what are you doing right now?

[Anne_in_VA]

Yay!  2500 pages!  I just wanted to post.

[swamp]

Aug 12, 2024 17:34:50 GMT -5 CCL said:

Aug 12, 2024 17:26:22 GMT -5 azucena said:

Pretty sure you're not supposed to do that bc then they release all the bacteria into you as they die. Increases Lyme and other diseases.

Hmmm... never heard that before. So what are you supposed to do then? Surely not just leave them attached?

The vet's office, Petco, and Walmart have these handy dandy tick removal tools.  It looks like a tiny plastic crowbar.    They cost about $6.  You hook the head, and then twist and pull at the same time and the tick pops right out.  They are amazing. 

[swamp]

Aug 12, 2024 20:30:02 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Does anybody know what these are?


The plant and the green balls growing on it?  thought I’d ask here before I ask in a FB gardening group. I asked Siri, and she doesn’t know what they are. 

Butternut? 

[soupandstew]

It's sometimes hard to explain the quirkiness that makes Houston what it is.  Coming back from lunch we laughed ourselves sick when 5 vehicles ran the red light for the left turn function and the local police officer waiting for his lane's green light didn't even blink.  Why not, you may ask?  Because we all know that light hasn't worked since the hurricane on August 8 and likely won't be fixed for another month or two and you gotta do what you gotta do to get where you are going.  Some days I just love this town!

[andi9899]

So the realtor says that if they find something wrong that I'm not OK with that I can walk away and get my earnest deposit back. They are only asking $1K for the deposit.

Honestly, the $1K is worth it to me even if I don't get it back to avoid a huge issue. There aren't a lot of fixes I won't be OK with. I know someone that does just about everything. I already have family lined up to paint and replace the flooring as soon as I have possession. My cousin is an electrician and has completely flipped his current house. My other cousin's son is an HVAC guy. My dad knows how to do a lot of stuff too. Plus we're getting a home warranty as part of the deal. I'm doing it.

[bean29]

Aug 13, 2024 11:06:40 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Aug 13, 2024 10:25:13 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Sorry about the heat you are enduring, but I am jeally you actually have time to clean your house.  I wish I could clean and declutter my living space.  DH and I are constantly on the go.  All work and very little play.  I used to think I would work till 68, then it changed to 65.  Now I am thinking maybe 62.  Wish I had a pension with Health Insurance as an option.  I should have thought about this 30 years ago.    

Have you looked into the ACA options for your state?  I'm pretty happy with what's available to me. At least with the cost, the coverage and the deductibles/OOP.  The compromise I'll have to make is giving up the nationwide PPO for a more local HMO or EPO.  It also looks like I'll have to choose between the two major hospital systems (either Gundersen based in LaCrosse or Mayo based in Rochester). 

Lol, I could buy ACA insurance, I just don’t exactly trust it. If we buy an ACA plan now, it would be in the ACA small business marketplace. Some other issues-I told DH over the weekend things were not exactly going well on my job. His response was, well then you can help me in my office. I am licensed for property, Casualty, Life and Health, I could, but when I talk about retiring that means not working anymore. I would like to get to 1.5 M or> before I actually retire. Working in his office might give me flexibility in some ways, but would make it more difficult for us to get away together without shutting the agency down.

My checks right now are nearly all going to taxes/401K/HSA and I carry health insurance. We are managing to accumulate a lot of savings. So it is as much a mental thing as anything kwim?

[Pink Cashmere]

Aug 12, 2024 22:33:43 GMT -5 Opti said:

Aug 12, 2024 20:03:50 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I wasn't blaming anyone for anything. Just saying what I would have done. But she should be encouraged to escalate this if her supervisor is doing nothing.

Pink, as an older woman are you afraid to tell her what she can do without actively recommending what to do? Because if we let women get preyed on simply because of their age OR don't guide them how to defend themselves after it happens... aren't we part of the problem even if we did not cause it?

No, I was not afraid to tell her anything, I just didn’t know the best way for her to go about escalating it, since her boss and their boss already knew, but hadn’t gotten back to her and she was still having to work near the guy. So I made a 3 way call so she could talk to someone I trusted to give her good advice on what to do next. She didn’t even tell that person the whole story, as soon as she said they guy dragged her to an isolated area, they stopped her and told her she didn’t have to go through all of that, this is who you need to call, let me find the number. And they said that’s who her bosses should’ve called when she first reported what happened.

I’m not sure how you got the idea that I was afraid to advise her on what to do and somehow part of the problem. 

She met with the Leo’s this morning. I am guessing that if her boss and their boss can’t prove that they investigated what she reported, and don’t have a good explanation for why they didn’t get back to her on it. they are going to be in BIG trouble. The people she met with this morning aren’t part of the buddy system, where things just get swept under the rug. The other ladies did agree for her to give the officers their names and said they would speak to the officers if necessary.

It is a good thing I put her in touch with the other person, because it probably wouldn’t have occurred to me to tell her to call who she did. There is something weird about city police and federal property, like the city police can’t just come on federal property and do their thing, they have to defer to and cooperate with the feds, or something like that. At least that’s how it is where I work, I’m not sure about where this young lady works. When somebody hit my car on the employee parking lot while I was inside working, I had to file a report with our officers, not city police. Even our lower level law enforcement officers have the same authority as city police and they also carry big guns. The higher level officers that investigate crimes and such, are pretty scary to me, I’d rather deal with city police than them, because they don’t play. When THEY get you, you are well and truly GOT.

Anyway, despite you asking if I was somehow afraid to tell her what to do, I am proud of the young lady for following up and standing up for herself. She told me a few times this morning “thank you” for helping her even though all I did was be outraged on her behalf and put her in touch with someone that could tell her what to do next. She said she will let me know what happens next.

[Pink Cashmere]

Aug 13, 2024 7:13:26 GMT -5 Cheesy FL-Vol said:

Aug 13, 2024 6:25:19 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

That's not a tree though, its a vine, and even if it was just a bad picture angle of an overhanging tree branch the leaves are not like a walnut at all.

I'm pretty certain it's Passionflower. That's even the state flower of TN.

www.amazon.com/Edible-Passion-Fruit-Vine-Passiflora/dp/B074FVH8JW

You may be right. It is hard to tell in the semi-dark. The vine appearance could be either climbers that you can't see. We have grapevine and trumpet flower vines growing on all kinds of stuff. It would be very interesting to see an image in the daylight Pink Cashmere

I just took this picture of it. The picture is from a distance because last night when I walked across the yard to it, I had to immediately jump in the shower because stuff was biting my feet and it felt like tiny bugs were crawling around my ankles. So I don’t want to walk back over there lol.

There is a bunch of junk growing on the other side of that fence, and along that part of our property line. We have seen pretty purple flowers in that  spot in years prior, but this is the first time Mister noticed the green balls. When he asked me to come look last night, he asked me if they were tomatoes lol.

That is the general area where he and DS threw all the ugly tomatoes I didn’t want last year, so it wasn’t as silly of a question as it sounds, since I kept joking that there might be a field of tomato plants back there this year.

[Pink Cashmere]

I took my Mom to a Dr. appointment this morning. She is changing her PCP, and this was a “meet and greet” kind of visit and she wanted me to be there with her during the visit. 

I had encouraged her to change her PCP for a few years, because not only was it hours of driving for me to get her back and forth to the one she had, it was a lot of walking for her to get to his office inside of a medical complex and she uses a walker, but I also just didn’t like him. 

I didn’t like him because one time when I went to the doctor with her, she’d gone out of the room with his nurse to do something and I don’t remember exactly what her doctor said to me after she left the room, but it was about her weight and he said it in a sneering kind of way. I said “excuse me”, and he tried to straighten it up.

So I’m glad she finally changed. The new place seems to cater to Medicare patients, I think it’s a franchise or something. Oak Street, have any of you ever heard of them? Because it’s close to where she lives, they will even arrange transportation to her appointments, which makes things a LOT easier for me. 

She kept saying today how glad she was that I was there with her. She wanted me to be with her, because she wanted my opinion as to whether that might be a good fit for her, which is understandable. As soon as the Doctor left the room, my Mom asked me “so what do you think”.  She was on her best behavior today, so all was well and I was glad I went with her. I will still go with her to certain appointments, but it is a huge relief that I don’t necessarily have to take her to routine appointments anymore.

When we were checking out at the front desk, they said she has an appointment to go back for her annual exam in a couple of weeks, and the appointment is during my work hours. That is when we asked about transportation, and they set it up, which was great since we didn’t have to tell them she needed another day and time that worked with my work schedule.

They were very thorough as far as going over her health conditions and medications. All of that information, we gave to the nurse first. Then the Doctor went through all of it again, and asked my Mom what every specific medicine she is taking, is for. I had asked my Mom years ago, if all the medicine she takes is really necessary. Today I learned that some of it is for diagnoses she received so long ago that she couldn’t even remember the names of the specialists that first prescribed it, and her memory is still very good. Some of it was first prescribed almost 20 years ago. What I’m saying is that her PCP just kept prescribing all that medicine, and never did anything to see if she still needed it. Like, does she even really need 3 meds for hypertension? She was first diagnosed with hypertension when she was in a lot of pain from some discs in her back. She had surgery to correct that almost 20 years ago. Today her blood pressure was something over 60 something. Does she really need 3 meds for it to be in the range of normal?

I almost feel like they need to just stop as much of it as feasible and see what’s what with her body TODAY, and then go from there and prescribe what’s needed. She takes dozens of pills every day.

Anyway, unlike Mister’s Dad was, my Mom is very organized with her meds and religious about taking them as scheduled. She might not eat right or do much else for her health, but she takes her meds lol. Her little medicine bag is organized and neat, which was funny when she unzipped it so the nurse could enter her prescriptions into their computer system. My Mom lined them all up for her on the counter, then put them back in their place in her little bag as the nurse was done with them lol.

I really hope that this Doctor works out with tending to my Mom’s needs. But if not, we will just find somebody else. 

[Anne_in_VA]

Going through closets and packing for our move.  Gave away 4 boxes of books to be donated as well as a bunch of other items.  I am giving away lots of things too that we don’t need or will use.  I even found an envelope with $$ in it.  

[Opti]

Aug 13, 2024 13:21:13 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Aug 13, 2024 11:06:40 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Have you looked into the ACA options for your state?  I'm pretty happy with what's available to me. At least with the cost, the coverage and the deductibles/OOP.  The compromise I'll have to make is giving up the nationwide PPO for a more local HMO or EPO.  It also looks like I'll have to choose between the two major hospital systems (either Gundersen based in LaCrosse or Mayo based in Rochester). 

Lol, I could buy ACA insurance, I just don’t exactly trust it. If we buy an ACA plan now, it would be in the ACA small business marketplace. Some other issues-I told DH over the weekend things were not exactly going well on my job. His response was, well then you can help me in my office. I am licensed for property, Casualty, Life and Health, I could, but when I talk about retiring that means not working anymore. I would like to get to 1.5 M or> before I actually retire. Working in his office might give me flexibility in some ways, but would make it more difficult for us to get away together without shutting the agency down.

My checks right now are nearly all going to taxes/401K/HSA and I carry health insurance. We are managing to accumulate a lot of savings. So it is as much a mental thing as anything kwim?

Couldn't you just choose to shut down once or twice a year with lots of notice to your customers? Our local bakery success story used to close every summer for about two weeks if they didn't have a partner to cover. So, there was always a summer vacation for the owners, and I think they took at least another chunk of time off during the holidays.

And I don't know what kind of business your DH does, but here in NJ if you are lucky, some businesses do summer hours which usually means M-Th are longer hours and Friday is a short day. Got to be able to go the shore, etc. 

[Opti]

Aug 13, 2024 15:06:40 GMT -5 Anne_in_VA said:

Going through closets and packing for our move.  Gave away 4 boxes of books to be donated as well as a bunch of other items.  I am giving away lots of things too that we don’t need or will use.  I even found an envelope with $$ in it.  

Can you find one of those money envelopes for me? Please. 

[busymom]

Aug 13, 2024 11:06:40 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Aug 13, 2024 10:25:13 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Sorry about the heat you are enduring, but I am jeally you actually have time to clean your house.  I wish I could clean and declutter my living space.  DH and I are constantly on the go.  All work and very little play.  I used to think I would work till 68, then it changed to 65.  Now I am thinking maybe 62.  Wish I had a pension with Health Insurance as an option.  I should have thought about this 30 years ago.    

Have you looked into the ACA options for your state?  I'm pretty happy with what's available to me. At least with the cost, the coverage and the deductibles/OOP.  The compromise I'll have to make is giving up the nationwide PPO for a more local HMO or EPO.  It also looks like I'll have to choose between the two major hospital systems (either Gundersen based in LaCrosse or Mayo based in Rochester). 

     I'm a HUGE fan of the Mayo Clinic.  Those folks there are amazing.  Just one story to share:  DH has a relative who was told, after a cancer diagnosis that he wouldn't have long to live, but Mayo gave him some different treatment options to try, and he's still alive and active 3 years later.  

[chiver78]

Aug 13, 2024 13:13:56 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

So the realtor says that if they find something wrong that I'm not OK with that I can walk away and get my earnest deposit back. They are only asking $1K for the deposit.

Honestly, the $1K is worth it to me even if I don't get it back to avoid a huge issue. There aren't a lot of fixes I won't be OK with. I know someone that does just about everything. I already have family lined up to paint and replace the flooring as soon as I have possession. My cousin is an electrician and has completely flipped his current house. My other cousin's son is an HVAC guy. My dad knows how to do a lot of stuff too. Plus we're getting a home warranty as part of the deal. I'm doing it.

be careful of this line of thinking, and check to see that permits were pulled for any renovations done. this is the voice of someone that said pretty much exactly the same thing when I bought this place, and y'all have heard about all of the shit that I'm still fixing because a mediocre electrician decided to gut the house himself. 

[giramomma]

I'm at the stage where folks sound like adults from the peanuts. 

[greenthumb59]

Aug 13, 2024 4:23:32 GMT -5 Cheesy FL-Vol said:

Aug 12, 2024 20:30:02 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Does anybody know what these are?


The plant and the green balls growing on it?  thought I’d ask here before I ask in a FB gardening group. I asked Siri, and she doesn’t know what they are. 

Oh, now that I see your hand in the image for scale, someone else mentioned walnut. That does look about the size of black walnut. Osage orange are about the size of a tennis ball and knobbly.

Black walnut is a pain in the ass.

Someone else mentioned passion fruit.  That would be my guess.  Passion flower vine is a food source for swallowtail butterflies!

[greenthumb59]

Well I think my dog did actually go ahead and totally tear her ACL.  Waiting for the vet to call me back.  She is a naturally rambunctious dog, so I shouldn't be too surprised.  But my heart is aching a little bit right now.

[Pink Cashmere]

I drove my car today instead of my Jeep. My car is currently hanging out in the driveway, because I really hate parking it in the garage because I have to back in and there is no room for error. I’m a pretty good driver, but that still wrecks my nerves. That is the main reason I don’t drive it much.

Since we have gotten in the habit of locking the garage down at night anyway, because Mister’s Honda is often in the driveway, I might just leave my car where it is for now. OD still has Mister’s Honda, they took her car to another shop this morning, and he came back home and got the Tahoe to drive to work.

We have 1 car too many as far as parking goes. I am going to ask him again soon, what is he going to do with the Lincoln. I’m okay with him keeping it, IF he fixes it. If he’s not going to fix it, it’s just in the way, taking up a parking space. One of the back tires is flat again, and it’s sat up so long this time that all the transmission fluid has run out of it, which we saw on the driveway, and now the engine needs work. I think there is water in the oil now, or something like that. That all happened within the last year or 2. Before then, the biggest problems were that the a/c had stopped working and only 1 of the 4 windows would roll down. He has been neglecting it for years, and it was still a good car, until the neglect finally took a serious toll.

I think I’ll just go and indulge in an adult beverage from our bar. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right? And when he gets home, he can either tussle with getting my car in the garage, or just leave it in the driveway. The Tahoe’s spot is open when he gets home with it. My car is only in the way if OD brings his Honda back. Which I don’t see happening today, so whatever.

[Pink Cashmere]

Aug 13, 2024 15:24:36 GMT -5 greenthumb59 said:

Aug 13, 2024 4:23:32 GMT -5 Cheesy FL-Vol said:

Oh, now that I see your hand in the image for scale, someone else mentioned walnut. That does look about the size of black walnut. Osage orange are about the size of a tennis ball and knobbly.

Black walnut is a pain in the ass.

Someone else mentioned passion fruit.  That would be my guess.  Passion flower vine is a food source for swallowtail butterflies!

Passion fruit seems to be the consensus. It’s too bad that what I’ve read says it doesn’t taste good.

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Aug 13, 2024 14:57:59 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

I took my Mom to a Dr. appointment this morning. She is changing her PCP, and this was a “meet and greet” kind of visit and she wanted me to be there with her during the visit. 

I had encouraged her to change her PCP for a few years, because not only was it hours of driving for me to get her back and forth to the one she had, it was a lot of walking for her to get to his office inside of a medical complex and she uses a walker, but I also just didn’t like him. 

I didn’t like him because one time when I went to the doctor with her, she’d gone out of the room with his nurse to do something and I don’t remember exactly what her doctor said to me after she left the room, but it was about her weight and he said it in a sneering kind of way. I said “excuse me”, and he tried to straighten it up.

So I’m glad she finally changed. The new place seems to cater to Medicare patients, I think it’s a franchise or something. Oak Street, have any of you ever heard of them? Because it’s close to where she lives, they will even arrange transportation to her appointments, which makes things a LOT easier for me. 

She kept saying today how glad she was that I was there with her. She wanted me to be with her, because she wanted my opinion as to whether that might be a good fit for her, which is understandable. As soon as the Doctor left the room, my Mom asked me “so what do you think”.  She was on her best behavior today, so all was well and I was glad I went with her. I will still go with her to certain appointments, but it is a huge relief that I don’t necessarily have to take her to routine appointments anymore.

When we were checking out at the front desk, they said she has an appointment to go back for her annual exam in a couple of weeks, and the appointment is during my work hours. That is when we asked about transportation, and they set it up, which was great since we didn’t have to tell them she needed another day and time that worked with my work schedule.

They were very thorough as far as going over her health conditions and medications. All of that information, we gave to the nurse first. Then the Doctor went through all of it again, and asked my Mom what every specific medicine she is taking, is for. I had asked my Mom years ago, if all the medicine she takes is really necessary. Today I learned that some of it is for diagnoses she received so long ago that she couldn’t even remember the names of the specialists that first prescribed it, and her memory is still very good. Some of it was first prescribed almost 20 years ago. What I’m saying is that her PCP just kept prescribing all that medicine, and never did anything to see if she still needed it. Like, does she even really need 3 meds for hypertension? She was first diagnosed with hypertension when she was in a lot of pain from some discs in her back. She had surgery to correct that almost 20 years ago. Today her blood pressure was something over 60 something. Does she really need 3 meds for it to be in the range of normal?

I almost feel like they need to just stop as much of it as feasible and see what’s what with her body TODAY, and then go from there and prescribe what’s needed. She takes dozens of pills every day.

Anyway, unlike Mister’s Dad was, my Mom is very organized with her meds and religious about taking them as scheduled. She might not eat right or do much else for her health, but she takes her meds lol. Her little medicine bag is organized and neat, which was funny when she unzipped it so the nurse could enter her prescriptions into their computer system. My Mom lined them all up for her on the counter, then put them back in their place in her little bag as the nurse was done with them lol.

I really hope that this Doctor works out with tending to my Mom’s needs. But if not, we will just find somebody else. 

My mom created an excel spreadsheet with every med, dosage, doctor, procedure, or diagnosis she has ever had along with dates and contact numbers. She keeps it on cardstock in her wallet. The hospital was so surprised and pleased since it made their job so much easier, especially since she isn’t local with records here.

[toomuchreality]

Aug 13, 2024 15:27:23 GMT -5 greenthumb59 said:

Well I think my dog did actually go ahead and totally tear her ACL.  Waiting for the vet to call me back.  She is a naturally rambunctious dog, so I shouldn't be too surprised.  But my heart is aching a little bit right now.

Ugh. Good luck!

[Pink Cashmere]

This is what is next to what I shared a picture of.



Mister paid almost $2k to have a lot of it cut down, but of course it just grew back. It is all along the back of our property and we hate it, but we don’t know how to make the property owner cut it back.

The critters that visit our property, always come from that jungle.

It wasn’t bad when we first bought the house. It was owned by the government at the time. Then it was sold, and the new owners do not cut and trim everything like it was done when it was government owned. Who knew the government was better with anything, vs a private citizen or company?  But they were, because this shit didn’t get out of control while that land was owned by the government. 

A few years ago, somebody posted on the Nextdoor app that they had reported the tall grass on the far side of our back yard where it meets the other property, as being an eyesore, and posted a picture of it. I was not offended at all, because WE do not like how it looks either, never mind the critters that like it. 

The part on the side, where the grass or whatever, is taller than I am, is a low spot between the properties, that holds water. After the property was sold, Mister drove around the corner back there, to talk to the person that was mowing the grass, and he told Mister that he doesn’t cut that low spot because he is afraid his tractor might get stuck. Well, it got mowed when the government owned it, so WTF?!

And it has all just gotten more out of control since then. 

The dilapidated fence in the pictures is not all the way across our back yard. Mister just uses it as a guide when he is doing whatever to try to keep the wilderness from encroaching onto our property. It is mostly a losing battle for him so far, because no matter how severely he cuts stuff back or uses herbicides to kill what’s on our property it just keeps coming. 

[NoNamePerson]

Pink Cashmere there’s a Oak Tree here but can’t comment since never been and none of my friends have either that I know of. Think they are owned by CVS.  I’m pulling that off the top of my head without going to google first. But regardless glad your mom and you have found a place you like and feel good about. Health care seems to be one big crap shoot these days! 

[toomuchreality]

"Does she really need 3 meds for it to be in the range of normal?"

Pink, since January 2024, I have taken 7 medications for my blood pressure/heart. I took 8 meds, for the first 3 months, after my heart attacks.
Blood pressure
Blood thinners
As well as others (cholesterol). (my mind has gone blank)
I'm not surprised that she takes three.

I will probably need medication for my blood pressure, the rest of my life.

You should ask her doctor.

[soupandstew]

Aug 13, 2024 16:22:52 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

This is what is next to what I shared a picture of.



Mister paid almost $2k to have a lot of it cut down, but of course it just grew back. It is all along the back of our property and we hate it, but we don’t know how to make the property owner cut it back.

The critters that visit our property, always come from that jungle.

It wasn’t bad when we first bought the house. It was owned by the government at the time. Then it was sold, and the new owners do not cut and trim everything like it was done when it was government owned. Who knew the government was better with anything, vs a private citizen or company?  But they were, because this shit didn’t get out of control while that land was owned by the government. 

A few years ago, somebody posted on the Nextdoor app that they had reported the tall grass on the far side of our back yard where it meets the other property, as being an eyesore, and posted a picture of it. I was not offended at all, because WE do not like how it looks either, never mind the critters that like it. 

The part on the side, where the grass or whatever, is taller than I am, is a low spot between the properties, that holds water. After the property was sold, Mister drove around the corner back there, to talk to the person that was mowing the grass, and he told Mister that he doesn’t cut that low spot because he is afraid his tractor might get stuck. Well, it got mowed when the government owned it, so WTF?!

And it has all just gotten more out of control since then. 

The dilapidated fence in the pictures is not all the way across our back yard. Mister just uses it as a guide when he is doing whatever to try to keep the wilderness from encroaching onto our property. It is mostly a losing battle for him so far, because no matter how severely he cuts stuff back or uses herbicides to kill what’s on our property it just keeps coming. 

I don't know anything about the regulatory powers where you live.  It sounds as if you are not in an HOA-controlled neighborhood so that avenue of action is probably not available to you.  Next up, are you in an incorporated city with a code enforcement/neighborhood protection type division that deals with property issues?  It doesn't sound like it, so perhaps you live in an unincorporated county area and maybe they have some sort of enforcement authority like code enforcement/neighborhood protection/health nuisance etc.  If none of the above applies, you may be in a situation where you have to file suit against the property owner.  When someone posted a picture of the tall grass in your yard and claimed they reported it, did they say what regulatory authority they reported it to?  That same authority would probably be your go-to on this issue.  I'm sorry you have to live with this mess.  

[Pink Cashmere]

Aug 13, 2024 16:00:12 GMT -5 Cheesy FL-Vol said:

Aug 13, 2024 14:57:59 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

I took my Mom to a Dr. appointment this morning. She is changing her PCP, and this was a “meet and greet” kind of visit and she wanted me to be there with her during the visit. 

I had encouraged her to change her PCP for a few years, because not only was it hours of driving for me to get her back and forth to the one she had, it was a lot of walking for her to get to his office inside of a medical complex and she uses a walker, but I also just didn’t like him. 

I didn’t like him because one time when I went to the doctor with her, she’d gone out of the room with his nurse to do something and I don’t remember exactly what her doctor said to me after she left the room, but it was about her weight and he said it in a sneering kind of way. I said “excuse me”, and he tried to straighten it up.

So I’m glad she finally changed. The new place seems to cater to Medicare patients, I think it’s a franchise or something. Oak Street, have any of you ever heard of them? Because it’s close to where she lives, they will even arrange transportation to her appointments, which makes things a LOT easier for me. 

She kept saying today how glad she was that I was there with her. She wanted me to be with her, because she wanted my opinion as to whether that might be a good fit for her, which is understandable. As soon as the Doctor left the room, my Mom asked me “so what do you think”.  She was on her best behavior today, so all was well and I was glad I went with her. I will still go with her to certain appointments, but it is a huge relief that I don’t necessarily have to take her to routine appointments anymore.

When we were checking out at the front desk, they said she has an appointment to go back for her annual exam in a couple of weeks, and the appointment is during my work hours. That is when we asked about transportation, and they set it up, which was great since we didn’t have to tell them she needed another day and time that worked with my work schedule.

They were very thorough as far as going over her health conditions and medications. All of that information, we gave to the nurse first. Then the Doctor went through all of it again, and asked my Mom what every specific medicine she is taking, is for. I had asked my Mom years ago, if all the medicine she takes is really necessary. Today I learned that some of it is for diagnoses she received so long ago that she couldn’t even remember the names of the specialists that first prescribed it, and her memory is still very good. Some of it was first prescribed almost 20 years ago. What I’m saying is that her PCP just kept prescribing all that medicine, and never did anything to see if she still needed it. Like, does she even really need 3 meds for hypertension? She was first diagnosed with hypertension when she was in a lot of pain from some discs in her back. She had surgery to correct that almost 20 years ago. Today her blood pressure was something over 60 something. Does she really need 3 meds for it to be in the range of normal?

I almost feel like they need to just stop as much of it as feasible and see what’s what with her body TODAY, and then go from there and prescribe what’s needed. She takes dozens of pills every day.

Anyway, unlike Mister’s Dad was, my Mom is very organized with her meds and religious about taking them as scheduled. She might not eat right or do much else for her health, but she takes her meds lol. Her little medicine bag is organized and neat, which was funny when she unzipped it so the nurse could enter her prescriptions into their computer system. My Mom lined them all up for her on the counter, then put them back in their place in her little bag as the nurse was done with them lol.

I really hope that this Doctor works out with tending to my Mom’s needs. But if not, we will just find somebody else. 

My mom created an excel spreadsheet with every med, dosage, doctor, procedure, or diagnosis she has ever had along with dates and contact numbers. She keeps it on cardstock in her wallet. The hospital was so surprised and pleased since it made their job so much easier, especially since she isn’t local with records here.

I am sure that my Mom bringing her medicine bag today, also made things easier for the providers, even though it took a minute for them to put it all in their computer system. 

I’ve gone to doctors recently that didn’t have my medical history on file, and when they were going through the long list of medicines I’ve been prescribed, going off my pharmacy records, I’ve said “it would probably be easier if I just tell you what I DO take, instead of going through that list”. Every time, they seemed relieved to do it that way, instead of wading through all the prescriptions that Doctors have prescribed for me that I wasn’t taking at the time for whatever reason. 

And it IS a long list. Several anti inflammatory medicines that I don’t take because the off label antidepressant I’ve been prescribed to use as needed does help with the nerve pain, muscle relaxants that I don’t take because they don’t do anything for me, prescription allergy meds that don’t help as much as plain Benadryl does, and on and on and on.

So out of the long list of meds that show up as having been prescribed for me, I only take the one for nerve pain occasionally, and only when I don’t have to work the next day (amitriptyline) because even though I have a high tolerance for drugs, that one makes me a whole slug the next day, and the nasal sprays and Benadryl for my allergies, as needed. Plus Sudafed when my sinuses are really acting a fool because of my allergies. And a Lunesta every once in a while after I’ve gone days without sleep, which Lunesta may or may not help me with when I take it. I don’t even take Motrin like I use to, after the stupid GI told me not to take NSAIDS, because one of the tests he ran showed that my stomach lining was inflamed or something like that. Before that, I was taking Motrin almost like it was candy, because I was having so many aches and pains. So now I just try to deal with the aches and pains because I don’t want to take anything that might make my stomach issues worse. 

My Mom is not as organized like how your Mom was with her spreadsheet, but she was on point with knowing the name of every med she takes and why it was prescribed, she just couldn’t remember Doctor’s  from almost 20 years ago, or what practice they worked for. She remembered the Doctor’s name that referred her to a surgeon in 2006, and the surgeons’s name, but she couldn’t remember the doctor’s name that first diagnosed her with COPD, 20 years ago, or what practice he worked for. She knew the cardiologists name that she followed up with after her heart attack 10 years ago, but couldn’t remember the name of the practice he worked for, and I felt like I should’ve known the name myself because I took her there, but I was drawing a blank myself, besides saying it was a well known place in the area. The Doctor said was it the x place, and my Mom and me both said YES, that’s it. 

They asked my Mom how does she get her prescription and food and other necessities. She said she orders everything online to be delivered, even her meds, and they seemed to be a little surprised that she knew how to do all of that. For years after PC’s became a thing, my Mom knew much more about using computers than I did. My daughter’s friends use to be surprised that her Grandmother texted with her, after texting became a thing. My Mom is not as sharp as she use to be, but she has never been afraid of learning about and using technology as it evolved.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Aug 13, 2024 14:57:59 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

They were very thorough as far as going over her health conditions and medications. All of that information, we gave to the nurse first. Then the Doctor went through all of it again, and asked my Mom what every specific medicine she is taking, is for. I had asked my Mom years ago, if all the medicine she takes is really necessary. Today I learned that some of it is for diagnoses she received so long ago that she couldn’t even remember the names of the specialists that first prescribed it, and her memory is still very good. Some of it was first prescribed almost 20 years ago. What I’m saying is that her PCP just kept prescribing all that medicine, and never did anything to see if she still needed it. Like, does she even really need 3 meds for hypertension? She was first diagnosed with hypertension when she was in a lot of pain from some discs in her back. She had surgery to correct that almost 20 years ago. Today her blood pressure was something over 60 something. Does she really need 3 meds for it to be in the range of normal?

I really hope that this Doctor works out with tending to my Mom’s needs. But if not, we will just find somebody else. 

I take 3 meds to be normal.  It took a long time and a bunch of permutations to get me a consistent 120/70.  I started out with one, and after 10 months of futzing around, getting a new prescription every month, I asked my dad what he was taking and suggested those.  It worked.  
Now, it’s entirely possible that I could decrease to fewer meds, but the advantage is that mine are all older meds, and very cheap.  Once they start combining meds, the price goes up.  So from my perspective, until my meds stop working, I do not want to go through that craziness again.  Granted, I was working during this process and able to get myself to the doctor and pharmacy, but it would be a pain….not just for me but for whomever I needed to help me.  

[giramomma]

I am off to take a brief nap.

[wvugurl26]

Oak Street is owned by CVS/Aetna. I don't know much more about it. The description of the visit does sound positive though.

I think they are paying the Oak Street doctors via value based calculations so the transportation and review of current meds makes sense.

My dad takes 3 blood pressure medications but his numbers barely meet the DOT standard for controlled. I would have her ask at the wellness exam if it's possible to taper off or discontinue any.

[Pink Cashmere]

Aug 13, 2024 16:37:09 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

Pink Cashmere there’s a Oak Tree here but can’t comment since never been and none of my friends have either that I know of. Think they are owned by CVS.  I’m pulling that off the top of my head without going to google first. But regardless glad your mom and you have found a place you like and feel good about. Health care seems to be one big crap shoot these days! 

Are you saying there is an oak tree in the picture I posted?

I know it’s hard to tell what’s what in the picture, but in the picture, there is a lot of junk growing on my property line, and some more trees far away. Idk how to edit the picture to show what’s what lol.