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

Thanks Carole. I paid $47 for just the Kera nail gel. I've been using it for a year in conjunction with Biotin pills - 5000 mcg/day to strengthen the keratin The nail is growing & the fungus gone on one toe while the other is still not fully attached. But what a PITA. I'll ask about the Clarus solution. Interesting - your picture says patient direct, but when you log into Bako, it says physician only. Amazon has that w/o RX for $45.00. I refused to take the oral meds, which my podiatrist said were the best treatment.

The biggest change I made was in shoes. Apparently shoes should not be flexible enough to twist either lengthwise or width, since that disturbs the far back base where the nail growth starts and keeps it from re-attaching. I love my new HOKA Mach shoes. If my big toe nails hadn't become partly detached with chemo, I would never have had receptive conditions to get a fungus in the first place.

The worst thing is that socks rub where the toe nails were, and sheets rub at night - even if I wear socks. And this is almost 5 years after final treatments. Funny because the bottom of the feet have no feeling due to CIPN - neuropathy (thank you chemo)

My podiatrist sent samples to the lab from both toes a year ago, so it's definitely not from aging. But she does charge an arm and a leg to use a sander like a Dremel Tool to thin the nail surface to better receive the topical meds.

Come from the heart, the true heart, not the head. When in doubt, choose the heart. This does not mean to deny your own experiences and that which you have empirically learned through the years. It means to trust your self to integrate intuition and experience. There is a balance, a harmony to be nurtured, between the head and the heart. When the intuition rings clear and true, loving impulses are favored. -Brian L. Weiss

I wouldn't want to touch my toenails, other than a regular clip, with neuropathy and susceptibility to infection. I will probably need surgery on my left foot once this is done with, to reduce the arthritic joint that makes a sensitive bump on the top of my foot. If I have to go see her sooner than ~12 weeks, something to check into.

Oh how I would love to live in your neighborhood Wren. I could go to a podiatrist thru the V.A., but it is something of a hassle. I did find that I would only need trims every two and a half to three months --- so for me having a Sr. center would be perfect. I have trouble reaching my toes for the angle it takes to deal with the thick nails and the toes with the now odd shaped nails. For now I'm marginal and can keep going, but one of these days I'm likely to need more help. I'd ask my Dh but now and then he 'over'-helps and probably would not follow the pattern too well since its weird.

Hoping for more sun tomorrow. It never got warm today, but no wind so the sun made up for it.

No sun this morning, but maybe later in the day. My turkey is thawing in the fridge and I'm thinking of how soon to cook some of the sides and where will I find enough room for them in the fridge as well. The one time of yr. ( maybe Thanksgiving too ) when one could use an overflow fridge. I do know friends and family that keep second ones ( their old ones changed out when old but still working fine ) and don't have my issue. They keep their extra cokes, beers, and frozen meats there and pretty much only have what they are currently using up plus incidentals ( condiments ) in the house.

Our garage is at least 50 feet ( if you use our actual front door and we seldom do ) away from our house and from the kitchen door. likely 75. That was the reason I traded freezers with my cousin. She hated hers as it needs to be defrosted. Mine ( mine was way older ) didn't. She very much wanted to trade -- even with the fact that hers was quite new -- and I would rather defrost the newer one because size-wise it fits in my pantry -- and my non-defrost one was a bit bigger and didn't. So, we both ended up happy. Her garage is quite close to her house so was never the issue it became for us here. Some things you just won't know until you live with them and see whether it is works well or is a poor fit. Too often things stayed in my freezer, forgotten -- when it was in my garage. All that is changed now. Just one wall separates my fridge and freezer -- save for the wall -- they would be setting side by side. Maybe that makes me really lazy, huh !!!

Hope you are all going to have a really good day and a happy Sunday.

Our weather has warmed up. It's quite nice outside. I left the kitchen door open to get some fresh air into the house. It's supposed to be about 70 degrees on Christmas day. I can remember past Christmas days when we ran the a/c.

I have two pork roasts thawing so that I can cook them tomorrow, slice the meat and make gravy. Then I can just warm up the pork on Christmas morning. We eat Christmas dinner earlier than some people do, usually about 1 pm, so I would have to start the roasts very early to get it cooked, the gravy made, etc. e

I moved my small chest freezer (empty) to an out building a couple of years ago. I recently gave it away. We have an over flow refrigerator in the same out building, which is a short walk from the back door. I use that freezer and the one in our refrigerator in the kitchen. Our favorite supermarket is barely a five minute drive. One of us is off to the supermarket every second or third day. So I am happy not having to freezer dive nor worry about using frozen food before it gets freezer burn.

Starting out the early morning here with the sun. That always perks me up and makes me feel that there is little that can't be solved if I just try and don't let any discouragement get in the way. Nothing big planned -- but last minute ( they are always there ) cleaning cycles along with preparing much of what we will have tomorrow in advance.

I travel the Internet recipe blogs that come in my email along with favorite cookbooks and find myself wanting to 'make' special ( not fancy mind you ) dishes that I think will please people. This is a habit of mine that I've not managed to do away with and might be a good thing. Most of the things I make that people say they like were discovered this way. At any family gathering for yrs. I would find a 'recipe' I had never made and take it -- so over time good reviews became standard. If I don't bring certain things I'm always asked what happened -- why not???

So I'll be making the usual things but looking at many others feeling like -- hmmm, should I throw that in and see what happens. It would be fun but likely I won't since there is ( on a holiday meal ) tons of food and left-overs which would happen to anything else made at that time. Maybe I should keep a list of might haves, but didn't that I can make at some other time thru the yr. to gauge as future possibilities.

I hope you are all going to have a fantastic Christmas Eve. I'm already looking forward to enjoying the day tomorrow -- even if busy doing the last minute prep and cooking. It is going to be wonderful.

Carole, we're going to a traditional Creole "reveillon" dinner tonight at Big Jones (a great little restaurant specializing in SC "low-country" cooking). Five courses with wine (or beer) pairings. Waiting for Bob to get home from Mass. (He'll be good & hungry). We'll open presents & drink gløgg after we get home, since Bob is working tomorrow.

Great football day yesterday--both the Bears & Saints won. (It was Festivus, so that counts as "feats of strength").

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the
past, courage for the present, hope for the
future. It is a fervent wish that every cup
may overflow with blessings rich and eternal,
and that every path may lead to peace.

Agnes M. Pahro

Off to the gym this morning. The sun is shining. The day will be warm. DH is playing golf today but there is no women's event this week. I hope to get back to playing golf in January.

Hope everyone's Christmas memories are the "keepable" kind. We had some good laughs and camaraderie and shared health concerns. My middle sister, almost three years younger than I, is slated for knee replacement surgery and dh has an angiogram scheduled for Jan. 4 to examine blockages in his left leg.

I felt sorry for my mother yesterday because I know she didn't follow much of the conversation. She is hard of hearing and probably picked up words here and there. You have to speak loud and talk directly to her. At least she looked comfortable in a reclining chair. I think she is happiest at the nursing home now, in her own familiar environment.

Happy Wednesday to everybody.

So good to hear of Christmas pleasures. Same here --- a lot of work, but a lot of satisfaction can go along with that too. Nice part -- to work off what I ate I cleaned everything back up spic and span. I went to bed early last night -- about 7:30 p.m. and slept till 4:30 this morning. Feel fairly vibrant this morning with that 9 hrs. of rest. I bet I rested even better knowing the kitchen was clean and I would have nothing to dread.

MCBaker is right Carole. When your hearing is affected enough you don't realize that it is condensing your world. When my hearing went, I went long enough without aids that I had forgotten a number of sounds. Driving home from the V.A. I was concerned about an odd clicking sound. I was nervous something was wrong with my car. Turns out it was the clicking made when you use your turn signal. I forgot how nice to be outside and hear birds and to be able to hear the sound of approaching cars.

I will say though that the smaller aids routinely given to people would be difficult for seniors. I have a couple of issues that are not as bad as those of some of my patients. My aids are slightly bigger than those my patients were fitted with and the batteries for mine last at least a week longer. My patients had some issues putting the aids in as they are left and right -- and they couldn't deal usually with changing batteries at all. Most people don't actually know I'm wearing my aids although my hair is not long so they are not huge but much easier than those of my patients. I never asked ( figured no one would have the answer ) why people much older than me are being recommended the very small aids. My last patient always thought she was hearing more when she had them off. Not sure where that came from or why.

Here's to bigger gardens. We still have too many trees. Have thought about renting a space in town, but not sure the ups and downs in my life would be accommodating so I'm waiting on it for now. My cousin usually keeps me supplied from her garden most of the time so I don't feel pressed just yet.

I hope all of you had a really special time this yr.

Last night before hitting the sack I checked my Apple Watch for the temp and weather conditions, and was shocked to see "Unhealthy/Sensitive" displayed instead of "cloudy" or "showers." WTF? I know I could be in better shape and have a thicker skin, and my ECG readout was normal. so I went online and looked it up. Turns out the watch gives weather warnings, as well as air quality alerts. The particulate count for the N.Side/N.Shore area was 144: 6 points below the "Unhealthy" (for everyone) threshold. "Unhealthy/Sensitive" pertains to, inter alia, older adults and those with heart or lung disease, including asthma. So I had to stay indoors today. Missed a wake & funeral for the widow of one of our fans (I think I may have met her only once) out in Cicero. My singing partner (who knew them far better) couldn't make it down from his home in Madison, WI. The smog alert was still in force at the time of the wake; but instead of attending the funeral itself at 7pm, I was home making dinner for Bob, who wanted an early dinner because he has to be at work in Oak Park by 8am tomorrow.