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

bonnets

Chevy, I often think of the friends I have lost, the list grows longer as we grow older. Many are sudden unexpected losses!

Anne, try urgi care or the ER, they can probably get you some help sooner.

I did OK when I was prescribed Cipro, but can't take steroids as they give me tachy! Got the results of both my mammo, had a 3-D one this year , and my leg vein ultrasound. Both were OK! See the breast surgeon tomorrow for my usual check-up. Today I do a Senior Players gig. We have fun with that, put on skits for senior groups and nursing homes in the area. We read our lines, if we had to memorize we wud have no members. I'm playing Sophia in the Golden Girls today!

Was in the 50s yesterday, today back to the 30s and windy. Have lost a lot of our 2 foot of snow from the blizzard.

IllinoisLady

Do your little bit of good where you are;
its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
- Desmond Tutu

ChiSandy

I would take that Cipro horror story with a grain of salt. If you read all the way down, you’ll realize it’s mostly a blog promoting Christianity over medications (especially from the Comments section). The “Mustard Seeds” reference in the url alone is a giveaway. For those of us of other (or no) religions, it’s an automatic turnoff.

Yes, musculoskeletal issues with that class of abx (fluoroquinolones) are a known side effect but not common. You are far likelier to either develop an allergy or a resistant bug. If you have allergies to the other first-line abx for a serious or life-threatening infection you might get, you have to weigh the pros & cons. Every drug has SEs and risks. Even “natural” remedies can be allergens, interact with other life-preserving meds, or have unwanted estrogenic effects. Face it—whenever we get older, there comes a point when you can’t fix one thing without breaking another and need to make a choice about which consequences you’re willing to accept long-term…what problem you consider more important to fix.

IllinoisLady

Sandy, I was wondering about that as I've taken a number of antibiotics ( Cipro twice lately ) and did not have reactions though I know that everyone is different in their responses to drugs. Also, I do try to be cautious with antibiotics since we have a habit of 'wearing' out our drugs by over-use so I always try to do what I can some other way ( over-the-counter ) with sometimes asking the pharmacist to give me possible ideas of what he or she thinks is best for something. Of course, these are easier to solve flares as for something serious I would get a hold of the V.A. or go to their Emergency room. During the day if it is not ( they triage ) a super serious thing you go to the Quik Care area which deals with all the non-emergencies. You are seen much quicker and they are just as good though it is NP's that deal with you. After hours all go directly to the Emergency Room. That system has worked quite well for me.

Wren44

My HMO has put little clinics in several drug stores. It's so nice to run in and let the PA or NP decide if it's necessary to go to urgent care. We also have a consulting nurse via phone. They have appointment times up there sleeves for seeing the PCP in a hurry. The little clinic providers can prescribe a lot of medications and it can save a parent a long wait if an ear infection is suspected.

camillegal

Hi everyone.

I so agree with the whole ER, clinic care and lt's find out what's wrong right away thingy. I don't remember ever utilizing them until all this happened but it's a good thing to go there, and they take tests so fast and get results faster actually. So why not. And too I was never on an Anti-B until all this, well maybe at one or two times, but now it's just a part of everything.

Chevy my story is to long, even for me, let's just suffice it by saying of course it started with back problems after chemo--I did PT and all the chit I was supposed to but viola just got worse so now I wouldn't even wish this on You--oops TMI. And yes steroids work for me, and even keeps my diarrhea away, just like Anti-B's do--my body is getting older and needs more help. Shut up Chevy, I know what u'r thinking And another thing, I bet u'r still wondering why I'm still employed---Well Missy, just so u know--they like me--yes someone does--after all how much damage can I do just answering the phone??? Don't go there Chevy. And yes I know there are so many things and I've done them all, but I think they do forget about me so I stay under the radar. Which is a wise choice in my case.

Jackie I still enjoy u'r everyday sayings but lately there is always someone saying them, I don't see unknown--remember if it's unknown I SAID IT. Maybe u forgot.

OK talk to u later.

IllinoisLady

Each day is a time of great possibilities.Many experiences are before me that will inspire me on my upward path of growth and discovery.Knowing this, I greet each day with enthusiasm.An enthusiastic attitude is an energizing one.When I am enthusiastic, I tap into an inner wellspring of energy that promotes change in my body and in my life.The positive power that is generated by enthusiasm improves my circulation and helps restore health to my body.It stirs up joy within me and calls it forth into expression.Enthusiasm for life brings out the beauty that I was once unable to see. - unattributed

Chevyboy

Aw geez! WHAT is this "utilizing" and then "suffice?"...... Hah! Proud of you girl! And who is "viola" anyway? Is she someone new that I don't know about? Ducky.... YOU know? I think she is hallucinating again....

I'm glad anyway miss Cam, that you can control whatever it is that is wrong with you..... You know, I was talking to the guys building the house across the alley from us.... And I told them about the neighbor.... Old Mrs. Oletsky, that was old when I was little!.... Well she moved out years ago, and they just scraped her house down.... and anyway, she made me mustard-plasters when I moved in here.... (I grew up a block away, and knew her then)...

But back to the mustard-plasters.... THESE guys never HEARD of them....!!! All they knew is Mentholatum.... or Vicks! Hah! And you had to use a WOOL cloth, for the musterd plaster..... So I told them how to make them.... I'll show these "kids" what it USED to be like. Mrs. Oletsky used to grow Cabbage, then make Sauer-kraut in a crock out back of her house! MAN was that stuff strong! And when you got something in your finger, you were supposed to cut a piece of bacon, and tape it over the splinter or whatever, and it would draw it out!! And you had to drink Castor oil.... and Cod liver oil when you were little, so you wouldn't get rickets! GOD.... it's a wonder we even lived to tell it!

And "you've done them all?????" Hah.... I just knew it! And I'll bet you smoked in back of the shed.... too! Right? I wouldn't smoke near school.... Me and my Brother used to pull out those dried hollow dried weeds that grew in the lot next door.... and light one end and "smoke" them! No wonder I have Asthma! Used to cough our heads off, till we fell over!

I'm so glad you are still "working"..... keeps you off the streets. xoxo

IllinoisLady

Okay Cam -- it just so happens that they maybe forgot how to spell your name on this one so they just put unattributed. Shame on them for not giving credit where it is due.

Ah, there are parts to getting older that can be trying. All I can think is I had years to think and prepare for it. Then again, as Chevy and others have so nicely put it -- I feel so much the same as always that I can be many ages ( all younger of course than I actually am ) and I truly FEEL that. My birth certificate implies that I'm 71 at the moment but I feel so far away from that age -- much more agile and lively and smart. I'm smart enough not to attempt a lot of things that would tell me instantly I am fooling myself and just because I may feel 45 or 50 at most -- well, just try some of the stuff like running up and down stairs all day long ( our very first house here had steps to the basement and steps to the upstairs ) like I often did when we first moved here.

But its okay --- the one thing I do know is that as long as I'm here with all of you -- I'm in good company for sure who are the been there and doing that gang. So -- it will all as they say come out in the wash. Got your clothespins ready.

Anneb1149

Mornin all,

I went to my Dr's Physician's Assistant yesterday. I like her, but am still stressed that I couldn't get to the actual Dr. She gave me a referral to a lymphedema specialist, and for regular physical therapy. I asked for a refill of the Percocet, and that's when I started to get PO'd She had to go to my Dr to get him to sign the prescription. If he was available to sign it, why couldn't he see me when no one else was in the waiting room. Secondly, she said he would sign this one, but before he signed another, I would have to see an orthopedic and have an MRI. I think she was surprised when I said that was what I'd be looking to do if I need more. I know a lot of people get addicted to this type of drug,but I had already told her that while the directions say I can take one every 8hrs, I had never taken more than one full one every 24 hrs and usually not more than half a day. Again, if I had seen my own Dr of 25+ yrs, he would have known I wasn't a problem. Plus, the original script was a month old and it was a 10 day supply.

Then the contractor I hired to do my kitchen and garage was supposed to send me a contract a week ago. Foolishly, I gave him a deposit the last time he was here, and never thought to get a receipt. I texted him Mon, and he said he was sorry, he had been sick all weekend. I didn't hear from him again. I called him today and didn't get an answer. I started really stressing and started typing a text to him. Before I finished he called back and said he would email me everything this evening. He was going to send it after work last night, but there had been some kind of reaction to a paint job he did and he was there until 2am fixing it. I really like him, and he had 2 fivestar recommendations on Home Advisor, so I am really praying he comes thru tonight.

I hope everyone has a great day

Anne

ChiSandy

Anne, I used to take half a Norco at bedtime, and my PCP said it was fine. Unfortunately, pharmacies will only fill a 30-day supply based on the doctor’s dosage instructions, which in my case was 15 pills. I wasn’t about to go to the doctor every month for a paper Rx—and neither my MO, shrink nor Bob would write one unless I suffered an injury or was going to have major surgery. So my shrink wrote me a script for generic Xanax, it has refills, and I take half of a .5 mg. to sleep (and if I can’t fall sleep after an hour, the other half plus 1 mg. of melatonin).

I used to take a break during my insomnia episodes to go downstairs, have a bowl or two of cereal & milk, and watch TV or go back on line. Bad idea—turns out that exposure to light, especially the blue light from TV or electronic device screens, too late in the day upsets the body clock. So I now use blue-light-filtering glasses to watch TV or use the computer after 10 pm.

camillegal

Mornin' ladies,

Oh Sandy good idea about the lighting, cuz that's what I do. Hmm I always learn things from u. Not like chit of Chevy's that's 100 yrs old. Anyway that could be one reason I don't sleep well, but I do know I have to have the TV on always, it's a bad habit from many years ago. I turn off the sound when the phone rings. Unfortunately I have passed that habit down to my kids and Joey. I remember when Joey was a baby and my SIL said he will never have a TV on when he goes to sleep. Oh how quickly one gives in. LOL At least he sets it tho.

Thank u Jackie for acknowledging the "unattributed " remark cuz u know how I get. U are always so stable and humble.

Oh Ann how aggravating to be questioned when u really take so little pills. But I know they're really watching that but I also feel that when Drs. think of the patient as a whole and the kind of pain they should not have to think about it. I know that might not be a good map of thinking but it's also what is happening in u'r body. Good luck on u'r remodeling and if he sends out the paperwork u know he's OK with it. I do the phones for electricians and plumbers and remodeling so I know how hectic it can be, but the guys do it pretty well, OK sometimes I don't get the information right <shut up Chevy> which can cause delays, but I usually catch it pretty soon. But quotes are the hardest to get out, I think. Really only one man does that with more work than I thought and people want one ASAP, and it keeps him from working on jobs just doing that. Well anyway, I hope all goes well, u don't need the stress.

Oh I remember those things and my dad used leeches and get this people would bring their babies to my Grandma so she could breath them well??????? She'd make some signs over them and say in Italian some words and breath on them LOL My mom thought she was just plain crazy and told her that was stupid as my dad would find his leeches. LOL <no not on babies> so u see that's where my queerkyness comes from and my spelling too. But in all fairness they have introduced leeches back into medicine again. But actually when u look back so many things worked that seem bazaar today--so who knows. BUT when my dad lived in Italy he said right out of his area was a field of poppies that the women would get all the seeds and make tea from them for the family and he added he lived in a very calm and happy village. They didn't know, or did they????????????? OK now I gave u lots of fodder to go at me and I don't care, cuz u'r older than me and I don't let u forget it. <did I use fodder correctly?> If I did I impress myself, if not who cares.

OK see u later girls.

IllinoisLady

We all have the potential to know balance. Simply to desire balance is to begin to know.We can start with stopping, taking a few deep breaths, and letting the nervous energy drain out of us.We can let our minds become quiet, and we can make a commitment to ourselves to seek the peacefulness of balance wherever we are.We can open our hearts and minds to peacefulness.We can let peacefulness enter through the bottoms of our feet and flow up through our bodies with our breath and aliveness.We can breathe in peacefulness and breathe out agitation. - Anne Wilson Schaef

carolehalston

Welcome back, Cammi! We have missed you. Chevy often disappears, too, as does ducky. The three of you add humor and liveliness.

Sandra, Mike's recovery is miraculous. I so admire both of you. My role of caregiver for my mother helps me to appreciate to a small extent the strain you have experienced.

My mother has signed a contract with a Hospice company that will provide her with additional care and allow her to refuse being shuttled off to the ER every time she has an episode that would put the nursing home at liability risk. The contract can be revoked with a signature. My mother definitely hopes for some more years of enjoyment. She needs a lot of help at this stage, though. She turned 94 in December.

Wishing everyone a good Friday

Chevyboy

Fodder..... Now THERE'S one to ponder! Hah! I remember that Cammi! Yes, those older Italians fell for anything! Husband's family used to blow cigarette smoke on plants, AND us.... to clear up any bugs! And they ate chicken-feet with spaghetti sauce!

And if you ate certain things you would have a "boy".... they said.... Like they knew what they were talking about.... Of course you had to eat it all through your pregnancy, or it wouldn't work. Evidently it didn't..... And THOSE people did not go for you having a girl..... I heard about it often enough.... until I just chalked it all up to ignorance......

Going to the Mass pretty soon.... Oh man, I would rather go get some teeth pulled than go to this Mass.... At least it isn't snowing.... just cold out.

duckyb1

I remember with my first my Italian mother -in-law was an idiot....and that went on for many yezrs...LOL......my father-in-law grew strawberries in his front lawn...(seriously he did), and one day I went out front and while I was sittinng there I said to him.......Those strawberries look good......meaning growing nicely..........I hate f/n strawberries.........well my lunitic mother-in-law jumps up from the step, runs into the lawn, grabs a strawberry and says to me.........EAT THIS, EAT THIS NOW HURRY.........I said "I hate strawberries".......she said .........NO YOU HAVE TO EAT THIS OR THE BABY WILL HAVE A RED BIRTHMARK ON ITS BODY SOMEWHERE"................I looked at her and said "well I'm not eating that strawberry, and hopefully the red one comes on its as where no one but me will see it, and whatever girl he marries"...................she walked in the house and said something in Italian....................LOL

duckyb1

Going to a Garth Brooks concert tomorrow........................yes, yes, yes

MinusTwo

Chevy, Cammi, Ducky !!!!! So good to see you all. Now don't get upset about the order of your names. I just typed them in the order you all reappeared.

Sandra - so glad to get back from vacation & hear your wonderful news about Mike.

duckyb1

Minus........I want to be first in line so from now on call me Abagaile..........LMAO.............

MinusTwo

Well I guess we could list you all in age order, then you'd be first again. No disrespect intended!

BTW - when I was pregnant, my elderly neighbors on each side just knew that my baby would be strangled by the umbilical cord in the womb because I hung clothes on a line outside to dry. Oh I thought those ladies were "old" - at least 50 or 60. So maybe 25 years younger than I am now. Oops.

ChiSandy

Such is the nature of "old wives' tales," which my people call "Bubbe meissers," a term that has been revised to include all the urban myths & legends one needs to check out on Snopes.com before frantically forwarding alarmist e-mails.

It was 80 here by the lake today--sat outside on my deck, coatless and in sandals, drinking a cappuccino and watching the world go by. Decided to walk to Metropolis to buy some more espresso beans. It got so cold so fast at the midpoint of my 1/4-mi-each way walk to & from the coffee shop that I very nearly considered hailing a cab or calling an Uber for the return trip.But I figured that despite my age, how could I justify going to the gym twice a week for strength training and then riding roughly six blocks? So I cowgirl-ed up, bought a logo T-shirt, pulled it on over my long sleeved gauzy peasant blouse and headed back out through the frigid wind. When I got inside my home, I turned on the TV. It was now 51 degrees and dropping...a nearly 30-degree plunge in little over an hour. Switching out those sandals for shoes & socks, wearing my winter jacket and gloves when we go out to dinner tonight. We will be getting down to 39 with icy rain.

Teka

Ducky, an early birthday gift?

You lucky ducky going to a Garth Brooks concert.

Teka

*Oldies and Newbies*

Chevyboy

OMG Teka! YES!!! I remember THAT one too.... !!! I musn't hang the clothes on those clothes lines.... out back..... because the cord would wind around the baby's neck!!!

Never mind about carrying out the basket of clothes all that way!!! And I didn't tell them that one time I just rolled out of the car.... somehow.... didn't get hurt, but that even scared ME!

Yes miss Duckster.... All fruits had a meaning.... especially strawberries! He had strawberries in his LAWN? Did he mow them??? And when I was nursing my first one, I had to go in the bedroom, and cover up.... "It wasn't nice" to do that where others were present!!! Those bitches.

And my milk was not "rich enough".... supposed to be thick & creamier! I felt like a foreigner trying to raise something I knew nothing about. Surprised they even survived.

Minus.... YES! You had better list Ducky first... because of her age and all.... Hah! She has seniority! And I am right behind her... by 2 years... I think. But we don't SOUND old, and God only knows we don't ACT it!

Miss Cam must still be asleep... Or she forgot where she is/was...

We went to that funeral Mass... Got lost.... Went to the wrong church the first time! Now who ELSE would DO that??? shut up Cammi....

We were wondering around in this HUGE empty.... (WAIT..... Yuuuuuuuge) Empty CHURCH! No-one NOwhere!!! Walked around aimlessly.... looking into empty rooms! No funeral no-where!!! Finally, down the hall.... this angel.... I mean woman came out.... and after nearly begging her for help, we were on our way to the correct destination!!! WHO else would DO that????

I was never so glad to get to a funeral in my life! The RIGHT one anyway. Got there just when the hearse was bringing Dennis in.... I thought I'll bet he is laughing about this!

IllinoisLady

The art of contentment is the recognition that the most satisfying and the most dependably refreshing experiences of life lie not in great things but in little. The rarity of happiness among those who achieved much is evidence that achievement is not in itself the assurance of a happy life. The great, like the humble, may have to find their satisfaction in the same plain things.

Edgar A. Collard

camillegal

Good Morning I'm here.

Oh I knew Ducky was going to say something about that being first thing, Minus she always want to be first.

Ducky CONCERT good for u, that should be fun.

Good stuff Teka,

OK Chevy I'll raise u one--my aunt, cousin and I were going to a wake--we walked in and said hello--very cautiously, we didn't seem to know anyone--well we walked in the front and one of us said when did she loose all that weight, my aunt said that's not her, but don't let anyone know we're in the wrong place. As we LOLed walking out--we went to the car and finally found the right one. And unfortunately, there are so many stories, I'm kind of the sane one in my family, almost. Just on my mom's side. My dad side thinks they are all sane, who's going to tell them.

Carole it's so nice to see u. But I'm sorry about u'r mom and all u'r going thru. Did everyone here know u wrote published novels, that always amazed me too. No Chevy not a pamphlet about Coors beer where u worked and had nothing else to do. I'm talking about BOOKS. So just let it go.

Looks like rain today and a lot of it--Sandy batten down the hatches, supposed to be not nice. Don't start any walks today.

Jackie I really liked the quote from yesterday, I try to do that once a day--<shut up Chevy, cuz it's easy to make my mind blank> yes I know it is, that's the wonder of me.

Chevyboy

Yes.... My "book".... Hah! I sent it back to Orlando with Janie, to give to her Sister.... It really WAS a good book.... long but so technical....!!! I really used to be interested in all that stuff, when I was "telling" people about beer, and the family & etc.... My Boss had it hard-bound to give me when I retired! We gave away a few hundred to the distributors & employees, bosses, and even to Pete & his Mom, and to Bill! Bill is 100 this year! DAMN!

So Ducky, we aren't all THAT old... I saw a picture of him on the Internet.... one about his "Birthday celebration" that he did not attend.... It was taken from the back, of him in his wheel-chair, with his head kind of slumped over.... GEEZ I felt so bad! I just want to remember him the way he was when I started work there, in l980... Such a happy, dynamic man! His work ethics really influenced me..... Oh well........

And Cammi! That was sooooooo funny! Yes, Italian Catholic funerals are in a class all their own.... EVERY one who ever KNEW that person, or even knew someone who THOUGHT they knew them, would BE there! Even if they DIDN'T know them personally, if they read their name somewhere, they KNEW them!

And the families would all meet at someone's house, and make TONS of food! And drink till everyone was flat on their backs.... Hah! So it didn't matter if you knew them...

I remember those Masses, or Rosary's from years ago.... You had to kneel until your back broke in half. Even though I was not Catholic, I felt like I should join the rest.... and I could NOT understand a WORD the Priest said! But you had to cry.... You had to feel remorseful.... and sad..... Now I just thank GOD I didn't have to KNEEL for 12 hours.

Wren44

Chevy, You saying everyone who knew the person, etc. made me think of a couple here who attended all major funerals. I don't remember his name, hers was Patsy. They were sort of famous in town. Probably attended for the food, is my guess. When my niece's husband died, the priest (Episcopal) kept trying to persuade her to have it in the chapel rather than the main church. Just before the service, he had us all meet in the chapel. We filled it with just family and needed the main sanctuary. He was in advertising and knew a ton of people.

MinusTwo

And of course there's Stephanie Plum's grandma, who attends every funeral in town. (From the wonderfully funny Janet Evanovitch series)

IllinoisLady

You gals are just too funny. I do love the stories about walking into the funeral house/parlor and finding it is really NOT your friend or family. Maybe I would be thinking God is punishing me for something by allowing me to actually accomplish this idiotic feat. ( Just kidding a bit ), but I do see it as having a great deal of amusement to it.

Cammi, it rained here once and I think may do so again. I get a weekly ( though they send it daily, but it shows like for today and a whole week after ) weather report from a local television station and it is fairly accurate -- though a bit less so sometimes with the succeeding days. Anyway today's rain chance was up at 80% and that is pretty much a sure thing when that high. So, it rained and later the sun came out for awhile, but now it is clouding up again.

Don't mind as we need some rain to help the new drive-way cure a bit more. The two spots on either side of the sidewalk where we park had big white patches ( where even a hard rain couldn't reach ) and so I moved my car this morning to allow my patch to get as wet as it could. Dh was going to work so his was going to be okay. Since the rain didn't last long --- when I came home, I parked over in front of the garage in the hopes if it did rain more --- then my now not quite white patch would get even more curing help.