For Older People with Sense

Leah_S

Barbe, will you be admitted the night before? If you are, ask them to put the IV in when you get there so you're hydrated. That should help. Best of luck with the pacemaker surgery.

3jays, I hope the infection is under control. How often (in general, not now with the infection) do you need IVs and blood draws? If it's often enough you might want to ask for a port. Sounds strange when you're not getting chemo, but sometimes you have to do things differently.

Leah

gardengumby

Barbe, they often have a terrible time getting blood out of me and/or IV's in.  On occasion they've used veins in my feet - so that could be an option as well.

Hauntie

Barbe - I've used my BC side for blood draws and IVs. I try not to, but sometimes it just can't be avoided. I've also had them draw blood from my foot. This last stay, the IV was in for 2 days on that side. My BS isn't terribly concerned about IVs on that side. She told me that years and years ago, they actually used to administer the chemo on whatever side the BC was. Blood pressure is another matter. You have to remind them about that. Even with a sign posted, I had to remind every aide, that came in, not to use my right arm. I was ready to write, in permenant ink, NO BP THIS ARM!!! They took my BP around my ankle, which I don't think gave them the most accurate reading. It was sky high and I don't have high BP. I'm on a low dose of BP meds until I see my PC later this week.

chrissyb

Yay Linda!!!   Good to hear that you are through and doing well.  Wow! 12lb weight gain due to surgery!  Most people go the other way but never mind, it will be gone in no time as well as a lot more besides......lol......you won't know the person looking at you in the mirror.  

I hear you on the no BP on the bad arm and having to remind all the nursing staff everytime!  When I had my knee replacement I did write in permanent marker 'NO BP, NO PRICKS' I got some funny comments but I also knew it was so unusual for someone to do that that they actually read it and heeded it........lol.  BP can go up high after surgery but it can also go very low........sure hope you don't need to take the meds for too long.

3jays oh damn girl!  In hospital for four days!  You amaze me the way you just keep plodding on with all the problems that seem to not want to let you go.  Sure hope your doc gets a handle on this latest infection.  Rest up girl.....you deserve it.

Leah so glad that you have finally got your date for surgery!  WooHoo!!!! 

Nancy has there been an improvement with your breathing?  Sure hope so.

Barbe did you find out what was causing the dizziness?  Was it an drug interaction?  Sure hope you are feeling better.

Isabella is there any news of your surgery yet?  Man they are taking their sweet time on rescheduling you.  So sorry to hear about you little dog........yeah I hate it too when you lose a pet that has been so loyal for so long.

Sorry I've been a bit slack of late but I had some pretty bad news about two weeks ago.  A young man whom I had in my cub scout group many years ago and was a friend of my sons had disappeared with his wife.  Unfortunately they found them both murdered.  May God rest their souls.  They have charged a man with their deaths thank goodness but the whole incident threw me for a bit of a loop.   

Love n hugs.   Chrissy 

Leah_S

Chrissy, I am so sorry to hear about the young man and his wife. So very tragic.

Lynda, BP in the leg is always higher than in the arm. Since my surgery will put me at risk for LE on my other arm (and already have it on the BC side)I went into my local clinic and asked to have it done on my arm & leg so we could check for that and have it for reference in the future. It was 115/60 on my arm, 130/70 on my leg when done one after the other. I think when I go into the hospital for the surgery I'll ask the nurse to do it that way before surgery and note it on my chart.

Leah

purple32

Hauntie

You are so right.

I had a friend who passed from melanoma ( 45 yrs young).  She eventually had brain damage so her sister had a HUGE sign up over her bed that read :  " NO BP LEFT ARM"  yet they still took it !  can you imagine ? Her sister was always advocating for her. Sad story.

Thank God we can speak up for ourselves.

Good Luck barbe!

(((HUGS)))

Kaara

Chrissy:  So sorry to hear about your friends...how tragic.

3Jays:  Sending you positive healing energy and praying that  your infections clear soon.

Barbe:  Good luck with your pacemaker surgery..my BF's son had a small defib installed to keep him from going into cardiac arrest (he's only 30) because he was born with a heart condition.  It's been working very well for him and has saved him from taking multiple meds.

I'm going over the mountain today to visit with some girlfriends for a few days..expect to have a great time.

Have a good rest of the week everyone! 

barbe1958

Chrissy, I'm speechless!!! What a horrid tragedy. Words can't mean a thing at a time like this. May God be with their families....

Lynda, your BP will be high if you're in pain and you did say that you were in more pain than you expected. How are you feeling now? The 12 pounds is water gain, so that should go fast. Your body holds onto water when you go under general anaesthetic. In fact, for my pacemaker surgery, they won't be putting me under with a general! Probably for that reason as it's a 2 hour procedure. I will be 'twilight'. I go in at 7 am and have sent the centre an email requesting an IV be put in immediately or at least I go in first. Crossing fingers....

Kaara, what mountains are in Coral Springs? I have no idea of Florida geography. Or are you in NC now for the summer? 

I have a BRIGHT FUSCIA wrist band that I got from a company in the USA that says, no sticks or BP on this arm. It gets noticed when I wear it. I must rememeber to get it from the glove compartment. I put it there as I usually remember it on my way to the hospital!! 

3jays, some day you and I will probably MEET in a hospital!! hehehehehehe The odds are getting better and better! You are always in my prayers. 

Kaara

Barbe:  LOL!  The only mountain near Coral Springs Fl is the garbage dump; otherwise, flat as a pancake!  We're in NC for the summer.

gardengumby

Chrissy - so sorry to hear about your friends.

Anonymous

Say prayers and send hugs to 3jays.   Talked to her tonight and since her visit to the hospital where they were going to do IV antibiotice to try to clear up her UTI which had gone into a bladder infection and all the other places she has infections going on, forget what all she said eyes, skin, you name it , ended in disaster,  they have her taking Kelfex at home at a lot higher than regular dosage.   Anyway, she is having a rough time of it and is just really really down.   I just wish there was something I could do or say to cheer her up.   She is just really getting sick or this.....as she said in her post sick of being sick. She's thinking maybe a port is the way to go, although no one has suggested that to her yet.   

Leah_S

Marybe, do you have an address for 3jays? Maybe she would appreciate a card shower?

3jays, you listening? That roar is all the love I'm sending your way.

Leah

chabba

Love you 3jays.  Hugs and prayers surround you.

QCA

Many prayers and many hugs to you, 3jays!

Kathy

chrissyb

Awe 3jays love coming to you from down under!  Sure hope those infections get gone soon.

Still trying to stay warm here.....please send me some of your sunshine!.....temperature is hovering around the gigh 40's to low 50's and these old bones have really had enough and are looking forward to some sunshine and warmth.......puleeese!......lol.

Oh well, back to the knitting.....I've finished one pullover and am two thirds through the second.  Hopefully another week and it will be done and I'll have to go through the wool stash and figure out another project.

Stay cool all!

Love n hugs.  Chrissy 

3jaysmom

hi gals : marybe does have my address,and she'll give it to anyone who wants it here.. you can reach e at 3jaysmom@gmail: also..

  tommorrow i have the ultrasound they couldn't get done in the hospital (jerks) and then, ithink it'll be the main hosptal for me.im just hoping they have wii fii.. the branch hospital didn't.. im very weak, and they think they've depleted my potassium, now.. things don't look good from where i sit..

  i  got some advise from Kira on the le thread, and she validated what i was thinking.. im going to let therm stick the lesser of the arms, for ivs . cardiac myopathy is a se from central line, and with the way things are going, id better not chance it.. so, tommorrow or ther next day will tell the tale. Marybe is right, thisis the lowest i've been in a long time. im not sure my body is strong enough to fight all the systemic infections i have got going right now.. i am going to talk to the dr who put in y port before. t would be the easest way to get the anti bs in me.. but, we don't know how long term i'll need it, and they don't like it for short term. however, this has been on off for a yr, so i think it qualifies..

  we'll see.. that dr will see me in the hospital, an d he's a whiz at ports. they call hi the king of ports, so at least he'll be good at it, for sre.. it seems to make the most sense.. even though it comes with its own set of troubles..

  chrissy, iam soo sorry about yur friends!!i don't even have words, its so awful... take care, y lovey, and all of yiu knw i love and appreciate all your support....3jays

3jaysmom

chrissy...from 3jays

purple32

3jay

Your potassium depletion could well be a MAJOR contributing factor to feeling down...bsides the natural discouragement.

Once the IV kicks in, I hope you improve greatly.

AFTER THAT, ask your dr about regular electrolyte supplment  with POWERADE ZERO and a daily banana at home ( Gatorade has waaaaay too much sugar.)

Worked like a  CHARM for my stage 4 husband !  (NED now btw)

There is lots of hope.

 Best wishes and ....

(((HUGS  TO YOU)))

macatacmv

3 jays,  my heart breaks for you and all you're going through. I'm praying those anti b s get going through out your system and nail those infections to the wall! Please keep us posted as you can. 

Chrissy, I am so sorry for your loss. I just don't understand how humans can treat each other so cruelly. It doesn't make sense and drives me crazy when I try to make it make sense. I hope your heart is healing.

Barbe, hope you are feeling better. Pacemaker is in, right?

Lynda, how's the adjustment period going?

I saw my PCP on Tuesday. The nurse took my oxygen level and it was low. Then she did my BP and it was very high, so she says here let me use this other cuff, and took it again with the other cuff and it was much lower. So is that kinda like using the scale at the Y (gym) that is set low so everyone feels like they are losing weight? I'll see what they say at my MO appt on monday. Last time I was there they wrote down hypertensive on my chart. I try to tell them it's the walking and talking at the same time that gets me into trouble.

Anyway, they are starting me on another neulizer med to use after I use the med I am using now. So just more meds. No more testing. They want me to try this for two weeks and then call them again.  Anyway I just picked the new med up, the pharmacy had to order it. So I'll let you guys know if anything changes. 

Hugs to all (even if I don't mention you by name!) 

Nancy 

purple32

Good Luck on the new meds, macatac.

Feel free to PM me, if you want the inside scoop on any of the breathing meds or O2 sat levels, tho' I am guessing at this point, you are just plain getting tired of all this.

Hope things turn around soon.

Take Care!

Kaara

3jays:  So sorry you're having to go through this right now.  I would certainly push for the port. It will make it so much easier to give you the IV's that you need to clear the infections and there will be less chance of additional infections.

Sending you prayers and healing energy! 

QCA

3jays, I'm so glad to see you post even if not the best of news.  So very sorry you're going through all this s**t and hope they'll put in a port so you can get the anti-b's in for the UTI.  Knocking out the UTI should make you feel a lot better so tell the king of ports to get off his duff and do it!  Always, hugs and prayers to you, my friend.

Mac, I hope the new meds will help you and make a positive change!

Chrissy, I am so sorry about your friends.  How unspeakably senseless!  We recently had a triple murder right here in our county that left us reeling, and as in the case with your friends someone has been arrested. My DH had hired the wife of one of the victims for her job almost 30 years ago so we knew her well, and went to her husband's funeral.  Horrible.

Barbe, hope you're recovering by today.

Hugs and prayers to all,

Kathy

barbe1958

QCA, thanks for asking. I took off most of the dressing yesterday and the final bit last night. It felt SO much better without the huge bands of adhesive pulling at my skin and irritating it. But today it's still a dull ache. I don't know how older people do this, or if it's my Fibromyalgia reacting to the rather large (!) disk now tight against my chest wall just under my clavicle? I think it was the surgeon pressing down on my clavicle that hurt so much during the procedure. The bone is VERY tender...

Leah_S

Oh, Barbe, feel better soon.

Leah

Kaara

Barbe:  It will be tender and sensitive for a while...my BF's youngest son went through the same thing when he had his defib implanted.  It bothered him for about a month until his surrounding tissue adjusted.

Sending you healing energy! 

QCA

Barbe, I'm so sorry you're hurting.  Hope the next few days will bring much improvement, and hope you have X-tra strong meds if you need them!  This too shall pass.

The weather is stifling and right now I envy the colder temps those of you in Australia and NZ are having.  The old expression about it's not the heat but the humidity is true, because I feel hotter now than when the temp was 100+F.  Just sooo humid.  I don't see how people with no A/C in their cars can be out at all, but they are.  Guess I've gotten soft!

Hope all have a great weekend, and hugs to all.

Kathy

barbe1958

Thanks for the well wishes ladies, my family doesn't seem to be passing them to me lately. My DH and I have no idea what is going on, but if you knew your Mom was getting a pacemaker, wouldn't you go visit her???? Feeling a bit weepy and forgotten over here, thank God for the boards!

A month, I can handle a month of pain. My chest is just so boney without breast fat and the disk (double chambered) is much bigger than I thought, but guys would deal with the same thing, so I can too. I remember bitching to my surgeon about the seat belt riding too high on my neck when I lost my breasts that used to anchor the belt down. He calmly said that there were many short men out there dealing with it just fine.  

Kaara

Barbe:  So sorry your kids didn't come through...some of mine hate hospitals so much that they just would rather wait until I got home to come and see me.  They have no idea how much they can hurt your feelings.  They can be brats sometimes!

Hang in there and keep thinking positive thoughts!  We're all here for you! 

Wilsie2

I went to MD Anderson for 2nd opinion on treatment and was quite satisfied.  I like the professional way everything was handled, never had to wait long for a return phone call, and it filled the need I had that I was getting the right treatment.  And I know that they are only a phone call away if I want to go back.

purple32

Barbe

  said :"but if you knew your Mom was getting a pacemaker, wouldn't you go visit her????"

My grown up kids reactd very badly when my husband ( who has been a GREAT father to them) was DX with his cancer in 2009.  We were so very hurt, and they seemed terribly insensitive. We just couldnt understand.

Later, much later- we realized the denial they were going through. It was just so much easier fo them not to face "it" , if  they didnt face him.

I can't pretend to know what's up with your kids, but it just might be something similar ( OR they may come around in short order!)

Just saying that I know how much it hurts . Sometimes they dont ( or can't ?) take things seriously enough.

I'm sure they love you ... but they sure don't always show it the way that we would like or expect.

Take Care and feel better soon.

Hang in!

(((HUGS)))