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Posted 5/5/2005 6:43 PM (GMT 0)
If any of you all would care to utilize this thread topic as a 'chat area' then feel free to use it!  Tell us how you're feeling today, and what's happening in your life...are you happy or mad?  Are your heart problems sending you through the roof?, or are they under control?  Do you just need to "yak" about something?  Here's the place to discuss day to day things...

 

Hugs, Teri tongue

Posted 5/6/2005 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
It's pretty quiet in here...where is everybody? tip toe tip toe...Teri
Posted 5/6/2005 1:44 AM (GMT 0)
Well, I'm here. I've been catching up on some other non-computer stuff.

I've had a pretty good day. It appears that my long-term disability will be approved...the question is "when." After talking with my lawyer, we decided that I'll write the appeal letter, back it up with letters and evidence from my doctors and hope to avoid getting the insurance company's lawyers involved. What a mess this has been. It's really been going on since last September when I first applied for the LTD. But a lot of things clicked into place today and I'll just have to work on an appeal letter over the weekend.

Healthwise, I'm going ok. Yesterday I spent half the day in neuro-psychiatric testing to establish a baseline for possible Alzheimer's diagnosis. I'll spend next Wednesday morning finishing that up. I felt like a complete idiot taking some of the tests...they ranged from repeating a series of words, to making shapes with colored blocks to putting series of pictures into sequence. At the end of 4 hours, I was drain-bamaged. (Yeah, I know...I wrote that wackbards.)

And today I started the increased dosage of Niaspan. 500 mg twice a day. I just took one an hour ago and my face feels like it's on fire. Actually what it really feels like is when I was on Antabuse. It's a drug given to people to help or make them stop drinking...and if you drink alcohol while the stuff is in your system, you turn bright red and feel like you have a sunburn all over...not to mention nausea and chest pain. But I found that if I drank slowly and steadily, I could get past that point and get drunk, anyway. I guess you could say that I was determined. :) Anyway, that's what I feel like at the moment...well, except for the drunk part. I hope it passes soon.

The BP seems to be held pretty much in check by the Coreg and Cozaar and the Imdur helps with the angina. So I'd say that the medications I'm on seem to be working pretty well...except for maybe the Niaspan. Whew! It's hot in here.

In other news, I've had a chance to do some hotrod work and make some progress on one of my toys (63 Nova with a big V8 and 4-speed trans) and it's been a lot of fun to drive around as I've been testing it.

All in all, things could be a lot worse. And they have. So I'm grateful for what I have today and we'll try another one tomorrow.

I'm gonna go open a window and get a breeze going.
Posted 5/6/2005 4:31 AM (GMT 0)

hi chevy guy,

re the heat prob with your niaspan, have you asked the doc about

"enduracin"?  that is a niacin product that is a bit newer that is supposed

to really help with the heat and flushing - it never hurts to ask!

good luck.  it SHOULD pass within 30 minutes or so, the worst of it?

libby g

p.s.  does ANYONE have any input on this terrible rash i'm getting all over

my poor little ole bod?  at first i thought they were little spider bites.  i've been

to the GP, the dermatologist, the oncologist for blood work, no help from anyone.

the dermo guy said maybe mites and gave me something to take a bath in.  it didn't help

and is now getting worse.  HELP!!!

Posted 5/6/2005 4:40 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Libby. Thanks for the info on Enduracin. That may be an option. But I got over the flushing from the smaller dose fairly quickly, so I'm hoping that the same thing will happen with the larger dose. At least it's not leaches and bloodletting. But I bet it seems pretty barbaring 100 years from now. :)

I just broke out in hives as the Niaspan was having its way with my body. So I took a coupla Bendryl. It seems to have helped. I'm not vlawing at myself all the time right now.

Good luck with the rash. They ain't fun at all.
Posted 5/6/2005 5:03 AM (GMT 0)

hi ray,

so...tell me all about your hives, baby!  now there's a great pick up line, hoho.  but really, did you get a rash you think from the niacin you were taking?  i mean i have little red spots all over me, but mostly on my lower legs.  but it's on my back, my tummy, my upper legs, too.  little tiny red bumps.  not blisters.  itchy as all get out.  any info appreciated!

libby

Posted 5/6/2005 2:56 PM (GMT 0)
Yanno, Libby...I've been outta the "singles scene" for so long, I hadn't even thought about that. :) But it's a good one.

I really didn't check to see if there were any red spots. Itchy as all get out...you bet! It was my back and legs that got it the worst. I've started out the morning with some advil and benadryl. I'll wait for an hour or so and then take the Niaspan. I'll letcha know what happens....and tell ya "all about them hives, baby." :)
Posted 5/6/2005 3:23 PM (GMT 0)

excellent.  let me know.  if the benadryl is a solution, that sounds easy.  right now i'm going through the yellow pages looking for a second opinion dermatologist!

Posted 5/6/2005 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
The Advil and benadryl seem to have helped. I took the Niaspan about an hour later and had minor flushing, but very little if any itching. The flushing started about 2 hours after taking it (3 hours after the Advil) so it might have been a case of the Ibuprofen wearing off. But this morning's dose was a walk in the park compared to last night. I'll try the same thing this evening and see how it goes. I'd be nice if there's a way to get thru the "gettiing used to it" stage with minimal discomfort.

Doing the Advil/benadryl thing and taking an Imdur allowed me to work on my Nova for a while. I replaced the disintegrating bucket seat covers with a set of cheapo slip-ons that will hold the fort until I'm ready to do whatever it is that I end up doing with the interior. I know I have to gut the whole thing and replace the carpet...and if I do that, I'd like to find a complete interior from a newer import that I could adapt as a unit into the old Chevy. Progress is good...and it helps the mental attitude. I find that if I can get just "something" done in a day, I don't feel like it was wasted. Along those same lines, I'm going to try to head for Wendover, Nevada tomorrow (120 miles west of our home) to see and/or enter a car show that should include an electric car that's been brought over to the states from England to make a world's land speed record attempt on the highway just south of Wendover (called the Dolly Varden straight.) They're trying to hit 300+ mph. So far, they've been foiled by weather and elecrtical gremlins :
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2714666

I seem to have gotten slightly off topic...but...oh, well.
Posted 5/6/2005 11:21 PM (GMT 0)

Just a quick hello to everyone!  I messed with my computer til I broke it and had to wait for Tech help to come over today. :)  This was in between a couple of Dr. appt.s...

Libby and Ray...

Ray you seem as if your rash is under control, but be careful with starting new med.'s and rashes!  It could be the first indicator that you are allergic to the drug and it may lead to more than just a rash.  You should always check with your Dr.

Libby, I did a quick check and rashes that tend to start like you've described could very well be some type of bug bite, particularly if they are randomly scattered, or nerves can sometimes cause rashes.

Check out;   http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003220.htm

Hope you all have a great rest of the day!  Teri :)

PS  Welcome to Betsy!! :)

Posted 5/7/2005 2:25 AM (GMT 0)
One more site re rashes... :)

http://familydoctor.org/545.xml

Teri
Posted 5/7/2005 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
hi ray and teri,

ray:  are you new to the niaspan?  i heard that as you continue to take these things that the flushing problem hopefully decreases.  hopefully!  let me know how you did with tonight's dose -

teri: thanks for the additional tips and site on rashes.  i had such a frustrating day with it.  i called here and there trying to get help, got the requisite placed on hold several times, got passed from place to place, no one really seemed willing to help, they said i'm not an emergency so take a benadryl and deal with it.  that's pretty hard to hear as this continues...

but here i am, friday night, and dealing with it the best i can!  a half xanax helped.  i'm not ashamed to try that on occasion.

and teri, did you get any word from your doc visits today? 

libby

Posted 5/7/2005 4:32 AM (GMT 0)
No, just a smile and "you know we can't tell you", however the US tech from the carotid artery test today, said 'looking good'...I'll assume they did. lol He also checked the BP systolic pressure on both arms. Said if the systolic number was vastly different-there might be a problem.

The pulmonary function test was very intense and the gal just made one comment when I told her that I've been waiting since January to find out what's going on, and she said, "you've had this that long!" Though I didn't expect it to look completely normal. I'll find out on Monday. And should hear on Mon. if anything was wrong according to the neuro's nurse she said they'd call right away and if it was normal, they wouldn't call....ho hum! P:)

Did the benadryl help you at all?! Keep us posted?!

Hugs, Teri :)

(PS  Another one of those, that I "just can't spell" lol) :)

Posted 5/7/2005 5:25 PM (GMT 0)

hi teri,

that sounds like a lot of tests.  i hope you get at least generally positive news from all!  and that you will let us hear your positive news, hopefully on monday?

ray - how are you doing today with the niaspan?  better i hope!

libby

Posted 5/7/2005 6:18 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Libby, how are you doing? How's the rash-if the xanax worked, then perhaps it is nerves? Definitely something to note, anyway!

Ray, let us know how the car show went-did you end up entering anything??

Hugs, Teri :)
Posted 5/7/2005 6:22 PM (GMT 0)

me getting our kit ready for the car first aide etc and then some medicine too in case we need to evacuate during hurricane season they told us in the Jacksonville Community Emergency Response Team classes 4 named hurricanes will hit the east coast this year and one is suppose to be a Category 5.

Please not hit Florida we live 65 miles from the beach but will be called out in any type of disaster manmade or westher terriosim etc and be ready. so we are busy or shuld I say I am geting this place ready in cse we have to go. We  are on call 24/7/365 from June1st till Nov30 Hurricane Season and all other times too but during thoise months no vaction.

I also found out today i have 27 credits I need 40 to get SS or any type so I gotta find a part time job and do it soon as the course is over that is sad. we just realized if i didnot home school the boys for those 6 years I would of had over 40 credits and they doneo even take that into account. havenot heard from them either with Mothers Day being this weekend and that hurts with the way we help them out alot.

oh well got to go.

Heidi

Posted 5/8/2005 12:28 AM (GMT 0)
Well, first things first. The Niaspan has been a whole lot more tolerable with some Advil and Benadryl. Teri, I understand your concern about supressing an allergic reaction with an antihistamine...but I've been on the Niaspan for a month and the hives and itching is one of the known side effects that's supposed to fade with time. Can't be too quick for me. :) But it's better than it was the first day I did the doubled dose. I'm now at 500 mg twice a day. I'm hopin the doc doesn't wanna increase it any from there. This is about as much fun as I can stand. :)

Car show: I was gonna enter the 67 Camaro (the yellow car on my web site) but I did some checking on the weather in that area...and it was snowing with a projected high of 50F with winds of 20-35 mph. Heidi, I know that's nothing like the hurricanes you folks get, but it's nasty enough to keep me from sitting outside by my car for several hours...and I kinda have a feeling that the show would have been poorly attended...if not cancelled entirely.

So I bit the bullet and faced the unpleasant task of composing an appeal letter to send to the disability insurance company. I've been told that it's a formality and that I will get the disability benefits...but it was still a stressful thing to do. For some reason, writing letters of that sort, filling out applications and stuff of that nature seems to be a stressful thing for me. But it's done and I'll have my lawyer look it over Monday.

Right now the heart and BP are in pretty good shape...but then I haven't done much today except sit here at the computer. :)
Posted 5/8/2005 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
lol, Ray! I'm glad you're doing okay though-cuz even if it was at the computer, if you're writing an appeal, that definitely could be stressful!

Heidi, I so glad to hear your enthusiam for what you are doing with the Emergency Response Team in Flordia!! WooHoo!

I went to the pet shop and worked with the exotic birds for a bit today, voted on some local issues, and now at home just kicking back!

Hugs, Teri
Posted 5/8/2005 5:22 AM (GMT 0)

teri, apropos of nothing...i have found myself alternating betwixt total frustration and total complacency the past few days.  it seems i have such multiple physical probs, all of them valid, and when there are more than about 3 going on at any one time, i begin to feel so defeated and sad.  this in spite of the fact that everyone says "gee, libby, you have the greatest attitude"!  i always say "you don't see me at home at night moping around!"  anyway, when i feel so low, i just don't want to even be on the forum at all.  THEN i think i really need my new forum!  and i get on, and it always makes me feel better.  thank you for all your positive thoughts, your ideas, your support of all of us.  you are a great moderator! 

right now, i'm scratching my rash, have an ice pack on my sore tooth area, have taken multiple drugs for my GERD and am SOB - as they say:  "other than that, mrs. lincoln, how did you like the play?"  hah!  i am winding it down here in the foat (that's fort worth), and crawling in bed with a good escapism book.  and hoping, as always, to wake up having a good morning.  and i hope that you do too!

libby

Posted 5/8/2005 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
Awww, Libby...sounds like you just need a big hug...(((Libby))) :)

I do hope you are feeling better today!!! We had big storms here throughout the night, so figured that played into some of my tiredness and aching body...

Be well and be happy! We're still here to write and complain to one another!! lol

Hugs, Teri :)
Posted 5/9/2005 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
hi teri,

thanks for the hug...i could feel it through the cyberspace!

yes, it seems it's the multiple probs that get to me,

emotionally.  i feel if i had only one, or i'd even settle for

just two! - that i would be able to stay on top of things

more easily.  today i'm having a disaster with:  my GERD

and my stinking teeth.  the GERD is making me mental.

i'm trying a new drug today, aciphex.  while i'm switching

from that to the other, i'm on both, and don't know if that's

why i'm having such a difficult and painful day.  meanwhile,

i'm on with the endodontist in the mawnin'.  i have a tooth,

maybe more than 1, that needs pulling, desperately!  would

that i would have done these things prior to finding out about

the heart stuff!  i kept getting various things done, but

letting the dentists talk me into not pulling.  now of course

on plavix they don't want to pull at all, and my cardio boy

doesn't want them to either, but here i sit in dental agony.

what to do?  i hope someone will have some positive news

for me in the morning. 

too bad i can't post a picture of my lovely rash.  why, it's

so pretty, and certainly adds to the "color" of my day! 

my doc said "that is SO gross, don't show it to anyone not

medical"!  i said, gee, thanks a lot!

'nuff about me - did you get any of your test results today?

i'm hoping to hear, and praying they are all reasonably positive

and good news -

libby

 

Posted 5/10/2005 3:07 AM (GMT 0)
Hi All! Libby, they/you still have the rash and no one knows yet what it is from!? Is it spreading? Same? Did they scrape the skin and check it out under a microscope? That usually puts another dimension into the picture.

I have Gerd and Barrett's and I'm on Aciphex and Ranitidine once each per day. It's done the trick for me-so I hope it helps you, too!! Most of these drugs were never meant to be on for years-only a few weeks.

I have my moments of self pity, but usually find it doesn't help me too much. lol The problems are all still there! Darn it! :) Sometimes just coming here and writing it down to others is a big help, or just hearing others with their problems lets me know that I'm not alone...and neither are you!!

I saw my pulmonologist this morning-he was at the hospital and almost 2 hours late-my first visit with him, too. :) He was very thorough and very very nice, but found out he's not in my PPO network and doesn't except the Tricare secondary insurance that we have. arrrrgh So sort of caught me by surprise when they told me my share was $282.10 today~almost made my heart stop for good! He says the (PFT) pulmonary function test was pretty good, but that I do have asthma and that I do have emphysema which means that's why the diagnosis of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). He's trying me on a new med. Wanted me to have a steroid inj. but then I figured it'd be sort of hard to tell if the new inhalor was working. lol So he said if I don't feel better in a month-a CAT scan of my lungs. No news from the Neuro Dr. I can't wait to go to just my hair appt. this Thursday! :)
I feel great, just somewhat tired today...after the Dr. went grocery shopping for a few extra things, came home and put it all away and fed my baby tiel, then worked at the pet shop with the birds, then came home and made jambalaya and a special mushroom dish for my son's girlfriend's birthday today-that's it for me for the day. Tomorrow, I'm foot loose and fancy free! How about you? lol
Hugs, Teri :)
Posted 5/10/2005 3:09 AM (GMT 0)
Ray, where and how are you?! Yoo Hoo :)
Posted 5/10/2005 4:44 AM (GMT 0)

hi teri,

yes, ditto - where/how is ray?

meanwhile, all your tests.  ugh.  i didn't know you had COPD on top of the other stuff.  you're right, it's funny how nice just getting a hair-cut can be.  i love those trivial little life thangs now so much more than i used to.  the news abou asthma and emphysema wasn't new to you was it?  and therefore new drugs?  sometimes i sure am curious about all our drug interactions...meanwhile, didn't know you were on aciphex and ranitidine  (which i'm sure you know is a prescription zantac?).  do you take them specific times or just in the morning?  i've got these very specific instructions about them...also not ashamed to pop the occasional anacid!  do you have "eating problems" as a result of all this?  i'm sitting here, as usual, starving, but everything i eat makes the GERD worse.  i've read tons of stuff on that, too, but not much has helped.  your input on this, too, as always! - appreciated.

i'm with you on the self-pity.  i rarely have it.  i get low, but i don't feel it's pity, it's just sometimes mental exhaustion from ongoing, seemingly never-ending physical pain or discomfort.  i just get worn out.  but hey, i turned 50 in february and since i am a 12-year breast cancer survivor, i have felt that these 12 years are a big gift.  every day is a big gift.  i know i don't need to tell you this!  anyway, though, again, sometimes just the multiple stuff seems overwhelming.  but i try to remember:  okay, i'm going to tackle "this thing" first, then "this thing" then i take some drugs and feel minutely better and the next morning i'm ready to give it another shot.  always happy to open my eyes and see the sun coming in!

have you had the "lollypop" pain reliever?  i'm getting those wednesday, i can't wait!  i used to be really anti-painpill.  but no longer.  i'm not carried away, by any means, maybe a half one every few days, of some kind.  but i will now do that when before i just would not, ever.

tomorrow, ah yes.  tomorrow morning is the endodontist.  i must tackle that first!  meanwhile, pumping up the GERD stuff.  it is going to be hot here in our little corner of the world (tejas, that is).  dunno if you were in the path of the storms tonight, sounded central texas-ish.  i know you said no addresses, but you know where i am - i'll say DFW area! 

whatchew up to tomorrow?

libby

Posted 5/10/2005 5:53 AM (GMT 0)
Libby, I take the Aciphex and the Zantac in the AM before I eat. One of my Dr.'s told me it might be overkill on the Zantac, but I told him it was working and that I was leaving well enough alone! He agreed. :)

Yes, we got heavy thunder and lightening yesterday and the night before-but not tonight.

No lollipops for me...what are they, so I don't have to go research and look them up? lol

And as I tell you this, all the world will now know. I had my very first pedicure done a few weeks back (speaking of small trivial 'life thangs') and I so loved it, I'm making plans to go back and do that again!! oooh la la Everyone should have that done at least once in their life! :)

Sleep well, Foat W. and Central Tx. will hopefully not float away. lol
Teri
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