I haven't been on for a couple days. My wrist and arm did its usual flare up. Had to sit up and sleep and all that good stuff. Much better today. All I have to say is "don't chew gum all day at work". My jaw is flaring up now...
This will probably be my best day on the program. I don't even feel like opening my mouth.

Charlotte-Sorry to hear about your mom. I had no idea that happens with Alzeimer's. How long has she had it anyhow? Must be upsetting for everyone. I'm sending some prayers your way.

Canuk-Glad to hear the wedding was a a success. Now me, personally, I think snow would make it a romantic kind of day. I married my second husband in January. I wish we could have afforded a wedding but went to the Justice of the Peace at the courthouse.
Sorry about you're eye too. I went to the ER in Sept. for my eye too. Although I accidently instilled my contact cleaner directly into my eye instead of getting poked. Not my smartest move but I was so tired that day and not thinking at all. Needless to say, I got antibiotic ointment for my eye and it was swollen and red for a week.

Hey Rita-I was reading your post. Are you a nurse? I really admire you for helping in the nursing home. Around here, some of the people in the nursing homes get so snotty with the patients. My heart aches for the ones nobody comes to visit too. I've seen to many of those. I used to go visit with my Grandmother when my Great Grandma was in. Their faces light up to see people, esp. little ones. I wish more people would take the time and not forget that they need love and attention too.

p.s Charlotte... I hid my RA from my dad for over 2 years before I told him. I work for him so at work, I'd pretend that nothing hurt. I kept that smile on my face and was in agony on th inside because it hurt so bad. Grin and bear it! He finally found out when I had my med problem last year and couldn't hardly walk or stand. I was shuffling my feet and every step was excruciating. I cried alot...it was too hard to hide. I have had this complex for most of my life. I never was that close to my dad but I am so worried about being a disappointment to him. Or just letting him down. Sad huh?

Well I have to get the kids pushed out the door for school.

Hey BTW Deb- Maybe I'll have to start hiding towels too. :lol:

Love you all!
~chris

Hey There
 

Angel- Losing the weight is the easy part..Maintaining is the hardest. I am there and have been for the past 4 years. If you are like me the thought of gaining all that weight back is keeps me in a constant state of worry.. I hate it..
I was a charge nurse in a nursing home for the last 15 years that I worked. I know what you and your sister are going through. Just keep in mind that your mother is getting the best care. She is not suffering as she probably does not realize what is happening. That in itself is a blessing. It is probably harder for you than it is for her.If she is near the end ,keep in mind ,she is in Gods hands. It may be difficult for you ,but, try to stay realistic.. I cannot tell you what a relief you will feel when she does finally go Home to God.
Hello Everybody...Joanne

Chrily & Joanne...you both made me feel better by your understanding.

Yes, Chrily....it's sad when you feel you have to pretend. Especially when you try so hard to get your dad's approval. My dad was always very proud of me. I was "daddy's girl". My mother was the one that I had problems with. I forgave her for everything when she got sick. I don't hold anything against her, but do feel it was such a waste of both of our lives, not having a mother-daughter relationship as we could have had. I'm sorry you don't have a close relationship with your dad. Chrily, don't think that's your fault. You don't have to prove yourself to him. Just be yourself. If you hurt...your body is telling you to slow down. There are times we have to pretend. Like when I'm in the public eye. But, when I'm just around family, believe me, they know when I don't feel good. I hope I haven't said too much. It's like my pastor's wife told me, when she saw I was trying to push myself once. No one knows our feelings. Only do WE know how we feel. If I'm not able to do something, now, I don't. Anyone can think what they want. Even my DH, as much as he loves me, just doesn't understand. I'm still hearing constantly, how I should get off the meds, & exercise more. :(

Joanne....Yes, I am terrified at gaining the weight back. It's just so hard to lose, & worse on my health, also.
Thanks for the advice. I had another friend who'd worked in a nursing home to tell me the same thing. I'll try to listen to your advice. My sister & I just really panicked the other day. I don't want to make the decision of forced tube feeding. I'm her sponsor, & afraid they will ask me to do that. I'm not wanting that....but, don't want her hungry. I think you're right, though. She probably doesn't even realize she's hungry. She was sitting up yesterday...but, she was in her own world. My sister & I agree it would be more merciful to allow her to go on to God.
My step-dad is giving me a hard time, now. He called me today, & chewed me out. Said I went behind his back to be his sponsor (which isn't true...he told them he wanted me.), & he didn't even want to be there. He had himself checked in & called us to tell us about it. We didn't even know he was planning on going. :^: Oh well...I've been expecting that. He's strange, sometimes.

Hope everyone has a good evening.

Hey There
 

Angel- There is a lot of controversy about tube feeding. A person in your moms condition can live for years with tube feedings.. But then again ,"Do you really want that? Would she want that?"It is a difficult thing for families to decide.. There is no quality to life.I agree that it is kinder to just let them go.I am not in favor of putting a tube in.It is sad ,but, some homes are in favor of them because the longer the bed is filled the more money they make.I hope she has the living will.
I have found that men tend to get forgetful and difficult as they get older..I bet your S/dad checked himself in because he could not manage well,but, maybe he just wanted to be close to your mom and still have some say so.
Nice day here in Florida.. We have a few now and then.. We need rain in my side of town.. My yard is dry..
Hello Everybody...Joanne

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Good morning, everyone.
Hope the TGIF day finds all of you as pain-free as possible. My Remicade is beginning to wear off, but still doing well. I'm retaining more fluid from the RA than I usually do, though. My legs and ankles have been swelling pretty bad.

I agree, Joanne...it is kinder to allow my mother to go on, when the time comes. I just wish it wasn't my decision, as the sponsor. Of course, I'll confer with my other sisters (one of which, you'd never know existed. :( ) when the time comes. No, she doesn't have a living will. That's why I'm afraid they'll want an answer from me. I tend to think the same about the nursing home wanting to keep them alive for the money. That's sad. They are in a very good one, but......facts are facts.
My step-dad has always been this way. We'll (my sister & I) will go out of our way doing things for him. Then, he will turn on us. This would happen before he ever got sick. He's diabetic, & started having to have shots. He didn't want to give himself a shot each day, & wanted one of us to go do it for him. Well, we have to draw the line somewhere. We both live quite a distance from him, in bad health ourselves, besides gas being so high. We told him he would have to learn to do it. Nurses were going by the house & giving him his shots, but it got really out of control. He was pretty sick, & called us one day, saying he'd checked himself into the nursing home, & we needed to clear the apartment & rental storage by the end of the month. We had 2 weeks! Talk about working our sick fannies off! He told us to sell what we could...gave us some things...& to decide for ourselves what to do with everything else. Most of it was old & not any good, so we threw it away. He knew this, & all was fine. He's feeling better, now.....getting bored. He's deciding he wants out of there....& we're to bring everything back & get him set up somewhere. I don't think so! What he gave us, he can have back,but, not mother's things. We're not going through all that again. I have just got the medicaid through for him! He's got 2 sisters that don't come to see him, or help in any way. He has no children. So, we have tried our best to take his aggravating ways these past few years, & help him. Mostly, because he was dedicated to mother. It sure wasn't because he showed care for us...never has. We can only take so much, though! Oh well...I've vented enough! :^:

Chrily....I hope your wrist & arm is better. Although my hands are't looking so great anymore, they don't bother me much. I'm so thankful....I stay on the computer a lot! Especially since the housefire....keeps me from dwelling on things.

Young Grasshopper....hope you're doing well. The advice of rotating family members is good. Only thing, there's only 2...me & my sister. :( Our children visit....but, have very busy lives. Their kids are into ball, cheerleading, etc., plus their jobs. That's ok. They need to take care of their families. I don't think they can hook an IV up to my mother, anyway. They tried it at the hospital, not long ago. She kept pulling it out....hates needles! They gave up. :o

Rita...glad you got your flu shot. Shortage here, also. My appointment with my General Dr is soon. I'll probably get my flu shot, then. Mine is usually saved for me. I expect it will be again. My white blood count stays very low, so I'll need all the protection I can get.

Hello Happy Canuk....hope you're better.Hope everyone is feeling good today. Hello to all who read this today!!

Good morning...good morning...good morning...

Just had to see how everyone is doing. My hand was doing good until I aggrevated it again yesterday. There's nothing I can do. When you have to lift a little one and fight her to sit in a carseat, something has to hurt. It's funny how one 2 year old can take on the strength of 4 kids when they really don't want to do something. I think maybe I would we good in a rodeo doing steer wrestling. :lol:

Charlotte-My ex MIL is like your stepfather. She was in pretty rough shape with her emphysema and my ex SIL had to get rid of all her property so she could qualify for medicare to be in a nursing home. My ex SIL bought her property and is making payments on it. And now she wants back out. The doctor's are saying they won't let her out unless she has a place to stay and the necessary things to take care of herself. So she is still in the nursing home. I think it's probably for the best with her because she doesn't take care of herself. She had a mobile home she was living in and she fell asleep while smoking and burned it all down. It even destroyed her car. Then she was staying in a motel for a bit and got so weak she couldn't get out of bed and they had to call my SIL and an ambulance to get her out. Needless to say because of all that, she wrecked the mattress and the room and isn't allowed back there anymore. I like her but she is in another town in a nursing home so around the holidays I try to send her some treats up...like her pringle potato chips, crossword puzzle books, and gloves to keep her hands warm when she goes outside to smoke and of course a pic of her youngest grand-daughter...Tiana.

~chris

Just have a few minutes to drop in and say HI! Hopefully I'll have time to catch up this afternoon. I'm going to our 2nd Sjorren Foundation meeting this morning, I'll report in after it's over.

If I don't make it back in, hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!

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I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I can't seem to get to feeling better. I do everything I know to do, but, I just keep feeling worse. My joints are all swollen. My right thumb is twice the size of my left one. :( I ache all over...my ankles are swollen....& boy, am I ill! :^: My treatment is still two weeks away.

Didn't get the roof on Saturday. It was a beautiful day. No one showed up. Later, one SIL called & then came over around 3pm. He said it was raining at their house that morning. Oh well....I'm getting use to disappointments.

Hope all are feeling well today. Good to hear from you, ageoldie. Sorry I'm such a grouch today.

I meant to get on here last night but my shoulder hurts like crazy. Instead of the the pain going from my hand up to my shoulder, it decided to go the other direction.

Charlotte,
I'm so sorry you're hurting so bad. I'm going to be saying a special prayer for you. I wonder why you're body is acting that way. I really hope for a speedy recovery for you.

Not much happening here. Just my flare but it seems I have a certain time each month when it is worse...so I'll just have to live with it. Plus I did an exercise video yesterday, which maybe my arm wasn't ready for. I can never gauge how far I can go before I'll be paying for it the next morning. I'll learn. Either that or my body will get used to it.

Well I better get going and get some housework done before my husband thinks I just laze around all day watching tv or playing on the computer.

~chris

Hi Everybody.

Barb - nice to see you drop in.

Angel - so sorry you are having such a tough time. Perhaps stress is playing a big roll in how you are feeling. Once the roof is on your house, maybe you will be able to relax more. Hope you feel better tomorrow.

Chrily - I hope your arm feels better tomorrow. It is just so terrible, when you want to do something, and end up hurting worse. So much for trying to help yourself. I did a couple of days of exercise and was laid up for 8 weeks. The chiro advised that I just try walking instead of exercises.

Joanne - hope you are coming along good now. I know you are still having summer by my standards :lol:

Grasshopper - glad things have improved a bit for you. Keeping the pain levels down is such a big +

Well, just wanted to stop in and say hello. Have a house to finish cleaning, so I had better get to it. Hope you are all having a fairly good day.

Hey There
 

Angel.. I surely hope you are feeling better by now..I know how hard it is to post when you aren't feeling well. I am slowly getting back to normal,whatever that is.I need to start watching what I eat and exercising more. I haven't walked in a couple months or more.
Our brother from Az. has been down here at a RV park for the past month and we have been doing a few things with them..It is the most we have seen each other in decades...
Hope everyone is well. I know you are as happy as I am not to have to watch political bashing at least for another 4 years..
Bye...Joanne

HI all,
I've been busy, busy, busy. Charlotte, I sure hope you feel better soon. I'm doing okay now. My feet are the only things doing the achy thing. Joanne-I hear you on the political bashing. I'd like to hear more about their plans and feeling about the issues at hand and not about the other person's past, name-calling or finger pointing.

Well tomorrow I'm going to sneak into my sister's apartment while they are gone for the weekend and clean it for her. I also bought bunk beds for her kids so they could have more room to play in their bedroom. And its a tiny room. Less than a foot between the beds and not even a foot between the bed and the dresser. That should be a nice surprise. I'll let you know how it goes.

~chris

Hi All!

Angel sorry things are so tough. Sorry to hear about your step father.....my grandfather got really nasty with his daughters at the end too. Weird. He'd be nice as could be to me and then nasty to Mom....in the same room. Used to make her cry. Make sure to take care of yourself....bet all the added stress is adding to your pain. Don't let it run you down or you won't be able to help either one of them.

I'll keep you in my prayers.

Hmmm...not much new on my end. Back is starting to bother me....thinks something is hitting my syatic nerve. Gets really bad at night. Giving me more reason to get that surg....on the plus side, I think I'm getting a promotion at work. That will be nice.

Well, I hope this finds everyone pain free or feeling a little better. Me? I've got a ton of towels hanging on the back of the bathroom door.....darn cleaning fairies are on strike! lol.

Take care all :)

Deb

To everyone today:

Hope today finds you all feeling a little better. I've had a good week. The weather has been abssolutely beautiful here in Dallas this week. My mom & I walk at the outside track at our health club and it is such a pretty setting. You would never know it was a healt club track. It's in what they call the Park and it's landscaped beautifully with trees, flowers and even statues. Today it was perfect to walk. The track is 1/2 mile, but it has a cut off where you can only go 1/4 mile. We go around 2 times and sometimes
2 1/2. I love this time of the year.

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I love all of you for the sweet things you said. I do feel a little better. It's scarey, though. I'm afraid my RA is getting worse. You know what that could mean....bedfast, or wheelchair. I'm not giving in to that. I have somewhat of a life, & going to hold on! I had a message on my answer machine Friday night. It was from my Remicade Treatment nurse, telling me to be at the clinic Monday (tomorrow) at 11:45. It was a reminder call, as I always get. Only thing, my appointment card says the 15th! So, now what do I do?! I'm afraid to call in the morning. I'm afraid it was a mistake, & I need the treatment so badly. But, don't want to go ( around 50 miles) for nothing. I did that one time, when the DR was sick, & they couldn't reach me. I had to go back home & go back in 2 days. I suppose I'll sleep on it, then decide. I'm thinking, if it's a mistake & I go on, they'll go ahead & give me my treatment. After all, it should have been 5 weeks, & it was scheduled for 6 weeks. Maybe they just realized it?........

We had a big week end. Our daughter & granddaughter from south Alabama was here, & our other 2 granddaughters that are here every other week with their dad both had birthdays. Very busy for us. Got a little work done on the roof.

ageoldie...love your signature!

Thanks for the prayers Young grasshopper. My step-dad isn't near the end. My mom is....he has just entered the nursing home. His sugar got really out of control. He has other health issues, also. I hate to say it, but he's just a mean person, sometimes! :^:

Chrily...what a sweet thing to do for your sister! Let us know how it turns out.

Well....I made up my mind...I'm going to call in the morning, so I won't make that long trip for nothing.
Hello to all. Hope you feel well......