thread for middle age to older Christian women.
Comments
-
gb, I am so sorry you have to face uncaring people in the midst of all your other troubles. It is frustrating for sure! I had an oophorectomy many years ago and I still have to have anti-hormone shots (In my case Faslodex right now). It is different from the ovary suppression of Zoladex you get, but they are still a pain. My next one is tomorrow...ughh!
0 -
GB, praying that your flu shot will protect you. I think in the past people thought going to work sick was like a badge of honor. You would think that since we are still dealing with this pandemic that people would think twice before coming to work sick. Praying for protection around you that you will NOT get sick.
Chris, how you feeling today?
Wheatfields, how are you doing?
I tried to wean off of my pain meds at the end of last week and it sort of backfired on me. I am still in quite a bit of pain and running out of pain meds. I sent a message in MyChart to my surgeon on Tuesday and as of this morning still had heard nothing so I called and was quite surprised to have someone actually pick up. This person is probably working from a call center and has to relay my message to someone in my surgeon's office. They will get back to me. I am so frustrated. I have been in pain for the last few days waiting to take my first pill of the day for fear of running out. My pharmacy can now take two days to process a script because they are over run with Covid testing and vaccinations now. I think my surgeon is probably in high demand and the fact I couldn't get a follow up with him until Nov. 11 was a disappointment since per my post op directions I was supposed to get a follow up the first week after surgery. Have any of you experienced this kind of thing?
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Nancy, I am so sorry you are still in pain and fear running out of meds. This is not how it is supposed to work! I too am hesitant to take a pain med or sleeping pill when I know I am running out but so far there has been no delay from my pharmacy. I am still coughing...perhaps I had Covid although the home test I took was negative. I have been pushing through it. Yesterday my daughter and I went out and bought our Christmas trees before the stores run out. (She wanted one for downstairs too for her and Bria). Our one from last year was in sad shape so we didn't move it. I am allergic to real ones so I have to use a fake one. I have already put it up (although no ornaments yet) because it is silly to store it for a couple of weeks. The new ones are so easy but soooo expensive! My last Christmas was horrible with being so sick returning from the hospital then packing for the move immediately after Christmas. We are determined this Christmas will be different.
Teka and Carol, I am praying for good recoveries for you both.
0 -
I have to write my comments in a Word document, then copy and paste them. Otherwise, I can't remember who said what…
Nancy, I'm glad you asked for more pain medication. I'm sorry it's been such an ordeal to get it. I'm glad the heating pad is helping. I hope you can "attend" your Zoom Bible study. I haven't experienced anything like that. I'd probably be in tears at this point.
Chris, my DH got a "Geezer Pass" (as we like to call it) which is his Senior Lifetime National Park & Monument Pass. We like to go to Cabrillo National Monument. It's nice that we can go for just an hour or so and not feel like we must get our "money's worth" with the entrance fee. They close at sunset or earlier in the winter, so if we want to watch the sunset, we go to PLNU. We're in Mission Hills, so it's a quick drive for us.
Teka (Linda's husband), thank you for updating us. Please give her our love.
Gb, I'm trying to decide when to get my next COVID/flu shots. I may try to get it next Monday, so that if I have any SEs, I can rest without having any plans or anywhere I have to be.
I've now slept decently the past three nights. I'm so thankful!
Love to all,
Carol
0 -
Chris, I was going to ask you if you had tested for Covid. It is so hard to know now if you have Covid, a cold or the flu. I'm glad you found some Christmas trees. I had no idea they would run out this early but I haven't shopped for a tree in a long time. So you are already in the holiday spirit with decorations up already. That's awesome.
I did finally get some action from my surgeon's office and I probably should have called on Tuesday instead of sending a message in MyChart. Actually Walgreens called me first and said my prescription was ready. Shock!!!! Then my surgeon's nurse called me and said it is common to have pain even going into week three after the surgery. I am still in week two. My bowel movements are very painful still and she said that is also normal. So I am so grateful. The nurse actually said I hope you feel better. She has been rather cold in the compassion department so that was nice to hear.
I had moved some doctor apts into November and now I am wondering if I will have to move them again since I can't drive while on the pain meds.
I am so relieved and so grateful now that I have more pills coming. A neighbor will pick those up for me. I am so grateful for my friends and neighbors who have been helping me out.
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Carol, I think we were posting at the same time. Great to hear you got some good nights sleep. I have not heard the phrase geezer pass. So funny. Nice perk.
I did forget to ask the nurse if using a heating pad was okay. I am sitting on it now. I know this is definitely TMI but I have to wait to take a bath until I go to the bathroom. Otherwise I would be spending way too much time in the bath soaking.
When I was looking at patient's experiences with this surgery on YouTube this one guy who was actually very informative said he spent his first night home after surgery in the bathtub. He said he had his pillow where he could lay his head on the side of the tub. So now I totally get it!!!!! I haven't had to resort to sleeping in the tub yet.
Take care.
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Nancy, I'm glad your pain medication is ready!
DH and I have quite a few things we laugh about. Another thing we joke about is the Outpatient Clinic at Scripps. It used to be called the Anderson Outpatient Pavillion. They recently changed it to the "Geisel Pavillion" (AKA Dr. Suess). It's pronounced like Guy-sel, but DH calls is "Geezel" and then calls "Geezer." So, when he drops me off, it's now at the "Geezer Pavillion." There is a big Cat-in-the-Hat sculpture in front of the clinic. It's pretty cool, actually.
0 -
Nancy, I'm so glad that your Rx is ready and awaiting pick up. Such a relief.
Carol, the "geezer pass" is a nice perk indeed!
Chris, we haven't been Christmas tree shopping in ages. Ours was purchased 20+ years ago at a Dillard's after Christmas sale, and we thought the tree was expensive then. I can only imagine the prices these days.
I just received an email from my state's Health Department that all flu shot clinics have been cancelled due to a shortage of vaccines. I hope the shortage will not impact retail pharmacies like Walgreens or CVS. So many people have yet to be vaccinated.
0 -
Carol, having inside jokes with family is really something to be treasured. I think my pain meds are making me not thinking clearly. Yes, of course I have heard the phrase he is an ole geezer. I did learn something today. I didn't realize Dr. Suess's real name. I had to look it up. LOL I was talking with a neighbor on the phone recently and we were' talking about my surgery. This was before I had it. She made the remark like I wonder what possess doctors to want to look at behinds all day referring to my surgeon's specialty. I told her this true story that still cracks me up to this day. In 1990 I had multiple medical challenges and a good friend who was a nurse suggested going to Mayo Clinic so that is what I did. My parents drove me to MN and we had a little bed and breakfast apt which was affiliated with the clinic. I was there for a week. I was telling her that each patient had a schedule and it reminded me of freshmen going to their classes the first day of high school. One of my apts was having a proctoscope. Each section of the clinic reminded me of a mini movie theater where all the chairs were facing the same way. I figured everyone in this little theater setting were probably all scheduled for this procedure. They would call up a few names at a time. They called my name and when I got up to the counter they said on the loudspeaker Mr. Donald Duck. I heard the nurses around this corner dying laughing. I never did see who walked up but we got such a laugh out of the doctor saying, Mr. Duck would you lift up your feathers. I swear that good laugh was the best medicine I had had in a long time. Okay, maybe my pain meds are talking now. LOL
Hershey, I remember a few years ago when there was a shortage of flu shots. One of my doctors that I saw the first week of Sept. really was pushing me to get my flu shot early. I told her I didn't want it too near my Covid booster which because of getting the monoclonal antibodies I had to wait until Oct. She said Dr. Fauci had said he gets his flu shot the last week of Sept and then it takes two weeks to be effective. So I did get mine earlier than I usually would have. I think I had heard from many different sources that this years flu season was to be really bad so I wonder if more people got them than they expected. I hope you got yours already. That is one of the reasons my Walgreens has taken a lot longer to fill scripts because of Covid testing and now all the vaccines they are giving now. I was so surprised when I got the robocall from Walgreens today. I wonder if my doctor or nurse somehow sent a fill asap on their electronic order because that was the fastest I ever remember them filling a script for me.
Now that Cammie has her own cat condo in my living room I have no place to put a Christmas tree. For my whole life I have spent Christmas downstate with my family and I would be down for two or three weeks so I never had a lot of incentive to decorate. Now that I don't do that anymore I have to figure how to decorate. Maybe I could put lights all over Cammies condo.
Signing off before I really regret what I have posted.
Love
Nancy
0 -
Praying for Nancy, Teka and all. Jean
0 -
Praying for Nancy, Teka and all. Jean
0 -
Nancy, how are you feeling? Teka, thinking of you, too.
Carol
0 -
Jean, good to hear from you. Thanks for your prayers. How are you doing?
Carol, to be honest it has been a bumpy ride dealing with my pain meds. I am in the process of weaning off of them so we'll see how that goes. I have been pretty disturbed by a big issue with my water. As I have mentioned in the past the city is replacing water mains and unfortunately that work has been going on for weeks right outside of my house. Probably two weeks ago I noticed a funny smell in my kitchen. I had been home from the hospital a few days eating lightly and then decided to order a gluten free pizza which I very rarely do. I apparently had washed my hands at the kitchen sink. Anyway I kept smelling this smell which lingered in my kitchen for days. I thought it had to do with maybe a very pungent cologne or ???? on the pizza guy when he delivered the pizza.
It was not until several days ago that I realized this smell was actually coming from my water in the kitchen and in my first floor bathroom. I would wash my hands and that smell would linger on my hands for a long time. I had a couple of days of a stomach ache and on Monday I had several hours of nausea. I started to get very worried. I contacted the head contractor of this water project as I received a letter from him regarding the disruption that this project would bring. It had his phone number and email so I called him on Monday and left a message. By evening I heard nothing so I sent him an email.
Yesterday I woke up very early and couldn't sleep for worrying about if my water was safe........was it making me sick? I ended up going downstairs and drinking some tea with hopes of going back to bed. I ended up getting a call on my cell and had to go upstairs to get my phone. I missed the call. I feel like this was a God moment. I NEVER call someone back on my cell if they aren't in my contacts but I did this time. This guy picked up and I asked if this was the City of Naperville and he said yes. Long story short he said he could come out that day and check it out. In the mean time he wanted me to flush out my pipes. I wasn't have this water issue on my second floor. So I flushed the pipes out as he said to do before he got there. It didn't do any good. So he comes early afternoon and would you just believe that when I ran water in the kitchen and the bathroom NO SMELL. He assured me he would be willing to come the next day if needed and I could call him in the future. By the way I have never drunk water directly from my tap in many, many years. I have used bottled water and now I use a Brita filter and bottled water. He said the Brita filter water should be fine. When he left I checked the water again and the smell was back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do feel confident that my problem is not a serious one and I probably have some water standing in my pipes for whatever reason. I did talk to him enough to tell you I will never drink water from the tap in the future unless it is filtered. I am still concerned with just the smell of the water and how the smell stays on my hands for quite some time. I will continue to flush out the pipes and if it doesn't go away I will contact him again. He told me he had just tested my water last week. That still doesn't mean that the water is not contaminated from inside my own pipes but not sure if that is logical thinking or not. It was clear that he was not going to admit that this was a direct result of the workers doing this job just a few feet from my house. So it has been a challenging time without the water situation so that didn't help things.
Yesterday was the first day I woke up with no pain but by evening that didn't last. I am down to one pain pill a day and hopefully I can slowly wean off with no issues. It has been a long journey and I am really wanting to get my life back. I still can't drive until the pain meds are totally out of my system. Sorry for the very long post.
I will see my surgeon on Friday and thankfully a neighbor is driving me to that apt. I really have no way of knowing how things are for sure. I just hope there are no complications of any kind.
Teka, I hope that you are doing well and have good pain control. I am sure you are experiencing just trying to navigate everything with your new knee replacement. I pray that each day gets a bit easier.
Wheatfields, I hope your leg is over the worst of your procedure and you are managing your bandage changes with no problem.
Chris, I hope you are feeling much better now.
Have a good day everyone. We have had above normal temps for most of November and then by Saturday will feel like the deep freeze from one day to the next.
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Nancy, I'm so glad to hear from you! I'm so sorry this has been so rough on you and now to have the water issue on top of everything else. I wish I were there even just to sit with you and make you tea or hot soup - or anything else you wanted. I'm sending you prayers and healing hugs.
Carol
0 -
Nancy it is good to hear from you and glad you are still on the mend, also praying for your water situation. Teka praying that all is going well with your knee and everything is getting easier each day. I am managing the bandage on the leg well, and it's slowly beginning to look better. He did say legs take a long time to heal and then because they like it covered with vaseline so it heals from the bottom up it takes longer too. I found another spot that I had my nurse friend look at at the base of my head in back. It looks a little suspicious so we're going back in on the 28th of November. It's somewhat like the one I had a couple years ago on top of my head. But you never know, maybe he'll say oh no problem.
Praying for all of you dear ladies.
Wheatfields
0 -
Nancy, I agree with Carol. I wish I could be there to care for you.
Wheatfields, praying for continued healing. My daughter fights skin cancer spots all the time so I understand your concern with every spot.
Teka, I too will continue to pray for your knee recovery.
I am doing ok but still have a slight cough from this cold. The side effects from my medicine are beginning to increase. I have been trying to get as much Christmas prep done as possible so I won't feel stressed to get things done if I find myself sidelined on the recliner. I know it is early, but I my last Christmas was horrible and I want to enjoy this one. I used to have everything done by Thanksgiving weekend.
0 -
Thank you all for your sweet posts. I will be very relieved to see my surgeon tomorrow. I think the worst is over and the weaning off of the pills and my water situation (still a problem) are my biggest challenges right now. I really appreciate your prayers and having a community I can be really honest with.
Wheatfields, I can only imagine your frustration finding another possible spot on your skin. I will be praying for peace as you wait on this next apt.
Teka, praying that each day you feel better and better able to navigate your house.
Take care dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Nancy, I am glad that you're seeing the surgeon tomorrow and hope an easy solution to the water issue is right around the corner.
Wheatfields, I'm thankful and impressed that you have an appointment so soon with your dermatologist. Our dermatologist is booked many months in advance.
Chris, I hope you feel better very soon.
My mother fell and had to go to the ER for x-rays on Sunday. No broken bones, and she was released after 3 hours. Thank you, Jesus.
0 -
Hershey, I'm sorry to hear your Mom fell and had to go to the ER but glad to hear no broken bones. It is always stressful when that happens but I am glad this had a good ending.
Chris, it sounds like you are doing well in Christmas prep in spite of your lingering cold symptoms. I do hope this Christmas is a really good one for you considering last years. Praying for you as you deal with meds and your cough.
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Thank you to all of our Veterans on this Veteran's Day.
0 -
0 -
Nancy, how did your appointment with you surgeon go? Or did I miss that post? I love your photo of the rose.
Hershey, I hope your mom is doing ok.
0 -
Carol, I woke up Friday morning feeling like this was a new beginning and ready to get my life back on track. I had been praying for no complications as I really wasn't sure how to judge for myself. The surgeon said things looked good. I had a whole sheet of typed of questions to ask him even though he was way off schedule. I think that is par for the course for him. The good news is that I can resume activities such as lifting etc. I am weaning off the pain meds and only taking one a day around 6pm. He said I could drive the next day until I had to take the next pain pill that night. So that was great news which I wasn't expecting. I still am scratching my head at how I got to the point of needing this surgery to begin with even after talking with him about that. Obviously I don't want a repeat performance of this chapter of my life. Then when I asked him when I would be pain free he said three more weeks. UGH I really wasn't expecting that so that took the wind out of my sails a bit. I am still having pain and I had a couple of days where I didn't so I just have to ride this out.
Yesterday I was so thrilled. I had been dealing with my computer not working right since the summer even after the Geek squad tried to fix it and didn't. I tried to take matters into my own hands. I actually did fix one issue that was really bugging me and it was quite a simple fix. I decided to uninstall Chrome and then reinstall it. I knew if I ran into problems then I would reach out to the Geek Squad. I unistalled it and then when I went to reinstall I ran into problems so I did have to reach out to the Geek Squad. As of late last night they finished and I was so thrilled as things were working so well. Then this morning it started acting up and doing the very same thing it has been doing for the last several months. I have not checked it again as I watched my church service online on my TV. I am on my laptop right now. It is my desktop that is the problem. So my elation over it getting fixed is dampened as I don't know what next.
My water situation has not changed and in draining the pipes several times by turning my hot water on my water bill will probably be an eye popper when I get that. It still smells but it is intermittent. My neighbor who was helping me with getting my garbage out each week was over and of course it would not smell when we checked it. Right after she left it started smelling again.
So some daily challenges persist but the fact that I can drive a little is definitely a blessing. I am looking forward to not being in pain. If these pills were not so addictive I would be taking more but they are and therefore I am going to have to rely on Tylenol and the one pain pill until I feel like I need to stop. I am weaning off slowly.
How are you doing? Have you updated your blog yet?
I hope you have a good start to your week and everyone as well.
Take care and thanks for asking.
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Nancy, it sounds like your visit with the surgeon was an overall positive one and you are on the road to a successful recovery.
I have been thinking about the water situation and wonder if the culprit is inside your faucet. A rubber gasket and mesh filter are usually just inside, near the end of the faucet head. The rubber eventually breaks down, and the filter can become blocked by slime or debris. If you twist off the head, you'll be able to examine, clean or replace the parts.
Carol, thank you for asking about my mom. She's been very confused. I always worry about her hitting her head in a fall.
0 -
Hershey, did your Mom remember what she hit when she fell? Has she been confused just since her fall? I know she has done so well beating Covid multiple times. I will pray for this situation. I am sure you are very concerned about her.
The thing about my water is it involves not only my kitchen sink faucet but also the bathroom faucet. After close inspection my kitchen faucet needs to be replaced. I am not used to running the water full force but when I did it was obvious that I need it replaced. I did think of that filter and I haven't tried to take it off yet. I need so many things done and sometimes it just feels completely overwhelming as getting contractors was such a challenge this year. My neighbor that took me to my doctor apt said that the city was flushing out our fire hydrants. I didn't think to ask her if she remembered when that was. I don't know if that could have an affect on my water but I have a fire hydrant very close to my property.
I am praying that it will eventually work itself out the more water I use. If I had to have water pipes replaced I don't even know how that would happen as I don't have a basement.
I hope you have a good week. How is your shoulder doing?
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Nancy, my mom does not remember if she hit her head or not with this fall. She did have the wherewithal to buzz the night staff with her alert fob, so they were quick to respond and get her to the ER. My mom doesn't have a headache or nausea and says she's not in pain, so I guess those are good signs.
My mom has fallen at least three times in the past four years. The first time, she hit her head and was knocked unconscious. Thankfully, my brother was at her home and immediately called for an ambulance. She was diagnosed with a concussion and was most definitely confused afterwards.
My shoulder is a little cranky, but I've been doing weekend yardwork so I'm chalking up the stiffness to that! ;-)
0 -
Good morning, ladies. Nancy I truly hope your water situation gets fixed soon! I did update my blog this morning. I was having a little trouble with this one, but I think I got it where I want it. There is always a bit of stress and anxiety when I hit that "Publish" button. I just keep praying that God will give me the words.
Hershey, I will continue to pray for your mom.
Love to all,
Carol
0 -
Hershey, I do pray that this confusion your Mom has will soon pass. Yardwork clean up. UGH That would tend to cause issues with a lot of muscles even if you didn't have shoulder issues. Hopefully that will pass. Our landscapers either missed my backyard or??? but I have a ton of leaves on my patio and in my backyard and I am not about to rake leaves at this point in my recovery. We are expecting some snow tomorrow so I may have a mess all winter. The tree branches the guys cut off my parkway trees are still sitting there from a couple of weeks ago when they were in the way of their bulldozers. So my whole yard looks like a mess.
Carol, I will check out your blog later today. I do think that maybe my water issues are improving. I can sort of see a pattern of how it works and that helps. I am praying that this stagnant water or whatever will eventually work itself out of the pipes.
Today I am so excited that I get to actually go to Whole Foods to get my groceries. I can drive during the day according to my surgeon and still take the one and only pain pill around 6pm and be safe. Today the sun is out and I am feeling like my new chapter is about to begin and I am feeling great about that.
Have a good day dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Hi everyone. I received a PM from Teka's husband. He said she has had a rough two weeks. Can we all join in and lift her up in prayer up through out this week.
Have a good night dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
0 -
Hi ladies,
Let's continue to life up Teka. I hope you saw my previous post.
Wheatfields, you have your skin doctor apt. coming up on Nov. 25 right? Praying for that.
Carol, I read your blog just now. So many great gems in it. The phrase no one will get out of this life alive popped off the page. Of course we all know this but seeing it in print was impactful. Life does go on no matter if we are grieving or are laid up from surgery or illness or just dealing with life circumstances. I want to squeeze every moment of life out of this day because we are not promised tomorrow. I just noticed that in the previous sentence my keyboard did not compute the T in this and it came out "his day". (I corrected it) I think that was a God moment right there!
Thanks for another great blog post.
It is snowing here and my landscapers NEVER got to all the leaves in my backyard and patio. We have a HOA Zoom meeting tonight and I am anxious to bring this up. I don't ever recall this happening in the past. Oh well. If that is the worst thing that happens to me then I will be blessed!!
Have a good day dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
0
