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

Every good that you do, every good that you say, every good thought you

think, vibrates on and on and never ceases. The evil remains only until

it is overcome by good, but the good remains forever.

We returned home yesterday. My niece and her daughter went kayaking after we left. But littlest (12 turning 13 in days) complained of a sore throat; while kayaking she kept coughing; once they were back home she said she was freezing but when her mom felt her she was burning up. She got sone Tylenol in her and I suggested they covid test her out of precaution. Well she tested positive. So then her mom, my partner and I all tested - negative. This morning she was awake at 5 AM, more Tylenol and was back sleeping. We took our temperatures, both 98. We will retest on Wednesday, unless symptoms appear, and in the meantime time we will wear masks anywhere we go. Online says to wear them for 10 days and also retest at 5 days.

This coming week I have 2 PT sessions scheduled, a visit to my orthopedic hand surgeon, and a dinner with girlfriends I worked with years ago. Drs I’ll call to see if wearing my KN95 mask will still allow me to keep my appointments. But dinner with girlfriends I think is out, I’d never want to expose them. It’s never dull ladies!!

We have an outdoor concert to attend tonight and was told I should be able to attend without a problem, keep my mask on. I think even past the 10 days I’ll be back to wearing a mask while out & about

Fingers crossed Cindy that you will not develop Covid. Sorry that your niece is ill and hope she has a mild course.

I think this is par for the course with this restoration company. Not the first thing they have misplaced. The place that refinished the master bedroom furniture called to say they were delivering the bedroom furniture in December 2020. I told them they had to wait until the new bed was delivered and they did. When they finally delivered the furniture in February, a small walnut table that had been my DH's GM's table was missing. I described it and they contacted me about a week later to say they were delivering it. The table they sent was a large round very expensive table that was very attractive but definitely not mine. I caught them before they got it to the front door and talked to the guy telling him what my table looked like. They did find it and showed up about 2 weeks alter with it. So this whole experience has been a comedy of errors: long delays, making stupid decisions that caused further damage to house (removal of gutters), waiting to place an order for basement flooring meaning it was no longer available so a more expensive alternative had to be purchased (cost on them), installing broken door knob system, etc. The list goes on and on. Once the mirror is back and the door know is replaced we have a long punch list to resolve. Can't wait for them to be totally gone.

Betrayal what a nice surprise to have an anonymous donor pay for the birthday cake. Woohoo!

Welcome aboard, Denny & Moco!

Taco, I think you'll be safe. It's almost certain that the woman at the table caught COVID while unmasked, so your masks likely protected each other. Not inconceivable that one would be loath to dine or shop indoors during those masked 10 days, however--especially as our immune systems become weaker with age. Cindy, I hope you continue to test negative and your niece's case is mild & short. Good call on continuing to mask--even though cases are declining in my area, I still wear my KN95s indoors in public. Never leave home without a couple in my purse and my car.

The hair appointment turned out to be an expensive adventure. Not the cost itself, which I knew beforehand, having had several BBs done since 2010. No, I parked at one of those "meter box zones" that replaced regular parking meters (one per space) in Chicago years ago when Daley the Younger (aka Little Richard) made a disastrous deal with the parking company. I have its app, with both our cars' plates and my credit card entered into my account. The way it works is that you either enter your plate no., choose your time, and run your card through the box's reader; or punch in the zone number, select your vehicle and desired time, and hit "pay." This particular zone--an entire side of a city block--had a 2-hr. limit. But in the past, I was always notified via a ping on my phone & even a buzz on my watch that I had "x" number of minutes remaining and given the option of buying an extension. This time, no ping, no buzz. I decided on my own to buy another 2 hours at $5 a pop. (A BB plus color & cut is usually 2-1/2-3 hrs). When I brought up the app I got a message box stating my time had expired, so I went ahead and bought a new time slot. (I couldn't move my car, as I was sitting there in the stylist's chair getting glop ironed into my hair). When I finished and got to my car, there was a $50 ticket on my windshield, for "expired meter, driver not seen walking to vehicle." Nothing I could do to contest it, as "my app never nagged me" is not a defense. In fact, when I got home and looked up the ordinance, I found the time limit applies to the entire zone--yup, you have to move your car across the street or to another block. Most expensive parking by far, even pricier than an evening in a midtown NYC hotel garage.

That's not all. When the stylist finished, my hair looked great: silky smooth, no frizz, straight as a pin. But within half an hour of returning home (and it was not particularly humid that day), the ends had flipped up and some frizz was emerging along the sides. Sent the stylist a pic. He said to sleep on it, and if it got any wavy-er to flatiron it, then wash it on my usual shampooing schedule. If it doesn't blow-dry straight, he will re-do it for free, because a true Brazilian Blowout does not require you to refrain from washing, tying back or putting up your hair for 72 hrs. the way competing keratin treatments do. So both Saturday & yesterday morning a few front sections looked "bent," so I gently flatironed them. So far, so good today. We shall see what happens: still wore a shower cap this morning but will wash it during tomorrow's shower--I have a full week of medical & vet stuff ahead of me--T, W, Th all occupied. Free today...but the salon is closed Mondays, so Friday may be my next chance for the re-do.

Saturday was our annual block party, much smaller than in years past. (I missed last year because I'd thrown my back out and Bob was working). The city provided a bouncy house and a slip & slide, and that was it. No fire truck, no police K-9 demo, no ball pit. In years past, the Ethiopian restaurant around the corner would bring food and one year even did the coffee-roasting ceremony; and Streets & Sanitation would a truckload of sand for beach volleyball--but none of that this year. No band (my own band played several times before it broke up)--the funds collected were enough for only a DJ, burgers & hot dogs (I brought my own keto buns). I brought champagne, but few people drank any--so many of our neighbors are our age and on meds so are teetotalers. For the brunch, I made a big insalata Caprese with homegrown basil & tomatoes--I brought it over, then walked back to my house for a chair and the bubbly--by the time I got back to the table, all but one tiny portion was gone. (I make it every year, and I forget that it gets more popular each time). Fortunately, I was able to stay keto the whole time: there were three kinds of deviled eggs, a frittata (from the neighbor who usually makes a quiche or tortilla Español), cheeses, prosciutto & melon and fresh berries. I wasn't tempted at all by the pasta salads or baked goods. I was able to have a cheeseburger and char-grilled hot dog (no trimmings) at the BBQ for dinner, and I skipped the ice cream social (provided by the corner frozen-custard parlor).

But the weather was the best I can remember for any block party--not too hot, not sticky, a nice breeze at times. Anyway, the neighborhood kids were having a blast, riding bikes and scooters and playing with each others' dogs. There was also badminton, but I'm no good at that. So we sat and chatted with neighbors and former neighbors who came back.

Yesterday? Lazy day--just went for groceries & tended the garden between rain showers. The threatened storms never arrived.

Cardplayer, hope the higher dose of gabapentin will put you in good form. Since there are a couple more covid variants since Omicron, it probably is a good thing to keep your eyes open and do some checking along the way. Using masks in certain situations just makes sense to me. Since sick people do go to Dr.'s offices and medical facilities, I'd be happy seeing people masked as yet and also in stores. I think be safe rather than sorry.

We are awaiting some rain. It got dark on the way home from Marion -- about 3 in the afternoon. It also dropped 10 or 12 degrees per my car thermomenter.

We are once again changing some meds. I will start doing higher doses of Carvedillio ( sp. ). The issue has been that often for people like me the blood pressure is too high. Mine has been lower since the operation -- so even though Dr. Ruben hopes to increase my dosages, it has to be done slowly so my body can adjust if it can and not throw me into dangerous territory with my blood pressure. We have been able to increase the Lorsarton. Hoping this change is as smooth as that one.

Also going to have morning storms tomorrow maybe...well, if it lowers the temps a bit that will be nice. Just hope they stay down for awhile and they might. Hasn't been as bad this week as I thought it would be.

Hope all have had a good day.

Cindy, tell your niece that the old "country remedy" to neutralize skunk odor is a combination of tomato juice and vinegar. (I learned this 45+ yrs ago, after our little Datsun got sprayed barreling down I-5 in southern Skagit County on our way back from the San Juans to Seattle--a state trooper I called told me that's what he'd use on his dog after skunk encounters; just then, Bob burst in the door waving an organic chemistry textbook that came to the same conclusion). The chemical composition of skunk-spray is butyl mercaptan (the "butyl" part is what makes it smell faintly like rubber before the odor fully, uh, "blossoms"). The vinegar, acetic acid, neutralizes it into mercaptoacetate; and the tomato juice blunts the acrid scent of the vinegar. Saved me from having to get my car steam-cleaned, though it did smell like Italian dressing till we ran it through the car wash a couple of times.

Sandy, this is sort of an addendum or whatever to your post on lumpectomy lounge about arthritis. I don't know the role, if any, of arimidex, but I had no joint pain at all, nor any arthritis that I knew of, before I began. Am on an extended break now after 3 years and it may be permanent now that I have to have total hip replacement. It is hard to explain how freaked I am by this. Will know the date on August 16 when I see one other surgeon who I prefer to use and see what his available surgical opening is. What's freaking me is he does a posterior approach and the restrictions for 3 months to prevent dislocation (no bending past 90 degrees, back sleeping surrounded by pillows, no crossing legs or ankles, no twisting,) seem as if I will screw up in some way and dislocate the first day. Buying tons of stuff like leg lifters, reachers, grabbers, wedges on Amazon, but... also, can’t take pain pills, will have to have a general instead of spinal anaesthetic because of low platelet count. Will go to skilled nursing unit here on second floor of this retirement home for two weeks and then there’s the question of going back on Arimidex which I’ll discuss with MO in September after yearly mammo and ultrasound. Just venting because of the freaking.

Mary, I have had Orthovisc series three times now. They can be repeated every 6 months or as needed and I went 9 months between series 1 and 2 and 14-15 months between series 2 and 3. I would recommend you consider it. It does take a month to 6 weeks sometimes to get benefits but wow it is worth it. I will eventually need left knee replacement but if I can postpone it by using Orthovisc, I will. I also need a fusion of the bones in my left foot (metatarsals to phalanges) but the 12 week non-weight bearing is a real negative. Can't use crutches and use of the knee thing would not work due to knee issues; can't kneel on that knee now. Pain in left foot sometimes feels like my foot is broken. I am using podiatrist recommended shoe inserts and they do help some. Warned not to go barefoot which I haven't done in eons. Medicare will pay for 4 shot series of Orthovisc whereas private insurance may limit it to 3. I had it done recently because we are going on a trip which requires a long flight and then a good amount of walking. Plane will be the worse part.

I have my computer set to 100% and the print is unbelievably small in just the last day or two plus the font size and type seem to have changed. Margin is again quite large.

Karen1956: Please post pictures of your trip. Love to see them.

KeyWest: good luck with hip surgery.

Lovely fire pit betrayal. I hope you get lots of enjoyment from it.

Welcome back Karen. Glad you had a good trip.

Keywestfan - I hope you’re able to get you’re choice of surgery type. Having confidence in your surgeon is helpful. Please keep us posted on your surgery date.

Sorry you’re experiencing pain Mary. The craft fairs sound fun.

Not sure where my day got to. It was too hot to walk outside this morning, so I walked on the treadmill. I’m listening to The Overstory by Richard Powers. Was a nice change from walking outside. Did some laundry, went to REIKI, and polished some furniture. Phew, I’m tired.

Some of my pain is due to my arthritis. But some pain didn’t start until I started anastrozole. Guess I’ll complain to both my rheumatologist and oncologist.

Enjoy the rest of your day

I was having issues with print size and I went into my personal computer settings and after working with it a bit got it to a place that is comfortable for me. I have used the tool box/bar on top ( the three small side by side lines at the far right corner of my computer ) but overall I prefer using my own settings page. It did take some finagling around thouh since I made it sizes a few times I decided I really didn't like after all.

I think the firepit and surround is really delightful. I'm a big fan of being able to enjoy a 'fire' in the cooler evenings. It is relaxing to watch the embers glow and crackle and little sparks shoot off. Just something about it. Hmmm, maybe a former life stirring when fires for a lot of life activites were prevalent.

Had to go get my prep today for the colonoscopy on Thurs. It all came up rather quickly. I'm hoping to hear from my PCP tomorrow to make sure I can 'handle' doing it. I was informed by the Dr. that if I got the all clear on Thurs. I could forget needing colonoscopies from there on in. Hmm, I have only had one other. Will be good to actually be able to do away with needing them. Fingers crossed.

Still hoping your niece and family do well with the covid -- and that you are able to NOT have to get it. How nice that you dropped off food for them. I bet they really appreciated not having to deal with 'fixing' lunch.

Hope you all stay as well as possible.

Best of luck with your prep Illinois. That's the worst part of the colonoscopy.

I don't go in for my endoscopy until 12:30. Am fasting since last night and nothing to drink since taking my pills this morning. Didn't take our morning walk since I couldn't hydrate during the walk today. Guess I should keep busy by doing some cleaning, but my cat has other ideas. She's sleeping comfortably on my lap.

I see my oncologist tomorrow for my 6 month checkup. This was my view from the oncology center while I received treatment. They have this beautiful garden for patients to see while getting treatment. Trex donated the patio decking that leads to the gardens. You can't go outside during treatment but you can see the gardens.

Enjoy your day.

Betrayal, it is Visco Gel One. I am looking it up right now. One injection of 1/2 tsp (still a lot), may last up to 26 weeks (6.5 months). It is made from rooster combs. Hope it works.

Cardplayer, I also enjoyed the troll with a mask.

Sigh!!! I called in yesterday afternoon and left instructions to be called by Mt. Vernon V.A. I'm their patient. I wanted to make sure I was still approved for the colonoscopy. I heard nothing. This morning I got back on the phone and after listentening to long bouts of elevator music twice -- I gave up. Got my shoes on, got in the car and drove to the clinic ( 20 miles away ) hoping it could get sorted once I was there.

Turns out -- I had prep that was all wrong for me. NOTE: your intuition likes to help you. I kept feeling something wasn't right and it did turn out that the prep I had was loaded with salt. My PCP put the kibosh on it immediately. This in spite of the gastro Dr. saying that I had to use it -- there was nothing else. Later ( I"ll get to that ) his nurse parroted him. I told my husband I needed to drive to the clinic --- no way of being sure that any message got to them from yesterday because trying to get through this morning was a disaster and not working at all.

I was able to have a long chat with Dr. Neely's nurse who is ordered the CORRECT prep from the V.A. Pharmacy and will overnight it. She did get the message from yesterday, but called after we had already left my house. Turns out that Mt. Vernon now actually runs all their calls through Marion. Who knew -- no one mentioned this to us. In any case, I had to change my date for the procedure which is okay -- other then the fact I was looking forward to having it be overwith.

When I talked to the Gastro Dr.'s nurse she told me, as the Dr. had, there was no other prep. She said she had talked to the people at Mt. Vernon -- a feat which I had to go to Mt. Vernon in the flesh to accomplish, and they said to her, my using prep was fine. Apparently, she took that as -- ANY prep, even if very salty. I cannot drink a gallon of salty water with CHF. She told me again the Go Lightly was all their was. I told her ( something I handn't yet mentioned ) that I had just returned from Mt. Vernon. They told me I could NOT use the prep I was given, that there was indeed something else ( way less salt ) and that they would make sure I wa sent some direct from their pharmacy. After which I no longer had to argue the point with her that their WAS indeed another prep solution that I COULD use.

I was really irritated, but kept my cool. Just amazing to me ( is it because a Dr. said it ) that people just insist that someone else CAN'T know something so should take their word for it. I likely would have had some real serious trouble, had I not follopwed my intution and kept checking until I was satisfied. So me and my hemoroid will wait a week and try again.