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Book, rest, drink some water, take care of you.
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Ladee, Thanks. You're right that dad still has a say so in his life. You know how I feel about you. {{{HUGS}}}

We just had a short spat. I told him to find someone to replace me so that I can move out. He ordered me to move out - several times. I said that i will - as soon as he finds someone.

I dread work tomorrow. But I am soooo looking forward to going to work tomorrow. Anywhere is better than here.

Sometimes, I regret not agreeing to join baby sis and her family in Hawaii in February. I'm saving my 2 weeks vacation for the free ticket to Colorado Springs in the summer. Nothing against Colorado, but I really do like Hawaii. I need to hustle and find a caregiver to cover dad the day times from Monday to Fridays, so that oldest sis takes over the night shifts. And niece covers the Weekends daytime.
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Been absent and had to do a lot of reading to catch up.
My work hours are now back to my original pt hours as my co worker has been back to work and slowly increasing his hours.
I did have the last two weeks of December foot pain and since Thanksgiving hip pain(mainly after sitting) the hip pain did not bother me at work since I am on my feet the entire day.
Turns out I have mild to moderate arthritis and some bone spurs in areas of my left foot. Am on prescription naproxen. Then I caught a cold and Saturday morning one of my cats deciding to walk across me while I was still in bed. I pushed him and he left a long scratch/claw mark right under my left eye.
Dad turned 86 last month. Health is still good but I notice he struggles a bit getting out of chairs (with arms on the chairs). He stares out the window in his room and see things. Yesterday it was blue people (smurfs!). Or airplanes landing. He will have a conversation about what he sees. Sometimes it's just easier to agree with him. Got him a new lamp with a pull chain figuring it would be easier for him but not sure if he is using it. Maybe put his lamp on a timer?
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57twin, great that you're back to your original hours - less stress and more free time away from work. Arthritis. So sorry. If I sleep too long at nights in one position, I wake up with severe neck pain and can barely turn my head. Pain shoots from the neck up to my head and also down to my shoulders. So, I cringed when I read you got arthritis. It's sad about your dad. You're seeing more and more of him getting worse. You take care. {{Hugs}}
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Yes, on the timer. It won't require him trying to figure out how to turn on the lamp or even to remember to turn it on.
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The aides are supposed to be turning it on as well as the tv at dusk. I will have to remind them and find out what time he goes to bed which I know is pretty early.
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My shoulders are rounding forward. Sometimes I wonder if that's the reason for my shoulder pain. Constant head/neck/shoulder pain. Lastnight, I was trying to find my favorite yoga YouTube video for the neck pain. While looking for her, I came upon another video. I decided to try it out lastnight.

I laid on the bed, inched myself backward until my head partially dangled off the bed's edge. I had the bed's edge against the upper neck with the rest of my head dangling. Oooohhh. There was a sudden rush of blood onto my head. I had to close my eyes because it was just so much blood rush. After it calmed down, I opened my eyes and just relaxed my whole body. My spine was stretching. And hurting as it stretched. Still remained relaxed as I concentrated on the sensations of my back and head.

Once everything stabilized. I inched more backwards. This time, the bed's edge was halfway on the back of my neck. Wow... I was suppose to put my whole head off the bed, dangling .. But I have a neck problem. I'm not foolish to do that with weak neck muscles. I just stopped at that - halfway to my neck. I inched myself back onto the bed and just relaxed.

Well, this morning, I woke up with - No stuffed right face! Because I sleep fetal style - my back was hurting. So, I had to lay there flat on my back to stretch my spine again. That took out the kink.
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Sounds like alot of us have been sick lately. I spent almost a week out of commission with sinus and bronchitis. I am on the last day of antibiotics, and still not feeling really great! But this too shall pass, and I know I will never catch up here... missed you all
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Hi all, Happy New Year. Have tried a couple of times to add a few words but my computer is messing up or this site is...it wont accept my password. so we will see if this time is the charm!All is well with my mom. The legal garbage is not over but at a standstill - too much to go into. except to say, my sisters are insane! anyway, I am tired. had a busy day and headin to bed early tonight! just wanted to say hi!
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Hope all is well and feeling better soon
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Mom had dr appt tuesday and another 'mini' evaouation for her ALZ. She didnt know the month or what season it is. And of course she couldnt remember the 3 words she was asked to remember. She also has a raw place in the skin folds on her tummy which she was supposed to be putting zeesorb powder on multiple times a day. She hasnt beem doing it so its now worse and dr put her on Bactrim antibiotiics twice a day for a week. Now today the dr office called me and said she had been to the pharmacy to get the antibiotics refilled. They were concerned she had taken all of them in 2 days and would need to go to the hospital. I immediately drove to her house and found that she had put them in her daily '7 day' tablet reminder (whew!!) and then called the pharmacy today to have them refilled (she doesnt know why she called for a refill nor did she remember she called). Since she refuses to move closer to me or have a caretaker, I know its just a matter of time before APS has to be contacted to evaluate her so that I have the okay to move her. Apparently thats what has to happen since my POA isnt enough. I would rather have someone stay with her at home but there is not enough money for that. Long and scary day today.
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Has anyone heard from Captain (Bob)? I miss his straight to the point humor...
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Pam, even here, the throwing up and tiredness is spreading. I had the throwing up/nausea/diarrhea a few weeks ago. For the past few days, I've been sneezing a lot. Tired too.

Onedoor, that happened to me once. I had signed out of here on my laptop but kept it on in the kindle. For several days, I couldn't sign in the laptop. When I finally got through, I now keep it on 24/7.
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Sheryl, my dad hasn't reached the stage as your mom. I was here when the home care nurse asked my dad questions. He was able to give the month and year and his birthday. That must have been scary when you got that call. I can just imagine your daily worries wondering how your mom is doing and having your hands tied. Hang in there. {{Hugs}}

I had dyed my hair a few weeks ago. I had a worse reaction than the last one. The 2nd to last one (June 2015), the back of my right side tongue was tingling. This last one I did - it was the whole right side of my tongue tingling. I had a cocktail function I attended this evening. One of the guest was so surprised to me with my dyed hair. She couldn't believe it. She said that I look like a teenager. I'm short and skinny. Too bad that this will be the last time I dye my hair. I'm going to try to do highlights soon. See if I have any reactions to that.
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It's 10pm, I'm preparing for dad's appointment tomorrow. I had to search all over to finally find a new tshirt for dad. I even put it in the laundry basket to be washed today. Sis babysits him Mon-Fridays from 8:30a-6:30pm. She doesn't do pampers. She doesn't take out the kitchen and pamper trashbags to the bin. She doesn't do showers or the toilet. She doesn't do his dishes.

She knows that he has an appointment tomorrow. She knows that all his daily tshirts are covered with his spilled oil. Those soiled shirts have been there since Wednesday. I went looking for the new tshirt hanging in the porch. Nothing. Not one single shirt was hanging. I then checked the clean laundry shelf. Nothing. I even looked between the sheets, the towels, the washable waterproof pads. Nothing. I then went to the kitchen. There is the shirt - among all the other soiled shirts. Sigh... I went back to the laundry shelf. Not one single shirt is free of the strong oil smell. Ugh! I went back to the laundry basket and took out the new tshirt. He's just going to have to use it tomorrow! Good thing I hid his good slacks last night. I don't know why sis cannot wash ALL his laundry. I mean - 3 or 4 pieces of tshirts does NOT take up so much space in the washer! Okay. I'm done venting.

At the function, one of the sponsors was talking to me. Her husband's mother and now his aunty have dementia. She was asking me lots of questions about my parents, me, my sibs (help?), etc... It seems her hubby's siblings are accusing them of stealing their mother's money. She told me that if his mother wants to eat out - of course they go eat out. If she wants her hair done and manicures, they will do so.
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Gruesome dream last night. Interpetations anyone? I was at a high school classmates new house (have not seen her in decades). Dad was there and he souled his pants (has not done that yet). Someone it seemed official like for a big pad like a moving pad for him to sit on. I went to check on him in my dream and he motioned for me to come closer and he put a plastic bag over my head to try? to suffocate me. I escaped of course but Yikes so creepy.
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57twin, a while back, I told about my dream. I rarely remember my dreams. This was an exception. When I wrote it here, I didn't understand the meaning of it. Then, sis visited. As I was telling her my dream, I was realizing the meaning of it.

Only you would truly understand it. Think about what's been happening to you lately. Something triggered your dream. High school classmates could be an upcoming high school reunion, your coworkers and after hours socializing. Anything new with your dad? Is he having money problem? Official Person- your boss?

Sorry. Past midnight and my brain became sloshy. Too tired to think...
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57twin, those lucid dreams can be terrifying. I had one once where I swore someone was pressing a pillow over my face - to the point where I couldn't breathe and was swinging my arms and kicking my legs. I could feel the outline of every single finger on their hand as they pressed the pillow against my face. It was horrible. I woke up with arms and legs flailing and immediately got up and checked the house - nothing. But I didn't sleep the rest of the night, and was a little afraid to go to sleep the next few nights.

SherylBeth - My mother has issues with skin fold irritation too - they can be nasty and the odor can knock you right off your feet. Ask the doctor to prescribe InterDry - tell him it's made by Coloplast. It's a very lightweight fabric that is impregnated with Antimicrobial Silver Complex. You don't put anything on it - you just wash and thoroughly dry the skin fold, and then put the fabric into the fold. It stops the skin-on-skin contact (which is what causes the irritation), absorbs moisture and the silver kills and prevents bacteria from forming. It will heal up broken down skin in those folds within a week without having to take antibiotics. If the doc won't prescribe it, you can buy it online (Google it) but it's pricey - about $70 for a roll that will last a couple of weeks if used every day.
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Hi has been quite a while since last posting. I cared for my mother since her stroke in 1988--she was 2 years younger than me now when this happened! She was tough, but finally passed last March, so I have been dealing with the mess here ever since. The home went into foreclosure due to mother deciding on a reverse mortgage once I ran out of money, so I have been trying hard to get moved, unfortunately, I have nowhere to go so am just moving some things into storage until I figure out what I am going to do. With little money, I cannot afford anything even if it were available, also having to pack up and move things myself at 63 years old, not an easy task. The bank bought the home in November 2015 and are now ready to start eviction proceedings, which I did not want to happen, so am trying with all my might to get the hell out of here before papers are served. I was led to believe I would be offered "cash for keys" to help with relocation, but now am told that is not going to happen since my name was no longer on the title to the home (I quit-claimed my portion when mom reversed mortgaged as I was not of age). Mom went into a nursing home last August under Medicare from the hospital (90-100 days), and she had little funds so I was told to apply for Medi-Cal. What a mess, first I got a bill last November for 3 months, totaling over $6,000, which I understood Medicare would pay, but apparently only for 30 days, then $75/day co-pay which I was not aware of. So between trying to spend down for Medi-Cal, having unpaid bills, having to take on all the utilities she used to pay and being without my mommy and daddy for the first time in my life, I screwed everything up so badly, I don't know if I will ever see daylight!!! If anyone knows of a place to rent temporarily or a cheap travel trailer, etc. Please let me know!!! Thank you again for allowing me to vent, careful of what you let your loved ones have their way with!!! Hugs to all.
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Janetrose, I'm so sorry. My oldest brother tried to persuade me to get my dad to do reverse mortgage. I told him that I heard stories of the cons of it. How they trick people. Several true stories I heard was that they reassured the husband that he can sign the mortgage and then bring his wife later on. Or that if he dies, she can still live there until she dies. When the man died, the wife was evicted. So I refused to push dad to do reverse mortgage (this was the time mom was still alive.)

I don't even know the resources that you can turn to for housing. Online and newspaper ads?
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If you are up to caring for another elder you certainly have experience!
Live-in help is hard to find, experienced help even harder. Your current situation might also allow the small fib that the family would like you to stay there "for a bit, to help you out" because of your recent (real!) tragedy, while their real motivation is that the elder needs assistance, but is rejecting caregivers.
Many elderly folk HATE being seen as "needy", but love being able to "help out" others.
Clear communication with family & clear expectations of duties will be incredibly important, of course.
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He's back!!!!! "Ask and you shall receive"..

He, he! So much fun, until they boot him off...

The newbies are going to be so " offended"... Oh and wait till the "holy rollers" read his posts!!

This is going to be so much fun...

Just what the Dr ordered...
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Fave sis with 2 little grand kids living with her - was excited to show me her new laundry soap. Those balls. I stared at it in horror. She bought 2 containers of it. I told sis that she must put it up very high. She put it on the shelf above the washer. I shook my head. The kids (age 4 and 5) can push the kitchen chair to the washer, climb up the washer and reach the shelf. I pointed to the high shelf on the wall (even if the kids push the chair to that wall, it's still too high for them to reach.). I can't believe how .. uninformed my sister is about the controversy of these laundry balls....
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Hi book.. I hear what you're saying about the laundry balls but she can't be paranoid about everything...There is tons of stuff kids can get into by pushing a chair and reaching for...

Don't let it bother you.. Much greater things to worry about as a parent...

Media madness!
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I wish i could. The washer is in the kitchen, in a drywall closet (no doors or sliding cover) that is right next to the sink. Sis picked up the container that was kept on top of the washer.
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Went to a new salonist to do my highlights. This is the first time someone put a cap over my hair, and poke a metal through the cap to pull out strands of hair. I had a headache in the morning & took Excedrin. Her poking that metal into the cap and hitting my scalp, side face was so painful, my headache came back. It was obvious, despite not wearing my glasses and seeing my blurry face -that she wasn't pulling my hair strands evenly (left matching right). I liked the cap in that the hair dye did not touch my scalp. I was so relieved that I wouldn't react to the dye. Nope. Not even 10 minutes, my lips started tingling badly. Ohhhh myyyy. I spent the whole time trying to decide if I should stop it or finish it off. Of course I finished it off. Atleast my scalp is not hurting or itchy like all the other times. After this last dye, I have decided that despite taking the Benadryl before my highlights, my body was reacting much faster to the dye. I have concluded that I have reached the max I can go without suffering badly from the allergy of it. I will now need to think of cutting my hair much shorter to make up for the grays that will come out. Or ... start investing in fashion wigs (like purple or pink wigs, etc... ) or fashionable scarves, etc...

While driving around doing errands, my attention immediately went to the radio. The radio DJ wished me a happy bday. OMGoodness!! I don't celebrate birthdays. Now someone has announced it to the whole island that it's my bday (not really, they're off base.) I have given a false bday on FaceBook (July), here on AC (Feb?) , on any websites that asks it.... Shoots, I don't even keep track on which bday is on which website...

Still waiting for nephew's girlfriend if she's willing to babysit my dad so that I can take a 2 week vacation using my free Delta ticket. I offered $500 for 2 weeks on weekdays or $700 to include the weekends. Oldest sis can take over the night shifts. If she cannot, I will most likely not be able to go then... Fave niece has a full load college classes and nurse-to-be niece has a newborn cranky baby (my gosh can she cry! nonstop! loud! nonstop!)
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Book, would you maybe be safer using vegetable colorants on your hair? Of course it depends on how you like it styled, but from distant memory I remember that there are various shades (i.e. not just red!) that were henna-based and perhaps wouldn't give you the same reaction problems.

Aveda do a good line in colour enhancing hair care products, too - not dyes, just subtle tints if you're looking for a graceful exit from the full highlight job.

My hair's turning white, and I plan to live with it. Once you start, you're stuck is my thinking - and apart from anything else, I resent the idea of shelling out so much money every six weeks just to look like I've had my head re-sprayed. I've no faith in the average high street colourist's ability to get hair colour to tone with skin colour, either - you do see some very peculiar mis-matches wandering around the place.

But! - in the end, you must absolutely please yourself. Whose head is it, anyway? If a shocking pink wig takes your fancy, go to it!
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CM, I have a business associate who kept 'nagging' me about my gray hair, every time we met for luncheon or dinner functions. When I told her that I get allergic reactions to the dye, she would tell me that there's dyes for those who allergic to it. I thought getting a No Ammonia would stop the reaction. Nope. So, I googled allergic reactions to hair dye. It's not ammonia but the phenylenediamine (PPD) that is found in all dyes.

I researched henna dyes. From what I read, it's difficult and messy to use and the outcome is iffy. Also, experts reminded the reader that some people may have reaction to Henna if they're sensitive/allergic to ragweed. My scalp cannot handle those lice killer (e.g. Nit). When I use it, my scalp is painful. Therefore, I've decided that I will not order the Henna hair dye.

Let me research the Aveda. Thanks for the tip.

As for the wigs, I saw a really nice pink one at the mall. I'd prefer purple since that's my fave color. I've already ordered since last year a nice normal wig. But when I saw the colorful one, I changed my mind. Except.. I'm torn about this. I need to look my age and not look like a wannabe teenager! So, I'm still brainstorming. Anyway, I'm getting a very obvious bald spot right in the front center of my head. My eyes keep getting drawn to that white bald head spot... And I'm not even age 50 yet....
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Book, you are right, it would be so much better to die of anaphylaxis shock at age 50 than to look older than your age! Are you going blonde, or something else?
Good to note that blonde dye cause much less cancer than going brown or black.
Love you!
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Ahhhh... Sendme. Google pictures of those who had allergic reaction to hair dye. It may not be an immediate reaction. Dye it today, reaction tomorrow and the next few days. It takes several days as your face bloats and you now look like that UFO Alien. That's if you're lucky. The unlucky ones looks like acid was placed on their faces - FACES not head - on top of the bloating. No Thank You! It sure isn't worth it.

The highlight I had yesterday was a unique way of doing it. In the past, ALL my salonists would use foil to wrap each strands of hair. My scalp would be burning despite the foil. I went to this last salonist for my haircut - which I love it! (Think Japanese female haircut bob!) When she was doing my haircut, I asked her if she dyes hair for those who allergic to the dyes. She said yes. So, when I came in yesterday, she must of remembered my question. And used a CAP to cover my dry hair, then pulled strands of hair through it. She brushed the dye all over the cap. I kept waiting to feel my scalp to hurt - and it didn't. Except - my whole lips started tingling badly within 15 minutes. The previous dye took 20 minutes for a reaction. See, I'm reacting faster to the dye. That's dangerous. It's time to stop. All I have to do is recall those photos. Scary....

Still brainstorming....
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