Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[sixlets]

The cardio tests done in a doctor's office with the electrodes is an EKG.  Those are 100% non-invasive/painless and only take a few minutes of remaining still.  Those will look at the heart rhythm, and make sure you are in sinus rhythm and not in A-fib.  An ECG (or echo) is an ultrasound of the heart.  It will look for abnormalities in the structure of the heart.  My doctor wants to make sure I don't have something like that going on before jumping head first into the POTS diagnosis, which is where the tilt test comes in.  I did have a stress test/ECG combo when all of this began since my dad had major heart issues, including a heart attack before 50.  I never want to do another stress test as long as I live.  My heartrate got up to the 170s, and it was such an incredibly uncomfortable feeling.  Thankfully, I never go that high now even walking.  And, I don't run unless there's a funnel cake or cronut involved.

[Scarlett45]

My godmother will be dead one year tomorrow. 
 

The last few days have been very emotional for my Mom and myself. I’ll never forget the support you all showed me here during that time. My Mom wanted to buy a bandana for Cosmo- she ordered and picked this one herself. 
 

I know Cosmo came to me January 19, but he became “mine” March 9th. I’ve tried to give him a good life with me. I’m sure he’s the best thing I’ll ever inherit. 

[wilsie]

30 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

My godmother will be dead one year tomorrow. 
 

The last few days have been very emotional for my Mom and myself. I’ll never forget the support you all showed me here during that time. My Mom wanted to buy a bandana for Cosmo- she ordered and picked this one herself. 
 

I know Cosmo came to me January 19, but he became “mine” March 9th. I’ve tried to give him a good life with me. I’m sure he’s the best thing I’ll ever inherit. 

Any loss is so very hard.  Each milestone is a reminder that your loved one, human or furry, is gone.  I hope knowing what a blessing/gift it was to your godmother that you took something so dear to her and gave him a really good and loving home, gives you some sense of peace and healing.   Cosmo has always looked happy.  He has this sweet dog smile.  He has from the beginning.  

[Ohiopirate02]

57 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

My godmother will be dead one year tomorrow. 
 

The last few days have been very emotional for my Mom and myself. I’ll never forget the support you all showed me here during that time. My Mom wanted to buy a bandana for Cosmo- she ordered and picked this one herself. 
 

I know Cosmo came to me January 19, but he became “mine” March 9th. I’ve tried to give him a good life with me. I’m sure he’s the best thing I’ll ever inherit. 

The first year is always the hardest, but it does get easier.  Saturday is the 15th anniversary of my best friend's passing and next Monday is the 10th anniversary of my dad's.  I still miss both almost everyday. 

[Scarlett45]

12 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

The first year is always the hardest, but it does get easier.  Saturday is the 15th anniversary of my best friend's passing and next Monday is the 10th anniversary of my dad's.  I still miss both almost everyday. 

Thank you. I’ve had other losses in my life, but this was the first where I was required to intimately participate in care/end of life decisions. This is all a function on continuing to live. 

[CalicoKitty]

I'm covered in cat again tonight.  We are watching The Philadelphia Story, but my watching partners decided to sleep instead.  I needed a break from the news.  (I find it is hard to take an in-focus picture this close.). Wishing everyone a good and peaceful night.

 

[Fosca]

14 hours ago, crazycatlady58 said:

I saw on the weather channel there is a big fire in the Florida panhandle. Does anyone here live in that area or have family members there? If so is everyone ok?

I used to live there; the fire is burning in rural areas, mostly in areas with dry downed trees from Hurricane Michael in 2018.  The fire closer to Springfield and Panama City is mostly controlled, which is good.  

[Jynnan tonnix]

On 3/8/2022 at 2:27 AM, Love2dance said:

Will be thinking about you tomorrow, @Jynnan tonnix. Hopefully it is about something helpful and not too difficult. Let us know. I do like that he cares enough to call you in.

So sorry about the cardiologist, @sixlets. Hopefully he has better evaluating skills than bedside manner. If he doesn’t do better when you come back, you definitely should ask for another doctor. Bet it won’t be the first time if this is his normal patient interaction mode. I am glad he ordered the test you wanted and hope the result comes out well.

Thanks! Turned out all was pretty much well, but he was a little concerned that I'd had a couple of minor tachycardia breakthrough episodes despite the medication I'm on. He wants me to see the (blanking out on what they call them) doctor who deals with the electrical aspects of the heart to probably schedule an ablation, which should hopefully solve the problem so I can get off this medication, which I'm supposed to avoid alcohol with. That's been great in some ways, as I knew my wine consumption was getting a tad excessive, so it gave me a good excuse to just dial it back to (practically) zero, but I do miss having a glass or two with dinner when I make a really nice meal. I'll just have to make sure I don't backslide because there have been so many benefits to cutting way back.

My cardiologist seems very anti-alcohol, though by GP has more of an, "oh, bummer" attitude to my having to eliminate the wine with dinner. I'll miss him when his tour is up here, as he is probably the easiest doctor to talk to that I've ever had. I hope whoever replaces him is good. Though I only have two more years of military doctors before I turn 65 and have to shop for a civilian GP. Which will be nice insofar as knowing that if I find a doctor I like, I'll be able to stay with them.

[ginger90]

1 hour ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

Thanks! Turned out all was pretty much well, but he was a little concerned that I'd had a couple of minor tachycardia breakthrough episodes despite the medication I'm on. He wants me to see the (blanking out on what they call them) doctor who deals with the electrical aspects of the heart to probably schedule an ablation, which should hopefully solve the problem so I can get off this medication, which I'm supposed to avoid alcohol with. That's been great in some ways, as I knew my wine consumption was getting a tad excessive, so it gave me a good excuse to just dial it back to (practically) zero, but I do miss having a glass or two with dinner when I make a really nice meal. I'll just have to make sure I don't backslide because there have been so many benefits to cutting way back.

My cardiologist seems very anti-alcohol, though by GP has more of an, "oh, bummer" attitude to my having to eliminate the wine with dinner. I'll miss him when his tour is up here, as he is probably the easiest doctor to talk to that I've ever had. I hope whoever replaces him is good. Though I only have two more years of military doctors before I turn 65 and have to shop for a civilian GP. Which will be nice insofar as knowing that if I find a doctor I like, I'll be able to stay with them.

You may be referring to an Electrophysiologist.

[lookeyloo]

Nurse called today to say echo showed no change from last time, so see you at next appointment (5  months).  Taking that as good news.  Hoping everyone's tests come out okay.

[Love2dance]

Sounds like you both got good news, @Jynnan tonnixand @lookeyloo. Yay!

Jynnan tonic, hope the Electrical heart specialist can confirm or help. And that you will be able to enjoy the occasional glass of wine again! 🍷

[Nysha]

The last 2 months have been a whirlwind of doctor's appointments. The neurologist I saw for White Cell Disease ordered a contrast MRI and a CTE scan, plus an evaluation by a neuro-psychiatrist. The MRI showed more little white spots and the CTE scan showed that I wasn't having any blood-flow issues.

The neuro-psychiatrist said I passed my memory tests, but I have major attention deficits, although he didn't formally diagnose me with ADD. My regular doctor put me on a low dose of Strattera to help with the attention and is increasing the dosage slowly. So far the only effect is that I'm no longer wanting a nap at 3:00 pm.

After a follow-up visit to the neurologist, where I explained that ADD may be part of the problem but my memory issues are getting worse and if something doesn't change I will lose my job, she made a recommendation to be evaluated by a psychologist.  She also had blood work done to rule out lupus, Lyme disease, and bacterial or fungal infections. I also get to have a lumbar puncture next week to check for MS.

After a two hour session with the psychologist, she decided I had PTSD, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and major depression. She thinks that some/many of my issues stem from disassociating from my parent's emotional abuse as a child and then pretty much anything upsetting as an adult. She prescribed a new anti-anxiety med, to go along with the three I'm already taking. She'll also be taking over these meds and the Strattera. She told me to find out what documentation I will need if I have to go on medical leave or quit working due to medical disabilities. 

So, no real answers, but I have a very supportive boss, HR is open to helping me get disability benefits, and a team of professionals working to resolve this before it becomes an even worse problem. 

[ginger90]

@Nysha I’m sorry for what you’re going through, also glad that you are getting the medical care you need. Good thoughts going out to you.

[ChiCricket]

FYI,  You can get a second round of free covid tests now.

(just in case, you never know what lies ahead.. which is nothing, hopefully ) 😁
https://special.usps.com/testkits

Ps IMO, everyone should order, so the program doesn't get shut down. 

 

[Cinnabon]

1 minute ago, ChiCricket said:

FYI,  You can get a second round of free covid tests now.

(just in case, you never know what lies ahead.. which is nothing, hopefully ) 😁
https://special.usps.com/testkits

Ps IMO, everyone should order, so the program doesn't get shut down. 

 

Thanks! I placed my order.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Cinnabon

[Absolom]

Mine came in yesterday.  It was super fast.

[iwantcookies]

21 minutes ago, ChiCricket said:

FYI,  You can get a second round of free covid tests now.

(just in case, you never know what lies ahead.. which is nothing, hopefully ) 😁
https://special.usps.com/testkits

Ps IMO, everyone should order, so the program doesn't get shut down. 

 

Thanks!

[jcbrown]

34 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Mine came in yesterday.  It was super fast.

Same here. Got them in less than a week.

[Love2dance]

3 hours ago, Absolom said:

Mine came in yesterday.  It was super fast.

Ours too. Now we can all just hope we won’t need them.🤞

@Nysha, that is a lot to digest. Hope all the tests and recommendations will help you and send you on the path to feeling much better. Hugs!

[Madtown]

12 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

FYI,  You can get a second round of free covid tests now.

(just in case, you never know what lies ahead.. which is nothing, hopefully ) 😁
https://special.usps.com/testkits

Ps IMO, everyone should order, so the program doesn't get shut down. 

 

I saw a link on Tuesday for these. Never got any the first time around, I think I missed it. If you are placing your first ordrer, you can place another. So I did that and got 4. They are really fast in delivering them. Got mine Thursday.

[ChiCricket]

Anyone else dreading the time change tonight?

My husband is a clock-aholic and has already started changing all his clocks, and it's messing with my head 😂

Ps I gave up on trying to limit all the watches/clocks he hoards, but I'll be danged if *I'm* changing them all twice a year! 🤣 

[Westiepeach]

I am a serious morning person - like I am up sans alarm by 5:00 am every morning, like it or not. Even I dread the time change every year. I just drag myself through the first week. Every. Time.

[emmawoodhouse]

I'm a night owl, and I am committed to going to bed by 11, but even with a sleeping aid I don't know if I will be asleep much before midnight. I have a ton of stuff to do tomorrow, but thankfully other than my hair appointment at 4, nothing else that has to be done at any given time, so afternoon errands it is! 

Edited March 13, 2022 by emmawoodhouse

[ChiCricket]

I don't have any pets (or young kids) rn, but it used to suuuuck when they didn't recognize that the time had changed and still got up at the same old time and wanted to be FED... NOW!!!

(my cats were worse than my kids in this) 😁 

Ps I'm watching The cult next door on 20/20 and OMGosh.. cah-reeeepy! 😱

Edited March 13, 2022 by ChiCricket

[Absolom]

It used to take the dog two to three weeks to make the adjustment.  I finally gave in and began switching him 5 minutes at a time about a week before the official change.

[CalicoKitty]

I have my cats on an automatic feeder, and I don't bother to change the time.  They don't seem to care what time it actually is, as long as they get their food very 6 hours.  One of my cats has no teeth and does better with frequent, small meals, so they get their daily food allotment divided into 4 equal feedings.  They don't know the difference if it is 5AM or 6AM.  As long as there is food, all is good.  This feeder has saved my life--or at least saved me from getting maimed.  They used to get hungry about 5AM, and would jump on me until I fed them.  Now they know the food will be there on time, and they sleep until they hear the motor.  Then all bets are off.  And don't stand between them and the feeder!  Food is serious business in our house.

[Rootbeer]

My older dog, Maggie, has a built in clock and she knows when it is 5:30 PM and time to eat!  She's a little more flexible in the morning.  The time change in the fall nearly kills her.  She starts coming up to me and nudging my leg to remind me it's time to fill that dish at around 4:15 PM in the fall and gets more and more assertive until she is in full meltdown mode by the time 5:30 gets here.  I try not to cave, but sometimes I just cannot deal with the doggie tantrums.  Now, this spring forward stuff is fine by her.

[GeeGolly]

Happy extra hour of sunlight day! 😎

Our pup is not a gobbler, so her food is out all day. She pretty much chooses to eat when we do, in addition to occasional stress nibbles when we're leaving the house.

[Dehumidifier]

In these times of increased violence in the country and in the world the characterization of people discussed on this site as "punchable" turns my stomach.

[whydoiwatch]

1 hour ago, Rootbeer said:

My older dog, Maggie, has a built in clock and she knows when it is 5:30 PM and time to eat!  She's a little more flexible in the morning.  The time change in the fall nearly kills her.  She starts coming up to me and nudging my leg to remind me it's time to fill that dish at around 4:15 PM in the fall and gets more and more assertive until she is in full meltdown mode by the time 5:30 gets here.  I try not to cave, but sometimes I just cannot deal with the doggie tantrums.  Now, this spring forward stuff is fine by her.

Agree, when I had dachshunds spring forward was fine, but in the fall it was more like:

[iwantcookies]

Sunday funny 

[Nysha]

Good News Sunday - I found out today that my new grandchild, due in July/August, is a girl. They plan on naming her Emily Rose. 

[Scarlett45]

12 hours ago, Nysha said:

Good News Sunday - I found out today that my new grandchild, due in July/August, is a girl. They plan on naming her Emily Rose. 

Congrats on the new grand baby on the way. That’s a pretty name I think. 

[andromeda331]

On 3/13/2022 at 10:02 PM, Nysha said:

Good News Sunday - I found out today that my new grandchild, due in July/August, is a girl. They plan on naming her Emily Rose. 

Congratulations! That's a beautiful name!

[iwantcookies]

On 3/11/2022 at 3:01 PM, Nysha said:

The last 2 months have been a whirlwind of doctor's appointments. The neurologist I saw for White Cell Disease ordered a contrast MRI and a CTE scan, plus an evaluation by a neuro-psychiatrist. The MRI showed more little white spots and the CTE scan showed that I wasn't having any blood-flow issues.

The neuro-psychiatrist said I passed my memory tests, but I have major attention deficits, although he didn't formally diagnose me with ADD. My regular doctor put me on a low dose of Strattera to help with the attention and is increasing the dosage slowly. So far the only effect is that I'm no longer wanting a nap at 3:00 pm.

After a follow-up visit to the neurologist, where I explained that ADD may be part of the problem but my memory issues are getting worse and if something doesn't change I will lose my job, she made a recommendation to be evaluated by a psychologist.  She also had blood work done to rule out lupus, Lyme disease, and bacterial or fungal infections. I also get to have a lumbar puncture next week to check for MS.

After a two hour session with the psychologist, she decided I had PTSD, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and major depression. She thinks that some/many of my issues stem from disassociating from my parent's emotional abuse as a child and then pretty much anything upsetting as an adult. She prescribed a new anti-anxiety med, to go along with the three I'm already taking. She'll also be taking over these meds and the Strattera. She told me to find out what documentation I will need if I have to go on medical leave or quit working due to medical disabilities. 

So, no real answers, but I have a very supportive boss, HR is open to helping me get disability benefits, and a team of professionals working to resolve this before it becomes an even worse problem. 

I wish you find a treatment plan that works for you. 

[GeeGolly]

Yikes, viewing IG stories is no longer anonymous? Is that for all of them or is it a setting the account holder controls?  

[iwantcookies]

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

Yikes, viewing IG stories is no longer anonymous? Is that for all of them or is it a setting the account holder controls?  

I can see who views my stories since I got Instagram 

[GeeGolly]

8 minutes ago, iwantcookies said:

I can see who views my stories since I got Instagram 

Huh, I didn't know this. When I went to view Jeremy's IG story this time, it warned me that he could see who is viewing the story. I never have gotten that warning before. 

[ginger90]

2 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I never have gotten that warning before. 

I’ve never seen that either. I just tried it in and out of the APP, no warning. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by ginger90

[Ijustwantsomechips]

I know some are planning Amtrak vacations. Have you seen this sale. It’s a pretty good deal.

https://apple.news/AUjTR22N7RVSU2Q0cc9uOJw

[Scarlett45]

I was planning on being in Morocco this week, although I’m bummed to miss out, I still look the week off and have been enjoying a “staycation”. Shopping with friends, getting my hair colored, tomorrow morning I am devoting myself to a closet purge of the winter things- 1. Sell on Poshmark, 2. Donate, 3. Toss. 
 

Cosmo has a grooming on Friday- I will take photos! I need to reconcile my budget, I already planned out my Mom’s bday and Mother’s Day. 
 

Summer is coming shortly!

[Ohiopirate02]

38 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I was planning on being in Morocco this week, although I’m bummed to miss out, I still look the week off and have been enjoying a “staycation”. Shopping with friends, getting my hair colored, tomorrow morning I am devoting myself to a closet purge of the winter things- 1. Sell on Poshmark, 2. Donate, 3. Toss. 
 

I have a bag of clothes I need to get rid of, if you don't mind me asking, how much do you really make off of Poshmark?  I am planning a trip to Orlando and Disney in December and can use some extra bucks.  Drinking around the world is not going to be cheap.

[GeeGolly]

After 7 days of 60 degree weather, with two snow storms and two rain storms in between, we are now on day three of seasonably warm weather. Bring on the spring! ☀️🥀🌳

[Turquoise]

I went back to work last Wednesday-our month-end close meeting was this morning, and I had deadlines that weren't going to be met if I took the recommended time off. Good news is it's a seated job and I work remotely. I'm not ready for real pants yet, LOL. I'm feeling pretty good except for waiting for some stitches to dissolve and a bit of an energy lag, but that is improving steadily. My chihuahua and I have been getting out every day to walk except last Friday (it snowed). Now it's in the upper 60s/low 70s. I'm enjoying seeing all the flowers and trees come to life, and he is enjoying all the new smells.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Turquoise
I edited the y right out of Friday...

[MargeGunderson]

It seems like the nice weather combined with more light later in the day is making people feel a little better! I hope that the bill to make daylight savings permanent passes. A couple of weeks ago I was scheduling regional training sessions for this week and almost forgot to factor in daylight saving change over. That would have been a problem! 

One of my cats is in a mood. She jumps up on my desk several times a day and then wants to be held. She can be very insistent about it. Earlier she would not stop but I was working on something so I had to close her out of the office. My god, you would think she was being tortured. I finally let her in after she started throwing herself on the door. When I opened it she sauntered slowly in like she hadn’t been howling a few seconds earlier. She is now pulling pens out of my pen cup with her mouth and attempting to run off with them. I guess we all know who is in charge here. I love a needy, clingy cat, but she is sometimes really aggressive about it. She’s not anxious or upset, she just knows that she is the center of the universe and demands to be treated accordingly. 
 

Princess Parker

Edited March 16, 2022 by MargeGunderson

[Nysha]

5 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

One of my cats is in a mood. She jumps up on my desk several times a day and then wants to be held. She can be very insistent about it. Earlier she would not stop but I was working on something so I had to close her out of the office. My god, you would think she was being tortured. I finally let her in after she started throwing herself on the door. When I opened it she sauntered slowly in like she hadn’t been howling a few seconds earlier. She is now pulling pens out of my pen cup with her mouth and attempting to run off with them. I guess we all know who is in charge here. I love a needy, clingy cat, but she is sometimes really aggressive about it. She’s not anxious or upset, she just knows that she is the center of the universe and demands to be treated accordingly. 

Aw, she's an adorable little tyrant.

[MargeGunderson]

Ha! I often refer to her as a fluffy little tyrant, or the generalissima. She rules with an iron mitt.

[Suzn]

24 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

It seems like the nice weather combined with more light later in the day is making people feel a little better! I hope that the bill to make daylight savings permanent passes. A couple of weeks ago I was scheduling regional training sessions for this week and almost forgot to factor in daylight saving change over. That would have been a problem! 

One of my cats is in a mood. She jumps up on my desk several times a day and then wants to be held. She can be very insistent about it. Earlier she would not stop but I was working on something so I had to close her out of the office. My god, you would think she was being tortured. I finally let her in after she started throwing herself on the door. When I opened it she sauntered slowly in like she hadn’t been howling a few seconds earlier. She is now pulling pens out of my pen cup with her mouth and attempting to run off with them. I guess we all know who is in charge here. I love a needy, clingy cat, but she is sometimes really aggressive about it. She’s not anxious or upset, she just knows that she is the center of the universe and demands to be treated accordingly. 
 

Princess Parker

I'd love to have her come sit on my lap!  I do know that sometimes it's inconvenient to have a lap cat though.

[Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, MargeGunderson said:

It seems like the nice weather combined with more light later in the day is making people feel a little better! I hope that the bill to make daylight savings permanent passes. A couple of weeks ago I was scheduling regional training sessions for this week and almost forgot to factor in daylight saving change over. That would have been a problem! 

One of my cats is in a mood. She jumps up on my desk several times a day and then wants to be held. She can be very insistent about it. Earlier she would not stop but I was working on something so I had to close her out of the office. My god, you would think she was being tortured. I finally let her in after she started throwing herself on the door. When I opened it she sauntered slowly in like she hadn’t been howling a few seconds earlier. She is now pulling pens out of my pen cup with her mouth and attempting to run off with them. I guess we all know who is in charge here. I love a needy, clingy cat, but she is sometimes really aggressive about it. She’s not anxious or upset, she just knows that she is the center of the universe and demands to be treated accordingly. 
 

Princess Parker

My cat is also incredibly clingy and gets aggressive and upset about it. It’s gotten much worse as she’s gotten older, too .

[iwantcookies]

2 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

It seems like the nice weather combined with more light later in the day is making people feel a little better! I hope that the bill to make daylight savings permanent passes. A couple of weeks ago I was scheduling regional training sessions for this week and almost forgot to factor in daylight saving change over. That would have been a problem! 

One of my cats is in a mood. She jumps up on my desk several times a day and then wants to be held. She can be very insistent about it. Earlier she would not stop but I was working on something so I had to close her out of the office. My god, you would think she was being tortured. I finally let her in after she started throwing herself on the door. When I opened it she sauntered slowly in like she hadn’t been howling a few seconds earlier. She is now pulling pens out of my pen cup with her mouth and attempting to run off with them. I guess we all know who is in charge here. I love a needy, clingy cat, but she is sometimes really aggressive about it. She’s not anxious or upset, she just knows that she is the center of the universe and demands to be treated accordingly. 
 

Princess Parker

I thought you’d say your cats  name is Jill Dillard 🤣