As leaflady said, having Fibromyalgia, Post Polio, MS, Arthritis, etc. creates challenges for us. We live with pain and fatigue that limits and controls what we can do. So we have to find ways to do the usual tasks that will work for each of us. When we think of something we usually share it and often it helps someone else too. That is what makes us family.
Yes, we often get off topic, but that is ok because we are all in the same boat most of the time. We need a place we can rant and rave and be understood because others on here feel the same way for the same reasons much of the time.
Please join us in our continuing discussion and in our mutual support.
Coming from here
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/982824/
This message was edited May 30, 2009 10:35 AM
Compassion for gardeners in pain #5
Well done. Thank you.
Yeah Patti!! Good job and for our dial up friends, I thank you.
I have been gradually decreasing my pain med patch dosage. Seems to be working well. I just wish that instead of VA Drs who you cannot talk with or really have any type of relationship, that I had a Dr I could be doing this with. I cut the dosage by 1/3 , did well on that for about 2 1/2 weeks, then cut that in 1/2. I change patches every 3 days , so today put on the 2nd low dose patch. I have prayed a lot and have others praying for me. I am really excited that i have not been experiencing increased pain even with this lower dose of medication. Hopefully I will see that God has healed me from my pain and now I can get off of these meds. I am so grateful for the opportunity to live a life without these drugs. I know they have an effect on my ability to reason and react and so many other things. I have said for about 3 years now that I want to get off of these meds. It appears that my prayers are being answered. Thank you my Lord. Thank you my friends who have been praying for me.
Sheri
Sheri, I've just recently gone off tramadol for the same reasons. Even though it is a milder drug, it really made my brain fog and cognitive problems worse. It took about 7-8 weeks to go all the way off and it's been totally worth it! My thinking has cleared up about 90%. My doctor warned me that I might have rebound pain for a while when my body is readjusting. I still have my prn pain meds which I use. I've had to get more in tune with my body, take more breaks, rest up more, manage my activity better. But what I've traded in pain I've made up for in clarity. Good luck to you! Take it slow and easy!!
Jacki
Sheri, who was it - maybe you, maybe not - how about another thread called "gardeners losing their brains/minds?" ANYWAY, someone recently talked about getting off tramadol one pill a week that it took a loooooong time but she did it. Maybe it was Patti?
Now I wonder how many of the cognitive effects of MS are actually from taking pills that would knock my 250 lb husband flat on his behind.
Duh. OK, it was Patti. I've been on that garbage for so long and meanwhile I'm taking these other drugs to help me think straight. Eliminate the psychoneurologist who specializes in memory problems?
Hey all you guys what would we do without our meds? Go crazy!!!!!!!!! I missed a couple doses of one and just about went beseerk. I cried so hard my eyes swelled almost closed and I had big bags under my eyes. I hate meds and I hate the stupid diseases that cause us to need them and then I hate the Dr.s for putting us on this high priced junk. I had to pay over a thousand bucks this month for my meds because hubs is layed off work and insurance did not cover it. Cobra is going to cover him and daughter but because I am on medicare cobra will not cover me. What a mess. I spent hours on the phone appling for medicare part D and trying to get help with it but it may be months before we get it all straight. So what will happen when the depression meds run out and I cannot afford to pay a thousand bucks for the junk. Scraps will have to go to the looney bin.LOL. Maybe I will get some rest there. No chores.LOL. I painted all day and weeded a flower bed so I am beat. Gotta get shower and go to bed. We start staining the outside of new house tomorrow. Oh Goodie, More pain. Love and prayers, Scraps
Many of the pharmaceutical companies advertise to call them if you are having trouble affording your meds. If it were me, I would try calling my MD to try to prepare ahead of time. see if anything can be changed to a cheaper generic and then do price comparison shopping over the phone for the cheapest drugstore. There is a wide difference just door to door in what is charged for the exact same medication. You might get more help from the pharmaceutical companies with the name brands than the generics, but this is not something you can wait until the last minute to do. As you saw from just missing 2 pills. It really burns me up the way our drug companies run the FDA, but that is a soapbox that I'd better step down off of before I even get started I just really, really encourage you to start work on that Monday. I will be happy to help you in any way I might be able to. Maybe some of my nursing background can help with the checking and pharmaceutical co calling. Dmail me if you want me to try to help with any of that.
{{{hugs }}}} to my buddies ^_^ ^_^, Sheri
Hey little Birdie you still up? you are so sweet to offer your expertise. I am not going to worry over it now. They said the medicare part D would kick in on june 1 Or so I think. If it does I will be ok if not I may call you and idscuss it further, Thanks though. Goodnight. OOps! we will ( idscuss it tomorrow) i am getting too sleepy to type.
Oh man I missed (before Medicare oart D, or maybe when it was just starting = they had kicked me off Medicaid but Medicare wasn't paying yet and I was caught unaware) anyway four or five doses of antidepressant a while back and had the hugest blow-up with the choir director/witch. I cried my eyes out, I mean I bawled and hiccuped and snorfled and blubbered. It was awful ... I couldn't stop. Scraps, I feel your pain.
Hello everybody hope you all are having a good day.
Carrie I hate that you went through that but I am glad I am not the only one who does junk like that. I love the understanding we all have here on this forum. We may not all be going through the exact same thing but we understand what is happening and truly feel the others pain. I love flowers and found Dave's Garden trying to research some flowers and get ID on them but I found friends instead. I love the compassion we share on here. I feel better just knowing I am not the only one who has blubbering fits occasionally. We have alot going on in our lives with muscle problems, hormone problems and pain problems. It really helps me knowing I do not suffer alone anymore. I know it may sound corny to keep saying it but we all really have alot in common.
I am so tired, we stained a big portion of the house exterior today. I worked from a rolling stool down low, DD worked from waist high up as high as she could reach and hubs got up high. It went faster than I thought it would. I am not thrilled with color it looks a little too red for me. It is a redwood colored stain and wood protectant. But the color on the little paint swatch looked more brown than red. But we were ready to paint so we just went ahead and used it. If it were up to me I would have exchanged it for the lighter color but hubs was ready to get it done and did not want to take it back so now it is done all but the porches and we did not have concrete covered so we skipped them. Tomorrow we will cover them first and maybe we can finish this chore. I need a big shot of energy because I am running out of it. We have worked on this house sooo long now I am sooo ready to be done. It will be nice to just be there when I wake up and I can go out early and pittle with flowers, as he calls it. I am ready to walk out on back porch in my night gown knowing that nobody can see me. It is so peaceful up there with the birds singing. I just cannot wait to be done. I may sleep for a year.LOL. Gotta shower and go to bed. Love and prayers, scraps
Oh scraps, that was years and years ago. I'm taking a much better antidepressant now that makes me H-A-P-P-Y all the time as well as insomniac. And I never miss a dose!
It sounds like you're almost done with your red house! We need a new roof - I had about a month to pick out the color and the one I picked is now I think too red... but I bet it's too late to change. I looked at all these roofs on the Mass Pike and the color I picked is like the color on the rest stops!!!! They haven't started work yet but he said there was a lead time. Your new house sounds idyllic, scraps!
Carrie after a days work on house I feel like my dream home has become a nightmare.LOL. Hubs would not pay extra for a colored tin roof. I would have liked a green one. I got silver because it is cheaper. He is great at budgeting and I dream up stuff I want and he says NO. It is a little cabin in the woods, Kind of, It really does not look like a cabin because hubs would only do a certain kind of plan but it is wooden so it is as close as I could get to a cabin. He did not want a log cabin. He did not want to pay for a wrap around porch and we could not agree on floor plans etc. So we finally compromised and got one built and almost got it finished inside. It is getting closer everyday and so far we have not had to get a loan, if we can do it without a loan we won't have a monthly payment to make.It is all Thanks to his saying No to me when I dream up stuff I need. I am so proud of it. You may be sick of hearing about it. I am daydreaming of flower beds while I smear on stain on the siding outside. I will never be able physically to do all I dream of but it will slowly come about. One rock and one flower at a time. I married a carpenter and got a house, too bad I can't marry another who is a gardener. LOL. Remind me next time I am complaining about current hubs that I said that I needed two of them.HEHEHE
Ha ha ha he sounds like me - I am the one who always says "no" around here! I am perceived by my kids as a real cheap-skate.
yep sounds like him alright Carrie. My Aunt passed away a couple months ago and her daughter lives in dallas and could not take the stuff out of fridge with her so she sent it here and my DD loved the name brand mayo and ketchup etc that she had. She had no idea that you could really taste the difference. Hubs has led her to believe you can not tell them apart. LOL. I won that game everytime she tried me. She would make sandwiches and do taste test just to see if I could tell Blue Plate from el cheapo.LOL. I love hellmans mayo and was raised on it but I knew which was which everytime. She loved the Hunt's ketchup, said it taste like tomatoes and I told her that was what it was supposed to taste like. She had the best time over that stuff. Cheap entertainment for her.
DH swears by Heinz ketchup!! I'd buy storebrand EVERYTHING, except Miracle Whip. I will go for quality, though -- why be cheap if it's not going to last?
My X-H's mother would ask to take home the left-over soda she hadn't drunk from a $0.59 glass of soda when we would take her out to Brigham's, it's a local chain kinda like Denny's. With her it was a sickness, her fridge was stuffed with stuff like that she hadn't drunk or finished and she got Meals-on-Wheels and never ate it all but wouldn't get rid of it.
You know the joke about the guy who's half Scottish and half Irish? The Irish half wants to go out for a drink but the Scottish half is too cheap. Oh well, it used to be funny.
carrie I just quit arguing about it years ago and started buying the store brand. That way when I go somewhere to eat it is a real treat. Some things you buy store brand you really can't tell the difference but I have to say I think mayo and ketchup I can tell. If he had not been so careful with money we would not have a home. So I am learning it pays to be frugal. I want to try doing raised bed gardening next year if all works out. That way I think I could accomplish more than a big garden like his parents have. It is overwhelming to someone who sits on a stool with back hurting to look down a row of beans a mile long and knowing you are going to be in major pain before you get half way down that row. Maybe a smaller but more thought out and well planned garden would not be so frightening. Any vegys I grow will be better than paying for them. Be bacck later, phone call........
Hello everyone, I hope the fact that nobody is posting here is because they are not in pain. I did a little painting today and my back was hurting so bad I gave up and let hubs do it and I supervised. We are finally finished with exterior stain except we need to go back and check for spots that did not get good coverage. We painted the ceiling of carport /backporch and the color was way too orange for me. We are having a tough time getting the color we want. I matched it to the stain the best I could and it is really bright orange. We live to far from town to just pop in and get new color so we used it. Maybe it will grow on us. Next step in our chore list will be trim work like facings for windows and doors and then kitchen cabinets. Have a good weekend everyone. scraps
Well, one thing about any most shade of red and outdoors is maybe it will turn darker from oxidizing like an unwaxed car does. If not, just keep your eyes closed if you ever look up when you're on the porch. hehehe....sorry, I couldn't resist. Did you say it was just on the ceiling of the porches? what color are the outside walls of the house gonna be? If you really on't like the color. mybe you could use the open can for the back and exchange for a brown for the front. I hate to think of you not liking the color of your house. But a paid for house is still better than a mortgage. Even if it was purple.
Happy birthday Cando1. Hope you're OK!! Miss you!!
nite everyone.
Sheri
Ow-eeee!! I'm in pain, I am, yes!!! My baby (well, now he's 39) brother's wedding was yesterday and I was sitting up from 2pm until 10 pm. I usually don't sit up for more than 45 min. at a time. Ouch, exhausting and painful. But a lovely time was had by all.
Ouch Carrie! But some things are so important you just gotta do it and pay the consequences after. How long will it take you to feel better? Wishing you peaceful (non frustrating) rest and quick recovery.
I dunno -- still hurts. bed rest for now... maybe some assisted stretching. I had to go look at the poppies some more before it rains! Unfortunately DH, the principalpassive stretcher, is feeling as bad as I am. The wedding was in the Arboretum, on tiop of a huge hill. picturesque but difficult access.
It's so lovely to have a constant whine and cheese party going on - I never feel lonely. Thanks for caring!
That's what i think is the most frustrating part of all of this chronic pain life...be it Fibro or whatever. We know that if we do the things we enjoy....it will make us hurt. Often severely and to the point of tears. I think the average person feels like, "well just don't do the things that hurt." If we did that, we'd just lay down and give up on doing anything..... just my 2 cents....& I hate it!!G'nite all,
Sheri
Sweet dreams & happy faces in the morning!!
Ahh, today is much better! I feel good. No rain yet, either - hooray.
Glad to hear it, Carrie! Though I think you passed it to me :) I'm sure it wasn't yesterday's work pruning a ancient lilac, nor the fact I worked in my studio too long without a break, OR we went from sunny weather to impending storm! LOL! Oh well, today is going to be one of those days...wish I had a better book to read. Maybe hubby can take me to the library.
Anyone have some tips about reading a book when your arms are too sore to hold it up?
I read paperbacks only in bed. DH has very kindly gotten me some library books but they're all hardbacks and too hard to hold up.
Hello Everyone, I have been so busy and I miss you guys. I wish you were all here so I could hand you all a paint roller and put you to work. I have decided I hate painting.
Jacki, Once when I had a broken arm I took a napkin holder that I had on table in kitchen and propped my book up in it so I could read and hold a baby I was babysitting. I know that sounds weird but it was a clear glass thing that you stand napkins in and it worked perfect. I could hold the baby and read and reach up occasionally and turn a page. It was clear so you could see through it and read any part that was covered. Necessity is the mother of invention or something like that. I hate that you are so sore and I pray you will get some relief soon.
Birdie, the outside of house is stained a redwood color and the front porch is small so we stained it the same color. Back porch is a 20 by 20 foot square that can be car port in really bad weather or a porch. Mostly a porch. The ceiling is orange looking. I tried to match it to the stain. the color swatch thing matched but it was a teenager who mixed our paint and we are convinced he goofed up. But he was very sweet. So we just went on and used it and may go over it later when we save more money but not now. We were so ready to be through with outside we just did not feel like driving back to town and complaining. It does not look as bright now that it is dry,
I used the weedeater around some flowers this morning and thought my back would break and it did not take 10 minutes. Then I painted all day after that. I sat on a rolling stool and took lots of breaks. I need a soak in a hot bath but scared I cannot get out of tub if I get down in it. So I am off to get a shower and go to bed. Goodnight everyone and I pray we all have a restful pain relieving sleep. That tomorrow will be a good day for everyone. Love and prayers, scraps
Steph, sometimes green softens the oranginess of orange - I have a lot of orange, rust and salmon, coral, and other reddish, ruddy, orange colors in my house. Also blue and purple cool them down, if used as accents. I am SO impressed with all the work you two have done so far and are doing!
Thread about drugs and side effects:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1001174/
Carrie, You might not be as impressed if you could see our painting up close. I can paint flowers or whatever if I have something to look at but house painting is not for me. I am doing my best and I am not impressed. We put some white paint in the green I bought for my bedroom because it was brighter than I wanted and used it in living room. The bedroom will just be bright. I like it but others kind of look shocked when they see it. Oh well, another day of painting is behind us. Fibromyalgia and painting do not go hand in hand. keep me in your prayers, Love and prayers, steph
Better than NO PAINTING AT ALL!!! (Resentful? Me? Hardly at all, well, a little, maybe, but only a little, small amount.)
I sure don't get that last post!?? Capital letter screaming ~Again~etc......sometimes I dread even opening these threads and seeing what we are going to be told is wrong etc again. ~~~*sigh*~~~ maybe it's just me though...I'm not in a very good emotional state at all
a very down Sheri
heres a picture of my Bluebirds on their favorite look out perch, they are nesting again. I have a thread about it if anyone's interested
Oh, wow, how adorable those bluebirds are! Thanks for showing us that!
Sheri, I did not mean to scream at you, I was probably screaming at my husband (which I don't want to do) or at MS (which never seems to listen when I shout at it). Perhaps I should have said this:
"Scraps, your painting has got to be better than no painting at all. I'm jealous because my husband never works on fixing up our disgusting house."
Sheri, I'm sorry you're feeling down and I'm really sorry if I contributed to it.
OK, Friends, this is serious business...I took to many of my pain pills... now don't get scared or lecturing on me, please. I feel sick and dizzy. not enough to take me out, not near enough...but enough that I am really wondering why not? or why? Both questions are looming very heavy o me right now. I know that it would hurt a lot of people mainly Jesus. so that is out of the question. But I wonder why i the world an I still here. that is probably something each one of us wonders, but I am struggling right now and need some reminders. Tuesday I see a Psychologist Win is also a PA whose husband was a Viet Nam Veteran who committed suicide. She and I just happened to meet at Costo a few weeks ago and I am hoping for a good therapeutic relationship......ugh, man do I feel sick. just about to barf. sorry...I'll be right back.
OK I'm baack....don't know why, really that I am telling you all about this, except that some of you are my closest Friends and this is....at least to me... the closest thing to group therapy sort of group or family. I feel like What is said here, stays here (hopefully) and that we are all, to a certian extant dealing with similar life challenges and can therefore relate to each others most challenging times.
anyway, this is where I am, and I came to you guys for feedback.
Love, Sheri
ps. my regular badtime meds are kickin in so will probably go to sleep soon...really, really am in no danger of OD-ing, so don't anybosy freak on me. I justseriously need to get my head back on right and not have those thoughts abynore, I just figured you guys should know of mu struggle so you could seriously share some of your experience strength and hope with mne. thanks, Sher ^_^~~~ugh!!``I haate this "sick" feeling!!~~~
Sheri, I'm sure someone else will come along soon, but I lurk here on occasion. I hope I am not intruding on this thread by posting this, but am really concerned and felt the need to respond to your posts from last night. I have enjoyed our interactions over the baby hummingbirds, and am looking forward to checking out your bluebirds.
How are you doing today? It really sounds like you need immediate help...this is not something that can wait until Tuesday. Here is some info for you below:
National Suicide Hotline
1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)
This is a combined network of the American Association of Suicidology, the National Hopeline Network, CONTACT USA, and many other organizations. Call are automatically routed to the nearest crisis center to the phone from which the call for help is placed.
http://suicidehotlines.com/
I also want to give you a big hug all the way from CA. (((Sheri))) You are doing the right thing reaching out for help, and I know you have many people on here who care about you. Hang in there...as trite as it sounds, this too shall pass. I have found that focusing on the small things that bring me joy can really help when I am having a hard time, whether it be physically or in times of great stress. Instead of looking at the big picture and wondering "why or why not," or "where do I go from here," or "how can this possibly get better," etc maybe you could try spending some more time watching your bluebirds today. I'd personally love to see some more photos of what they are up to if you'd be up to posting them, and I'm sure other people would love to see them as well.
Please check in and let everyone know how you are today, okay?
Oh ((((Sheri)))) hello, how are you feeling today? Better, I hope! There are always so many people depending on me to do things for them that I can never think of letting them all down. Maybe some type of volunteering or I don't know much about your personal situation, but anything, like your bluebirds, where you're in relationship with people who depend on you and you depend on them? That has helped me through the bluest times.
Also, I used to have a pact with my old neurologist, before he retired, that if it ever got so bad that i literally was about to throw myself out the window, I would call him first. Which was kind of a joke because we live in a one-story house, out the window is about 4 feet down, and i would need help to get out the window from at least one or two aides. But it sounds like this new psychologist is a positive step in the right direction.
Please post and tell us you're OK!!! We worry about you and care about you!
Sunny and Carrie, thank you each for your responses to me. I have just gotten back from church and am soooo tired. I never really did go to bed last night. Fell asleep a couple of times in the chair and have been at church since about 8:45. We have 2 morning services @9:15 & 11:30. Since i missed the praise and worship songs and music, I stated for that part of the 2nd service. In wanted everyone to know that I am OK so please don't worry about me. I'm gonna go nap on the back deck and listen to the BB's ^_^. I cannot find my camera and that is how I check for eggs
Love and prayers,
Sheri
EEK! A mouse under the house behind a plant whose name I do not remember^_^
I am SO (whoops, I'm not shouting, too lazy to type italics or asterisks) glad you are feeling better. Church made me feel better today too, although I still wish I could sleep off this cold but those e n e r g i z i n g pills don't allow naps.
Is that a real mouse? We have a lot, like very many real mice in our house (mouse traps everywhere) but they don't sit still long enough to have their pictures taken. And maybe a sea holly? Just a guess from other people's photos.