Grossed out and need to vent—I just caught Mom using my toothbrush to comb her hair!

Deefer -why can't they come and get their own stuff if it were me that is what would happen or the trashcan or put the stuff near the road someone always needs what I want to get rid of GP hope you are feeling better Pirate before you get dish ask neighbors how it works for them my Mom has it and if it rain it does not work it is ok for her she only watches the local news and weather but I would not want to be watching a good movie and lose the picture and sound-it is a lot cheaper,

Pirate, I'm here!!! (As always...)

deef, I agree with Austin...Let'em come get their own stuff, if they want it!!! You're too nice!

Linda, HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!

Always & Pirate, I just buy mom micowave dinners now & steam-in-bag veggies. I had the same experience with cooking for her. "The parent that can't be pleased". Her apt. building has a grocer that comes with a truck so I regularly have to remove sweets that she buys from him. I am tempted to let her do away with herself diet wise but restrain myself & remove the bad stuff. She gets even more unreasonable when her blood sugar is whacked, and I certainly don't need that.

Kathy, RE cleaning a lifetime of stuff: Hub & I spent 3 yrs cleaning my dad's place just so mom could sell it. Having both parents hoarders is a nightmare. Just pick away at it when you can....all you can do. I've worn out two shredders on mom's stuff alone. She kept tax records all the way back to the 1940s!!!!! No organization whatsoever, the Marines would call it a "cluster f___", and believe me it is. I wish you all the patience & stregnth you need to do it.

GP, Hope you're all better real soon. Hope it's not the Welbutrin and the UTI never returns. Holding urine too long when you need to go can also create UTI problems? Sometimes a toilet just isn't available, but if you can.....Kepp that cranberry & tomato products flowing. You may want to have some yogurt the last few days of the antibiotics too. Ever since mom had that trouble with Cdiff (horrible intestinal), I ALWAYS have yogurt the last few days (not taking any chances).

Linda, A Very Happy Anniversary to you & your hub. You can delay your celebration dinner until you are ready.....even next month, but by all means celebrate when you can!!!!!!

Rip, How do you get the dogs & cats to help you clean???? Mine just runs interferance! lol. The outside critters are driving him nuts today...HA HA HA HA HA. Retribution for the bad kitty!!!! lol

Love & best to all.

Hi everybody! I am working like crazy I am drinking gallons of coffea. I went picking my friend's son at the airport and we are both alive and well. I'm soooo tired. I follow your stories and hope that you are better, when I write this post.
'nite

Castoff, Yep I have a lot of frozen dinners too...and it went from one kind to another. First she wants it and then she doesnt want it. My mom won't eat veggies at all any more. Once and a while she will ask for some fruit only bannana or apricot. So I let her to her own devices..heck she's 86 let her have what she wants. I got rid of all the chocolate she had stashed..some of it had moths...gross.

Yep hoarders mine was good at packing everything away. I found SOOOOOOO MUCH AVON BRAND NEW IN THE PACKAGES. I packed up a lot of it and gave it to the Thrift shop. Tons of colognes never used or opened...all I can say is what a waste of money. I have so much to go through. I go through a little at a time. I bought some new curtains for my old bedroom and for both bathrooms and some new rug sets for both bathrooms. Geez throw in a couple of outdoor cushions and that was 169 bucks at Anna's Linens. But I ironed out the curtains for my old bedroom and put them up..so pretty and white and lacey with rose insets...geezus each flipping package was around 12.99 for these curtain sets (valance - tiers - and the other long piece I cannot remember name to). I ironed out the new curtains for the middle bathroom - I was afraid to put them up so the caregiver or my mom could ruin them somehow...but so far so good. I may just do the master bedroom bathroom curtains....crossing fingers shit will not fly up that high!!!!! I am not going to put the rug sets out between the two of them they will ruin them...so waiting till later when it is safe. LOL!

hey Castoff ..
I think my pets want me to clean! Too many memories with all the 'stuff'.
Much of it was from the ex & the sign shop which burned. I started the business before computers so have lots of ancient "antique" equipiment.

Anyone know what an ElectroPounce is? It's an electric pen that burns tiny, repetitive holes into paper . Much like a pounce wheel for sewing.
You trace a projected pattern & then rub with charcol providing a pattern on the material ready to paint. Can be reused many times.

One sign guy was high on drugs & stuck it in his mouth! Every industry has it's stories. He lived to make many beautiful signs but was tough to have a conversation with after the ZAP!

The pets sure bring in the dirt & mud. It's been raining for days in Seattle! We aren't ready for winter so they are in & out - in & out - muddy little paw prints on my clean floor ...
Bless their little hearts! They choose the garden toilet rather than a litterbox.

My life is so interesting ... dredging out so much stuff.
I was watching Hoarders yesterday which really gave me incentive!
My stuff isn't quite trash, most is valuable in the right hands.
I need more hands!
Anyone ready to move to dreary Seattle & restart a fun sign/design business?
I have the equipment, materials & the imagination! Dad is easy company!

Austin...well here in Cali it does not rain so much. My b/f has Dish and he has never told me it was out...but also he is always at my house too...LOL!

castoff, I feel like the Enegizer Bunny...I keep going & going & going...LOL! I hope it's not the Welbutrin, too! I hate the thought of having to start on another med without knowing the side effects. I'm still drinking a lot & already eating yogurt to counteract the antibotic...hopefully!

Pirate, glad that you got some new pretties! They do really sound like pretty curtains!

rip, how funny about the ZAP! Hope the guy wasn't hurt. You're so smart to get your house cleaned out! I need to, but no energy! Maybe tomorrow!

If I don't talk to you guys again tonight, I hope that everybody has an easy one without problems! I'm SO glad that we've all got each other,,,makes all of this a little easier! Thank you!

GP, I took Welbutrin for awhile. I don't remember frequent urination being a side effect. However, I lost weight and quit smoking at the same time when I was on it. It was good and bad. I didn't feel like eating. I can't remember if it was nausea or guilt feelings making me not want to eat. I have a major problem with guilt. Anyway, I may resort back to Welbutrin if I don't lose this weight I have put on. I hope you feel better VERY soon.

Good morning everyone!
Linda, Happy Anniversary! Make sure you get out to eat and have a nice time. 38 years for us this coming March. Goes by fast doesn't it?
Well, started off the last 2 mornings with Mom's furnace not working. No hot water! Had to call for service. Hope it just needs a cleaning and does
n't cost too much. Mom had her Parkinsons meds increased and has not been sleeping well. She is behaving much better, not going into the off state later in the afternoon. But it's keeping her from falling asleep and so you know what that means. When we saw the doctor last week, he couldn't believe her constant motion and figgiting . He said sometimes the Aricept causes agitation, especially with the other meds she is taking. So , I stopped the Aricept on Sunday, to see if it made a difference. Then last night, I switched out the Remeron for a Seroquel to see if it would help her sleep. She can't take that during the day. She's so dopey we can't handle her.
So she slept all night and was doing well this morning. the more days she is without the Aricept, the less figgity she is. I'll wait until next week and then call her doctors to let them know of the changes I made.
I'm the one who observes her 24/7, so they make suggestions and I try them then report back if I make a change. It is an ongoing battle trying to get the right combination of drugs to work best for them.
She's at daycare until 3, so laundry is going and I have to vacuum her apartment and wash the floors. Then I have a 1/2 hour drive to meet a friend for lunch. Called her this morning and she was crying. Had to have her car repaired and the bill is $2200. She's all alone and has no $, so I told her I would buy lunch.
Hope everyone is having a good day! See you all later. Kathy

Kathy, it sounds like you're doing a great job with your mom's meds. Yikes! No hot water! Have a wonderful lunch today. You're poor friend. :( I'm having lunch today to two friends I used to work with.

Have a wonderful day everyone!!

love,
miz

Hello all & happy Thursday,
Pirate, New curtains sound nice. Amazing how a small change in the atmosphere can help our perceptions. I get a "wild hair" every once & awhile & do a change up on decor here. It really lifts my spirits & I hope your's too. Doesn't need to be big. Someitmes I just wash all our white lace curtains & make them white again. lol. JC Penney catalog clearance is my favorite spot for curtains/drapes when I need.
Rip, "Shutup" gets pi__d when I change ANYTHING. He is quite the stick in the mud when it comes to his royal environment. You should see him pout when we pull out the backpacks for a hike day. Then he realizes it's NOT going to be an "all about him" day. Look out, cranky pants is in the building!!!!
GP, Good to hear you got your meds & on the recovery road.
Miz, Hope you have a lovely lunch & get some sweet rest.
Kathy, Soooo glad you found a good balance for your mom's meds. Hope all levels out & you get peace.
Tenn, Happy for you & daughter to have had such fun on the boat. You really needed & deserved that respite.
B321, Hope you & Nik are holding up OK.

Love & best to all.

Hey everybody! Hope y'all are having a great afternoon!

I need to, no HAVE to vent for a minute to hopefully get it out of my system, or at least try! I have been on the antibotic, now, for 3 days & am no better. Because of lack of insurance, the doctor, who had been my doctor for years, declined to keep me as a patient, although I never owed him any money! Anyway, because of that situation I had to start going to our county Health Department for medical treatment, which is where I went for the antibotics. You don't get to see a doctor, but a nurse or if it's REALLY bad, a nurse practioner. I go to another doctor, who is in with a mental health group that is funded by government grant money (I started going there because of the depression & because of a group therapy that they have for childhood sexual abuse survivors) & she is the one who prescribed the Wellbutrin.

At the Health Dept., on Tuesday, when I got the antibotic I told them about my concerns about the Wellbutrin being the cause of the UTI, as the info that I found online stated that less than 1% can get a UTI as a side effect from it. It's rare, but it does happen! I had to see the nurse that day & the nurse practioner didn't have the time to talk with me about it, but scheduled an appt. to discuss it on the 22nd. If it is the Welbutrin that is the culprit, then I would still be on the Welbutrin for another 2 weeks before even attemping to come off of it, which would mean in all likeliness that the UTI would reoccur & I would have even more time of being miserable & not sleeping!!!

I called the doctor's office today that prescribed the Wellbutrin & asked them if I could see the doctor today. They told me that they had a 2:00 cancellation & they would check with the doctor & get back with me to see if I could have that appt. Instead of the doctor agreeing to see me, her nurse called & said that the Wellbutrin would "in no way cause a UTI" & they wouldn't change the Wellbutrin!!! The more I thought about it the madder I got so I have called back & am waiting for them to return my call AGAIN to see what they say. They FINALLY agreed to look at the web-site that I found the information on regarding the side effects of Wellbutrin. It's: http://depression.emedtv.com/wellbutrin/wellbutrin-side-effects-p2.html in case any of you are interested.

I HATE having to jump through their hoops!!! I hate not having insurance & being made to feel like a second class citizen!!! I am SO tired from lack of sleep, now for SEVERAL days & am just plain p'ed off!!! I told my husband that if I didn't think I'd end up in jail that I'd go up there & discuss it in person!!! The heck with waiting on them to call when the doctor could have already met with me at 2!!! If there's any justice they'll all get a UTI this weekend, when the doctor's are off duty! LOL

I'm still taking the antibotics, the cranberry pills, drinking out the wazoo & eating my weight (& that's a lot) of yogurt!!! Also still taking the Wellbutrin until I know otherwise because I'm afraid to start going off it by myself. OH, guess who's off tomorrow...you guess it...the doctor!!! So it may be Monday before I hear anything!

Anyway, thank you for letting me vent! WHEW!!! Nope, still p'ed!!!

Georgia, can you go to another clinque or emergency room?

Castoff, these folks who want to glom all our precious time so we can wait hand and foot for them is simply amazing. I cannot concieve it in my head, but they think with different though processes. My mom has not let me have a Sunday off for the past 12 years. I want to go to the county fair and if I try to get her a babysitter (a caregiver - probably one she won't know as a backup)...she will have a fit...so will try to sneak out on a weeknight a night I have usually off from her. Can't bring up the subject or she will phone the house all night long if she sniffs that I may be out of the house. She has been doing this to me for the past 12 years. I couldn't even go shopping after work without a million phone messages where am I and many occasions some really vile messages, because she hated the thought I was out and about, not under her ruling...a sick mind eh!

You SHOULD be p*ssed!
Now I am, sister Kaye!
I looked up the antibiotic which I'd never heard of. From what I remember, UTI's were low on the list for treatment. With so many good meds, why this one? Did they take a sample?
I went to an ER is nowhere eastern Washington while on vacation. (over 20 years ago)
The kind doctor knew what I was dealing with & wrote out a script right then. Within an hour I was feeling so relieved!

Is there a nurse hot-line in Georgia?

Now I'm more motivated to clean out the extra bedroom for you.
Dad is phoning ... TV's screwed up.

later

Georgia, see if there is another clinque that you can go in and say that CIPRO is the only thing that helps you with UTI. Cipro knocks bladder infections out pretty quick...that reminds me I need to follow up with my mom's doc office on her follow up pee pee test myself..those arsewipes are getting worse with feedback. Hate that office! Be back later...

GP- What antibiotic did they put you on? Have you tried over the counter AZO that sometimes helps decrease the pain/irritation?

Gp, Yogurt is good when on antibiotics, but it also coats your stomach and meds are weakened by it if you take the pills at the same time. try to eat the yogurt a couple hours after you take the medecine. it might make a difference. Mom always gets Cipro because she is allergic to sulfa drugs, ie. penicillin. Hope you can resolve this, it can be pretty nasty.

rip, thank you!

kuli, the antibotic is Nitrofurantoin, which according to what I've found on the internet, & it's used for UTI's. Yes, I've tried AZO, but it didn't help. That's what I did all last weekend since the doctors offices/clinics were closed for the holiday weekend. When it didn't help, that's when I went to the Health Dept.

Pirate, the only other clinic that we have here is expensive & definately not in my budget. And without insurance they want $$ upfront! Good idea, just no bucks to go! I hate being broke! I'd love to try the Cipro, just don't know how to get it! At this point I'd try most anything!

deef, thanks for the info on the yogurt. I've been eating it before taking the antibotic so it wouldn't upset my stomach...I have a habit of getting nausous when I take meds if I don't eat something. That makes sense, though! When you're so tired, your mind just doesn't think straight sometimes!

castoff, thanks!

OK, now the rest of the story...Nurse finally called back & said the doc wants me to stay on the Wellbutrin & if I don't then she won't be my doctor anymore! She wouldn't even look up the web-site for the info! I'm supposed to start in a depression/anxioty group this next Tuesday at her office. I feel like I'm being blackmailed into staying on the WB or I lose my doctor & if she's not my doctor then I can't participate in any of the therapy there...What do I do??

My husband told me a little while ago that I wake him up when I go to the bathroom through the night so this isn't good for him, either!

Life bites & then it seems that it gets worse! I am just SO tired!!!

Thanks eveybody for all of your help & concern! I really do appreciate you!

Georgia, please don't let this be disrespectful, but maybe it might be menopausal stuff...ever look at the symptoms we gals get with this bodily mayhem. I don't sleep worth squat and I am up and down with mood swings due to periods...ack...so maybe scrap all of it and start with a clean slate? I don't know how old you are just guessing around the same age as the rest of us doing the caretaker thang. I hate for them to say that to you...doctors these days are quite something else. I would think they would want to sit with you and discuss all this with you.

Georgia,
Do you think the manufacturers of Wellbutrin are sponsering/subsidizing this depression/anxiety group you're going to on Tues? Stranger things have happened.

Georgia, What is the dosage of your med? The common name for it is macrdantin and Mom takes 50mgs every night for maintenance and prevention of UTIs. Pirate is right. I never had problems until menopause. Then it was UTIs, yeast infections and vaginal strep. Nothing ever feels right down there. Always feels like an infection or something. Just the nature of the beast, I guess. Mom took a larger dose of the macro for a UTI last year. When they cultured her urine, it was resistant to Cipro, which she always takes. That is when they put her on the macrodantin, a non sulfa drug. Did they culture your urine, or just give you the meds?

Georgia, What is the dosage of your med? The common name for it is macrdantin and Mom takes 50mgs every night for maintenance and prevention of UTIs. Pirate is right. I never had problems until menopause. Then it was UTIs, yeast infections and vaginal strep. Nothing ever feels right down there. Always feels like an infection or something. Just the nature of the beast, I guess. Mom took a larger dose of the macro for a UTI last year. When they cultured her urine, it was resistant to Cipro, which she always takes. That is when they put her on the macrodantin, a non sulfa drug. Did they culture your urine, or just give you the meds?

Pirate, that's a thought. I'm 48. I guess it could be menopausal. Never heard of a UTI being caused by that. Something to think about... I've asked them to do the blood test to see where my hormone levels are at, but was told no because since your hormones fluctuate the reading wouldn't be accurate. As ill butt as I'm getting these days, it's a real possibility, though! lol I'd LOVE to never have another period!!!

Always, I don't know if the manufactures of Wellbutrin are sponsoring the group sessions, but it is entirely possible. Of course they'd never tell me...especially now! Makes one think, doesn't it?!?!

deef, they did a culture & it was positive. It's 100mg 2X a day. I've had very few problems with UTI's ...haven't had one in years & the only time I've ever had a yeast infection was after taking an antibotic. Is this med helping your Mom? I hope so! I took the antibotic without the yogurt & will eat it later tonight & see if that helps...that was a really good thought!

I'm sorry that I'm being such a bear! I was just already so tired with the caregiving & then being up every 30 min to an hour through the night for almost a week, now, that it's about to get to me.

I haven't had anything to drink in over 20 years...husband is a recovering alcololic...but if I weren't on the Wellbutrin, I'd drink enough to blast the infection out & get some sleep, too! OOOooooo, that sounds SO good!!!

Thank you ladies, again, SO much!!! I can talk to you guys when I can't even talk to my own sisters or my Mother! You're the best!

Georgia, hmmm I don't know if you drink or not - how about a Cape Code....vodka and cranberry juice...kill two birds with one stone....LMAO!
(just buy one of them teensy 3 inch bottles at the liquor store...the kind they used to have on airplanes in the antique days of flying)

Pirate!
You remember the days when we could afford to fly & have a day or two off!
Sweet memories ...
I was tring to lower my car insurance rates & told my girlfriend adjuster that I hadn't filled up the gas tanks since June!
She almost cried!
Then we laughed! She hates her job!
I can't stray far from home with Dad living here.

I wonder how Bobbie is ....

Georgia, your stories with the antibiotics are incredible. We are in the 21st century. Is it possible you don't find a doctor which prescribes you an efficient antibiotic without having to pay him millions of dollars? It's just an antibiotic, sh*t!
Goodness. I'd like to put a bomb in their ass.
They would move a little bit faster, this way

Cape Code, huh?!?! Tempting...VERY tempting!!!

Our luminous Rossella returns!
How are you lady? Is the young lad with you or onto his journey?

The young lad is in Rome, enjoying life. He will stay at my brother's for some days, from tomorrow on. He is starting to take buses and undergrounds alone, so I can leave him by himself (and I hope I shall be able to get a little bit of sleep!)