, which was exactly what they hoped.

I find it absolutely obscene that Medicare can't do what the V.A. and every country's NHS does: use its bulk purchasing power to negotiate lower prices in bulk. It's "baked into" the V.A., but Congress would never amend the law to let Medicare do that, because of who finances election campaigns (despite the bloviating campaign promises of a certaint occupant of the WH, which promise he just broke. Even more liberal lawmakers are merely "urging" drugmakers to compete with each other for lower prices--any amendments to allow Medicare to negotiate would turn off the campaign-donation faucets. Dunno whom I hate more, the NRA or drug companies).

IllinoisLady

Fri, May 18th, 2018 by Leo Vidal

Here Are Options For Mueller Besides Indicting President Trump

189SHARES

FacebookTwitterSubscribeGooglePinterestPrintMailFlipboard

Rudy Giuliani recently went on TV to announce that Robert Mueller assured him that he won't try to indict the president while he remains in office. According to the president's lawyer, "They can't indict. Because if they did, it would be dismissed quickly. There's no precedent for a president being indicted."

Actually, there are many top-notch lawyers and legal scholars who say that a sitting president CAN be indicted. According to George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, "Nothing in the Constitution bars indictment of a sitting president."

Turley is of the opinion that an indictment of Trump would be preferable to an impeachment, but these are not the only two options.

Before discussing the options to indictment, however, it is worth pointing out how the conversation has changed over the past year.

Initially the president's position was he had done nothing wrong. Now they seem to be admitting he did things wrong, it's just that he can't be indicted for his crimes. That is a huge shift in position and shows that the disclosures made over the past year have led to most people believing that Trump in fact did something wrong. This means it is indeed NOT a "witch hunt" but an investigation with real substance.

According to Turley, there is "a long-standing Department of Justice policy that holds that a sitting president can't be indicted."

First, of course, the special counsel has to conclude that there's enough evidence to prove that the President broke the law. If so, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel decides what to do. In 1973 and 2000 they concluded that "an indictment of a sitting president would be too disruptive to the country."

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein doesn't have to follow those opinions, and if he did, Mueller could still go to court to challenge them.

But a better way to handle evidence of a president's crimes might be the "unindicted co-conspirator" approach. This has been used in the past.

This would be used if the special counsel indicts a group of conspirators, says the president was part of the conspiracy but brings no charges against him. A special counsel can always delay an indictment. He could wait until the President leaves office and indict him at a later time.

Of course, there is no requirement that someone be charged or indicted for crimes. The special counsel may decide to simply drop all charges. That's not likely, but is possible. We have to remember we don't know exactly what is in Mueller's files.

Another approach, favored by Turley, is that the special counsel refer the case to Congress for impeachment proceedings. He thinks this would lead to a worse outcome for Trump than an actual indictment. "Trump might actually fare better if he's indicted, and not impeached," he said. "Even if Mueller does not seek an indictment for constitutional reasons, he could easily do so if Trump is removed from office or after the president completes his term. That sequence would work against Trump's interests as a criminal defendant."

The Office of Legal Counsel memos said that "an impeachment proceeding is the only appropriate way to deal with a President while in office."

But Turley thinks an impeachment proceeding would be bad for Trump because it would hurt his chances at a later criminal trial:

"Not only is the criminal process fairer to defendants, the fact of a prior impeachment proceeding can be deadly for a later criminal defense. Faced with an impeachment, a president must decide whether to testify at the risk that anything he says can be used at a later criminal trial. And there's the potential that in the course of impeachment proceedings, otherwise privileged or confidential information could become part of the public record and thus accessible to prosecutors in a later indictment."

"If Democrats regain control of Congress during his presidency, he could face impeachment proceedings during office. Even if he survived impeachment like Bill Clinton, Trump could find himself facing awaiting prosecutors with a ready indictment and detailed knowledge of his defense. The difference would be that his liberty, not just his office, would be at stake."

Giuliani and Trump may think they are smart by saying that Trump can't be indicted, but they are not and it is possible that the lack of an indictment by Mueller will increase Trump's legal jeopardy later on. One thing we know for sure is that Mueller understands every implication of what he is doing and whatever decision he makes will be based on one overriding goal: to find justice.

Di2012

ahhhhhh........don't ya just love those "Pharma Barbie's and Pharma Ken's" that try to sell their drugs to our doctors and make us patients WAIT!

Since my docs and hospital became affiliated with the UW not so much anymore.

RE: JACKIE'S POST

I hope and pray everything written in your post becomes true......love to see that man in handcuffs!

MinusTwo

Jackie - I declined to read your post - not because I do or do not agree, but I think you didn't meant to post it on this thread. Am I right? I thought we'd tried to keep this one free of politics.

ChiSandy

Whoops--methinks the threads may have gotten crossed. Happens to us all. My rant about drug prices may have tended toward the political.

Part deux of the lightbulb saga--wrenched my R shoulder and have sore biceps from trying to extricate the second range-hood lightbulb from its socket. Who is the idiot who decided that using flat-lensed halogen bulbs with pins that need to mate with socket holes and clicked "just so" is preferable to bulbs you can actually grip and twist into a normal socket? I actually had to order a special suction-cup tool from the mfr. for changing these bulbs ($33 each, plus $17 for the tool). And if the tool doesn't work, it fries me no end that I may have to pay for a service call to change a friggin' light bulb!

carolehalston

I went to an interesting musical event last night. The Daughters of the British Empire group in this area held a fundraiser performance by two Celtic musicians in a home in Tchefuncte Estates, a gated upscale subdivision that is only about a mile from my house. I didn't buy a ticket but a friend asked me at the last minute to go with her because her husband had a church retreat.

The musicians were a young woman who played the "fiddle." She is from Boston but a Canadian. The young man is from Portland, Maine, and he played a keyboard. Much of Celtic music is lively and they both did a lot of foot tapping. He also danced during one song that she played alone.

There was a buffet that was varied and interesting with lots of salads. The only meats were salmon (overcooked) and a huge pot of shredded meat that was identified as pulled pork. There was also a wonderful cheese table that led me into some grazing. I've been avoiding cheese on my WW diet and there is hardly a cheese that I don't enjoy. The only dessert in sight was short bread which is a valued pastry with this crowd of Brits. I find it bland and in need of a jam topping. There was a wine bar with a variety of wines

Two of the members of this club are golfers who are members of the same club to which dh and I have members for many years. All in all it was a friendly group and I enjoyed seeing them enjoy the music. I had interesting conversations with a 92 year old woman who still lives alone in a retirement community and with the owners of the home who found each other four years ago when they had lost their spouses and were very lonely.

I agreed to go with some reluctance but it turned out to be more worthwhile of my time than I expected.

LOL on Jackie posting on the wrong thread! I realized that immediately. And she is always so careful not to let politics shade her posts on this thread.

I have to get down to some serious consideration of what to pack up to take to MN. So far I have not a single thing in the cargo trailer that we tow up to Pinehollow Resort.

Wren44

Carole, You've left so many things there that you may not need to pack as much. That would be great, I assume. Reading about your Celtic evening made me realize I completely missed Settende Mai. We live in an area settled by Scandinavians and May 17 is a big holiday with a parade and luncheons, etc. I was feeling so sad about my last art class until the end of Sept that I completely forgot about it. The senior center had a special holiday meal with cold salmon, potatoes, and several things I don't know about (not my heritage).

IllinoisLady

The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.

- Rachel Carson -

IllinoisLady

Minus Two, you are absolutely correct and thank you. We don't post political entries ( extremely light on rare occasions ) here and so I beg forgiveness from all. I am trying too hard to keep up right now and I take full responsibility for my personal error. Been working 12 hours a night while doing a number of hours ( 4 - 5 ) at home and obviously it has affected my ability to 'notice' that I'm not where I meant to be.

Sandy and Carole thank you as well. I'm not a 'night' time person at the best of times and this work is a comfort care situation with someone I know which puts a little more strain there. I tried many yrs. ago to do night shifts and though the work was all right I spent that yr. feeling backward and out of it. I've never done night time work on a consistent basis again. Some people don't come totally alive until after dark and I like to come up with the sun. My best time is early morning thru 2 p.m. and that is where my hardest work and highest enthusiasm can be found.

Again my apologies. I was horrified to see what I had done.

IllinoisLady

I watched " the royal wedding " this morning and it was wonderful. I don't usually get too excited about these things but for some reason ( maybe because Harry is the youngest son of Princess Di ) I was really taken with it. I was wondering were she still alive what Princess Di might have thought and said about it. Especially taken with the song Harry and Meghan chose, " Stand By Me " and wondered about that as well. I don't recall hearing a 'modern' song at William and Kate's wedding. Then again I think I didn't pay as much attention to their wedding as I did this one.

ChiSandy

GAAHHH!!!! Stupid lightbulb tool didn't work—suction cup wouldn't stick to the lens surface (sticks to everything else). Abt wanted $179 for a service call...a week from now. After I regaled them with what I've spent & been through, they knocked the price down to a mere....$119. WTF?? To change a LIGHT BULB??

Went online to my neighborhood blogs and posted for help. Got only one nibble: the guy wants me to download a name-your-price task-swapping app. When I tried, it wanted me to set up an account, including for its own proprietary payment app (not even Zelle, PayPal or Venmo). Sorry, but not gonna give anyone else any personal, bank or cc data.

Whatever happened to teenage boys or handymen who will work for cash?? Hey, you kids—get off my lawn! Guess I’ll just have to cook in the half-dark.

IllinoisLady

Sandy,

Maybe you could get one of those ( don't know what they are really called ) stick-up lights that you just push on when you need it. It doesn't plug in anywhere. Don't know how long they last, but you don't change the light. When it finally craps out you just go get another.

ChiSandy

Nah, I don't like the look of the stick-on lights. Considering what I paid for a designer stove and range hood, a kludge solution like that would be like duct-taping a loose bumper on a Lexus. Or using Sterno if one of my gas burners went on the fritz. I’ve had two nibbles from kids offering to help me, one for free and one for $10. I think I’ll go with the latter, since the fact that he quoted a price tells me he needs the money and values his work.