koALa & Pert's plans for the future incompass:
Selling the Indy house.
Paying off Mayo, Jacksonvlle. (They did not accept Medicare assignment.)
Paying off all other debts.
Having walk-in shower installed for Pert.
Then we will have no mortgage, car, furniture, medical or other debts.
All the big medical expense has taken place already and should be minimal in future.
We can live just fine on our incomes from P's pension, P's Social Security and my Social Security.
There will be Home Health Care available, paid by Medicare, I think, if we need it.
If we become destitute, there is always Medicaid.
Please relax your minds and don't worry. We are happy and day to day living is good.
All those jokes about the double wides were just that; jokes. (Is that the correct use of a ;?)
I wouldn't wish rural living on you guys, although there are lots of good things about it for us.
All that said, I still promise to call David to come live with us if it becomes necessary. You are all wonderful people and we are grateful for you, born kids, in-law kids, grandkids.
8 comments:
I thought the headache, edema(water retention and swelling of legs and feet), weight gain(see edema) that P had during vacation were caused by #1 experimental drug, fludrocortisone, so we stopped the drug last Friday and P now has no headache, has lost 6-8 pounds and no longer has swelling of extremities. He also feels much better.
The medical info sheet I consulted today confirms my assessment.
Since the drug had no positive effect on the dizziness, it is no great loss.
Today we received, and will start, #2 experimental drug, Midodrine HCL 10MG three times a day. It requires more cautious monitoring of b/p and other side effects and is a shorter acting drug, a vasopressor, which starts working quicker and doesn't last as long.
A couple of caveats that I found. Bold emphasis mine:
• In some cases, midodrine may cause an excessive increase in blood pressure, especially when lying down . Contact your doctor immediately or seek emergency medical attention if you experience an unusual awareness of heartbeats, pounding in the ears, headache, or blurred vision. These may be signs of increased blood pressure.
•In some cases, increased blood pressure may cause a slowed heart rate. Contact your doctor immediately or seek emergency medical attention if you experience decreased pulse rate, increased dizziness, fainting, or an unusual awareness of heartbeats. These may be signs of a slowed heart rate.
• Midodrine can cause increased blood pressure when lying down. The last dose of midodrine should be taken at least 3 to 4 hours before bedtime. If you are going to be lying down for any length of time during the day, you may need to skip a dose of midodrine. Talk to your doctor about how to take midodrine if you lie down during the day.
• Other prescription and over-the-counter medicines may cause an increase in blood pressure, which may be dangerous when taken with midodrine. Do not take any other prescription or over-the-counter medicines or herbal products especially cough, cold, or allergy products, weight loss products, asthma or respiratory medicines, migraine headache medicines, heart or blood pressure medicines, or antidepressants without first talking to your doctor.
A: I received the comment in question, no prob.
B: Thanks for keeping an eye on medicine side effects.
3: Does anyone else have to pause and think before typinf effect/affect?
Lastly: We are keeping a close watch on the mentioned side effects, in fact just got done checking b/p, supine and upright. Both okay. P gone to store for an onion for the tuna salad.
Warning: Playing with Happy Fun-Ball may induce sudden unwanted vomiting.
Best of luck.
Oh. I thought it was something I ate.
Pert Med Update:
He took experimental drug #2. It caused such discomfort, pain, and urinary urgency that he is not willing to keep taking, for now, in hope that the dizziness will abate with longer treatment. We also tried Pyridium while he was having the problem, to no avail. Not to mention, neither drug, nor both drugs did anything to alleviate the dizziness anyway. So he has stopped both drugs. He may try them again for a longer period later. He has my utmost support. I've had urinary infections and would rather die. All he takes now is Lipitor, for cholesterol, which works good. We will continue to monitor his b/p lest it creep up unnoticed.
Thanks for the update. Sorry the meds caused such discomfort.
I'm with Pert. Urinary tract discomfort is indescribably annoying, distracting, and uh, what was I saying?
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