Prescription Medication Knowledge Base

Chronic conditions amplified

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:59 +0000

Question:

Tourette Syndrome seems to be an amplifier of chronic conditions. It seems like the anxiety that I suffer is amplified when I have to deal with other chronic conditions. I have had a lifetime battle with inflamation of my bronchial tubes and my sinuses. Many times, the inflamations turned into infections. These inflamations/infections have had a great affect of my performance as a human being. When I can’t properly preform, my anxieties peak and my TS waxes. Three years ago, we had a very serious forrest fire in Colorado. It was known as the Hayman Fire. The fire was south of Denver. The prevailing winds moved the smoke north into the Denver area. I suffered from some severe respiratory inflammation and my Tourette got worse. I have a cortisone nasal spray that helps with the sinuses and a cortisone inhalor that helps with the bronchial tubes. I have to fix the problem before it turns into an infection where I really start to have some serious problems. Fred in denver

Response:

"Fenisz"

wrote in message

news:20050103122352.06555.00001642@mb-m22.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

Tourette Syndrome seems to be an amplifier of chronic conditions.

It seems

like the anxiety that I suffer is amplified when I have to deal with

other

chronic conditions. I have had a lifetime battle with inflamation

of my

bronchial tubes and my sinuses. Many times, the inflamations turned

into

infections. These inflamations/infections have had a great affect

of my

performance as a human being. When I can’t properly preform, my

anxieties peak

and my TS waxes. Three years ago, we had a very serious forrest

fire in

Colorado. It was known as the Hayman Fire. The fire was south of

Denver. The

prevailing winds moved the smoke north into the Denver area. I

suffered from

some severe respiratory inflammation and my Tourette got worse. I

have a

cortisone nasal spray that helps with the sinuses and a cortisone

inhalor that

helps with the bronchial tubes. I have to fix the problem before it

turns into

an infection where I really start to have some serious problems. Fred in denver

I agree with you Fred, each condition can affect/influence the other. Is there any chance all that cortisone is increasing your anxiety? Steroids can definitely do that. Maybe Sandy L. has some suggestions? Jo

Response:

Hey Fred,,,,,what you claim is VERY true……..on Dec 18th I git hit by another truck……..his died mine survived and way I rented another 4×4 truck and te previous renter chained smoked…………NO one told me so the bottom line is this rental made my asthma kick up, they had to change me to Advaire and stop my Flovent and Serevent. My TS and SIB went off the richter scale! I had to start using my Albuteral Nebulizer which kicked up my ADHD……………………so now I can not take 2 steps without chouging hard and choking and then having a Tussive Syncope(mini seisure)………….. It is now to the point water scares me cuz I choke! "Fenisz"

wrote in message

news:20050103122352.06555.00001642@mb-m22.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

Tourette Syndrome seems to be an amplifier of chronic conditions. It seems like the anxiety that I suffer is amplified when I have to deal with other chronic conditions. I have had a lifetime battle with inflamation of my bronchial tubes and my sinuses. Many times, the inflamations turned into infections. These inflamations/infections have had a great affect of my performance as a human being. When I can’t properly preform, my anxieties peak and my TS waxes. Three years ago, we had a very serious forrest fire in Colorado. It was known as the Hayman Fire. The fire was south of Denver. The prevailing winds moved the smoke north into the Denver area. I suffered from some severe respiratory inflammation and my Tourette got worse. I have a cortisone nasal spray that helps with the sinuses and a cortisone inhalor that helps with the bronchial tubes. I have to fix the problem before it turns into an infection where I really start to have some serious problems. Fred in denver

Response:

"What about Bob"

wrote in message

news:PbkCd.53333$XH3.733@fe06.lga… his died mine survived Glad your truck survived. :)

Response:

Thanks but I may not survive these syncopes "Jodi"

wrote in message

news:jClCd.53364$%L4.23549@fe06.lga… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> "What about Bob"

wrote in message

> news:PbkCd.53333$XH3.733@fe06.lga… > his died mine survived > Glad your truck survived. :)

Response:

With ALL the BS with my health since Dec 20th……..things are strating to level off 1) I won my fight for a new CPAP( my 4th since 1992) after 2 failed sleep studies, my good CPAP died of old age and is NOT repairable …so they got medicare to buy a new good model that may last a while this time 2) my SIB has been so powerful since Dec 20th that my left arm is in such trama it is all knotted up. 3) Enterprise who I rented a 4×4 truck from , took one wiff indside the truck and belived me an wrote off the dailiy overage I owed. PLUS they gave me a free one time rental ! 4) I am breathing on my own today for the very first time since Dec 20th! WHAT a CONCEPT!!:) "Fenisz"

wrote in message

news:20050103122352.06555.00001642@mb-m22.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

Tourette Syndrome seems to be an amplifier of chronic conditions. It seems like the anxiety that I suffer is amplified when I have to deal with other chronic conditions. I have had a lifetime battle with inflamation of my bronchial tubes and my sinuses. Many times, the inflamations turned into infections. These inflamations/infections have had a great affect of my performance as a human being. When I can’t properly preform, my anxieties peak and my TS waxes. Three years ago, we had a very serious forrest fire in Colorado. It was known as the Hayman Fire. The fire was south of Denver. The prevailing winds moved the smoke north into the Denver area. I suffered from some severe respiratory inflammation and my Tourette got worse. I have a cortisone nasal spray that helps with the sinuses and a cortisone inhalor that helps with the bronchial tubes. I have to fix the problem before it turns into an infection where I really start to have some serious problems. Fred in denver

Response:

I posted this on January 3 and just now on the 15th see it posted on AST. Does anybody know why this delay in having my message posted? Fred

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

"Fenisz"

I can’t say that this in causing an increase in anxiety. The anxiety is created and increased by my inability to preform in a normal way. At its worst, I demolished an auto in 1970. I lost consciousness and rolled a car. 15 years later, I had an episode where I could no longer drive because I was seeing double. I can now prevent these episodes with a steroid spray and a vasoconstrictor spray. It is scary stuff when the drowsy sensation happens. Fred

Response:

I think I saw it weeks ago? "Fenisz"

wrote in message

news:20050115145325.23171.00000025@mb-m01.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

I posted this on January 3 and just now on the 15th see it posted on

AST. Does

anybody know why this delay in having my message posted? Fred

Response:

‘Twas 15 Jan 2005 19:53:25 GMT when all alt.support.tourette stood in awe as fen…@aol.com (Fenisz) uttered:

I posted this on January 3 and just now on the 15th see it posted on AST. Does anybody know why this delay in having my message posted? Fred

Everything showed up normally here. Were you using any news server other than AOL? AOL is usually reliable, and the software doesn’t have weird features for you to accidentally turn on and get this effect.. — RB |

PAS, I think

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:59 +0000

Question:

"Kevin"

wrote in message

news:MPG.14c266efb4650b0c9896bb@news.ntlworld.com…

Thanks for that story TC – what a tough decision, but it’s obvious that you had to do it. Providing a frame so that two other adults can ignore the mess they’ve made is not much of a life – and not really fair to anybody.

Sigh. You’re missing something rather significant, though. TC left because she was in a bad relationship with an abusive alchoholic. She needed to leave that relationship for her own health, safety and state of mind, if nothing else, and it was impossible to do so and still salvage the relationship with her–for all intents and purposes–stepdaughter. I’ve heard this type of advice from many of you–three this week, that I remember; I think nearly *all* of you at one point or another. And I *know* that your advice comes from your concern for me, and I love you for that concern. But one of these days I’m going to be what appears to be one of those spontaneous combustion cases–they’re going to walk in and find char and ashes all around my computer chair and nothing else damaged. So please let me re-iterate and get out everything that I need to say, one last time. And then I have to stop discussing this with you all, because it exhausts me to have to explain myself over and over and I just cannot do it anymore. You folks want me to leave a perfectly good friendship with a person who just happens to be my ex-husband because *you* think I need to. I disagree. If DH was a female roommate, would you all say that it was impossible for me to have a life while living here with her? What if she had a child that I helped her with? My friend’s best friend is a single mother and so my friend spends a lot of time and effort helping her raise her son. Should she walk away too? Because she has no ties to this child and needs to get on with her *own* life? Merrie once asked me why I would continue a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere? I remember it because it seemed like such a bizarre question to ask about a friendship. Are your friendships "going" somewhere? Are they all leading to marriage? Because if they are, I think you’re right…I need to get new friends. All of your concern hinges on the fact that he’s my ex-husband and this doesn’t follow the traditional divorce pattern, so everybody wants to tell me that it’s wrong or unhealthy. I never got my copy of The Big Book of Divorce, but I’ll tell you something…I consider mine pretty successful. I have everything that I set out to have at the time that I left DH–things I never thought I would have again. And I don’t feel that I’m losing *anything* in the process. So if you’re all just holding your breath, waiting for the day that I cut off all ties with DH and stepson for no reason other than "so that I can get on with my life", I think you’d better find a new hobby. I *have* gotten on with my life and, thankfully, have managed to keep one of my best friends and a relationship with the child that I love. You folks need to understand and appreciate that I’m not going anywhere anytime soon…and when I do, I won’t be going far. I’ll still be best friends with DH, and will still be special friends with my stepson. Until such time that something unavoidable happens–like a new woman in DH’s life–this is the way that things will continue. Because *I* want it to. And, currently, so do DH and stepson. It’s unorthodox, and I completely appreciate your not understanding it. But socially, right now, I feel 100% fulfilled, just the way things are, and I have no desire to change it. Get me a job and shave five years off my age, and I’d be very, very happy with my life right now. I know an awful lot of parasites–people who’s only concern for me is my ability to do things for them. I just had this discussion earlier this year with Merrie, when I was trying to end a friendship with a person I no longer valued as a friend. I’m currently dealing with two others–one being Roomie–and I’m just keeping my head above water with them, trying to see if there’s anything left to salvage. The idea of leaving a wonderful, fulfilling friendship for absolutely no reason is ludicrous. When I left DH, I told my brother that my mom was worried about what the family would say. He turned to me and said, "Leslie, anybody who was at that wedding would *not* be surprised that it turned out like this." And it’s true–I never heard a word from anybody at my wedding. My distant family, however, all think that I *need* to go back to him. My distant friends think I *need* to cut off all ties with him completely. The people who really know me and have actually met DH and I are all happy that things have turned out so well and that everyone is happy with the current situation. What do you think that says? I’m not one of those people who think that support means agreeing with everything I say and do. You’ve given me your advice and I’ve read it, understood where it was coming from, and appreciated it. But I have to do what’s right for me and, having explained that all before, I cannot keep going in this same circle. lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

You know, it’s not a hive mind here.

Buzz. (Snicker.) For some reason, that line of yours cracked me up, Anne. I was kind of wondering where you were – I like to read something funny everyone now and then on here. ~~~~~~~~~~ Geri ^ ^

’ ’ <

"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast."- Anonymous ~~~~~~~~~~

Response:

"Jennaii"

wrote in message

news:20010110193658.15383.00000587@ng-fu1.aol.com…

Personalities – they already know they won’t kill each other and can

accept

their idiosyncrazies.

Here’s a funny little story. When I moved to Toronto, I moved in with a cousin of my mother’s. She had a spare bedroom that she rented out to college students and it was available at the time. I’d never met her before and she was *very* nice. I asked her how much she wanted for it and she said, "Well, you just get to Toronto and get yourself a job. Then we’ll talk about rent." The third day I was there, I found a note that said that my rent for that month was to be $240. When I found a job, she would raise it to $280. And if I started eating more than I already was (I hadn’t touched a single item of food), she’d have to look into that as well. We lived in an apartment and the kitchen was tiny, but it was mostly taken up by a large, full-sized deep freeze. Everything was frozen. I would buy groceries, put them away, and the next day I’d find them in the freezer. Bread, cheese, milk…she thought that things that were frozen lasted longer and so she took the liberty of doing such with my things as well. She never slept. One night I woke up to hammering on the bathroom wall, which was the same as my bedroom wall and right next to my head. I woke to find that she’d turned our blue bathroom into a pink one. The woman had painted and wallpapered. We had this frilly pink shower curtain and pink towels and rugs. There were little wicker hats and flowered pictures hung on the wall. I mean, this woman had been *really* busy during the night. She would turn straight from Jeckyll to Hyde. One night she talked me into attending the Thanksgiving services with her and her family (which, as we all remember, is my family as well). I really didn’t want to, but the kids begged me not to make them suffer alone, so I went. After *several* hours of service, they decided to break before starting the sing-along. Her son was taking the kids home, so I arranged to have him drop me off on his way. When we met up with my cousin in the lobby, she said, sweetly, "You don’t mind staying, do you Leslie?" I told her that I thought I had better be getting home, and she snapped, "Well, how do you think you’re going to get there???" She hated men. She was constantly taking messages from my boyfriend that she never passed on and would tell me that he was seeing other women. Men were responsible for everything bad that ever happened–except in the case of her sons. With them, it was all their ex-wives’ faults. The worst part was her cat. The woman worked a full-time job during the day, a part-time job most evenings, and went away every weekend, all weekend. But she had a cat. Now before you ask why I didn’t just let it into my room, I deathly allergic to cats. Other people’s cats don’t bother me as much, but I cannot have them in my sleeping area for any real length of time. So although she left her bedroom door open and the cat otherwise had the run of the entire apartment, it would park itself outside my door all night and *howl*! I needed to get my rest so that I could work in the morning, so eventually I got myself a squirt gun. Pretty soon the cat could recognize by the sound of my bedsprings that I was getting up and he’d take off like a shot. Of course, he always came back. One day I made the horrible mistake of telling my cousin that the cat seemed to have fleas. Thus began the flea baths. She would douse the cat in flea solution and then lock it in the bathroom (which, as we all remember, is right behind my bedroom wall). All night the cat would howl and pound on the door. "MREOWWWW!!! Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump." The first night a really horrible thought hit me–I had seen that the doorstop had been taken off the door and I’d replaced it. One of those spring doorstops, with the rubber end. So I laid there in bed, praying, "Please don’t find the doorstop! Please don’t find the doorstop!" The next second I heard, "MREOWWWW!!! Thump, thump, thump, thump…PE-TWANG!!!!!" The bloody cat found the doorstop. Are we starting to get why I don’t want anymore surprise roommates? :-)

And he is "fine" with this situation.

Well, I don’t know about "fine", but he knows about it and he’s still here. I think he knows that until he makes me a better offer he doesn’t have much right to complain! lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

I think it’s possible to just be good friends with your exhusband and live together as JUST GOOD FRIENDS. This would be, in my mind, a "roommate" situation. And if that roommate had a small child I cared about I would certainly voice my opinion. As I would if it were my nieces or nephews or SD. And if I felt the child’s wellbeing was at stake I would certainly feel comfortable venting here about it. And there are other benefits to this arrangement too: Financially for one. (*I* cannot live on what I make. Period, the end.) Safety – my best roommates were men who were just friends. My parents approved because they didn’t want me living alone and they liked that there was a "man" around. Personalities – they already know they won’t kill each other and can accept their idiosyncrazies. Lil HAS "moved on". She has a boyfriend. And he is "fine" with this situation. Please keep posting Lil, and hugs.

If you have no interest in helping me work through it or find other options, it’s probably best if you all tell me that right now.

"This time: gonna do it RIGHT!" — Bob Seger Jennaii

Response:

"Anne Robotti"
wrote in message

news:3A5CD921.74D7DE5D@fastpointcom.com…

You know, it’s not a hive mind here. Some people probably are interested

in

helping you work through it or find other options. Some probably aren’t.

If

you can get something out of the board or contribute something, great. I

think

you’re getting in trouble because you’re thinking that everybody feels or

thinks

this or that about your situation, which is not true. I mean, I think it’s

hurting

your feelings and you’re missing out on some stuff.

Oh no, definitely…I didn’t mean to imply that at all. I know of a number of people who fully appreciate my situation, others who seem to straddle the fence and come down on whichever side seems to apply at the time, and then–of course–others still who think I’m dead wrong. I’m feeling a little displaced is all, Anne. Actually, I’m feeling a *lot* displaced. I don’t necessarily belong here anymore, and I feel it. But I don’t belong anywhere else, either, so I stay. But when it looks to me like the majority of the others feel that I’m in the wrong place as well, I have to seriously rethink the situation.

I didn’t know there was a specific issue you were looking for help with

right

now. Is it the medicine thing?

No, the medicine thing was a vent. I was frustrated–very frustrated. As I said to Melissa, I’d feel the same about any child that was being unecessarily medicated because the mother wanted a scape goat. If I lived in a house, I’d probably walk into the bathroom, lock the door and scream and scream until I got it all out of my system. As it is, I live in an apartment and I couldn’t complain about the idiots downstairs if I started making more noise than they do. So, since you guys knew about it all, I did my screaming here. Then I painted a smile on my face, turned around and said, "Has
had his medication yet?" I keeps me from becoming a

shrew. It makes my living arrangement a lot more comfortable when I’m not screaming to Rob about something that I already *know* is not really my business (although, as I said to Melissa, as soon as I feel it oversteps the line between unecessary medication and abuse, I firmly believe it becomes my business). And just maybe I was hoping for a comment or two like Jennaii’s, when she said that she thought that biomom should be medicated. :-)

What if my advice would be, "Let SS’s parents deal with this and here are the ten reasons I think that’s what I would do

in

your situation"? Should I not post that? Or are you just asking for more

sen-

sitivity?

I’d like to think that we all know that I don’t come here to be stroked–I’ve never asked for it and I can’t recall ever expecting it. Most of my favorite responses have come from you, Kim and Jane Lawrence, and none of you can be accused of being overly subtle. :-) I’d *like* to know your top ten reasons for letting his parents deal with it. Unless they’re all "IT’S NOT YOUR BUSINESS", that will give me ten things to chew on for awhile. And in the end, you might very well find me agreeing with you. It might seem hard to believe, but I’m not interested in making excuses for myself. I’m hard headed and unbelievably stubborn, but I welcome having a flip-side of things pointed out to me. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. At any rate, my comment to Melissa was sort of generic and–short of someone dealing with Roomie for me–there *is* nothing in particularly I’m looking for right now. But I will admit to being a little nervous about the next time I am. lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

lilblakdog wrote:

The point to this post was exactly that. This option doesn’t work for me. If you have no interest in helping me work through it or find other options, it’s probably best if you all tell me that right now.

You know, it’s not a hive mind here. Some people probably are interested in helping you work through it or find other options. Some probably aren’t. If you can get something out of the board or contribute something, great. I think you’re getting in trouble because you’re thinking that everybody feels or thinks this or that about your situation, which is not true. I mean, I think it’s hurting your feelings and you’re missing out on some stuff. I didn’t know there was a specific issue you were looking for help with right now. Is it the medicine thing? What if my advice would be, "Let SS’s parents deal with this and here are the ten reasons I think that’s what I would do in your situation"? Should I not post that? Or are you just asking for more sen- sitivity? Anne

Response:

"Melissa "
wrote in message

news:20010110112100.12429.00000803@ng-mh1.aol.com…

Are you this involved with any of your friends kids? Would you ever feel comfortable doing

that? No and yes…which is the reason I’m not. I have one close friend who has children. I was there from day one with the oldest–spending days holding and feeding and cuddling, so that my friend would be able to sleep or shower or do whatever it is she needed to do. I’ve had an extremely strong bond with him from the first moment I saw him in the hospital. I have all kinds of problems with the way my friend raises him and it’s caused some very ugly moments. So I meet my friend for lunch when she’s working and stay away from them as a family.

If you and Dh are truly just friends than your role in his son’s life is alot less than your role as his

stepmom. Of course it is. And I’ve adjusted it accordingly.

There are certain things that no matter how hard the are for you to let go

of

are not yours to deal with any more, and what medication your friend puts

his

son on is one of them

This isn’t true. If the neighbors were beating their children, it would be my business. When I have knowledge of a circumstance where I know that a child is receiving incorrect and possibly harmful medication *because his mother orchestrated it that way*, I see that as my business too. I’m not saying anything to DH, but if I notice significant negative changes in stepson’s behavior, or find alarming new information about the drug, you’d better believe that I’ll be sending a letter outlining my concerns to social services.

If she were your former lover I would. You and Dh aren’t just friends but friends that used to be married. the dynamic of the relationship is automatically going to change. You are not merely friends you are friends

that

shared a marriage. It’s not the same thing, and can’t compare.

No, *you* see it as not the same thing. *I* don’t. I don’t go along with the idea that what is one way for some people *has* to be that way for everybody. I’m the only one who knows what sort of role our relatioship played in my life and the impact that it made.

I can almost guarentee that you would not have the same emotional

attachment to

that child that you would with SS.

You’d be wrong. I have very much the same attachment to my best friend’s oldest child, as well as the two boys I’ve been involved with for the last 18.5 years.

Because Lil many of us don’t view your relationship with Dh as a

friendship. Again, this is not my concern. *I* do view it that way.

you still live with him, still refer to him as DH and not DF, still think

of SS

as your SS and not the son of your friend.

So this is where the problem comes from? Because I still refer to him as DH? Well, I do it for sake of clarity, as I’ve pointed out to you before. But since it’s obviously still a concern, from now on he’ll be Rob. But don’t expect me to use a child’s name or start referring to him as "the son of my friend". If everybody wants me to switch over to "Chuck" or "Bob" or something, because it’s easier for everybody to deal with, I’ll be more than happy to.

The fact that your friends with you ex is not wrong and unhealthy, the

fact

that you two might still be playing husband and wife in some cases might

be

unhealthy.

GOOD LORD, where on earth do you get this idea?????????? The very idea that Rob and I play husband and wife is ludicrous…anybody who’s actually seen us together (Nikki, for instance) will be happy to back that up. I *myself* have a hard time imagining what things were like when we were more than friends, it so far from my mind. Rob is Rob. I am me. We’re a better option for each other than living alone. It doesn’t mean we have illusions of playing "husband and wife". A good 60% of our problem was that I didn’t *want* to be married…I’m sure as heck not going to fantasize about it now!

Your continued involvement in SS’s life, might be unhealthy for your own psyche.

I grew up in a neighborhood where I was raised by over two dozen families, as well as certain teachers and church members–not to mention extended family members and friends. A lot of those people were from other countries, like Italy, Scotland, Fiji and the Philapines. A couple of them were commune households of hippies. One house was primarily First Nation. Some would play music or make crafts; others would just watch television and talk. One even taught my friend and I summer school, when we were out for vacation. I consider myself very fortunate to have that kind of input in my life. I’m not black and white–I’m rainbow coloured. So if you want to tell me that putting an effort into making a difference in a child’s life might be unhealthy for my psyche, you’ll have to excuse me for disagreeing whole-heartedly. I can’t think of anything else in the world that’s more fulfilling.

No Lil. What you do with DH and SS really doesn’t matter much in the

grand

scheme of my life, but when you post you have to expect that we’ll have opinions about all of this.

Yes. And when I say that option doesn’t work for me, I expect people to understand that. If they have nothing further to suggest, so be it. Perhaps there’s another option, though, that they can suggest. The point to this post was exactly that. This option doesn’t work for me. If you have no interest in helping me work through it or find other options, it’s probably best if you all tell me that right now. lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

The point to this post was exactly that. This option doesn’t work for me. If you have no interest in helping me work through it or find other options, it’s probably best if you all tell me that right now. lil —

Whoa Lil!!! I am so sorry that this has strayed so far from your original issues. It seems that the main focus for ‘a few’ has become re-defining lil’s relationship with DH, and SS… I realize that this may or may not make a whole lot of difference to you, but I personally admire you for the role that you have ‘chosen’ to take in your SS’s life. I would almost equate your role as a very active aunt, and friend. (not that it is my job to define anything in your life) it seems to be easier for me to equate you and DH as brother and sister when I read your posts. We know that there are others on this board, like Jana who has a nephew that she cared for and had to deal with issues of her brother, and her nephew. I did not ever hear anyone say that she should step out of her nephews life. Then there is me with my Step Grand-daughter, where most were telling me I should try to get primary custody of her (although that has several difficulties in itself). It was never suggested to me that I should just abandon her to the elements. Maybe I am a bit more open minded than some (not all), because of my upbringing. I was brought up around a very eclectic group of people, ranging from (what other people might call) dirty bikers (yes, actually a few of them did not bathe very often), stunt men, etc… My mother was one of the few Women in the 70’s, and 80’s who actually owned and maintained her own Harley Davidson. To going to fancy balls in Beverly Hills, Movie stars, and some people in very high political offices. My Aunt owns an NFL Football team, and my oldest sister ran for Lieutenant Governor of California. I would honestly say that what ever works for you, then so be it!!! I have a best friend in my life right now, that has been involved with my life and family for the past 6 years, she has known my daughter since she was two, and she is known to all around us as Aunt ****. I turn to her for advice on many things, even though she has never had children of her own I would be ’shocked’ if she saw something going on in DD8’s life and did not say anything about it, or try to do anything about it. She has a ‘very’ strong connection to DD8 (and a very strong personality to boot), and I respect her opinion greatly. There was a time when I was very ill, and I could not even walk to the bathroom my self for several months, and this woman kindly came into my home, and took over all of the things that I was not able to do. I could not even pick my daughter up to give her a hug, and this lovely woman came in and gave a large piece of her heart to us and generously gave something to my daughter that she desperately needed at the time. We have since have had many re-defining moments in our lives, from being friends, to her being my employee, and friend, to her becoming a primary caregiver to my child, to her getting together with a man who has children moving into a new relationship with him , gaining step children, having to not work for me anymore, and being friends again. I miss our daily interaction sometimes, and I accuse her of ‘abandonment’ when she is particularly busy, but I would not change her for the world!!! In many ways your strength, and caring heart remind me of her I can speak for myself, and I am sure that there are others who agree, when I say that I would be more than willing to help you try to work through your difficulties, and look for other options in your situation. Nothing in life is ever black and white, besides I think I prefer rainbows anyway And just for good measure, because it sounds like you really need it I am sending bunches of (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))) your way!!!!!! — Victoria… ~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~ http://www.emerysdiesel.com ~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~ When you think you have no chance at getting what you want, you probably won’t get it, but if you believe in yourself, you probably sooner or later will get it.

Response:

wrote in message news:3a5a57e5.932923110@enews.newsguy.com… No offense taken on my part – and dammit, you’re gonna come to Nashville some time.

<<<<<<<<

I’ve been holding my breath since I wrote back to you. I’m so glad you weren’t angry. And Nashville is *so* high up on my list of priorities, you’d be amazed. It’s somewhere right below "get a job" and just above "pay the Sears bill". lil (who’s gonna go check out airfare prices again, just for fun!) — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

You folks want me to leave a perfectly good friendship with a person who just happens to be my ex-husband because *you* think I need to. I disagree.

Lil this has nothing to do with leaveing a friendship. Are you this involved with any of your friends kids? Would you ever feel comfortable doing that? I’m not saying that you have to even move away but you dod need to step back and let DH and BM handle this for themselves. If you and Dh are truly just friends than your role in his son’s life is alot less than your role as his stepmom. There are certain things that no matter how hard the are for you to let go of are not yours to deal with any more, and what medication your friend puts his son on is one of them

If DH was a female roommate, would you all say that it was impossible for me to have a life while living here with her?

If she were your former lover I would. You and Dh aren’t just friends but friends that used to be married. the dynamic of the relationship is automatically going to change. You are not merely friends you are friends that shared a marriage. It’s not the same thing, and can’t compare.

What if she had a child that I helped her with?

I can almost guarentee that you would not have the same emotional attachment to that child that you would with SS.

Merrie once asked me why I would continue a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere? I remember it because it seemed like such a bizarre question to ask about a friendship. Are your friendships "going" somewhere? Are they all leading to marriage?

Because Lil many of us don’t view your relationship with Dh as a friendship. you still live with him, still refer to him as DH and not DF, still think of SS as your SS and not the son of your friend. Also I don’t think that you would ever be involved with a friend’s child the way you are with DH’s son.

All of your concern hinges on the fact that he’s my ex-husband and this doesn’t follow the traditional divorce pattern, so everybody wants to tell me that it’s wrong or unhealthy.

The fact that your friends with you ex is not wrong and unhealthy, the fact that you two might still be playing husband and wife in some cases might be unhealthy. Your continued involvement in SS’s life, might be unhealthy for your own psyche.

So if you’re all just holding your breath, waiting for the day that I cut off all ties with DH and stepson for no reason other than "so that I can get on with my life", I think you’d better find a new hobby.

No Lil. What you do with DH and SS really doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of my life, but when you post you have to expect that we’ll have opinions about all of this.

But I have to do what’s right for me and, having explained that all before, I cannot keep going in this same circle. lil

well then do what you were already doing Lil. Love, Melissa "I’m a born again Q".

Response:

"Kim Scheinberg"
wrote in message

news:93d1go$ebr$1@panix6.panix.com…

Lil, I’ve written and rejected maybe a dozen responses to this. None of them were particularly kind, though they all came from genuine concern

I wouldn’t expect you to be particularly kind. And I know that anything you have to say comes from genuine concern, because you’re not the kind to waste your breath on people you don’t really give a rat’s ass about.

You have been here for years telling us you’re allergic to strawberries.

Almonds. I’m allergic to almonds. Several years back, when I was *finally* diagnosed with asthma, I was sent for allergy testing. Cat hair, feathers, dust, nearly every kind of tree or grass, raw corn, raw peas, raw beans and almonds. Most of this was alright with me. I hate cats. I *loath* birds. Dust gets in my way occasionally, as do the trees or grass, but I’m not dying to live like The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Corn and peas can always be cooked and I’ve been looking for a reason to avoid beans since I was a small child. But I told the allergist that almonds were not an option–I wasn’t going to give them up. Since he’d now mentioned it, I did see that almonds caused my asthma to act up. Nothing life threatening, but an occasionally irritating problem. Still, I liked almonds and I wasn’t planning to give that up because he thought that I needed to. I would just have to learn to work around the problem. He could continue to tell me I have to stop eating the almonds while I continue to smile benignly and let it drift out the other ear, or he could accept that and we could talk about other solutions. So I still eat almonds because the problem they cause does not outweigh my liking them. And when I start to cough, I give myself a shot of FloVent and carry on.

Everything else is just rationalization and bullshit

Bullshit, I don’t know about. I believe everything I’m saying, but I’m not always the brightest crayon in the box. Rationalization, sure. Like I said to Martha, I have this bizarre notion that I owe more than a "no thanks" to you guys. I’ve always been like that–I answer questions with a story. At any rate, the rationalizations have a point. I’m not here because I’m hell bent on proving you guys wrong. Ask my mom…nothing anybody’s ever said has had any real influence on how I actually decide to live my life. I tell you that I won’t give up almonds for all the reasons you say I won’t give up strawberries and more. But the fact of the matter is simple–I like them. Likewise with DH. So far that still outweighs the things that bother me. lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

wrote in message

news:filipic.3-0801011124120001@164.107.35.122…

I think a lot of the feedback you’ve been getting has stemmed from things you’ve told us… here’s one item I believe you wrote…

Yes, I said that the idea of packing up and leaving was tempting. And I don’t know which thread that was (I keep no record of anything that I’m not thrilled about DH reading), but the Paxil thread was very clearly labled a vent. I have days where it would be easier to pack up and leave my life–I’m sure you do, too. That day they stemmed from stepson’s medication. Some days they stem from my bills. My bills are *far* more difficult to overcome than my problems with stepson. I could declare bankruptcy tomorrow–I have no assets to lose and I’d never have to worry about these bills again. That’s the easy way out. It’s harder to make a commitment to take responsibility for something that you took on with your eyes open. So do I still fantasize about bankruptcy? You bet. Would I like myself much if I did it? Nope.

I think people here understand those kinds of difficulties more than they understand the positives you experience in the relationship you have with your ex.

Exactly. And as I said, I truly love you all for the concern that you have for me. I’m just tired of feeling that I have to explain why somebody else’s solution isn’t right for me. Certainly not right now. Maybe not ever. To be totally honest, with a little more fine tuning this kind of a living arrangement really agrees with me. Anne was very close to the mark when she called it a marriage without sex. But it’s also a marriage without guilt or encumbrances. I’m free to do what I like–travel where I like, hang out where I like, date who I like. So is DH. And when we come home, there’s somebody here to talk to. This works for me.

Don’t worry so much about explaining every last detail to all of us. Take what is helpful, and let the rest slide away to internet-oblivion.

Sigh. Therein lies the problem, though. Sometimes it’s hard to see the concern and I just feel like you all are waiting to see who wins the break-up pool. And private e-mails are so much more difficult to ignore than posts, because they’re right there in your face from people that you love and who you know care about what happens to you. And "thanks, but no," doesn’t seem to cut it as a response–especially when people have trusted you with their own painful history as an example. lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

"lilblakdog"
writes You folks want me to leave a perfectly good friendship with a person who just happens to be my ex-husband because *you* think I need to. I disagree.

Lil, I’ve written and rejected maybe a dozen responses to this. None of them were particularly kind, though they all came from genuine concern You have been here for years telling us you’re allergic to strawberries. You give us the details of every rash that occurs after eating them (most especially, I’ll note, on Halloween and Xmas). You relay agonizing details about the short-term effects these strawberries have, and occasionally wonder if they might not have long-term effects, too When we tell you in all manner of ways to STOP EATING THE STRAWBERRIES you remind us how good they taste, how much you enjoy them, how you’ve devoted years to collecting and perfecting various strawberry recipes. You’re invested in strawberries. You have strawberry bushes in your yard. You have a wholesale strawberry business you can’t afford to give up You’ve stopped eating them, you say. Now you’ve reduced your life to growing them and picking them and cooking with them and just enjoying the scent. They benefit your life somehow Guess what? You’re still having allergic reactions. Maybe you don’t wash your hands well enough after handling them. Maybe it’s absorbed through your skin. I don’t know BUT THE STRAWBERRIES ARE SLOWLY KILLING YOU Everything else is just rationalization and bullshit Find a new business, Lil. Grow a different garden. Get out. How many people need to observe this? How many of us can be so wrongity-wrong? -k.

Response:

Hi lil, I understand the frustration you’re feeling right now. But I think a lot of the feedback you’ve been getting has stemmed from things you’ve told us… here’s one item I believe you wrote:

I know. But the only way to do it would be to actually pack up and leave, cutting them off completely. And that idea is *soooo* tempting right now, to be totally honest with you. I can’t think about this stuff, because it’s killing me. The idea of feeding *my* child unnecessary drugs makes me sick.

It almost sounds as if you wanted to hear that it would be OK if you decided to just remove yourself totally from the situation. And I think people here responded to that. But of course it’s OK to stick with it, too, if that’s what you want to do. In fact, as long as you have the strength and energy and desire to continue it, it sounds like the input you’ll have on SS’s life will be an incredibly positive influence. It could become difficult at times, because as a step, you’re at the mercy of the bioparents’ wishes. And I think people here understand those kinds of difficulties more than they understand the positives you experience in the relationship you have with your ex. Don’t worry so much about explaining every last detail to all of us. Take what is helpful, and let the rest slide away to internet-oblivion. All the best, Martha In article <2L566.2705$O8.32…@newscontent-01.sprint.ca

, "lilblakdog"

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
wrote: Sigh. You’re missing something rather significant, though. TC left because she was in a bad relationship with an abusive alchoholic. She needed to leave that relationship for her own health, safety and state of mind, if nothing else, and it was impossible to do so and still salvage the relationship with her–for all intents and purposes–stepdaughter. I’ve heard this type of advice from many of you–three this week, that I remember; I think nearly *all* of you at one point or another. And I *know* that your advice comes from your concern for me, and I love you for that concern. But one of these days I’m going to be what appears to be one of those spontaneous combustion cases–they’re going to walk in and find char and ashes all around my computer chair and nothing else damaged. So please let me re-iterate and get out everything that I need to say, one last time. And then I have to stop discussing this with you all, because it exhausts me to have to explain myself over and over and I just cannot do it anymore. You folks want me to leave a perfectly good friendship with a person who just happens to be my ex-husband because *you* think I need to. I disagree. If DH was a female roommate, would you all say that it was impossible for me to have a life while living here with her? What if she had a child that I helped her with? My friend’s best friend is a single mother and so my friend spends a lot of time and effort helping her raise her son. Should she walk away too? Because she has no ties to this child and needs to get on with her *own* life? Merrie once asked me why I would continue a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere? I remember it because it seemed like such a bizarre question to ask about a friendship. Are your friendships "going" somewhere? Are they all leading to marriage? Because if they are, I think you’re right…I need to get new friends. All of your concern hinges on the fact that he’s my ex-husband and this doesn’t follow the traditional divorce pattern, so everybody wants to tell me that it’s wrong or unhealthy. I never got my copy of The Big Book of Divorce, but I’ll tell you something…I consider mine pretty successful. I have everything that I set out to have at the time that I left DH–things I never thought I would have again. And I don’t feel that I’m losing *anything* in the process. So if you’re all just holding your breath, waiting for the day that I cut off all ties with DH and stepson for no reason other than "so that I can get on with my life", I think you’d better find a new hobby. I *have* gotten on with my life and, thankfully, have managed to keep one of my best friends and a relationship with the child that I love. You folks need to understand and appreciate that I’m not going anywhere anytime soon…and when I do, I won’t be going far. I’ll still be best friends with DH, and will still be special friends with my stepson. Until such time that something unavoidable happens–like a new woman in DH’s life–this is the way that things will continue. Because *I* want it to. And, currently, so do DH and stepson. It’s unorthodox, and I completely appreciate your not understanding it. But socially, right now, I feel 100% fulfilled, just the way things are, and I have no desire to change it. Get me a job and shave five years off my age, and I’d be very, very happy with my life right now. I know an awful lot of parasites–people who’s only concern for me is my ability to do things for them. I just had this discussion earlier this year with Merrie, when I was trying to end a friendship with a person I no longer valued as a friend. I’m currently dealing with two others–one being Roomie–and I’m just keeping my head above water with them, trying to see if there’s anything left to salvage. The idea of leaving a wonderful, fulfilling friendship for absolutely no reason is ludicrous. When I left DH, I told my brother that my mom was worried about what the family would say. He turned to me and said, "Leslie, anybody who was at that wedding would *not* be surprised that it turned out like this." And it’s true–I never heard a word from anybody at my wedding. My distant family, however, all think that I *need* to go back to him. My distant friends think I *need* to cut off all ties with him completely. The people who really know me and have actually met DH and I are all happy that things have turned out so well and that everyone is happy with the current situation. What do you think that says? I’m not one of those people who think that support means agreeing with everything I say and do. You’ve given me your advice and I’ve read it, understood where it was coming from, and appreciated it. But I have to do what’s right for me and, having explained that all before, I cannot keep going in this same circle. lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

Okay, so the medication is really just the tip of a rather jagged iceberg. I’m noticing some things in the past year that really have me concerned. And yeah, I know…it’s none of my business. But they’ve still got me concerned. They seem to have begun around the time Nikki came to visit. Why that would trigger a problem, I’m not sure…although biomom was *livid* that Nikki, DH and I stayed in the hotel that DH and biomom used to have their torrid weekends in. And insisted that we didn’t introduce Nikki to her (even though she didn’t even bother to come out of the back of the house when we arrived), so that she felt like a second-class citizen in her own home). *And* stepson was full of "Nikki did this" and "Nikki did that" when he got home. Anyhow, it seemed to have brought out all her anger at DH leaving her and marrying me (*years* in between, but nonetheless…). Less than a week later, she decided to pull DH’s spring visitation at the last minute. We didn’t see him again for over a month. I don’t know what was said when DH had stepson phone her during our camping trip, but he was in tears for hours afterward…then she tried to cut our vacation short. And yes, there were extenuating circumstances, but she was still *really* put out that DH wouldn’t rush him home immediately upon her request. And I think she was even more angry that it was stepson himself who decided that he’d prefer to camp…I don’t think she ever expected that he’d one day choose us over her. She refused to let us have him for Halloween. For *some* reason (DH says it was his idea, but it doesn’t fit his profile and *does* fit hers), we didn’t see stepson on Christmas. And our "half of vacation" was whittled down to the three days of New Year’s weekend. She called on the second day, during dinner, and wanted to talk to stepson. He told her he was eating but she still had him on the phone for nearly twenty minutes–wanting to know what he got for Christmas, what he was doing, where he slept, WHERE DH AND I SLEPT (at which point I very nearly took the phone away from him and hung it up, and *will* the next time), etc. Then she told DH she wanted him to call her back at midnight. She saw him the day before and was seeing him again the next day…I don’t get the point. This was supposed to be DH’s weekend (one of only *four* in the past year), and yet it seemed to revolve around her. I know she’s been furious that DH won’t rush to her side anymore, whenever she screams crisis. I’m sure she thought that DH would want to attend her father’s funeral, and asking him to come home would just seem obvious. The medication just seems to be one more attention grabber–like the eurology testing and the zillions of trips to the emergency room. But I feel like we’re poisoning him against our will (and yes, it is "us", because DH doesn’t remember to give him the medication). And she behaves as though she’s put one over on us. She hands DH the medication with a smug look on her face and practically *dares* him to challenge her. And the fact that DH *doesn’t* makes my blood run even colder. How can a man who cares so much do so little??? I’ve cried over this. I’ve lost sleep. I’ve thrown up. I feel like throwing up just writing about it. Sometimes I wonder why she doesn’t just put a bullet to his head, so that she and DH can "share" in their grief. I honestly don’t know what kind of a life he’ll have otherwise. She resents his making his own decisions if it doesn’t work in her favor. Any time DH doesn’t do exactly as she wants, she does something more to stepson. This time it’s anti-depressants. Next time will it be a labotomy, like Frances Farmer? I don’t know where it all ends. And stepson’s nothing more to her than a voodoo doll she can hug one minute and stick a pin into the next. But what do I do? Walk away? It would help me, but what will it do to stepson? How can I punish him for something his mother is doing? He needs all the sane, rational support he can get, but it’s really, really killing me to watch this unfold. I feel like picking him up and running as far and fast as possible–away from both of his screwy parents! lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

I don’t know how Lindsay would interpret your past actions, but I suspect it would be beneficial for her to know that in regards to her parents – it’s them not her – that are screwed up. It sometimes seems so obvious – but often not to the kid. Merrie – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

I dream sometimes of trying to track down Lindsay when she is older. To try to explain to her why I had to leave. Some day when she is old enough to understand it. I still question whether this would be beneficial or detrimental to her. Maybe some day she will find me again.

Response:

In article <3a54d380.505886…@enews.newsguy.com

, posted Thu, 04 Jan

2001 02:49:44 GMT, T.C. says… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

On Mon, 1 Jan 2001 15:30:59 -0800, "lilblakdog"

Thanks for that story TC – what a tough decision, but it’s obvious that you had to do it. Providing a frame so that two other adults can ignore the mess they’ve made is not much of a life – and not really fair to anybody. Kevin — Quotes of a five year old girl "Life. It can be scary sometimes, you know, like when there’s a fire or it’s dark or blah blah blah."

Response:

In article
, posted Tue, 2

Jan 2001 13:04:49 -0800, lilblakdog says…

"Melissa "

There’s something in here that keeps niggling at me. Something to do with relationship balances. It seems to me, Lil, that you fulfill a very specific role in the life of stepson, taking up responsibilities which normally would come from the parents. Is it possible, that should you withdraw from the situation, - besides being probably healthier for you – that it would actually trigger off some latent similar parenting integrity in Biomom and DH which are at the moment your ‘property’? I have seen this happen, and it doesn’t happen quick. However right now, you could be in a way enabling them both to be complacent. There’s no need for them to change because . . you’re there doing the hard work which covers up their mistakes…. It’s a tough decision, because you would never know until after the fact whether it was right or not. Kevin — Quotes of a five year old girl "If I look for a long time at myself in the mirror I start to look grown up. It’s starting to happen now. I’m growing, like beans. So mirrors are very special."

Response:

"Kevin"
wrote in message

news:MPG.14bc8b876f5e84259896b6@news.ntlworld.com…

Is it possible, that should you withdraw from the situation, - besides being probably healthier for you – that it would actually trigger off some latent similar parenting integrity in Biomom and DH which are at the moment your ‘property’?

Uh-uh. Biomom lives in total denial of what I do, and goes to great lengths to destroy any progress I make, immediately after I make it. The only thing that my disappearing will do for her is that she’ll be able to continue as she wishes without anybody lobbying for stepson and what is actually best for him. Biomom would be perfectly happy to have stepson live with her forever, totally dependent on her. She has often seemed to me (her father’s death being an excellent for-instance) incapable of dealing with certain things without stepson being with her. As for DH, I can very nearly guarantee you that he will allow stepson to slip out of his life completely. He had neglected all of his friendships to near death until I came on the scene and revived them. I got them all into varrying degrees of health before giving up completely (due to a total lack of support on his part), and DH hasn’t seen any of them since we were married. It was and is very much the same thing with his family relationships. Without me–or someone else to fulfill my role–DH will be unable to have any real degree of visitation. He works in retail management, and weekends off are few and far between, as are holiday weekends. Any visitation he has will more than likely be spent in near silence, in front of the television, and they will slip further and further apart. Biomom will, in turn, use this to keep stepson at home more and more, until DH becomes the typical biological father who shows up at graduation, weddings and the occasional birthday/holiday. Now, none of this is my business and I don’t lose any sleep over it. I can’t be there to hold everybody upright. What *is* my business is that I took on a certain role when I married DH–a role that was a lot more involved than most NC stepparents. I take that role and the current reprecussions from it very seriously. Stepson looks to me for nearly everything when he’s with us; my removing myself from his life and leaving him to whatever fate is waiting for him is not going to happen, unless I’m forced too. *I* built this relationship, with all of my heart and my good intentions. I haven’t committed to a hell of a lot in my life, but I’m committed to this. I cannot simply walk away because it’s suddenly too difficult, or I want to see what biomom or DH will do when I’m gone. After nearly eight years of studying both of them, I *know* what they’ll do when I’m gone. The only thing worse than what stepson is going through now, and what more than likely continues to wait for him in his future, is for him to have to go through it without *any* outside support and wondering where in hell I went??? If biomom or DH want to instigate that and live with the fallout, that’s their choice. But I’m not going to. FWIW, though, I don’t "parent" in the same way I used to. I force DH to plan their day, plan their meals, and cover all expenses incurred. I offer my opinion as a concerned friend of both DH and stepson (often rather passionately), but I don’t beat a dead horse. I do only as much disciplining as is normal for an adult figure living in this house. If stepson gets too noisy, I ask him to settle down. If he’s touching something that I don’t wish touched, I let him know. If he’s making too big a mess, I ask him to begin cleaning up. But any of the heavy duty parenting is done by DH or isn’t done at all. I have happily relinquished myself of most of that role, and enjoy being "just a friend". lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

"C&HWood"
wrote in message

news:3a5253f4.30495413@news.epix.net…

A while ago on the list, someone talked about a "Circle of Control" where they literally drew a circle, and put everything they can control inside the circle, and everything they can’t outside. Do you remember that – I’m a little fuzzy on the details.

I’m a dismal failure at "Circle of Control." I’m of the opinion that *everything’s* in my control. I’m not good with the idea that I can’t do anything that I put enough effort into. :-) For instance:

Decide appropriate medication

I have stepson’s medical insurance number. I still have identification that says that I am Mrs. DH…not that the doctor has ever asked for it. I can take stepson to the doctor he sees here and say, "This is what he’s being given. This is his history." I could even bring in half a dozen witnesses, which is something biomom can’t. And at the very *least*, I can get the medication changed. I can get a letter from the doctor to biomom. If I did that, DH would take it to biomom and say, "This is the new situation, based on the truth about
’s condition. This time *you* don’t fight

*me*." DH will do it…if I do the legwork, as always.

BD’s attitude & activity with son & ex

I can badger the hell out of DH until he does something to deal with the ex. It’s worked before. As for his activity with his son, that’s *always* been in my control. DH won’t even plan lunch for the two of them without my input and/or approval.

Whether you work with SS in school

This one I’ve let go of anyway. I told DH that I would help stepson if I had his and biomom’s total support and assistance. I haven’t got it. I won’t help. I’m done with the annual blood, sweat and tears, trying to teach him the things that he should have learned in school, only to have him forget them again after he goes home.

If not, at least know that there’s a perfect stranger who’s sending you good vibes and wishing you well with your difficulties.

Thanks, Holly! lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

Hi Lil, I normally just lurk here (for years, posting once in a while) but I wanted to reply to your situation here: "lilblakdog"
wrote: "Melissa "

I know you’re stressed, and it might seem like it has to be all or nothing, but it’s not. A while ago on the list, someone talked about a "Circle of Control" where they literally drew a circle, and put everything they can control inside the circle, and everything they can’t outside. Do you remember that – I’m a little fuzzy on the details. It seems to me there is a lot that you can do (and are doing) for this little boy you love so much, but because of your situation, there’s a lot you can’t do, too. And you’re stressing a lot over the stuff that you can’t actually change. For instance, regarding the paxil and other recent issues, you could put things like Decide appropriate medication BD’s attitude & activity with son & ex Whether you work with SS in school all outside your circle of control. Because they aren’t something you can control, no matter how much you want to, and stressing about them is *only* going to stress you, not change anything. But you can put all kinds of things *inside* your circle, because you can do them. Things like talking to SS when you see him, researching about whatever condition he is supposedly being medcated for, helping him learn techniques for dealing with it (if he has it – doubtful, I know) or ways to deal with his wacko mother (not that you’d ever call her that in front of him , help him with school & learning when you do see him, work on bettering and continuing *your* relationship with SS so he knows you care, and so forth. And those are all good, worthwhile things, and thinking about the positive things you can do has *got* to be better than thinking about the stuff you want to change, but can’t. I don’t know if this making sense, I have my own set of "things outside my circle of control" and one of them is having my brain work somedays. I hope you understand I offer this advice with the best of intentions and hopes that it can help you at least a little. If not, at least know that there’s a perfect stranger who’s sending you good vibes and wishing you well with your difficulties. Holly

Response:

But what do I do? Walk away?

Yes Lil, you are stressing yourself to the breaking point over a situation you can do nothing about. You and DH are divorced, he won’t step up to the plate, BM will take advantage of it. It’s going to happen. There is nothing you can do. Maybe you should take an SS vacation fo awhile. Don’t discuss it with DH, don’t even think about it. Take some time to regroup. Love, Melissa "I’m a born again Q".

Response:

"lilblakdog"
wrote in message

news:To846.8824$EX5.85869@newscontent-01.sprint.ca…

But what do I do? Walk away? It would help me, but what will it do to stepson? How can I punish him for something his mother is doing?

Oh, {{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Lil! I understand how you feel. It’s like being 500 feet away from an accident that is occurring and you can see it all unfolding in slow motion before your eyes. You think that if the drivers’ of each car could just hear your instructions they could minimize the damage. You realize they can’t hear you so you wonder about how you could run in and ’save’ the situation. But you can’t. It’s happening anyway and has already been happening. Remember, though, that *YOU* did NOT cause the accident. *THEY* did. You can only do so much and then it’s out of your hands. You’re still going to see the accident happening and you’re only human to feel ill and uneasy with being a witness to it all. But, like a ‘real’ accident, emergency personnel must assess the situation and see how ’safe’ it is. If it is unsafe for *them* they MUST make it so or they will die in the process of ‘rescue’. Failing to ’save’ anyone else and throwing their own life away at the same time. You need to make the situation ’safe’ for *you* first. There is a strong impulse in you to help, but you need to come at it with making sure *you* are in a safe place first. Otherwise, you just become another piece in the ‘accident’. OK, I’m sorry if that advice seems as clear as mud. I just hate seeing you internalize something that is NOT your fault and not something that you can ‘fix’. You can only work with *you* in the equation because that is the only thing you truly have absolute control over. I’m also feeling bad that the New Year has started off on such a bad note for you. Tea

Response:

"Melissa "
wrote in message

news:20010102121023.00467.00000871@ng-fj1.aol.com…

Yes Lil, you are stressing yourself to the breaking point over a situation

you

can do nothing about. You and DH are divorced, he won’t step up to the

plate,

BM will take advantage of it. It’s going to happen. There is nothing you

can

do.

I know. But the only way to do it would be to actually pack up and leave, cutting them off completely. And that idea is *soooo* tempting right now, to be totally honest with you. I can’t think about this stuff, because it’s killing me. The idea of feeding *my* child unnecessary drugs makes me sick. But that’s the problem. For nearly eight years now, he’s been *my* child–with everybody’s blessing. I was ravingly unsuccessful at bearing any of my own and that’s made him more than just my step-child. I know that some day DH or biomom could decide that enough’s enough and I don’t get to see him anymore and I’m prepared for that day. But it’s totally different to just get up and walk away from it voluntarily. When I think of doing it, it’s easier to imagine that I’d be able to amputate my own limb. And that’s *really* a dangerous thing…I don’t need anybody to tell me that. But this seems to be the hazaard of marrying someone with a child that you love–you can’t make yourself stop loving the child, just because you’re no longer married to the parent. lil — "It’s hard when you discover what keeps you going keeps you all alone." – Blue Rodeo

Response:

It’s too bad we can’t force medicate your BM.

She hands DH the medication with a smug look on her face and practically *dares* him to challenge her.

"This time: gonna do it RIGHT!" — Bob Seger Jennaii

Response:

Ethmoid problem?

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:59 +0000

Question:

Thank you for the specific advice re: irrigation. Much appreciated. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Duncan Robertson wrote: Hi!

I had trouble with my maxillary sinuses before last April when I began to irrigate my nose with saline/ bicarbonate and after that found Dr.Jones’s papers on xylitol. Now, after nearly six months’ regular spraying/irrigation with 10% xylitol in normal saline, my sinuses don’t pain any more and discharges are a thing of the past. So, listen to the voice crying in the wilderness, irrigate your nose intensively with xylitol soln., inclininng your head to the side to let the fluid gather where the ethmoid sinus openings are, high up on the lateral wall of your nasal cavity. Irrigate 2ml at a time, and let the stuff have time to penetrate. Don’t blow your nose hard to expel the stream of mucus. After, say, a week, you should begin to feel less congestion and some relief of the pain. Xylitol comes in when all the antibiotics have tried and failed. best of luck, Duncan.

Response:

NBoles613 wrote:

Hi, Instead of blindly letting the doctors switch you from antibiotic to antibiotic, my advice is to find an ENT who will do a sinus culture. I have this done whenever I get an infection because I will not tolerate the primary care docs guessing games with abx anymore after a lifetime of mismanagement of my sinuses. The ENT should go as far into the sinus as he can to get an accurate swab. When done by an experienced ENt this is not painful. All I feel is stinging and its over rather quickly. After having packing removed 10 days post-sugery everyhing else is a piece of cake! Rread my latest post on "Pseudomonas from Water Pik" and you’ll see why the culture is so important. Best of luck, Nadine

Thank you, Nadine–I’ll be sure to ask the ENT about this. That’s very helpful advice. I’ve been thinking about a culture/sensitivity, actually, and wondering why they don’t seem to do them more routinely for humans? When I take my pet birds to the avian vet, they invariably do a C/S to find out which drug to use when there’s an infection. zg (Ziggy Blum)

Response:

The reason this isn’t done routinely is because many ENT’s beleive that sinus culturing is not accurate due to so much normal flora in the sinus and nose that can cause false results. My ENT looks up my nostril with a high intensity light and holds the nostril open with a short, bent hemostat. When he sees a pustule or mucus he samples directly from it. Just swabbing the inside of the nose is worthless. Its not painful, just a minute of dicomfort that is well worth it. Nadine – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

I’ve been thinking about a culture/sensitivity, actually, and wondering why they don’t seem to do them more routinely for humans?

Response:

Hi, Instead of blindly letting the doctors switch you from antibiotic to antibiotic, my advice is to find an ENT who will do a sinus culture. I have this done whenever I get an infection because I will not tolerate the primary care docs guessing games with abx anymore after a lifetime of mismanagement of my sinuses. The ENT should go as far into the sinus as he can to get an accurate swab. When done by an experienced ENt this is not painful. All I feel is stinging and its over rather quickly. After having packing removed 10 days post-sugery everyhing else is a piece of cake! Rread my latest post on "Pseudomonas from Water Pik" and you’ll see why the culture is so important. Best of luck, Nadine

Response:

And thanks very much for the non-surgery perspective as well. I am not at all eager for such surgery, and am *definitely* going to look into all options thoroughly before embarking on it! thanks again, zg

Response:

Follow-up note–my allergist brought up the subject before I did today and recommended an ENT. I’ll be glad to see him and get his perspective, but certainly won’t be rushing into anything. It actually feels a little funny to be talking about anything as selfish as sinuses on a day like this. At least I have sinuses to talk about. zg

Response:

"Pythoness"

wrote in message

news:3B9EBF77.2F900807@efn.org…

And thanks very much for the non-surgery perspective as well. I am not at all eager for such surgery, and am *definitely* going to look into all options thoroughly before embarking on it! thanks again, zg

Hi! I had trouble with my maxillary sinuses before last April when I began to irrigate my nose with saline/ bicarbonate and after that found Dr.Jones’s papers on xylitol. Now, after nearly six months’ regular spraying/irrigation with 10% xylitol in normal saline, my sinuses don’t pain any more and discharges are a thing of the past. So, listen to the voice crying in the wilderness, irrigate your nose intensively with xylitol soln., inclininng your head to the side to let the fluid gather where the ethmoid sinus openings are, high up on the lateral wall of your nasal cavity. Irrigate 2ml at a time, and let the stuff have time to penetrate. Don’t blow your nose hard to expel the stream of mucus. After, say, a week, you should begin to feel less congestion and some relief of the pain. Xylitol comes in when all the antibiotics have tried and failed. best of luck, Duncan.

Response:

On 11 Sep 2001 13:34:05 -0700, ray_kill…@hotmail.com (Ray Killeen) wrote:

There are some very knowledgeable people on this site who give out good advise most of the time however the vocal group is the group that is quick to recommend an ENT or operation. Unfortunately most ENTs are practicing surgeons who are looking for new victims,I mean patients,so you will get a similar response from most of them also. You may need an operation but you may also have many options to try prior to it.

I agree that surgery should not be undertaken lightly, especially given that the experience and techniques of surgeons vary widely, and that some are likely to recommend procedures too casually or do them inappropriately (taking shortcuts to save time). Also, don’t forget that the anesthetic is a risk. On the other hand, there can be risks in *not* having surgery in some cases.

Definitely see an ENT but also consider the following. Are you irrigating with a Waterpick? Definitely irrigate morning and night with an addition salt-water sniff at lunch. Have you considered steroid nasal sprays topical antibiotics and lets not forget the Xylitol? Have you read "Sinus Cure" and "Sinus Survival". Have you considered how physiologically sensitive your nose and sinus area is before allowing a surgeon to mutilate, I mean operate on them. If in the end you decide to take the plunge make sure you consider the same doctor Don went to, he seems to be satisfied and his doctor as far as I am concerned is definitely the most experienced.

Yes I am satisfied with David Kennedy MD, chairman of the Dept. of Otolarynogology of U. Penn. Philadelphia, Chief of Otolaryngology at the Hospital of U. Penn., and the pioneer of endoscopic sinus surgery in the U.S. He also is one of the best comunicators I have met, which I value a lot. He will frankly state statistics that surgery will help and will not do it unless he thinks it will. But you will wait 6 months to see him, if he will see you. Seeing someone like that enormously increases odds of success because they publish their success rates and their reputation rides on not having a disaster. It’s best to have some CT scans ready to send him by mail first. You might want to see some others first so that you can educate yourself as to what to ask, get CT scans etc. But yes, explore all options carefully, non-surgical and surgical. I put off surgery for many years before having it. (But I never had pain etc.) On the one hand, my sinusitis progressed into all sinuses during that period. On the other hand, techniques improved in a major way and I educated myself toward a better decision, I think.

Response:

yep, see an ENT. I went years without knowing I had a deviated septum(much of my left side was supposedly blocked) and acid reflux into my sinuses which damages the sinuses(hard to believe, since I never feel acid in my chest) until I recently went to an ENT. Allergists and other doctors never mentioned anything about a deviated septum or acid reflux. Some type of sinus surgery may help you greatly. An ENT will probably look up your nose with a flexible camera/light and maybe order a CAT Scan of your sinuses, which can diagnose structural problems far better than regular X-rays. At first my ENT took an X-ray and thought things looked better than he thought based on the X-ray. Then I had the CT scan and he could see that my septum was deviated and hampering drainage and causing sinus infections. http://www.meetotheradults.cm http://www.photographsofnature.com "Don Brady"

wrote in message

news:jSidOxokdthdtfUrdQGtSzO7fCk0@4ax.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

On Mon, 10 Sep 2001 13:17:38 -0700, Pythoness

are

not a good idea if you have sinusitis. That was Thursday. I continued to improve slowly until yesterday, when I felt almost normal–and today the smell is back, the pain is back, I have a (very) low fever, *and* a slight bloody yellow discharge. I have never experienced anything like this and I’m feeling pretty helpless. I’m asthmatic and sinus infections always act as a trigger, so I’m on a heavier than usual dose of Flovent and I’m not happy about that either. I’m irrigating once or twice a day (per allergist’s instructions) with salt water. I’ve had unusual tenderness above my left eyebrow and just under my left eye–to a lesser extent on the other side as well. Any suggestions or information would be welcomed. Thanks. I would see an otolaryngologist specializing in sinuses as well as an allergist. You need both.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Pythoness wrote:

Hi– I’ve lurked here on & off for sometime but I don’t recall posting before (might’ve once or twice). I’ve had minor chronic sinusitis for a looong time (ie, pain and some yellow discharge periodically, especially during allergy season), but acute flareups (with fever and discharge) have been limited to once or twice a year and responded well to ampicillin or Zithromax. Over the last couple of months I’ve had an altogether new and awful problem involving wandering mild to moderate facial pain, vague stuffiness, and, by far the worst of all, a pungent and persistant smell of acrid smoke that varies from mild to appalling. No discharge. Both my GP and my allergist diagnosed infection, and a CT scan showed thickening in my ethmoid cells, which apparently is consistant with middle-of-the-face pain and weird smells. The problem is that it’s just not budging.

Congratulations. You have reached the point where it’s time to consider surgery. We all end up that way eventually. Please contact an ENT who has extensive experience in endoscopic sinus surgery (several hundred operations at least), and discuss it with him. As my ENT said: "Every sinus patient starts out trying antibiotics, home remedies, and everything else they can think of. Then, after years go by, and they just can’t take it anymore, then they go for surgery." — Steven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlit…@earthlink.net "I guess I could have paid a little closer attention when I was in English class, but it all worked out OK. I’m gainfully employed." – President George W. Bush

Response:

Steven Litvintchouk wrote:

Congratulations. You have reached the point where it’s time to consider surgery. We all end up that way eventually.

Heigh ho; I suspected as much. Thanks for the advice, Steven et al! I’ll ask for a referral to an ENT at my next appointment this week. zg

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Pythoness

wrote in message

There are some very knowledgeable people on this site who give out good advise most of the time however the vocal group is the group that is quick to recommend an ENT or operation. Unfortunately most ENTs are practicing surgeons who are looking for new victims,I mean patients,so you will get a similar response from most of them also. You may need an operation but you may also have many options to try prior to it. Definitely see an ENT but also consider the following. Are you irrigating with a Waterpick? Definitely irrigate morning and night with an addition salt-water sniff at lunch. Have you considered steroid nasal sprays topical antibiotics and lets not forget the Xylitol? Have you read "Sinus Cure" and "Sinus Survival". Have you considered how physiologically sensitive your nose and sinus area is before allowing a surgeon to mutilate, I mean operate on them. If in the end you decide to take the plunge make sure you consider the same doctor Don went to, he seems to be satisfied and his doctor as far as I am concerned is definitely the most experienced.

Response:

Hi– I’ve lurked here on & off for sometime but I don’t recall posting before (might’ve once or twice). I’ve had minor chronic sinusitis for a looong time (ie, pain and some yellow discharge periodically, especially during allergy season), but acute flareups (with fever and discharge) have been limited to once or twice a year and responded well to ampicillin or Zithromax. Over the last couple of months I’ve had an altogether new and awful problem involving wandering mild to moderate facial pain, vague stuffiness, and, by far the worst of all, a pungent and persistant smell of acrid smoke that varies from mild to appalling. No discharge. Both my GP and my allergist diagnosed infection, and a CT scan showed thickening in my ethmoid cells, which apparently is consistant with middle-of-the-face pain and weird smells. The problem is that it’s just not budging. My GP gave me Augmentin, which I proved to be allergic to. Then I went to my allergist, who gave me Zithromax. The smell and pain went down to nonexistant and sprang right back up again. She then gave me Biaxin, which after a week had produced no result whatsoever, and I was having ear pain and fever, so she switched me to two weeks of Tequin. After one week I thought the Tequin was really going to do the job–I had two days where the pain was minimal and I only experienced the smell for a few seconds a day. Then I took an antihistimine so I could get my regular allergy shot, and to my extreme disappointment ALL the symptoms returned within a couple hours–the smell and the pain and the lassitude. ARRRRRGHH! That was Thursday. I continued to improve slowly until yesterday, when I felt almost normal–and today the smell is back, the pain is back, I have a (very) low fever, *and* a slight bloody yellow discharge. I have never experienced anything like this and I’m feeling pretty helpless. I’m asthmatic and sinus infections always act as a trigger, so I’m on a heavier than usual dose of Flovent and I’m not happy about that either. I’m irrigating once or twice a day (per allergist’s instructions) with salt water. I’ve had unusual tenderness above my left eyebrow and just under my left eye–to a lesser extent on the other side as well. Any suggestions or information would be welcomed. Thanks. Ziggy

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -On Mon, 10 Sep 2001 13:17:38 -0700, Pythoness

wrote: Hi– I’ve lurked here on & off for sometime but I don’t recall posting before (might’ve once or twice). I’ve had minor chronic sinusitis for a looong time (ie, pain and some yellow discharge periodically, especially during allergy season), but acute flareups (with fever and discharge) have been limited to once or twice a year and responded well to ampicillin or Zithromax. Over the last couple of months I’ve had an altogether new and awful problem involving wandering mild to moderate facial pain, vague stuffiness, and, by far the worst of all, a pungent and persistant smell of acrid smoke that varies from mild to appalling. No discharge. Both my GP and my allergist diagnosed infection, and a CT scan showed thickening in my ethmoid cells, which apparently is consistant with middle-of-the-face pain and weird smells. The problem is that it’s just not budging. My GP gave me Augmentin, which I proved to be allergic to. Then I went to my allergist, who gave me Zithromax. The smell and pain went down to nonexistant and sprang right back up again. She then gave me Biaxin, which after a week had produced no result whatsoever, and I was having ear pain and fever, so she switched me to two weeks of Tequin. After one week I thought the Tequin was really going to do the job–I had two days where the pain was minimal and I only experienced the smell for a few seconds a day. Then I took an antihistimine so I could get my regular allergy shot, and to my extreme disappointment ALL the symptoms returned within a couple hours–the smell and the pain and the lassitude. ARRRRRGHH!

Well antihistamines do dry out and can restrict mucous flow. Really they are not a good idea if you have sinusitis.

That was Thursday. I continued to improve slowly until yesterday, when I felt almost normal–and today the smell is back, the pain is back, I have a (very) low fever, *and* a slight bloody yellow discharge. I have never experienced anything like this and I’m feeling pretty helpless. I’m asthmatic and sinus infections always act as a trigger, so I’m on a heavier than usual dose of Flovent and I’m not happy about that either. I’m irrigating once or twice a day (per allergist’s instructions) with salt water. I’ve had unusual tenderness above my left eyebrow and just under my left eye–to a lesser extent on the other side as well. Any suggestions or information would be welcomed. Thanks.

I would see an otolaryngologist specializing in sinuses as well as an allergist. You need both.

Response:

Steroids/BG

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:59 +0000

Question:

I know that steroids can wreak havoc on BG. What I haven’t been able to learn is how long this effect normally lasts. For example, if one gets a depo medrol injection, does it affect BG levels for hours/days/weeks? Thanks to anyone who can answer this.

Response:

If I’m not mistaken it will stay in the system for several weeks or months. Any steroids I’ve ever taken caused more trouble then it was worth IMHO Pam

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I know that steroids can wreak havoc on BG. What I haven’t been able to learn is how long this effect normally lasts. For example, if one gets a depo medrol injection, does it affect BG levels for hours/days/weeks? Thanks to anyone who can answer this.

Response:

I’ve noticed problems with mere inhaled steroids for asthmatic bronchitis. For me the effect is 20-50 mg/dl unexplainable rise in BG that can last up to five hours. That with 2 puffs of 110mcg FloVent and 2 puffs of 0.2mg MaxAir. (See my question – "another medication question" if it ever shows up! The Fates have conspired against me in all my attempts to post that message to this ng.)

Response:

Allergy

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:59 +0000

Question:

Get to your doctor and get started on any number of presriptions by Dec/Jan if your allergies flare up in Feb/Mar. I’ve had similar issues without outdoor exercise,

Whoops. Read: "I’ve had similar issues with outdoor exercise,…" — Shalom, Peace, Salaam George Grattan

Response:

I had similar problems, especially when I lived in the midwest. It got so bad that I couldn’t run more than a quarter mile before I had the equivalent of an Asthma attack. OTC medicine like Clor-Trimeton worked pretty well for me. When that didn’t do the trick, I stepped up to Claritin. Recently, I was training for the Ironman, and had similar issues develop. The doctor presribed Flovent (very expensive, very effective). I’d be careful about taking prednisone, though. The stuff effects different people different ways. I had a serious battle with Poison oak about 6 months ago, where that was prescribed. Though I didn’t think this was possible, I averaged 3 hours of sleep a night for three weeks. The stuff had me amped like I’d never been amped before. I recall doing 8 mile runs at 3 in the morning, slightly above what is usually my lactate threshold, and not even being tired afterward. It is a banned substance for racing, however, so if you want to feel a drug-free sense of accomplishment, I’d steer clear. Zac

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi. Started training for my first marathon in May. Slated to run it in January. Am really starting to get into it. I’m dreading one thing, though. I have all intentions of continuing to run year round, but in Feb/Mar, I always come down with the crummiest allergic reaction to oak pollen, which is everywhere in my home of Central Florida during spring. It’s not so much the normal itchy and runny nose and eyes I’m worried about; it’s more the chest-cold-type symptoms I get when I’m breathing hard for extended periods during that time. Any advice? I’d hate to have to do the treadmill thing for a month or six weeks. Thanks.

Response:

Hi. Started training for my first marathon in May. Slated to run it in January. Am really starting to get into it. I’m dreading one thing, though. I have all intentions of continuing to run year round, but in Feb/Mar, I always come down with the crummiest allergic reaction to oak pollen, which is everywhere in my home of Central Florida during spring. It’s not so much the normal itchy and runny nose and eyes I’m worried about; it’s more the chest-cold-type symptoms I get when I’m breathing hard for extended periods during that time. Any advice? I’d hate to have to do the treadmill thing for a month or six weeks. Thanks.

Get to your doctor and get started on any number of presriptions by Dec/Jan if your allergies flare up in Feb/Mar. I’ve had similar issues without outdoor exercise, and have finally gotten them under control by a combined regimen of nasal inhalers (Rhinocort), mouth inhalers (Flovent) and, as needed, something like Allegra. You can absolutely diminish or avoid these symptoms altogether, but you’ve got to start taking the stuff early on to let it build up and do its work. There are, of course, some reasons to be concerned about long-term inhaled steroid use, but you should talk these through with your doctor. Good luck! — Shalom, Peace, Salaam George Grattan

Response:

it’s more the chest-cold-type symptoms I get when I’m breathing hard for extended periods during that time. Any advice?

Been there, done that. My doctor gives me prescriptions for: (1) an Albuterol inhaler; and (2) Prednisone tablets. Also, sometimes Guaifenesin, either presecription as "Guaifenesin LA" or non-prescription as Robitussin (NOT "DM"). I must warn you, though, that you will lose weight with the Albuterol inhaler, as it ups your heart rate and gives your hands a sometimes irritating tremor. these 3 things will prevent a respiratory fluid build-up by helping you cough it out as it develops. Good luck. You CAN run through this; I do. Remember that coughing is your friend, not your enemy, when you have this condition. –KLM

Response:

NYC asthma

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:59 +0000

Question:

i notice that when i do NYC races in central park (freddiemac 5K most recently) i become terribly asthmatic after about a mile. i don’t have this problem in the NJ suburbs where i live and run other races. i am on asthma medications (serevent, flovent and nasonex.) and these do a good job for me. wondering if it’s the air quality in central park. -rei

Response:

wondering if it’s the air quality in central park.

It could very well be. I would think the ground level pollution is higher in NYC (more concentration of cars) than in the suburbs…particularly in the warmer months. For example, I used to have chronic bronchitus when I lived in the city. When I moved to NJ the problem cleared up. Johanna "forever young" Young

Response:

NYC asthma

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:59 +0000

Question:

Response:

wondering if it’s the air quality in central park.

Response:

Hi there….

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:58 +0000

Question:

Jeff, Sorry to respond so late. Of course I remember. I have also been following your ordel. I’m sorry to hear it, my friend. You do know, of course, that plaquenil is ototoxic. I hope that it isn’t bothering your ears too much. Good to hear from you again. Thanks, Mike — To reply via email remove the X’s from my email address: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – hi mike. u remember me from a few years ago? sorry to hear you are not doing very well. can i offer immunomodulators maybe? that seems to work for me. on mtx and plaquenil. am holding own. jeffy It’s been a long time…. You folks probably don’t remember me, but I’m back. Been in denail the past few months, but it is definately back–my colitis/proctitis.whatever it is. They’ve never really figured it out actually. For awhile, I’d have days of no symptoms, then a day of blood, and nothing again for days. Right now, it’s become constant. So, I’m back. Tried all the alternative stuff like fish oil, flaxseed, borage, evening primrose, etc. The only one that seemed to do anything was bromelain, and it made my heart race, so can’t keep taking it. Trying to avoid any real meds, but I think I’m screwed. Are there supplemetns that are *BAD* for IBD? Even ginger makes me bleed more! Crazy! I’m allergic to 5ASA and I hate the cortisone suppositories–make me get all fungusy down there. DAMN!!! Wish there was some other alternative. I don’t have diarrhea, and go only once a day (sometimes twice), just blood and mucus (sometimes just blood)—otherwise the stools are generally normal. I need to find a doc. My current doc says, "You’re bleeding, so what?" Obviously, I’m a mild case. Go only once a day, big deal. It still hurts, and sucks! Don’t know what more to say. Hope you kept a space open for me in the club. Thanks, Mike — To reply via email remove the X’s from my email address:

Response:

What’s molo-cure?

Mike, Here is the link for Molocure: http://www.molocure.com for more info. Like I said, I don’t know if it works, but thats all my daughter is on right now along with other multivitamins. Now, I’m not endorsing MoloCure nor am I suggesting its working. All I’m saying is that MoloCure is a product we chose to add to my daughters diet as a natural suppliment under the supervision of her GI. I’m a skeptic and I attribute her well being to the Prednisone regimine she was just on and the removal of Asacol from her list of meds. We are still considering 6mp, but for now MoloCure is all we are using and she’s symptom free. We are going back to the GI next Friday. Joe

Response:

hi mike. u remember me from a few years ago? sorry to hear you are not doing very well. can i offer immunomodulators maybe? that seems to work for me. on mtx and plaquenil. am holding own. jeffy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s been a long time…. You folks probably don’t remember me, but I’m back. Been in denail the past few months, but it is definately back–my colitis/proctitis.whatever it is. They’ve never really figured it out actually. For awhile, I’d have days of no symptoms, then a day of blood, and nothing again for days. Right now, it’s become constant. So, I’m back. Tried all the alternative stuff like fish oil, flaxseed, borage, evening primrose, etc. The only one that seemed to do anything was bromelain, and it made my heart race, so can’t keep taking it. Trying to avoid any real meds, but I think I’m screwed. Are there supplemetns that are *BAD* for IBD? Even ginger makes me bleed more! Crazy! I’m allergic to 5ASA and I hate the cortisone suppositories–make me get all fungusy down there. DAMN!!! Wish there was some other alternative. I don’t have diarrhea, and go only once a day (sometimes twice), just blood and mucus (sometimes just blood)—otherwise the stools are generally normal. I need to find a doc. My current doc says, "You’re bleeding, so what?" Obviously, I’m a mild case. Go only once a day, big deal. It still hurts, and sucks! Don’t know what more to say. Hope you kept a space open for me in the club. Thanks, Mike — To reply via email remove the X’s from my email address:

Response:

Hi Jennifer, Regarding prednisone in asthma, I have quite a bit of experience with asthma medications, and it sounds like your asthma is not controlled at times? I was wondering if you have tried Advair? It contains Flovent and Serevent. Barry

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I know this doesn’t pertain to the thread however Joe mentioned Prednisone. Is this a common treatment? I use prednisone when my asthma flares up and when I’m on that med I can eat all day, to be expected, and have no problems with stools. Jennifer meds, but I think I’m screwed. Are there supplemetns that are *BAD* for IBD? Even ginger makes me bleed more! Crazy! Mike, Since my daughter is asacol-intolerant, I’ve added Molo-Cure to her diet with permission of her GI. She just came off her Prednisone regime due to what we thought was a flare up, but now think it was the Asacol. So far she is fine. I can’t attribute her well being to the Molo-cure since she got better just by stopping the Asacol. Right now she is not taking anything, but we are considering 6mp. Our decision is to wait and see for a while…. Joe

Response:

THANKS to all of you who report problems with the asacol, and the docs refusing to acknowledge it… I flat out refused to take it after problems I was having. Doc thought I was nuts, but I stuck to my guns. I’m taking Colazal now, which is expensive as hell, but is supposed to be similar to asacol. No problems, but if it’s keeping the CD in check I have no idea. Robin

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Asacol is evil. I think so many people have been hurt by it, and yet no doc will ever believe it. What’s molo-cure? Thanks, Mike — To reply via email remove the (SPAM_BLOCKER) from my email address: meds, but I think I’m screwed. Are there supplemetns that are *BAD* for IBD? Even ginger makes me bleed more! Crazy! Mike, Since my daughter is asacol-intolerant, I’ve added Molo-Cure to her diet with permission of her GI. She just came off her Prednisone regime due to what we thought was a flare up, but now think it was the Asacol. So far she is fine. I can’t attribute her well being to the Molo-cure since she got better just by stopping the Asacol. Right now she is not taking anything, but we are considering 6mp. Our decision is to wait and see for a while…. Joe

Response:

Hi Mike, You mentioned that you have tried everything, so I was wondering if you tried the Specific Carbohydrate Diet recommended by Elaine G. Gottschall ? It worked for my wife, and my sister, who was quite severe. Here is a link to some information about her books. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/096927680X/qid%3D1057963139/sr… My sister went on the strict version of the diet, and within 2 weeks was back to normal. At the very least you should consider reading the book "Breaking the Viscious Cycle". It is based on solid scientific principles, and it has worked for many people. Barry – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s been a long time…. You folks probably don’t remember me, but I’m back. Been in denail the past few months, but it is definately back–my colitis/proctitis.whatever it is. They’ve never really figured it out actually. For awhile, I’d have days of no symptoms, then a day of blood, and nothing again for days. Right now, it’s become constant. So, I’m back. Tried all the alternative stuff like fish oil, flaxseed, borage, evening primrose, etc. The only one that seemed to do anything was bromelain, and it made my heart race, so can’t keep taking it. Trying to avoid any real meds, but I think I’m screwed. Are there supplemetns that are *BAD* for IBD? Even ginger makes me bleed more! Crazy! I’m allergic to 5ASA and I hate the cortisone suppositories–make me get all fungusy down there. DAMN!!! Wish there was some other alternative. I don’t have diarrhea, and go only once a day (sometimes twice), just blood and mucus (sometimes just blood)—otherwise the stools are generally normal. I need to find a doc. My current doc says, "You’re bleeding, so what?" Obviously, I’m a mild case. Go only once a day, big deal. It still hurts, and sucks! Don’t know what more to say. Hope you kept a space open for me in the club. Thanks, Mike — To reply via email remove the X’s from my email address:

Response:

meds, but I think I’m screwed. Are there supplemetns that are *BAD* for IBD? Even ginger makes me bleed more! Crazy! Mike, Since my daughter is asacol-intolerant, I’ve added Molo-Cure to her diet with permission of her GI. She just came off her Prednisone regime due to what we thought was a flare up, but now think it was the Asacol. So far she is fine. I can’t attribute her well being to the Molo-cure since she got better just by stopping the Asacol. Right now she is not taking anything, but we are considering 6mp. Our decision is to wait and see for a while…. Joe

Response:

Asacol is evil. I think so many people have been hurt by it, and yet no doc will ever believe it. What’s molo-cure? Thanks, Mike — To reply via email remove the (SPAM_BLOCKER) from my email address:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – meds, but I think I’m screwed. Are there supplemetns that are *BAD* for IBD? Even ginger makes me bleed more! Crazy! Mike, Since my daughter is asacol-intolerant, I’ve added Molo-Cure to her diet with permission of her GI. She just came off her Prednisone regime due to what we thought was a flare up, but now think it was the Asacol. So far she is fine. I can’t attribute her well being to the Molo-cure since she got better just by stopping the Asacol. Right now she is not taking anything, but we are considering 6mp. Our decision is to wait and see for a while…. Joe

Response:

I know this doesn’t pertain to the thread however Joe mentioned Prednisone. Is this a common treatment? I use prednisone when my asthma flares up and when I’m on that med I can eat all day, to be expected, and have no problems with stools. Jennifer

Response:

Mike, Maybe you should try a new doctor if your doctor doesn’t seem to think there is a problem… Seems to me if you are having blood in your stools… That’s not good! Hope you feel better soon! Marlena – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s been a long time…. You folks probably don’t remember me, but I’m back. Been in denail the past few months, but it is definately back–my colitis/proctitis.whatever it is. They’ve never really figured it out actually. For awhile, I’d have days of no symptoms, then a day of blood, and nothing again for days. Right now, it’s become constant. So, I’m back. Tried all the alternative stuff like fish oil, flaxseed, borage, evening primrose, etc. The only one that seemed to do anything was bromelain, and it made my heart race, so can’t keep taking it. Trying to avoid any real meds, but I think I’m screwed. Are there supplemetns that are *BAD* for IBD? Even ginger makes me bleed more! Crazy! I’m allergic to 5ASA and I hate the cortisone suppositories–make me get all fungusy down there. DAMN!!! Wish there was some other alternative. I don’t have diarrhea, and go only once a day (sometimes twice), just blood and mucus (sometimes just blood)—otherwise the stools are generally normal. I need to find a doc. My current doc says, "You’re bleeding, so what?" Obviously, I’m a mild case. Go only once a day, big deal. It still hurts, and sucks! Don’t know what more to say. Hope you kept a space open for me in the club. Thanks, Mike

Response:

It’s been a long time…. You folks probably don’t remember me, but I’m back. Been in denail the past few months, but it is definately back–my colitis/proctitis.whatever it is. They’ve never really figured it out actually. For awhile, I’d have days of no symptoms, then a day of blood, and nothing again for days. Right now, it’s become constant. So, I’m back. Tried all the alternative stuff like fish oil, flaxseed, borage, evening primrose, etc. The only one that seemed to do anything was bromelain, and it made my heart race, so can’t keep taking it. Trying to avoid any real meds, but I think I’m screwed. Are there supplemetns that are *BAD* for IBD? Even ginger makes me bleed more! Crazy! I’m allergic to 5ASA and I hate the cortisone suppositories–make me get all fungusy down there. DAMN!!! Wish there was some other alternative. I don’t have diarrhea, and go only once a day (sometimes twice), just blood and mucus (sometimes just blood)—otherwise the stools are generally normal. I need to find a doc. My current doc says, "You’re bleeding, so what?" Obviously, I’m a mild case. Go only once a day, big deal. It still hurts, and sucks! Don’t know what more to say. Hope you kept a space open for me in the club. Thanks, Mike — To reply via email remove the X’s from my email address:

Response:

Chest Crushing Asthma

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:58 +0000

Question:

Jim: Have you ever had a cardiac workup? Bob

Response:

I’ve told her. She didn’t seem highly concerned. In fact, she began tapering my other meds. (My peak flow was up.) So now what? Aleta – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi! If your albuterol (which is the same thing as salbuterol) isn’t working – tell your doctor NOW! When you have a severe attack albuterol and drugs related are the first line of treatment used to get you breathing again. It is very serious if these types of drugs do not work for you as it gives the emergeny treatment team few options to use to improve your breathing quickly. Please don’t panic when you read this – there can be many reasons why it doesn’t seem to be working for you such as inhalation techniques, expiration dates, over reliance on rescue medication, etc. but do look into this now. Marion B.Sc.Pharmacy And I use Albuterol, and it’s never let me down, either. Good thing there are medications that always work! So what does it mean when your albuterol inhaler doesn’t do anything? My asthma is fairly mild, but when I get an attack, I cough and cough. Sometimes the albuterol stopes it right away, but other times it doesn’t seem to have any effect. I don’t notice any difference in the coughing between the times that it does work and when it doesn’t (which I would expect if something other than asthma caused the non-responsive cough). Aleta

Response:

Hi! If your albuterol (which is the same thing as salbuterol)

snip Marion B.Sc.Pharmacy

Hi, "Salbutamol" [not salbuterol] is the WHO recommended name generally in use outside of the USA for "Albuterol". See Asthma FAQ medications: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/medicine/asthma/medications Colleen

Response:

Hi Colleen! I see I made a spelling error. Thanks for pointing it out, Marion – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi! If your albuterol (which is the same thing as salbuterol) snip Marion B.Sc.Pharmacy Hi, "Salbutamol" [not salbuterol] is the WHO recommended name generally in use outside of the USA for "Albuterol". See Asthma FAQ medications: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/medicine/asthma/medications Colleen

Response:

And I use Albuterol, and it’s never let me down, either. Good thing there are medications that always work!

So what does it mean when your albuterol inhaler doesn’t do anything? My asthma is fairly mild, but when I get an attack, I cough and cough. Sometimes the albuterol stopes it right away, but other times it doesn’t seem to have any effect. I don’t notice any difference in the coughing between the times that it does work and when it doesn’t (which I would expect if something other than asthma caused the non-responsive cough). Aleta

Response:

And I use Albuterol, and it’s never let me down, either. Good thing there are medications that always work! So what does it mean when your albuterol inhaler doesn’t do anything? My asthma is fairly mild, but when I get an attack, I cough and cough. Sometimes the albuterol stopes it right away, but other times it doesn’t seem to have any effect. I don’t notice any difference in the coughing between the times that it does work and when it doesn’t (which I would expect if something other than asthma caused the non-responsive cough). Aleta

Not all cough is caused by asthma; you could have a co-existing condition contributing to the cough. See: http://www.ummed.edu/dept/pulmonary/irwin/pitfalls.htm Common Pitfalls in Managing Patients with Chronic Cough "If patients continue to complain of persistently troublesome cough even after an extensive evaluation, reconsider the following pitfalls in management as possible contributing factors: 4.not considering that more than one condition is simultaneously contributing to the cough;

Response:

Hi! If your albuterol (which is the same thing as salbuterol) isn’t working – tell your doctor NOW! When you have a severe attack albuterol and drugs related are the first line of treatment used to get you breathing again. It is very serious if these types of drugs do not work for you as it gives the emergeny treatment team few options to use to improve your breathing quickly. Please don’t panic when you read this – there can be many reasons why it doesn’t seem to be working for you such as inhalation techniques, expiration dates, over reliance on rescue medication, etc. but do look into this now. Marion B.Sc.Pharmacy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – And I use Albuterol, and it’s never let me down, either. Good thing there are medications that always work! So what does it mean when your albuterol inhaler doesn’t do anything? My asthma is fairly mild, but when I get an attack, I cough and cough. Sometimes the albuterol stopes it right away, but other times it doesn’t seem to have any effect. I don’t notice any difference in the coughing between the times that it does work and when it doesn’t (which I would expect if something other than asthma caused the non-responsive cough). Aleta

Response:

I seem to get a violent chest compressing asthma attack in the last few years once a day or so, that feels like somoene is sitting on my chest and I am about to strangulate. I have life long asthma and it is much worse in the spring and fall, I am on Flovent, and here is my point: Ventolin is amazing! I have used it for 20 years, but it is still amazing the little off blue inhaler buddy has saved my life hundreds of times.

Response:

Weight and Asthma

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:05:58 +0000

Question:

Is there any correlation between weight gain and certain asthma medicines like Accolate or singulair. I know prednisone makes you retain water when you are on it, but does it have longterm side effects in this area, even if one is only on it for a brief period of time at a low dosage?

Response:

Hi Stephanie, I have found a correlation (whether there supposed to be one or not!). I asked my primary care doc’s nurse, (who is asthmatic and goes to my asthma doc) if she experienced wt. gain also and she said yes, pretty much in hips and thighs…all since taking Accolate. I also noticed a wee bit of fluid retention after I started Flovent. Patrice – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Is there any correlation between weight gain and certain asthma medicines like Accolate or singulair. I know prednisone makes you retain water when you are on it, but does it have longterm side effects in this area, even if one is only on it for a brief period of time at a low dosage?

Response:

Hi Stephanie, I have found a correlation (whether there supposed to be one or not!).

Isn’t this Testimonial evidence? A correlation is a Statistical property of a data set, it is defined by the ‘r’ value among others. Be careful or Diane will jump all over you! : )

Response:

Do you have something better to add? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi Stephanie, I have found a correlation (whether there supposed to be one or not!). Isn’t this Testimonial evidence? A correlation is a Statistical property of a data set, it is defined by the ‘r’ value among others. Be careful or Diane will jump all over you! : )

Response:

Ah ha! The ‘r’ value in my correlation must mean the opposite of front end! ) Patrice – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi Stephanie, I have found a correlation (whether there supposed to be one or not!). Isn’t this Testimonial evidence? A correlation is a Statistical property of a data set, it is defined by the ‘r’ value among others. Be careful or Diane will jump all over you! : )

Response:

I have been on prednisone and i am life dependant. I have a lot of problems with weight gain. I also took Accolate but got off of it because it did nothing for me. I am on flovent and see no change in my weight from that. A lot of medications make you hungry when your dose goes up. so you have to watch that. Good Luck * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

I have had the exact same experience. I have been dependent on prednisone for about 5 years now, and have had major weight gain. My doc tells me to eat the way I would if dieting would actually work (low fat, lots of lean meat, fruit and veggies) so that at least I will be healthy. She has always been very good and understanding with the weight issue. My hardest part is the frustration. I also tried Accolate and it didnt help much. I also agree about the increase in appetite! It is another part of the frustration. You are always hungry and you try not to eat because you dont want to gain any MORE weight. As if having severe asthma wasn’t bad enough! Life is uncertain – eat dessert first. Nancy 8=: )

Response:

I am so glad to find someone who is in my position. I am also a diabetic and I am on a strick diet. I take insulin 3 timess a day plus check my sugar 4 times a day. They that diabetics are skinny I think someone forgot to tell me. I have a great doctor too about my weight. Do you have any exersizes that you do or can do besides walking. I can bearly make it up the stairs. Are you on anyother medications? I have been on prednisone for about 10 years now. What dosages are you on? * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

Do you have any exersizes that you do or can do besides walking. I can bearly make it up the stairs. Are you on anyother medications? I have been on prednisone for about 10 years now. What dosages are you on?

Hiya – Right now I am on 20mg and that seems to be as low as I can go without having an attack. But recently around Christmas I was very ill with bronchitis (it was starting to turn into pneumonia) and I was on 90mg prednisone, and had to taper down from that. I have been "forcing" myself to move more. I got a 20 minute Richard Simmons videotape (OK, now stop giggling!). What my doc suggested is that I go as far as I can until I start to feel uncomfortable, then stop. When I can – resume again. Anything is better than nothing. It took me 5 tries to get through the tape the first time, but VERY slowly, it is starting to become easier. Of course, if you are not OK, you dont do it, you have to know how you feel. My doc has been great about the weight problem, she has helped me try to deal with the frustration of doing the right things and getting no results. Keep your chin up! Life is uncertain – eat dessert first. Nancy 8=: )

Response:

Right now I am on 15mg daily. I was able to get down to 15mg from 30mg only by taking Methotrexate. Its a cancer drug but it worked. I was on it for about 5 years. When I first went on it I lost my hair because it is a chemo drug and I thru up also. My dooctor is trying to get me down farther but nothing has worked. So now we are trying cutting 2.5mg every two days. I can’t start this until I get back from my vacation in April. Right now I am fighting with a cold that is soon going to be bronchitus. I hate being sick. I am also being put on the Med. Pump for my diabetes. Did you get any side effects from the prednisone. I did I look like I am 8 months preg. and I ended up with diabetes. I have to take 4 shots a day so they are going to put me on the pump. What fun!!!! * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

Did you get any side effects from the prednisone. I did I look like I am 8 months preg. and I ended up with diabetes.

Does the prednisone cause the diabetes?? My 16 yr old daughter is steroid dependent and stays on what seems to be relatively high doses most of the time. Her Dr. isn’t happy about this , but says she has to breathe. However he never mentioned diabetes as a possible effect.

Response:

Did you get any side effects from the prednisone. I did I look like I am 8 months preg. and I ended up with diabetes. Does the prednisone cause the diabetes?? My 16 yr old daughter is steroid dependent and stays on what seems to be relatively high doses most of the time. Her Dr. isn’t happy about this , but says she has to breathe. However he never mentioned diabetes as a possible effect.

Diabetes is one possible side effect of long term use of oral steroids. You can look up the side effects in the Physicians Desk Reference [PDR] that most public libraries carry. Link: http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/pred.htm click on Adverse Effects Excerpt: "Adverse Effects Endocrine: Menstrual irregularities; Development of Cushingoid state; Secondary adrenocortical and pituitary unresponsiveness, particularly in times of stress, as in trauma, surgery or illness; Suppression of growth in children; Decreased carbohydrate tolerance; Manifestations of latent diabetes mellitus; Increased requirements for insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents in diabetics" Ellis — Free audio & video emails, greeting cards and forums Talkway – http://www.talkway.com – Talk more ways (sm)

Response:

The usual protocol for tapering steroids is to reduce to 15 mg/day; then go on alternate day therapy at 30 mg every other day; then very slowly reduce the dose down to 5 mg every other day and then go off steroids. Using alternate day therapy is important to stimulate the adrenal gland to start producing cortisone again. Ref: ‘Reversing Asthma’, Richard Firshein DO Ellis — Free audio & video emails, greeting cards and forums Talkway – http://www.talkway.com – Talk more ways (sm)

Response:

Hiya – I am also on methotrexate. It too has caused me to really thin out my hair and I am very nauseaus (sp?) on the first two days of the week when I take it. My side effects from prednisone have included a dramatic weight gain, and more hair thinning. My sugar does not go up unless I am on IV solumedrol in the hospital. Sometimes I have to receive insulin while I am there to control it. But my blood sugar is normally on the very low side, so the orals don’t effect me too much. My doctor also tapers me the way yours does. She has to be very careful with me, and sometimes we have tapered as slowly as .05mg every 3-4 days. I have not been able to successfully go down past 20mg without getting sick. The ONLY time I could was when I was in the test study for mometazone – I was on .05mg of prednisone a day and about to be steroid free, but the study ended and I had to go back up. Mometazone is supposed to be released in the US by September hopefully. I dont know if it will work for you (and I sincerely hope it will) but it was a miracle inhaler for me. I took it in place of Flovent and I was almost steroid free for the first time in 5 years. If I hadnt told you before, I am 31, and a former professional chef. I have been on disability for asthma for almost 3 years now – and I am DYING to get back to work. My regimen is: Proventil, Flovent, Serevent, Methotrexate, Prednisone, ClaritinD, and Prilosec (because all the damn meds gives me reflux!). I hope that we can continue to correspond to each other – we have similar lives it seems!! Life is uncertain – eat dessert first. Nancy 8=: )

Response:

I am 39 a legal secretary I just started back to work after not working for several years I only work 31/2 hours a day. Social security says I am cured and cut me off. I went to see their doctors and I was having a good day my breathing was great and when I took a breathing test I did really good. Of course by the next day I could barely breath. I am on Theo-dur, prednisone, flovent, ventolin, insulin. I am now sick and have a very bad cold I have to call the doctor tomorrow. It does sound like our lives are about the same. Are you married? Do you have any kids? I am married I have been for 18 years. I have 4 kids. All teenagers. My husband is great about me not feeling that great. I usually come home from work and take a nap until the kids come home from school. I hope that we can keep in touch where do you live? I live in upstate New York. * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

i tried to go off of prednisone by doing exactly how you described but it does not work I always ended in the hospital. So now we are going to try this way first. * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

Hiya – I live in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, the border between the north bronx and Manhattan. Nope, Im not married – first I was working too many hours, then I got too sick to go anywhere. So I live with my Mom so Im not alone in case I get sick. You really do have to be careful tapering the steroids. It has been my experience that even .05mg too low and you can have serious problems. If you are lucky, and you have a good doc, you know how to tell you are going to have trouble BEFORE you actually have it. I also hope we can continue to correspond!! Life is uncertain – eat dessert first. Nancy 8=: )

Response:

right now I am fighting off a major cold. I have been home sick from work. I think it is good that you live with someone because we need someone to help us once in a while. I bet your mother likes having you around. I know my husband and kids help me out alot when I get really sick. I have to get better before april 13 because we are taking our kids on a family vacation before two of them go off to college. My doctors and I are looking into putting me on pump for my diabetes and they say that I will gain weight from that. do you get people that don’t believe you that your weight gain is from the meds? I hate that. How much methotrexate are you on? Keep smiling and remember nothing lasts forever. My favorite saying is Take one day at a time. that is exactly what we have to do. * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

Hi, It would appear I fit in quite well with this group. I have severe asthma the chronic facial pain resulted from root canal in 1993. I am 42 and have been on SSDI since last September although I have been unable to work since last March. I had been employed since 1986 as a manager for an insurance agency – a job I really liked and had worked hard for my promotions. My asthma began to deteriorate in last January – I was hospitalized four times last year – twice for pneumonia/asthma & twice for severe asthma attacks. I have been steroid dependent for well over a year, however, I am trying to taper down slowly. Unfortunately I have gained an excessive amount of weight – I look in the mirror & don’t recognize the person staring back. Currently my meds are Theo-dur 450 mg x 2, Accolate 20 mg x 2, Serevent 2 puffs x 2, Flovent 2 puffs x 4, Prevacid 30 mg x 2, Albuterol Sulfate .083% nebulizer treatments q 4-6 hrs prn, Oxygen 3.5 lpm (or higher if needed), Allegra D, prednisone 20 – 40 mg tapering down as tolerated, Methadone 70 mg x 2 (for severe chronic facial pain), valium 5 mg prn (works well to stop the albuterol/theo-dur shakes if needed), and finally phenergan 25mg suppositories for nausea prn. Also, I developed lymphedema in both legs so I have just completed a 6 week course of therapy with the compression bandages, massage, and lasix. There are some days when it is extremely hard to try & maintain a positive attitude. I am fortunate to have a supportive husband, family, and friends. My pulmonologist had suggested a trial of metotrexate, however, I am somewhat apprehensive to try. It seems like I already have enough "side effects" from my other meds to add any addtional ones. I have found it to be very supportive to talk to others with similar problems – please feel free to e-mail back. Deborah Deborah

Response:

My pulmonologist had suggested a trial of metotrexate, however, I am somewhat apprehensive to try.

Hiya – I cant say positively how the methotrexate would react with your meds, but it has really worked for me. My current regimen is: Proventil Inhaler as needed, Proventil nebulizer as needed, Serevent 2 puff 2xday, Flovent 2puff 2x day, Prednisone – 20mg, Claritin D-24, Prilosec (for reflux), and the methotrexate. With Methotrexate you have to have a liver function test once a month to make sure your liver is OK. Other than that, and nausea on my first day, I have no other symptoms or side effects. It has really helped me while I am waiting for Mometasone to be approved by the FDA. I did the trial study on that and I was totally OFF prednisone for the first time in years. I, too, have had the massive weight gain, and hair loss from the steroids. When people question me on it, I look them square in the eye and say "I’d rather be fat than not breathe". They usually dont know what to say after that. :) Life is uncertain – eat dessert first. Nancy 8=: )

Response:

With Methotrexate you have to have a liver function test once a month to make sure your liver is OK. Other than that, and nausea on my first day, I have no other symptoms or side effects. It has really helped me while I am waiting for Mometasone to be approved by the FDA. I did the trial study on that and I was totally OFF prednisone for the first time in years.

Hi Nancy, How does the Methotrexate work to improve your asthma? Also, what is Mometasone? I have been reading about anti -IgE injections which seem promising in the current trials. Researchers have indicated this drug stops the asthma attacks in adults & children without major side effects. The drug has not been approved by the FDA, however, it could be approved within a year or two. (hopefully one year) I like your response regarding excessive weight gain – still, there are so many people (like friends & previous co-workers) with absolutely no idea as to the side effects of prednisone. I know the added weight adds an additional strain on my heart & lungs, however, I have determined that with my slow metabolism (from the strong narcotics for facial pain) and the increase in appetite from prednisone – I would have to "starve" to lose even a few pounds. As for exercise, I have been reduced to a wheelchair on some days due to SOB. Thanks for your response – keep in touch. Take care, Deborah

Response:

Hi Deborah – How does the Methotrexate work to improve your asthma?

To be honest, Im not totally sure. My doc suggested it, as my other regimen wasn’t working, my pulmonary functions were still pretty low. I take 7 pills once a week. I believe that it is a cancer drug and used in chemotherapy. I think it has to do with anti-inflammatory properties, but again, Im really not sure. Im going to the doc tomorrow, and I will ask her. Also, what is Mometasone?

Mometasone was an inhaled steroid that I was in the test group for. I used it over last winter and summer and I was totally OFF prednisone for the first time in 3 years. It is currently waiting for FDA approval. This was a lifesaver for me. Flovent helps me somewhat, but even with Flovent AND methotrexate I cant go below 20mg of prednisone without getting an attack. I have been reading about anti -IgE injections which seem promising in the current trials. Researchers have indicated this drug stops the asthma attacks in adults & children without major side effects.

Sounds very interesting. I will be asking her about that too. My doc is very big into research and she usually knows all about this stuff. Believe me, I know how you feel with the weight gain, and not being able to help yourself with it. It is a vicious circle we run in. The steroids make you gain weight, the weight makes your asthma worse, which makes you need more steroids, etc etc. Yes, I have run into people, yes including family, who either dont believe or really dont understand that the weight gain is from the steroids. EVEN when you can see my thinning hair!! What, Im just unlucky, im fat and losing my hair??? I dont think so! I will share with you what my doctor told me. She told me to follow an eating plan that I would follow if I WAS able to lose weight. (I, personally, find Weight Watchers to be the best plan). Her theory is that you should eat right, low fat, low sugar and even though you wont lose weight NOW, you will when you can go down on the steroids, and you will be keeping yourself HEALTHY (nutrition wise), which is more important. Then, if you DO either get off the steroids or go on a low dose, you will already have great eating habits! I still go to the WW meetings when I can, and the leader has been really helpful. She knows the situation and has even talked to my doctor. She knows how frustrated I get, and celebrates the tiniest weight loss with me!! I hope this info has helped you, and I hope you get better!! Life is uncertain – eat dessert first. Nancy 8=: )

Response:

Hi guys, I am just tapering down from 180mg of prednisone. I just got out of the hospital. I have to say I even lost weight. I was put on a 1200 calorie diet, low carb and low fat because of the diabetes, the more I taper the more weight I lose. I also took Chefck advice and bought an exercise tape and do what I can. some days its only working with the weights other days I just watch. I know eventually I will end up in a wheelchair because omy bone density is getting worse. But I am going to go down fighting. So do not give up. * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!