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Posted by jublke on 07-02-2015 at 05:26:

Is anyone having a good year?

I know I've been scarce around here lately, but I have a good reason. Around Thanksgiving, my middle boy picked up a cough, which stayed with him until two weeks before Christmas, when we both picked up the flu. At length, I got over the main symptoms of the flu - and a sinus infection - but I've been left with a low-grade fever and an elevated heart rate. Lots of tests and no definitive cause later and I am tired and frustrated.

I thought 2015 was going to be an improvement over last year. I've been reading everyone's posts - what in the hell happened? Did we get a lemon year?

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Heart "The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing." -- Blaise Pascal Heart

Posted by ChrisW on 07-02-2015 at 08:06:

Ugh! Elevated heart rate can have a lot of causes I think. Mine is elevated usually but part of it is probably because I'm so anemic. I hope they figure out what's up with you soon. I so know how frustrating it is to not be able to get answers!

Hopefully someone is having a good year. I'd love to hear about it. Gives me hope. Smile

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Posted by ElectricWhite on 07-02-2015 at 08:38:

Here's hoping they help you get the heart rate under control!

It's been a bit of a rough year for me so far, but at least I'm not recovering from a surprise surgery the day after Christmas! (Thanks again, Santa!)

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“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury

Posted by Daniella T on 07-02-2015 at 10:24:

Yup, things are not going extremely well on my front either... I had some stomach problems before Christmas (it was nothing, but I had to do a gastroscopy -- just to put my mind at ease), then as soon as I got back to Brussels I got the flu which led to a throat infection, and since then I've been very run down and emotional...

I know my problems are minor compared to what some of you are facing (at least I don't have to worry about children), but for some reason I'm still very "blue"...

Here's to hoping things will get better!

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Posted by KT1972 on 07-02-2015 at 11:48:

Yeah, I can join in here, as in December my youngest son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which as you can appreciate has been a major upheaval to both of us. It's taken a massive effort to learn how to count carbs in his food, and calculate the right amounts of insulin he needs and when, several times every day.

He really doesn't like having his bloods tested and giving himself injections, to the point that he would rather skip meals if his BG is within normal range.

On top of that, the school have recommended that he should be assessed for an Autism spectrum disorder! Now we have to take that long and slow process.......

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Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope. - HELEN KELLER

Posted by jublke on 07-02-2015 at 13:46:

KT: That's a lot to take all at once. I hope you all get used to the new routine soon.

Daniella: I think the flu was particularly vicious this year. I didn't feel that bad while I had it, but I sure can't seem to be fully rid of it either. Hope you feel back to normal soon too.

EW: And you got a new, improved wheelchair! Although it is still scary for me to think of what might have happened to you if that brake handle had broken at a different time ... Huggles

Chris: I agree. On balance, someone out there must be having a good year, right?

Let's hope we all get less of this Lightning
and more of this Luvu4 Pretty Luvu4

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Heart "The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing." -- Blaise Pascal Heart

Posted by ElectricWhite on 07-02-2015 at 15:05:

KT -- As someone who comes from a family where diabetes is the norm, I can appreciate the frustrations that you all are going through! I hope your son can soon come to understand that this new routine is better for him.

And, as far as the school pushing to have your son assessed for Autism, maybe you should talk to your son's doctor about this. Fluctuating sugar levels do tend to have a negative effect on a kid's behavior and mental capabilities. I suspect that the folks at school aren't taking this into consideration, especially since your son was so recently diagnosed. (And I've learned from my time raising my great-nephew that some educators are really into diagnosing students with the "trending conditions". With Christopher, it was ADHD, now it's Autism.)

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Posted by KT1972 on 07-02-2015 at 15:36:

Thanks, EW, I have to attend a meeting at the school on Monday in order to discuss this matter with them. Our family doctor, along with his diabetes nurse hopefully will be present too.

I have mentioned the school's concern with them, and they haven't noticed any autistic trends with him, but then they don't meet him every day, as his teachers do.

I'm keeping an open mind for the time being, and the boy is just going with the flow, not expressing any concern one way or another about the ASD issue.

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Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope. - HELEN KELLER

Posted by ChrisW on 07-02-2015 at 20:28:

EW: I remember noticing as Christmas approached that you were still home and doing okay, but I was afraid to say anything and jinx you!

jublke: Maybe you have a lingering opportunistic infection? Like a sinus infection? I have heard from a lot of people all over the continent that the flu this year has been brutal. So extra glad that I got my flu shot and that I managed not to get stick (I know that not every area properly guessed which flu strain would be worst this year.) I so don't need that on top of everything else. While I was down in FL last time visiting my folks, there were 2 people I wanted to see where we had to cancel, they were sick and I couldn't bring illness into my parents' house with both of them having cancer issues. I confess that I also just didn't want to get sick, myself!

DT: *hugs* It's not a competition and there is no shortage of sympathy to go around! I got to do a gastroscopy along with my colonoscopy when they were looking for bleeds. Be gentle with yourself (that goes for everyone).

KT: Yeah you've been having a h#ll of a time, haven't you? :/ I'm glad to hear that all the necessary professionals will be there for the meeting. That will give you a broader perspective and will involve hopefully a lot of smart questions. Diabetes runs in my family too, though it's type 2. And we run more toward ADD and ADHD than autism. Tongue I can certainly verify that when my dad's blood sugar is ridiculously high it's like he has dementia.

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Posted by Becky Rock on 08-02-2015 at 01:29:

Julie, I hope you start to feel better. Did they test you for strep? My son had it for nearly seven months with very few or odd symptoms. Every time he got off the antibiotics, it came back. After a while the Dr tested my hubby and I. It turned out I was a carrier even though I had no symptoms and may have been re-infecting him. But once he got out of school for the summer, it cleared up.

Yes, we've had a bad year around here. Stress causes a lot of problems to.

KT - like some others here, we've got diabetes in the family. My husband was diagnosed 5 years ago. Our next door neighbor's son was diagnosed at 15. He had a really rough time adjusting and part of it was denial. He had lots of problems in school after the diagnosis. I agree with EW that it might take a while for him to adjust - it is a chemical imbalance that affects lots of things. This is something he's going to have to learn to tackle for the rest of his life and that's hard for a kid to understand and accept. We adults have trouble with such things.

Hugs to everyone!

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Posted by jublke on 06-03-2015 at 01:19:

Still dealing with the same issues & still frustrated. Frustated

How's everyone else doing? Is it too early to start hoping for a better 2016?

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Heart "The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing." -- Blaise Pascal Heart

Posted by ElectricWhite on 06-03-2015 at 01:55:

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for you.

As far as hoping for a better 2016...I'm not about to look that far ahead! Right now, I'm just trying to get to the middle of April...

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“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury

Posted by ChrisW on 06-03-2015 at 02:09:

Well, after lots of stress and phone calls and everything else I finally have a temporary, emergency US passport that's good for 3 months from the US consulate in Vancouver. They were afraid to try to get my main passport expedited because of all of the snowstorms out east, it's been slowing everything down and might have resulted in me missing my flight. Since my father is still dying that would be bad. Tongue

Now that that big stress is dealt with I'm dealing with the rest of my to do list. Have gotten new jeans that have actual pockets (I've been wearing my backup jeans that have the fake pockets but I'm not using those for travel, what a pain that would be), I picked up a present for someone, got a new travel backpack since the one I was using is just way too bulky (it's Rob's and definitely sized for a man, not a 5'2" woman, and seems to assume you're carrying everything you own) ...

I have a dr's appointment to get my prescriptions topped up so I can bring 3 months' worth down (I have no idea how long I'll be in FL, ugh), and so I can ask what he suggests I do about getting my 2nd depo provera shot, which I'll need in about 2 months. (The point of the depo provera is to see if my hemoglobin numbers go up since they're so chronically low.) Talk about inconvenient timing.

Unfortunately as I remove the pre-trip issues that frees me up to think more about what's coming. My dad has been sick for a long, long time but somehow knowing the end is coming still feels startling.

There's been some personal upheaval too. I've had to cut off a friendship because the guy is involved with some noxious people in a way that I won't tolerate (it involves gamergate).

I feel like I'm forgetting some things. The passport drama is over at least, as far as removing any worries that I won't be able to get into the US. I just have some non-simple decisions to make now about when and where to get the emergency one exchanged for the real one. I'm trying not to focus on being agitated about not knowing when I'm coming back or wondering how my mother is going to handle my father's death, etc. What happens there will happen

I'm sorry you're still dealing with the stuff you're dealing with. Frown Hopefully someone is doing better!

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Posted by jublke on 06-03-2015 at 04:17:

Dang, surgeries, death, illness. I really hope -someone- is having a better time of it.

Hugs to you, Chris. Feel free to vent my way any time.

EW, I am crossing my fingers for you too! I hope this new surgery does the trick. Huggles

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Heart "The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing." -- Blaise Pascal Heart

Posted by ChrisW on 06-03-2015 at 05:51:

Wanna give us an update on you, jublke?

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