by Carol Roberts | Mar 26, 2019 | Life In General
Last week, I went into a local bank and opened a new savings account. Not for the purpose of saving money…but instead because the bank was offering a deal. If I opened a new savings account and kept a certain amount of money in the account for at least 45 days, the bank would give me $250.00. Being the shopaholic that I am, I knew I could use that $250.00! After all, this baby could use a new pair of shoes! I can never have too many shoes!
In the process of opening the account, the bank teller asked me one simple question. That one question threw me for a loop! “What is your address and zip code” she asked? I literally froze. I could not remember my own address or zip code! The address of the place I lay my head every night, the place I shower, eat, and do a million other things had completely vanished from my brain.
I’m sure the bank clerk was thinking “you’re not really Carol Roberts….identity theft, identity theft” and was about to call her supervisor and tell him to call the FBI. Either that or she was thinking “this lady had one too many drinks at lunch today.” Insert eyeball here. After about 20 seconds I managed to gather myself and simply said “good lord, I can’t remember s#@&!” I quickly rattled off an address and zip code. (I hope it was mine 😃.) What I really wanted to say was “Look young missy, someday you too will be standing at a counter and unable to remember just like me. And yes just like your mind, your youth and that size 2 body you have, will be a faded recollection by the time you’re my age.” But I’m not bitter.
While I make light of my recent forgetfulness, in all sincerity it causes me some concern. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the young age of 62. She died from the disease at the age of 80. During the last several years of her life my mother did not even know my name or recognize my face or that of my brother and sister. Thankfully, she seemed to remember my father — the one thing that gave me some sort of peace. She forgot how to talk, to walk, to eat, and even sit or hold her head up. She suffered, and trust me, I mean suffered for 18 years with a disease that is perhaps as puzzling as it is cruel.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association website, 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. By 2050, the year the young bank clerk will be a little older than I am now, that number is expected to grow to 14 million. Between 2000 and 2017 deaths from Alzheimer’s disease increased by 145% and today kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
These are frightening statistics! Don’t get me wrong, by no means am I saying that because I couldn’t remember my address or zip code I’m in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. We all forget something so common and familiar as our address, zip code or phone number at times. I only know that Alzheimer’s disease sucks and I’m scared I will suffer from it just like my mother did.
*www.alz.org
by Polly Helm | Mar 14, 2019 | Life In General
From the time our children are babies we do everything we can to protect them.
We boil the bottle nipples (well maybe only for the first baby) and made sure they go to every well baby checkup. When they start to walk we follow behind them to make sure they don’t hit their tiny heads. When they start to ride a bike we run alongside so they we can catch them if they start to lose control. As they become teenagers we want to protect them even more – from all the mean kids, from the temptation of alcohol and from the one that will break their heart. We have talks and set rules. It’s more challenging to protect them as they grow in to young adults.
I have always tried to protect my girls, but I’ve tried not to hover. I never wanted to be the helicopter mom. This is a challenge and an art. When my oldest, Ellie, got her driver’s license I texted her every time I heard an ambulance. She finally told me I was disrupting her school day and she would let me know when she was driving. My own mother always told me that you have to give your kids enough rope to let them make mistakes, but not so much that you couldn’t save them if you need to. I laugh about this when I think of my sister and I driving way before cellphones. My sister once had a car catch on fire on the interstate. She caught a ride with a truck driver, stopped at a truck stop a couple of hours away and called my parents collect. Can you imagine a parent today staying calm in this situation? My mom also told me that you can’t always be with your kids and sometimes accidents just happen. She assured me that I would want my kids to grow up to be independent young adults. This was sound advice and one I heeded when our girls both selected colleges over 9 hours away.
On September 29, 2017 my husband and I experienced every parent’s worst nightmare. Our Ellie was killed in an ATV accident. She was 21 and away at college. This was a weekend trip we knew nothing about. Our lives were shattered – I will share more about this in a future blog- but we had to continue being a parent to our daughter, Hannah. We are now so vulnerable. We now know the worst can happen. How do we keep from being overprotective of our youngest daughter? We would love to keep her in a glass box but we know that is not fair.
When Hannah came to us last fall and said she wanted to go on Spring Break with a girlfriend my initial thought was “no way.” But my husband and I talked about it and it’s not fair to deny her the same experiences we had because we are too afraid. She is 20 and should be able to experience all that college has to offer. So we are letting her travel out of the country with a girlfriend. I have made a mental safety list for her and told it to her more times than she would like. She is a responsible young adult and I know will use her best judgment. That doesn’t mean I won’t spend the week worrying about her – as most mom’s do. I am trying to make a conscientious effort to not hover and be too over protective. I want my daughter to travel and study abroad. I want her to take risks and be strong. Fly my beautiful child – be the strong independent woman you are meant to be. I know you have a special guardian angel that wants you to live life to the fullest.
by Piper Plummer Mehigan | Mar 9, 2019 | Life In General
Menopause…one stage
While this topic has been covered a good deal, here’s something I haven’t seen – going through menopause is a LOT like being pregnant. But guess what…there’s no good gift at the end you don’t really feel like you are doing this for a greater cause. Well, I guess the greater cause is that you are still kicking. Yes, that is a good thing, but some days are not so great.
For the moment I am not going to focus on the overall journey of menopause, but on a “mistake” I made while on the journey.
I am 50 and started perimenopause in my mid 40s. Early, but my mom started at about the same time. At the beginning I had some hot flashes and fatigue, but nothing horrible. As time went on my fatigue increased and so did the hot flashes. The hot flashes I dealt with through some dietary changes (giving up red wine…boo hoo..) and taking an herbal remedy recommended to me by a doctor friend – Black Cohosh. The combination of these two things worked wonders. At some point however, the fatigue got the best of me. I wasn’t quite 50 and could fall asleep at 7:30 pm in a matter of moments!! Insane. My doctor recommended a low dosage of hormone replacement. I tell you all of this for background to what became my HUGE mistake that I had no real warning about.
Due to some other medical changes, my doctor changed my prescription. She also advised me that after having been on the replacement for a year, I might no longer need the replacement. My doctor said I might want to try at some point going off the medicine to see if I still needed the drugs. She felt I might be far enough along in menopause that I might not need the them any longer. Apparently, at some point (roughly after 5-10 years) women’s hormones regulate again and these symptoms stop. Much like our mood changes stopped when we left puberty. Her recommendation was that no one be on hormone replacement for longer than 5 years. I had only been on my for one, but because I was already far into menopause, I just might not need them any longer. She also felt because I was on a low dosage, I really wouldn’t need to taper off them if I decided to try not taking them.
Boy was a lot of that wrong!
Well maybe not wrong – as no one knew how my body would react – but let’s say it wasn’t good. There are so many things that people don’t tell you about menopause. Some of this is due to it effecting each person differently, but there is a lot that can happen! Outside of the things most people talk about – hot flashes, low sex drive, fatigue, mood swings, vaginal dryness and lack of sleep. There is also a myriad of GI issues. These range from bloating to very bad gas! Seems like something someone should have mentioned. And then to top it off, hormone replacement can make GI issues worse. Certain pills can cause same GI issues that the process of menopause does. My stomach was a mess. I went three days on the BRAT (Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) diet after this decision to stop taking the replacement pills to see if I still needed them. While the weight loss was nice, I can think of way better ways to loose it!
And guess what? Still needed them! The process of going back on the pills and finding the right prescription wasn’t a great experience either. After several tries I think I have found the right mix, but I still don’t feel as good as I did before I decided to try without them.
What I learned from this is know what’s coming! And talk to your doctor. Don’t be afraid to call multiple times and try multiple different medicines. While I don’t recommend using “The Google” for medical advice and diagnosis, it can be helpful at times for providing you information you can use for minor illnesses along with your doctor or other medical professional to find a resolution. Here are some sites with information I found helpful.
Sometimes our guts can just get out of sync..menopause can make this more frequent (particularly for those prone to stomach issues). Here are some sites I found helpful.
https://www.everydayhealth.com/digestive-health/tips-for-better-digestive-health/
https://www.verywellhealth.com/stomach-problems-causes-1945283
Here is a good site on on all things menopause related.
http://www.allthingsmenopause.com/expert-voices/
I always find WebMD helpful for reasonable suggestions and information about a variety of health topics.
https://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/menopause-symptoms-types
Here’s to better info! And the truth…because you can handle it!
