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TexasProud

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Posts posted by TexasProud

  1. 2 minutes ago, Terabith said:

    Wouldn’t it be more efficient to get monetary donations and have them purchase what they need there, where the money would benefit the local economy or they could get exactly what they need?

    Many times things may not be available locally.  For example, we hand out toothpaste at the hospital as part of a hygiene pack and I didn't get enough donations.  We could find maybe 50 locally ( I hand out 300 or more a trip.) 

    • Like 2
  2. 3 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

    It's not you, it's them.

    You're in the worst intersection of people--a mix of the "Buy Nothing" crowd with the flakiness of Facebook Marketplace. People often view requests for aid for charitable organizations as an opportunity to rid themselves of the junk they don't want rather than an opportunity to meet the needs of the organization.

    If I were you, I'd set up an amazon wishlist, with it being delivered to your home, and you can take things across as you'd like. Request the specific socks, hats, dolls, etc. that you need.  It's much easier to give in that way, and you'll get the items that you need. (And, as a giver, it's much easier to order a gross (144) of squishies or toothbrushes or whatever that way.)

     

    This.  So much this.  I quit asking for donations because, yeah it was get rid of junk.  You need shampoo, let me give you a half used bottle from the hotel.

    I now share the items on Amazon.  So, so, so much easier.

    Not you.  Just people. 

    • Like 1
  3. Yes, just a couple of months ago.  Mine was very, very small and very deep. They said before they started that they didn't know if they would be able to see it on the U/S.  They couldn't.  They probably would have just waited 6 months, but with my family history they did a biopsy.  it was nothing.

    But I am on a schedule that I do both a mammogram and A/s and then six months later I do a breast MRI, then six months later mammogram and A/S.  I guess for the rest of my life or until they finally find cancer. 

    edited to add, that is my schedule.  Accidentally put not. 

    • Thanks 1
  4. 26 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

    Just be aware that deep vein thrombosis is a rare but possible side effect of letrazole. I am on tamoxifen which has similar side effects and I usually remove my shoes and wiggle my feet on longer car/plane rides.  We would also make pit stops every few hours just to get out of the car and walk. 

    We normally stop a lot on the RV trips.  However, will be extra careful on the long plane trips to Kenya.  Kind of feels like damned if you do and damned if you don't.   Thank you for the heads up.

  5. 2 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

    Aromatase inhibitors like letrozale can have side effects that come and go as well as delayed side effects. It also could disrupt your sleep. There is a quality of life tradeoff sometimes. Have you had a DEXA scan because letrozole does affect bone density as well. 

    Well, I mean I have only been on the letrozole for 3 weeks and I have been waking up early for much longer than that. 

    I had one a couple of years ago and have Osteopenia in one hip, I think. I don't remember. So I take calcium.

    Yeah, I hate meds period and we discussed this for over a year before I decided to take it.  I have like a 24 percent or something like that chance of getting breast cancer and this knocks it down to 7 or 8 percent.  All of my docs think I should take it.  The last straw was the man who is our best man who is a gynecology oncologist and he really thought I should take it as well.  So I gave in...

  6. 17 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

    Seasonal Affective Disorder also causes fatigue, but also makes your circadian cycle shift so you stay up later and are tired in the morning. Mine peaks around end of January. it's miserable. My first symptom is always me saying, "I feel like my coffee isn't working". 

    LOL.. stay up later...haha. I am normally in bed by 9pm and asleep by 9:30 for sure.  I just wake up several times, normally getting up about 4.  No alarm for a decade now. According to my apple watch I get around 6 hours to 6 1/2 hours most nights. That said, I believe it completely overestimates how much sleep I get.  It will often try to count my watching a movie with my husband as sleeping when I know I am awake. 

    I have no allergies at all.  They really affect my husband, my son, and my daughter, but the pollen doesn't affect me at all.

    Edited to add, looked at the auto sleep app and it says I've gotten 4 hours to 5 1/2 hours a night this week.  Nothing near 6.  So that is probably why.  Don't know how to fix that, though.

     

  7. Oh, I had blood work last week at the oncologist office and I didn't realize they tested some of the same things.  

    Ok for that test my anion gap was 9.7, so totally normal.

    My CO2 was high at  33.  ( it was 29 today)

    My calcium wasn't high at all last week. 

    My chloride was borderline high for both of them.

  8. Just now, Katy said:

     

    Also, uncontrolled pain unfortunately makes you tired. So if your back is still bugging you, that's likely contributing.

    No my back hasn't bothered me for months. No pain at all. 

    Well, other than... I will say this here as I haven't told anyone IRL because I don't want hubby to feel bad.  He is already beating himself up.  He asked me to hold something down in the RV while he was drilling something.  He didn't tell me not to move my hand and he told me to hold it tighter and the drill came up through the wood, which I didn't realize it would. Again, he said he should have made sure I understood exactly what he was doing.  Thankfully, the drill didn't come through my hand, but only the web part between my fourth finger and pinkie finger.  It has finally stopped hurting and scabbing over.  Anyway, that has been hurting me and I did take ibuprofen or tylenol for a good ten days straight.  I stopped a few days ago. 

    • Sad 1
  9. 8 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

    One is perfect.

    It is a little confusing -- a higher TSH indicates hypothyroidism (low thyroid).

    TSH is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland. A doc explained it to me like this -- TSH is essentially a measure  how loudly your pituitary gland is having to yell at your thyroid to get it to do its job. A higher TSH (louder yelling by the pituitary gland) means the thyroid isn't working properly.

    Thank you.  That was a very helpful explanation.

    • Like 1
  10. 5 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

    1 is actually where my endocrinologist tries to keep me....he would be thrilled with a 1.0-1.9 result for me.

    The "bad" number of thyroid is the higher that you go.  Anything over 3 warrants treatment.  

    You would be hyperthyroid (too much hormone) if your T4 was low and your T3 is high and you were losing weight, more depressed than your usual baseline, tremors, diarrhea, or certain eye issues. 

    If you're feeling more tired than usual, I would be looking at your iron levels (including ferritin), your D3 levels, and your B levels...as well as your overall mental functioning level (more depressed = more tired for most).

    My MCHC was a little low at 32 (33-37 is normal) That is the amount of hemoglobin.

    And as I mentioned my anion gap was a 7, which is low albumin which is unusual.  

    I have no clue what my D3 or B levels are .  My calcium was borderline high.  I am taking D, Calcium, C , Zinc, and Magnesium every day. 

  11. What would you consider a good TSH result?  I got a 1.   They say anything from .47 to 4.68 is normal, but I seem to remember that you ladies differed on that.  My previous readings have been around 1.6/1.7 for the last 5 years or so.

    My anion gap was also 7, it has been going consistently down.

    My overall cholesterol numbers weren't great at 221, but my LDL and HDL are perfect.

    I am taking a low dose statin right now.  I have also been taking Letrozole as a breast cancer preventative, which I read can raise cholesterol. That said, I haven't been great about it and my exercise has been not great either over the last few weeks because of weather and/or appointments and such.

    We are about to go on a 5 week RV trip where I will be eating better and hiking most days. 

    I have been feeling pretty tired lately, but read that may be a side effect of starting the Letrozole and should wear off. 

  12. Little House on the Prarie and the Waltons every Monday and Thursday night I believe.  I own the DVD sets to both.

    MASH when Col Potter and Charles replace Frank.  I actually cannot stand the first several seasons.  My husband owns the DVD set.  He would often unwind from his day by watching an episode in the evening when he was still practicing. 

    Star Trek Voyager is my favorite, though I really like Next Generation as well. 

    Oh... The Cosby Show...still adore it and it makes me so mad what he did offscreen because the show is so incredibly wonderful. 

    Then my newer favorites are

    The new All Creatures Great and Small.  LOVE LOVE LOVE this show.

    ( Last ones are going to sound super strange with previous picks)

    The Closer and Major Crimes. I love all of the characters and Kyra Sedgwick's portrayal is masterful. You don't always like her, but she makes you understand and... sympathize? I'm not sure what the word is, but you love her even when she is self-destructive.   The last season of the Closer, the way they built up the motivation for her exit...just beautiful and heartbreaking.  My husband has never seen them and has no idea I've watched them even though I have many, many, times.  

     

    • Like 1
  13. 12 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

     

    I know I’ve raised all of my kids to make significant and beautiful contributions to society. But society’s bills still have to be paid. 

    But at least for one of the children that the OP mentioned:
     

    I have a former student who got her BS in music therapy and her M. Ed in Special education. She's working at a school as a special Ed teacher and lives with her grandfather to save money and because it's good for him to have someone else around. She got good scholarships and grants, so she's not in significant debt. 

    Her father considers her college education a "waste" because she's "not making enough to be an independent adult". 

    She is paying society's bills and then some.  Not only is she working, but she is helping out an older relative and being smart by saving money....  Her dad is just being a jerk.

    • Like 7
  14. 21 hours ago, SKL said:

    I guess it depends on what you mean by "allowed" to.  In my culture, young adults are allowed to go do whatever they want career-wise.  They just aren't allowed to require their parents to pay for it.  If that ends up being a deterrent, oh well ... real life is full of constraints.

     

    Yeah, well I think it is a little unfair if a parent will pay x for a math degree, but not the same amount for a music degree.  But I know parents do it.  Some around here will only pay for college if their student goes to aTm....  🙄

    • Like 1
  15. Oh, and are any of your children natural organizers??  My oldest was and my youngest can do a fabulous job when she is in the mood.  I hired them to do things like clean out and organize the tupperware drawer or a coat closet.  Again, you sit.  They can ask you if the person wears the coat anymore. 

    • Like 2
  16. 5 hours ago, KSera said:


     

    Don’t try to get this all done at once and set your health back in the process. It may be that you need to sit in a chair and direct your family members what to do in each room. 

     

    4 hours ago, Junie said:

     

    What we do here is set a timer for 15 minutes and everyone in the house cleans until the timer goes off.  At the end, everyone earns a piece of chocolate (such as a fun size candy bar).  Sometimes we will do a second round and earn double candy (so three total pieces of chocolate).

    So when kids were home and I was homeschooling, at 3:30/4 when everyone was through with school, we would start in a room. I would set the timer for 10 minutes. One kid would dust, one kid would vacuum and the other kid would help me put stuff away from the room where it went.  Then we went to another room. We would do two or three rooms at a time.  I didn't give prizes, though that is an idea.

    So I don't know what the ages of your children are, but I started this when the kids were 3, 8 and 10.  You can help if you feel up to it, but otherwise you sit and direct them.  They had fun racing around trying to do it before the timer went off.  Now maybe your room is the state that you need 15 or 20 minutes per room.  But four people working for 10 minutes can generally get a room looking presentable.  Deep cleaning is a different thing. You need to hire someone to do that. 

    • Like 3
  17. Just a funny aside.

    Our daughter wanted us to get a treadmill towards the end of high school.  We refused.  It has sort of been a joke. So if and when she wins her first Tony ( and that includes just being a small part of a show that wins, not necessarily that she wins a solo award), we will buy her one. 🤣

    • Like 3
  18. Yes, I am sure the breaks for the kids had a lot to do with it.  To be honest, when we thought I might have breast cancer, I had already decided to "hide it" from my daughter until after she graduated.  Her high school graduation was in the midst of Covid (2020) and I REALLY didn't want to ruin her college graduation with my news.  Thankfully, the biopsy was negative, but yeah, I get wanting to wait until she was stronger and didn't look so sick before telling the kids. 

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