What's happening? Part 3

[agate]

<sup>Thanks for the update, Chris! That knee situation sounds miserable. Good luck with the knee replacement--I have the impression many people have had that surgery, and maybe you can find some of them and learn more about what to expect.

Getting back into woodworking sounds like a really good idea and something you might be able to make progress on without having to use your knees, or no?
Is that good about the weight loss? Were you trying to lose weight? I'm usually happy when I drop a few pounds even now, when I'm at 104 because I keep getting shorter, and the shorter you are, the less weight you can carry.

I'd like to keep this in mind as a motto for myself:</sup>

I dont' want to dust this stuff for the rest of my life

^{It's the kind of attitude I definitely need.}

[houghchrst]

Morning Agate, The woodworking is something I can do but the snafu is that I had been in the middle of cleaning the basement and the garage so now in order to get to work I have stuff that needs to be moved. It's like I have things in every room that need to go somewhere else but can't until I move the stuff in the other room to where it needs to go. Right now I am trying to get my yard in order. I was injured and we had a lot of rain so I am trying to get that down to manageable levels. I can still ride the mower.

When I belonged to the minimizing group Dana used the phrase 'do I want to have to manage this stuff for the rest of my life'. It really struck me because I don't want to manage it now so I surely dont' want to manage it for the next 20 years LOL. It's hard parting with things I have had for 30-40 years. I am considering selling off some of my egg collection. I looked up some of the eggs I got at the $1 store and they are selling for $15-$25 which I found humorous.

I have some one of a kind stuff I would like to sell but don't know where or even how much to ask. I have hand painted stuff from my grandma, how the heck do I sell that?

Yes I still have weight I would like to lose. Maybe at least another 30 pounds but hey any is a good thing. I wish I could afford to eat just meat and veggies. Groceries here are terrible. It's cheaper to eat trash food here than healthy. I have really cut back on the bread. Especially since I discovered that our store-bought bread isn't even considered a food. It's just a bunch of non-nutritional contents and toxins. That's why we can't sell it in many other countries. And then I found out that almost all fruit is a man made creation. It should be treated as a dessert. The only fruits closest to their original form are berries, most stone fruits and some apples and pears. I love bananas but they weren't even edible in their original form. I have been following The Glucose Goddess in a few places and have been following her recommendations for keeping my sugar down.

[agate]

It's been a while since I tried selling stuff but I tried craigslist with success a few times. It looks as if Nextdoor might be a way to find people to buy things too but I haven't tried it.

When I got rid of my futon and microwave and a chair recently by donating them, I might have been able to sell them but I just wanted them out of here without the hassle of dealing with strangers, waiting around for appointments with people who might not show up. None of the items would have brought much as all were quite old. But it sounds as if you have a treasure-trove in that egg collection. Are they sort of like Faberge eggs?

Maybe a listing on eBay? It would be good if you could take photos of them to post wherever you decide to put them up for sale but you know that, I'm sure.

As for the hand-painted items from your grandma, if there are a lot of them, maybe you could settle on a few of them that you'd really like to keep. Or keep all of them. Is there a relative who might like to have them and who would take good care of them?

[jingle]

About one year ago when I decided to sell my condo and move into a much smaller apartment I had loads of stuff to get rid of. I called a local auctioneer, and he came, inspected and appraised everything. A couple days later a small team of his employees came and removed everything (I had a load of stuff to sell). This was in July and he asked if he could delay selling because most would sell better near Christmas. He sold my collection all by internet because it would reach more people than a local auction. Everything worked and I received payment.

[houghchrst]

I do have a few things that I plan to keep. I dont' have anyone to give them to in the family because they don't want to manage it either LOL. I thought about waiting and having a garage sale in the fall but I don't really have enough and all of my things are kind of unique. To me they are worth something but I have to think if other people will even pay for things. I have a lot of craft stuff that I am going to sell in lots. I have too much crafting stuff and it is a huge range of things. Everything from knitting to beading. I have a small vintage suitcase that is full of knitting supplies worth probably about $200 at least. I have two very large bins in the closet full of stuff for quilting and there is a snowflake mobile that my grandmother tatted that needs repair so I can hang it back up. Maybe I will clean it, fix it and sell it.

[agate]

I've been noticing what a blow to the ego it is to look around among my things and realize that most things I own wouldn't mean much to anyone else. And yet I hang onto them.

They still mean something to me. I had a stash of quilting supplies that I hung onto for years. It was tough to realize that a whole carton full of fabric for quilts hadn't been used for years but I did manage to part with that eventually. Got rid of a supply of knitting needles too but afater creating all of that space, I went on to fill it up with yarn for crocheting.

[houghchrst]

Hey guys, quick check-in. Soooo, I am currently recovering from a total knee replacement done on the 12th. This is the first time since then that I have been able to get on an actual computer. Jared built me a new computer for mother's day and after a couple of roadblocks, we finally got it fixed. My other one was so slow that I couldn't even run Google Earth. Today my leg feels well enough to do a bit of propping in the computer room and getting out of that dang 'sickroom'. I took a fall in early May that was the result of a comedy of errors and due to that had to have imaging. My ACL reconstruction I had in 2006 had deteriorated and was destroyed, torn meniscus, lots of damage. Doc told my son my knee was a hot mess. Not surprised. Been dealing with knee issues since I blew out my knee in the mid 90s for the first time.

My knee surgery was supposed to be same day but they couldn't manage my pain so they kept me overnight. I knew I could do a better job at pain management at home so I told them I had ways to manage it and wanted to go home. I lied like a dog about my benzo and despite it being in my pharma records they took my word for it. Only way I could have gotten pain meds. I haven't even hardly been taking them. I am taking such a low benzo dose that it isn't even showing up in my bloodwork.

I recently had some trouble with a new med manufacturer and now I am embroiled in a conversation between TEVA, the FDA and Walgreens Corportate office.

I am going to start video documentation of my self deprescribing. There is very little information out there on how to safely get off of psych meds. I have been researching for a year and am comfortable enough with the information I have that I am going to use the methods I have found. It's been rough. I never fully recovered from the 6 weeks they cut me off of my klonopin last year. I still have oral dyskinesia from my stopping my Latuda a few years back. I have started microdosing here and there to combat the symptoms.

Just wanted to check in and say hi. Hope everyone is well.

[agate]

What an ordeal you've been having. Knees must become really severe problems sometimes as I keep hearing about people needing knee replacements and somehow the recovery period always turns out to be long. Must be only 8 days since your surgery and it sounds as if you're getting along somehow in spite of everything. Hope that trend continues!

Sometimes a person has to say No to a hospital, and it sounds as if you made the right call. There are times when you know better than the experts.

I left a hospital against medical advice when I had surgery years ago. I couldn't sleep in the bed that was provided, and no alternative was offered. I was tired of spending nights trying to sleep while sitting in my wheelchair. I do believe that getting enough sleep is important if a person is to recover.

[Virginia]

Sorry this has happened to you. I have two friends who have gone through this lately but neither of them were corresponding with anyone as quickly as you. They both had help at home. I guess you do too because I certainly don't think you would be able to cook and take care of yourself this early. One person was my sister-in-law and she did do very well. She was walking and doing a lot within a couple of weeks. Another was a neighbor and she had hers done in April. She says she still isn't 100 percent. Her daughter stayed with her.

I hope you have an easy recovery and heal very fast. Keep us updated as to how you are.

[houghchrst]

Morning peoples. Guess it is check in time lol. I hope everyone is well. Gosh, it's been a while. My knee is doing well. It's been six months. I still have some tenderness above my knee. I think that is from making sure I am getting a good bend and working it every day. Still decluttering and going through things. I gave away a bunch of my crafting stuff that I inherited. I still have lots but it is stuff that will actually get used. I pared down my egg collection to my favorites so that is down by over half. I am selling those. I boxed up my three Princess Diana dolls and all but two plates and those are for sale. Still giving stuff away at least once a month. I bought myself a mini portable washing machine compliments of a Christmas gift card from my brother. I can use it in the bathroom and just have Jared take it down the basement and throw it in the dryer for me. In the summer I plan to hang a line out on the catio and dry them out there. I love the smell of line drying. Also got an electric kettle and have given up coffee for tea. The coffee was kind of beginning to not taste so good and was irritating my stomach, not to mention the coffee I was buying in 2020 was $6 for a 40-oz can, now it is $15.99 for a 27oz can. Back to washing walls here and there. They are so gross after decades of cigarette smoke and living. I would like to tear up the carpet this summer.

Brandon's sweet Lucy had to be put to rest last year. I woke up to her panting, and that is a major sign of distress. I knew it was time. I let Brandon know, he was at work. When I told him it was probably time to have her set free, he was furious and went on about how I just wanted to take his cat to the vet to have her put down. So we took her to the vet and I told them on the side that he was in denial and just needed someone professional to tell him the same thing I told him. So when they came in the room and asked what was going on I just told them what was happening and that it was his cat and he needed to know what his options were. He was devastated. They left the room for us to grieve and say goodbye and it hit me that losing Lucy was like losing his grandma. Lucy had been her cat. No his grandma has not passed yet but she is still in a home after her stroke. Just the same, it hit him that way. Almost four years and he is still here. The economy, the transportation issues, finances are all the reasons. Still in my living room so we are relegated to different areas of the house. I am incredibly tired of him being here. I adore that child but god forgive me he can be a burden. Jared is still here, he just turned 25. He has become so good at IT that he should be making 6 figures a year. That's a whole nother subject.

I still don't have a car and keeping food in the house has become harder and harder. I have to order groceries online so I am sure the choices and the prices are very different. I can't get rides to food banks because DHS stopped paying for Flint residents who don't have city water. I am in Flint but have well water. Make that make sense. My health insurance doesn't cover them either. Only doc and pharmacy visits. I am going to change my insurance because when I joined my HMO they were rated at the top. Now they are bottom of the barrel. So going back to Molina.

I have been sick since May due to the psych meds. When I lowered my antidepressant, my SSRI effects became stronger, so for two months, I felt like I was poisoning myself after taking my morning SSRI. It was awful. Withdrawal started in May, I had my knee surgery in August and had they known how messed up I was they may not have done the surgery. By October, things had gotten worse. No one knows how to come off of these psych meds properly, so I had to do my own research. Having to turn to YouTube for health advice is ridiculous, but I did find a couple of knowledgeable docs. It got so bad that after trying a slow taper on my SSRI, I ultimately quit cold turkey, definitely not recommended for most. The akathisia went away almost immediately and then set in the usual withdrawals, which I knew I could get through. So down to three psych meds. I am doing a liquid taper on my nortriptyline, an antidepressant, but it is not pleasant. I went from the 75mg I started with down to 16 now. It has taken over a year and may take another. I still feel awful, but I suspect that I may have developed craniocervical instability. I finally found a chiropractor who is also a neurologist and have an appointment there in about two weeks. I have a ridiculous number of symptoms. Most of which I thought were caused by possible withdrawal. The vertigo and neck/head pain are the worst. I have been crafting like crazy to distract myself from the awful way I feel. Honestly, it's horrible, and I cry all the time. I have been like this for 9 months. Sometimes I have to lay down because the feeling is intolerable. Then, because I don't feel well, I find myself watching stuff on YT I have no business watching. I stopped watching the news because they lie and hand out disinformation like it is candy. They no longer report the news. They excel in propping up narratives. So I have gone elsewhere for my information. I have stopped most of the YT doom scrolling and am working on changing my algorithm. Keeping up with the craft projects and watching stuff on the computer while i do it helps tremendously. Being stuck in two rooms most of the day does not LOL.

I could ramble, well, I guess I have LOL. Just thought I would pop in and say hi. Still here.

[agate]

Good to see you here!

I'm no longer in the habit of checking new posts every day because so often there haven't been any. Sorry it took so long for you to get a reply but the people who were here just aren't showing up as often. Maybe message boards have problems competing with smartphones where people can do home movies and share them--and that's probably ever so much more interesting to many people.

But a message board like this one was meant to be helpful to people looking for help. This place isn't primarily for entertainment. Unfortunately many people prefer entertainment.

It sounds as if you're a collector. It must be very hard to get rid of things you've treasured for a long time. I know I have problems parting with things that have a meaning for me, especially things with a long history.

I'm stunned by the price of coffee. I haven't bought any in years (not a coffee drinker) and it was never exactly cheap but $16 for 27oz. is robbery.

I hardly ever look at anything on YouTube, and I know what you mean about being able to relax by doing a crafting project. Every day I look forward to getting some time at the end of the day when I can just sit and do some crocheting, even if it's just something like winding up a ball of yarn.

So sorry you're dealing with continuing health problems. Uphill battle, trying to find some medicine or routine that helps without just creating new problems. Vertigo is miserable! I hope you can find ways of stopping that from happening.