February 2024 chitchat

[Virginia]

Welcome to the MS forum Happyaffableperson. We discuss about every topic you can think of. However, I am female and rather unable to relate to your condition. I would have suggested a Urologist, but since you have been that route I can't add much. I can say that what one doctor doesn't know another just might, and I say that from dealing with other issues.

Maybe someone will come along who is more able to give you better guidance. In the meantime feel free to join our conversations.

[Virginia]

Agate, sorry you were not given enough information in advance to book your transportation accordingly. I find it to be disappointing when I am expecting something that doesn't materialize. In your case it sounds as though it was probably good that you went regardless since your sunglasses needed fixing.

Flatcap, glad it has warmed up for you. It was the most beautiful day here today. I haven't checked to see what the high temperature was but it was certainly the 75 degrees predicted and maybe a little higher. It has been a lazy day for me with just a couple of phone calls and exercising mostly. I did do a little cooking.

I ordered new slippers to wear in the house. I had gone up a size due to the swelling in my feet. After having two falls I thought about my shoes and realized they had gotten large on my feet. I have lost so much of the swelling I went back to the size I used to wear. They do fit better and that helps me feel more secure. They are not perfect because they don't come in half sizes. I like wearing them inside and wish they did. My right foot is larger than my left. They fit the left foot very well.

[agate]

And they don't fit the right foot, Virginia? It must be hard to find shoes you can wear comfortably.

Today was most unusual because I had visiting family--a nephew and his wife and one of their daughters. I hadn't seen them in well over a year. They live in the same town but I've seen them only a few times since moving here. Lately they've been busy with two of their children getting married. The niece who came today isn't married yet--she is a lawyer and a very nice person. I've watched all three children since they were born but usually from a distance. They've visited occasionally over the years.

They've lived in this town much longer than I have--26 years. Originally they're from California.

[Virginia]

Agate, I am sure it was nice to see your nephew and his family. Nice of them to stop by for a while and spend some time with you. Sounds like the daughter might be someone who could come in handy should you ever need legal questions answered or legal advice.

[agate]

I was picking her brain today as it happened--asking her about the snow removal issue that came up recently in connection with this building. She said that the law is very complicated and that there are loopholes/exemptions that probably apply.

[Virginia]

I Turns out I did keep much of the Super Bowl on. I guess just to find out who would win. Kansas City Chiefs won, so I expect Taylor Swift and her boyfriend will be out celebrating, possibly in Las Vegas. I think they were pretty close to there.

[agate]

I'm glad if the team you were rooting for won, Virginia. It's always nice to be backing a winner.

I was a Chicago Cubs fan many years ago. One problem was that they tended to be in the cellar. But there were many other diehard Cubs fans, and so it wasn't so discouraging to be cheering on a losing team.

[Virginia]

Yesterday was cloudy, ugly and rainy. I went out anyway. I had an appointment so I stopped by the bank and made a deposit, then went to my appointment and then to the grocery store.

I haven't done much today, just changed the sheets and did a couple of loads of wash.

I have hoped all day to hear from my brother Eric. He has been sick for a number of weeks now. He gets better, but then gets sick again. I called him last night and I felt like he wasn't able to talk. He sounds very congested and coughs so much he shouldn't be trying to do anything. He went to one of the urgent care places when he first got sick. He tested negative for COVID, they said he didn't have the flu, but might have RSV, though unlikely. He said last night he had put in a call to his PCP and told the lady who answered he needed to get a chest x-ray. She was to check with the doctor but didn't call him back. He promised me he would try to get in someplace today to get an x-ray, but I haven't heard. The urgent care didn't have an x-ray machine. So I am not having a good night.

I did have a little luck yesterday. I started to put my shoes on that I wear outside. Somehow I grabbed some brand new shoes by mistake. I thought they were some that wouldn't fit over my arch and I didn't get around to sending them back. I thought I would leave them out to give to my niece. I stuck my foot down in one and it went on without me even trying to put it on. I tried the other one and the same thing happened. I realized my feet had been swollen when I tried them. That is how much they have gone down. I wore them yesterday and like them. They wear good.

[agate]

So now you have a pair of shoes you didn't think you had, Virginia?

There are reports about a rise in respiratory infections lately, and maybe your brother has caught one of them. The chest cold I had recently lingered on for about 3 weeks and even now it threatens to come back. It may be allergy-related. My hoarseness and coughing get better if I vacuum.

I had a laugh at this:

I had an appointment so I stopped by the bank and made a deposit, then went to my appointment and then to the grocery store.

I haven't done much today, just changed the sheets and did a couple of loads of wash.

If you haven't done much today, I'm not sure what I should say about my day except that I've done a lot less . I went nowhere, changed no sheets, and did one smaller load of laundry.

Oh yes. I got into a trunk to fish out a very ancient tablecloth I made over 60 years ago. To get into the trunk I had to move quite a few rather heavy things that were on top of it.

I'd say you did quite a bit, Virginia.

[flatcap]

Went to my PCP yesterday. Just standard follow-up stuff, although he did order blood work. I read here a while back about people taking relatively high doses of Vitamin D, so I increased mine from 1600 IU/day to 3600 IU/day. My doc wants to be sure there is no Vitamin D toxicity going on, so he ordered the blood test.

Today, it was my behavioral health specialist. Things are going OK but could be better, particularly in the irritability department, so we're switching to a newer med. I'm a little nervous about that but not too worried. If it doesn't work, or if there are problems, I can always go back to what I am taking now. I next see her in three months, but they have a portal. I can use that if I need to contact her in the meantime about the new med. She is very responsive.

Tonight at dinner, I sat in the lounge as I usually do and had what they call an Avocado Chicken Salad. It was excellent! The service was, too. I don't drink, but I normally sit in the bar area of restaurants because I almost always go alone and like to watch the TV while I eat. They are always showing sports, but even though I'm not a fan, that's usually OK with me. Tonight was an exception.

The show tonight was one of those Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), and it was women instead of men beating each other to pulps. Simply disgusting. Except for looking up every now and then to see if something else had come on, I didn't watch. I didn't complain, though. Instead, I went out of my way to thank the manager for the great meal and service I received tonight. I also thanked my server twice, once at my table, and again on my way out when she was back behind the bar (she was also bartending). I really like the place. I'm a regular, they know me by name, and I feel at home there.

I have to say I view UFC much as I do ordinary boxing. As far as I am concerned, both are in the same league as bullfighting and should be banned. I don't think there is any room for blood sports in a civilized society. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Virginia, I'm sorry to hear your brother isn't doing well. In addition to the suffering of the patient, relatives and close friends are affected in these situations. The worry can wear you out, both physically and emotionally. I hope they get him his chest x-ray so they can figure out what's going on and get your brother to feeling better. I hope he recovers fully and soon for his own good and yours.

I'm glad to hear you have solved your shoe problem. I finally ordered a new pair of shoes myself yesterday and look forward to receiving them. My daily drivers are getting pretty worn after about ten years of wearing them, so it's time for news ones.

I will no doubt wear my old, nearly worn out shoes from time to time, though. They're my favorite shoes of all time. I hope they reissue them someday. If they do, I will buy at least two pairs this time; they really are that good. Only time will tell if the new shoes can fill their place.

One thing that drew me to the new shoes is their lacing. I don't know what they're called but the laces have a locking slider mechanism; you don't have to tie them; you tighten them using the slider. I long ago replaced the original standard laces on my current shoes with similar laces, but they are elasticized, so they make the shoes much like slip-ons (I don't need to use the slider). The laces on my new shoes aren't elasticized, but I figure they'll be fine. If not, I'll get the same elasticized type I have now (probably the same brand as well). It's getting harder all the time for me to tie my shoes. I have a couple of pairs of shoes with standard laces I almost never wear for this reason.* I'm very glad there are options.


*I would use slider-type laces for the two pairs of shoes I have with standard laces, but they are what they used to call "desert boots". Only standard laces work well with them. They're on the growing list of clothing items I plan to donate to charity.

[agate]

I agree about sports involving brutality. I have problems with football on that score. And I wish dogfights would be outlawed. Bullfights are grotesque. Making a national sport, almost a ballet, a carefully stylized performance, out of killing an innocent animal???

Hope you'll like the new shoes, flatcap. I tried elasticized laces recently and they just didn't work well for me. Since I can't tie shoelaces very well any more, I'm using velcro fasteners. I have two pairs of shoes, the old ones and the newer ones. I don't want to be another Imelda Marcos...

[Virginia]

I totally agree about sports. I did watch most of the Super Bowl, but that is a very rare thing for me. I hate any animal fights. At least humans have a choice. I couldn't sit through a dog fight for love or money. I love dogs too much. All animal fighting should be outlawed. When young, and going to movies, there would occasionally be a bull fight. I always closed my eyes or turned my head.

Agate, I think you misread how much I am doing. Monday I did the running around to the bank, my appointment, the grocery store and stopped at Panera to get a Greek salad. It was Tuesday that I washed a couple of loads and changed my bed. Today I just cooked Chicken Milan (it is supposed to be heart healthy).

Imelda Marcos reminds me of back when my husband was alive and I was working. I was a shoe person. I loved shoes. I went to work one day and walking into the building I looked down and saw that I had on shoes that were not the same. They were the same color and the same heal hight, but came from two different pair of shoes. I thought no one would notice because I normally set at a desk. That day I was asked to go to another department to meet someone. A lady in there happened to look down and saw that one shoe had a bow and the other one didn't. She started laughing and said "Oh you're Imelda Marcos". We had a good laugh.

I didn't talk to Eric again today, but I did talk to our other brother. Eric went to get a chest x-ray this morning at 11AM. He had not heard anything from it this evening. They told him it might be 24 to 48 hours. Why I don't know. I don't know where he went to get it. I hope it is not the 48 hours.

[agate]

Sorry I didn't realize that all of your activity was spread out over time, Virginia. All of those errands on one day still seem like a lot to me but people who are in the habit of doing certain errands probably wouldn't find it so difficult.

Imelda supposedly had 3,000 shoes or maybe it was 3,000 pairs of shoes? She had quite a few handbags too. I loved shoes at one time too but not that much. You'd have to dust them from time to time because you couldn't possibly wear them often enough to keep them circulating. Or maybe she kept each pair in an enclosed case? If that photo is of her actual shoe collection, it doesn't look as if she did.

Anyway, since I dislike dusting, I'd hate having to dust a bunch of shoes.

I hope your brother will get good news on the Xray.

Snow was in the forecast for today but the danger is past. I woke up this morning to find the sun halfway out and no snow on the ground. This is a big relief as it means the grocery order will be delivered.

[clouds z]

i thought Thom hartmann said stick with original Medicare?,but i have C and D...I GET A CArd,i think it gives 100 a month for food/otc drugs etc so yes thats 1200 a year but it dosent accumlate monthly

[agate]

clouds z, maybe you are referring to a post from 1/31/24 in this thread where I wrote:

I received an odd card in the mail telling me that I "may qualify for a Medicare Advantage plan with a grocery allowance of $1140 for groceries." I very much doubt this. Has anyone received any notices like this? It also says that "those with limited income or a chronic condition may be eligible to enroll in a plan and use this allowance toward: groceries, utilities, household essentials."

I already have a Medicare Advantage plan and so far, the only such benefit I know about has been the one for "household essentials"--meaning nonprescription drugs, vitamins and supplements, etc.--personal care supplies, in other words. I get $40 a quarter to spend on such items if I order from a catalog that is provided.

And so now a grocery allowance is being added in?

Medicare Advantage plans have been getting a lot of criticism lately. Maybe the plans are trying harder to keep people in their plans by offering these added benefits?

I've finally called the number that was given on the card. I was on the phone for over an hour with someone from GoHealth, the organization that sent the card. There turned out to be no grocery benefit available in my area, and the other benefits are ones I already receive, but the representative was very eager to switch me from the HMO plan to the PPO.

As this process was moving forward I was played a recording about how I should agree to having GoHealth have access to all of my prescription drug information for the next 2 years. At this point I backed off and told the representative that I'd need to know more about GoHealth because I've received any number of offers from people wanting to save me money on my Medicare plan over the years, and I know nothing about any of them.

EDITED TO ADD: If anyone has had experience with GoHealth or knows anything about it, I'd like to know your opinions.