JB - I have had sinus infections and they just make you feel crappy all over. I am sorry you aren't feeling well. So sorry to hear about Barney as well. It is hard when we lose a pet.
Gita - I started with the flu shots the year before last. Funny thing is that I don't really feel that I need them, but perhaps it isn't a bad idea as DH really needs them. About 20 years ago he had an allergic reaction to the flu and had to learn to walk again. He also seem to catch illnesses long before I do and he is down longer with an illness than I am. So, it probably is a good idea just from the stand point that I don't catch it and give him the flu.
Glad you started this thread again....
HAPPENINGS IN THE MID-ATLANTIC FORUMPart #2
Carolyn---
This Thread was started last year by me in desperation of NOTHING happening on the Posts here....
I hate that dead period!!!!
We are, once again, in this "Dead Period"--so I resurrected this Thread....Have you looked at part #1?
I NEED thee "fix" every day when I sit down at my Computer. NO Posts--and I am all blue!!!!
How addicted can one get????
I am, actually, going to start an whole new Thread tonight----It will be something like--
"October is awesome in my Garden".....or some such. Check it out!
Gita
Gita
I do remember - I feel very much like we are in that dead period, but feel that it is beginning early.
Hi All, Ric and I are traveling right now and don't have much in the way of internet service. We will be home soon and I have a lot of garden work to do when we get there. I will post some pics when we get home.
Well, we had four days of sunshine, two more to go and then you can all get ready. There is a storm off the coast and moving up from the South bringing rain Wed. and Thurs. Just what we need since we just had the wettest Sept. in history., a hurricane and an earthquake all in one darn month. October has to be better.
Now my Fat Cat is missing. I am having bad luck with animals I swear. Must be the moon or something.
I went to get the flu shot the other day and the doctor said NOOOOOO! I now have an inner infection and so I am back on antibiotics. I have had Labyrinthitis since I was in my 20s and the sinus infection/allergies set it off and so here I am, off balance as usual but even worse, and thank God the cough is getting better and I am sleeping 6 or more hours a night. If only I could stand up straight and not be so off balance. I hate that feeling.
Gita, good luck with your surgery. I am sure you will be fine. I have only one eye and they will not operate on the cataract that is in the eye because they do not want to take any chances messing with the only eye that works.
I am glad they are being careful.
Hope you are all well and feeling good since the sun has been shining. Take care. Hugs. JB
Good luck with the cataract surgery Gita. I will be having the same surgery soon myself. I would have already had the surgery but wanted to wait till all this traveling was finished. I will be having it in Nov after I return from the dive trip to Bonaire. I will check out the new thread when I get home and hopefully have some pics to post.
Holly--Good luck to you too!
Be aware that, after the surgery, you are "prohibited" from bending over.
I suppose that causes extra pressure on the eyes....
So much for gardening--for whatever length of time this rule is in effect....
At least you have Ric--I have no one to bend over and pick things up for me.....
Not sure how long this will be in effect....a week? two weeks? 4 weeks?????
Being that, in 2 weeks after my left eye--I will have the right eye done--I guess I won't be able to bend down for a month????
Yeah! That seems like a joke!!!!
Thanks for the well wishes....This is a 10-15 minute outpatient surgery.....Bam! DONE!
The bother will be having to self-administer eye drops 4x a day for 4 weeks....Antibiotics--I think....
Will keep you all informed.....Stay tuned HERE!!!!
Gita
Prayers and Hugs to you Gita. JB
Thanks! I appreciate your thoughts....
I am not worried at all. this kind of surgery takes about 10 minutes--
and off you go home. I will not even lose any work time.
I was starting to worry that thgis year will go be and i will not have had any surgery....
Seems I have one every year.
You'll have to learn to bend at the knees and squat Gita! lol Not a stance most gardeners know! Prayers be with you.
Gita - hopefully you will have a speedy recovery. Prayers to you.
Gita, best wishes with the eye procedures! The limitations will be a pain, I know, but just keep reminding yourself "don't bend donotbend dontbend".. such an easy thing to do accidentally! Wish we lived closer; you know Joyanna would be happy to follow you around and helpfully pick up things for you. *hugs*
Thanks all---
I still need to clarify just what is considered a "bend over". I think, mostly, they mean hanging way down--
as I would do when gardening. Also--I need to re-read the papers and see for how long this restriction is in effect.
Since my 2nd eye will be done in just 2 weeks--this may be a month or so of no bending...
NOT so good with garden clean-up looking me in the face. Digging beds and carrying plants in--any night now....
Crit--I cannot squat all the way down--b/c both my knees have been replaced.
The squatting is not restricted--but I have never gone all the way down--like allowed my whole body weight
to rest on my haunches. I get close--though. Usually I sit on a small step-stool and garden--but then I am bending over...
This will be hard! NOT allowed to kneel either.
Some humor to make this worth it---for the 2 weeks in between the eyes--I will be walking around with the
left lens popped out from my glasses, as that eye will now have close to perfect vision. I can hear the questions now.....
Gotta wrap my mind around this----This too shall pass.....Gita
Carry the plants in early (even if it's only going down to 50 this week), then you won't have to deal with them during your recovery period. Garden clean-up can wait -- for a January warm spell, if necessary!
See what they tell you, but I'm thinking "bending over" means if you had a ponytail, it would swing forward. Any position where your ponytail would still hang down your back seems like it would be OK. Having had a ponytail, that logic works for me... LOL
You're going to love having such great eyesight afterwards!
Jill,
Good idea....I may just do that!
I have until the 20th to get some of the heavy work done.
And, yes! garden clean up can wait....it will be hard, though, not to do all that needs to be done.
Then--there are the bending-over things we do in the house....big and small...
It will be difficult to 100% comply.
I'll practice squatting while holding on to my steel pole in the back yard...
Wonder what the neighbors will think I am doing??????....:o)
All the good eyesight will have a down side too. I will see all the dust and the cobwebs around the house.
Right now--I really don't see much of it--until I bend over.....
Gita
laughing at the glasses with one lens. I actually do that with reading glasses because I have mono contacts. One is near and one is far. So to make up the difference to read easier, is to pop out the lens on the near eye, and use the lens on the far eye to clear it up. LOL I do get odd questions and strange looks sometimes.
Mental pic of you in the backyard with that pole. LMBO Neighbors may think you are practicing to be a pole dancer!!!! wooo hooo lol
This message was edited Oct 10, 2011 4:08 PM
For your knees i don't want you squatting on your haunches anyway. Low stool, or split your leg position so they aren't completely folded. Pretend you're wearing a skirt in the yard! dainty girl!
Gita, you know I love you, but "dainty girl" is one phrase that's never popped into my head before when thinking of you... hah! But at the end of the month, I'm going to picture you doing everything daintily and delicately, so as to spare your knees and let your eye heal.
Ask the doctor about sitting on a low stool/chair... it may be that bending forward & looking down is OK as long as you don't bend so that your head is below your waist... you may as well get the parameters of what you can and can't do, but of course err on the side of caution!
That reminds me, I need to ask if / how long I'll be unable to lift after I get the expander removed... I've got an appointment with my JH surgeon tomorrow, and I saw a surgeon here in Frederick before we left for NC... if it turns out to be straightforward enough that I can get it done locally, then I may be able to get it out as early as this Friday. :-)
I have 2 yards of mulch coming tomorrow... hmm, maybe I didn't think this through... LOL! Well, like Gita's garden clean-up, the mulch can sit if I don't get it out there this week.
You all crack me up!
ME? Wear a skirt???? Anything that would involve wearing panty hose is NOT in my book!
If I absolutely must--I always opt for those thigh-highs.
Dainty? That is hard to imagine...Never have been--but--that is NOT always a bad thing.
How about this--I am "dainty" inside--in my generosity and my kindness and love of all things green and flowering...
Good enough for me! Who else writes Poems to her garden? And cries watching Oprah?
WHY! Lil ole Dainty me!!!
aw Gita-- you marshmallow Volleyball jock you...LOL You ARE dainty inside!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hate to tell you but if I recall right, my mom was also warned not to do anything dusty after the surgery too. Yes she was about the same age and did not enjoy limiting her gardening either. You better do what you can now and steel yourself to really (trying) to limit your yard work. Of course moving dirt and pulling handfuls of plants (with dust and stuff caught on the leaves) will be worse than sitting daintily and doing light snipping. And wear gloves for sure and wash hands right after. Taking and potting up cuttings sounds pretty safe.
Lots of rain for wednesday!!
Sally---
My surgery is next week on Thursday! Awk!!! Time is running short...
One week to go to get some of this early garden stuff done. Still work tonight and tomorrow--Ugh! Rain!!!
then I am free until Sunday. Have to mow the lawn soon too.
As for dust inside--I just cleaned my whole house--it HAD a lot of dust! Wayyy too much!
With my better eye-sight-to-be--I will see all the dust bunnies and webs sooner.
I really do not see them all that well right now....excuses...excuses....
I don't quite follow the dust warning....That is why eyes blink--to constantly clean them with tears and keep them clean.
Maybe when your Mom had this done--the techniques were different...Now--all there is a pinhole incision on the
side of the Cornea which is self-closing. The old lens (which sits inside a tissue sack) is pulverized by Ultrasound
and sucked out through a very small tube. The new lens is inserted through the same tube (in a folded up shape)
back into the "sack" where it unfolds in place. That's it!
They give you some cheap, big sunglasses that keeps all light from coming into your eyes--and home you go.
I will have to use a lot of eye-drops--before and after. Some 4x a day. Mostly antibiotic ones.
Since the second eye will be done 2 weeks after the first one--all this will stretch over a month.
Hate THAT thought!!!
I tend to "push" all given limitations--assuming they are made for the average person.
I do not see myself as average--at least not when it comes to doing things, lifting things, tolerating pain and discomfort.
I DO listen to my Dr.s--then adjust it to what I know I can/should and cannot/should not do.
"Dainty" people would follow to the "T"..."Undainty" people, as in more capable and stronger, that live alone and have
no one else to help with "honey-do" tasks, usually have to make do while, possibly, breaking some of the Dr.'s rules....within reason....
Nuff said! Me...
Gita, I know how you feel when you say living alone and having no one to do the chores but you. You do what you can and that is it. Some doctors will take that into account and give you alternatives . I cringe when i think I may have to have something done for that very reason. I still have birds to take care of daily and of course now that Barney is gone there is less stress about a sick dog.
I wish you well and I am sure you will be fine. The new procedure is easy so they say and I am sure you are strong and healthy enough to make it through without a problem. God Bless and we are here if you need us for moral support...........which it sounds like you have it all together and under control. Have a good day. JB
Gita, I had some issues with my ears awhile ago and I wasn't to put my head down. Even had to sleep upright for 2 nights. I wrapped a towel around my neck like a tight collar to remind me not to bend down. It helped alot.
I just tuned in today & saw Holly's message about ear crystals. When we were in Va back in July & I fell while we were collecting amethysts, I must have knocked my marbles loose, too cause every time I reclined & turned my head in the direction in which I fell, I got dizzy, so I went to my PC Dr. who sent me to rehab & they performed a maneuver on me twice and I belived my marbles are back in place. If it ain't one thing, it's another. LOL
I believe it's called the Eppley maneuver. Ric
There's a maneuver for fixing loose marbles?? There's something that should be more widely known. LOL
Seriously, I really sympathize with anybody having vertigo issues... been there, done that, and it's not nearly as much fun as it sounds to be a "medically certified dizzy blond." :-]
I got 2 yards of mulch delivered yesterday, and then the rain started. At least it's under a tarp, so hopefully I will be spreading relatively dry mulch. (I could have delayed delivery, but I figured they would bring me sopping wet mulch if they delivered it tomorrow.) Hopefully I'll be able to do some tomorrow, but if not the weekend weather outlook is looking good. :-)
I was hoping to put together some sort of group purchase for daffs or species tulips, but I seem to be too scattered at present. I did come across another wholesale source that's willing to do (relatively) small sales and might order a couple of things just so I have first-hand experience before placing a group order next fall... by now they are sold out of a lot of things, but they did have a big selection, and they have excellent prices (and really nice bulbs too, I hear). The person who recommended them said they had an offer this spring that if you pre-ordered your fall bulbs, shipping would be free. So maybe we'll have a spring bulb-ordering party and then a fall bulb-sorting party next year. :-)
Gita, I think they have made that surgery much less "invasive' since Mom had it. I feel sure the docs stay really conservative with precautions though. You'll do well!
Last year I found that the bulbs at Lowes got clearanced out really fast- I think by Thanksgiving week they had the Xmas amaryillis kits in there.
Our HD was setting up Christmas merchandise and artificial trees all day yesterday.
Will probably be finished today. Whoooopie!!!!
Always such a competitive rush--who can do it first.....destroys the feeling of Christmas once it arrives....
Gita
I had the eppley maneuver twice and it worked!! All the marbles are gone and the crystals are back where they should be. However, at the last craft show in Dillsburg (10/15), I fell over one of the tent weights lying on the ground inside the tent & fractured my patella. (kneecap) I use a cane everywhere I go & wear a brace on the leg when I go outside. Guess I need a catcher's outfit to wear. Well, 3's the charm. Let's all hope this is the last accident I have.
Buttoneer called me on Friday afternoon as she and Bob passed the exit to Crozet on their way to Buckingham County where they mine and dig for gold and gems. John and I visited their camp site during one of the trips when they were here during a really hot part of the summer. They also visited our home back in March I believe on their first trip down here. Judy, be careful on this trip. Sounds as though you are bad about things such as knocking your marbles loose.
Gita's eyes are done now and sheis doing well, so that is good news. Good luck with your procedure coming up Holly. Don't know how I missed this thread and only read back as far as October 1.
Take care all.
Ruby
Yikes, I'd missed Judy's last post about fracturing her kneecap... yes, she'd better be careful on this trip, or we will start rolling her up in bubble wrap when she goes out anywhere!
I was glad to read that Gita was doing well after her procedures, hope she and her daughter enjoyed their time together!
Hiya All---
I have to say that having cataract surgery nowadays is a breeze...NO pain either..not during--not after.
You are almost fully awake. They shoot you some kind of relaxer--made no difference to me...
Your iris gets so dilated it takes till next day to go back to normal size. YUK!
They numb your eyeball and then you have to put up with this brilliant light that comes from a magnifying
glass that the Dr. uses so she can see what she is doing.
It is like micro-surgery...with all kinds of lights shining in your eye. Sometimes, you see weird shapes--psychedelic colors too.
You have to lie motionless but they make it very comfortable for you to do so.
You can feel slight pressure--as the Dr. inserts her little "tools" in the eye..but no pain.
After the lens was put in--I could actually see her "tools" approaching my eye...and when she put the stitch in--
I could see the needle approaching my eye. A little tug.....a little poke.....All OK! It is looking into that brilliant,
bright light unflinchingly that is the hardest...Of course--they have a forceps of some kind holding your eye open....
All the OR people were just chatting and laughing while I was being 'fixed".....I could have joined in--but did not want to move....
SO! It is a 20 minute "experience".....Then they take you to recovery (from what???) and feed you
graham crackers and juice. I had to stay up there while my daughter went down and got her car delivered back
from Valet parking ($8). Then I walked down, got in the car and we went home.
Turned around--and I took her out for lunch after both eyes...There really is NO "down time".....
The worst is keeping track and doing 3 different eye drops for weeks. This one once a day--that one 4 x a day,
stop after a week with this one--and continue 3 more weeks with that one...etc...etc....
Went into a $$$ store and picked up 2 prs. of reading glasses....For a buck each! Nice frames too.....
Here's the funny part. You know when one wears glasses..everything is about 25% larger...
Now everything looks so SMALL!!! My shoes--my coffee mug---the print on my computer...it is weird!
OK! Enough about all this...Thanks for all your kind thoughts and for caring.....I am OK!
If you need this done--don't worry! You will be just fine!
Gita
Glad to hear such a spunky report from you, Gita!
I put some new photos of Joyanna on her thread in the prayer forum... I guarantee, she is not 25% smaller these days! ROFL
Hi all I am back from my trip, it was wonderful.
Gita, So glad your surgery went so well. I will be having mine in a few weeks.
Holly---
Since a few days before your cataract surgery you will need to administer eye drops, they will give you a Rx for 3 of them.
Tis is necessary to prep your eye for possible inflamation from the surgery.
Brace yourself! One of them "Bromday" (a tiny 1 1/2" bottle-gray cap) runs $174 full price. Another--"Zymaxid" (tan cap)
runs about $80 full price.
Do you have Medicare-D yet? My share of the "Bromday" under Med.-D was $51. and the "Zymaxid" was like $30+.
The 3rd one is "Prednisolone" (hot pink top) and is a Generic. My share was only $9.
Here's the "funny" part. When you go in to have the surgery--they have all 3 of these in a small baggie--
and thy drip them all in your eyes to prevent inflammation. Then when you go home--they give you the
whole baggie of the 3 to take home--free! Both eyes done? You now have 2 baggies of all 3 for free.
Of course--you still need to use the eye drops after surgery--the "Bromday" once a day--the other 2--4x a day.
For about 3-4 weeks.
I am telling you all this so you can be prepared for the price shock. Ask for another version of the "Bromday"...
There is one called "Ketorolac"--which would cost you about half of the "Bromday".
Then there is an absolute Generic--called "Diclofenac"--which would have cost me $9.
I know all this because I called my Medicare-D and talked to the Pharmacist and complained.
It was too late--as I had already p/u these Rx's and paid for them.
Your Dr. may use all together different Rx's. I just wanted you to be prepared.......
I can even send you one of these baggies I was given--there was only 2 drops used out of each one
by the nurse in the pre-Op room on my eyes..I never touched them. It will be plenty for the before drops you need to do.
Then--you will get your own free baggie....
Good luck! Are you having both eyes done? Mine were 2 weeks apart-an awkward time for one's vision.
One great 20-20 eye--and the other still needing glasses....
Gita
So glad to hear that your sugery was so successful Gita!
Crit, you live near Dave? Are you o.k. from the earchquake? Heck girl, speak up.. We can not have anyone left out here. How are your Christmas Cactus. Our little group in Mid Atlantic Gardening Forum is up and running again if you want to stop by again and say hi. Take care and keep us posted. JB
Hey JB .... I don't know if I live near Dave or not. And which Dave? Where does he live?
My Christmas (or Thanksgiving????) cactus is in bud. I have a pink and orangy zygo. I can't wait for them to bloom!
You all can rest your eyes on this video. Enjoy.
http://vimeo.com/31158841
PS I'm suffering with pinched shoulder nerve so painful to post much.
Crit, Dave on the Propagation Forum is the one I was referring to. Sorry I thought you knew. He is from Tulsa. My mistake. JB