[waves]

i have a confession...

even though i like the pretty aspects of spring, and the pleasant weather, i don't generally look forward to it!

too many issues with it...

first, i often get depressed with the advent of spring. i am not specifically seasonal in my cycling overall and this doesn't always happen, but i've had enough spring depressions to have a sense of foreboding ever february.

second, spring = flowers = pollens = allergies = coughing and sinus. What's worse, this year i've already started d/t cause unknown - spring will make it even worse.

third, they took my antihistamine off the market!!!! now i have to experiment WaaaaaAAHHHH!!!

lastly, the public transport system here does not "handle" spring and fall well... they leave the heat on sometimes, a/c on sometimes, other times nothing... and it is not weather coordinated let alone coordinated from one vehicle to another... ya never know wutcher gonna git! but it's less like a box of chocolates and more like a box of all-flavor beans, a magical candy in the Harry Potter series. Anyone care to try an ear-waxed flavored bean?

~ waves ~

[Mari]

Waves,

I find it interesting that the spring is difficult for you. YOu have mentioned this before. Each of the four points is strong enough on its own.

Get some meds and be prepared to try something for your missing antihistamine.

Originally Posted by waves

lastly, the public transport system here does not "handle" spring and fall well... they leave the heat on sometimes, a/c on sometimes, other times nothing...

Well that really bytes. You need your own car with driver to take you around. That is the only solution. Drop public transport and get treated like the princess / goddess that you are.


Mari

[waves]

Originally Posted by Mari

Get some meds and be prepared to try something for your missing antihistamine.

for now, i have a "stock" of my old stuff. but it goes quick when i need it. i found out its active isomer is on the market (same relationship as Lexapro has to Celexa) BUT, did they put the "normal" release out... NO! it is only available in non-divisible, extended release form - 12 hours rather than 4. Now, sometimes, for i had strong reactions, i would take 1.5 or 2 pills of my reg. antihist (Chlortrimeton, btw). I CANNOT DO THAT with a friggingg extended release thingummajigg!!!

for this season i am going to try that stuff anyway, make sure it works. for chronic use i can use that and save the 4 hour pills of the old stuff for "emergencies" of course i can only do that until they expire. i have searched city wide and one pharmacy searched a database for province-wide availability in small-town pharmacies. NADA!!!!

i can appreciate (but am not happy about!) the situation with sudafed, d/t morons making meth out of it. but chlorpheniramine is not sed for recreational purposes much less illicit ones!

haven't these people heard of if it ain't broke don't fix it?

Well that really bytes. You need your own car with driver to take you around. That is the only solution. Drop public transport and get treated like the princess / goddess that you are.

YEAH! that would be cool...

...sort of. see, as much as i dislike the nitty gritty of public trans, the traffic in the city is SO DENSE, and the pollution is SO bad... they actually have days where they ban circulation to preserve air quality. i'm not crazy about adding to the problem.

but i do love your princess/goddess idea!

i wouldn't mind a horse-driven carriage... might take a while to get places, but... hey... the only emissions you get from "true horsepower" can be used to fertilize the fields... hehe.

now what i'd reaaaally love...

............is a magic carpet!

[Mari]

Hi, Waves,

Well when they do this nonsense they are clearly not thinking about people:

Originally Posted by waves

for now, i have a "stock" of my old stuff. but it goes quick when i need it. i found out its active isomer is on the market (same relationship as Lexapro has to Celexa) BUT, did they put the "normal" release out... NO! it is only available in non-divisible, extended release form - 12 hours rather than 4.

The decisions do not seem to be market driven or logic driven.

Originally Posted by waves

...sort of. see, as much as i dislike the nitty gritty of public trans, the traffic in the city is SO DENSE, and the pollution is SO bad... they actually have days where they ban circulation to preserve air quality. i'm not crazy about adding to the problem.

I remember London has been working on restrictions. I do not think we have those kinds. One year when the price of gas sky rocketed, people sort of "self-selected" themselves into mass transport.
I have not heard lately if the uptick in mass transport continued.

Originally Posted by waves

now what i'd reaaaally love...

............is a magic carpet!

I love the picture.
I would still want someone to fly the thing for me --- I be the passenger and someone else figure out departure and arrival times, navigation, . . .

M

[waves]

Dear Mari

Originally Posted by Mari

The decisions do not seem to be market driven or logic driven.

regarding the antihistamine, it might be market driven. My pharmacy told me i bought the last of theirs - that was 6 months ago and it hadn't come in again, but apparently nobody else had requested it because they had not followed up on availability either. So my impression is they didn't sell much of it.

Most people have long switched to 2nd generation antihistamines with a longer half life and more "convenient" 2ce daily dosing. The extended release products of the old antihistamines have a better chance of competing with those. Fwiw, I've tried 3 of the 2nd generation antihists, none worked. I even tried double dosing Zyrtek a few times (after reading that it was done in clinical trials without horrible consequences)... no difference.

I don't think many people use "stronger" doses of chlorpheniramine the way I did. Most people who would need them probably have an asthma dx and separate treatment. In order to avoid poop out, i also prefer a short-acting drug i can use sparingly. Only occasionally do I take stuff continuously for several days. There may be other 1st gen antihistamines still available but - brompheniramine (Dimetapp), which at one time worked for me, is not one of them; Benadryl has unpredictable effects on me - it can make me real sleepy or give me paradoxical agitation with odds of the latter increasing with dosage. I had nasty agitation once and would be afraid to use > 25mg at a time. I'd prefer a shot of adrenaline, quite honestly!



~ waves ~

[waves]

Originally Posted by Mari

I remember London has been working on restrictions.

London does have some restrictions in place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_low_emission_zone

There is something similar to that here - the circulation bans are a separate, emergency measure.

Originally Posted by Mari

One year when the price of gas sky rocketed, people sort of "self-selected" themselves into mass transport.
I have not heard lately if the uptick in mass transport continued.

When I was living in California I noted a strongstrong push for less polluting ways of commuting in the Silicon Valley and SF areas. The carpool lane on interstates and expressways was strictly policed, and there were high fines for inappropriate use.

A great number of people carpooled at my workplace (and that was a big company). Also there were days of popular initiative, where folks were encouraged to bike or walk to work. My workplace held parties to sponsor these initiatives and flex time helped make the travel time acceptable.

(Conversely, flex time also allowed me to come and go at times when I could legally use the carpool lane for passing! ROFL )

~ waves ~

[waves]

Originally Posted by Mari

I love the picture.
I would still want someone to fly the thing for me --- I be the passenger and someone else figure out departure and arrival times, navigation, . . .

Oh i'd be only too happy to oblige!!!



Departure and destination is on command of course! I think we'd have to chill regarding arrival times and trip details... far as I know magic carpets auto-navigate! They take the time they take.

I should not dare ask one to "step on it" or it could be more than a rough ride - we could wind up hanging on by our fingernails...
Mine are cut very short - not hangable-on-by!

I hope you are not suggesting we have a voice interface installed on our carpet, so we can interrogate it or have it narrate the trip??? That would take the magic out of it... ... dontcha think?

~ waves ~

[ginnie]

I hear you about spring being a bit hard on the old alergies. Yuck. I got an inhaler for the nose, that also helps the entire breathing, lungs and all. Called Qnasl. I still can't find a program for medicaid part D that will cover it. Cost is up there a bit. I use it spareingly, and low and behold the sneezing stops, and my sinus is clear. Lasts for almost 24 hours for a few puffs. I had gone to my doc. unable to clear my sinus at all, and actually had some asthma thrown in for good measure. I also take singular occassionaly, which nips it quick.
Heck I am alergic to myself.....
Hope this day finds you doing OK. I went to pain management yesterday. I have been doing quite well up until last thursday. I was too tired to work and over did it. Picking up a bag of mulch, I went over the top of it, landed hard, jarred my spinal fusion bracket. Much inflamation, and I sure hope it isn't permanent. Selling this place as I said comes with some real hard work, that maybe I should not be doing. That is what sends me manic. I have to find someplace to live that I can handle. I hate to think of Hud housing.

I think about all of you. Hope your days are peaceful. We get by with a little help from our friends, as the beatles say. Take care waves, mari and gang. ginnie

[waves]

Originally Posted by ginnie

I hear you about spring being a bit hard on the old alergies. Yuck. I got an inhaler for the nose, that also helps the entire breathing, lungs and all. Called Qnasl.

Qnasl is a beclomethasone dipropionate nasal spray. I have one too. I'm amazed you have benefit on the lungs etc... it is not suggested that it does that - i certainly don't have any benefit. i have to use it as prescribed, every 12 hours. for a while this winter i was able to reduce my usage for a while, but now i'm back to twice a day.

i don't know if i have a form of asthma but i do have a cavernous cough and can sometimes have breath problems. i have a nebulizer for which my mdoc prescribed steroids and albuterol (typical asthma meds) but my mdoc doesn't want to give me an inhaler (much more useful when i'm out and about and have a coughing fit - can't use the nebulizer then). i am going to get me to a pulmonologist - if that guy ok's it my doc will give me an inhaler. well we'll see.

if the pulmonologist says i don't need an inahler, he had better provide some good answers/solutions for me because i've ruled out stuff like anxiety (taken hefty dose of lorazepam - no effect). stuff, and not just allergies, messes with my breathing and brings out the tuba-cough.

~ waves ~

[ginnie]

Yep waves, I use both together when I can't breathe good. I just started with this asthma thing again after 25 years being OK. I don't know what kicked it off either. Try them together if you can. The qnasl, when I hold my breath, it does travel down the old breathing tubes. It does help. This alergy stuff is for the birds. Also have an air-purifier in my bedroom, close to the bed. Takes out 99% of the pollen, dander and dust. Doc recommended that too.
Hope you get relief soon. xxginnie