Follow
Share
Read More
Send,
I had a "thing" come over me just about 2 years ago. Out of the blue, I became extremely anxious, unable to calm down, unable to get to sleep and stay asleep, had crying jags, got upset at the drop of a hat and I lost 2 quarter sized (circular) patches of hair on the left side of my head. Luckily the top hair covers it. It has never grown back.

I went to a therapist, who sent me to a psychiatrist, who prescribed "zombie" pills (no thanks), so I told myself, " Nurse, heal thyself."
I went to my regular doctor, who ordered cream for the hair problem, then a referral to a dermatologist. She shot something into the bald spots. It hurt (stinging) so bad I was crying (I can take a lot of pain.) She was completely confused by that. "It should not be that painful", she said.
I was to make another appointment with her but never did. I went home and read the bottle of cream medicine ordered by the PCP. He ordered it to be applied every day but, when I looked it up, I should only have been using it twice a week!!
No wonder the shots hurt-the area was super -sensitized by the cream.

I've never tried anything else. Guess I've learned to live with it.

My hairdresser says she sees a LOT of this happening from stressed out women.

I never noticed the hair in my brush or comb....one day it was just gone. The skin at those areas is a different texture, almost sticky (without drainage) since this skin has been protected by hair all its life.

The crazy anxiety period lasted about 3 months then went away as mysteriously as it came.
Maybe alien invasion 👽 !
Haha. Hubby is sure glad "it's" gone.

Doc also prescribed Ativan (Lorizapam 1 mg.) 1hour before bed now on the nights before I work the next day, so I can get to sleep and stay that way until the dredded alarm goes off. ⏰

Good luck. I hope it's nothing serious.
(3)
Report

Thank you all for your response about the falling out hair!
Katie, that very same cyst was getting re-tested everytime, until the docs referred me to a surgeon and I said "No". Now, the results almost look like an apology, "Upon further evaluation, there is no change, no reason for re-testing".
Becky, If this keeps up I may need to try a hair product, hoping it works even if the stress doesn't let up.
Dorianne, Soon, I will be finding a new doctor.

My diet is good, as in well-balanced. But, maybe I should try going back to eating more chocolate, since that has been a recent change in trying to eat better. Heh heh, diagnosis is........lack of sufficient c h o c o l a t e in diet.!!! ????
When I get older, if needing a pureed diet, sure hope there will be chocolate puree!
Especially, if I am bald by then, there must be chocolate.

I hope to have caregivers like MsMadge or Luckylu who will sneak some in to me.
We all would be so lucky!
(1)
Report

Yes, there is pureed chocolate! Of course all the pureed desserts all just become a bowl of "pudding" but we've had brownies and chocolate cake as well as every kind of pie and cookie.
(2)
Report

Dorianne, last year I found a wonderful upholstered bench with curved upholstered top sides that was sitting curbside for the trash pickup... the owners had a yard sale a few weeks prior, and had moved out. One side of that bench was shredded from the owner's cats, but the other side looked perfect. I loved the pattern.

That bench now sits in front of my bay window and is the perfect height to allow the cats to jump up onto the bench then into the window :)

I also bought antiques over the years. I call it "early attic style" and just love how these items look, if only the furniture could talk to tell me about their previous owners. I would find an item but had to go home to think about it, then go back couple weeks later to the antique store to look at it again. If I had that gut feeling this is the item I really wanted, then I would purchase. Gosh, I can't recall the last time I bought brand new furniture.

My neighbors get new furniture delivered by a fancy truck, my furniture comes in the back of my Jeep or a pickup truck :) I just enjoy the hunt. I use to go to auctions to look for the deal of the century but would come home empty handed.

I believe one piece of furniture is haunted. Had 2 older female cats that would cry big time going down the hallway past the 1800's library table. My most recent adopted older cat, she runs full speed past that table :P My older male cat ignores it.
(2)
Report

Two dear ladies have died recently at the NH, what I find especially sad is that they continued to bring both of them into the dining room right up until the day before they died. JL must have had a horrific fall and her appearance was pitiful, but L just sat with her head down when I was in at mealtime, I assume she wasn't eating at all. The thing is everybody there talks about dignity and compassion but where was that for these two women? Those with more experience than I must have known they were transitioning to EOL, what was the point in subjecting them to that?
(5)
Report

That makes me sad too,CWillie.
Maybe the NH gets paid for every headcount at the table daily.
Dignity, once again, assaulted.
(4)
Report

Here is just a minor stressor.
The water was shut off today, without notice. The city might have been working in the area. Hubs knows, but he doesn't say anything to me. So, I am stuck, without a plan.
He kindly, but secretly, puts a gallon of tap water (we had stored) next to the toilet.
(for flushing).
What is this gallon of water doing here?
He explains, but too late.
It barely made any difference, so when he went outside, I am pouring bottled water down the toilet, all two gallons of it, until it flushes, finally.
But wait, how do I wash my hands?
He would be critical knowing I wasted "bottled water", just once, for sanitation reasons.

Stressor over.
(4)
Report

Today I got my "you may be eligible for Social Security Benefits!" letter. Boy, I feel very old now.
(7)
Report

Uh oh. The water is off again.

Congratulations Barb!
You now have the opportunity for a personal relationship with SS, where they will now try their best to limit your benefits, seize your benefits, deny your benefits, cut back your benefits, penalize your benefits, and stop your benefits altogether! imo.

Respond to all that correspondence you will be receiving within 10 days, or you will lose your benefits.

Keep in mind, that they are just trying to help you, whenever you receive one of their threatening letters. imo.  You MUST tell them first, from now on, if you move, change banks, change marital status, and just about e v e r y t h i n g  else,  including traveling outside the U.S. for a certain period of time.

imo.
(3)
Report

Oh Barb, I am anxiously waiting for a letter from Social Security. It's not coming fast enough.

I had to remind myself the other day to enjoy the here and now instead of always looking toward retirement day (3 years, 9 months away).
I'm tired of commuting, tired of getting up at 5 am, and just plain tired.

Maybe I'll feel more renewed after our vacation in May.
(4)
Report

I'm not retiring this year, but I guess I have to respond and tell them to keep my money on ice for another couple of years.
(5)
Report

I worked and kept mine on ice as long as possible - turned out well.
(4)
Report

PJ and I both are putting it off. Hoping to make it to 72. Four more years. I think it will be worth the wait. PJ has en drawing his NFL. No upside on waiting for it. The way it works is the longer you play the more you make. Most people don’t play long enough to even be eligible - plus based on salary you made. Joe Montana gets $24,000 + percmonth - can you imagine? oJ Simpson is about $16,000 a month.
(0)
Report

cwillie, I agree with you about dignity. I think some of these nursing homes are so rahrah proactive about involving residents that they miss the point about resident's dignity.There comes a point when the person is not getting anything out of the situations they are put into, whether it is bingo night or just sitting at a dinner table. When my Mom was in rehab and not getting better, or hospitalized, they kept telling us she will recover and live in her own home on her own again at 92. She declined to the point where she could not walk and was bedridden in my home within months of them telling us that. They pushed and pushed the rehab until Mom said enough! Until the hospice people came on board the push to rehab was a nightmare. They don't understand dignity, it seems, nor do they seem to understand end of life symptoms.
(3)
Report

Becky, your first line about "hoping we make it to 72" came up in the side bar on my News Feed and made my eyes pop. Very glad to see you're only talking about pre-retirement!
(2)
Report

My whine for the day.... this morning I posted a long new discussion and had placed spaces between the paragraphs... and it posted the same way.


Well, I just checked on my post, and it was all crunched together making it hard to read :P


Wonder if that was a software hiccup, or maybe we need to triple space now. No wonder there are so many run on new postings. For me, it makes it hard to read, I tend to lose my place.... [sigh].
(3)
Report

This morning, dH is making coffee.
It was on when I checked, but there was no carafe placed.

His behavior has changed, symptoms are getting worse.
Do we just wait and see?
Take him to the beach?

Wondering now, what kind of doctor does he need to see?
Or?
(3)
Report

How are things, today, Send?
(1)
Report

Dh had trouble getting home from a bike ride at the stated time.
He has been fed, and is sleeping now. I ate too, a very good meal.
Tender round steak, baked potato, salad.

He will continue his routine, working on power-point tonight, church tomorrow, sleeping from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

I am standing by.  Thank you for asking, MsMadge!

How are things with you?  Chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla?
(2)
Report

My whine for the day. It is very depressing reading many of the questions asked by caregivers about what to do with the old sick relatives, especially about their narcissistic elders making their lives h3ll. Sometimes, I can't even finish reading the posts because I would get too upset. I can't stand those narcissistic geezers.
(3)
Report

Up at 4 am. Just can't sleep. Worrying about too many things, is my MIL's rapid decline going to go on for years like my Mom's did, am I doomed to stay in the area where I live, who is going to bury me if hubby goes first, etc. Awful! To make matters worse, The Bully next door won an extended seat on the condo board. I know this is just so he can do whatever he wants around here. He has already done major landscaping changes without permission, and then they go and elect him because he does renovation and repair work. This way he can undercut any other bidders for jobs. He needs the money to live in here and the evil board needs a schlep to do the work cheaper. He is already terrorizing certain neighbors though they have to sign something that claims they won't harass other board members or each other.....rules don't apply to him. The board can't be trusted, all they do is yell at residents when they ask questions at meetings. Not the way residents should be treated. Maybe I should go back to bed, but I have already downed coffee and need to get ready for the visit to MIL and all we will encounter there....
I hope everyone's day goes better, and hope for much strength for all caregivers!
(4)
Report

Katie corruption in homeowner's boards is quite common. My state there is a state level agency that oversees them exactly for that reason. You may check into it.
(3)
Report

Katie, In some places you can contact the state ConsumerProtection Agency on matters regarding HOA's. As Glad stated some of them are quite corrupt.
(2)
Report

I am furious...way beyond whine level. At the time I got whacked on the head by the nutty lady, I was told by the court that she had agreed to permanent placement in the state mental institution. Her mother left a message on PJ's office answering machine that there is a hearing on Tuesday to see if she can be released. She said she has a patient advocate who has gotten a psychiatrist to write a report that she is suitable for release. Am I going to have to spend my life looking over my shoulder for that woman? I already have sleep issues. I'm sure this isn't going to help matters.
(6)
Report

Becky,
Beyond not good.
These types don’t exactly respect restraint orders do they?

Can you fight her release?
(2)
Report

Becky- That is so unfortunate. So sorry.
(2)
Report

Becky, are you and your lawyer going to the hearing, or just your lawyer with the Neuro reports?

If she's going to be released from the psych hold, shouldn't the prosecution for assault be reinstated?
(5)
Report

Glad and Becky, Thanks for the advice on the Consumer Protection Agency on matters regarding HOA's. This used to be a nice place but has now changed and become a hostile environment. Our goal is to move at some point, if we can find a place or when Hubby retires. We can't leave the area because we have MIL right now, who lives 40 min. away.

Becky, I hope you can somehow get a restraining order on this woman. I wonder if she even remembers what she did? I am hoping for the best.
(2)
Report

I agree with Barb's question. If they release her from psych hospital I would think they would start the prosecution for the assault again, after all it was to get her help in the hospital which they are now ending with her release...
(3)
Report

My lawyer called the courthouse, state mental health institute, and the county prosecutor's office. There is a hearing tomorrow morning. She is petitioning for release. She can ask every six months. The prosecutor says they have a local psychiatrist who has seen her every 2 weeks and his evaluation is that she needs permanent placement in a locked ward. The second psychiatrist is from the state prosecutor's office and he believes she should be permanently placed.

Her mother and some other family members and a bank trust department officer are in the process of cutting her out of family trust. There is a clause in the trust that say she can be cut out for diminished mental capacity or criminal behavior. The prosecutor says that not having any money to support herself will also be a negative mark for her. PJ says in the Mom's voicemail she sounded terrified that she might get out. Her mother, sister and other family are scared of her.

I can go to the hearing, but I don't think I am going to. I never want to see her again.

Be relieved for it to be over tomorrow.
(5)
Report

Start a Discussion
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter