I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

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  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited July 2012

    Congratulations, Chickadee - what a great way to prepare for a cruise.

    Blue, that Birthday lion is AMAZING!

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  • CLC
    CLC Member Posts: 1,531
    edited July 2012

    YEAH Chickadee!!!!  Laughing

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  • 3monstmama
    3monstmama Member Posts: 1,447
    edited July 2012

    Happy Birthday Athena! 

    Happy Boring Chickadee!

     (((group hug))) for all.  I am thinking its one of those days.....

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  • suzieq60
    suzieq60 Member Posts: 6,059
    edited July 2012

    Happy Birthday Athena!!

    Chcikadee - great news!!!

    Alexandria - I have VERY bad knees too, so cycling is really all I can do. I'm riding along the bike track and there's a sign saying cyclists dismount - they are redoing some of it - I said to myself "stuff it, I can't walk anyway" I rode along on the grass and gravel anyway. I didn't see any others get off and walk.

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  • AnneW
    AnneW Member Posts: 4,050
    edited July 2012

    Y'all have made me sick to my stomach with talk of Home Ec and dentists. I was so thankful I could take band in place of Home Ec. Of course, to this day I can't sew a stitch. Not even on people. And dentists are my nightmare, though I haven't had a bad experience with one in 30 years.

    Happy Birthday, Athena!

    A good friend of mine was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Sigh. We both knew it was a matter of "when" not "if" because her brother, aunt, and grandmother have all died of it. But she never knew her BRCA status. So, I'm trying to help her navigate the waters as she gets tests done here, and finishes up her work in DC (retires form the government in Oct.) She's more of a trooper than I was...

    B&G tonight? I'll belly up to the bar for a double Jack on the rocks!

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  • kira1234
    kira1234 Member Posts: 3,091
    edited July 2012

    Well got home a short time ago. I'm so thankful for a great dentist. As a child I had the a sadist for a dentist which explains my fears. This guy is so patient with my fears.

    Happy Birthday Athena.

    Chcikadee great news.

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  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 2,755
    edited July 2012

    kira1234,

    Warm salt water will sooth your gums.

    Athena, Happy Birthday.

    Chickadde, Cool wonderful.

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  • YramAL
    YramAL Member Posts: 1,651
    edited July 2012

    AnneW-I'm sorry to hear about your friend. She is lucky to have you to help her navigate through this. I'm sure neither of you feel lucky at this point. 

    Happy Birthday Athena!

    Chickadee-I'm so glad you're BOOOOOORINNNNGGG. I've been on a couple of cruises and I think you will have a great time. Where are you going? 

    Bren-Keeping the other Brenda in my thoughts and prayers. She's been through enough already. Hoping for a boring brain scan for her, while hoping at the same time that she gets some answers for her dizziness and nausea.

    Mary 

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  • YramAL
    YramAL Member Posts: 1,651
    edited July 2012

    Edited to remove double post-oooops!

    Mary 

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  • Chickadee
    Chickadee Member Posts: 4,467
    edited July 2012

    Leaving out of Galveston, stopping at Montego Bay, Grand Caymans and Cozumel. Trying to decide what we'll do at each. Now if my fat ankle didn't look so bad in sandals.......sigh. Would love to wear something cute.


    I think my little chickadee is getting nervous around all these big kitty cats.

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  • alexandria58
    alexandria58 Member Posts: 1,588
    edited July 2012

    Kira, glad the dentist wasn't too terrible.

    AnneW, so sorry about your friend.  At least she has you to help.

    SusieQ:  bad knees - so annoying.  Have you had the synergist shots?  They did help me pretty much.  Not enough to go hiking, which my DH still wants to do, but it's better.

    Bren, will keep the other Brenda in my thoughts as well.  

    It's 94 here in central Jersey, and sunny.  Would take an evening bike ride, but I can't deal with heat at all.

    I do think an evening drink would be nice.  Rum and something - it's tropical enough.

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  • 208sandy
    208sandy Member Posts: 2,610
    edited July 2012

    Yaaaaaaay Chickadee!!!!!

    Happy Birthday Athena!

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  • suzieq60
    suzieq60 Member Posts: 6,059
    edited July 2012

    Alexandria - I stay away from orthopaedic docs :)

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  • RetiredLibby
    RetiredLibby Member Posts: 1,992
    edited July 2012

    Congratulations, Chickadee, on having a boooooring affair with stable boy. Hope Reggie soon muscles him out and Ned moves in and takes over! Enjoy your cruise ... In Montego Bay, if you like spicy food, make sure you get some real jerk chicken. Cleans your sinuses right out!



    Happy birthday, Athena, from one Leo to another!



    Kira, I have a *thing* about dentists, too, having been tortured by one when I was 5 and killed by one (had to have CPR) in my 20s when I had my wisdom teeth out. Fortunately, I have one who completely understands. I still hate to have work done, though.



    Anne, I am so sorry to hear about your friend, but I am glad she has you to help her through. I had both BRCA (neg) and BART (also neg) done.



    Susie - sympathies on your bad knees. Mine sound like cellophane being crinkled -- grosses DH out entirely when he hears them. They hurt, too, but orthopod says to do nothing until I am nearly incapacitated, which will be decades. In the meantime I exercise them and sometimes they don't hurt. I do love ibuprofen!



    Hugs & waves to all -- Alexandria, it is getting cooler here in DC metro and supposed to be relatively civilized tomorrow. Hope the civilized temp makes it up to you, too.



    L







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  • riley702
    riley702 Member Posts: 1,600
    edited July 2012

    I'll try not to get my hopes up too high, WR, but it does sound ideal. A 9 yr old girl to pet her to her heart's content? She'd be in kitty heaven.

    I'm so glad you guys are all so kind as well. This is a good bunch and I love you guys, too. Kiss 

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  • YramAL
    YramAL Member Posts: 1,651
    edited July 2012

    This IS a good bunch, Riley. I totally agree. Welcome. 

    Mary 

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  • CherrylH
    CherrylH Member Posts: 1,077
    edited July 2012

    Yeah, Chickadee.

    Hugs for Riley and the kitties!!!!

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  • suzieq60
    suzieq60 Member Posts: 6,059
    edited July 2012

    Alexandria - The last knee surgeon I saw when I was 48, said he would like to wait until at least 55 to do a replacement - I'm nearly 60, and I figure if I never go and see a surgeon they can't operate on me :)

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  • pupmom
    pupmom Member Posts: 5,068
    edited July 2012

    Chickadee, great, yet boring, news! Exactly what we all want to hear :D! Happy B'Day Athena!

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  • crazy4carrots
    crazy4carrots Member Posts: 5,324
    edited July 2012

    I have a real problem with orthopaedic surgeons advising people in great pain from arthritis in either knee or hip to "wait" until it becomes too painful to navigate, or to wait until a certain age.  The prosthetics used these days have a much longer lifespan, and ingesting strong painkillers for the pain is no way to live.  And it often follows that recovery is slower in patients who have been largely incapacitated and unable to exercise because of the pain.

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  • Chickadee
    Chickadee Member Posts: 4,467
    edited July 2012

    My DH had a total knee replacement in April. It is a very serious and painful undertaking and not for everyone. The aftercare and therapy is very important and also a huge challenge for many patients. Additional health challenges complicate the decision. News reports just yesterday detailed a study of the risk of heart attack within weeks of the operation.



    My DH had a heart attack 3 weeks out from the operation. He has recovered thankfully but this latest report has pretty much convinced him to deal with the pain in his other knee rather than risk it.



    The operation is not a solution for many. The PT's that worked with my husband says many of their patients are not able to attain that sought after pain free function due to significant weight and health issues prior to the surgery.

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  • alexandria58
    alexandria58 Member Posts: 1,588
    edited July 2012

    The shot I had was called synvist, I think.  It was a shot directly into the knee, and it is supposed to lubricate the joint.  I had a series of three shots, although they apparently also give one shot.  It does help, although I am also exercising.  

    I, too, am extremely hesitant about knee replacement surgery.

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  • crazy4carrots
    crazy4carrots Member Posts: 5,324
    edited July 2012

    There are lots of anecdotes pro and con re joint replacement therapy.  In fact, I can provide a couple:  my DH's inability to walk more than 250 metres at a time (and that with a cane, and very slowly), and my BIL who is basically confined to a wheelchair.  Both these wonderful gentlemen should have had hip replacement at least 10 years ago.  Unfortunately, other health problems pretty much preclude surgeries for either of them now.

    Any kind of elective surgery should not be undertaken lightly.  Joint replacement doesn't work perfectly for 100% of patients.  OTOH, it helps to be informed of the options, and not to make either age or incapacitation the only factor.

    Just my humble opinion, of course! 

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  • AnnNYC
    AnnNYC Member Posts: 4,484
    edited July 2012

    Happy birthday, Athena! I think you should keep celebrating for at least a week!!!



    Chickadee, how wonderfully boring!!! So glad about your scans! And your upcomg cruise / anniversary sounds wonderful...



    Bren and Kira, glad you're both done with the dentist. Bren, hope you feel better real soon.



    Blue, fingers crossed for your Thursday scans.



    Bren, keeping Naniam in my thoughts. Anne, I'm really sorry about your friend's dx...



    Riley, your kitty is beautiful -- hope all the moves work out well.



    Susie, and all arthritis succeeded, I too am in the achy club -- roving aches in knees ankles feet hips -- lifelong, so I go through bouts of taking meds, fortunately no one spot needs replacement yet...



    Love to all ( and Cherryl, I'll raise a glass of that champagne to our birthday girl!)

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  • suzieq60
    suzieq60 Member Posts: 6,059
    edited July 2012

    Don't worry - I do want to explore my options. I found a surgeon here who does minimally invasive surgey which sounds interesting. Still getting over the whole bc thing and not quite ready to go under the knife just yet.

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  • lassie11
    lassie11 Member Posts: 1,500
    edited July 2012

    I am hoping that my very creaky knees, ankles and hips will recover in two years when I stop taking Femara/Letrozol. It's free to dream.

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  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 2,755
    edited July 2012

    We have a friend who had knee replacement.  Two days later she had a heart attack and was in ICU for a while.  By the time she was released her knee had lost a great deal of flexibility.  She can walk but she can't bend her knee normally when she sits.

    My DH's doctor prescribed adjustable knee braces that both support the knee and keep it properly aligned. The first time he put them on, after they were fitted by a technician, his face lit up like he was a kid at Christmas.  He was able to cut his pain medication by 2/3.  He takes old fashioned codeine with no acetaminophen.  He is waiting until they can come up with a synthetic cartilage. 

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  • riley702
    riley702 Member Posts: 1,600
    edited July 2012

    OTOH, I have a friend who had a hip replacement at 53 and has done wonderfully well. Her mother was totally disabled by frozen arthritic joints because doctors wanted to wait initially. Apparently, early joint replacements might only last 10-15 years and could only be repeated once. Thanks to improvements, the joint interfaces are now ceramic on ceramic and can last 30-40 years. And in the event something goes wrong with the ceramic, the facing can be popped off and replaced without redoing the whole procedure.

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  • rosemary-b
    rosemary-b Member Posts: 2,006
    edited July 2012

    Wow

    i was gone for 4 days and had no internet. It was lovely but there is so much to catch up on here, a lot of which I will leave alone.

    Happy Belated Birthday Athena, from a fellow Leo.

    I used to make bound buttonholes and loved them but haven't been able to find the litle doohickey I used to make them. I love to sew and embroider.

    My brother is going to Melbourne, to be an environmental consultant, dealing with landfill gases. He has done that type of work in California for years.We had a wonderful time with family. I had forgotten how funny my siblings are. I didn't do much. We just sat and talked and read  and visited and ate. Then we drove home for 14 hours. We took two days to drive out there and one to come back. DH had to be back to get ready to retire. I am home today and too pooped to pop (or anything else). I need more coffee.

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  • AnneW
    AnneW Member Posts: 4,050
    edited July 2012

    My friend who just got diagnosed cracks me up. She's a typical "Boulder scientist"--which means she's analytical as well as altie-leaning. Oxymoronical, no? Anyway, when I realized her eyes were glazing over with my talk of websites and recon options, I said, "You need a flow chart!" And she perked up and said, "I can do that!! Thank you!" and finally I reminded her to keep all copies of path reports, imaging, etc because she'll want to study the hell out of them, and she said, "I can get a notebook!! I can do that!"

    All this just serves to remind me that some people need tasks and some people need direction. And my experience isn't anyone else's experience.

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