Whether or not you seek the expert guidance of a PT (always a good idea, by the way), consistent daily stretching over the long term is the only real solution. There is no quick/easy fix. I'm over two years out from surgery and I still get tight and limited if I neglect my stretching. You can find descriptions of good exercises in books and online. If you feel the stretch in your tissues, even if a little painful, that is fine. If you feel it in your joints, STOP. Hold your stretches where they are uncomfortable but tolerable for at least 20-30 seconds. That's how long it takes your muscles to adjust and relax. Take deep breaths and try to stretch just a tad bit further. If you don't already have a good understanding of lymphedema, that's another topic to educate yourself on. You don't want to trigger this condition or make it worse with things like heat on the affected limbs. Using compression is highly recommended when exercising as well.

The easiest way to keep low carb eating low cost is to stay off the low-carb recipe websites. They are full of unusual expensive ingredients. Just shop for normal foods that are both low carb and inexpensive. Look for sales in the meat section. Prime rib and asparagus are both delicious and low carb but expensive. Whole turkeys, cabbage, fresh spinach, eggs are all delicious, low carb, and inexpensive.

Yes, you are absolutely correct. It is not just food that affects blood sugar. There are decent inexpensive monitors and strips available. I get mine from Amazon. A prescription is not needed. I'm currently using a Bayer Contour but have used a Wavesense Presto and a TRUEresult monitor. You are better off pricing by the ongoing cost of the strips, even if you have to pay a little more for the meter.

Ugh! The patients instructed to do self monitoring were testing once per day! Of course that didn't prove helpful. That's like assigning one group to walk to the mailbox once per week and wondering why their fitness didn't improve over a group that sat on the couch. Self monitoring, especially at first, needs to be done frequently: upon waking, before each meal, one hour after each meal, two hours after each meal, before bedtime. This is the only way to really monitor how different foods and amounts, etc. affect their blood glucose levels. This is only helpful if they are willing to change the way they eat. Once a day testing would be useless regardless of motivation.

Not all doctors are well equipped to manage diabetic patients. The totality of my doctor’s guidance upon my diagnosis as a diabetic was to eat fewer calories, increase exercise, and take this pill (500 mg metformin ER daily). He actually said that he didn’t think monitoring my blood glucose at home would be “productive.” I told him that I was motivated to make the necessary diet and exercise changes. He said that those things are hard to do. Wanting more guidance on what to eat, I mentioned that I was learning how to count carbs and asked about a referral to a dietician. He said that he wanted to see what I could do on my own first and to come back in 6 months. Ummm. . .what can I do on my own with no guidance, no map, no compass, and no defined destination? I was motivated. I did my own research. I soon abandoned the metformin and changed the way I ate. I used home monitoring of my blood glucose to guide my actions. My next A1C was 5.3 and my doctor was thrilled. He stated that he almost never saw improvements like that (I wonder why, with the stellar guidance that he provides) and wanted to know what I was doing. He quickly cut me off as I started to describe how I was monitoring my blood glucose levels closely and changing the way I eat accordingly. He asked if I was still measuring my blood glucose and stated that he just didn't think that was necessary. He considered me "cured" of diabetes, which is ridiculous. If I eat a "typical" meal, my glucose level would spike well above normal/healthy. My following A1C was 4.8 and he only remarked, rather coldly, that it had "dropped again."

so much for completing the treatment before the Thanksgiving holiday. Now being referred to an endodontist.

I was literally popping macadamia's into my mouth as I read this post. Fortunately, a different brand. Thanks for sharing.

My personal fix for this is to turn the sheet 90-degrees. I'm short and DH likes his feet to stick out the bottom anyway. We have oodles of width fabric this way and everyone is happy.

Thank you, everyone. It makes sense that adults just need longer to recover. Most of the information out there is for children with strep, advising that you can send them back to school after 24 hours on the antibiotic. Think I may be turning the corner this morning, not feeling as bad as yesterday morning at least. If I'm not much better soon, I'll follow up on the possibility of a different antibiotic.

Symptoms started on Thursday, diagnosed at health clinic using the rapid strep test Friday morning and started 10 days antibiotics. So, I guess this is day 3 on the antibiotics. Throat still hurts. I wake feeling tired and run down but strangely start feeling a little better as the day gets later, then go to bed early, sleep 12 hours, and it starts all over again. I need to report back to work tomorrow. Was assured that I would no longer be contagious after 24 hours on the antibiotic but not sure I'll feel like dragging myself to work by 8 am. Shouldn't I be feeling better by now?

My current favorite low carb crispy/crunchy snack is toasted chips made from 100% cheese. You'd have to make these ahead of time but they would then seem to meet your requirements. Simply place a small mound (~1 T) of shredded cheese widely spaced on parchment paper in a hot oven and watch it like a hawk. There is a thin time margin between nice and crisp and OOPS, burnt. I often make just a couple in the toaster oven using fresh grated parmesan. Once the edges start turning brown, I turn off the heat and let them cool in the oven. I will also sometimes indulge with fried pork skins but they may not be within your definitely of decently healthy.

Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate all the feedback. I've never been thrilled with this particular vet but DH is usually the one who takes pets in for routine visits and he insists on one that is close and convenient. I may very well take a day from work and take the dog to a different vet to discuss arthritis medication. We've had him on joint support supplements for a few years now and he walks easily and still gets up and down from the one sofa he is allowed on. He is laying on the floor beside me right now with his back legs splayed out directly behind him, just as he did when he was young. So, I don't think the arthritis can be that bad. This was a routine visit to the vet, mainly because we ran out of heartworm preventative. I had a pet die from heartworms years ago so we are diligent to use the preventative year-round for the dog's lifetime.

My dog was a street rescue when he was a half-grown puppy. He was in bad shape, neglected and abused, covered in ticks. He is now 14 years old and showing the signs of being an old dog with health issues: heart murmur, arthritis, cloudy eyes, hard of hearing, and various lumps and bumps. The vet is pushing for all sorts of tests to find underlying issues as well as surgery. Cancer is on the table as well as some rare disorder that I can't remember the name of. I said no to the testing but she can't seem to let it go. She called again last night to discuss options. The dog currently has, from all observations, a good quality of life. He does sleep a lot but shows clear signs of happiness when I come home, when he is fed, and when he gets to go for a walk (which is several times a day). I do not see any signs that he is currently suffering. When that changes, I will have him euthanized. Am I out of line? I see no point in putting him through various testing, much less surgery, when I'm not interested in pursuing cancer treatments or other extensive treatments. Am I heartless for simply letting him live the rest of the good times that he has left? I need some feedback because, while DH is leaving the decision to me, I can tell that he isn't as on board with saying no to the testing/surgery. He seems to think it is worthwhile knowing what is wrong even if we don't treat. Thanks.

Wow! Thank you, everyone. This looks like a great list that will keep her entertained for a while. I welcome additional recommendations as well.

My solution was to lower my standards. Prioritize the necessities - clean dishes and clean clothes. Dust and cobwebs must wait until I have the time and energy to tackle. Floors only get so dirty before they really stop getting worse. ?

MIL has asked for some Netflix recommendations. I let her know that we are enjoying "The Good Place" as the second season recently arrived. She tried one episode and it was NOT to her liking. Based on the following that she has enjoyed, can you recommend any others that are on Netflix? Father Brown Doc Martin Midwife The Crown Heartland Longmire Blue Bloods Friday Night Lights Many thanks!

I love this post! I definitely support your decision to get two. We have decided we'll adopt single adult cats but kittens will always come in pairs. At our house, it is me that tries to hold a line on the number of pets we have. DH has a huge soft heart. We've had as many as five cats years ago but are now down to two. I've told DH he has to wait until our older dog is gone before bringing home more cats. He still tells me about adoptathons at all the local animal organizations.

I appreciate the insights! DD did end up sending a follow up email simply thanking the professor for approaching her to discuss her performance in the course. I'll update the thread if she ever sees/hears that the grade was changed. We've been encouraging DD to simply put this course behind her; as Frances mentioned, one course is not likely to matter in the large scheme of things. DD's parents definitely had some darker grade blips on otherwise great college transcripts.

ugh. At one point, DH decided that every homeschool family should have a piano. None of us played! He bought an inexpensive upright used and paid much more to have someone come out to clean and tune it. It sat unused for years before I insisted it had to go. We put up a notice on a local homeschool board offering it for free and did get a few interested families. It was gone within a week.

Yep, DD, now 21, had 4 baby teeth and 2 adult teeth removed at about age 12 due to extreme overcrowding. Her dentist did refer her to an oral surgeon who recommended general anesthesia as the adult teeth were deeply impacted. She came through easily and was only really unhappy the first day or so. My advice would be to set nutrition aside for a couple of days and provide whatever soft foods your DD finds comforting/soothing. Warm custards, cold ice cream, etc. It's been a long time but I seem to remember that DD was ready to start eating more substantial foods in just a few days. Anything hard/crunchy should wait until after the follow up visit, usually about a week later. Good luck!

After reaching the spring of her third year in college and having never gotten a course grade lower than A-, DD finally hit a course that kicked her butt. She legitimately earned a poor grade and that was reflected in her final semester grades. Just yesterday, the professor approached her in the hallway and mentioned that she is considering raising her grade from last semester. Her reasons that she shared was that DD did relatively well on the in class exams so she was learning the theory. Her worst scores were on the homework projects where the theory needed to be applied in practical applications. The professor stated that she knew that many students used inappropriate help and/or turned in work that was not their own for the projects. She seemed to feel bad that DD obviously didn't go that route and suffered the consequences. The whole encounter struck DD as being kind of weird. She knew she didn't do well in the course and while unhappy with her grade, figured it was appropriate. She left the exchange actually wondering if the professor was looking for her to make a pitch for a better grade, which she didn't do. . .and later wondered if she missed her opportunity! Is it unheard of for a professor to decide on their own to change a final grade, well after the completion of the semester? How SHOULD have DD handled it?

Thank you, everyone! Both DDs started feeling better from the first virus and now the younger one is much worse. I suspect a second bug is on the loose. The scholarship hit DD's student portal so now she is just waiting on them to process the refund.

DD had a generous departmental scholarship last year. We understood when it was awarded that it was for a single year. She applied again the next year for departmental scholarships but never heard anything and assumed that they decided to "spread the wealth" and award different students. We paid her account balance due a week ago for fall semester and she just today was notified that she was again awarded the departmental scholarship and is now expecting a generous refund! The delay was due to a change in how the scholarships are administered within the department and somebody dropped the ball. As her younger sister also started college this year, this news will REALLY help us out. I had stashed away some AOTC refund that helped defray this semester's costs but wouldn't have that extra to help cover next semester. There would be much dancing around the house except that both college students have already picked up a virus and are feeling poorly. Argh!

Update. My local Staples had their brand of 5-subject spirals with 180 pages for $3, so still a good deal. They also had a different 5-subject 200-page spiral with pocket dividers between the sections and a much stronger cover for $5. I ended up getting those. I don't have a Shopko but that sounds like a steal!

Spoofing is the most likely answer. Not as likely, but possible, is a technical glitch in your phone connection. This happened to us a few years ago and we were getting TONS of callbacks from people asking why we were calling them. Worst of all, several calls were made to 911. Apparently, they HAVE to respond to a 911 call when no one is on the line to give them information. I stumbled out of bed in the wee hours of the morning more than once to answer the door to a sherriff's deputy asking if everything was ok since "we had called 911." We called our phone company and visited their offices multiple times trying to get it resolved. We finally went again to the office and weren't going to leave until they either resolved the problem or disconnected our line completely. I was sincerely worried about getting in trouble for all the 911 calls! They finally elevated the repair ticket to someone who was able to locate and resolve the issue.