October chitchat

[Virginia]

Snuggles, I find my Amron arm cuff does not give nearly as high readings as the Doctor's office. I keep wondering if this one is also giving me a wrong reading. I don't want to take the pills my Cardiologist gave me if I don't need them, but neither do I want to not take them if I do need them. Do you happen to be using a Armron Silver Arm Cuff B/P monitor? That is what I am using.

Agate, sounds like you had a busy time getting ready to help the Ukrainian man. It was really nice of you to help him vote. I am sure it was exciting for him to vote in the U.S. for the first time. I took my ballot to the mailbox yesterday.

[agate]

Agate, sounds like you had a busy time getting ready to help the Ukrainian man. It was really nice of you to help him vote. I am sure it was exciting for him to vote in the U.S. for the first time. I took my ballot to the mailbox yesterday.

It may not have been his first time voting. He's been in the US quite a while--at least 10 years that I know of. It must have been his first time with the mail-in ballot though.

Later I looked up more information on the candidate he was voting for and learned that her mother had MS. I keep hearing about people with MS. It seems to be far more common than I ever realized when I was so young that it hadn't entered my life yet and I hadn't ever heard of it.

I may have heard of it but hearing it meant nothing to me. There were sad diseases people were asked to contribute to finding a cure for--infantile paralysis, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, etc. They all had two-word names, and that was all I knew. Nowadays I hear about MS very often. It pops up in books I read--novels and nonfiction--and in movies at times. Celebrities get it and it's news. Michelle Obama's father, Mitt Romney's wife Anne, etc.

[Virginia]

You're right Agate we didn't use to even know what multiple sclerosis was. Maybe we had heard the name but we couldn't relate to it because back then no one really knew what it was. I think since MRIs have come along, more and more people are being diagnosed and it is becoming more well known. However, I still have people look at me with a perplexed expression on their faces when I say I have MS.

[Virginia]

I tried to edit the above post and messed it up on my iPad, but the reason I wanted to edit it is to ask WHERE'S HOWIE?

[agate]

You've heard of the strong silent type, Virginia? Maybe that is Howie these days. He actually logged in here yesterday but hasn't had anything to say since the 16th. I hope I don't be in the doghouse for revealing this information.

I don't know if Howie has a doghouse. Probably not.

[Virginia]

You might be in the Cat house, if they have houses. Lol

[agate]

I just hope he keeps me supplied with sliced turkey or something.

[Howie]

Sam, where is Howie?

I'm here, just being quiet. I had my doctor visit yesterday. I checked out just fine as usual. I seem to be doing well with the meds I'm taking, so my next visit was set for 6 months.

So, I'm fine, just broke as usual. I did send my Bose headphones to a place I found. I haven't even used them for a few years, but I ran across an ad for a place that repairs headphones. They did a great job on them, and they sound great.....again.

Everyone have a great evening!

[agate]

Good news about the doctor visit, Howie! The less one sees of one's doctor, the happier one is.

One woman in this building who is over 90 refuses to go to any doctor. Maybe it's her religion--I don't know. She's homebound by now but keeps on perking along.

Bose headphones are probably the best. I've heard only good things about Bose products.

I do wonder about using headphones when you live alone and won't be bothering anybody. Is the sound quality better if you have the headphones on? I wear earbuds to listen to recorded books and magazines but only because it might bother the neighbors. Still, I have noticed that I hear better with the earbuds on than if the sound is just traveling to me from several feet away.

[Howie]

Yes, Bose is at the top of electronics. I have these headphones, and a Bose Wave Radio with an added CD player. It does sound great, but as with anything produced with quality as one of its goals, they do cost a lot. Oh well, it's only money.

I can't usually hear someone knock on my front door, but that's the benefit of having a cat or a dog. I can have the headphones or TV on, and I can tell by the way Sam's acting, that someone must be knocking. Just one of the benefits of owning a pet.

[agate]

Here I am, always ready with a product for every occasion! I've had one of these doorbells, provided by the building, for several years and am quite happy with it. There are no cords involved. Somehow it installs on the wall outside my apartment, and the flashing light part is separate and can plug into any outlet in my apartment. Whenever someone pushes the doorbell, it chimes very loudly and the light flashes.

When it needs a battery, about once a year, it won't stop chiming until I remove it from the outlet, but the battery is easy to replace. Every time one of these has been installed (lots of neighbors have them), it's taken only a couple of minutes.

One problem has been that people just don't SEE that doorbell and knock. And I don't always hear the knocking. I've thought of putting up a sign saying in big letters DOORBELL. People who don't have these doorbells put up notes saying "Knock loud." Just about everyone around here has hearing loss.

--Or, like Howie, you can just have a pet. Except that I don't recall any cat of mine ever letting me know when someone was at the door. Sam is an exceptional cat as is well known.

[Virginia]

Howie, now you have remined me of my precious dog, Susie. If someone knocked or rang the doorbell she would look at us first and then run to the door they were at. She never barked but always wanted to see who was there, just not in a threatening way. She was family and most people who came to the door knew her.

Talk about Doctor appointments - I had a doosy of one yesterday. On top of that I have ended up with him as my PCP. The lady that I have seen for the past 11 months to a year is leaving and this is the only one available to me. So, he came in the room and immediately said "you're dressed nicer than me". I thought that is a low bar to pass. He had on clothes that were not casual they were indescribable. He said they had started letting them dress casual. They look like what I think of as grundgies. Maybe to wear around the house or go out in the yard to work. He had almost shoulder length hair that was curly and looked like it was in good condition because he could swing his head a little and his hair would swing. How many of you ladies have swingy hair? Unfortunately I don't. All we did was talk. He said he would write my prescriptions and I said okay. I was kind of wondering if I would go back to him, but then he said I know you are going to see Dr. Iqball one more time, but is it alright if I go ahead and change you over to my panel. I didn't know what to say so I just said yes. He booked me to see him again in six months. Now that was a Doctor's appointment!!!!!!

I was so tired today that I spent most of the day in bed without meaning to or actually without realizing I had until I got a phone call. I had probably been up for about half hour and had been bathing and brushing teeth and I always look at the clock when I get up, but I guess I didn't today..For some reason I thought it was about 11 or 11:30AM. One of my brothers called and I looked at the clock and saw 2:20PM. I didn't tell him I was just getting up. When we hung up I checked another clock to make sure that one was right. Not sure how I will get any sleep tonight.

[agate]

Virginia, it sounds as if you're sticking with the new doctor but mainly because you don't have much choice. I can understand that situation only too well. Maybe he will turn out to be more capable than your first impression indicates.

It's news to me that doctors are dressing casually now. Some time ago my doctor at the time must have been leading the way on this sort of thing because her staff constantly referred to her by her first name when talking to me, as in "Have you seen Paula yet?" instead of "Have you seen Dr. Lastname yet?" I never could bring myself to enter into that casual approach, and I think I'd have problems with a doctor who was dressed too casually.

The problem with doctors dressing casually isn't trivial. Aren't they supposed to be in favor of super-cleanliness and hygiene? Do I recall Dr. Fauci mentioning that he thinks he washes his hands 150 times a day (no doubt an exaggeration but he probably washes his hands quite often)? How clean does a doctor seem if he has "swingy hair" and is dressed in very casual clothes? He may be ultra clean but that's not how he'd come across to people.

I'm not sure what grundgies would be but I'm picturing maybe a sweatsuit, a workout outfit?

I've never had swingy hair and couldn't if I tried. My hair is just too thin and never would grow out long. Maybe I'm just envious of hairier people but people with lots of flyaway hair make me a little uneasy if they're serving food.

Bits of dust and other odds and ends get trapped in that much hair, and the hair falls in the food. Hair isn't always washed very often. And then there are the unmentionable possibilities, like certain insects... I won't go down that road.

Anyway, a doctor with lots of flowing hair would make me wonder about hygiene.

I don't mind a ponytail if it's neat. Somebody here I believe has a ponytail? Do I remember right? And anyway that person isn't a doctor though he is a practicing dentist (heh, heh).

[Ikoiko]

Haha about the doctor with the swingy hair!

[Virginia]

The grungies were just something like old clothes you would wear out in the yard. I think the pants were corduroy which had been washed a lot. We just talked and I asked if he had a problem writing any of my prescriptions and would he do a thyroid check every six months since I am on a drug that can affect the thyroid. He says he does all those things. So maybe it will work out. Anyway no one ever stays there long. However, I am jealous of the swing hair. He is a brunette and it really is pretty hair.

He asked about my Neurologist and how often I see him. I told him it had been a number of years. That I couldn't remember how many. He was a little upset at that. He said he was writing some prescriptions for me that required that he see me at least once a year. So he is somewhat on the ball to pick up on that.