i'm so inclined to take most of my stuff. i like and use everything and the thought of selling it and having to rebuy...well, uh. there would only be a few pieces i'd do that with. i may very well change my mind.

cindy...the website was moving .org. it was suggested by clark howard on CNN. there's a great article there on interstate movers. he made a point to say 3 things:

1. use a CERTIFIED mover
2. get a BINDING estimate and
3. buy separate insurance to protect your items

i've been laying low this wk/e. next wk i'll be busy mon-sat.
i've been wearing the holter monitor and so far no luck in catching the arrhythmia. wouldn't ya know it. the good news is that i've been off the med for a wk and my BP has held at 122/80. so maybe i can come off it. i usually take it in the grocery store to monitor it.

tomorrow is the big game. i don't have a very good feeling about the bronco's this yr. we'll see. i still have to root for them tho.

take care all. hope you're having a good wk/e.

hey Judy...wow, your blood pressure is great. I just went to my new pcp.
good news...I have lost 26 and 1/2 lbs. bad news....my blood pressure
was pretty high, not borderline like it has been.:( got some blood tests
to do but Im pretty sure I will be going on meds in a month at my followup.

Both of my parents have high blood pressure so I am not surprised.

I gotta keep losing but havent found a way to excercise besides swimming.
My pool is closed so I might have to join the y or something. I have to
figure it out. Now the kids are back in school , I really have no excuse.

Wish your Broncos good luck for me Judy. We dont play until monday.

hugs to everyone.:hug:

sox...congratulations on your weight loss. that is fantastic!
sorry about your BP. hopefully losing wt will send it lower.

have you thought about just walking? it's so simple and can be very effective.

Yes , I think about walking everyday.:) I used to power walk 4 miles,
5 x a week, along with step aerobics, and weight training. When this
neuro mess started, it started in my feet and all the docs said plantar
fascitis.

Unfortunately as the years went by and it became worse and worse and
new things cropped up they realized it was more than that.

So anywho, my feet are my biggest problem, which gives me fewer
choices. I really loved my walks. Its been about 7 years without them.
And all Ive done is gain weight. Until now. I vow to gain no more.:D

If you have any other suggestions, keep them coming. I need all the help
I can get.lol:D

Enjoy your football day!!!!:hug::hug::hug:

hey, we won! the last 40 secs we threw a pass which was finally caught and run in for a TD. prior to that we were going to lose by 1 point. it wasn't a pretty game but it was a win nonetheless.

i finished the holter monitor test and took the leads and tape off (carefully) but my skin was blistered and red and raw underneath the leads. what the hey???!!! i'm going there tomorrow to return the study monitor and will tell/show them. i'm putting polysporin on it. don't know what else, if anything, i should do. now i can't do my pool PT tomorrow. i don't want to get in the water with broken down skin. too much risk of infection. plus they put chemicals in the pool.

i stayed in this wk/e and didn't get anything accomplished. i hope you guys did.

We had a reunion with old friends yesterday and it was great! I posted pics in the good news thread.

Judy, I bet the skin heals up fine. I think the glue they use is rough on the skin and they stick good don't they? :hug:

my skin is better this am but still raw and irritated.
i took the monitor back and the nurse looked at it. said i must have sensitive skin...duh. i'm generally not allergic to tape but that was extra strong stuff.

anyway, she said the polysporin was good. i could also use a 1% steroid cream. i cx'd the pool PT. didn't want to get compromised skin exposed to chemicals and ? bacteria. but, it's a lot better today than yesterday.

i f/u with the pain dr tomorrow so i'll see what he says. i think i could still be in a better place. the percoset makes me extremely constipated and i'm still having some serious muscle issues.

hope you all are ok.
anything interesting happening?

I lost two pounds! I lost two pounds! Then I gained it back somehow. I think it's water. lol

hi guys,

do you believe it's another fri again, well, tomorrow.
my massage was painful today. more than i would have liked. i came home and slept well. tomorrow will be better as usual. and, my new pain pills work.

i thought i'd check in early as SURVIVOR starts tonite. yay!
do you believe that Kevin Skinner won American Idol last nite! wow. i thought for sure barbara would win. but i'm so glad Kevin did. i think so many of the finalists will be offered gigs. they are so talented.

having lunch with a friend tomorrow at the bagel (deli). so lox will be on the menu i'm sure. i'm just going to run some errands. no plans again for the wk/e. i'm going to start a dedicated notebook for my moving info. my goal is to read that moving article and take notes. then i'll have a start of things to do and calls to make. this isn't going to happen in a vacuum so i need to get busy.

what are you guys doing?

Mazel tov! Aarcyn just reminded us that it's Roshashahnnahhannah again! This is year 5000 or so, right? I hope it's a good one!

All is fairly ordinary here, the skinny girl clothes fit but I just can't shake that bloody muffin top! What is going on with that?

Things ramp up for me every other day as my younger sister's marriage is ending and I'm the ear she uses to vent. It's hard to see all this when she has two little kids. I never liked the guy, so it's no loss here, but it's rough on the little ones and I feel for them.

Cindy, my little sister is going through the same thing. He's going, he's staying, he doesn't know what he's doing. He's tired of arguing, blah blah blah. I told her he's lucky it's not me because I would show him the door with clothes packed. I couldn't live with someone who threatened to leave and then stayed. They have three little girls under the age of 8.

Anyway, the weight is definately back and the pants are tight. Time to buckle down before the holidays where you know food will be everywhere!

Judy, hope your feeling better today. We're getting ready to head up to Wisconsin for a Cubs game. We'll leave after my cousin's surprise party tomorrow. He's leaving for Iraq. :-(

yes, it's the Jewish New Year again. thanks for the well wishes.

divorce is very hard on kids but it's better they're away from the fighting etc.

i've just been doing wk/e stuff. everything's done but the laundry; 3 loads to do. i'll do it tomorrow. and, i'm watching the game.

how's DM anyway? oh DM...

Happy New year Judy.:hug:

Things here are good...weight is stable. I have to keep approaching
food in a consistant manor. It will be there, I dont have to eat it all.lol:)

thanks sox.

i'm still going up and down with my wt.
but, the walking is good.

i stayed in again today. just not much motivation but did get stuff done around the house.

have to be out the next several days. the temp dropped 30 degrees here. it's snowing about 6000 ft and denver is 5280, a mile high.

speaking about mile high. the bronco's won last night. yay!

my pain is tolerable but still higher than i would have hoped. the dr said i could take 2 muscle relaxers, but i can't because i want to sleep all day. i'll keep an eye on it for another couple of wks and call him if needed.
what i'm really feeling is my MS. i can tell that my body just doesn't want to work. i know i have to push myself to be active. use it or lose it kind of thing. but, it's getting harder to move and stay moving.

hi guys,

i had my pool therapy today. an hr doing exercise in the pool.
i came home and slept for 2 1/2hrs. it's all i can do to shower off and get dressed again and get to the car. it's exhausting.

i have 1 more scheduled and then need to find an outside pool to do the routine.

my coccyx is hurting again and i'm finding it hard to sit.
i guess i'm feeling a bit down.

Im sorry you are feeling pain in the coccyx. It makes sitting at the computer
a real pain.....do you have a donut? I used one when I broke my coccyx
during child birth(10lb2oz). I remember how much it hurt so :hug:s to
you.

Feel better soon.:hug:

Argh, I just wrote a huge reply and lost it. Jim is doing well and his bumm is healing nicely. He is supposed to get his Botox injections on Oct.22nd. and he's looking forward to it. The Botox lasted about two months and he said two months is better than nothing. Maybe once he's had a few injections it will build up and last longer? That's the hope.

Judy, I am so sorry your hurting. I wish we could do something to help. :hug:

Sox, I need to do the same thing with food. haha Let's be sure to encourage each other once the holiday food starts.

Cindy, Sarah, DM, and anyone else checking in, hope your all doing well. :grouphug:

hi guys,

i'm doing ok. pain is better but still more than i want to handle.
i had my massage today. my legs were bad again. hamstrings and calves like ropes. and the bottom of my lt foot even had knots in it. my ankles feel tight too.

i came home and laid down for a nap and the arrhythmia started. lasted 30". i almost got up to go to the cardiologist and it stopped. wouldn't ya know it. just can't catch the darn thing. my pcp said on the holter test they caught a run of atrial tachycardia but it was nothing to worry about. easy for him to say.

tomorrow will be a better day.
sandy, i'm looking forward to jim's legs being better for long periods of time.

hi troops,

i didn't go out today. i did laundry and took a shower and washed my hair.
that way i'll just go out tomorrow.

my pain is better than yesterday.
the massage helps a lot but i have big time rebound pain. go figure. then, the next day i'm better.

my friend cathy sent me flowers. wasn't that nice? :) just since i've been down a bit. they smell so good.

hi guys,

what have you all been up to?
cindy...how's the bot?
sandy...how are you? how's jim's legs?
DM...are you still camping? how's your headaches and your neck?

i kept a dermatology appt today. and, i finally found a new chair. they just delivered it. seems very comfortable so i'll see if i can sit at the computer for longer than 30 min's.

nothing is new. life is pretty boring right now. i guess stable and boring is a good thing.

Hey all , I am down thirty pounds!!!:D I see the doc next week about
new high blood pressure meds. I have a few more pounds to go(few, hee
hee) so onward I march.:D

Glad things are stable Judy.:hug: Everyone else...hello to you.:)

OMG sox! that's fantastic! :D

how are you doing it if you don't mind me asking?
i hope you won't need ANY meds for the BP. is it more stable.

i got my hair done today. it's a good thing i told her not to go too short because she went really short. but, my hair grows fast.

i ran some errands. went to AAA and got a FLA map.
massage tomorrow so i'll be hurting but fri will be better.
my wt is bouncing all over the place. i gained 9 lbs and now i've lost 4, about ready to hit 5.

i also got a new computer chair. it was half price too. it's leather with a memory foam seat. i think it's going to work. yay!

Sox that is amazing!!!!!!!!! :hug:

I'm with Judy, bouncing away.

Judy, glad you got a new chair! I never heard of one with a memory foam seat. I want one now. lol

Thanks guys.

Judy...well, this is what I am doing. Im trying to eat well balanced meals
but do sneak in small treats here and there. The biggest change is
I eat my largest meal at noon. I sit with my family at dinner but dont
eat...Then while I am picking up dishes, I have a small snack. Then I
usually eat a peice of fruit before bed.

Now I need to joing the Y or something so I can swim. Its the only
thing I can do without major pain. I swam all summer doing laps in our
pool, but unfortunately we live in New England so its a short season.

Onward and downward:D

hi guys,
gosh, another wk/e is upon us. i thought i had a PT appt at 0900 so i got up at 0700 and got into the shower. then i realized i didn't get a reminder call about the appt. they always call. i'm sure i set this up with the therapist or i wouldn't have written it in my book.

anyway, i called this am and sure enuf they didn't have me down. so i did the only reasonable thing that any normal MS person would do. i went back to bed!

tomorrow i have brkfst with lenora, then i'm going over to my friend's house. her son just bought a 3 mo old bulldog named biggy. i just have to go over to see him.

then sunday is the game. we're 3 and 0. yay! and the rockies are going to the playoffs, again (baseball). yay! this is really a sports town. last yr basketball went to the playoffs. we did lousy, but we went. but, football is my fav. GO BRONCOS.

Hello Judy dear and everyone else. Wow, have been offline more than on, but yes Judy, we are camping a bunch. The season is winding down, so I'll probably be around more when the colder weather hits. *grumble*

I am still doing PT for my neck and the therapist has been working a ton of magic on me. Now, if I could just stop stumbling/falling, I wouldn't undo all his hard work.

take care all and I'll check back in again.

LMLY
HMHY Judy wudy!

good to hear from you dearest princess.
i don't like to hear about stumbling but glad your PT is working.

i hate the pool and maybe tomorrow will be my last pool PT. we're backing off to 30" from 60". it takes me 1/2hr to get dried off and dressed. i feel like i've got 100lb wts on my legs. then i have to sit in the lobby for 10" before i can make it out to my car. then i come home and sleep for a couple of hrs.

and, the goal is to teach me the exercises there so then i can take it to a community pool. did i say i hate it?

tues i'm going to a brief workshop given by my financial planner on long term care. i've had a policy since '96 but have some Q's and want his take on it. i don't even think i could get another policy since the CA and MS.

i spent a nice day sat with lenora. we sat and talked for 3 hrs. we almost had to have brkfst and lunch. then i went to play with my other friend's son's little 3 mo old bulldog. gosh was he cute and so playful. i know my BP came down 10 points.

sunday was the football game. it was hard fought but we won; 4 and 0. go DENVER! hope your wk/e was good.

Hi, all, Sox! You animal! That's awesome, you go girl!

I have the grave misfortune to report that I'm too sexy for my skinny girl plaids! This just bites the big one and I'm not sure what's going on, I am not doing anything much different than I usually do.

I have a wedding out of town this weekend and have been trying to be mellow on my spastic back while keeping the movement. Sheesh, can't win.

Thanks to Ken Burns, I have a hankering to get back to Yellowstone again. Crap. Could I please have about $10k ya'll (for liposuction)?

Judy, you have no right to hate the pool! take a different approach, get yourself a microfleece sport suit, wear your simsuit to the pool, ride your scooter in, do the pool, get out of the swim suit, towel off as much as possible and jump right back into the fleece nekkid and then go home to change.

This will do you two favors, you get to use your own shower & conveniences and it will keep you from making a lunch date after every swim!!!

AMN...you ANIMAL! thanks for the advice. i think i'm actually going to try my own pool. i'll take a cane and keep it right by the edge near the steps. and see if i can get in and out. that will make it all much simpler.

sorry about the plaids. how 'bout a tailor?
isn't PBS/Burns just beautiful? a trip out west?
yay for me!

i went to the workshop on LTC insurance. very interesting. i made an appt with my financial planner to discuss a few things.

tomorrow appt, thurs massage.

i had an appt this am and then went grocery shopping. OY.
i was exhausted by the time i got home and put the groceries away.
today was about 68 degrees and i knew i should do it today because tomorrow it's supposed to be 30 degrees colder and some snow.

our first snow of the season, and also for this wk/e.
i guess i should enjoy it because next winter i should be in FL.
i've been watching the nat'l weather and it's still 92 in FL!

cathy was in the St. Pete area but they didn't like it. they're heading back towards orlando and St. Augustine.

massage tomorrow. fri i may go to a friend's house and my brother will be in town so he's coming for dinner.

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted much. To be honest there isn't anything to report. haha

Weight is the same and I'm not happy about that. Jim goes in for his botox on the 27th and he's so ready for it. Oh, check this exercise machine out. It's a bit pricey and if the VA doesn't help with the cost we're going to see if there is a payment plan or what not to get it for Jim. Why haven't we seen something like this before? :confused: It has the ability to move for you on days you can't and on days you can it offers resistance and a load of other exercises all from a wheelchair or other chair! Check out the link and how it helps those with ms.

Flexiciser

Attachment 5283

hi sandy,
that IS some machine. how much is it? does that mean i wouldn't have to exercise anymore? :D

It's quite pricey and some insurance companies will help pay for it if you can prove you need it. That's what we were told today by Jim's pt and the company.

The one Jim needs is for tall people over 6' and cost about $5700. :yikes: We are going to try through the VA first and if they turn him down we'll look into a payment plan because it is a great machine.

And yes, if you choose to, you can let the machine exercise for you. hahaha

that sounds cool sandy. let me know what happens.

i stayed in today. took a nap. ahhhh.
my brother is coming for dinner.
tomorrow it's going to be nasty. 35 and rain/snow. we have a playoff baseball game on sat. and the broncos play here sun but the weather will be better for them.

nothing new. stable and boring except my muscles were really tight yesterday for my massage. i'm going to have to revisit our plan of care with my dr. my appt is in a couple of wks. it's odd tho. day to day pain is better but muscles still very tight.

hi all,

it's cold and nasty here today. we're in the 30's and lite snow. they postponed game 3 of the rockies playoffs. now they play tomorrow nite and the broncos play at 2.

then it's going to get into the 50's. so, i'm doing my closet this wk/e. turning over lite wt to heavier clothes. and along the way i'll start trimming down for the big move next yr.

tomorrow i finish the laundry and the usual at home.

wow! what a game yesterday. we won. the broncos are 5-0. it was a hard game but we did it. we beat tom brady.

i've been in for a few days. ok with me. i'm getting a lot of stuff done around the house.

now my brother is coming for dinner tomorrow nite. i'm just going to go out and get chinese.

cathy is looking at places around St. Augustine. she just called and told me she wants to get me a 3BR place. all one level. garage. lanai looking out onto a lake. she won't tell me the price. it's about 2200 SQ FT. i don't know all the details because they're with the realtor now and going to look at her place and her sister's; patricia's. the place is newly built and will have an alarm system.

IF this is mine i'll be able to have guests sleep over if i get visitors.
i'll know more later. the developer is going to e-mail me so i get a virtual tour of the place.

well, i'm going to be a homeowner by the end of the month. the t's are getting crossed and the i's dotted. see my post in the good news thread.

i'm very excited but nervous as well. i know that when i get settled i will be surrounded by my friends and family and have a lot of support.

i have so much to do but if i don't procrastinate i should be fine. :)

Yay Judy...that sounds wonderful....Congrats!:hug::hug::hug:

Whoohoo Judy!!!!

hi all,

i ended up staying in today and going back to bed.
my pain has been much better and even betty boob feels better.
i'm up to 16 minutes walking! wow.

i think i'm going to get up early and go grocery shopping tomorrow.
then i'll be home to watch the game. GO BRONCOS!
the next wk will be full. i think i have somewhere to go M-F.

i'm going to plan the move for mid march. the article i've been reading says the worst time to move is the summer and the beginning and end of each month.

the move will be all i'm thinking about for the next 4 mos.

cindy...what do you think about a new model refabed mac? with a camera for video conferencing with family?

hope you're all ok.
sox. how are you doing?