OT May Chit Chat

[agate]

For all mothers everywhere, enjoy your Mother's Day weekend!

[nuthatch]

Back at ya, agate! Have a great Mother's Day, one and all!

[stillstANNding]

Almost MIL is being difficult.

Cats forgot I am their mother.

Can't wait till I'm back in PJ's.

KWIM?
ANN

[Whisper]

Back in NJ. Have to go back to Canada end of month for stress test and MRI and a happier occasion, my daughter's graduation from university!!! I hope everyone had a nice mother's day.
Lorraine:)

[SalpalSally]

Thanks all for the Mother's day good wishes and the very same to all of you. We all had/have a special battle to wage, to be good Mothers/Fathers. God Bless us all, today and every day.

[Gary]

Hello folks,

It turned hot all of a sudden here in the spud state. It is suppose to be in the 90's the next couple of days. Good time to hide in the house.

I had busy day Saturday started early judging livestock at our Spring fair. The Lions club puts on a BBQ chicken dinner and my daughter and her family came down and had lunch with me. Then my renters had trouble with their new irrigation system. Before I knew it, it was dinner time. Mostly because my wife was down in Boise to visit her mom there was no one to yell at me. Standing out in the sun all day took its toll and I did not do anything yesterday but doze on the couch. My MIL is still in pretty rough shape and she is having a colon endoscopy this morning, the oncologist said double mastectomy and being that some of the tumors are stage 3 there are no guarantees. She has a long list of health problems some of which are quite serious.

They would like to do a complete body MRI but as she is very claustrophobic I guess that it will take a BIG shot of Valium. She has some bad reactions to most pain meds so my wife is concerned about pain management.

I did have my garden in and everything is growing I put in the cucumber plants too early and they are not going to make it. But that is the only thing that isn't growing like crazy. We have had wet cold springs the last couple of years and as a result my garden was a complete flop. By the time the tomatoes and peppers really got growing it frosted and that was the end. Daughter was over and said "dad why do you do such a big garden? If you didn't notice my brother and I don't live at home any more and it is too much work for you to supply everyone with fresh vegetables!!!" True, I grow things for the fun of growing them, to be honest if my wife didn't make me I would never eat them. I like my grass to look like a putting green and flowers everywhere. I have scaled things back and installed automatic sprinklers that water almost everything we buy quite a bit at the local produce stand and we no long can cases and cases of veggies. With just 2 of us it turns into a waste.

I am doing okay had my follow up appt with the doc and all blood work is back to normal blood pressure is back down (for me anyway) 140/90 is not ideal and it would be nice to have it 120/80 but the next type of meds (I currently take 5 different pills) to lower it have a laundry list of bad and/or unpleasant side effects and they believe that at this time it isn't worth it. The first hospitalist I saw was really concerned about it hovering around 140/90's. I got the results of my MRI my PCP said prepare yourself but there is a strong possibility that you have Multiple Sclerosis!!! The report says too many plaques to count but no real changes from the last one. No news is good news.

Hope that all the moms had a good day. Without moms there wouldn't be us dads!!

Be healthy everybody.

[Jeanie Z]

:) Hi everyone. I reread all the pages and made a couple of notes. I'm glad to see Ann, Cat Dancer and Howie posting again. Gabriella I've added your hubby to my prayer list. I pray for all the board posters daily. Gary I'm glad your BP is down. Cruising sounds so nice but I am afraid to go on one as my Mother may need me and I would not be available. Also David is having many medical appointments.

David is camping in his van RV in the Ocala National Forest and today will move to a state park. He was the only camper in one park and saw several large snakes. They also had a sign saying to beware of bears. He was 10 miles from the entrance and I worried he night get bitten and not be able to reach help. Then he went collecting firewood to have a fire and got covered in ticks. I hope he got them all off of himself as many spots you can't see on yourself. Also I hope none of them were carrying Lyme disease. He even found one between his fingers.

I have been sleeping in almost everyday. Staying on the bed even if awake for awhile. Also did some sewing and watched a lot more TV than usual. We only have an antenna so we only get about 8 channels. I do like a lot of the PBS shows.

I got beautiful Mother's Day cards from both of my sons. My oldest came over Mother's Day and washed and waxed my van and swept the driveway. My van looks like new now. I hope all of you had a good Mother's Day. Jeanie :)

[SalpalSally]

Snakes, Bears, Ticks....Eeeeeeeek!!! I hope he ..er..enjoys his outing. Yikes!!

It's good you're taking it easy..gearing up for his return.

Hugs for Jeanie.

[Cherie]

Jeanie,
I love to hear details about what is going on with you. Seems that you have a bit more energy today than you've had recently...probably from sleeping in). It's nice when the kids go that extra mile for us on jobs we can't find the time or endergy to do. Heather had David's van for nearly 6 weeks while her transmission was being replaced (don't ask....) but she returned it washed, vacuumed, oil changed and tires rotated!

Becky graduated from Seminary Day after tomorrow. She and the kids came down for church and lunch on mother's Day (her husband was out the door at 7am to play for church services and then had students till after 5 so she had the day free to come. We lunched at Heather's and the 4 cousins had a couple of hours of play time and David did some "landlord" work on her house.

Today is an errand day for me and, if the rain holds off, will try and get the lawn mowed (this will be the 4th time this season and I dont think I have been able to do this in probably 5 years...since Howie and I were urging each other on to mow our lawns.). Everything's coming into bloom...lupine, lily of the valley, Iris, Andromeda, Rhododendron, dogwood, Hosta, wedding bells, periwinkle...It's going to be gorgeous in another week or so.

[Pegakafarmgirl]

Hi everyone,, we been busy,, but what else is new,,crops in,, hay was raked so today they bale, till the dew sets in, will finish tomorrow if this happens

Gary, our garden is doing good, we already had radishes, pulling onions, and cabbage soon, and Joe is that way too, right now we have 44 tomato plants,, like huh ? I canned last year, I thought, I would skip this year, no rest for the wicked,,

Rode my horse, for the 2nd time since surgery, went real good,Gnat took care of me,,

Josh and family came up Mothers Day,, had my picture taken with grandkids,,

later then

[renee]

Don't forget PYTHONS, Jeannie

Bears seem to be showing up around here, poor things- and it is fairly residential.
Achh, ticks. Gross.
Lyme disease would be the cherry in my Shirley Temple.

So anyone had trouble with Rebif as a depressant???
My neuro wants me to see a shrink or psych to see if my darker than usual thoughts
are due to Reeeebifffff.

Maybe.

I have a call-in to some mental health specialists who will accept my highly undesirable insurance.
No Jungians. I feel a kindred spirit with Jungians but not professionally.

Shrinkdom and counseling, etc is so hit and miss..
One of the last people I saw very briefly- I was embarrassed for her.
She wasn't particularly young but was she so textbook or, maybe, just shallow.

A couple of basic psych classes under my belt and a little life had
made me a flaming psychic. YAHHHHH.
I knew her every question or insight that was going
to come out of her mouth before she spoke.

Other people have had this experience.
I suppose we must try again if there is a choice or move on.

Any mood problems w/Rebif?

[agate]

Rebif is the subcutaneous version of Avonex if I've got this right. I had depression problems with Avonex now that I look back on it. The situation got better after the first year.

You have BEARS? I'm glad they haven't shown up around here.

The raccoons around here are almost as big as baby bears, and sometimes one or two of them are swinging around in the tree branches right outside.

[renee]

Agate,
Yup, bears.
I live in a quasi rural area.
Friends have had the occasional bear show up on their property.
I have had deer grazing on my tiny yard.

Some poor young bear made it's way to SUNY in Albany (a solid commute from here,
after a third relocation-this time 90 miles away.
They put it down.

Persistent guy wanted an education.
I cannot help but deeply respect the wildlife that wanders into developed areas.
They were here first.

And they are so much smarter than us, too.
And have better teeth.

Thanks for your Avonex input.

la R.

[stillstANNding]

Renee, I stopped Rebif which is both a higher dose and a more frequent dosage than Avonex. I did have depression. I had had no history of depression. I was put on half-dose but it didn't help so I stopped it and started Copaxone after a 3 week needle vacation.:)

Here is the note about depression under warnings in the Rebif prescribing information:

Depression and Suicide
Rebif® (interferon beta-1a) should be used with caution in patients with depression, a condition that is common in people with multiple sclerosis. Depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts have been reported to occur with increased frequency in patients receiving interferon compounds, including Rebif®. In addition, there have been postmarketing reports of suicide in patients treated with Rebif®. Patients should be advised to report immediately any symptoms of depression and/or suicidal ideation to the prescribing physician. If a patient develops depression, cessation of treatment with Rebif® should be considered.

[SalpalSally]

Renee, Avonex sure made me sick and depressed, so I would only imagine that Rebif would have done the same.. I suppose, if the med is working for your MS, your Neuro could add an SSRI to counteract the depression?

You feel better soon!!