Health and Wellness Chit-Chat: Your Primary Care Topic

[roseha]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I hate stuff like this. 
I usually have to spend at least several hours on the phone, often over multiple days, patiently and relentlessly explaining the problem and making sure it is fixed. (My problem had to do with billing incorrectly)

Often talking to a manager is helpful, which I do by asking the person who answers the phone something like:
I understand, but do you think the manager could help with that?
(and then quietly persisting until they are willing to transfer me)

Do you have a relative or friend who might want to do the calls? They can throw you under the bus a bit and say they are calling on your behalf, and then stir up some sympathy for you. 😉

I am so good at this, I bet the customer service folks start hearing violins in the background.
Sometimes I make my voice sound halting (which it probably will be in a few more years like my mom's was before it went altogether).
But it works.

Thanks very much @shapeshifter.

I ended up walking over there.  It was for blood pressure medication which my doctor wanted me to start on and I didn't want to delay it.   Generally this problem seems to happen when I get a new medication prescribed, otherwise it's not as urgent for me to call ahead for a refill.

Normally this wouldn't come up but my vasculitis seems to have come along with one issue after another so until it's -hopefully- resolved I may keep having to get new prescriptions.  Maybe I should be more on top of looking up the prices, if they are cheap enough I could just go to Duane Reade/Walgreens and use a discount card.

Thanks again.

 

[nokat]

8 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

For those who have asthma:

is yours worse in the warm weather? 
 

In winter mine mine is manageable. Now that the weather is warming up my asthma is kicking my butt. I’m a mess. 

Oh yes, it is much worse, although my issues are mostly with my sinuses and itchy, dry eyes. I always enjoy a good sneeze session that has me cussing when it goes on and on. I wake up needing to almost peel my eyelids apart.

My asthma tends to be situational or food allergy related. Then I get a nice wheezy whistle happening, but not severe.

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

For those who have asthma:

is yours worse in the warm weather? 

If you live in an area where heating with wood stoves is common, and if that area is in a topographical area prone to air inversions, and, worse yet, if you are heating primarily with fire wood, the winter can be the worst for asthma. 

Aside from summer forest fires and air inversions trapping local industrial polutants, summer can be bad if there are pollens that effect you, and, if you're in a humid area, molds can cause asthma too.

I can't say it too often: I love my air purifier.

[RealHousewife]

Anyone here take melatonin for sleep? If so, do you recommend it?

[supposebly]

I use it when I need to sleep on a cross Atlantic flight. It works well for me.

[Bethany]

My grandson uses it and it works well for him. He says it helps him turn off his brain!

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Anyone here take melatonin for sleep? If so, do you recommend it?

I've tried it, and it didn't result in any appreciable difference consistently, but it has been many years since I last gave it a whirl.  So I neither recommend nor caution against it.

Here's an NIH overview.  And here's what Johns Hopkins and The Mayo Clinic have to say.  (Basically, it's generally safe to take a supplement, and, anecdotally, it may or may not work, but scientifically we cannot yet speak to the effectiveness of those supplements.)

[GHScorpiosRule]

Well I’ll be damned. I’ve lost five more pounds in the last three weeks! Staying away from junk food, pasta (My WEAKNESS!!), and occasionally cheating, really made the difference! 

I haven’t gone back to regular exercising  due to the results of my MRI, and I don’t want to aggravate my back. I figure walking is the safest until I have my first physical therapy session, which isn’t until I return from travel for work-in three weeks.

 

[RealHousewife]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It sounds like melatonin is okay to take now and then, but as someone who's dealt with insomnia since childhood, I don't know if I should try it since I really need something safe for long-term use. Not sure if such a thing exists. 

I was going to take the one for kids first and see how I did with that, but I'm so leery of medication. One thing is fixed, and then two things are thrown off. 

[supposebly]

11 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

but as someone who's dealt with insomnia since childhood,

Have you tried meditation? Sleep time yoga? I'm someone who's always had a hard time falling asleep, half an hour is quick for me, adding a 10 minute routine of this kind has helped. Not always but it has made a difference. 

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Well I’ll be damned. I’ve lost five more pounds in the last three weeks! Staying away from junk food, pasta (My WEAKNESS!!), and occasionally cheating, really made the difference! 

Just make sure the weight loss makes sense with your change in eating habits (which it seems like it does) and is not "unexplained weight loss." 💓

[RealHousewife]

1 hour ago, supposebly said:

Have you tried meditation? Sleep time yoga? I'm someone who's always had a hard time falling asleep, half an hour is quick for me, adding a 10 minute routine of this kind has helped. Not always but it has made a difference. 

Haven’t tried either. Thank you for the suggestions!

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Just make sure the weight loss makes sense with your change in eating habits (which it seems like it does) and is not "unexplained weight loss." 💓

It's definitely the change in eating habits. I remember the sudden weight loss when I was first diagnosed with Diabetes. 

I'll have to be careful while I am out of town for trial. I've been doing so well, and don't want to regress!

[oliviabenson]

Feeling extra blah/tired/agitated/sleep too much lately. I wish I didn’t live alone and had someone to talk to that actually cared. 
 

The too much sleeping/still tired, I think it’s sleep apnea. 
 

I really need to go see some specialists?! 
 

 

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

The too much sleeping/still tired, I think it’s sleep apnea.

I really need to go see some specialists?! 

Sleep apnea is a specific, and potentially quite serious, disorder in which one actually stops breathing appropriately while sleeping.  Plenty of other, less-harmful things cause sleep problems, but if there's reason to suspect apnea, a doctor should be consulted, yes.

Edited May 19, 2023 by Bastet

[nokat]

@oliviabenson Feeling tired and sleeping a lot can be a sign of stress and depression. I'm on a medication that has a side effect of drowsiness, and I frequently need naps as well as a night's sleep.

As Bastet said, sleep apnea is serious and health threatening. I think you need a sleep study (you sleep while being monitored) to be diagnosed.

[Bethany]

Anyone else still finding that Covid hasn't gone away?  I just got a phone call from my daughter and she and my grandson have been feeling miserable since yesterday and tested positive for Covid this morning.  She's fairly sure she knows where they caught it but really who knows for sure?  There is little to no masking anymore, social distancing is a thing of the past and I strongly suspect a lot of the people going around sneezing and coughing and saying "it's just allergies" probably have Covid and will never know because they won't test themselves unless they get a lot more serious symptoms.

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, Bethany said:

Anyone else still finding that Covid hasn't gone away? 

My doctor encouraged me on Thursday to get another vaccine, which be my 6th shot, and my second Omicron. 
I'm hesitant to get it today (Saturday) because 2 of my daughters are planning to spend time with me Monday through Thursday, and I don't want to be dealing with short-term shot side effects, plus the booster's positive effects probably wouldn't kick in that soon anyway, right?

[supposebly]

I have managed to mostly ignore it during teaching this last year and I feel overall better for it. I had just one student getting it this year. I'm of course as vaccinated (6 shots in total) as was available. I had my last one last fall.

However, my mortgage broker managed to catch it just when I was about to meet with her last week, and that served as a reminder that it's not gone. In any case, I do watch where I go when there are crowds in small indoor places and my mask is with me if I can't avoid such situations.

[Browncoat]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

plus the booster's positive effects probably wouldn't kick in that soon anyway, right?

It generally takes a couple of weeks after the shot for the best protection.

4 hours ago, Bethany said:

Anyone else still finding that Covid hasn't gone away?

Covid is not going away.  It does seem to have gotten to about the same level as flu, though.  Still a fairly major health threat, but we now have vaccines and medications to help.  That said, I still wear a mask if I'm going to be in a crowd (even outdoors), and at work, and absolutely when I travel.  I might be the only person in the airport/airplane with a mask, but that's my future.  I don't expect ever to stop wearing a mask when I fly.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, Bethany said:

I strongly suspect a lot of the people going around sneezing and coughing and saying "it's just allergies" probably have Covid and will never know because they won't test themselves unless they get a lot more serious symptoms.

I was stunned recently when a friend who is otherwise intelligent and responsible came home from a trip and declared she'd caught a cold.  I assumed (yeah, I know) that meant she'd tested negative for COVID.  Nope, she waited a couple more days and then tested -- golly gee, she had COVID. 

I'm not faulting her for getting it; she was in a lot more indoor crowds than I'd choose to be in, but, while proper distancing was not made possible most of the time, she wore a mask (which, in hindsight, she realizes fit differently than her usual) in public other than while eating/drinking, and shit can happen despite best precautions (which is where widespread vaccination keeps us from disaster).  But how do you, in the age of COVID, develop its symptoms and just assume it's a cold rather than testing to see if you need to isolate?!

[Gramto6]

I still wear a mask whenever I go anywhere that I will be inside. Basically no one else here in my area of MT wears one but I will most likely as long as I am able to go out under my own volition. I don't think Covid is going to go away any more than the flu will. It is just a matter of protecting oneself in the best way for each person.

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, Bastet said:

But how do you, in the age of COVID, develop its symptoms and just assume it's a cold rather than testing to see if you need to isolate?!

To me, the main WTH? part of this story is not suspecting Covid after having been traveling.

With my grandchild in daycare, there are a lot of colds and cold-like, non-Covid viruses constantly going through my daughter's household. They do always test for Covid, but that's not usually their first assumption.
Fortunately the one time they were Covid-positive I hadn't been there in over a week because I was recovering from Lambchop's previous non-Covid cold that I managed to pick up.

My oldest daughter travels a lot and will be here Tuesday. I wish I'd already had the 6th shot. I didn't know I was supposed to.
Some how I thought I was good for a year after my 5th (Omicron) shot last September.

[Bastet]

19 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I wish I'd already had the 6th shot. I didn't know I was supposed to.
Some how I thought I was good for a year after my 5th (Omicron) shot last September.

What is the sixth shot recommendation based on?  For the typical adult, it's four shots total recommended thus far -- the initial two-dose (or one, if J&J) series, followed by a booster of that six months later, and then later a bivalent booster when that was developed (and replaced the originals) to deal with variants, for a total of four shots.  For those 65+ or with compromised immunity, a second bivalent booster may be (but is not automatically) recommended, making five total.  See this CDC chart for a good overview.

Oh, wait, I may have answered my own question:  Were you, because of your cancer history, considered immunocompromised so that you got three doses back in the beginning, rather than two, meaning you already had five, and now they're recommending a second bivalent booster based on individual circumstances, which would bring you to six?

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Oh, wait, I may have answered my own question:  Were you, because of your cancer history, considered immunocompromised so that you got three doses back in the beginning, rather than two, meaning you already had five, and now they're recommending a second bivalent booster based on individual circumstances, which would bring you to six?

The cancer history didn't come up since I was already 65 as of September 2018.

I know. My typing looks so young! 😆

Edited May 28, 2023 by shapeshifter

[Bastet]

48 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The cancer history didn't come up since I was already 65 as of September 2018.

Yeah, but being 65+ wasn't a cause for three primary doses, just being moderately to severely immunocompromised.  So how did you accumulate five so far, so that being recommended for an additional bivalent booster now would put you at six?  (An extra monovalent booster in there somewhere -- two-dose primary, monovalent booster, second monovalent booster, then a bivalent booster)?  Now I'm developing fuzzy memories of some people doing that.

Anyway, going back to your original question: If you are recommended to get a second bivalent booster, and are prone to side effects, yeah, go ahead and wait until after your visit to get it, since you wouldn't have the full immunity boost kick in until after they left anyway, so better to avoid risking part of their visit being affected by side effects.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Bastet

[SoMuchTV]

Now I’m confused. Wouldn’t five doses be the standard if you were following the recommendations? Two initial doses, two boosters, then the “new” booster when it came out last fall?  Or is it just because I’m an oldie that I had the second “regular” booster?

[supposebly]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

Wouldn’t five doses be the standard if you were following the recommendations? Two initial doses, two boosters, then the “new” booster when it came out last fall?  Or is it just because I’m an oldie that I had the second “regular” booster?

You're right, I had five doses. Sorry, I miscounted in my head.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

Now I’m confused. Wouldn’t five doses be the standard if you were following the recommendations? Two initial doses, two boosters, then the “new” booster when it came out last fall?  Or is it just because I’m an oldie that I had the second “regular” booster?

That was what I thought until my doctor told me this past week to have a sixth, which would be the second Omicron variant vaccine. 
I looked at the CDC chart @Bastet linked above (cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/interim-considerations-us.html) and found it confusing, so I'm just going to do what the doctor said.🤷🏻‍♀️

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

Now I’m confused. Wouldn’t five doses be the standard if you were following the recommendations? Two initial doses, two boosters, then the “new” booster when it came out last fall?  Or is it just because I’m an oldie that I had the second “regular” booster?

Right; the standard recommendation was for one "regular" booster, then a bivalent booster when that came out -- so four total up to this point for most people. 

It has been so long, I couldn't remember who was recommended to have two "regular" boosters in that interim period.  If that was everyone 65+, that explains having five (plus, I think I recall people obtaining a second booster even when not recommended).

The recommendation for a second bivalent booster is not universal based on age, though, but it looks like anyone 65+ or who is moderately to severely immunocompromised can get one if their doctor recommends or if they self attest to qualifying (and so long as the requisite time has passed since their last dose).

The rest of us look likely to wind up on an annual schedule, like flu shots, in the fall.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Bastet

[Anela]

I've only had the two initial vaccines. Last year, I barely got out, and the same is happening this year, which is just... so I didn't really need them. I keep missing the free vaccine mornings every month, for members of this county. 

Re: covid. I'm still masking, and still see people also masking, here and there. On the other hand, a couple who came out of the World Market, not long after me, when I was waiting for my dad, seemed to be laughing at me. I heard the woman say something like, "You've been exposed!" 🙄 To idiots, yes, I know.

I've also heard of people's tests not showing a positive, until they swabbed their mouth/throat, as well. One girl I follow, was hit with at least four different stomach viruses and/or a parasite, one from Mexico, the rest from one group lunch in NYC. Wishbonekitchen is her username.

I've been grinding up and adding a bone-health supplement to instant oatmeal, but some of the reviews have said, "I notice a difference if I don't take it for a week." I thought it was supposed to halt and reverse bone loss. I hope this isn't more wasted money. It's called BioDent. I found out about it for animals, originally, years ago. Nothing has been a magic pill or toothpaste for me, but after I posted an honest review of one toothpaste, there were a couple of "you're doing it wrong!" reviews added. One was kind, the other was smug, which does not impress me. I'm now trying a toothpaste and mouthwash (rinse before brushing) that have both fluoride and hydroxyapatite, instead of one or the other, but these are $17 each. 😑 It will be nice if they help, but damn. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

I've been grinding up and adding a bone-health supplement to instant oatmeal, but some of the reviews have said, "I notice a difference if I don't take it for a week." I thought it was supposed to halt and reverse bone loss.

What difference could this reviewer be noticing after one week?

I'm all for the placebo effect (I often claim the placebo is my drug of choice), but come on.

I experimented with a supplement, to see if it changed some numbers on a lab test.  I took it for several months and had the test done again and there wasn't any change.  So I said to the nurse who administered the test, "Okay!  That means it's not doing anything for me," and he said, "You should keep taking it anyway."  Argh.

[PRgal]

My husband, my son and I have mostly been treating things as if it was the before times.  We don’t feel the need to mask other than at settings where it’s required (clinics, for example).  My mom wasn’t too amused by this until recently, but she isn’t us.  We’re respectful of those who mask - we saw some people in our neighbourhood who masked, even in 2019 (we live near a university with lots of Asian international students) - however.  My dad doesn’t mask much either, so we got the cue that it’s okay.  

[supposebly]

So, I finally got my first COVID. It's so embarrassing. I was at a conference last week and wasn't wearing my mask for most of the time. I could have caught it on the flight or even a bit earlier but anyway, I'm so embarrassed that I might have spread it among my colleagues. As to symptoms, I have no taste, some fever between 38C and 39C and sneezing, coughing, and the like.

My first in-person conference and this happens!

[Bethany]

1 hour ago, supposebly said:

I'm so embarrassed that I might have spread it among my colleagues.

We caught it last fall and had dinner with friends the day before we started feeling symptoms.  I was so upset about having to call them to tell them we'd exposed them to Covid!  We hadn't seen them all through the pandemic and we finally get together and potentially give them Covid.  Definitely the call you don't want to make. Thankfully they didn't catch it from us!

[PRgal]

My husband and I caught it just under a year ago, likely from our son, who probably got it at school/day camp.  I had a really bad cold/non-COVID respiratory illness back in February (which required a doctor visit at a walk-in where he prescribed an inhaler) and then bad allergies in April.  Thanks to that, I'm mostly staying indoors right now, due to the wild fire situation.  

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, PRgal said:

I'm mostly staying indoors right now, due to the wild fire situation.

Same!
The color of the sky this morning an hour after sunrise:

(it was gray most of the day)

Because it can't be said too often: I f'love my air purifier. 

I just sent one to my NYC daughter, but it won't get there before Saturday. 

Edited June 8, 2023 by shapeshifter

[GHScorpiosRule]

My goal was to lose another 10 pounds. The healthy way that I lost the 15 back in April/May. While away at trial, I lost five in a three week period. And it was due to the hellacious stress I was put under! 🤬 I want to lose it the healthy way! Anyhoo, what I also learned to my distress, was that either my feet shrank or something, because wearing my heels was a disaster. My heels kept slipping and I saw that there was a half size gap! I hadn’t worn these shoes (Naturalizers) in over 4 years! But they fit PERFECTLY when I bought them!

Now I have to figure out how to fit into them again or buy 3 more pairs! Oh, and three of my suit pants need to be taken in! 😆😆😆 stupid me wasn’t thinking that the comfortable fit from three years ago, would now have them hanging on my hips! I had to roll them up! Thank goodness for the jacket!

But at least the odd eating hours didn’t UNDO the progress I had made.

Edited June 11, 2023 by GHScorpiosRule

[roseha]

On 6/7/2023 at 8:46 PM, shapeshifter said:

Same!
The color of the sky this morning an hour after sunrise:

(it was gray most of the day)

Because it can't be said too often: I f'love my air purifier. 

I just sent one to my NYC daughter, but it won't get there before Saturday. 

After that awful smoke this week here in NYC I have ordered an air purifier for the living area.  In the meantime I remembered that I had one in the bedroom I'd hardly used since I bought it in 2012.  So I ran it all day and the room seemed better.  I'm ordering new filters for it though.

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, roseha said:

On 6/7/2023 at 8:46 PM, shapeshifter said:

I just sent one to my NYC daughter, but it won't get there before Saturday. 

After that awful smoke this week here in NYC I have ordered an air purifier for the living area.  In the meantime I remembered that I had one in the bedroom I'd hardly used since I bought it in 2012.  So I ran it all day and the room seemed better.  I'm ordering new filters for it though.

Surprisingly, the air purifier I ordered on Wednesday night, got to my daughter in lower Manhattan (Chinatown) Friday morning! 
The air is better now, but “better” is never great there anyway.

[annzeepark914]

On 5/17/2023 at 11:22 PM, RealHousewife said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It sounds like melatonin is okay to take now and then, but as someone who's dealt with insomnia since childhood, I don't know if I should try it since I really need something safe for long-term use. Not sure if such a thing exists. 

I was going to take the one for kids first and see how I did with that, but I'm so leery of medication. One thing is fixed, and then two things are thrown off. 

My PCP put me on a half dosage of Trazadone 100 mg (so I just cut the tablet in half). I'm sleeping much better now. At larger dosages it's good for depression, but at this small (50 mg) dosage it really just helps one get a better sleep.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

My PCP put me on a half dosage of Trazadone 100 mg (so I just cut the tablet in half). I'm sleeping much better now. At larger dosages it's good for depression, but at this small (50 mg) dosage it really just helps one get a better sleep.

Interesting. I'm pretty sure Trazadone was one of the medications I took after my cancer surgery — I thought for pain.
But that was in 2016, so it might have been a different medication with a similar name.

[annzeepark914]

30 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Interesting. I'm pretty sure Trazadone was one of the medications I took after my cancer surgery — I thought for pain.
But that was in 2016, so it might have been a different medication with a similar name.

Maybe you took Tramadol? I took that for pain (prior to having back surgery).

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Maybe you took Tramadol? I took that for pain (prior to having back surgery).

Yes! It was Tramadol after the surgery.

I think I took Trazadone about 10 years earlier for depression.

I didn't keep records of medications over the years (that quickly turn into decades), assuming my medical records were "recorded."
I tried contacting the psychiatrist who prescribed medications for me in the 2000s about 10 years later, but he had died and, since he was in private practice, I was unable to get records. It was about 5 years after his passing that I found an online obituary that said to contact his daughter, but she was apparently no longer responding by then.  
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is great, but it would be nice if records were preserved for patient's future health needs too. 

Edited June 12, 2023 by shapeshifter

[annzeepark914]

I'm so tired of being tired. I have post nasal drip (can feel like pn-deluge at times!), have had it for decades. When I'm on an antibiotic, I feel better. Then, after a while (being off the antibiotic) the fatigue returns. Now my PCP wonders if it's caused by histamines in foods & wants me to go non-gluten & non-dairy for a month to see what happens. I tried to get an appt at my EN&T practice but they're booked until 7/10. Does anyone here have this issue and if so, how do you treat it?

[thosme]

I currently rinse twice a day with a vial of pulmicort in my Neilmed squeeze bottle.  After years of chronic sinusitis and constant infections, I rarely have one anymore.  I had lost my sense of smell and taste because of polyps and inflammation.  I thought there would never be a solution because scientists needed to work on more important diseases.

I also take OTC antihistamines and get allergy shots.  But there has been a very positive impact on my life from the rinses.  

 

[annzeepark914]

I've rinsed with saline & Budesonide Inhalation Suspension via a Neilmed squeeze bottle but it had no effect. Just started up (again) rinsing but only with the saline now.  

[shapeshifter]

35 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

I've rinsed with saline & Budesonide Inhalation Suspension via a Neilmed squeeze bottle but it had no effect. Just started up (again) rinsing but only with the saline now.  

Yes. Just saline is what I was going to suggest trying. 
A quality-of-life changing thing for me has been the saline squeeze bottle solution applications (whenever needed).
And, as I've posted upthread more than once, my BlueAir air purifier too! — which I now use constantly.

I've also had at least 50% fewer migraines since retiring and therefore not being exposed to perfumes in industrial cleaning agents or others' personal products.

My oldest daughter gets post-nasal drip with cough if she eats cheese or drinks milk. 

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

My oldest daughter gets post-nasal drip with cough if she eats cheese or drinks milk. 

Uh-oh...dairy products 🤔. I wonder if I can be tested for this (I've been allergy tested 3 times over the past 15 years w/ only mold and some trees showing up). Maybe stuff like this doesn't present via allergy tests 🥴

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Uh-oh...dairy products 🤔. I wonder if I can be tested for this (I've been allergy tested 3 times over the past 15 years w/ only mold and some trees showing up). Maybe stuff like this doesn't present via allergy tests 🥴

These days it's easy enough to try eliminating dairy from your diet for a month or so. There are whole sections in the Wegman's grocery store of "plant-based" foods, including cheeses, milks, yogurts, etc. 
When my daughter was here for her birthday, we got a really delicious non-dairy cake from a local bakery that also has gluten-free, nut-free, and other specialty cakes. That cake was probably tastier than any other cake I've ever had!