Okay...I'm home and things are moving fast. I go tomorrow for preop tests/xray etc and than Friday morning will have the esopgh/tube check for clots than a thump or so. Thank you for your prayers and keep them a coming.....should be fine but scared spitless. Oh off coumadin and started on Pradaxa at $303/rx k3

Good Morning GG's and hi to ALL. Welcome LRH and Celia.

Kathy-Thanks, I needed to know it will get better, I will keep my standards high. So much drama now, don't need more on the telly, lol.

Karen 31-You've had that bug long enough, give it the heave ho!

Karen3-Love your Dash "rut" story, tfs.

Glynne-CONGRATS!

Bobbi-good luck on the showing, it'll work with the right couple.

So it's raining here also, and my hottub is filling up - ugh. Will have to pull the other cover out of storage and get that water out (again - must be a slow learner) before it freezes. We just get streaming netflix (no tv), can't wait for the next "Doc Martin" season. Fiber is the key, my question is how do you deal with the gas or am I special? Our monthly garden club meeting is today, woohoo! Looking forward to the social time.
Diana

Sending my prayers.

I went to college in Tampa, USF. Miss all that sunshine.

Diana

Hi everyone. and welcome to all the new chickies. bear with me as i get folks mixed up im back on track too. i gained for the 1st time in 2 yrs, ugh im disgusted with myself but wont change my ticker either. back to the high protein very lo carbs small portions for a bariatric surg survivor. my dh finally is feeling better after his surg. in fact he is going to the cabin with his buddys today.i'm happy for him but more happy for me sometimes even married folks need a break. I have been interested in the downtown abbey reviews so i bid on a the 2 seasons dvd in e-bay. never heard of it till in here.K3 am sending good thoughts for you and also Bobbie on her house. its POOF day so am going shopping with my dd,and making a trip to the fabric store also. see while the dh is gone this little mouse gets to play. hope your day is great rosey

Hey...I have 24hrs of normal time with one task. I must eat a large green salad for supper. OMG does that make me smile. I have been on the darn low vitamin K/coumadin diet and having dreams of green vegies and salads. After about 5 years of doing South Beach diet this restriction was actually painful. I miss my vegies/beans.

Gayle...thank goodness you passed the cpr class. I always flunked baby. Squeezed that little devil like toothpaste. Only did once for real on a real baby it was much easier...scarier but easier. A gramma had brought in a baby she thought was DOA. It laid on my palm and I could feel the beat until it stopped. I ran back into ER squeezing and calling for help....Gramma did good and baby lived.

Bobbi...You just had to remind me of too much fiber huh????? Gesh always be sure of extra water intake. Water thy self until your eye balls float. Dash loves my oven and wants to eat as soon as he realizes there's cooking going on. He herds me into the kitchen all day long for test treats.

Diana...we are 65 miles North of Tampa. Temp today is already 82, but sea fog is starting to roll in. We are on the coast where all the Manatees winter. Have a bunch of magnum springs that keep them warm enough.

Rosie....are you having me time? OMG I want some of that.

Lynn....Sounds like your DD is doing pretty good.

Cajun....You will always be worried about your kids. That is part of mothering they don't tell you about. I think having a second choice for a career is a very mature idea.

Donna....Thank you for being so kind.

All the rest of the newbies....I readed your stuff but it'll take me a few days to stort you out. We are just an old fashion coffee club, come on in to my table, pull up a chair and grab a cuppa....we are able to support you, figure out answers to about everything 'cause one of us done that or been there. We have a posse that is led by Donna that will take care of any problems even track you down in dead of night(right Isabella?) Mostly we're mature women who bask in their Chronehood. k3

Jess, everyone here in our area hates Obamacare. And as for affordable, HA! Everyone is paying more, plus more on other things. And yesterday I heard about this couple who just retired-- her health care alone went from $64 to over$700 per month. Between that and decreasing Medicare reimbursements and unavailibility of drugs and pay for performance, my job is a lot harder and so is my husband's, and his salary decreases. Large companies can opt out, pay a fine, keep what they have currently, and still come out ahead. What a mess. All it appears to be is a punishing burden.

Kathy

Donna~ it was just personal reason. Hospital is cutting employees. It means more patients per nurse. No aids to help out. No overtime. Pay stays the same. When winter is over and census is low they have no problem cutting hours. He has the chance to more than triple his salary with all the same benefits. Not to mention overload paperwork. I'm guessing he just needs a less stressful job.

I certainly didn't mean to upset anyone about the obamacare if I did.

Hugs
Cajun

Cajun's right. I'm an old R.N. I keep my license but can't imagine going back to it. Nurses don't get paid nearly enough for all the responsibility. It's a shame--they work so hard.

Karen3--best of luck to you!

So far, so good with my plan. Losing slowly but something almost every day. Just pray I can stay motivated. That's why I look to all of you.

Hi,

Just dropped in to say hello. Haven't been around for awhile.

Karen, good luck with the procedure. You'er going on Pradaxia? I know it's the "new and improved" but not sure it would be mine. I was talking to our pharmacist at work and he's not crazy about it either.

Kathy, I'm sorry, I'm not understanding you here. You know someone who went from paying 64$ to 700$? Were they getting insurance from where they worked and quit and had to buy their own? Doesn't sound like anything to do with Obama care. The doctors here aren't crazy about Obama care either. Means they have to be more accountable for the tests they run and the care they give. But there are so many people using the ER for a doctors office that hospitals are having a hard time. And people are waiting so long to go to the Dr because they have no insurance that we are getting very sick people that cost a lot of money when it could have been handled for much less in a doctors office.

Cajun, Not sure where your son works, but the nurses are the last to be cut in the hospital. No aids? It would be very hard to do my job without them, I depend on my PCT. No cuts there either, at least for me. There have been some cuts, but it's usually lab and office first. But if your son has a chance to get a better paying job and work less hard, I'd say go for it too. Nursing is hard work.

Have a good night,

Freda

Good evening, everyone.

Cajun, no offense taken or given. It's interesting to me what people are beginning to see and say as the new year begins and things that Congress enacts begin to take effect. Some aspects will probably be very different in different areas of the country. And some things are very much the same everywhere in healthcare. It's very touchy at the moment.

It was a lovely evening and a fun time at class tonight. Newbies there too. I just love when we have some new teenagers in our adult class. We start out being boring old ladies to them, but buy recital time they are already thinking that they want to stay with us next year. Who knew?

I had to laugh today at my Maxine daily calendar. She was so right about dieting today: "I've lost 2 pounds, one from each boob. Stupid diet."

Hi, Rosey. I haven't been around for a while, but like Ruthxxx, it's good to see some old friends are still here now that I'm back here.

Guess I will, check in in the morning. Had something else on my mind and I went blank--must have been a lie as my great-grandma used to say. Maybe it will come back by then. Sleep well!

Kathy

Good morning Goldie's
Phew! So much rain since. Our road is starting to flood. Over 10 inches last night. Should get a break this afternoon and tomorrow then rain for Saturday thru Tuesday again.
I'm still doing good on my diet. But.... I had a rough afternoon yesterday. I think that Lil devil was sitting on my shoulder giving me a hard time. I know after a week or so when the carbs get out of my system it will get better. I will weight in tomorrow and I think it will be good because I'm not as bloated. We'll see.

I'll be back later for personals

Hugs
Cajun

Sorry, no time to gab this morning, just going to report my foods yesterday. A tad low on calories but we were in town in the morning and didn't get back for lunch until late.
822 calories
42 grams of fiber

K3...ouch! Both on the pain and the cost of your meds. It'll be over soon, God Bless!

Donna, I don't understand a lot about Obamacare. It hasn't effected me much yet with my Medicare. But several companies in the area are cutting their full time employees back to part time so they won't have to pay their insurance. That is not a step in the right direction, IMO. These people didn't have insurance before, and now they still don't have insurance, but now they make less money.

Also, my BIL finally got hardship insurance after incurring over 20K in medical bills that he couldn't pay. He went to the doctor and the insurance wouldn't cover the visit because his high blood pressure was a pre-existing (sp) condition. I thought that was going to change.

IMO my pcp contributes to higher medical costs. He orders tests for everything. He wanted me to go for a brain MRI because of my dizzy spells before he even checked anything else. I asked him what made him think it was a problem in my brain and he said it probably isn't but it's best to check. I thought he should start by doing some checking that wasn't so extreme and expensive, especially since he said the MRI probably wouldn't show anything. He was a little mad that I didn't go for the MRI, but the dizziness went away by itself over time. So I had it and never found out what it was because he never looked into anything else. Also, he always wants to change my meds to something newer. The new drugs are Brand only and cost so much more. I am on generics that are doing the job...so why switch? Do the doctors get kickbacks for this? My cardiologist has me on these drugs for my heart and blood pressure, and the PCP wants to change them. I don't think the cardiologist would appreciate his interference.

My DH hates doctors and never goes unless he absolutely has to, and now I'm starting to understand his viewpoint.

Bobbi - What do you eat for your fiber? I was told to eat a lot of fiber and I think I do, but I never checked the grams.