thread for middle age to older Christian women.
Comments
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Carol, thank you. If I lived in your area I would certainly invite you to tag along any time. I would love to visit on your porch and share a cup of tea. How is your rash? Has that been resolved? My prayers are with you during this difficult time of more tests and a change in meds.
I do have a prayer request. This sounds like a very minor thing and I hope that is the case. I have what I believe is a spider bite. I noticed it last weekend I think. At that time it was only a small area where I could see a couple of punture wounds in the crease of my arm. Fast forward to today and the area of redness has grown significantly and still is getting larger. Now I am in the severe itch stage. I am debating about going to urgent care since this seems to be getting worse instead of better. I am concerned with it being a tick bite but I haven't been in any forest preserves lately but of course it could have come from my yard as I have been outside now that the majority of the cicadas are gone. I have looked at many pictures of bites and even spider bites can present as the classic bullseye rash that you typically associate with deer ticks. I have done all of the things I can so we'll see. I am considering urgent care but need to look up their hours which may be reduced because of the 4th.
I hope all of you dear sisters have a wonderful 4th of July.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, I enjoy seeing your beautiful up-close-and-personal butterfly photos. I'm partial to swallowtail butterflies, so the last photo is my favorite.
It might be prudent to seek medical attention for the red, itchy mark on your arm. Insect bites can turn serious if someone is allergic to their venom. (I seem to recall Joanne having a terrible reaction to a housefly bite.) Of course we will pray for rapid healing and comfort.
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Hershey, thank you. The swallowtail is my favorite of these three as well. I just got back from urgent care. I guess it is fitting that I went to the same clinic as I did exactly 10yrs ago for my last cancer treatment. My bug bite was getting worse and the itching was just off the chart uncomfortable. As I sat there with the check in nurse I realized I had also been having trouble with my ear lately. Killing two birds with one stone is always a good way to go for me. The PA that looked at me circled the big red area from the bug bite which was growing in size and more red than yesterday. She took a pen and drew around the area and took a picture of it as well. I look pretty funky as if I have some weird kind of tatoo on my arm which if it wasn't noticeable before it certainly is now. So I am waiting on two scripts to be ready. I will take some predisone for my ear which worked last year and I am to try running the bite area under cold water for a few minutes several times a day. I did that once and I can't believe the instant relief from itching that I got. Oh my what a nice relief. If the bite area is either worse or the same I am to start antibiotics tomorrow. I can't believe I didn't ask about the itching and if I could take antihistamine also. I realized that my very old antihisatmine I was using was dated 2012. No wonder it wasn't working. So you all might want to tuck away that advice of the running of cold water on a bug bite and see if it helps.
Take care and have a wonderful holiday tomorrow.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, I am glad you got some help. Bug bites can get serious. I also use "Salonpas" on bites. It works well for me as I swell up and itch fiercely, so much so I fear my next bee sting. I buy the cream from Amazon but you can get it easily from most drugstores or Walmart. It has lidocaine in it which is probably why it works.
Hoping everyone has a good fourth celebration.
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Hi Chris, thanks for the heads up. I had been planning on getting some new Benadryl so I went inside to pick up my scripts and get the Benadryl. I was a little miffed as the pharmacy was all locked up. No oral Benadryl so I bought ointment. Then at check out I asked why the pharmacy was closed. They are now totally locked down during their meal break. At least I could come back which I did through the drive thru. So still pretty itchy but the ointment is helping a little. I remember seeing adds for Salonpas but didn't remember what it was for. They had patches if I am remembering.
How was your son's family visit? How did you feel? I hope you are doing better. Happy 4th.
Love,
Nancy
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Teka, that deer looks like it would love to have a free buffet of your yard. I can see why you have protection around your raised beds. I bet you will get that pic of a doe and fawn soon. My neighbors have complained that the hawk moth as they called it was trying to destroy their tomatoes. I am going to share a couple of pics of a hummingbird clear wing moth I took quite a few years ago. They are very hard to get a good pic as they are so fast. They need a very fast shutter speed if you are using a regular camera. When I took these I was pretty new to photography and really didn't know much at that time. Mostly luck when photographing these pics.
My bite is no better so I started the antibiotic and prednisone today. The PA I saw mentioned making an apt for me on Friday. I didn't do that but I am wondering now why she mentioned it. The redness is more and still itching. I have had a lot of unexplained arm pain lately and I hope it is totally unrelated to this bite. I did not mention that to her as I didn't think it was related.
Enjoy your potato salad and hot dogs. Sounds like a perfect meal for July 4th.
My bucket list is getting a pic of an owl in the wild. Maybe we will both get our wish list of pics in the future.
Happy 4th.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, that is a stunning moth! How fortuitous to capture it in a photograph.
The moth your neighbors speak of is the five-spotted hawk moth, and the caterpillars are called tomato hornworms. They can decimate a vegetable garden in a matter of days. We experienced an infestation a couple of years ago. The house finches and paper wasps helped us to keep them in check last year.
I hope the antibiotics do the trick with the insect bite. Did the urgent care PA mention following up with your PCP?
Teka, we're celebrating Independence Day with grilled hot dogs and baked beans at home. It's the one day of the year when we indulge in beef hot dogs (yum!).
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Hershey, I should clarify. I was at the Morton Arboretum in 2015 as I had found one little area where they had flocks and it attracted Monarch and Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. So I was there to take pics of the butterflies and then realized this hummingbird moth was attracted to them as well. When I said I got lucky I was taking pics of the butterflies with different camera settings. I was purposely trying to get shots of this moth which was very difficult. If I would have known what I do now I could have possibly had time to change the shutter speed and therefore freeze the action of its wings but I was happy that it didn't blur completely. Learning photography at my age is hopefully giving my brain a good work out as it has been quite the learning curve.
It is usual protocol with this urgent care which is part of the huge doctor network I am in to follow up with your pcp. Since I usually go to urgent care when I need medical intervention because it feels like that is the way the system works now I would always follow up. However being charged two medical bills seemed pointless so I have opted out of doing that lately. However this is one of those times this could turn serious so I may go to urgent care again tomorrow. My itching since taking my meds is better. I think that is probably the work of the Prednisone because anitibiotics usually take longer to feel effects. I am so glad I mentioned my ear issues because I had not even thought about doing so until I got there. That is why I am on Prednisone for fluid in the ear.
Enjoy your baked beans and hot dogs. I haven't had either in years. My Mom made the best baked beans. I bet yours will be delicious too.
Love,
Nancy
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I hope everyone had a nice and safe 4th of July. I returned to urgent care yesterday (Friday) and the doctor I had was very good. She was not convinced this was a bug bite but possibly an allergic reaction to something. She put me on a different treatment and then wanted me to come back on Monday and if things got worse to come on Sat or Sun. I have an apt on Monday. The itching is much better and I got three more days of Predisone for itching which was intended for fluid on my ear originally but will help with itching. The area of redness has grown quite large. I had no itching when getting up today so that is a good sign. As I get further behind in my yard work plans at some point I have to surrender to what is and deal with it. That is hard for me who is very goal driven to get things done on a schedule.
Have a great weekend dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, I am glad you had a good doc to follow-through with your bite/rash. They can be so complicated. Here's hoping it resolves on its own quickly.
We had 45 fires in Colorado Springs on the 4th: none were serious but all were fireworks related. (My DH is a chaplain for the local fire department so he can see the reports.) Fortunately we had none in our area (we live out of the city on the eastern edge opposite the mountains to the west) but there were many people setting off fireworks here even though they are illegal. My DH and DGD sat on the deck watching the show (excellent view) running occasionally to the front as our nextdoor neighbors usually set off a bunch. I stayed inside holding our sweet puppy as she was shaking. She was better as long as I held her and had the windows closed. They stopped sometime around 1am. My DD was at work and fortunately said there were no children hurt that she knew of. She works night shift at Children's Hospital. I am very patriotic but this is a little ridiculous.
I am still not feeling too good and feel like I am losing a little ground with increased fatigue, dizziness and body aches. I know it is the well-known cumulative result of my medicine. I see my onc the end of the month and have a scan scheduled in August. I also see my PCP in a couple of weeks so I am covered if I can last that long. If it continues to increase I may need to call the nurse. My fear is they will want me to go in for a transfusion. I have done it before but really don't want to do it. It may also be the result of what showed up on my liver hence the scan in August.
I am going to try to take a shower. Have a wonderful weekend.
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Chris, I am sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling well. Trying to keep your puppy safe is stressful even if you were feeling great. I stayed home on the 4th and was basically doing the same for Cammie. I am usually gone on the 4th and always worried how she would fare by herself when my neighbors doing their show every year. At times she would sit behind my recliner as if I was near it would be okay. That many fires is just awful. That is probably the statistics all over that we don't really know about. I will pray that you can hang in there until your pcp apt. I was also figuring they might do an IV of antibiotics on me which the doctor hinted at. I will keep you in prayer as you go through this tough time.
Love,
Nancy
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Chris, I hope you feel better soon and can wait to see your PCP in two weeks. Your poor Princess ... it must be hard for a puppy to be so scared to the point of shaking. The fireworks near my house started before 9pm and didn't stop until 3am. My husband has to be at work at 5:45am, so Friday was a very rough day at the office. There were two fires within blocks of our home, both started by illegal fireworks. The wonderful firefighters stayed on scene until 8am to make sure no hot spots remained. I am patriotic and love this country but am growing weary of others' disregard for people's safety or of the law.
Nancy, I'm glad that you saw the doctor for your follow-up appointment. I hope you see rapid improvement with the new treatment plan.
The arborist was here this morning to treat two of our deciduous trees. It was a preventive treatment for various insects. After he left, the temperatures were climbing so my weekly yard work was cut short. I, too, feel like I'm falling behind with my outside work but autumn is just around the corner. Right?! ;-)
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Teka, I think my neighbors found those horn worms because the Mom next door said I hate those things. They are out inspecting their garden all the time when they are home so I don't think much will get by them. Yes with the cicadas and all of the other stuff happening at some point you do have to realize things are not going to be perfect when life happens…………and let's face it………life always happens. On a positive I finally got my cascading fountain to work by switching new and old parts and I finally got the right combination and it is working. That small little thing makes me so happy and grateful.
Hershey, I know if you have been in a really hot spell for a long time you look forward to fall but I want to hang onto every second of summer. Actually this year my neighbors stopped their fireworks around 10 which was nice. My doctor at urgent care mentioned that their neighbors started their fireworks at midnight.
I was home watching on TV. I had my drapes closed to muffle the sound for Cammie's sake. My itching has stopped so that makes a huge difference. I am very tired and that could be all the meds.
Well I need to get my pork chops going so I need to scoot into the kitchen.
Take care.
Love,
Nancy
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Carol, I enjoyed reading your new blog post. I share your views on the PA,s and PA,s. I do realize that if a cancer patient is talking about their AI best not to use those letters with non cancer patients. As always you take us on a ride of emotions with always a touch of humor. Thank you for that.
Love,
Nancy
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Teka, very cute!!!!!!!
I was released from urgent care on Monday and things were looking much better. I started running into problems on Wed. I had finished the Prednisone and still had to finish my antibiotics which will be done after my last dose on Saturday. I started feeling really strange and fatigued on Wed night and in the night was very nauseated. I had some old nausea meds and tried that and it helped. I never contacted urgent care. I knew I wasn't up to driving there as it is out of town. I am still feeling nauseated this morning. I am not sure if this is withdrawal from the Prednisone or a side effect of Bactrim. I only have two more days on the antibiotic and I really want to tough it out because I get this feeling that this redness on my arm looks like it could easily flair up again. I had to cancel a get together with friends this afternoon. My good friend was going to share her experiences on her mission trip to Belize.
I hope everyone is doing okay.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, so sorry you are still dealing with this spot on your arm and now with complications! Medications are never easy for you. BTW, the rose is beautiful!
Carol, I love your blog, and you informed me. I too tend to shy away from some acronyms I don't know or fear…
Today is supposed to be the hottest day of the year so I am trying to stay cool. My DH bought a mini AC (think small fan-size with ice water) and it will probably make an appearance today. I am still not feeling strong enough to do anything and my DH is making sure I am not home alone at all. There goes what little independence I had left. How do you single ladies do it?
As an aside, the local air force base is supposed to hold mock air battles above us. It is an interesting sidIe of living here. I would watch if it wasn't so hot!
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Chris, I am sorry to hear you are still not feeling well. The hottest day of the year and air force displaying mock battles above you is just WAY TOO MUCH!!! I haven't felt like doing anything either so I fully I get it. I forced myself to get a bath and have to go outside and put my garbage containers back in my garage. They have been sitting out by my garage for two days. I have to back my car out first. I do have to say I love my independence but when I am sick it is the pits. Praying we both feel much better soon.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy and Chris, I’m praying for both of you.
Love and hugs,
Carol
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Nancy, I hope you are able to complete the Bactrim. I'm allergic to many antibiotics but Bactrim happens to be in a drug class that I can take. Yes, Bactrim can cause stomach upset and diarrhea. Drinking lots of fluids will sometimes help me while I'm taking it.
Chris, I hope you feel better soon and that the mini AC brings some relief from the heat. The mock fighter jet battles would be interesting to watch.
I spent the afternoon getting my car serviced. The front of the shop was all boarded with a handwritten sign, "Enter through the side door." Yesterday morning a woman lost control of her car and crashed through the front door, ending up in the reception area. My mechanic was still shaken and said it was truly miraculous that no one was injured.
I hope everyone has a blessed and peaceful weekend.
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Nancy, how are you?? My local newscast carried a brief story about the tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in the Chicago metro area. I hope you and Cammie are safe and there is no damage to your home or neighborhood.
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Hi Hershey,
Thank you for asking. I jumped back into a busy schedule this week not feeling 100% but doing better now that I think the meds are out of my system. I am still using the steroid ointment as the skin area is still a bit discolored. They are calling this cellulitis. I emailed Joanne a few days ago and realized this could easily come back. I am thankful it is not on my surgery arm.
We have had a couple of bad storms in a row. Actually on Monday night I was in my car when the sirens started going off. They were so loud and it was frightening. I got home safely and got into my little bathroom and Cammie came in with me but trying to keep her in there is a losing battle. They were calling this a derecho besides the many multiple tornadoes that were spotted. There was some damage to some houses but not in our neighborhood that I know of. My neighbors double screens flew off of their window and many leaves and debris from the trees but we were very fortunate.
How are you doing? Are you still getting the hot and humid temps. I saw a long term map and it looks like IL is in for much of the same for the rest of the summer if these very long term forecasts are accurate. UGH! I have an HOA meeting tonight so I am running behind today so I need to scoot.
Take care.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, driving home at night with sirens blaring sounds very scary. I'm thankful that you, Cammie, and your neighbors are safe.
You are very health conscious and will keep a close watch on your arm. I had cellulitis about 7 years ago. I cut my leg while we were on vacation and didn't see my PCP until we returned home two weeks later. She prescribed a 10-day course of Bactrim, and I had a follow-up appointment with her to make sure the cellulitis had resolved. Cellulitis can recur, and I'm glad that you saw a physician when you did.
Last week was brutally hot. We have two more days of high temperatures, then a brief break is forecast for Saturday and Sunday. I hope the get the garden weeded on Saturday before temperatures begin rising again.
Some good news to share … our second home sold, and closing was last week. The only thing left is to meet with the accountant and file a quarterly return. We are so very thankful.
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Hershey, congratulations on your second home selling. That must feel really good. I had to start paying quarterly taxes this year too because I am at that age where I have to take Required Minimum Distributions on my IRAs. I am doing mine on my own so I have to have alerts on my phone so I don't forget to send the IRS their payments. Yes, I am keeping a close eye on my arm. I am not completely convinced it is not going to come back yet but I have read that it may take weeks for the discoloration to go away so that made me a little less concerned. We are having a wonderful break from the heat and humidity. It is in the low to mid 70's with much less humidity so I got to turn my AC off last night. I saw another weather map online and it said these strong storms has flipped the weather and IL was in a blue zone for a change. I don't know how reliable this is but I think our 10 day forecast is much more tolerable so they may be right.
Cammie had her monthly shot for arthritis and weigh in today. Her weight has either been rising or stable so that makes me happy and relieved.
Enjoy your evening. Weeding in cooler temps makes the task much more tolerable.
Love,
Nancy
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Hi Teka. Yes she is doing very well for an old lady!!! How is your Teka doing on her meds? Take care. I hope you and the family are doing well.
Love,
Nancy
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Hi dear sisters,
I have prayed for each one of you and I know when this forum gets quiet it is a concern.
Chris, are you feeling any better? I sure hope so.
Carol, how are you doing?
Wheatfields, how is your leg doing? How is your friend that you were going to help as she had cataract surgery?
Hershey, I hope you and DH are doing well. Your mechanic and the situation with the car crashing through the reception area must have been unnerving. We have had a couple of incidents in our neighborhood. One person was apparently drunk and hit our community mailboxes and completely destroyed them. There was an accident right by my house and one of the cars ended up in my frontyard!! I would not have had a clue because I was teaching at school at the time. If a neighbor had not told me I would have never known. We can never take anything for granted. Each day is a gift and we are not promised tomorrow but we are all on another path to heaven which will be glorious.
Teka, I hope you are enjoying the rest of the summer. I hope your cat is doing well on her meds.
Blessedlady, I hope you are doing well on your treatments.
Our friend Kerry from Louisiana, I hope things are working out for your DH and a job. I hope you are doing well.
I had a bit of a setback with my surgery knee. I worked in my roses on Saturday and was on my kneeling bench that my neighbors had bought for me. I have been walking outside much more also in just the last few days. I am not sure if those things were the cause but I have gone through periods the last couple of days where I could hardly walk. It has been strange and intermittent. When I was dealing with the cellulitis I was not doing my knee exercises as much so I am hoping this will just disappear as quickly as it came on. I was planning on doing some yardwork today but I just heard it pouring right now. Um??? Change of plans.
Take care everyone. Know that God sees you in your circumstances and is giving you what you need even though it doesn't always feel like it.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, I have similar concerns when this forum gets quiet. I am not doing well today because I had my treatment Monday—Zometa infusion and Faslodex shots. This happens everytime so it is no surprise. But on top of it all I have been extremely tired for the past week. I posted in another thread about my condition. Briefly, I tried for an hour to get ready to attend my appointment Monday but ended up calling in because of extreme nausea and weakness. However, I still had to go in later for labs as my appt was rescheduled for 7:30 the next morning which is too early for the lab to open. When I did go for labs a few hours later, I needed to use a wheelchair. My DH decided to try the infusion center while we were there to see if they would work me in. Well, PTL they did..he can be very forceful and begged a lot too…so much better than trying an early appt the next day! Anyways, it took four more hours but I had my treatment and returned home. I scared my DH and he stayed in the infusion center with me…his first time in eight years. Usually he stays in the car with his ham radio. Even the nurses noticed he stayed and was not usually there. Yesterday was okay like usual, but I am suffering today which is also typical. It usually lasts a few days then I am good. I see my PCP Tuesday and my onc on Thursday next week so hopefully we can get a handle on this. I think it is just the meds. Eight years is a long time to be on oral chemo. But I have a CT scan already scheduled for Aug 12th so that will help us know more too. I really don't think my cancer has become more active as my labs were about the same…just an accumulation of meds.
Carol, I continue to pray for you. I know everyday is a struggle. I pray your new meds are helping.
Nancy, I am sorry your knee is still bothering you. I know you were looking forward to no more pain. You are right that every day is a gift and a blessing. We had a father and daughter killed near us in a DUI. The mother wasn't in the car, but a young brother was. My DD ended up being his nurse in the hospital but they released him yesterday. Tough situation.
I continue to remember Teka and Wheatfields and also our newer members. There is some comfort knowing we are not alone on this forced journey. Knowing God is with me also brings much peace. I couldn't make it without God's presence.
Love, Chris
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Chris, I really feel bad for you going through all of the fatigue and nausea. I know how feeling bad for a long period of time can really play with your emotional well being. I will continue to pray for you and that you will feel much, much better very soon. I know some people who have had to take breaks from their chemo. Is that possible and have you ever done that before? I am glad your DH was with you for your infusion. Will you see your MO soon or do you have to wait until you have had your CT scans in Aug? You are not alone. You have the Lord and all of us lifting you up!!!!
That was such a sad story with this car accident. I pray that this younger brother will recover physically and emotionally after suffering such a tragedy in losing his father and sister besides his own injuries. I pray the Mother will be granted great strength to endure such a huge loss.
Teka is taking a break which is her usual and told me she will only be reading and not posting for for a while. I was surprised when she posted recently. She is doing fine the last I heard from her.
I was all ready to do a little mulching today and was considering putting on my knee brace and I took a step and heard a loud pop and I was in tremendous pain. I made it downstairs as my cane is down there just in case. I have been icing the last half hour or so. I had gotten to the point of no pain and was doing so well. I don't really know what is going on. I will give it a few days before I reach out to my surgeon.
Take care dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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I've been falling behind on the posts. Our kids and new granddaughter have been visiting. She is so precious.
I saw my MO yesterday. Tumor markers are continuing to climb and I'm having some other issues like getting SOB after I eat, not being able to eat much, etc., but it's not a crisis. I have a biopsy of the omentum on 8/14 to see how far the cancer is spreading and to check the hormone receptors.
Chris, I'm sorry you're going through such a rough time. Some days just feel so hard. I wish we could physically surround you, hold you, and pray for you.
Nancy, I'm so sorry about your knee going out! You were making such good progress. I hope the icing helps and that it's just temporary.
Sending love to all you, my dear sisters,
Carol
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