Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alternative

[Upgradable]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Karen, bad news. No open slots at Firehouse. Looks like we'll have to wait until the next round for Meg and I to join you. However, why don't we plan a little OKC GTG in the interim??

 

[Catmom]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

I finally have some good news to report. Since April, I have been undergoing tests, evaluations and more tests to assess the pain in my ribs and breasts. It has been a long and difficult process. I had a scintimammogram, which picked up a spot in my right breast, on Friday. I had the longest ultrasound I have ever had today. The radiologist kept asking for more views. I'm pleased and relieved to share with you that I do not have breast cancer. This disease caused my mother's death at the age that I am now. I am considered high risk and I had to go through a full spectrum of tests. We have new breast center at the hospital and the breast surgeon, who is the director, is extremely thorough. I've mentioned before, that I have been told the ribs will take a long time to heal. I'm exhausted and have a migraine. I'm having an IBS episode, but that is ok today. I have some interpersonal issues I would like to talk about, but I'll save those for another time. I feel as if I can breathe again.

Oh Marian, that is such fantastic news!!! You must be so incredibly relieved. I'm so happy for you, now go take care of that headache!

 

[Catmom]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

ksinger, hugs to you today . Sending you dust that your procedure goes well. If it is any consolation I had to cut out all caffeine for the next 28 days until we can figure out what is going on with my heart. That means no chocolate also!

I have been keping track of my symptoms and I feel the worst first thing in the morning. I get up at 6 am and for at least the next hour I feel all sorts of weird things in my chest. Started to log my blood pressure and at 6:15 it was 150/100 ( I normally have low bp) Right now at 8:25 it was 112/80. I have noticed that it has been rather high in the am and is low the rest of the day. That has me very worried. Waiting until 9am to call the doctor to see if someone will give me the results of my stress test.

Ah soocool, welcome to the world of no caffeine. It s@#ks first thing in the morning I have to say! I have to be off of it the rest of my life or my PACs return. My heart hasn't been reacting too well to having a foreign object in it. I sincerely hope they find out what is going on with you soon. It's so scarey not knowing what's going on with your heart. My strongest dust coming your way. Hugs!

 

[Catmom]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

ksinger, hugs to you today . Sending you dust that your procedure goes well. If it is any consolation I had to cut out all caffeine for the next 28 days until we can figure out what is going on with my heart. That means no chocolate also!

I have been keping track of my symptoms and I feel the worst first thing in the morning. I get up at 6 am and for at least the next hour I feel all sorts of weird things in my chest. Started to log my blood pressure and at 6:15 it was 150/100 ( I normally have low bp) Right now at 8:25 it was 112/80. I have noticed that it has been rather high in the am and is low the rest of the day. That has me very worried. Waiting until 9am to call the doctor to see if someone will give me the results of my stress test.

Thanks soocool. This procedure is really not a big deal - an annual cancer screening. In fact, I'm not sure he initially wanted to do it this year since it's been 7 years now, but with all the other stuff going on with me, I guess he decided he wanted to after all, just to be on the safe side.

I can only imagine having a truly serious and scary heart problem. My own recent brush with tachycardia showed me the edge of how NOT fun that is. So here's to hoping the results of your stress test are good, and that they can get you stabilized and on an even keel again.

And that living without chocolate, well, what on earth are they thinking? It's just unnecessary cruelty in my book.

ksinger, Dust coming your way for a successful screening! How wonderful for you that it's been 7 years!

 

[Sparklee]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

15 Pages already!!! Is it 'cause us oldies have forgotten what we already posted?!?!? LOLOLOL

I'll be 49 in a 2 month, and still feel like I'm 21. Okay, I forget where I've left things on occasion, tell my kids the same stories over and over, notice that some body parts aren't quite where they're supposed to be, and have to constantly fight my doctor about scheduling the dreaded colonscopy. But besides that, I'm great.........

 

[ksinger]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Karen, bad news. No open slots at Firehouse. Looks like we'll have to wait until the next round for Meg and I to join you. However, why don't we plan a little OKC GTG in the interim??

Yeah, I was fearing that might be the case.

But an OKC, or parts in between, GTG would be just peachy with me. I know several good eats places here, of course, but I'm always open to a new place.

You know....I'm on FB. And if you'll just think of the absolute sweetest person who has ever graced PS......she CLEARLY ISN'TME!! Ha ha ha! BUT, you can find me through her, I suspect. If you can find Skippy, you can find me.

 

[Upgradable]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Are you a redhead? or a brunette?

 

[ksinger]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Are you a redhead? or a brunette?

LOL! You can't tell from my snarkiness? (jk)

Redhead.

 

[Upgradable]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

I just figured it out. DANG!!!! You are gorgeous, girl!! I just sent a friend request.

 

[Upgradable]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Okay, medical question here.

I've been having problems with numbness and tingling in my hands. Both of them. Usually when I try to grip something. There is no pain involved, but I'm just wondering if it is a matter of just needing to lose some weight, or is it something more serious? Does anyone else have a problem with their hands?

 

[Sparklee]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Does anyone else have a problem with their hands?

You mean, besides the dryness, wrinkles and age spots?!?!?

 

[Lula]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

15 Pages already!!! Is it 'cause us oldies have forgotten what we already posted?!?!? LOLOLOL

I'll be 49 in a 2 month, and still feel like I'm 21. Okay, I forget where I've left things on occasion, tell my kids the same stories over and over, notice that some body parts aren't quite where they're supposed to be, and have to constantly fight my doctor about scheduling the dreaded colonscopy. But besides that, I'm great.........

I can't believe we're at 15 pages already! And -- ha-ha, memory issues! -- I did have to go back and re-read a bunch of posts to "remember" who I wanted to reply to!

gemgirl -- thanks for your concern, and yup, I am for sure keeping my re-check appointment. There's nothing like getting a phone call from a nurse telling you that the polyps they found are of the "size and type" that have a high probability of turning from pre-cancerous to cancerous. It accelerates one's bucket list, let me tell you! I re-read parts of Mariposa's thread, too, and it made me so sad. I kept hoping she'd come back and give us an update so I could tell her she was the inspiration for me to finally call and make my own colonoscopy appointment -- and that she may have saved my life, given what the doctors found during the exam. And bravo to you for going forward with a new jewelry project to symbolize making it through a major health scare!! We need to post our "life's rewards jewelry photos" on this thread. I have started to reward myself with jewelry (no longer do I consider it an extra or frivolous -- now it's a life's-too-short, well deserved reward!)

So Sparklee, I know the thought of it is cringe-worthy, but schedule your colonoscopy. My sister is a nurse practitioner and she said the latest research shows that, of all the screening tests, colonoscopies have done the most to catch cancer at its earliest stages and prevent cancer. I guess Katie Couric was on to something when she started her public awareness campaign a decade or so ago. And on another topic, I love the ring in your avatar -- is there a thread with photos on it?

risingsun -- I am so glad you got good news. What a relief for you! My mother died of breast cancer and so I am high risk, too. I am good about getting mammograms and every time I receive a "clean" report, I sigh a big sigh of relief.

Gayltemom -- I second ksinger's suggestion that you find out what happened to that 1.74 O color diamond. I loved visiting its web page and if I had had a "spare" 8 grand lying around, I would have adopted it and given it a good home! But alas, I did not have the spare 8 grand nor the snappy reply to the inevitable question from DH about why any spare cash should go to jewelry...someday I'll have the perfect comeback, I know I will!

ksinger -- good luck with your procedure. We're all about procedures on this thread, aren't we? Just a little something for you younger gals lurking on this thread to look forward to! Systems failure and systems maintenance -- that's what getting old is all about.

But the response that's got me stumped is the answer to Uppy's question about what I am proud of. It's so easy to tick off "accomplishments" but that doesn't quite go to the core of "pride." After thinking about this for several days, I guess what I am most proud of is that I finally figured out what was "wrong" with me, after undergoing lots of tests, receiving lots of prescriptions to treat the symptoms, not the cause, and feeling like I was going crazy.

For the past several years, I had serious, progressive problems with fatigue, shortness of breath, heart palpations, aching joints, weakness, restless leg syndrome, weight gain -- which I chalked up to "aging" but turned out to be...vitamin deficiencies. Yup. I was severely deficient in B12 and D3 and iron. Get your blood tested, ladies! Anyone who lives in a northern climate is no doubt deficient in D3, just by virtue of the fact that we can't get enough sun up here to store the amount of Vit. D our bodies need even if "every day we stood outside at high noon naked in a parking lot" as one doctor put it. Look up the symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency and you'll be amazed at how many of these symptoms can be mistaken for another disease process. I was treated for a multitude of disorders -- all of them not the problem -- when a simple and cheap Vitamin supplement fixed the problem. The same for B12. The USA levels for acceptable B12 in the blood are much higher than what Europe and other parts of the world require. So even if your primary provider says your levels are okay, if you are in the US and your levels are on the low end, you are probably deficient in B12. Again, do a google search and read the symptoms for low B12. I was amazed at how many of these symptoms mirror other disease processes.

I was very angry at my primary care provider for not testing my blood levels sooner. I went through a period of mourning for all the time I'd lost due to getting the wrong diagnoses. But now I am just grateful that I persevered and kept going back and questioning her -- even though for a long time it just meant more useless tests and medications -- because in doing so, I got to the core of the problem, and I feel so much better after just a little over a month on supplements. I also feel like I was an advocate for my own health, like so many of us here seem to be, and that is a great lesson to pass down to our daughters (in my case, niece) that if you don't feel well, keep pushing until you find out the true answer, and don't buy the medical profession's tendency to brush off your concerns with a prescription that treats the symptoms but not the cause of what ails you. I do believe if we had more access to holistic and complementary medicine in this country, we could cut the use of things like Prilosec and antidepressants by half.

Well, I had no idea I was going to type all of that when I signed on this morning -- thanks to those of you who read this far!

 

[Upgradable]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Does anyone else have a problem with their hands?

You mean, besides the dryness, wrinkles and age spots?!?!?

Yes, besides the grotesque aesthetics, any functioning problems?

 

[Upgradable]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Portree, thanks for the reminder about B12 and vit. D!!

I need to go pick up some supplements. That may help my hands too. I know lots of peeps who were diagnosed with fibro, and vit. D took care of most all of their symptoms! Why are we so eager to get perscriptions, when just a bit of health maintenance can take care of soooooooo much?


ETA: I found both of these on my shelf. Apparently I've heard this before, but am my own worst enemy. I've pulled them out and taken them today. I'm going to try hard to remember to take them every day and see if they help.

 

[lulu]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Sparklee, the colonoscopy is truly no big deal. I have one every couple of years because of the crohn's . I don't even take any meds, but if you do you go right out and wake up in a half hour with no discomfort at all. If you have polyps they'll snip them out right there and you won't feel a thing. And it is the best way to catch cancer early. Just get it over with!

 

[Gayletmom]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Sara, congrats on finding the cause of your health issues. Your determination and relentless drive to solve the question and your refusal to go with the many cursory diagnosis (plural?) is quite and acoomplishment.

Soocool, I hope that your procedure goes well. Please do keep us posted.

Re my visit to GOG, I will definitely inquire about the 1.74 O and also the cushion in the x,y color range. I hope to see them both!

 

[Sparklee]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Sparklee, the colonoscopy is truly no big deal. I have one every couple of years because of the crohn's . I don't even take any meds, but if you do you go right out and wake up in a half hour with no discomfort at all. If you have polyps they'll snip them out right there and you won't feel a thing. And it is the best way to catch cancer early. Just get it over with!

To be honest with you it's not really the process that bothers me - I had open heart surgery last year and I figure everything after that is a cake walk. What bothers me is all the pre-colonoscopy stuff. I've heard horror stories about the disgusting stuff that you have to drink beforehand. A friend said she spent as much time vomiting as she did pooping!!!! I have a very strong gag reflex so therein lies my apprehension.......

 

[lulu]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Discuss that with your doctor, Sparklee. I used to drink the gallon of chalky stuff but for the last few I've only had to drink a small bottle of stuff that tastes okay. Phospho something or other. Maybe we have some med background people on here who know.

 

[Upgradable]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Before a colonoscopy you have to do a 24hr prep. It includes nothing by mouth but water, then about 2 liters of a solution often called "GoLitely" which is a misnomer if there ever was one!! This clears out the bowels. It is not a terrible taste, but nothing you'd run out to the store for. It causes your bowels to cleanse themselves. You have to continue it until what you are voiding is only clear fluid. Yep, a toilet check after each "movement"! It should not cause cramping or other unpleasantness. You just don't want to be more than 20 feet from the bathroom at any time. Last step is 2 enemas to finish the cleanse.

Wow!! I have way to much unpleasant knowledge stuffed in my brain.

 

[packrat]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Uppy, my mom has fibro and she has problems w/her hands and numbness too. Nobody's ever been able to tell her what's wrong far as I know. She went to Mayo years ago about her chronic headaches and Mayo told her the reason her head hurt so bad all the time is b/c she has headaches. So, using that logic, I would venture a guess that if you can't feel anything in your hands, it's b/c your hands are numb eh?

 

[colorluvr]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Hi Sparklee, glad to see you join us on here... (you'll recognize me by my posts - LOL).

I've been MIA because I had a pet emergency over the weekend, but I've been catching up (lurking) when I got the chance.

Best of luck to all of you facing medical procedures, and Sparklee (and the rest of you thinking about colonoscopies) please just go ahead and get them done. In most cases, the anticipation is worse than the actual event.

My ex-HMO did sigmoidoscopies first and then a colonoscopy later, only if they found something (money saving device, as sigmoids don't require an MD, rather someone trained to do just that less invasive procedure). Of course in my case, they found two polyps, so that had to do a colonoscopy anyway.... serves them right for trying to take the easy (cheaper) way out... of course, I'm the lucky (NOT) one that got to go through two procedures because of their "money saving" ways in addition to adding that extra time to think about whether or not the polyps were pre-cancerous.

The first two polyps they found with the sigmoid were the only ones present and they were benign, thank goodness, but I could have done without having to drink gunk on two different occasions. I'm only bringing this up because the gunk I had to drink for the first procedure wasn't nearly as bad as the second one. I assume it didn't do as "good" of a job as the yukier one, but perhaps it's something you can talk to your doctor about if you are afraid that you can't keep the heavier/gunkier stuff down.

One comment to make for those contemplating the colonoscopy.... be sure to follow the procedures properly, or they will turn you away and make you start all over again if you don't "properly clean out" said orifice. I was told (maybe it was a scare tactic) that they occasionally had to send someone home to start all over again if they didn't "do a good job".

 

[JewelFreak]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Hey, Colorluvr, hope your pet was ok! Can sympathize. I have a 13-yr-old Siberian with spinal troubles & general age issues. I live in fear of an emergency with that sweet old man.

--- Laurie

 

[colorluvr]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Does anyone else have a problem with their hands?

You mean, besides the dryness, wrinkles and age spots?!?!?

Yes, besides the grotesque aesthetics, any functioning problems?

Why ladies, you forgot the unsightly arthritic knuckles that just started appearing a couple of years ago.... really adds to the asthetic of the dryness/wrinkles and age spots! My rational is that I must now wear even MORE gorgeous jewelry to take away from the ugliness of my hands.

I must say however, that the moist (OK - WET) climate here in the Pacific Northwest (just been here a year) is certainly kinder to my skin... it is NOT however kinder to the pain in my knuckes....AND, as Uppy noted, I am now Vit D deficient for the first time in my life... But, the rest of my blood tests came out good.... reminds me, time to take a vitamin pill and my Vit D drops.... I've had a hellish past 5 weeks with aged mom issues and now sick pet issues and like most of us, I tend to put my health and well being on the back burner when issues with loved ones take precedence.

Uppy, my MIL (who is only 8 or 9 years older than me - can't remember - LOL) has fibro and it seems to me she said she has numbness in her fingers/hands, so there could be a connection.

 

[colorluvr]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Hey, Colorluvr, hope your pet was ok! Can sympathize. I have a 13-yr-old Siberian with spinal troubles & general age issues. I live in fear of an emergency with that sweet old man.

--- Laurie

Thanks - he came through the emergency surgery with flying colors (he'll be 10 in January) but he had tumors on his spleen (one started bleeding which caused the emergency - was completely normal acting three days earlier) and the statistics are not good, but there weren't any other tumors, so we are trying to be optimistic while we wait for the test results.

 

[colorluvr]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Speaking of aethetics, I need your opinions/ help on a non-important issue (in the scheme of things) but it's one of those "little things" that can make you feel better or make you have to hide.... I'm talking about HAIR COLOR!

History: I'm 59 (for those who missed my first post) and I have been a "bottle" (I wish - takes three color blends and an excellent colorist to maintain this illusion) redhead (really medium auburn) for the past 9 years. My hair was a goldenish blonde when I was young - turning to blah light brown when I hit puberty. I started trying to add a bit of life to it after highschool by adding some warmth, but it always turned such an ugly color in a couple of weeks I gave up on "gorgeous brown" and instead started adding light highlights to my blah brown in my 20's. (NOT frosted like was soooo popular back then) but just highlights... it worked well for me until the gray took over and the highlights started making me look MORE gray instead of less.

I didn't do anything to my hair for a year as I let it grow out from short to shoulder-length (on a request from my then fiance, now husband - what is it with men and long hair??). It looked horrible and added about 5 years, so the lady who was cutting my hair at the time suggested I try auburn (my skin apparently is the correct color for auburn hair) and the rest is history... I became a "redhead" for my 50th birthday (that and a few other improvements - lol)

I've been several different varieties of auburn over the years, but it hasn't varied a whole lot. My favorite was a cinnamony color, but as my hair became more gray (top is pretty much totally gray now) the color was harder to hold and now my gray outgrowth starts being obvious in TWO weeks, making a trip to the salon a necessity every three weeks minimum - YUK (and getting expensive).

To add insult to injury, I had to have my old beautician (that hasn't colored my hair in years) try to match my hair color (without the recipe) when I was at my mom's in CA....... WHAT a disaster... I now have gray roots, followed by bright red!!!!! 1/2 inch.....then something that is similar to what the color was before she tried to match it.

I can't get into my regular colorist now for a week, so I have a lot of time to contemplate what I want to do, and of course to wear a ball cap whenever I leave the house.... The people at the emergency vet clinic got a real up close and personal "real me" over the weekend when I showed up in a sweatshirt / no makeup / and three color hair on Saturday night.

My question is this.... any suggestions on what to do with my hair to make the gray less obvious... going natural isn't an option to me right now and staying the same auburn is becoming a pain, so I think the best solution is to go to a lighter color so the gray against the dyed color isn't so obvious. My colorist suggested highlighting it to help with the transistion, but then I'm adding another procedure that needs to be kept up... I'm thinking I'd like to end up a kind of strawberry/golden/light brown color, but I'm just not sure.

Does lighter hair make you older or younger???? I know really blonde or really dark isn't flattering if those aren't your natural colors, but I'm just not sure which way to go... I don't want to loose all of the red tone, but I think it's time to lessen the red..

any ideas?

 

[ksinger]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

colorluvr -

My mom was a redhead who went gray/white early, and as she got older, she went lighter on the red, until it was almost a strawberry blonde. It worked for her. I was a strawberry blonde child, then to darker auburn as a college student, then it went dark (reddish?) brown. NOT a good look for me. So I started coloring it myself, back to the auburn-y color of college, and then a shade lighter - more coppery. But for reasons I won't bore everyone here with, I started going to an Aveda salon to have my color done. It is glorious, is Aveda color, and fades so beautifully on tone, that no one even has a clue I color. Now, I'm not gray yet, so that is certainly a factor, but I've found that my Aveda colorist is a true wizard.

It it were me, I would go lighter, but not too light. Like you, I don't look good in blonde at all, so I'll have to keep that red tone. But I think too dark on someone who clearly would not naturally have dark hair anymore, looks too harsh. Too light washes out skin that may be getting paler by the year. It's a tough call, and we redheads have a harder time finding that balance, sadly.

I looked last time before I had my color done, and for the first time I could see a few strands of silver. Sigh. I guess I shouldn't complain, since I didn't start going gray in my 20's like my mom....

 

[colorluvr]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

It it were me, I would go lighter, but not too light.
I looked last time before I had my color done, and for the first time I could see a few strands of silver. Sigh. I guess I shouldn't complain, since I didn't start going gray in my 20's like my mom....

Thanks for the tips, and I think lighter is probably the way to go, but how to get to where I want to be from here may be the problem. Keeping auburn hair when it turns gray is certainly not easy.... My mom used henna on her hair before she turned gray and it was the most gorgeous color, but once she started graying, the henna turned the gray hair orange so she started down the long road of trying to get that perfect color. She's 84 and still "medium auburn" but she always had more of an olive tone to her skin than I did (must be her German dad). I got the Irishy skin from my dad, but a slight yellowish (not pinkish) tinge from my mom.... gee thanks..

I haven't tanned in years so now I'm just "pale"! I'd say I was "white", but next to my kind of pinkish/light skinned Scottish/Norwegian hubby, I look kind of light beige - NOT a pretty color, but at least in the Pacific Northwest, a LOT of people are pasty looking, so I don't stick out as much as I did in Sunny California!

 

[gemgirl]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Sparklee, the colonoscopy is truly no big deal. I have one every couple of years because of the crohn's . I don't even take any meds, but if you do you go right out and wake up in a half hour with no discomfort at all. If you have polyps they'll snip them out right there and you won't feel a thing. And it is the best way to catch cancer early. Just get it over with!

To be honest with you it's not really the process that bothers me - I had open heart surgery last year and I figure everything after that is a cake walk. What bothers me is all the pre-colonoscopy stuff. I've heard horror stories about the disgusting stuff that you have to drink beforehand. A friend said she spent as much time vomiting as she did pooping!!!! I have a very strong gag reflex so therein lies my apprehension.......

I'm going for my fourth colonoscopy in four months and I finally have a really nice Gastro who is also a really great doctor. He told me that there is currently 20 approved preps on the list. Of course the most common is always going to be the one being pushed by the drug reps from the biggest companies. GoLytely is still not the worst of them. It's 64 oz and it's managable. Just try to stay away from TriLytely, which a previous Gastro gave me. That one is 165 oz. of gack to drink, and if you're a woman or a smaller person like me? 165 oz. doesn't go down and stay down. It winds up shooting out of your mouth and nose because a body can only handle so much at a time. Some docs will allow the Miralax/Dulcolax prep. I did that one twice and it's pretty easy- 8 8oz. glasses and you can mix that one with anything. Phospho-soda has been pulled from the list because it causes too many folks to dump their electrolytes. That happened to me once. Not pretty. The one with 32 horse sized tablets (OsmoPrep) is also not in common use anymore, but if you haven't tried the Miralax prap yet? That's the one I'd choose.

 

[ksinger]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Sparklee, the colonoscopy is truly no big deal. I have one every couple of years because of the crohn's . I don't even take any meds, but if you do you go right out and wake up in a half hour with no discomfort at all. If you have polyps they'll snip them out right there and you won't feel a thing. And it is the best way to catch cancer early. Just get it over with!

To be honest with you it's not really the process that bothers me - I had open heart surgery last year and I figure everything after that is a cake walk. What bothers me is all the pre-colonoscopy stuff. I've heard horror stories about the disgusting stuff that you have to drink beforehand. A friend said she spent as much time vomiting as she did pooping!!!! I have a very strong gag reflex so therein lies my apprehension.......

I'm going for my fourth colonoscopy in four months and I finally have a really nice Gastro who is also a really great doctor. He told me that there is currently 20 approved preps on the list. Of course the most common is always going to be the one being pushed by the drug reps from the biggest companies. GoLytely is still not the worst of them. It's 64 oz and it's managable. Just try to stay away from TriLytely, which a previous Gastro gave me. That one is 165 oz. of gack to drink, and if you're a woman or a smaller person like me? 165 oz. doesn't go down and stay down. It winds up shooting out of your mouth and nose because a body can only handle so much at a time. Some docs will allow the Miralax/Dulcolax prep. I did that one twice and it's pretty easy- 8 8oz. glasses and you can mix that one with anything. Phospho-soda has been pulled from the list because it causes too many folks to dump their electrolytes. That happened to me once. Not pretty. The one with 32 horse sized tablets (OsmoPrep) is also not in common use anymore, but if you haven't tried the Miralax prap yet? That's the one I'd choose.

LOL! This is GREAT stuff! OMG. To be discussing the best bowel prep. Hilarious. I'm sure the younger gals who might be lurking in here are just HORRIFIED: My GAWD! don't those old broads talk about ANYTHING else?? I'm literally sitting here guffawing.

Of course I'm also filing this away, since I've got one of these in the not-to-distant future.

 

[Gailey]

Re: Getting older isn't so bad when you consider the alterna

Okay, medical question here.

I've been having problems with numbness and tingling in my hands. Both of them. Usually when I try to grip something. There is no pain involved, but I'm just wondering if it is a matter of just needing to lose some weight, or is it something more serious? Does anyone else have a problem with their hands?

Yes Uppy, been there, read the book etc.

I had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Once I had the surgery, the tingling went away. CTS can be diagnosed by a test of the nerves in your fingers.