Is "Old" age creeping up on you?

Yeah, I would have to agree with you there, Jake. When I was a kid in the 60s, I got plenty of good ol' country *** whoopins. As a result of that I have never committed a crime (I don't count smokin' weed, which I did plenty of in my life time), never been arrested, and while I had to discipline my kids a time or two, I refused to use switches, electrical cords, yardsticks, or anything that could be considered a weapon. And my kids turned out fine. Even with the occasional Blondie attacks, they're good kids...
 
I think corporal punishment has a place, but sometimes is not needed. With our daughters, corporal punishment was never needed. A sharp rebuke would mend their ways. Our twin sons, however, would misbehave to their own danger and sometimes needed more. Never punish anyone when you are angry, however. "Gentle" corporal punishment has a place between about 2 years of age and 7-10 years of age. It accomplishes little or nothing beyond those ages and should be administered sparingly.
 
When I opened the box there were all kinds of therapy pain patches in the box; I thought what the hell? Price had gone from $40, to $110 overnight.
I knew I forgot something... I always do now days.

Does you guys have Medicare Part D drug plans? When we lived in Eureka, I got 30 5% Lidocaine patches a month for the standard brand name co-pay, which with all of my medications, were paid for the year by mid-March.

Lidocaine_Patch_5__by_Teva_Pharma_1800x1800.jpg


The box's main label shows Actavis like a brand name, but they are made by Watson Labs. They're the same thing as Salonpas, except those are only 4% and don't work as well. I had a small problem. If I put them on in the day time they would get Lidocaine on my clothes. If I put them on at night, they would come off, as I tended to do back flips in my sleep back then. So my Doc gave me Tegaderms to use on top of them and they stayed put. They work well, but you don't want to buy them. Between the two products, each as much as $100 a box. On January 1st co-pays started so while I had to pay those, each co-pay was $10, since they were both brand name products. But three months of $20 is $60, as opposed to $200 for each month.

So if Salonpas works for her, you should ask your Doc if these are covered on your insurance.
 
I knew I forgot something... I always do now days.

Does you guys have Medicare Part D drug plans? When we lived in Eureka, I got 30 5% Lidocaine patches a month for the standard brand name co-pay, which with all of my medications, were paid for the year by mid-March.

Lidocaine_Patch_5__by_Teva_Pharma_1800x1800.jpg


The box's main label shows Actavis like a brand name, but they are made by Watson Labs. They're the same thing as Salonpas, except those are only 4% and don't work as well. I had a small problem. If I put them on in the day time they would get Lidocaine on my clothes. If I put them on at night, they would come off, as I tended to do back flips in my sleep back then. So my Doc gave me Tegaderms to use on top of them and they stayed put. They work well, but you don't want to buy them. Between the two products, each as much as $100 a box. On January 1st co-pays started so while I had to pay those, each co-pay was $10, since they were both brand name products. But three months of $20 is $60, as opposed to $200 for each month.

So if Salonpas works for her, you should ask your Doc if these are covered on your insurance.
For a long time the lidocaine patches did nothing to relieve my pain, but I encountered a wet lidocaine patch that seemed to do very well. I also like the lidocaine mixed with other topical pain relievers. I, too, sometimes have to use additional adhesive to keep stuff in place.
 
These seem wet to me, but I can't really say one way or the other. But using them along with my quarterly occipital nerve blocks kept me from having to use narcotic pain killers for years. Before I dropped my bike at a stop sign, I put 70 shy of 30,000 miles on O'l Bessie and loved every minute of those 1.5 to 3 hour daily rides. C thought I was crazy for it, but I loved riding in the totally dense fog at night where you could only see about 10' in front of you, but you could hear a car coming for about ten times farther than normal.

My pain specialist Doc and his Physician Assistant (PA) kept asking my if I was there for a refill, and every time I would say no. But at the next appointment they would me the same stupid question. I told him "I still have 24 of the the first bottle of 30 that your PA gave me three years ago this coming May. And 88 of 90 of the first bottle I got back in 2012 (when you could get 90 day supplies), after I got my first occipital nerve block. I don't come here for pills, I come for pain relief without using Opioids. I have no desire to be another statistic in the so called Opioid Epidemic." He shrugged and rolled his eyes. And my first thought after that was "An Opioid Epidemic that pill happy Docs like you created..."

To say the least, I've had enough of that nonsense. I'm looking for another pain specialist Doc.
 
These seem wet to me, but I can't really say one way or the other. But using them along with my quarterly occipital nerve blocks kept me from having to use narcotic pain killers for years. Before I dropped my bike at a stop sign, I put 70 shy of 30,000 miles on O'l Bessie and loved every minute of those 1.5 to 3 hour daily rides. C thought I was crazy for it, but I loved riding in the totally dense fog at night where you could only see about 10' in front of you, but you could hear a car coming for about ten times farther than normal.

My pain specialist Doc and his Physician Assistant (PA) kept asking my if I was there for a refill, and every time I would say no. But at the next appointment they would me the same stupid question. I told him "I still have 24 of the the first bottle of 30 that your PA gave me three years ago this coming May. And 88 of 90 of the first bottle I got back in 2012 (when you could get 90 day supplies), after I got my first occipital nerve block. I don't come here for pills, I come for pain relief without using Opioids. I have no desire to be another statistic in the so called Opioid Epidemic." He shrugged and rolled his eyes. And my first thought after that was "An Opioid Epidemic that pill happy Docs like you created..."

To say the least, I've had enough of that nonsense. I'm looking for another pain specialist Doc.
The pain docs I knew would monitor the opioid levels by at least monthly blood draws for opioid levels, bot to make sure what was being taken and that ONLY what was prescribed was taken. I don't know if they added to the toll of addicts or not but they did monitor what was taken. I took opioids after my back injury, but oxycodone did nothing to relieve the pain and that was what they gave me. I got ore relief from ibuprofen and acetaminophen than from oxy. Hydrocodone DID work for me, but it did not stay in the system as long as oxy. My dear wife conscientiously kept me from addiction.
 
The pain docs I knew would monitor the opioid levels by at least monthly blood draws for opioid levels, bot to make sure what was being taken and that ONLY what was prescribed was taken.
You should have seen this Doc's face when I refused one of those blood tests. I told him something like "I have never once asked you for any pills. You and Weiss (his PA) always asked me if I was there for a refill. Except for the first time when I first came here, I always refused any pain meds. And the one time I accepted them was almost 3 years ago. The last 3 times I was here, I refused any pills all 3 times and you sent a prescription for them to the Pharmacy anyway. I refused to accept them. My pharmacy will back me up on this. I finally told the head Pharmacist not to fill any prescriptions for pain meds unless I ask them to do so. So there is no point in wasting time and Medicare and tax payers money to get a blood test I do not need."
 
I knew I forgot something... I always do now days.

Does you guys have Medicare Part D drug plans? When we lived in Eureka, I got 30 5% Lidocaine patches a month for the standard brand name co-pay, which with all of my medications, were paid for the year by mid-March.

Lidocaine_Patch_5__by_Teva_Pharma_1800x1800.jpg


The box's main label shows Actavis like a brand name, but they are made by Watson Labs. They're the same thing as Salonpas, except those are only 4% and don't work as well. I had a small problem. If I put them on in the day time they would get Lidocaine on my clothes. If I put them on at night, they would come off, as I tended to do back flips in my sleep back then. So my Doc gave me Tegaderms to use on top of them and they stayed put. They work well, but you don't want to buy them. Between the two products, each as much as $100 a box. On January 1st co-pays started so while I had to pay those, each co-pay was $10, since they were both brand name products. But three months of $20 is $60, as opposed to $200 for each month.

So if Salonpas works for her, you should ask your Doc if these are covered on your insurance.


Thanks Axel, will check into it, she's still struggling with the pains, and I'm doing the best I can to help her get better; it's "not" fast, been three months; so far.
 
You should have seen this Doc's face when I refused one of those blood tests. I told him something like "I have never once asked you for any pills. You and Weiss (his PA) always asked me if I was there for a refill. Except for the first time when I first came here, I always refused any pain meds. And the one time I accepted them was almost 3 years ago. The last 3 times I was here, I refused any pills all 3 times and you sent a prescription for them to the Pharmacy anyway. I refused to accept them. My pharmacy will back me up on this. I finally told the head Pharmacist not to fill any prescriptions for pain meds unless I ask them to do so. So there is no point in wasting time and Medicare and tax payers money to get a blood test I do not need."
They just require the tests to write prescriptions, but if they are not writing prescriptions, I don't understand why you are in the program at all. You could get into a naturopathic program of ointments, massage, therapy and perhaps acupuncture. Acupuncture and massage in particular (if you have competent practitioners) can really go the extra mile with pain. We don't really have good acupuncturists here, but I have seen what they CAN do and it is amazing.
 
They just require the tests to write prescriptions, but if they are not writing prescriptions, I don't understand why you are in the program at all.
Personally, I think they are getting kick-backs on opioid meds somehow. Both my Doc and his PA ask almost word for word the same thing at every appoint. They don't say hello, just "Are you here for a refill?"

You could get into a naturopathic program of ointments, massage, therapy and perhaps acupuncture.
I tried some of that but an Occipital Nerve Blocks work best for me since 2012.
 
I'm just super grumpy lately, and patience with people is running out.

Maybe it's the cataracts thing on top of staring down the Big 7-0 in under 2 weeks? Having my taxes done might help a little, but since I have to pay more I am dragging my feet on that.

Looking at taxes the next few years I see I should have done some different things during the last 5 years and now it's too late. Grr.🧓
 
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I'm just super grumpy lately, and patience with people is running out.

Maybe it's the cataracts thing on top of staring down the Big 7-0 in under 2 weeks? Having my taxes done migth help a little, but since I have to pay more I am dragging my feet on that.

Looking at taxes the next few years I see I should have done some different things during the last 5 years and now it's too late. Grr.🧓

I've been super grumpy for the past few years. I don't know why the country and the world have to go crazy during my final few years and I resent all the changes.

My husband and I have made a few financial missteps along the way and certainly can see things we should have done differently. I am resentful that we are usually penalized for having been financially responsible all our lives, and now we can't make simple transactions without having to worry about being penalized for it.
 
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"Well", back to "old age creeping up on you"; 70 for me is only seventeen days away, and it really surprises me I've made it that long. I used to think when I was younger, I would not make 21, but went right by stumbling, and now coming up to 70. Still questioning mentally, the unknown, and think no one on earth has the "answer" to that one. Like some books I've read, and things heard; like for instance; "90 minutes in heaven", it says it's a true story. He said after being hit by a pulpwood truck on the narrow bridge, he was being crushed inside which took out a lot of his femur bone but the pressure stopped him from bleeding out, he did die for 90 minutes though, was pronounced dead by paramedics on the scene; and said he went directly to "Heaven", during that time. Said they wouldn't let him pass through pearly gates to see Jesus though, and then sent him back to earth, which he said he didn't want. I read his book and watched his true story show, it's quite convincing, to say the least. What makes me wonder is the Bible says, the dead know nothing, and plenty rest in the grave; until awoken, on judgement day.


Then there's things I've heard from people, and another true story called Miracle, a little girl like nine, who was diagnosed with stomach illness that was certain death; who fell down 2 or 3 story tree, inside that was hollowed out, hit her head and put her in coma and died, for a period, said she talked to Jesus, who told her she was going to live, and she did. It's a little confusing to me, and makes me wonder about the unknown even more. I think most everyone wants to do what's right and live a righteous life, but there's always for me that "doubt", in the back of my mind, or feeling, you're not fulfilling what's expected of you?


I'm gonna take a "break", and will come back to this a little later; about things that I've heard. :)
 
Any of "you", have family or others who passed, cross y'all's minds, "just out of the blue"? I always wonder if we will see them again. Often wonder if our animals that have passed, will be reunited with us, after "we" pass. :unsure:

I'd love to believe that I will see my parents and my brother again, but truthfully I don't. I have said before that I believe death will be exactly as it was before we were born; just nothing. I have always had a problem with trying to figure out the logistics of "afterlife" and just how spirits (?) will be drifting about forever.

I just can't wrap my head around the concept of heaven or any of it, no matter how hard I try. I suppose I don't find the concept of living forever to be appealing at all but that's just me.
 
I'd love to believe that I will see my parents and my brother again, but truthfully I don't. I have said before that I believe death will be exactly as it was before we were born; just nothing. I have always had a problem with trying to figure out the logistics of "afterlife" and just how spirits (?) will be drifting about forever.

I just can't wrap my head around the concept of heaven or any of it, no matter how hard I try. I suppose I don't find the concept of living forever to be appealing at all but that's just me.


The Bible says we will not understand until we are of the spirit world. Kind of like "Jesus" said, I knew you before you were in the womb.
 
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