Because Of Your Medical History....

Once you get cancer or any other 'nasty' medical ailment, this little phrase follows you for the rest of your life 'because of your medical history...'. If you have this phrase following you around, you are lucky when you are not sent for more tests or additional follow appointments start filling your calendar.

As a child I was not the one (sister) who had ear infections non-stop or the one (brother) that went running around into and over and under things resulting into many minor injuries requiring stitches, etc. I was the reasonably healthy one, except for a few colds here and there.

Boom, at age 19, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and that magic little phrase started following me around. I never had a normal doctor appointment. Even if it wasn't discussed, that cancer history was still lurking in the air between the doctor and I.

It followed me for decades. Until I added another cancer diagnosis and then it followed even closer. And was probably written like this 'because of your medical history...'. Two cancer diagnoses before fifty and all the red flags start jumping up to the doctors. Do you have a genetic abnormality? Did you wade in toxic waste as a child or live next to a smelly factory? It didn't matter why, all it meant was I went to more doctor appointments than anyone I know.

Since then with a bad back (three different places), rheumatoid, and fibromyalgia, now my pet phrase is written like this 'because of your medical history...'. It is right on my heels every day. I now need my medical history to the point that I don't even dare to go to another hospital. It would take too much time to explain my ailments, allergies, and medications to any emergency room triage person. No, I can't print out a list to take with me because it changes too often.

So that little phrase has gone from an annoyance to a necessity. Damn. I wish I was healthy.

Friendships

This has come up time and again but for some reason I have seen it more often in my Facebook feed in the last few weeks. Friendships - they come and go. We make friends and we lose friends. Some friends we lose when we change and move on - maybe we used to work together, live next door to each other, go to school together, or some other commonality which held us together but doesn't any more.

Other times we opt to lose our friends when they appear to have changed. The point is from your perception you don't really want them as a friend any more. For instance, if you had a friend and they did something unethical/illegal wouldn't you be uncomfortable with their friendship? I don't know anyone who did anything illegal but can think of a several instances where two different friends made me very uncomfortable with their ethical choices.

Or what if you think your friend is developing emotional issues and they refuse to take care of themselves, to take any advice on it, and do not consider themselves to have any emotional problems. An example is that if you had a friend who became a hoarder, what would you do? What can you do? Hoarding is characteristic which is telling us something more is going on with them emotionally. They need help but if they are in denial over their situation, what can you do?

What if you think your friend is just using you? I had a friend and, I kid you not, for a couple of years she used to call me to see how the traffic was before she drove home from work. Her rationale was that I was home and could look it up on the TV for her. I finally resorted to telling her, for several months, that I have no idea, the TV isn't on, before she finally figured this out. Um, you have the internet don't you?

Then there are the people who are chronically late, for everything. All the time. They can't get anywhere on time. Being late happens to everyone - a flat tire, etc - but not every single time. And late by an hour or more. It is incredibly rude to be late. It says 'I am way more important than anyone else so everyone can just wait for me'. Did you ever try to get a group of people together for lunch at 12 and have one call at 5 til to say they just woke up and will be there in an hour? (I just wonder how people like that keep their jobs because if they can't do anything on time, can they ever meet a work deadline?)

Finally, another part of friendships is what if you have changed? That is certainly the case with me. I have changed significantly over the last decade. My health has been greatly altered and I no longer have the same coping skills I did before. I don't have the patience or the physical ability to wait for people. Nor can I cope with anyone else's emotional issues. I have plenty of my own these days. It upsets me that I don't have the physical and emotional bandwidth I used to and I work on coping with that.

I also realize that I can no longer do a lot of the things I used to do - like hike, go out to dinner, stay up late, etc - so the friends I used to see at those events I no longer do see. But I would be happy to see them if things worked out and I was physically able to attend.

As my life has changed my friends have changed. It can be sad to lose friends but sometimes its necessary to lose them.

More Not Blogging

I have been very busy the last few day weeks. Now that I can drive, I have been driving and going places and thus wearing myself out and making my knee hurt. I had Thanksgiving prep for food and house guests and dinner for 14. I also have had some doctor appointments that were postponed from when I couldn't drive. I still have lots more appointments for the same reason as well as PT for my knee.

So now that I am getting back to normal I have things on my mind for blogging topics. They will not get all the coverage due  because I have been a slacker for my reasons above.

• I have pondered the issue of losing friends and making new friends. In the past year, I have lost two friends. Mostly because of my actions because I could no longer with their actions at attitudes. When you part ways with long time friends I think the holidays make you notice their absence more. I think I am still comfortable with their absence in my life. The stress they caused me no longer bothers me. I can't miss friends when I would get so aggravated in trying to get together and getting together. I'm glad I'm done but I still feel some regrets - some because I waited so long to take actions.
• This 'gentleman', and I use the term loosely, really pissed me off.
  
  If you have MS, or PTSD after serving in the military, or even breast cancer, this a$$hole thinks we are 'undesirable'. Why? Because he is against having a marijuana dispensary in his neighborhood, which is one of the nicest in Boston.
• My health is may be telling me new things that I am not ready to discuss. Which aggravates me more. Only four appointments this week, plus two PT trips. I'll discuss later, maybe. But I am really aggravated. I am not allowed to have more ailments than I already do.

That's all for now. But you get the idea. I survived Thanksgiving and it actually went very well. Iam now looking at Christmas and hope it doesn't stress me as much again.

Not A New Ailment

So I had a medical test recently that came back abnormal. It was then repeated. Then I had another test which also came back not so good and now a referral to a new kind of doctor that I have never had before.

My doctor sent me a note over the weekend with a referral for the new department. I asked for a copy of the latest test results and if she had a preferred doctor for me to see.

I'm pissed.
I'm not allowed to have another ailment.
That's it.

F**k.

I'm really pissed.

More when I feel ready to talk about it. I just needed to vent.

Taking The Good With The Bad

Sometimes, or maybe most of the time, I never get good medical news. I swear, my doctors go off script all too often. So yesterday I got some good news and some bad news.

First the knee doctor said I can start driving. But I need to take it easy. I need to be able to slam on the brakes with my restructured knee. Apparently the surgery did some restructuring but I am not a doctor so I don't really understand it. (All I know is I have lots of knee exercises.) First before driving, I have to practice driving in a big parking lot (like when I first learned to drive) or in our quiet neighborhood to see how it feels. And start driving slowly, not just not getting speeding tickets, but take it easy and work up to driving long distances. My husband was with me so he heard it all and will keep me restricted (maybe I should have left him in the waiting room).

In addition, I don't have to wear the awful, uncomfortable brace any more. I have graduated to the little soft brace which has little metal hinges and gives support. But I still need to be careful with my knee. I can't stand on it for long periods of time. I can't bend it more than 90 degrees, except in PT.

I can't go back to the gym until mid to late December. I should continue PT for at least the end of the year. And I need to go back to the doctor in two months.

After getting all that wonderful news at the doctor's office, we headed down to the blood lab. When we checked in they told us there was a 40 minute wait. But by some miracle we only waited 20 minutes. Today I have a nasty bruise from where they took blood - that happens sometimes.

This morning I got my blood test results. I know I am going to get calls from two doctors because some of them are way different than before. This means medication changes and doctor appointments.... Oh, joy. (No, nothing major but its just concerning when they change too much.)

So it was a good and bad day. But we went to the grocery store so we now have food to eat. I'll just wait to hear from my doctors.

Health Caused Limitatons

Over the years we all accumulate our health caused limitations. I have just a few. Due to thyroid cancer, I have no thyroid and am dependent on a daily pill for the rest of my life. And with any decongestant I have to ask the pharmacist if I can take them because they often say do not take if you have 'thyroid disease' so I need to clarify.

Breast cancer left with left arm lymphedema so no shots, blood pressure cuffs, IVs, or any pressure on my left arm. So when I had surgery last week, I had an IV on my right wrist and a blood pressure cuff above it.

I also have two bad knees, a bad back, bursitis in my hips, etc that try to slow me down.

But a royal pain in the ass is my knee brace. I am so limited right now in what I can do. I can't drive. My other knee has started hurting. I am stuck at home.  I am whiney and frustrated.

This too shall pass. I hope I get the green light to drive tomorrow and a different brace that actually fits.

But if its not one thing, its another. Our health conspires to limit us. We just need to ignore it and work around our limitations and keep going.

I just needed to whine. Sorry.

Number Nine

Surgery number nine was yesterday. I thought the surgeon was going to clean out my knee arthroscopically so it would no longer catch and lock up. That was a good idea.

Everything went as planned - including me being STARVING by the time we got there at 1pm after not eating since the night before - until I woke up after surgery. That's when I found out the bad news.

Well its a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that the surgeon fixed my knee so it will no longer catch - which is amazingly painful when it happens. The bad news is the repair is more complicated than the original plan. Instead of a clean out, he repaired my meniscus. This surgery is not usually done on people over 25 but I think since the tear was where it was repair was better than removal. However, recovery is four to five MONTHS instead of four to five WEEKS. A 'minor' difference.

And I have a giant brace I need to keep on all the time except when showering (and I can't shower until tomorrow). This brace is so big it doesn't tighten up around my leg except near my knee. And, and, and, and, and, and,.....

This isn't the best picture but I took it lying in bed with my leg out straight in front of me. You will notice the TED stocking I am supposed to wear every day as well. Its still drying from when I washed it last night. It might take a few more hours to dry.

I will say this is the first surgery that I woke up to a 'surprise' since Number One in 1981 where it turned out it wasn't a 'goiter' and was 'thyroid cancer'. But that doesn't matter. This just sucks.

However, there is plenty of ice cream in my freezer. My husband is home for the next four days straight to take care of me. I can weight bear because of the stupid ass brace and my cane so I can get around pretty easily on the one floor of our house. The cat even slept on my knee last night (as he likes too) which was okay because of the brace so he didn't squish me.

Can you hear me being grumpy already? I have to double check when I can drive because its my right knee. And the pain level is fine. I already have pain meds and can take them when I want but I only needed one last night and am okay so far today. I think I need to get more ice to put on my knee. Crabbiness may prevail for the next few days.

Aggravated, Frustrated, And More

Yesterday I had lunch with two friends who I have known for a very long time. One since the 1970s and the other since the 1980s. While I have sensed over the years they do not understand what I am going through. Yesterday revealed the truth. They do not have a clue. I was so aggravated when I left lunch and I woke up aggravated about it this morning. They were insensitive, self centered, and ignorant of my limitations.

I made a lunch reservation and had hoped to be there first so I could get a table with chairs and not a padded bench, which can sometimes be difficult for my back. As my friend, A, was already seated, I decided I wasn't going to make a big deal out of it as the bench seemed okay at first.

We chit chatted a few minutes waiting for B to show up. She was late. She is always late. She is incapable of getting anywhere on time. I find this very frustrating because I am limited to how long I can be out with my health issues. She doesn't get it.

When B showed up, she told us why she was late: she did text us as she was about to leave but then she had to put everything in her car. Then she realized she forgot her phone so she went back. Finally she realized that she forgot her laptop and, as she was going to work after lunch, she would have to go back and get it. And every statement she makes she knocks her hands on the table so it makes it shake which hurts my back. I just sit with my hands off the table. She always bangs around.

Lunch was very good. We took our time so we could chat and catch up. We split a dessert and kept yakking away, with the table being pounded on by both. I think they do it without realizing it.

A few statements were made by them: 'She (a relative of a friend) must be very sick because she takes 20 prescriptions'. (I have that many, or more). 'Why doesn't your back get better?' (For how many decades do we need to talk about this?)

Eventually, after almost 2 hours, I said something about my back hurting. B said 'I thought we were going to have a nice long lunch'. How long is a long lunch - 5 hours? Then A pulled out a set of probably 50 pictures to show us, in great detail, one by one, with descriptions.

Finally I just said I have to go because my back is killing me. I made a point of standing up. But then we had to stop so the hostess could take a group picture of us..... Arghhhh. I just needed to get in my car and its supportive, contoured car seat, with no more vibration from the table.

What upsets me the most is that they just do not understand. They claim to be some of my oldest friends but have no idea of what I deal with day to day. I do not expect my friends to keep up with every detail of my health. I just want them to have a general understanding of my health and that I have many limitations. And that I am not getting better anytime soon.

What this means in the end, I will not spend as much time with them in the future. If they can't realize that I have limitations and am not very helpful. I don't think they are my friends any more.

How Did I Get So Lucky?

Somehow I got the 'lucky' card in the health department. Somewhere in my genes I ended up with the crapshoot of everything. I do know I have my mother's bad back and Rheumatoid Arthritis but I also got my father's hair (which is still not completely gray at 89). But the rest of it, I have no idea.

So I always look for hints of how I could have gotten these lovely ailments. Then  find an article that asks 'Can Trauma Cause Fibromyalgia?' But I am not so sure I understand how it would help me. They list:

"The traumatic experiences that are usually correlated with fibromyalgia are the following:

• Certain types of viruses like Hepatitis C and HIV
• Childhood separation from parents that lasts more than six months.
• Emotional Trauma
• Living through a war"

I have not had Hep C or HIV. I was not separated from my parents for more than six months as a child. I have not personally lived through a war. However maybe emotional trauma could be from the PTSD of cancer twice could be a cause?

Maybe I am clutching at straws here, as I often do, but wouldn't it be nice to know how I got so lucky. Its a lot of frustration. And aggravation.

Cancer Prevention (Or Why Me?)

I have a feeling I am bit cynical these days. This morning I found a post by Dana Farber's Insight blog on cancer prevention tips, which caught my cynical eye.

I was 19 when I was first diagnosed with cancer. Okay, I admit to smoking some by then but I wasn't much of a drinker until I got to college (!!). I was pretty active. I was young. Any bad habits didn't have much time to turn into a cancer, or so I think. 

Then by my second diagnosis, 26 years later, I might have had a few more bad habits but I was pretty active and got check ups, wore sun screen and in good shape. 

This is my family history of cancer: one grandfather got prostate cancer, the other one got gall bladder cancer, and one of my mother's cousins had breast cancer in the 1970s and is fine. (Considering my mother had forty something cousins, that's not a bad record.) 

So what happened? Why me? Why was I the one to be diagnosed with cancer? Twice? 

As for all my other ailments, my mother has had a bad back for years and also has rheumatoid arthritis. No one else has anything like I have. My father, in his late 80's, has been known to call me and ask questions about upcoming medical procedures because I have had way more than him. I ask again, why me? I am a bit cranky about this. Still. I mean why did I end up with this medical history? 

Do you see what I am saying? How did I end up with my medical history when I am surrounded by a family of healthy people? 

Its very frustrating when you follow the rules and still end up with all the medical crap. And I really don't understand what I can do to prevent more cancer - once you have a cancer diagnosis, your risk for future cancers greatly increases. Grrr.

I Am Aggravated

My body is not cooperating. It keeps on bringing areas to my attention that are not cooperative, i.e., causing pain or other discomfort. I am not happy about this. I am already in PT for one area of the body that has expanded to a second area. I am going back to the knee doctor on Monday to talk about my formerly 'good' knee which is causing way too many issues. My 'bad' knee isn't going to be a good substitute for it.

Also, my fatigue levels are not doing me any favors. I was so tired this afternoon that I didn't put away the groceries - except for the most perishable - and left them for my husband so I could go lie down.

This does not make me happy. The roller coaster of cancer is bad enough, actually it probably the worst. But the fatigue and pain roller coaster isn't much better. I am not coping well. I am whining.

And it snowed twice this week and we are due for more snow Monday and Wednesday of next week. This makes me less happy and more aggravated. Its time for my body to suck it up and get back in lie.

Germ Exposure and Common Sense

I had a great craft fair on Saturday. I had a table at a busy craft fair and had some great sales. Between sales I chatted with the women in the booth next to me. Both our booths were set up so that we squeezed behind them on the same side. They had several friends stop by and chat with them for a bit.

One woman pushed right up front to talk to them behind their booth, with her cold and told them loudly that she had a bad cold and then about one of her chemo patients who had also stopped by the booth earlier in the day. She sneezed a couple of times while there as well.

I was appalled that she was out at a craft show with her cold. She had shoved into the booth with her germs and sneezed on people. And she was a chemo nurse and treated patients while sick.

And she sneezed on me. With my compromised immune system.

I know, I know that I am the one with the compromised immune system that is way more susceptible to germs than the average person. I know that I am also the one who goes out in public and increases my risk of being exposed to germs. But I do expect that most people will have the common courtesy and common sense of staying home when they have a cold.

I used to work with a guy who would come to work when he was sick. And he didn't seem to care if he shared his germs. I finally complained about him because if I got a cold I would be sick for two weeks.

Yesterday I was supposed to go to a friend's funeral but I woke up feeling like I was coming down with a cold. That meant for me I had to stay home to rest and hope I don't get really sick. Grrr. And I missed the funeral.

Where is the common sense in the world these days? Keep your germs at home please.

I Think I Should Go Back To Bed

Sometimes the day just doesn't start off right.

• Somehow my laptop screen is cracked. It was fine last night.  I have no idea how this happened. I can order a new one and have it home waiting for me when we get back. (I get to use my husband's in the meantime.)
• I get an email that says people with RA have lower cancer survival rates. Need I say more?
• We are at the beach and its cloudy. Where's the sun?

All reasons to go back to bed....

I Just Want Some Sleep

I keep getting these awful muscle cramps. They have gotten more and more prevalent over the past few months. Sometimes the little tiny muscles on the side of my pinky finger start to go into spasm.... they may be tiny but they can cause a lot of pain. Other times its my hamstrings - both at once (just for added fun), or the front of my calf, or the bottom of my heel. Whenever it is, I stop doing whatever it was I was doing (sleeping, reading, walking, etc) and be in pain until it decides to loosen up. I often try moving around and a little massage. Sometimes I am still achy wherever it hurt for a while longer.

I asked my pain management doctor and he said its when muscles are overworked they can go into spasm. So what was I doing when I was sleeping that was overworking my calf?

I asked my rheumatologist about this and she asked me about how much water I drink (lots), how much fresh fruit and vegetables (at least one banana a day), and more. She said it could be some kind of imbalance but did have me get my iron levels checked (they were normal). I see my primary care in about a month so it will be a bigger discussion then.

All I know is I have enough problems getting a good night's sleep without waking up two or three times with muscle cramps. Grrr.... grrr.... grrr....

I'm Aggravated

I have decided I am very aggravated with my health. It drives me crazy. I would be lying if I didn't say that.

I would be much happier if I didn't have so many issues. I would be happier if I wasn't in pain. I would be happier if I was able to sleep better. I would be happier if I could do everything that I used to be able to do. I would be happier if I had never had cancer, twice. Or RA or fibromyalgia.

Did you know having any one of these cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, can cause depression along with everything else? Many people who have a single one of these diseases get diagnosed with depression. So yes, I can say also that I am treated for depression on top of everything else.

So what do I do? How do I cope? People say to me 'I don't know how you do it'. I think 'do what?'. I don't do anything special. I get up every morning and deal with my life. I can't do anything else. There is nothing else. What do you think I should do? This is also aggravating.

Basically I put one foot in front of the other each day. I may be aggravated but I am still here despite my health. Life could be easier but it isn't. I have to cope with the hand I have been dealt in life.

Aggravations

My little world is feeling very aggravated this morning. First of all my damn laptop is having way too many technical issues. I have been working on it for days. It keeps running too slow. It is running a little faster but still has hiccups. I need to pull some more tricks out of my sleeve to fix it.

Also, my damn prescriptions are aggravating me. A few weeks ago, I had prescription issues when it took weeks to get one filled. Last Tuesday I called in another prescription and today I had to call again... I have 1, yes ONE, pill left. Which means I have until tomorrow at about 6 pm before I completely run out. Just damn aggravating.

Then I read in this morning's paper (yes I read the paper newspaper every day - the comics are better in the paper than online, and if you don't read the comics, life would be too boring) about how many unvaccinated children there are these days.

Who knew that most children do not get their vaccinations before their second birthday? Vaccinations are one of the greatest advances in modern medicine and people don't get their kids vaccinated. I don't get this. People who stop eating fast food to be healthier but then don't get their kids vaccinated? They would have their children's best interest at heart if they got the shots.

I just don't understand this. Its the same for people who go macrobiotic and skip going to the doctor. Maybe I'm just good and aggravated already before I read the paper

Technical Difficulties

I hate technical difficulties. One of my main responsibilities at work is IT support for the company. I troubleshoot, set up computers, install software, and more. I also help friends with their computers as well. Therefore I hate it when I have technical difficulties.

Right now my laptop is in ICU at the local computer store. The preliminary diagnosis is that the plug where the power cord from the wall outlet plugs in has died. The laptop didn't recognize the AC adapter so I couldn't charge the battery, and if you moved it a tiny bit (or not at all), it would lose contact with the AC adapter and shut down. Not fun and basically made the computer unusable.

I will know in a couple of days if its an affordable, sensible, repair. The laptop is 3 years old so it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money on it. And I really do not want buy a new computer right now. Nor is it backed up (which is a cardinal rule in the IT world).

In the meantime, I am using my phone and tablet for technology. Its okay but not great. Yes I can access the internet and my email but the on screen keyboard is a PITA. And all my files are on the laptop so I can't take care of some volunteer work. Nor do I have all computer programs that I use regularly.

But its not health related and it is aggravating. Grrrr.

I need to whine!

I'll just say that the best part of my day yesterday was calling my brother at 730 am and finding out he was on the west coast and it was 430 am. Sibling rivalry lives.

 This was my day yesterday:

Monday afternoon my phone would not work. I figured it has a dead battery (not an unusual situation for me) and I'll let it charge overnight and it will be fine. Tuesday morning it would not boot up. I tried everything. Finally I resorted to Google and found I could download a utility which would help me reset my phone (and since it was backed up, it didn't matter). But it took 45 minutes to download and install. Then I got a fail message. So I said GRRR (and WTF) and figured I would deal with it later. I unplugged my phone and it worked.

I got to work. We are about to get new paint, cubes, desks, and carpeting so everything is a bit chaotic. I carefully had packed up my office and desk and marked four boxes as being needed for my desk during all the chaos. There were only three boxes. And after some looking and research, it turns out my boss threw out my most important box (even though it was labeled). He did help me look through the recycling dumpster and we found about half of what I needed.

Then I couldn't connect to the f****ng internet. I tried everything I could and gave up and called our outside IT guy. He said he would be there in an hour and it then took about 30 seconds to fix it. (Why he couldn't walk me through that on the phone I have no idea.)

So finally I could get online and to the server, but I couldn't print. Because the person who was supposed to order toner for the main office printer a month ago, didn't because (a) she doesn't care, she has her own printer; and (b) see above. She apologized and said I could email her anything I needed printed. Half an hour later, I asked again and she hadn't even looked at her email because she (just found out she needed to pack her office and) had been busy packing up her desk. But the toner was due to arrive today and then she got an email saying it was back ordered so I guess she will be printing for all of us again tomorrow. And no I don't care if we all piss her off because she didn't order the damn toner a month ago.

Then I get to sit at my desk and get some work done. My boss stopped by and said he would see me next week. I said no I will be here Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday because I have way too much to do. He was surprised because apparently its a slow work week and he didn't think I would have much to do. My work level does not correlate to how busy or slow sales are. I'm marketing and IT so I always have something to do.

And then the cats pulled a dead mouse out of the kitchen cabinets. It was in a trap and my husband hasn't been checking them as often as he should. I did not need to see a dead mouse when trying to cook dinner.

My plan is that today will be a better day. I will not have to put on my cranky pants and be a b***h to everyone again. I also think that my health recently has not been cooperative so that I tend to over react to everything. I also do really like my job and my boss. Usually he is very nice and understanding. Yesterday it was just too damn much!

Deep breath. It will be better. And I can always claim too much pain from something and need to leave work for the day.

Pharmacies decide when you can get your prescriptions

Yesterday I went to the pharmacy to pick up two refills for me and get my husband's prescription filled. No such luck. I got one prescription refilled. The other one is too soon according to the pharmacist. And my husband's was also too soon. As I was actually speaking with the pharmacist who I have spoken with several times in the past (because I am a frequent flyer at the local pharmacy), I decided to ask more questions.

I found out that most national chain pharmacies make their own rules as to when you can pick up a prescription. At Walgreen's, where I was, and at CVS, you can only pick up some prescriptions, of medications subject to abuse, the day before or the day they are needed. Rite Aid, I was told, allow you to pick it up two days prior. You can't pick them up sooner. And if you are going on vacation and want to pick up a prescription early you need to show a plane ticket or something. This isn't a law or anything this is a rule the chains have developed.

Really? How non-customer focused! This is a huge example of poor customer service. From the store's point of view, the customer has to come back to the store for each prescription (unless they can be perfectly timed to be picked up together) and potentially purchase other items.

But from the customer's point of view, with poor health probably, multiple store visits at the company's convenience are not so good. I have options here. I can switch my prescriptions to mail order where they are more lenient on prescription dates as they have to allow for shipping time.

I completely understand the issue of substance abuse, fake prescriptions and all that. But this is a bit too strict in my eyes. I can understand if its a new prescription or a new customer should be made to wait. An existing customer who gets their prescriptions filled regularly should not have to deal with this.

I have always believed that it was the insurance companies and laws that were the basis for determining when you could pick up your prescription. Not stupid company policies. Sorry I am not a fan of these. Maybe its time to write to the corporate offices to complain.

Brainless people

I strongly believe that everyone's brains disintegrated when faced with two feet or more of snow. I had to run a bunch of errands yesterday and numerous times, people just came to a stop in the middle of the road. No turn indicators, nothing. Just a complete stop.

Now that the streets are a bit on the skinny side, there is no where to go but wait behind them. Until a fire truck comes blazing away in the opposite direction when we all drove into the snow banks.

I have no idea why this happened but it did. Several times. Enough to drive me crazy. I had a lovely day otherwise. I got a crown finished at the dentist and was told I have oral sloughing where the inside of your mouth is slowly disintegrating. The dentist thought it was due to some ingredient in my dental care products. But not for me.

A little Webmd search lead me to believe it could be caused my my RA treatment. Later I ended up at my rheumatologist where we talked about my feet and my lungs. My hands and feet are better in the terms of less active disease.

But we talked about the weird sloughing which lead to increased folic acid which led to new prescriptions which led to not being refilled which led to 20 minutes on the phone with the specialty pharmacy to find out it will now cost $35 for a one month supply and then $95 for a three month supply for 3 pills a week. It used to cost less than $5 for a four month supply. I love health insurance. It is clearly run by brainless people.

But I digress. There was an extreme lack of brain usage on the part of many people during our recent blizzard. The headline is the 61 year old woman who attacked her neighbor with a snow blower and is out on bail. Apparently all her neighbors have restraining orders against her.

I finished my day and was exhausted. I got up this morning and immediately went back to bed. I rolled out of bed at 11am. Obviously I was exhausted after dealing with brainless people all day.