Beth I was having many sleep issues, especially last year with all the strong meds. But this too shall pass for you, but it will take a while. I use to go to bed at 10ish pm and get up at all hours during the night. Sometimes I just stayed up, Now I go to bed 11ish, and get up between 6-6:30 usually. Of course I still have those 'gotta go' times, several during the night. anyways i am sleeping better, for me at least. The problem arises also during the time change I hate that
@Beth Gallagher Ah, meatloaf! I've always loved it, no matter whose recipe produced it. My mother's was quite solid, had garlic, even my dad liked it. Think she put in plenty of meat, little filler. My wife's tends to fall apart, so lends itself less well to sandwiches. But, wonderful stuff! Frank
@Beth Gallagher have you tried indomethacin for gout? No idea whether it interferes with your chemo, but it is another option that (I think) is easier on the stomach than naproxen, at least for me.
Same here, @Frank Sanoica. My mother's was much denser than my wife's is, but I have no idea why. Both are good, but mom's was better for sandwiches.
My mother's meatloaf was pretty dense, too. I make mine with a combo of 1/3 ground pork to 3/4 ground beef, then add bread crumbs, onions, peppers, tomato sauce etc. and an egg or two to "bind" it together. I think mama's was just meat, onion, peppers but I really don't know. Since we like cold meatloaf sandwiches it seems to hold together fine; it's definitely "crumblier" when warm.
I haven't tried that, Don. I have the absolute best result from a steroid dose pack; that will knock it back within a couple of days. In fact, I get steroids in my chemo infusion and that seems to help, but as soon as the steroids have dissipated the redness comes back to my toe. I have an "emergency" steroid dose pack here but I haven't wanted to use it; my kidney numbers are getting worrisome and I'm really trying to avoid all unnecessary medications these days. Thankfully this particular joint (middle of big toe) doesn't hurt as much as when I'd get it in the big joint where the toe attaches to my foot.
This just in from the "It's Always Something" Department. My husband made an appointment to have my car serviced yesterday at 8:45 a.m. It was the typical maintenance; oil change, tire rotation, new air filter, change fluids, etc. When he went down to start the car the battery was dead, so he bought a new battery, too. $500 later he returned home and noticed that the navigation display, radio, etc. were not working. After googling and trying every "reset" we could find for the Lincoln "SYNC" system, he drove back to the dealership to see what they had effed up. He didn't get home until after 5 p.m., so an entire day at a car dealership. Naturally they couldn't figure out what the problem is (this is a Ford dealer that is much closer than the Lincoln dealer), but it looks like we'll need a new "module" or something to the tune of $1200. Funny how the "module" was fine until they replaced the damn battery. So we'll be taking the car to the Lincoln dealer in the near future. We aren't in the mood to deal with it right now, so we'll just do without the nifty backup camera, nav system, telephone, etc. for a while. All the necessary gauges (speedo, gas, etc.) are working fine so no big deal. It's always something.
@Beth Gallagher Today's auto repair costs shock me. When I had the service station, I charged $10 an hour labor and folks complained bitterly (in 1972 Las Vegas, at that!). Since high-falutin' electronics seem to have become universally in vogue, only highly specialized places can successfully bring about good repairs. In your case, doing without the "frills" will do no real harm, other than to the ego; had you bought a "cheapie" such woes would be unlikely. Frank
You are so right about the costs of auto repair; sheesh. Of course my car is a 2012 and has less than 25,000 miles on it, and this is the first large expense we've had with it so I suppose it's time. I guess the tires will need to be replaced next year when they are 10 years old, but they still look to be in great shape. What annoys me is that the NAV system was working fine until the battery was replaced.
The labor alone for my 4 tires and a couple parts on the Escort was $412. Total bill was $1300 and some. It was $352 for the tires. Frankly they're crappy tires if you ask me.
Yup. I think $1200 to $1500 must be the going rate for ALL repairs. No matter what it is...that will be $1500 ma'am. I just wanna tell them you know I'm not stupid. I know you're putting the screws to me. If I could do my own car repairs I would.
I should be embarrassed to share this, but here goes. I had appointments with the breast and plastic surgeons on Wednesday, along with several others. I had met with the breast surgeon on a couple of occasions but this was my first time meeting the plastic surgeon, who will handle the surgical close as well as the lymphovenous bypass procedure. Well, he looked to be about my youngest son's age and was strikingly handsome. For the first time since my diagnosis, I felt hesitant and awkward during the exam. (Strange because I have "flashed" more people in white coats in the last 7 months than I ever dreamed possible.) Anyway, I felt extremely self-conscious while being examined and prodded and PHOTOGRAPHED OMG. He wanted so many "views;" lying down, standing up, profile, etc. I just wanted my robe back on. Seems like most of my doctors these days are youngsters. Or maybe I'm just old.
@Beth Gallagher I had dreams as a youngster of becoming a doctor. As a teen, it became less and less likely, as we saw tuitions rising. Now, reading your post above, clearly it is certain I should not have become a dr.! Frank
I just want to get back to the days of seeing my PCP once a year. She's close to my age and it's always easy.