u/Altaira99

Has nobody denied pierogi to Alan Dershowitz? Has no one taken an unauthorized photo of Bill Murray? No dustups in the Chilmark Country Store? How dull.

Dr. Oz in particular says home health services do what people's families should do for them, We know the realities of home health care and what it does to families, even with services. Medicaid cuts are already baked in for 2027. Talk to your congresspeople.

I was cutting vegetables and dropped the sharp chef knife, which fell so that it made a neat slice near my shin bone. It bled, I expected that, and it's definitely not arterial, it's a drool, not a pulse. But that was 24 hours ago and I can't get it to stop. I got some clotting powder, followed the directions, piled it on the wound and compressed for twenty minutes. Bleeding slower, but still bleeding. I am trying to keep it elevated, but I'm also a caregiver for my husband and have to get up several times a day. Anybody have any experience with something similar? I haven't lost a lot of blood, certainly not as much as a donation, but it would be swell if I could get it to stop.

Edit to add: Thanks everybody for your advice. I got clotting powder from the drugstore and wrapped it up tightly with gauze and surgical tape. Did the trick. I am going to look for compression bandages for next time.

So my old guy and I have been struggling with bedsores for years. I get them to heal, he scratches his skin open again. And again. This time they've become really bad, and we have complex dressings, a nurse coming to the house once a week for wound care, and he is seen another day where he gets his health care (PACE site). I change them in between. I'm shifting him from side to side every couple of hours at night, but during the day I can only get him up and move him between chairs, as he doesn't stay in bed all day. Don't tell me "you can't pour from an empty cup". Don't tell me "you don't have to set yourself on fire to keep somebody warm". I have only two options: abandon him in a Medicaid snf where he will not get adequate care or keep him home and just suck it up. I choose the suck it up option, because after 12 years I'm not going to give up in the home stretch, and spending the day in a nursing home supplementing his care would be torture. But now my sleep, which wasn't that great to begin with, is even more fragmented, my only recreational activity is gardening, I've had Lyme disease and am waiting for Alpha Gal test results. Every time I go outside I find a tick, and I'm not even in my wildish brushy back yard, but my perennial border front yard. He's 80, I'm 75. I feel like we're both in prison. (*big sigh* end of rant, thanks for listening)

I just tried it out at the grocery store, and it was good for finding "NO"s, but not so good at finding things that were safe. "Check the label" was a frequent result. It did alert me to a turkey sausage with a pork casing, so that was good.

I upgraded my old galaxy s9+ (I know) to an S20, primarily because people would send me pictures that I couldn't open. I tested, got a few pics, fine fine, and NOW I'm getting pics I can't open again. They download endlessly and never open. WTF??

Sleep. So good to get more than five hours every night! Waking up every morning feeling positive, even with new challenges (alpha gal syndrome) (which sounds like a punchline lol)

Those teeny tiny seed beads! I have made a lot of jewelry, but mostly larger beads and wire work. I love the look of tubular peyote, but I can barely see the bead holes! Kudos, guys, you make amazing, beautiful stuff.

It keeps asking me to check in with a mobile device "because of unusual traffic." I neither have, nor want, social media on my phone. If I enable it to check in, then disable it right after, is it really disabled?

I've been taking care of my husband for twelve years, and I've been lucky. He's needed a lot of help with mobility, toileting and all that, but he's been reasonable to deal with the whole time, please and thank you.

Night before last he got me up at 2:30 with hallucinations, but I was able to calm him down. Last night he got very angry with me, went into "I can do it myself!" mode, and wouldn't let me clean him up and get him ready for bed. Tried to use the bathroom, got his pants down, but couldn't get them back up. Refused to let me change his depends. Let me help him into the bed, since he could only sit on the edge. At 2:30 he somehow got himself out of bed--it's a hospital bed and I had it on its lowest setting--and thumped around with his walker. I went in to see what was what, and he demanded we get in the car so he could go home. Talked him down, got him back into bed, and folded up the walker and tucked it where he couldn't reach it. Fail. In a couple hours he slid out of bed trying to reach it, started calling for our son, and went I went in he was naked on the floor. Between us we got him into bed, and I got a depends on him. He'll probably sleep most of the day.

All of his other troubling behaviors (masturbating constantly, and I do mean constantly) went away after a couple of days. I sure hope this one does. I really really want to keep him at home. Medicaid NH beds are scarce and scary. But I'm 75, and I don't know how many nights like this I can take. And then there's the financial aspect: he had his major stroke at 59 and never worked again. He did pretty well for nine years, then it became obvious he couldn't stay home alone and I retired at 63 to take care of him. We had savings, he had a 401k, both gone. I have some left in my 401k, but we live on social security, and a SNF or memory care would take his, leaving me with an inadequate income. I would have to ask my kids or my brother for help, which is an idea that tortures me.

One day at a time. Radical acceptance. Meditation. Darkest before the dawn. All of that will have to be enough. I just needed to get all this out of my head, thanks and I'm sorry.

We aren't quite there yet, but my old guy is spending more and more time in bed, and I'm wondering how to clean him up if I can't get him up. I know about rolling him to the side to change a diaper, but how do I get his pajama pants off? I've seen pants with snaps, but the snaps seem like they're on the outside, and I'm looking for something that opens up between his legs. I hate to go right from jersey pants to a johnny. Thanks for any tips.

So the current US administration has decided that they will not accept any new applications for hospice or home care for 6 months to "fight fraud". Certainly there is fraud, wherever there is money somebody will find an illicit way to get some, but this will break people. Most Medicare fraud is from those companies that call you endlessly offering you "all the benefits you're entitled to". EDIT TO CORRECT: THIS IS FOR NEW PROVIDERS NOT NEW PATIENTS my husband is on a hospice threshold and the information I got was not complete. I was panicky. I apologize.

I know this is not one of the busiest weekends, but I'm curious if there's a noticeable change.

He slept until 3, then fell asleep in his chair after he had an English muffin with peanut butter and a banana. That's the one meal he will always eat. I put on "easy listening" for him, and he's nodding away, off and on. All I feel is sad.

Is this marketing or something even more sinister?

I started feeling fluish a week ago. At the same time, I was sick of the weed cough and was ready to take a break. No withdrawal symptoms. Like none. Not very hungry, but I could eat. I could sleep. Covid test was negative--Lyme was positive. I've been sober a week, still with no symptoms. Last time I quit it was pretty bad the first two weeks. Idk what to make of this, but hey, not complaining.

This little book is not expensive, and it is so handy. Quite comprehensive, it covers everything from a chart of bead sizes to weaving and working with a loom. If you are starting out, I think you would find this book very useful.

My husband is one of seven, all getting very old now. It has been a close family, with many parties over the years, annually at my Bengali brother-in-law's house. We are having one last get together--of the seven siblings, four are left, all with serious health issues. We are gathering one last time at BIL's house, and although others are bringing typical American foods, I want to make my bro in law channa masala, rice and dal. I don't need recipes, but I know Indian food is supposed to be eaten fresh, so I was going to cook it in the morning then drive to the party. Do you think it will be okay after an hour and a half drive? Should I cook the day before and not worry about the reheating? Thank you for your advice.

So it's been quite a journey taking care of my old guy for the past 12 years. Everything changes, sometimes daily, and sometimes behaviors go back a couple of years or present as something new. I've been really lucky because although incontinent, if I got him to the bathroom around 8pm he would usually poop. In the toilet. Poop problems level 0. Then he started having off and on constipation problems. Started him on a stool softener, which worked all too well, then played around with the dose until he was pretty regular again. And then he became *really* constipated. Upped his daily dose, made sure he got two servings of fruit, nothing for two nights. Next day he's really uncomfortable, and he has hemorrhoids, so straining hurts. Well, boys and girls, I put on a glove, got a q-tip and some olive oil, and OMG it was like delivering a baby.

I had to laugh. Popped another cherry.