State of the household

[mdlbear]

My allergies are finally abating, and I seem to be getting enough sleep modulo the fact that the flower_cat isn't sleeping well.

The Cat's arthritis is as bad as I've ever seen it. Aspirin still works, fortunately; she tried naproxin for a couple of days and found that, although it helped with the pain, it didn't help with the stiffness and joint inflamation. Apparently some of the better arthritis drugs either don't work, or interact badly with her other meds. She's using her walker to go between the front and back of the house; some of that is dizziness, which is apparently a side effect of the Keflex that she's taking the last dose of this morning. We'll see if that helps. Her leg is looking a lot better, but there may still be some lingering infection.

The chaoswolf has been in Seattle for a little over 12 hours now. Haven't heard from her. *waves*

The Y.D. is home for the summer, and appears to be keeping busy with friends and games. We'll need to make a serious effort to get her to clean her room; not clear what kind of persuasion we need to apply.

Sang "The River" and "Quiet Victories" for Colleen's friend B. Three sheets of Kleenex -- Eeep. I'm either going to have to add a more upbeat verse at the end, or abandon the idea of using it as a set closer; "Millennium's Dawn", perhaps. It was apropos, though; much of the evening's conversation revolved around successfully-fended-off assaults. There may be a verse in there. Especially B's story -- that was downright funny.

Turns out that "Millennium's Dawn" is jilara's favorite; she recognized it while I was noodling my way through the ConChord setlist, so of course I had to sing it. Hear me complain.

Comments

[ravan.livejournal.com]

We'll need to make a serious effort to get her to clean her room; not clear what kind of persuasion we need to apply.

The only thing that ever worked with me was "Clean it up by X, or everything in there will be removed and discarded, sold or given away." And I was not as bad.

[roaringmouse.livejournal.com]

It is the "carrot & stick"; but what we do for is look in the future.. say a con... You write it out like a contract... You don't do room by x, you lost a hour less of your curfew at such and such con. If it is writing, the child can say "you changed the terms" or Dad and/or Mom is going senile and no way was that the agreement. It works.

For Morgan's trip, if the room wasn't clean, she lost 10 dollars from her spending money... Boy did it work...

[mdlbear]

Colleen points out that Emmy is 16 and wants driving lessons...

[roaringmouse.livejournal.com]

That will give her some incentive. Go, Dad!!!!!

[harmonyheifer.livejournal.com]

I am just guessing from what I saw of Colleen at Baycon that her pain levels are too high to be managed with either just Aspirin or Naproxin alone. Has her GP considered sending her to a rheumatologist? My experience both as a nurse and as a patient is telling me that at the very least she really ought to have better pain management. Nobody could sleep well with the levels of pain she seems to be experiencing. Also, if the GP isn't going to follow up on the leg infection to be sure it is totally gone, it might be a good idea to insist on another visit just to make certain. Colleen's legs concern the heck out of me, and I can't help but wonder why her doctors aren't being a bit more aggressive in treating them. Speaking as a friend, I have total sympathy with what she is going through. Experience has told me that sometimes it pays to be aggressive about asking for a second or even third medical opinion.

I am also learning, through the experiences of a close friend and my own struggles with inflammatory disease that alternative treatments like homeopathy, natural healing, dietary changes and carefully selected supplements can sometimes have a huge impact. Traditional medicine is very limited when it comes to chronic diseases. Sometimes instead of just treating the symptoms, trying to do something about the cause of the exaggerated immune response is a smarter way to go. "Arthritis, An Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide," by Ellen Kamhi, and Eugene R. Zampierion is a good jumping off point for researching alternative therapies and considering simple changes that might have a huge impact on pain and inflammation levels.

You saw me at Baycon, the traditional medical establishment told me I would be completely wheelchair-bound ten years ago. Lucky for me I knew they were mostly full of shit, huh? I still have the disease, but I have more good days now than ever before, and I can't say that my regular doctors can take even half the credit for my improvement. At a certain point, it wasn't like I had a lot to lose by trying some alternative therapies.

[mdlbear]

Thanks! She has an appointment with her doctor tomorrow; we'll see what we can do. Should be able to at least deal with some of the pain...