KarenK

My doctor's office called and he wants to see me asap about my CT. Not what I was expecting. Unfortunately, asap isn't until next Monday(first available appointment). Gives me a whole week to worry which doesn't change a thing.

Gwen, have you thought about searching online for support groups for people with spinal problems? Just a thought....you mind find some suggestions from other patients.

I have no clue about recording. Can't think of anything I need to record anyway. Most things I might miss can be watched later through "On Demand" feature.

Funny memory about TV. When I was 6 or 7, my aunt & uncle were among the few who had TV(fairly new gadget) in our tiny Texas town. I glued myself to it while my sweet aunt brought me food and drink all day. Apparently I was the only one who could stop the picture from rolling. Those TVs did that a lot.

Hope your new counselor turns out to be  someone you click with.

I can't stand b/w. Too spoiled. I was raised on Westerns and "Perry Mason". Another actor that I loved was Ben Johnson, a true cowboy.

What a mess, Gwen! I wonder if peace is even possible. She seems to want to control everything. Sorry this friendship is not what you expected.

So much of Dee's thinking is skewed. She would drive me nuts.

Our temps are probably still in the 70's which is a good thing. Last year in March, I was using the AC.

Still watching "Lost". 121 episodes. What a crazy show, but it keeps you guessing. Also watching " Dr. Quinn" again. Missed some episodes last time. Plan to watch "The Virginian". Huge crush on James Drury when I was younger.

Waiting on CT scan results. Probably next week.

Good one Marg! I learned a long time ago that in the fight against dust, dust is winning.

I would love to live where Kay is, but I could not pick up a snow shovel, much less use it. My place is very old and run down. When Ron was here, everything was clean and neat despite it's age. Dust and dog hair live here permanently overlooking knee high weeds in the back yard. I could keep up with all of it until about 70, but no more and others who live here are not inclined to do so. If I had friends, I would be too embarrassed to invite them over. Overall, our weather is great without all the hardships so may of you have, just extremely hot in the summer. Don't love my life here, but at least I'm above the ground, not in it.

Going for my CT scan tomorrow. I'm sure there will be nothing there. Stubborn won't show on a scan.  lol  I'm sure it's my eyes causing the vision problem. I've discovered if I hold my head up normally, my vision is doubled. If I tilt it forward a bit, vision is okay. How crazy is that?

Gwen, Dee needs to understand that you are not her clone and that Lincoln freed the slaves. You are your own person with your own interests and opinions. Don't let her push you around or degrade you.

I have no idea why but I get emails from "Home Again" which posts about lost pets. Not that I mind but I'm no help in spotting one, rarely leaving the house and unable to see more than 10 feet.

I stay out of religion and politics. Life is complicated enough already.

It appeared that the server for the forum went down for a while. I've seen that happen on various websites. In addition, it has been very quiet here. I hope it means our friends are doing well.

I mostly pay attention to the local news so hadn't read about Van Dyke's accident. I'm confused. What does he have to do with gay issues? Also have no idea what is going on in Florida. Guess I need to expand my horizons.

Is your pain worse because of the Oxy taper off? Is the patch not working?

The government seems to harass any way it can. We have stupid laws in my city too, like grass length or lack of grass in the middle of summer when the only thing that grows is the temperature. Nothing to do with safety, just neighborhood aesthetics. News flash! This is a very old tired neighborhood! Hope those inspectors don't give you a load of $hit.

Marley is unlicensed for right now, maybe forever. I was getting ready to take her for the rabies shot when she got sick. It's my understanding that getting a vaccine with her condition could aggravate it again, so isn't going to happen. Our dogs never leave the house or yard anyway(except for vet).

Had to laugh as I got a call from the pharmacy saying my doctor got the insurance to cover the kidney med. Oh joy, my copay is down to $500+. Declined it and told the clerk that all kidney meds were too expensive. She agreed and said that there must be alternatives. I told her yes, you can always die. Called the doctor and told them that anything more than $30 is too much for me.

On the good news side, my Marley dog is doing so much better. Unknown infection is gone. She will continue on the blood disorder med for life. An unexpected miracle(a very expensive one) as she was close to death.

Guess it's crazy to spend all that money on a dog, but not on myself. It is what it is....

Sure wish you had found a more stable person for a friend, Gwen. Hard to know what a person is like until they are around 24/7.

I heard a long time ago that it helped your credit score to have at least a little bit of debt. Makes no sense to me.

Farxiga is another one that my doctor mentioned. It is supposedly for CKD, diabetes, and heart. The side effects sound as bad as the illness. All of the new fancy meds seem to have horrific side effects, but not to worry, we have another pill you can take for those side effects and on and on....Not my cup of tea.

Glad Kelli caught the mistake before suffering further harm. You really have to advocate for yourself.

From what I can find, there really is no medication out there that controls chronic kidney disease. The meds are all aimed at diabetes(which I don't have) and high blood pressure(which I already take 3 meds for). Those are both the main cause of CKD. I noticed my doctor said "new" medicine when he prescribed this. Makes me wonder if a pharma rep just has the doctor pushing this stuff. I see them frequently in his office. I'm not big on adding any more strange pills to my life. Will just go with the garlic and not stress over it. I turned 76 today. That's stressful enough.  lol

When Debbie had cancer for so long with several operations and tons of chemo over the years, I tried to organize her medical bills and just choked on the amounts she owed after insurance paid. They couldn't pay any of it, were barely able to buy food and pay bills with my help. The hospital and doctors finally just wrote off a few hundred thousand. I was surprised her farm wasn't taken for payment which I know hospitals will do. Ron had Medicare and secondary insurance so most of his bills were covered.

I also don't know how you can manage your health when you can't afford the medicine. No news flash on that, I'm sure. I checked with the pharmacy on the new kidney med that the doctor ordered. Not covered by insurance and is $700+ per month. I declined it. From what I gather, all kidney meds are over $500. I read that garlic is helpful for kidney disease so I'll start taking it again. I used to take it for heart health.

I've been watching an older series called "Lost". Lots of crazy episodes, but it's entertaining.

Why did you remove the patch if it's supposed to help you get rid of the Oxy?

Never saw it before and I love it, Marg!

It was originally started as a way to save energy by using more natural light. I guess AZ doesn't need to save energy.  lol  It was always so strange to me in KY in the summer and still light out at 9 pm.

Gwen, they should be able to email you the instructions. Even my vet does that for the dog's stuff.

I forgot to ask you how the pain patch is working out. Is it providing any relief?

Lonely night here too. Just me, the dogs, and tv.

I guess old age is catching up and this will be my year. I went to the doctor today for bloodwork and med refills. I've known for a while that I'm in the early stages of kidney disease and he has decided I should start on kidney medicine, so guess I will if it's not too expensive. He is also sending me for a head CT to try and identify any problem that might be causing my double vision(over a year now). I am having severe headaches which I attribute to lack of sleep and struggling to see. Will also be seeing my opthamologist. Time for my yearly eye exam anyway. Somewhere in this confusion is a dermatologist appt. and bi weekly blood draws for my dog. Of course all this can only be done on Mondays(my son's day off) so he can do the driving. Don't mind getting old so much, just the helpless part and being dependent. So for now, life is not dull...just not the kind of activities I enjoy.

Kay, I waited a couple of hours and tried again and everything worked fine. It seems a little patience helps. I did discover on the pairs that were not worn for a long time that the leather foot beds turned super sticky and the foam padding on some had rotted so will be throwing those away. Funny how some pairs stood the test of time and others didn't.

Decided to splurge and buy myself a new pair of sandals and sox for around the house as a birthday present to myself. Almost choke when I see the price of shoes. I've been wearing boots for so long(which are expensive), just never paid attention to shoes. My sandals are "Earth Shoes" bought at least 25 years ago for $10. They run at least $70 now. They are indestructible, but look pretty rough after all these years. I found some "Easy Spirit" ones at Penny's on clearance for $18, funky colors but my feet don't care. Not leather, but have good reviews. Almost impossible for me to buy shoes locally. Most shoes don't come in size 5 and ones that do aren't stocked in the stores.

I can understand having a space around your house during fire season or warm weather. Not much chance of fire when it's snowing though. Seems like there should be an allowance for firewood in winter. We always kept a small supply on the back porch at the cabin for winter visits. The bulk of it was in a big shed in the back yard.

I've been watching a lot of older movies. At least I recognize the actors. I watched "The Dollmaker" from 1984 with Jane Fonda. Never saw it before. I thought it was excellent. Helps to be familiar with Appalachian culture.

Might be a good idea to put a piece of metal over the rat entry, Gwen. The rat could chew the tape.

I'm in Scottsdale on the eastern edge of Phoenix. It snowed about 7 miles northeast of me as well as several other outlying areas of the valley. It has been many many years since it snowed one time at my house. Strange seeing snow on the Superstition Mins but it does happen. I believe it's a record breaking year for snow in Flagstaff, probably for lots of places in the country with these crazy storms.

Too bad you can't store firewood closer to the house and avoid some of the shoveling.

 Gwen, also wondering how you're supposed to manage the specialist visits. Kind of defeats the purpose of "home" health.