Health and Wellness Chit-Chat: Your Primary Care Topic

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, Laura Holt said:

It was relatively mild, at first, but has now developed into pneumonia.

I'm sorry to hear that.

My dad's case started out briefly miserable, then mild, but then worsened.  He was nearing the end of the window for the anti-viral when he tested positive (those in the Family thread may remember my rant about how utterly stupid my parents both were about this whole thing), and that was while he was feeling better, so he decided not to take it.  He wound up having to have a chest x-ray and a shit ton of other tests, but no pneumonia, and all he needed was IV fluid therapy and then lots of rest.  They're both done with the coughing and such, but still have not regained but maybe half their strength. 

Thank goodness I didn't get it, on general principle, and because there would have been no one to take care of any of the three of us if I did.  While they were in their isolation period, and I was still so pissed, all I did was drop stuff off, but then I started cooking for them, doing laundry, cleaning, etc.  I'm tired! 

[nokat]

I get notices, that I can get the vaccines.  Yes, it is a serious threat. Flu, RSV, and Covid.

[shapeshifter]

On 9/3/2023 at 4:46 PM, shapeshifter said:

Wednesday I had the RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) vaccine, recommended for babies and older adults. 
"Muscle pain" and "joint pain" are known side effects, but I didn't think it would start 2 days later and be worse another 2 days later. 
However, I didn't see any specific number of days for the side effects on the info sheet or the CDC site, and the on-call nurse I just spoke with noticed the same lack of time frame, and was surprised.

I'm just posting this because I wanted to complain, and because it might be useful later. 
There's a CDC number to call to report side effects, but I'll wait a few more days until it's either better or worse. 

Most people would just take ibuprofen and be fine, but my chronic pain doesn't respond well to OTCs or opiates or anything else.

I also developed a migraine-like headache around day 2 or 3 after the RSV vaccine, which seems to have ceased after 8 days (my migraines have always lasted 3 days except when cut short by sumatriptan).

My back pain is less crippling now, at day 10 since the RSV vaccine.

For reasons too Kafkaesque to get into, I still haven’t seen a doctor, but I did report my adverse reactions to the CDC.

I will turn 70 in a few days, so my experience may be due in part to that.
But is my strong/bad reaction to the vaccine an indication that if I’d caught RSV (from a daycare-attending grandchild) would it have made me seriously ill?

[Yeah No]

So it finally happened after 3 years - I got Covid.  I first developed symptoms last Wednesday which was also when I tested positive on a home antigen test.  I have no idea how I got it - I'm the most careful person, am fully vaccinated and boosted, I avoid everyone when I'm out shopping and in the week or more before I got it had not been around anyone other than my husband, who is still testing negative and symptom-free.   No one I know has gotten it either.  So it's a mystery to me.  I'm blaming public restrooms now (which I still only go into if they're empty) and even wondering if my husband gave it to me.  I read on the CDC site that you can catch it from an asymptomatic person who doesn't know they have it, then when they test after you start showing symptoms it's already out of their system and they test negative.  My husband doesn't like that suggestion, but he's the one that's been working a lot lately with a lot of people in his car traveling all over.  Not something I love but he has to work. 

Whatever, at least the doctor is considering it a "mild" case.  But what the medical community considers a mild case and what most non-professionals consider mild are two different things.  Doctors consider it mild when you don't have to go into the hospital.  If you don't have breathing issues or pneumonia, can get out of bed and run a mild fever or no fever, you're considered mild even if you feel like crap, cough a lot and it lasts for 2 weeks!  I only had a fever for two days and very low at that, only 101 and 100 then it went back down to 98 and below where it's been ever since.  The (sort-of) good news is that if I didn't know it was Covid I might think it was just any cold-like virus.  There's nothing that different about it that would make me think otherwise.  Also I managed to lose those 3 lbs. I gained over the Summer without even trying.  Silver lining.....

The doctor prescribed Paxlovid right away but as is typical for me since I'm ultra sensitive to drugs it made me puke my guts up, so the doctor told me she didn't think I needed it anyway and to stop taking it because it would likely keep happening.  And I took the lower dose, too!  There was no way to cut up the pills either because they're coated.  Oh well, my luck as usual.

So I have been stuck and home all this time getting as much rest as I can and drinking plenty of fluids.  We were supposed to go to the new "Hell's Kitchen" restaurant tomorrow, which I had booked way in advance, but I had to cancel it.   I made another reservation for a couple of weeks from now.  Hopefully I'll be up to it by then.  My sense of taste has been cutting in and out several times a day every day for the past few days which also sucks.  I still tested positive today.  I hope this is over soon!

Anyway everyone, be careful, Covid is coming back and it's obviously VERY easy to catch!  I've faced my greatest fear getting it, though, because I've been positively phobic about it for 3 years since my Dad died of it in April of 2020.   At least I now know that I can get it and not die of it.  At least this time, LOL. 😬

Edited September 12, 2023 by Yeah No
wrong season....

[shapeshifter]

14 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

…The doctor prescribed Paxlovid right away but as is typical for me since I'm ultra sensitive to drugs it made me puke my guts up, so the doctor told me she didn't think I needed it anyway and to stop taking it because it would likely keep happening.  And I took the lower dose, too!  There was no way to cut up the pills either because they're coated.  Oh well, my luck as usual.…

Oooo. That would likely be me too. Good to know (about the “lower dose”). 
Thanks for sharing the info. 
Keep us posted on your recovery.

I hope the new Eris Covid vaccine becomes available soon.

 

[SoMuchTV]

On 9/6/2023 at 5:32 PM, partofme said:

I know this topic says primary care, but I figure since this is health related its,  better to rant here than in the pet peeves topic?  I have chronic migraine and I'm really annoyed with my headache specialist office.   …

 

On 9/6/2023 at 5:43 PM, shapeshifter said:

… And regarding "I know this topic says primary care, but I figure since this is health related" --
The "Your Primary Care" thread subtitle phrasing is just a cutesy, pun-ish thread subtitle assigned by someone. 

It's not necessary and is confusing.

Maybe it can be removed?

"Health and Wellness Chit-Chat" is sufficient and clear enough, IMO.

Yeah, I wouldn’t overthink the topic name. It’s just trying to say it’s for general health stuff, not something that needs a specialized topic. In fact the first post lays it out pretty well:

On 4/4/2023 at 10:11 AM, JTMacc99 said:

A place to discuss your general Health and Wellness thoughts, issues, and stories.

It is perfectly okay to talk about things going on in your life here that might also have more specific topics in the Health and Wellness forum. 

However if you are hoping to start an in depth conversation about something, you might find it to be more helpful to take it to the dedicated topic. 

 

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Oooo. That would likely be me too. Good to know (about the “lower dose”). 
Thanks for sharing the info. 
Keep us posted on your recovery.

I hope the new Eris Covid vaccine becomes available soon.

 

Thank you, I will.  And your welcome.  I've read that the vaccine should be out soon, but I see a lot of people online complaining that it isn't coming out soon enough. 

I forgot to mention that I'm having a couple of interesting typically Covid-like symptoms like experiencing a strange metallic taste to some of my food, but only from anything with acid in it like salad dressing and steak sauce, etc.  And for a few days I had scratchy, runny eyes, which I read is also a thing.  I've also had periods of "Covid brain" where I have difficulty concentrating.  Thankfully that isn't all the time.  And I feel that my moods are swinging up and down more too.  I know that viruses have made me feel depressed in the past and from what I read online Covid can cause that too.

[annzeepark914]

@Yeah No Wow. I hope you feel much better by the weekend. I'm copying your first post to share with my sister. She's saying she's not sure she'll get this new vaccine as there have been no trials conducted on it.  I've told her to discuss this with her doctor. I hope to get my (I think 6th!!) vaccine late next week. Anything they offer, I get. Take care of yourself 🤗.

[Bastet]

20 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I've also had periods of "Covid brain"

My dad had that something fierce; it is no small thing.

[Laura Holt]

I don't know if I have Covid or not but woke up this morning with a head ache and sore throat, now have started coughing. Oh joy. I did test myself and it was negative but the last time I had Covid it took a few days to show positive.  Well this just sucks.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

She's saying she's not sure she'll get this new vaccine as there have been no trials conducted on it.

Is she impervious to facts, or would she listen if you told her that's not unusual when we're talking about modifying - and in a fairly minor way - an existing vaccine (which did undergo human trials) to include different virus strains, like with annual flu shots?  And that the concern with no human trials is about the efficacy of the vaccine (like with the flu shots, where some years it winds up being well targeted to the strains that wound up dominating the season but some years less so), not the safety of it?

[annzeepark914]

43 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Is she impervious to facts, or would she listen if you told her that's not unusual when we're talking about modifying - and in a fairly minor way - an existing vaccine (which did undergo human trials) to include different virus strains, like with annual flu shots?  And that the concern with no human trials is about the efficacy of the vaccine (like with the flu shots, where some years it winds up being well targeted to the strains that wound up dominating the season but some years less so), not the safety of it?

I had already sent her an email re: modifying existing vaccines that had previously undergone trials...no response yet. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by annzeepark914

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

@Yeah No Wow. I hope you feel much better by the weekend. I'm copying your first post to share with my sister. She's saying she's not sure she'll get this new vaccine as there have been no trials conducted on it.  I've told her to discuss this with her doctor. I hope to get my (I think 6th!!) vaccine late next week. Anything they offer, I get. Take care of yourself 🤗.

Thank you, you too!  I have been taking it really easy.  Is your sister completely unvaccinated or is she just resistant to getting this latest booster?  I spoke again with my doctor today who told me to wait about a month and then get the booster even though theoretically there's no reason why I can't get it as soon as I feel better.

4 hours ago, Bastet said:

My dad had that something fierce; it is no small thing.

Wow, that's scary.  Fortunately for me it seems to have been a thing for only a few days when I felt my worst.  This has been a relatively mild case which helps and I think I took another turn for the better today.  It's happening slowly.  What isn't getting better is a depressed feeling I've started to have in the past few days.  I've read that's also a Covid thing and can last for a while even after recovery.  I sure hope not, it's miserable!  I had to cancel a couple of friend lunches and my reservation at the new "Hell's Kitchen" restaurant at Foxwoods because of this which has been very disappointing, and all that doesn't help either.   

Also just knowing it's Covid and my Dad died of it works on me too.  I keep blaming myself for getting it and going over everything I did in the days leading up to it, which isn't good.  And I can't figure it out because in that period of time I didn't do very much that might have exposed me except for getting my hair cut about 8 days before, but I see one stylist alone in her one person salon so it's not even THAT risky.  Everyone is telling me not to ruminate over it and that I will never figure out where I got it.  They're right of course, but I can't help it.  I just don't know where to go from here.  I hate the thought of going back to wearing a mask everywhere, isolating and having my rosacea flare up again all the time.  It's depressing.

[Bastet]

17 hours ago, Yeah No said:

What isn't getting better is a depressed feeling I've started to have in the past few days.

As you noted, that - and/or anxiety - can also be a result of "COVID brain".  Keep an eye on it and talk to your doctor if it keeps on, but it usually resolves in time.  My dad had anxiety many years ago (and I've had it - and depression - for years now, so we relate on this issue) but pretty mild and he eventually came through and was able to wean off his tiny Prozac dosage and be "normal" again.  He hated the return of those feelings, but it's already starting to lessen.

17 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Also just knowing it's Covid and my Dad died of it works on me too.  I keep blaming myself for getting it and going over everything I did in the days leading up to it, which isn't good.

Yeah, your dad's death - at the height of the pandemic - is inevitably a huge factor in all this.  From what you've described, you probably got it from your husband, so not anything you did, but ultimately it doesn't really matter -- one can do everything "right" and still not just be exposed to but contract it.  But the bottom line is those who took all those precautions, if they do contract it, are highly likely to just suffer through a temporary illness and move on. 

It's hard to shift a mindset, but that's what will most benefit you is keeping that perspective, and continuing to take reasonable precautions.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Bastet

[annzeepark914]

@Yeah No I really don't know for sure if my sister has had all of the covid vaccines. She lives in Florida, next door to her daughter & family, none of whom has ever been vaccinated. So I email articles to her (like the most recent one from the new CDC director about the latest booster due out next week).

[Yeah No]

On 9/14/2023 at 12:10 AM, Bastet said:

As you noted, that - and/or anxiety - can also be a result of "COVID brain".  Keep an eye on it and talk to your doctor if it keeps on, but it usually resolves in time.  My dad had anxiety many years ago (and I've had it - and depression - for years now, so we relate on this issue) but pretty mild and he eventually came through and was able to wean off his tiny Prozac dosage and be "normal" again.  He hated the return of those feelings, but it's already starting to lessen.

Yeah, your dad's death - at the height of the pandemic - is inevitably a huge factor in all this.  From what you've described, you probably got it from your husband, so not anything you did, but ultimately it doesn't really matter -- one can do everything "right" and still not just be exposed to but contract it.  But the bottom line is those who took all those precautions, if they do contract it, are highly likely to just suffer through a temporary illness and move on. 

It's hard to shift a mindset, but that's what will most benefit you is keeping that perspective, and continuing to take reasonable precautions.

I'm definitely on the mend and my mental fog has also lifted a lot in the past few days.  That's a relief!  It was also great timing because my car is coming off lease at the end of the month and I have been under the gun to find financing to purchase it since new cars are so expensive now and I like my car so I don't want to get a new one anyway (plus it's worth more on the market than the price I'm paying for it).  Talk about being thrown in the deep end of the pool!  I had to make several phone calls and figure out what the best source of financing was, and find the best interest rate, etc.  I decided to do it without the dealership's help which is saving me hundreds in bogus fees.  It's been a lot of work coming out of a sick bed to handle!  It's made me have to use the brain cells again and I actually think that was good for me!

But thanks, I really need to stop blaming myself for this.  I've heard of many similar stories from people that never even go out and still end up getting it.  These new variants are that easy to catch!  But yeah, everyone I talk to now thinks my husband is the likely source but don't tell him that, he doesn't like thinking that.  Of course despite that I know he's working off some guilt which at this point is working in my favor, LOL.

18 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

@Yeah No I really don't know for sure if my sister has had all of the covid vaccines. She lives in Florida, next door to her daughter & family, none of whom has ever been vaccinated. So I email articles to her (like the most recent one from the new CDC director about the latest booster due out next week).

Ah, I see.  Well you can only do so much.  One thing the doctor told me is that having been up to date with all my vaccines and boosters probably really helped lessen the severity of my case.  I don't doubt that because I usually get sicker with viruses than this, although even with the vaccines this is no joke.  Interestingly I found myself on the chat section under an article about the new variants the other day where all these people who also have Covid right now were bitching and moaning about how sick they were and how this was THE most awful virus they EVER had, blah, blah, blah.  Wow, I thought, if they think this is that bad maybe they weren't vaccinated at all because I would NEVER say that!  I've had flus that were 5x as bad and that's no exaggeration!  I've had flus with 103 fever, where I couldn't even get out of bed for almost 2 weeks, delirious, dehydrated, losing my voice, etc.  This was nowhere near that bad!

[EtheltoTillie]

Glad you are better, @Yeah No. 

Quoting @Laura Holt  It really is.  I was not happy (to say the least) at the idea of people messing around with my eyes, but it really wasn't at all what I was expecting and after the second surgery to not need to wear glasses!  It was so amazing. 

I had reached such a debilitated state of near blindness before surgery, I actually was happy about the prospect of people messing with my eyes.  But given how badly I had deteriorated (I couldn't read a newspaper even with glasses and I could not drive at night), I couldn't really believe it would have been as successful as it was. 

Edited September 16, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[Yeah No]

15 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Glad you are better, @Yeah No. 

Thanks but I'm not completely better yet.  Since I got cleared as of yesterday to go out with a well fitting KN95 mask I went out because my husband is not that great at grocery shopping and has difficulty distinguishing between product variations.  His dyslexia makes it hard for him and he's always afraid he'll bring home the wrong thing.  It doesn't help that there are several varieties of every product from the most basic stuff like bread, milk and eggs down to cough drops and everything else.   I write down exactly which ones to get but he still has trouble....Anyway now I'm paying for having gone out....Ugh.

I'm still feeling pretty tired and now the congestion is breaking up and I'm blowing my nose a lot.  I feel like if I had been able to take the Paxlovid I might have kicked this already but whatever.  I've had colds that have lasted as long so this is not unusual for me.  The cold I had a few months ago lasted about 3 weeks.  I'm probably more anxious about this because of all the talk about Long Covid.  Of course everyone is saying I don't have Long Covid, at least not yet, although I am on day 10 right now.  The websites are all saying it can take 2 - 4 weeks to get over the fatigue, especially if you're 65 or older.   One of my friends had Omicron a few months back and it took him a month to fully recover.  He was fully vaxed and boosted, and took Paxlovid but is a high risk person. 

[ebk57]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I had reached such a debilitated state of near blindness before surgery, I actually was happy about the prospect of people messing with my eyes.  But given how badly I had deteriorated (I couldn't read a newspaper even with glasses and I could not drive at night), I couldn't really believe it would have been as successful as it was.

While it doesn't seem like my vision has deteriorated quite to the point yours did, I just had a consult with the surgeon yesterday and it seems I will have this done next month.  And I'm sure afterwards I'll be thrilled, as everyone else here has mentioned.  I'm just a bit nervous though... I've worn glasses since I was 6 and contacts since I was 11 as I was losing sight in my left eye.  That's 60+ years and I don't know how I'll be myself if I can actually see.  

I know that sounds silly, but I have real concerns.  At least for the moment (not the least of which is that this will interfere with any postseason Os games that I want to attend.  Although with the way they've been playing lately, that may not be a concern at all.  But that's an entire other conversation.)  Anyway, it's happening and I guess I'll figure it out.  Mr. ebk and Brother ebk had this done in the past couple of years and they're both very happy.  I'll get there.  

Glad for the encouraging results from everyone here.

[shapeshifter]

I wish I’d waited longer to have my cataract surgery, but maybe not quite this long:

13 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

…I had reached such a debilitated state of near blindness before surgery, I actually was happy about the prospect of people messing with my eyes.  But given how badly I had deteriorated (I couldn't read a newspaper even with glasses and I could not drive at night), I couldn't really believe it would have been as successful as it was. 

Having been into arts and crafts my entire life, and having been very nearsighted for over 50 years, I was accustomed to having the ability to see and manipulate infinitely tiny details, which I lost with the surgery. Also, I was accustomed to being able to, for example, be able to study a scene or person’s face while drawing or painting what I saw on paper or canvas close to my face.

Additionally, I was employed as a college librarian at the time, so I had to be able to recognize faces from across a large room,  read printed materials and titles and call numbers on spines of books, quickly locate and skim through scholarly articles online, type computer code and detailed instructional handouts, and more.

So, if I’d waited a bit longer until the cloudiness had a more substantial impact on seeing everything, I think I would have been more appreciative of the results.

Also, I had the surgery done in 2005. Even a year later the doctors had more experience with the newer types of implants I got, and might have, for instance, given me a slightly larger Crystalens in my left eye so I wouldn’t have halos around it at night, like when wearing a contact lens. I try not to drive at night.

I have a Restor lens in the other eye. Having 2 different types of lenses meant my brain had to do a lot of learning to interpret the new visual information. 

Nevertheless, if (when?) an apocalyptic event occurs where eyeglasses and contact lenses are no longer available, I’d be happy to be able to see quite well without any corrective lenses. 
But I wear lined trifocals most of the time, because I do like to see things clearly — which probably led to my having the surgery a little sooner than would have been best for someone like me.

Admittedly, after the cataract surgeries, I was able to see whitecaps on the distant water that I’d never seen before, even with glasses or contacts. 
It’s just that I missed seeing super fine details post-surgery.

It’s possible there just wasn’t enough communication between me and the doctors before the surgery. Also, at a large practice that did many cataract surgeries, there was an optometrist I met just long enough for her to determine what the prescription of the implants would be, with no conversation about lifestyle, etc.

Also, some people have LASIK after cataract surgery to correct the results. I did not.
Is that typical these days?

Anyway, I always encourage people to wait to get the surgery so the results will be a vast improvement. 
But, of course, don’t wait too long. It’s better if the eye-to-brain information flow is not interrupted before having to learn to process new visual cues.

Edited September 17, 2023 by shapeshifter

[EtheltoTillie]

@shapeshifter That's very interesting.  You were young to have the surgery.  I am just a year or so younger than you, but I didn't have the surgery till 2020 (just before the pandemic--boy was I lucky, or I would have been waiting another year).  I was dealing with my cancer issues before that, so I was waiting. It only got very bad in the last year.  It's possible the steroids I took with chemo starting in 2009 contributed to or caused the cataracts, but no one knows for sure.

I was always very nearsighted and wore contacts.  As I got older I also needed reading glasses, so I was given monovision contacts (reading right eye, distance left eye) and was able to adapt to it very easily.  (I slept in the contact lenses and changed them every week or so.)  Then I started to need extra glasses for night driving on top of the contacts when the cataracts started.  

I was given monovision for the implanted lenses.  I still need the special glasses for night driving.  As the light fades, I can't fully compensate for the monovision, so the glasses give me an extra oomph of focus.  I also use them for movies or TV.  The glasses were planned for as they knew I'd probably need them, but they waited to do the final prescription after adjusting post surgery.  Still it was life changing.  And yes I misplace those glasses once in a while, as I posted recently!  I have bifocals with no correction in the lower part so when I watch TV I can look down and knit or read.

[shapeshifter]

From the other thread:

4 hours ago, kristen111 said:

Have to get my Nurse uniform ready.  Husband having Carpul Tunnel surgery Wednesday.  Anyone ever have that?  How long is the recovery?

3 hours ago, ebk57 said:

I had both wrists done (not at the same time).  The only inconvenience I remember was having to keep it dry for about a week, so it was difficult to shower and wash my hair.  The first one was in 1984 and the second one was sometime in the mid 90s, so hopefully the surgery is easier now and the recovery won't be difficult at all.  Good luck!

Extrapolating from sealing my deep sidewalk fall scrapes so I could swim, I would think a little neosporin covered with this would be a lot easier:

• OBTANIM Transparent Waterproof Stretch Clear Adhesive Film Bandage Skin Dressing Tape for Tattoo Aftercare (6 x 394 Inch) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B31Z45W6

(Ask the medical professionals)

Edited September 19, 2023 by shapeshifter

[isalicat]

I had a friend who had carpal tunnel surgery done on both wrists, two weeks apart. He reports a tiny incision, almost no pain the next day, and no pain at all after that. No therapy, fully cured!

Then recently I have another friend who has had carpal tunnel surgery done on both wrists and the first one required a two inch long incision and she was in a lot of discomfort...they finally approved the second wrist and the same story with her having to keep the incision site dry for a couple of weeks. Now she is in physical therapy but still reports swelling and pain.

I really don't know what to think - whether it was the doctor or the condition going in that made the difference in their respective experiences...

[stewedsquash]

@shapeshifter I meant to post this when you originally posted about your scrapes. My husband was sent to a skin graft doctor for a wound and while he has been doing several treatments between that dr and the original surgeon he also was told by the skin graft dr to use Vashe on it to help the healing process. I had to drive to a larger town to find it (I am small town rural) but it has really helped the healing. He uses Swisspers cotton pads to put it on the wound. When I was calling around for it the pharm techs would say they didn’t have it but had other wound cleansers but when I would ask them to check with the pharmacist they would say nope Vashe is a different kind of cleaner. It comes in a cobalt blue bottle and is about $25 for 18oz. 
 Eta I am loyal to Swisspers cotton pads because they have no stray cotton pieces. Smooth texture. Generics are not the same.

Edited September 20, 2023 by stewedsquash

[kristen111]

On 9/19/2023 at 6:16 PM, isalicat said:

I had a friend who had carpal tunnel surgery done on both wrists, two weeks apart. He reports a tiny incision, almost no pain the next day, and no pain at all after that. No therapy, fully cured!

Then recently I have another friend who has had carpal tunnel surgery done on both wrists and the first one required a two inch long incision and she was in a lot of discomfort...they finally approved the second wrist and the same story with her having to keep the incision site dry for a couple of weeks. Now she is in physical therapy but still reports swelling and pain.

I really don't know what to think - whether it was the doctor or the condition going in that made the difference in their respective experiences...

Wow, thanks for all that.  He came home after four hours.  Slept lots since.  The pain now is a little, not like before the surgery.  I was happy the Surgeon took him quicker than planned.  Thanks so much. 

 

[kristen111]

On 9/20/2023 at 8:27 PM, kristen111 said:

Wow, thanks for all that.  He came home after four hours.  Slept lots since.  The pain now is a little, not like before the surgery.  I was happy the Surgeon took him quicker than planned.  Thanks so much. 

 

He just said “what a nice bunch of girls you hang with”.  😍

[GHScorpiosRule]

Got my annual COVID shot yesterday!

A little achy, bordering on low grade fever, but otherwise okay. Don’t know why they continue to call it a booster. Do they refer to the annual flu shots as boosters, when it’s always a different strain? Same as with the COVID variants. 

Anyhoo, had my flu shot on Monday. I usually get it at work, but they were delayed until mid-October and I didn’t want to wait that long.

I wish they’d come up with a better way to log the shots like back when I got my childhood vaccinations on the yellow card! I need to find a mini-mini binder to keep them all together!😂😂😂

[SoMuchTV]

2 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I wish they’d come up with a better way to log the shots like back when I got my childhood vaccinations on the yellow card! I need to find a mini-mini binder to keep them all together!

Well, there’s always the notes app on your phone, if you have one of those. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Well, there’s always the notes app on your phone, if you have one of those. 

I do, but as much as I love technology, I still like the old tech, if you will and having hard copies. Guess that makes me a semi-Luddite?

[Browncoat]

I have an appointment to get my COVID vax on Monday.  I'll get the flu shot at the same time.

[Caoimhe]

On 9/17/2023 at 1:18 AM, shapeshifter said:

Having been into arts and crafts my entire life, and having been very nearsighted for over 50 years, I was accustomed to having the ability to see and manipulate infinitely tiny details, which I lost with the surgery.

This is why I hope I never need the surgery, right now I can thread tiny needles easily and stitch anything with my glasses off. I feel like I’d have to give up sewing because I would be infinitely frustrated after losing my close-up vision.

[SoMuchTV]

12 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I do, but as much as I love technology, I still like the old tech, if you will and having hard copies. Guess that makes me a semi-Luddite?

Oh sure, but at least you would have someplace to look as a backup. Even after having a smartphone for almost a decade, I’m still realizing things I can use it for. Like keeping a list of meds for every doctor appointment where they ask for them, or my license plate that I seem to be unable to remember when I need it for parking lots or various forms. 

[shapeshifter]

-

On 9/17/2023 at 1:18 AM, shapeshifter said:

Having been into arts and crafts my entire life, and having been very nearsighted for over 50 years, I was accustomed to having the ability to see and manipulate infinitely tiny details, which I lost with the surgery.

12 minutes ago, Caoimhe said:

This is why I hope I never need the surgery, right now I can thread tiny needles easily and stitch anything with my glasses off. I feel like I’d have to give up sewing because I would be infinitely frustrated after losing my close-up vision.

Being aware of this expected result will likely make the outcome much more tolerable, since you will have made a fully informed decision to have the surgery.

FWIW: In bright sunlight, looking through the reading portion of my glasses, I can thread a needle.

[StatisticalOutlier]

3 hours ago, Caoimhe said:

This is why I hope I never need the surgery, right now I can thread tiny needles easily and stitch anything with my glasses off. I feel like I’d have to give up sewing because I would be infinitely frustrated after losing my close-up vision.

I wear multifocal contacts just so I can function, like not mistaking laundry detergent for dishwasher detergent.  If I need to actually read something, I have to use reading glasses over the contacts.

But if I take off all contacts and glasses, I could perform microsurgery.  I love being able to do that, and have noticed that as I'm getting older, my super-close vision is falling off a bit and I don't like it.  It might coincide with my distance vision getting slightly better every few years--I've never been able to get an eye doctor to be interested in what I go through trying to see and explaining what's going on.

However the only things I can do well with no glasses or contacts are sew (machine or hand) and read up close.  And when I'm sewing, the only thing I can see is what's up real close; if I want to find the scissors on the table past the machine, I have to get up and lay my face down close to find them.

I remember being young and having the sewing machine set up about 5 feet in front of the TV and I could sew and watch TV at the same time.  I miss those days.

It's all ultimately rather annoying but I'm not looking forward to cataract surgery because I'm so squeamish about eyes I can't even look at photos of them.  Eyes, that is.  I can't even think about cataract surgery, or even lasik.

And I'm not liking this whole pick-your-lens thing.  I'm scared of making the wrong choice, plus I have a friend who got a bum lens and he's been having issues for years trying to get it fixed (including having a replacement lens put in that also doesn't work right), after a lifetime of never needing anything but drugstore reading glasses.  He's miserable.

My greatest fear is that I one day can't wear contacts any more.  I hate hate hate hate hate wearing glasses.  They just don't fit my face (or my different-height ears), and hurt like hell 30 minutes of putting them on.  Every pair I've ever had. 

I didn't need glasses until I was 22 years old, and for about a year wore them only when driving, and then went to contacts.  Mad props to the optician who got me in them, considering my squeamishness.  I remember telling him I didn't now how I would ever be able to touch my eye and he used his finger and went tap tap tap on his eye, saying, "It's nothing!"  Well, he was a family friend and I knew he had a glass eye.  So I didn't fall for it.

But he showed me how to do it so I didn't see the contact coming, and one-handed to boot, which has come in handy a few times over the years.  Mr. Outlier never needed glasses until he was like 50 years old and developed slight near-sightedness.  The lady at the eye place was teaching him how to put contacts in and it made me want to throw up; I couldn't take watching him aim that contact right for the middle of his eye. 

Nobody has ever said anything about cataracts to me, and I wonder about something.  I've heard that exposure to UV light can lead to cataracts, and for the last however many years my contacts have had UV blockers or protection or whatever in them.  I literally never leave the house without wearing contacts, and I wonder if that might have provided me some protection.  I hope so, anyway.  No, I don't hope so.  I know so.  I've always been a big fan of placebos, and I'm going to run with this one.

 

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

…if I take off all contacts and glasses, I could perform microsurgery.  I love being able to do that, and have noticed that as I'm getting older, my super-close vision is falling off a bit and I don't like it.  It might coincide with my distance vision getting slightly better every few years--I've never been able to get an eye doctor to be interested in what I go through trying to see and explaining what's going on.

However the only things I can do well with no glasses or contacts are sew (machine or hand) and read up close.  …
one day can't wear contacts any more.  I hate hate hate hate hate wearing glasses.  They just don't fit my face (or my different-height ears), and hurt like hell 30 minutes of putting them on.  Every pair I've ever had. 

…and then went to contacts.  Mad props to the optician who got me in them, considering my squeamishness.  I remember telling him I didn't now how I would ever be able to touch my eye …But he showed me how to do it so I didn't see the contact coming, and one-handed to boot, which has come in handy a few times over the years. …

…I've heard that exposure to UV light can lead to cataracts, and for the last however many years my contacts have had UV blockers or protection or whatever in them.  I literally never leave the house without wearing contacts, and I wonder if that might have provided me some protection.…

 

So much of this post describes my experiences.

I think there’s a good chance you might not need cataract surgery. Wearing sunglasses outside is good too.

But I had to give up contacts in my 20s due to severely dry eyes.  

Is it your nose or your ears (or both) that hurt with glasses? For me it’s the ears that are super sensitive. I have become pretty expert at adjusting the ear pieces so they don’t touch my ears. I only wear glasses with nonslip nosepieces.

[athousandclowns]

A couple of weeks  ago I had my yearly eye exam and doctor told me my left eye lid  droop is interfering with peripheral vision of left eye.  She said it would be corrected with new  glasses. She then told me about new drops you can put in your eye and 15 minutes later lid lifts/ opens .  It last 6-8 hours . She said she’d give me sample since is a prescription

I was going to party so used it that weekend and low and  behold it works!  Amazing! . Party was outside in garden and my eyes watered the whole   time. My question if my lid interferes with vision why wouldn’t insurance cover surgery it’s not cosmetic at that point. She also mentioned anyone can do cataract surgery too but insurance won’t pay unless gets to that point. After that I went to grocery store and had  2nd shingles vaccine. Arm hurt like a bigger for that night and 2nd. 
One week later after picking up new specs i go back to same grocery store and get both flu and RSV vaccines 

What  a terrible reaction I had soon after arriving home. I started to shake uncontrollably. Teeth and jaws chattering body jerking etc. I couldn’t even type a text my hands were shaking so badly. Geez  maybe I should not have had both at same time.  It lasted about hour and half stayed under heated blanket etc. 

 

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I wear multifocal contacts just so I can function, like not mistaking laundry detergent for dishwasher detergent.  If I need to actually read something, I have to use reading glasses over the contacts.

But if I take off all contacts and glasses, I could perform microsurgery.  I love being able to do that, and have noticed that as I'm getting older, my super-close vision is falling off a bit and I don't like it.  It might coincide with my distance vision getting slightly better every few years--I've never been able to get an eye doctor to be interested in what I go through trying to see and explaining what's going on.

However the only things I can do well with no glasses or contacts are sew (machine or hand) and read up close.  And when I'm sewing, the only thing I can see is what's up real close; if I want to find the scissors on the table past the machine, I have to get up and lay my face down close to find them.

I remember being young and having the sewing machine set up about 5 feet in front of the TV and I could sew and watch TV at the same time.  I miss those days.

It's all ultimately rather annoying but I'm not looking forward to cataract surgery because I'm so squeamish about eyes I can't even look at photos of them.  Eyes, that is.  I can't even think about cataract surgery, or even lasik.

And I'm not liking this whole pick-your-lens thing.  I'm scared of making the wrong choice, plus I have a friend who got a bum lens and he's been having issues for years trying to get it fixed (including having a replacement lens put in that also doesn't work right), after a lifetime of never needing anything but drugstore reading glasses.  He's miserable.

My greatest fear is that I one day can't wear contacts any more.  I hate hate hate hate hate wearing glasses.  They just don't fit my face (or my different-height ears), and hurt like hell 30 minutes of putting them on.  Every pair I've ever had. 

I didn't need glasses until I was 22 years old, and for about a year wore them only when driving, and then went to contacts.  Mad props to the optician who got me in them, considering my squeamishness.  I remember telling him I didn't now how I would ever be able to touch my eye and he used his finger and went tap tap tap on his eye, saying, "It's nothing!"  Well, he was a family friend and I knew he had a glass eye.  So I didn't fall for it.

But he showed me how to do it so I didn't see the contact coming, and one-handed to boot, which has come in handy a few times over the years.  Mr. Outlier never needed glasses until he was like 50 years old and developed slight near-sightedness.  The lady at the eye place was teaching him how to put contacts in and it made me want to throw up; I couldn't take watching him aim that contact right for the middle of his eye. 

Nobody has ever said anything about cataracts to me, and I wonder about something.  I've heard that exposure to UV light can lead to cataracts, and for the last however many years my contacts have had UV blockers or protection or whatever in them.  I literally never leave the house without wearing contacts, and I wonder if that might have provided me some protection.  I hope so, anyway.  No, I don't hope so.  I know so.  I've always been a big fan of placebos, and I'm going to run with this one.

 

Wow, SA, this post also describes me almost exactly on pretty much every point!

I can't even see the dials on my car when driving if I don't wear multifocal contacts, but I still have to wear reading glasses to really read words.  When I'm wearing my eyeglasses I take them off to read because even bifocal glasses aren't so great for fine print.  Although like you, suddenly very recently I'm noticing that I don't see fine print quite as well without any glasses on anymore and in that situation I benefit from a very weak strength of reading glasses to read books or magazines.  Like a 1.0 or 1.5.  And my distance vision has been improving over the years too.

I've never liked eyeglasses either.  I honestly don't look good in them and believe me I've tried on a gazillion pairs in front of salespeople who all scrunch their noses every time.  And for the most part they are uncomfortable and make the bridge of my nose hurt or my ears, and look cockeyed on me because I too  have one ear a little lower than the other.  I started wearing contacts in 1977 before they really even had soft lenses.  My mother started wearing contacts in the early 60's when I was a little kid.  Yeah, she was a trailblazer!  We had a genius eye doctor down in Manhattan.  He actually poked a tiny hole with a special instrument in the center of each lens to make them more comfortable.   I miss him so much!  He only died a couple of years ago I found out.

So far I have not had any signs of cataracts either but my mother had to have cataract surgery back in the 90s when she was in her late 60s or so, and even back then they offered her the lasik surgery, which she took them up on.  She was thrilled with it and only had to wear reading glasses after that.  

My mother wore contacts for decades, but in her time they probably didn't have UV protection.   I'm not sure she wore sunglasses with UV protection as religiously as I do wither.  Plus car windshields nowadays have UV protection in them whereas back in her time they didn't (she died in 2001).

@shapeshifter, I only very recently found eyeglasses that don't hurt my nose or ears but it was just dumb luck.  I bought 3 pairs of glasses at Target Optical in early 2020 right before the pandemic.  They were all very light plastic frames and didn't weigh a lot.  And I got the ultra light lenses too.  And I am still shocked that they don't look that bad on me - much better than any other frames I've tried on, and that's still the case now after trying on even MORE pairs over the years.  But get this - only two out of the three pairs turned out to be very comfortable.  The third one, no matter how it's adjusted is never comfortable.  I only found this out after wearing it a while.  I'm one of those people that glasses tend to slide down my nose and no adjusting seems to help.  Well, this one woman at Target Optical is a genius because she managed to adjust those two frames so I have no slippage AT ALL, no pain at the nose, no pinching at the ears, etc.  And unlike all other plastic frames I've had, they don't bend out of shape after a while.  They stay put, no further adjustment necessary.  It's amazing!

ETA:  For the most part I have been very happy with Target Optical.  I found out that they're owned by the same company that owns Lenscrafters and a lot of their personnel once worked there.  Interesting!

 

Edited September 23, 2023 by Yeah No

[Yeah No]

46 minutes ago, athousandclowns said:

What  a terrible reaction I had soon after arriving home. I started to shake uncontrollably. Teeth and jaws chattering body jerking etc. I couldn’t even type a text my hands were shaking so badly. Geez  maybe I should not have had both at same time.  It lasted about hour and half stayed under heated blanket etc. 

Oh how horrible!  Many (((hugs))).  I am pissed that doctors push having 2 vaccines at the same time.  Not everyone can tolerate that, especially since the shingles vaccine is known to cause significant side effects in some people.  I know from past experience that I am ultra sensitive to everything so I have passed on that suggestion.  The last time I listened to that kind of logic was over 30 years ago when I agreed to have all 4 wisdom teeth removed at the same time.  Worst decision ever!   That's another reason I didn't take up the offer of having a colonoscopy at the same time I had an endoscopy.  Knowing me it would take me over a month to recover!  As it is it takes me longer than most people to get over anything, even stuff that for most people is a breeze.

BTW that's applying to Covid too.  Despite testing negative on the 18th I am still struggling to get over certain lingering symptoms like some nasal congestion, intermittent loss of taste, fatigue and even depression.  I told my doctor's office about this today and they told me to come in for a checkup.  They just happened to have a cancellation in the afternoon so I went.  I found out that a lot of people take a longer time to get over Covid and it takes 2 months before they start calling it "long Covid".  Anyway, so far the doctor says my symptoms are pretty routine and nothing to worry about just yet.  That was nice to hear although I admit I am still worried about it.

Edited September 23, 2023 by Yeah No

[Caoimhe]

My husband had side effects from the shingles vaccine but I had none! I had flu and covid vaccines together last year and wasn’t too bad so I’ll do it again this year.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, athousandclowns said:

…and get both flu and RSV vaccines What  a terrible reaction I had…

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

…I am pissed that doctors push having 2 vaccines at the same time.  Not everyone can tolerate that…

I had a nice conversation with my pharmacist about the wisdom of having more than one vaccine at a time.

She was very interested in the recent scholarly journal articles I found that indicated the vaccines are more effective separately.
She explained that the CDC recommendations (which doctors parrot🦜) to have multiple vaccines at the same time is based on the goal of protecting people against as many diseases as possible, and that people are not very consistent about making time or finding transportation to get shots.

Anyway. That RSV shot was terrible for me, but probably wouldn’t be for the Average Bears 🐻 🧸

Edited September 23, 2023 by shapeshifter

[supposebly]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

She explained that the CDC recommendations (which doctors parrot🦜) to have multiple vaccines at the same time is based on the goal of protecting people against as many diseases as possible, and that people are not very consistent about making time or finding transportation to get shots.

I understand that. For them, more people being a little less protected against two diseases is better than people being well protected against just one disease. For the CDC, it's a numbers game to keep as many people out of hospital as possible.

I had the flu and the Covid shot in the same week last year and the flu shot was worse. Since I had Covid in June/July, I will wait with the next booster until the end of the year and get the flu shot once they have it here.

I haven't decided if I need to get the RSV one.

[Browncoat]

I had both the flu shot and the COVID shot on the same day last year, and had no problems.  I consider having two vaccines at the same time to be the same or similar to having a multi-vaccine, such as the MMR or the TDaP.  

I'm not quite old enough for the RSV one, and my problem with the shingles one is that it's a series of two -- I have to plan ahead for the second one!  Also, I still haven't asked if it's contraindicated since I have some residual neuropathy from active shingles three years ago.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, supposebly said:

I haven't decided if I need to get the RSV one

Are you in routine contact with kids who are in daycare or school, or possibly with parents of those kids?

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I had a nice conversation with my pharmacist about the wisdom of having more than one vaccine at a time.

She was very interested in the recent scholarly journal articles I found that indicated the vaccines are more effective separately.
She explained that the CDC recommendations (which doctors parrot🦜) to have multiple vaccines at the same time is based on the goal of protecting people against as many diseases as possible, and that people are not very consistent about making time or finding transportation to get shots.

Anyway. That RSV shot was terrible for me, but probably wouldn’t be for the Average Bears 🐻 🧸

How was the RSV shot terrible for you?

I understand that they want to encourage people to get as many shots as they can at once because they may not make time to come back for a second or third one, but I hate it when they try to manipulate and psych. people out that way.  It's like all the misinformation the gov't. and the CDC put out about mask wearing, from discouraging it early on in the pandemic because they were afraid of a mask shortage affecting medical personnel and first responders, to telling people that masks only protected other people, not the wearer (or something implying that).  I forget why they spread that second fiction, but both statements only confused the public and to this day they haven't been able to compensate for the damage done by them.

[SoMuchTV]

51 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Are you in routine contact with kids who are in daycare or school, or possibly with parents of those kids?

I might add, with a newborn?  At least that was my doctor’s thinking. My first grandchild got RSV his first winter, and I don’t want to take a chance on catching from or passing on to the current new baby. 

[stewedsquash]

When I had glasses the person who put them on me adjusted them. She had some kind of warming thing and was able to mold the arms and even the middle between the lenses so that  while they looked crooked if you looked at them in your hand or on the counter, they fit perfectly and didn’t look crooked on my face and no irritation. Do they not do this anymore?

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, stewedsquash said:

When I had glasses the person who put them on me adjusted them. She had some kind of warming thing and was able to mold the arms and even the middle between the lenses so that  while they looked crooked if you looked at them in your hand or on the counter, they fit perfectly and didn’t look crooked on my face and no irritation. Do they not do this anymore?

They did for me the last time I got new frames.

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

When I had glasses the person who put them on me adjusted them. She had some kind of warming thing and was able to mold the arms and even the middle between the lenses so that  while they looked crooked if you looked at them in your hand or on the counter, they fit perfectly and didn’t look crooked on my face and no irritation. Do they not do this anymore?

They did it that way for me, but I find that the expertise of the person doing it is a big factor in how well they fit.  And that expertise can vary widely.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

How was the RSV shot terrible for you?

About 8 days of headache and about 10 days of crippling muscle pain in my back. But I tend to have headaches and muscle pain anyway — but nothing like that.

 

8 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

When I had glasses the person who put them on me adjusted them. She had some kind of warming thing and was able to mold the arms and even the middle between the lenses so that  while they looked crooked if you looked at them in your hand or on the counter, they fit perfectly and didn’t look crooked on my face and no irritation. Do they not do this anymore?

3 hours ago, Yeah No said:

They did it that way for me, but I find that the expertise of the person doing it is a big factor in how well they fit.  And that expertise can vary widely.

—which is why I became adept at adjusting the cheaper, plastic frames when my oldest daughter and I were extremely nearsighted and lived an hour away from the optician.
I would heat up water in a cup (hot, but not too hot) and hold an ear piece in the water long enough to soften it just enough so I could gently bend it without breaking it.

[luv2lurk]

Just to chime in on the eyeglass conversation . . .

Since the pandemic started, I mostly function without glasses unless I drive or watch TV. It is true vision changes as we get older. The last time I was at the eye doctor she could not get my contact lenses correct - said get the 1.0 from dollar store. But doesn't that defeat the purpose of contact lenses?

So I have been using a probably a 20 year old prescription on the glasses. I accidentally sat on them last year so keep having to tape them up. I have to take them off if I want to read prices at the grocery store.  And they and the mask fight.      

As for the contacts, I am having problems getting them in. Lower back pain makes my hand shake. When I do get them in ok to drive, but eyes water.
probably cuz of infrequent contact lens wearing for 3 years (and yes they are fresh lenses).  Plus I can't read well with them.

Anyway think I will get new glasses just for distance.

If anyone has a suggestion on how to stop hand trembling from back pain - would love to hear it!