Chit Chat for October 2023

[silk]

Good evening dear friends. Oh my; lots to read. Huronna, that creaking arthritis in the morning is no joke.I had that too at age 59 when I was diagnosed with HH. From then, after menapause , the arthritis galloped. The reason being the iron overload was killing my joints and of course I hadn't a reason to have my blood taken...the natural process was taking care of it. After diagnose I began having venesections..a pint of blood every week for nine months until the ferritin came down. Too late to save my joints.The sad thing was then that my blood wasn't used.Just tossed out. My lovely Doctor did venesections for me for years. How scary that was for you with Joe talking in his sleep. The thought of burglars the house would scare me to death.
Dee, it's hard when atrhritis prevents us from doing those things we love . You really did have a dreadful time healthwise. Frightening to be told you have menengitis. I am definitley going to cook a turkey this Xmas after reading your recipe.
After all these years I've discovered that I can mist simply in various areas by using the eraser tool in a very large size.
Flagryl I am so glad you had such a wonderful time for John's birthday.
Grassy..good results for you. How lucky that Sid can cut patterns for you.
Vicki so nice to see you and you too Tilly.
Thank you all so much for your good wishes regarding my pain, and Julien. It does help.
I am unusually garrulous tonight so time I shut up.

[Huronna]

I think the recipe is pretty animated in itself. It was wiggling by the time I finished reading it..
I knew a lot of people who have needle-phobia.. I don't have the nest veins. Well I have one good one that they used to draw units from, Back in the old days, if you gave 1 unit, you could cover someone for a year at the blood bank. There was really no insurance back in the 60's. So I covered my mother, my father, my two brothers and even my first husband (ickko) Now if you stick it, I gush for hours afterwards. They always look at that one and I say NO!, use my other arm, and of course the answer is, well I can see anything. Dummy, you feel for it not look for it, unless you have to use that sonogram thingie, which didn't exist back in the 60's either. I was a whiz back then, Lots of people will send me their lab results to interpret truthfully as many times the docs kind of sugar coat stuff. I may be retired now (good grief it's 4 years already!) but it's all ingrained in my brain.

Niece and boyfriend coming for the weekend. We were over to Hobe Sound (east coast of FL) a few weeks ago so they are returning the visit. Another casino day on Sunday LOL

[deezaster]

Huronna - Nooo say it isn’t so, you gamble?? Lol we could be In trouble…
Enjoy your wonderful weekend with your Neice and her bf

Silk, my goodness I understand nothing about medical terminology but it seems
You are a trooper and went through some serious pain issues, if you don’t mind me asking, what is a venesection?
I truly hope the Drs are taking good care of you still, having a Dr you trust no matter what the reason
You are seeing them, imho is crucial.

[Grassy]

There are special teams at Mayo who do nothing but start IVs and look for veins and such. Sometimes you get really good people who can pop the thing in and you don't even feel it, and sometimes you get new people or less confident people who are unsure and it hurts like the dickens. I am left-side restricts due to the breast cancer and the risk of lymphedema, so my right side is pretty scarred veinwise. It's so fortunate having Mayo and M Health (the University of Minnesota) in my backyard. Needles don't creep me out as much as people fiddle farting around and messing with me. Just get in and get the job done.

Dee, ouch with the sewing needle! Yikes!
I am sorry for the meningitis. Have you had it before? I hope you get better soon.

Can you guys believe it's only 41 days until Thanksgiving? I am so excited I can't stand myself! Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday! I love to cook and see my family. There is talk that my little brother may be coming too.
Thanksgiving is a week early this year, so we can decorate and play Christmas music early too! Yay! Ha ha!

[Huronna]

Dee, Silk is in Australia and doesn't come in to the wee hours.
so here is the actual procedure
Venesection is a procedure to reduce red blood cells. This is the simplest and quickest way of reducing the number of red cells in your blood. It will reduce the amount of blood in your body by removing about one pint (half a litre) of blood at a time. It is similar to the procedure used for donating blood.

And yes I gamble, but within reason. Not a big roller at all, but I love those slots! Only when I am with a friend though, so we can sheer the other on when they are doing good and visa versa.
The cruise I'm going on in Nov 26-Dec 10th (37 days to go)has a big Casino and I will probably play a bit there. but our usual cruise line, it's a very very small one since there are only 700 passengers at the most.
I play with a certain amount and if I loose that, I leave, a few weeks ago I was down to rock bottom after about 3 hours and them Woo Hoo I got it all back PLUS 61 cents HA HA how is that for a win?

[Huronna]

remembered we had not had our flu shots, so just made the appt. Today at 4:30 and 4:45, around the corner at Walgreens, how is that for service?

[Grassy]

How are you doing Silk?

How is everyone?

Life is great here! I got released back to Family Practice as I had hoped. I am doing well. I am beyond stoked!

[Grassy]

I am going through tubes for auction entries. I didn't realize the hoochie phase lasted so long. I have stacks of hoochie ones. You would think that in winter time, the tubes would wear more clothes. Ha ha ha. I hope I have some snowmen.

[Huronna]

Grassy I would look at Leonarda, Deezaster, Audre, and Denise garnish 2023, there are thousands of tubes you probably have not see.
there are no hooches in those threads

[Grassy]

Ooooooo goody! Thanks for the tip!

[deezaster]

Grassy, doing much better thank you, I wish we had a Mayo here like yours. I will put off Dr appointments to avoid bloodwork, I’m so tragic…
Glad you are doing well and stoked with family practise.
I love Nov 1st - til Boxing Day, then I’m over the year to follow before it begins lol….until Nov 1st again,
It’s my favorite 2 months… and most constructive.

Ty for the explanation Huronna, it almost sounds like dialysis I guess, maybe I’m wrong.
I am not a high roller either and do love the slots, I sometimes think it’s the only reason I bowl, just a convenient excuse to go to Vegas every year lol…

P.s. I can do hoochie but typically try to keep my Ai hoochie free lol… very rarely you get that one girl with a twinkle in her eye, too much cleavage and long legs and the twinkle just screams go on be a devil. Keep me

[silk]

Dee, it's just like giving a pint of blood. For life, to keep the iron level down. HH can be life threatening but the treatment is simple. Thanks too Huronna for explaining. Not too much alcohol or meat. It can't be controlled by diet. Popeye didn't get those muscles from spinach. It has an iron inhibitor. Lucky I don't have a fear of needles...especially that big one.

[deezaster]

Silk you are so brave and super amazing, I just don’t think I could do that.

Maybe I can explain why:
I mean I’ve run away from the emergency room at Bunbury Regional Hospital because they had to give me stitches and a tetanus shot, and the stitches were going in my foot, so I left a blood trail, it seems funny, but I had literally cut through 3/4 of 3 toes on my left foot and they needed to be rejoined… and I’d rather run away, jeopardize losing the toes, in a whole lot of pain, than have a needle and some stitches…
A couple of hours later the police found me and took me back… The doctors decided to put me into twilight sleep and get the job done that way, including the tetanus shot.
I was 14 but have been trying to run from needles forever.

I seriously believe it was from getting Hep A when I was 9 years old living in PNG and I got so sick they airlifted me to Cairns Aust, and I was given shots and having blood drawn daily, it was a lot, I was quarantined so by myself, and dreaded the daily shots and blood draws.

I also had eye surgery right before I turned 11 and after the surgery I was given morphine, turns out I was allergic and it almost killed me, so I guess it was good to find that out, but it meant a lot more things inserted via needles etc, I think I had 4 Ivs until I was safe from the morphine, but had a stomach tube etc, what should have been a 5 day surgery hospital stay turned into 2 weeks….
And a whole bunch more needle poking then I ever should have needed.

I think both those traumatic experiences, the fear set in and has gotten worse with age…
It is so silly and I always try to walk and talk myself through it and be the “I can overcome this fear” person, I feel great about it and then I have to have blood work done or get told you need a shot, and I’m out… I just leave,
the fear completely overtakes me, it’s horrible..

So I see someone like you Silk and I can’t even fathom giving a pint of blood for life, and having the courage to go through that, you are truly amazing.
I’m sure you’ve probably had way worse traumas then mine given your circumstances, but you are obviously a strong woman and you should be proud that through it all, you are here to share your world and creative self with us. Thank you.

[Flagryl]

OMWord Dee, you have really had a terrible time so no wonder the fear is front and center. Hard to overcome as one ages. I've donated gallons of blood over the years and am particularly popular since I'm O+ and so many can receive my blood. Because of my low blood pressure and living in the mountains at 7,600ft, doc doesn't want me giving blood here. The two don't mix and we don't want me passing out and falling. My normal is 96/62.

Effects from drugs sure are different for different people. Morphine is the ONLY truly successful med for me after surgery. Silk, you might consider going to a pain management specialist regarding opiods. You probably know, but addiction issues w/opiods sure have docs on the cautious side and drug companies monitor those Rxs. After my spine surgeries, I could only take morphine but my doc did not worry. He said I was one of the most disciplined patients he had ever had. I said how do you know that. He said, just look at you. Healthy skin, not over weight bla bla bla. I waved him off and he laughed. I did have multiple conversations w/him about how best to get wean off the morphine. I did go off too early and paid a price but there just aren't any step-down meds my system will tolerate. Even tylenol does not work. I can take tramadol but it's a very low-dose med and stepping down to it after a major surgery like mine is not easy. I was so happy to do the next step-down to Celebrex, an anti-inflamatory that works very well for me w/my arthritis. Goodness I do go on...

Silk, good to hear a report about the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and the Rosellas, calming to watch I suspect. Grassygryl, I am over the moon that you are doing so well and I hope the job at Joanne's Fabric works out. Glad you got the flu shots Huronna, we got ours plus the latest Covid a week or so ago. Just signed up for the RSV since the Pharmacist said wait a couple of weeks after the first 2. Vikki, so good to see you!

It was a whirlwind here last week with the final touches on all the skylights, painting the trim and hooking up the wireless controls w/solar. They are coming back next week and will paint the top of the chimney chase to match our roof color. Also just arranged the contract for the additional heat tape on the north roof valley. Electrician will install 3 heat sensors so they will come on automatically when the temps and moisture trigger the controls.

[silk]

Dee...I think that trauma as a young girl would last a life time. I imagine it was terrifying. I think we are all brave. Most of us have been through a lot and we can still laugh.
Flagryl, thank you for your input.I am very wary of opiates having had a very bad experience and would never take large doses. Morphine makes me very ill, at least in the liquid form.I've not seen a pain specialist. I'll talk to my Doctor when he gets back from vacation. You've endured more pain than anyone should have to. I too went off the opiates too early in the past and paid a high price.You will be so glad when all the renovations are complete. I still envy you that beautiful fireplace.

[Grassy]

Holy cow, Dee! That is terrible that you endured so much at such a young age. I did not even stay overnight in a hospital (besides psych admissions) until I was 48 years old. Having such trauma so young is hard to get over. I am sorry you had to endure that. Intense discomfort or fear of needles in a medical setting is called trypanophobia. I wonder if that could be noted in your chart and maybe people could treat you with respect to that condition? It is noted as a bona fide condition.

I am allergic to morphine - found out the hard way. Tramadol too. But I am allergic to lots of things.

I am lucky that I only had that whole mess with pancreatitis and then breast cancer. You guys are so much braver for the things you handle.

Silk, you and everyone else with chronic illnesses on here are awesome!

[Flagryl]

It's all so hard...our differences and how we attempt to cope/manage. I need to say that the people who truly deserve huge accolades are those whose systems are either over sensitive to or adverse to drugs but they keep going on going on trying to make a difference. Those with family history suffer tremendously and it seems no amount of discipline makes a difference, so systemic.

It helps to know your stories. I am so in awe of all of you, my struggles seems like dim light among those of you who shine so brightly despite your stuggles.

[deezaster]

This is like crisis management 101 here, it’s so interesting to learn about everyone’s ailments and how you pull through and cope, and what works and what doesn’t.

Grassy I was only ever allergic to seafood and morphine, as a child, at about 14 years old I became allergic to our cat, it literally happened overnight, and was first thought to be asthma because I couldn’t breathe, turned out to be Max and my mum decided I would have to figure it out, the cat was staying… mind you, he was my cat, slept in my room at night, so he was very unhappy about being locked out, and would sit at my door meowing for hours to be let into my room, he fast became the house annoyance, waking everyone up, and my mother finally gave in to him sleeping in her room. Lol

Fast Forward, from 2006- 2012, I started having serious bronchial issues, ear infections, sinus infections, skin rashes, that wouldnt go away, sleep deprivation, muscle fatigue, breathing issues, nausea ingrained, serious gastro issues, including gastroparesis and my hair falling out, here I was thinking its going to be pre meno or menopause,
But nope..
I had developed allergies to literally everything, hair shampoo and conditioner, laundry liquid, pods, powders, dryer sheets, body soap, liquid, gel, toothpaste, oral mouthwash, most types of makeup especially lipstick and eyeshadows, liners, ,as areas, body wash, talcum powders, deodorants, hair spray, mousse, gel, certain plastics, bubble bath, body lotions, creams, turns out, after several biopsies, tests for metal poisoning, etc, allergy testing where I failed and reacted seriously to everything except grasses, weeds etc like normal seasonal stuff… yay lucky me lol…
MY old allergies, cats ( to cat dander - not cats,) seafood and morphine allergies were extremely bad, my reaction time was immediate and I had to be given antihistamines and an injection straight away when they did the seafood test, so they had worsened,
So I was over producing histamine and a lot of it, my mast cells were going crazy, my billi Rubin levels were very high, turns out, I had developed systemic mastocytosis, not what caused the allergies but hey, it’s a result of having so many which traumatizes your body, 
so in order to figure out which kind, of mastocytosis I have, they need to do bone marrow testing, guess who opted out for that, and just lives with it … No Bloody Way are they sticking needles into my bones to test marrow…. Nope, no no no….
So every year since being diagnosed in 2012, I’m allergic to new things, develop new allergies, deal with ridiculous rashes and hives etc, all the other symptoms still, migraines - from the lack of sleep, it’s just crazy and every 9 months or so you hit the Mast wall, where your body just quits and says nope!!! can’t do it, you get sick and it’s about a month of bed rest, because you literally can’t do anything.
the Drs I’ve seen here blame this on me - because I moved into a different chemical air filled environment, then what my body was accustomed too,
IMHO It may have contributed but I don’t believe moving countries caused the onslaught of allergies to then cause the mastocytosis. I have no degree in medical science but I feel it’s a little bit far fetched…

Now I read about you ladies and the breast cancer and cancers and serious surgeries, and serious back surgeries, and pints of blood weekly, monthly, pancreatitis, etc and I am shocked at how lively, happy and well put together you all are, I would be a basket case dealing with any of those issues, and my problems are very trivial in comparison.

The Opioid issue for me is not one and never has been,
I don’t tolerate anything very well, so I’d rather suffer in pain then take them, I just hate the feeling I get from them, like I’m dragging my knuckles on the ground, and I’m not able to focus or function well.
I recently had tramadol for my broken foot I think they were 10mg I only took 1 - and was a zombie for 2 days, so out of the prescribed bottle, we recently flushed the 29 left lol..
I get these internal shivers that last hours, like I’m shivering on the inside, but not on the outside, and they gave me muscle relaxants for those, but they don’t do anything to help, so I don’t take them either, and I’m supposed to be on blood pressure and heart meds but I ran out and they won’t refill them unless I get blood work done, which I have cancelled 7 times now, so it’s been 4 months since I ran out, so I’m sure you can clearly see why I am in awe of how well you ladies have all dealt with your issues, way better than I ever could.
More Power to you all, I mean I wish no one ever had to deal with anything but it’s sadly the nature of the beast…and I’m not very good with beasts lol

The Good News is,
Today marks Day 35 of being cigarette and vape free,
so we are still on track, ( still sucking my sugar free Werner’s Originals every time I feel like a ciggie,) But still haven’t touched either of them after Quitting.
I just realized it’s Sunday so DAY 36 is beginning lol….

Please be safe Ladies….
In The Words Of King Kong ” Gorilla Snuffle Rawrrr”!

[Huronna]

Will catch up when company leave.
I am so hoarse this morning. I type a lot on line but I don't talk that must in person. Well yesterday the boys both took naps, so LeeAnn and I were out on the lanai yapping for about two hours straight. Lota ro catch up, all the family gossip ( and lots of it HA HA) So I woke this morning and can barely talk, of course that makes my husband happy HA HA.
No sore throat, just hoarse.
Joe's not be at his best these past couple of days, really light headed and had a couple of spells where if I had not been there to hold him up he would have wound up on the floor. I've got him drinking a couple of bottles of fluid right now, because it's always the dehydration that makes his low BP worse and he gets these dizzy spells. He's never thirsty, so unless I put something in his hands,....need I say more? Men always think they know best.

[Flagryl]

Well, not to the extent you experience Dee...but as I age allergies to many things continue to worsen. I was born and raised in Iowa and when I go back to the Midwest, I'm normal. I was tested, no needles just some scrapings on my back, and I am allegic to things that grow out here. And some new things pop up, but all I get is a runny nose and it gets stuffed up at night here w/o antihistamines. I'm also now allergic to laytex. Congrats on stopping smoking and vape, that should help you out Dee!!! Diet is so important as we age, I hate having to be so careful now. Takes a lot of thinking and planning and executing.

Glad you have Joe on the water Huronna.

[Flagryl]

So, I have to tell this story. At the age of 3 or so, my younger brother dashed out of the house when some work was being done and a wire snapped and hit him in the eye. He was too young to remember, but his subconscious did because I know the doc gave him a shot in the eyeball. So as an adult he shied from flu shots, the required childhood shots did not set well w/him. When he had some health issues, they had to sedate him for shots. Fast forward, he helped care for our mom when she was dying and had to give her daily shots. I said how on earth did you do that. Now, he's a smart/cerebral guy. Retired IT director from large corporation. He said I knew I had to do it so I didn't think about it, just oompartmentalized my thoughts and did it. You know Nike, just do it. He said he broke out in a cold sweat ahead of time and had to take deep, deep breaths. Well, good thing because when covid came along, he was able to get the shot. Same routine. And good thing because he now borders on his BMI being in the obese range. Covid would have put him in the hospital if not do him in. Doc teased he was doing so well he should get post-retirement training as a phlebotomist. So, there's a career move for ya. He makes it sound easy, but it's not easy to tame our subconscious when it had such a hold on our brain. Our fears from past traumas can rule our living.

[1247chance]

WOW.. lots of ouchs in here...my only issue is getting caught up on laundry, when i have time...

on a lighter note ..I'm also a gambler .. or should I say loser, a group of us go a few times a year and everyone fights over,who's sitting next to me... I assure you its NOT my charm and beauty nor a winning personality, Whoever sits next to me always wins big while I lose...Its my 1 redeeming quality..

[Huronna]

I'm with you Clyde on that. I never win, but as long as I have a good time with whoever I am with, that's more important to me. My excuse to my husband is, "you donate to the church, I donate to the Indians" I didn't win, but was there for 6 hours and had fun with Leelee, Mark is the big gambler, so we just let him go to his type of high roller machines and we did the fun ones.

Boy Dee, I sure do understand you fear of needles. eek gads. I hate to say this but I'm not allergic to anything, and not afraid of needled I probably drew blood from over 10,000 patients, including those wee tiny babies in just the first couple of years I worked. We always had to go up on the floors first and usually had about 20 patients to do. This was back in the mid-60's, before the days of disposable needles. Yes we used to reuse them, sharpening and sterilizing them. ANd great big glass syringes and lots of tubes because everything in the lab was done by hand then, not big analyzers until around 1967-8. I still have my books and they could be considered antiques as they are about 60 years old. Enough of this! I'm retired now.

Voice is still really hoarse and not as peppy as I usually am. Wonder what I can blame that on...

[silk]

Very interesting reading. I am lucky since I don't have but a couple of allergies. Life must be so hard for those of you who do.
I don't have a gambling bone in my body and think I miss out on some fun. Even when we were in LasVegas I went to bed with a book while Joe gambled. How dull that makes me. I love the races though but it's just to see the horses.
My son Ben and his partner Steph stayed overnight on their way to their house on the island. Their darling little cat , Scout was with them of course, so I was in heaven. This is their first house so we are all excited.
Huronna...men ! Just as well you keep an eye on Joe.

[Huronna]

I made him stay home when we went to the casino, way too much walking and he doesn't play the slots anyway, just stared when I feed the machine LOL