Weedwhacker said:
We'll be watching Michigan State and Alabama playing in the Cotton Bowl tonight... hoping my Sparties can pull off a miracle!

Well, that didn't go so well... Alabama shut us out, 38-0.

Well......we have all been there, trust me. Onward and upward.

I usually start the New Years grumpy. The fireworks were pretty bad in the neighborhood and DH and the cats don't do well with all that racket going on. We had an appointment with one of DH's VA doctors yesterday and found out they're not going to re-ordering his sleeping pill. That'll really be hellish for him. The actual doc who saw him wanted to order it, but the doc's boss has been ticked off about something recently and won't budge. Just a VA thing...long story, these kind of things go on all the time there.

Linda

Linda It seems that because none of us are in charge of our healthcare, the bottom line is, "take this...it will save US money and we don't care how you feel." Ultimately these people will get a taste of their own medicine so to speak.

or no medicine for them, when THEY need it........ Karma happens, just sometimes seems to take a long time to happen

Susan

So sorry for the misfortunes Blakely. I only just got on to this site and missed it all a few days ago. I sincerely hope that Mark gets it sorted for you. Nothing worse than water damage because of the potential mold problems. Take care.

Orchidgal - we are watching for mold. Two dehumidfiers going and multiple fans. Pulled off baseboards and checking drywall with moisture meter constantly. Progress is being made. I am going to lose an area rug that no one thought to roll up and get out of the way of the advancing flood. It dried out in the yard and seems fine to me. But my son and DIL insist it smells bad (I don't smell anything but regular carpet). I even shampooed it this morning, but they insist it smells like old towels (I thought my DIL said "old cows" when she told me she smelled it - I said what is wrong with the smell of old cows!). Anyway since it is their house, I am going to get rid of that rug if they think it smells bad . We are lucky we do not have wall to wall carpet as that would all have to be ripped out. We have ceramic tile throughout (except for that rug) and it seems fine. For once all the tile is clean at the same time (I do not recommend that method of washing your tile floor).

"do not recommend that method of washing your tile floor"
No, I don't either..........

rocklady said: Linda It seems that because none of us are in charge of our healthcare, the bottom line is, "take this...it will save US money and we don't care how you feel." Ultimately these people will get a taste of their own medicine so to speak.

Sorry, but that's not exactly true. It's just that over time, they are finding that the long-term usage of many meds at previously accepted dosages cause some very serious problems.

I am dealing with this problem now with a med that was prescribed for sleep ten years ago at what was considered to be a low dosage. In that time, several research studies have shown this med to be closely associated with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Today's accepted dosage is one-fifth of what was prescribed ten years ago and should only be used at the lower dosage for a maximum of three months. YIKES !

The only reason I found out about this is that I asked my doc, "Why change what's working ?" He didn't have an answer right away except that prescribing it jeopardized his medical license. Bless him, he did the research to find out why a med that was once considered to be quite acceptable is now one that is highly regulated.

There are some sleep meds that are currently approved for long-term usuage, but who knows what they will find out about those meds in the next ten years ?

They're not going to give him anything else either, unless the doctor changes her mind. DH's natural sleep responses were permanently disrupted due to years of war and PTSD...it's something very few have experienced. Actually, I was once sent something from a government agency about one of my own meds, saying that they recommended that it be changed...they weren't able to mandate it, just recommend. My doctor disagreed. There's a lot going on these days in the world of medicine that we don't understand. A lot of pressure is being exerted for various reasons by government, pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies on doctors. I sided with my doctor in that case, but don't always agree with him about everything.

I just had a prescription changed. When attempting to have a prescription refilled I was advised by the pharmacy that I had to have "prior approval" before getting it refilled. I wound up with the generic brand. The doctor's office informed me that if this one didn't work to let them know and we would try another one, but if I still continued with my problem, I could get my original prescription back. I received a letter from the insurance company regarding this change. They said this was being done to save money (both them and me). I'm for saving money, but I really don't care to be used as a guinea pig.

Lin, glad your doctor was on the ball, and did research on your prescription. Some studies show that as we grow older, we don't need the same strength of some prescriptions and I think sometimes enough research isn't done before approving a product for use. I certainly wish all of us could grow old without any meds but that's not possible.

"There's a lot going on these days in the world of medicine that we don't understand."

That's definitely true, Linda -- it's all big business now, and most doctors don't have all that much control over what's going on, either. And I certainly agree that there are a lot of things about the VA system that are screwed up!

We all need to be very proactive with our health care now, which is sad because there are many people who either don't realize they need to be, or are just unable to be proactive. And, it's really quite a PITA. But just the reality of the times...

Problem is that it's a form of elder abuse - some of the most vulnerable are those that are mentally unable to be proactive - they're sick and they're tired, and might not be aware of their rights, and if they're alone in the world, it's them or nobody.
I remember an elderly couple - friends of mine - that came from England. When they came to Canada they were given a Dr who they didn't like but thought they had to keep him because they'd lose all medical care if they refused the Dr. Figured the Dr was "assigned" to them and that was it.
Then, when she had to have a heart bypass, the Dr "touched something he shouldn't have" as he put it - ie: her vocal cords, during the operation. They had to do an emergency Tracheotomy on her and put a hole in her throat. The hospital told her the Dr had moved. She had to buy tubes for her throat, and it was costly. Years later (9, to be exact), I met them, and told them they should report the Dr and get the College of Physicians and Surgeons to pay for the tubes ($200 / month) and get the Dr up on charges (he hadn't moved, we found him by accident). There was a 10 year moratorium on reporting him, so time was short. Because it was left so long, the College decided that it wasn't an issue. It was dismissed and she got no help at all.
And this was because they didn't know they had rights, and were shy about pushing to get something done for them.

Susan, so sad.. and so true.

I feel that a huge issue that I have never seen addressed anywhere is that of so many doctors with heavy foreign accents, which many people -- and in particular the elderly -- have difficulty understanding. And again, the elderly in particular do not want to appear "stupid," so they don't speak up and ask questions, but just nod their head and walk away, basically not having a clue about what they are being treated for or with, or what they should expect to happen.

And even with doctors who speak English as their first language, there is way too often a huge disconnect between what the doctor says and what the patient hears. I'm not sure where one would even begin to address this problem...

One thing I used to do, was make a list of all my questions, then I would either hand it to the Dr or read them out.
My Dr was trained in the UK and has an impeccable grasp of speaking English, although he's Pakistani. My last Dr was Chinese and I could only understand 3 words out of 5. He's the one that, when I first fell and hurt my one knee, only sent me for a bone x-ray. 2 1/2 years later, I ditched him and got my current Dr, who sent me for an MRI and found my torn meniscus, and osteoarthritis in my left knee, and started to treat me for it. So, I was left for 2 1/2 years untreated. I Really Like this Dr and have told him so. He makes me feel like my time is valued and he's interested in taking medical care of me. He has me wait for MAYBE 5 minutes before he sees me. My last Dr would have me wait for 2 hours in the waiting room, and once had me sent to the hospital for a heart attack because my chest was hurting from coughing (I had bronchitis and was hacking in his waiting room for 2 hours, upsetting his other patients....)
I have told this Dr how pleased I am with his care - very pleased.

Lots of good -- and bad -- there, Susan! I'm glad you have found a doc that you like !

oh, my Dr is fantastic! I've only had 2 Drs in my life that I really know appreciate and listen to me. He's one of them, and I made sure he knows it. Nothing like "greasing the wheel"
He's honest with me, as I am with him.