thread for middle age to older Christian women.
Comments
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Teka, oh my! What a scary experience! I'm glad you were not injured, and I hope your husband's wrist quickly heals. I'm sorry that an angry yellowjacket found you. We've always used aspirin on the stings (grind up a tablet or two, mix with a little water to form a paste, and dab on the sting). Much more soothing than Benadryl.
Nancy, I'm glad a surgery date has been set with your dermatologist. I will pray for no complications or delays.
Chris, it sounds like you are having a good start to October. Enjoy the warmth of autumn! Old Man Winter will be here before we know it.
We've been busy looking at 2025 insurance plans. Most plans in our area are HMOs, and our medical providers do not participate in any of them. Several of the PPOs are new to the area and have no ratings or reviews. I am not an early adopter of anything so am hesitant to take a risk with one of them. There is a United Healthcare plan with AARP drug coverage that is somewhat similar to our current plan but without the outrageous premiums. I'm glad that a UHC representative will be at this month's webinar to answer questions.
Praying for God's protection and provision for Tampa.
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Wow, I have a UTI and the antibiotic I was prescribed has knocked me for a loop with extreme nausea, fatigue, headache and body aches. At least I think it is from the antibiotic although I have taken it before without these side effects. It is my DH birthday today and I am in no shape to go out and celebrate. Hoping it diminishes so we can celebrate tomorrow.
Praying for those in the hurricane that they are safe and can get their power restored.
Continued prayers for Carol.
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Chris, I can't imagine how disappointing and frustrating having another UTI is and then to have awful side effects from the antibiotic. Have you had any vaccinations recently? I got my Covid vaccine last night and I asked the person giving it to me if there are significant side effects with this. She said she hadn't heard of any but she said people have complained about having side effects from the flu vaccine. I got sick I think it was two days after my flu shot and was sick for a week. I never connected the two but I suppose it is possible. I am praying for you that you can get over these symptoms and are able to celebrate your DH's birthday a day late.
You had mentioned before about my cyst being a long time for infection. I don't have an infection currently and my dermatologist said IF it was infected before the surgery date it would have to be cancelled. My date was so far out because she is so booked and only does these type of surgeries on Friday mornings as the skin cancer patients get priority which of course I understand.
Hershey, have you had any progress on finding another insurer? I had United Health Care prior to my current plan and I loved that company. Their customer service was top notch. Our State chose another plan to save money I imagine. Many retired teachers were not happy. After you mentioned your whopping increase I got several notes from Aetna my current plan. I combed through a bunch of material and they don't print premiums which is crazy. To find that out I would have to call some number which I never bothered. Our premium is $0 so there is no place to go but up. Our coverage looked pretty much the same. I hope you can find something soon.
My insomnia is hit or miss but over the last few days more in the positive direction. I am not sure if this happened when I was really out of it with sleep deprivation but I discovered a big mistake in my bill paying and then I thought it was my Home and Auto insurer emailing me and it was another company and now I have committed to talking to this guy before I realzied it was not my guy. Is this how it all begins????????
We have had some really nice weather the last couple of days. I have finally ventured outside to walk feeling a little safer from the cicada mites. So far so good.
Have a good weekend dear sisters. I still have not seen anything online about Carol but I keep praying for her and her family.
Love,
Nancy
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Dear sisters,
Here is a peaceful fall scene that I took in the past. I pray for peace for each one of you as you deal with your personal challenges. I pray for sickness to be gone. I pray for joy in this season we are in now.
Love,
Nancy
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Teka, you're welcome. I figured you especially would enjoy this one.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Love,
Nancy
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Dear sisters,
This is my verse that is on the back of all the greeting cards I make. If it had not been for my cancer treatments I may have never discovered the world of photography that opened up to me when I saw the adult swans on my way to radiation. I think most of you have heard my swan story before.
When we are in the middle of "things" it may not seem like a good thing. That is where our daily faith and trust in the Lord helps to fuel us threw those things that are uncomfortable or painful or disappointing. We may not see the good until we have had some distance from our challenges or it may be more immediate like my photography being a silver lining to my breast cancer.
Some of our challenges may not be figured out in our human minds because God's greater good is beyond our understanding in this present life. I believe when we get to heaven ALL things will be made known and we won't have to question all the why's that we had on earth.
Many faith leaders have been saying that we are in the End Times. I don't know if that is true or not as many faith leaders have been saying this same thing for many years. I do know that we are to be ready spiritually before that trumpet sounds.
Have a good day everyone.
Love,
Nancy
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Hi Teka,
And what does the wooly bear predict for this winter? 🤗
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Teka, I grew up in the Midwest and remember woolly bear caterpillars from my childhood. I wasn't aware that they were weather prognosticators! 😉
Nancy, that's a lovely autumn scene and I hope you are enjoying the season with your camera. Was the photo taken at the Arboretum? My doctor happened to be at the Arboretum this past weekend for a wedding. He told me that the grounds were beautiful and the deciduous trees were spectacular: leaves in reds, purples, and golds. They sound glorious.
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Teka, I rarely see those caterpillars anymore. They are in our forest preserves but I would only see them in the parking lots. Growing up downstate we would see them crossing the country roads. I only remember the all black or all brown ones. Yes we grew up with the tales of them forecasting the weather. I do remember holding them and marvel at there beautiul coat of fur.
Hershey, thank you. Yes, that was a pic taken from the Morton Arboretum. I have not had a chance to get out with my camera but I am reserving some time nextweek as our weather looks fantastic and the leaves are probably peaking then as well. I have been walking outside and no cicada mite bites so I am hoping it is safe now. Yes, the Arboretum books a lot of weddings. My last time there a wedding party was taking pictures. Did you find another insurance plan? I did get some info on my current one. It looks to me as the coverage is remaining the same. They did raise our premiums from 0 to under $8 a month. Frankly I never understood how some of these Advantage plans had 0 premiums and that was the case many years ago. I hope you are doing well.
Wheatfields, how are you doing? Is your weather really cold now? We are for the most part having a great fall.
Chris, I have been concerned about you. Are you okay? I know you had another UTI and was having a bad reaction to your antibiotic. I sure hope you're doing better. I've been praying for you.
As of a a few days ago I have heard nothing about Carol. I keep praying for her and her family.
Have a wonderful week dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, thank you for your prayers. I am doing okay. I don't feel great, but I can still cook dinner and take a shower so basically fine. I will be starting a new PT program on Thursday specially designed for cancer patients. It is supposed to help my pain and fatigue. I am anxious to see what happens. I'll let you know. Last week they took baseline measurements so I start the new exercises this week. There are only a few qualified therapists so I feel fortunate to be able to access them.
It has turned cold here so we have put on the heat and are getting out the flannel sheets. Yes, we are wimps. Prepared, but wimps. It snowed on Pikes Peak yesterday—our first sign of winter.
Take care everyone. Enjoy your Fall. We basically skip over it here but the trees are lovely.
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Hi Chris,
I am glad to hear from you. I feared you might be in the hospital. I am glad to hear that you have a therapist who can work with you regarding your pain and fatigue. I will be praying that it will be very effective to help you with both of those things. I have gotten back into walking outside and I really had no idea how out of shape I was so it is good to start back on a good track. I feel it has given me more energy and I hope the same for you with your exercises. Hey, you are not a wimp by any stretch of the imagination! I have had the heat on too. It has mainly kicked on in the night as our temps have dropped. We are experiencing above normal temps for this time of year during the days. The trees are beautiful now and I hope to get out with my camera this week.
Take care. Know I will be praying.
Love,
Nancy
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Teka, thank you for the wooly bear forecast, I'd like to see some of those, haven't seen one for years. Like Nancy I used to like to hold them and marvel at their wooly coat and many little legs. Glad that you escaped injury with the electric hair and praying also that your husband's wrist heals.
Nancy, thank you for the beautiful fall scene and the reassuring bible verses! Praying that you are feeling better and getting some sleep.
Chris, praying that your UTI is disappearing and that you are feeling stronger each day. Also that you can enjoy the beautiful view of Colorado in spite of the cold.
Hershey, praying that your insurance has worked out to be agreeable for both of you.
Continuing to pray for Carol and her family.
My nurse friend had an ultrasound of the gallbladder on Monday, but haven't heard the results yet. She is still struggling with not feeling real well in the mornings especially. PT is helping to strengthen my leg muscles and help the weaker leg. I'm also trying to decide on a new hearing aid which is somewhat of a challenge.
Think of all of you and in prayer.
Love, Wheatfields
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Love the caterpillar pictures! Makes me want to look for one around here…
<Cross Posting> I had my first real cancer PT today. Did 40 minutes of straight exercises. Well, rested a little in between. Did six minutes on the treadmill which is alI could do before my pulse went too high, several core exercises and some balance exercises. Nothing too different from my pain PT I did six months ago but they were a little different. I am tired but she didn't want me too tired. We shall see how my pain level measures tonight. She stretched my hips and thighs a bit and that is where I expect the pain. She is focusing on core, balance, and endurance. It was fine. I am hoping maybe to lose a little bit of weight too as I have crept up 10 pounds this last year. I know I have to increase my activity level and hope to walk more.
I am feeling a little bit better too but not as much as I had hoped with this medicine reduction. I am anxious to get my scan next month to see if I am still stable.
Nancy, how are you feeling? Are you able to get out more?
Take care.
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Chris, your PT sounds good and I'm praying that you feel well enough to walk a little more. Core and balance are always good!
Is everyone okay this week?
Praying for each of you.
Love, Wheatfields
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Wheatfields, I hope your PT will help strengthen your leg. I know it is a process and sometimes not as fast as we would like it to be. I hope your nurse friend will find a solution to her feeling unwell. Maybe it will end up to be her gallbladder.
Chris, I hope that your PT will help you. I know that you are a bit discouraged that your chemo reduction in your dose has not helped maybe as much as you thought it would. I really do pray that this new PT will give you the energy that you need and I hope it will help reduce your pain level.
Teka, I am hoping to see a caterpillar that says we are skipping winter this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hershey, I hope you have been able to find a good solution to your Medicare plan.
I was sick a few days last week and I had hoped to get some fall pictures before it was too late. I was pleasantly surprised that I felt much better by weeks end. I did get to get out for several days to get some pictures. If you will indulge me I will post a some of them.
Have a good evening dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, those are stunning. The colors are so vivid!
I have been having a lot of pain the last couple of days. I don't know whether it is the PT muscles or something else, but it is near the same area. Anyways, I see my oncologist tomorrow so we shall figure it out. The cold has arrived here with possible snow on Wednesday. Here we go…
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Chris, thank you. I was so tickled to find this hidden lake as it is called open, after being closed when I tried to access it last year. I would be willing to bet that a lot of your pain is coming from muscles that perhaps you have not used much. I go through that same thing every time I have PT. I have to have a heart to heart discussion with my therapist in my limitations because of my fibro. I would hope that your therapist will be understanding and help you through this initial period. I will continue to pray for you.
Love,
Nancy
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Love the beautiful pictures. I live not far from The Morton Arboretum, and it is a beautiful place. So grateful for God's presence each day.
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cgs19, thank you for your nice comment. Welcome to our thread. We are practically neighbors! The second to last picture was from the Morton Arboretum. Most of the others were from Hidden Trout Lake in Bolingbrook. I live in Naperville. Feel free to post any time.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy,
My eyes are drawn to 4th pic down from the top. Calming!
cgs19,
Welcome to the thread.
There were a few overdone PT treatments leaving me in misery.
Lovely day for Halloween in the North Country.
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Hi Teka, I'm sorry to hear about your PT. I didn't know you were in PT. I hope you can rest and recover. Do you have many trick or treaters? Yes, I love this little lake. It is very peaceful there. It is a trout lake and so there is usually some people fishing.
We have had summer like temps for a few days. It seems unreal that tomorrow is November already. Today is cooler and tonight will get very cold. We have had some really, really windy days for several days.
Take care. I hope you feel better. I love your banner. LOL
Love,
Nancy
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Love the Halloween fun. 👻 🎃 We got two inches of snow last night, but the roads are clear now and should be just cold for the kids tonight. I have my chili cooking (a family tradition) and am ready. I had another PT appointment today. The therapist is very kind and modified the exercises for me. She knows her work as she has been doing PT for 20 years. She is gentle and explains everything clearly explaining what she is targeting and what she is avoiding for me specifically. I am thankful they couldn't work me in twice a week yet so we can take things very slowly. I go twice a week starting in December if I can handle it, but it is a different location and a different therapist. It is closer to where I live and the roads are better if it snows.
My half-sister is having an overy removed Nov 7th due to the presence of a large mass. We are praying it will be benign and all will be corrected with just a laparoscopic surgery. There is a huge cancer history in that side of the family with both my bio dad and half-brother plus additional family members I don't even know (and me of course.) Thank you for your prayers.
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Hi Chris, I am glad that your therapist is taking it easy and explaining things to you. If you do continue in Dec. I hope your new therapist will be as good. My niece just got back from several days of fun with a couple of her girl friends in Denver. The pictures she sent had snow on the mountain tops. I knew you said you had snow in your forecast. We have had several summer like days and then today is much cooler and tonight will drop into the low 30's and wake us all up to the fact that we are almost in November.
I will pray for your half sister. I sure hope they can do the less invasive surgery. I will pray that it is benign and that she will have a rapid recovery.
When they say things come in threes I guess I qualify for that. I think I need a new toilet. In all my years I have never had to replace a toilet so this has been a learning curve. My handyman is in Florida helping one of his relatives who lost their whole house in the hurricane and last year he remodeled their whole house. So I can't depend on him to help with my issues in the near future. Florida sounds like it is a mess and the insurance companies are balking at paying for rebuilding unless they build a two story house. I am having issues with my kitchen sink and I have a furnace guy coming tomorrow as my filter holder which I accidentally put in upside down in the spring is now causing issues.
I hope your body is adjusting to this PT and helping. It sounds like it might be feeling worse before it feels better. Prays for you too.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy,
I was wondering if still taking very expensive suppositories for pain post hemorrhoidectomy.
There were a few overdone PT treatments leaving me in misery post right knee replacement surgery on Halloween 2022. I was glad when PT was done. ;o)
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Hi Ladies. I felt led to just check up on you all and am so happy to see almost all of you still on here. I am praying for Carol's transition and for her family.
We moved from Texas back to Ohio two years ago this month because the medical care was over a 3 hour drive where we were in SW TX. We found a home that's 15-20 minutes away from healthcare and the care is good. We love being near our siblings again and our other 2 children & their families.
Since moving here I now have 11 specialists. (I know - good grief!) The things I am now dealing with are 1) Cyst on foot bone. 2) Lost hearing in L ear even after 4 excruciating steroid shots into my eardrum - all because the receptionist didn't get me in for 5 weeks. Now need hearing aids. 3) Had a knee replacement last May and got shingles the week right before it. Knee never fully recovered even after PT. 4) I'm getting colonoscopies every 6 months and am 'high risk for colorectal cancer' 5) Had Ptosis and cataract surgeries in both eyes 6) I have Supraventricular Tachycardia and just had an EP (electrophysiological) test a week ago but they can't do the ablation to correct it because there are too many areas misfiring. 7) Lung x-ray is abnormal "Interstitial lung disease" and I don't have the CT scan report back yet. I have sleep apnea. My breathing stops 17 times an hour in my sleep but with the Cpap it goes down to 2-3.
BUT - I'm still here and as far as I know I'm cancer free, though I didn't get another oncologist since moving. Hubby has been through his trials too but we still praise God it COULD always be worse.
God is good all the time whether we feel great or not. He's ALWAYS there for us, with us, in us. Be of good courage ladies, Jesus is coming for His own sooner than we may think.
Lord bless you all.
Adrienne (Ade)
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ade,
Welcome back to the thread. ^..^
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Ade, so happy to read your post. I was going through my prayer book and saw your name and said a prayer for you just last week. So happy your move has been successful and that you are still with us! Yes, God is good all the time!
I am still fighting random pain but don't think it is from the PT as it is not in the same area and I am nauseted. I am anxious for my scan on the 11th… My DH has been sick so I wonder if it is a variation of that. I actually think he has Covid but he refuses to test since he has no cold symptoms and he got a Covid booster a couple of weeks ago. He has been weak for over a week. He is stubborn… It snowed a little last night and will off and on all week. We took our Halloween decor down when it was warm on Saturday. My DD has already put up her tree and decorations! But I will still wait a couple of weeks and am thankful she lives downstairs and I don't have to look at them so I am not tempted. I like to clean thoroughly first and it will take me a while since I feel so crappy.
Praying God sends blessings on all in this thread, and praying daily for Carol that God holds her tight.
Chris
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Chris you simply amaze me. You, at stage 4, can do rings around me! Yes I have a lot going on but I can't do half of what you do. You are an amazing example of God's grace and what He does in one whose faith is strong. I'm sorry your hubby isn't well. We went through a botched prostate surgery with my James and a second aggressive surgery with seven emergency room visits for bladder clots in the catheter. It was quite the ordeal. A few days ago he had an accident cutting down a leaning tree. It slammed back at him hitting his side so hard it made a softball sized hematoma requiring an ER trip. PRAISE THE LORD he didn't have internal injuries or cuts from the chainsaw he was using! He is very sore (we're 73) but going to be ok. God has saved him MANY times in our 52 years of marriage and I am forever thankful. This is us now - with our goofy pup Ezra.
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@ade Lovely picture. I know you two have been through so much yet you look happy. I remember your struggles before you moved and was astonished you soldiered through all the house difficulties. Love the pup too! It is so nice to live near family. We moved two years ago also and I am so happy we did. My DH and I have been married 51 years so I feel we have things in common. Thank you also for your kind words. I have felt a little blue the last couple of weeks trying so hard to feel useful and have been pushing through the pain. It is hard to keep smiling so my DD and DGD don't feel my burden. My DH is a gift from God. He is even learning to cook! All your kind words have helped me today. Thank you!
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cgs19, welcome to our little group! It's so nice to have you here.
Ade, welcome back! It sounds like the move to Ohio has been very good for you and James. I'm thankful that you are near family. Is your son still a Border Patrol officer?
Nancy, your photos are just gorgeous. Autumn in your neck of the woods is really spectacular. Did you find a handyman to help with the toilet and sink issues?
Chris, I will pray that your half sister's surgery is successful and the pathology results are benign.
Wheatfields, how are you and your nurse friend doing?
My husband and I have settled on new Medicare plans for 2025. Our information webinar was originally scheduled for 50 minutes but ended up lasting over 3 hours! There were lots of questions from the audience, and the new $2000 prescription drug cap was covered in depth by the presenters (that information was very helpful). All in all, it was a productive session.
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