What an eventful (but not) Tuesday morning this has been. The kids came home yesterday, but I almost forgot they were here, because as of 11:30 am, I still have not heard the pitter patter of their large teen feet.
We've already taken Cam in to be fixed. I've already received the call telling me all is well, and that he is now sleeping peacefully. We've cleaned the bird cage, had breakfast, and the wife has started her special miracle weight loss pill, Phentermine.
Phentermine is the other half of the infamous weight loss concoction fen-Phen. It's supposed to be the half that doesn't do damage to your heart. Honestly, I haven't researched it all that much (I normally research everything), which I suppose you could put in the reaction box labeled "denial." Meaning... I know how desperate the wife is to lose this weight, and I know I want her to be successful. Not for any reason other than when I tell her she looks good, I will no longer get the eye-roll response, and the "No I don't, you're blind, I'm fat," plus any number of responses I get when I tell her something wonderful and sweet. Seriously.
Back in the day, fen-Phen was the big weight loss miracle pill... until people started having heart problems. Though not everyone taking this pill fell ill, the drug manufacturer suffered a terrible blow, took the drug off the market, and literally had the pants sued off of them, by those who suffered major health issues (or death) after taking this medication. Today, they say that only those with a pre-existing heart condition suffered ill effects, but being overweight can cause heart problems and high blood pressure, so I can only imagine the numbers were large.
The wife actually took fen-Phen way back when. She says she didn't suffer any ill effects, and had the whole medical work-up to prove it. I still wonder if some of the "symptoms" she suffers from now, may not be totally related to the MS, but something else entirely. I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I worry about the MS and this drug, though I know weight loss will help her symptoms. You see, with MS your metabolism is screwed up, and weight gain is imminent. With weight gain, you suffer more symptoms of the disease.
MS can rear it's ugly head at any time, but it's helpful to pay attention to each instance, so that you can perhaps narrow down the reason for each particular flare up. Extreme heat is a major contributor to flare-ups. This summer, the wife suffered a terrible episode after walking off the tennis courts. Her hearing went, she went numb on one side of her body, and she felt so weak she could hardly walk. She didn't have her cell phone, but luckily she was able to regain some control, and walk home. Scary stuff.
Extreme stress is another major contributor to flare-ups. When she was working, her business partner was a major cause of extreme stress. She literally played games with her, telling her she said one thing, then saying she said something else. Luckily, the wife would normally have her on speaker phone, so I was able to hear most conversations, and I have a most excellent memory. This was one of the main reasons I disliked this woman. Telling her about the MS, and the confirming brain lesions, was a huge mistake.
The wife's thought processes, though a bit slow at times, were not that far off the beaten path. Her major dislike was having to go through paperwork with a fine tooth comb. I would come home from work, and she'd be in a fetal position, literally (joking, but kind of not), over the stress caused by the ex BP, and the details of everything.
Traveling was also a contributor.... not your typical one flight there, and one flight back, but the ones that had her transferring from one flight, to rush to another one, only to be a few minutes too late, etc, etc. SO... I guess that could fall under stress.
I'm going through all of this for a few reasons... one, because I've noticed on my stats, that someone is reading my old posts about MS, meaning someone must have it, or know someone who does. The other reason, is that I want to remember the day the wife started her Phentermine, so that I can monitor her symptoms, and make sure there is no correlation between the pill and any flare-ups that may occur.
Neither one of us is really sure exactly what lands someone in the hospital with MS, or what puts someone in a wheel chair. We've volunteered often at nursing homes, and there was a woman around our age in one of them, with the medical diagnosis of MS. She told us that she also did quite a few illegal drugs in her past... so lets make note... illegal drugs could be a major contributor. Makes sense to me. I also hold out hope that the illegal drugs are the reason why my mother is so incredibly mentally ill.
Anyway... I'll wrap this up for now, because it is already 12:30, I still don't hear the pitter patter of teen feet, and I need to go make myself productive with other things.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day!!
We've already taken Cam in to be fixed. I've already received the call telling me all is well, and that he is now sleeping peacefully. We've cleaned the bird cage, had breakfast, and the wife has started her special miracle weight loss pill, Phentermine.
Phentermine is the other half of the infamous weight loss concoction fen-Phen. It's supposed to be the half that doesn't do damage to your heart. Honestly, I haven't researched it all that much (I normally research everything), which I suppose you could put in the reaction box labeled "denial." Meaning... I know how desperate the wife is to lose this weight, and I know I want her to be successful. Not for any reason other than when I tell her she looks good, I will no longer get the eye-roll response, and the "No I don't, you're blind, I'm fat," plus any number of responses I get when I tell her something wonderful and sweet. Seriously.
Back in the day, fen-Phen was the big weight loss miracle pill... until people started having heart problems. Though not everyone taking this pill fell ill, the drug manufacturer suffered a terrible blow, took the drug off the market, and literally had the pants sued off of them, by those who suffered major health issues (or death) after taking this medication. Today, they say that only those with a pre-existing heart condition suffered ill effects, but being overweight can cause heart problems and high blood pressure, so I can only imagine the numbers were large.
The wife actually took fen-Phen way back when. She says she didn't suffer any ill effects, and had the whole medical work-up to prove it. I still wonder if some of the "symptoms" she suffers from now, may not be totally related to the MS, but something else entirely. I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I worry about the MS and this drug, though I know weight loss will help her symptoms. You see, with MS your metabolism is screwed up, and weight gain is imminent. With weight gain, you suffer more symptoms of the disease.
MS can rear it's ugly head at any time, but it's helpful to pay attention to each instance, so that you can perhaps narrow down the reason for each particular flare up. Extreme heat is a major contributor to flare-ups. This summer, the wife suffered a terrible episode after walking off the tennis courts. Her hearing went, she went numb on one side of her body, and she felt so weak she could hardly walk. She didn't have her cell phone, but luckily she was able to regain some control, and walk home. Scary stuff.
Extreme stress is another major contributor to flare-ups. When she was working, her business partner was a major cause of extreme stress. She literally played games with her, telling her she said one thing, then saying she said something else. Luckily, the wife would normally have her on speaker phone, so I was able to hear most conversations, and I have a most excellent memory. This was one of the main reasons I disliked this woman. Telling her about the MS, and the confirming brain lesions, was a huge mistake.
The wife's thought processes, though a bit slow at times, were not that far off the beaten path. Her major dislike was having to go through paperwork with a fine tooth comb. I would come home from work, and she'd be in a fetal position, literally (joking, but kind of not), over the stress caused by the ex BP, and the details of everything.
Traveling was also a contributor.... not your typical one flight there, and one flight back, but the ones that had her transferring from one flight, to rush to another one, only to be a few minutes too late, etc, etc. SO... I guess that could fall under stress.
I'm going through all of this for a few reasons... one, because I've noticed on my stats, that someone is reading my old posts about MS, meaning someone must have it, or know someone who does. The other reason, is that I want to remember the day the wife started her Phentermine, so that I can monitor her symptoms, and make sure there is no correlation between the pill and any flare-ups that may occur.
Neither one of us is really sure exactly what lands someone in the hospital with MS, or what puts someone in a wheel chair. We've volunteered often at nursing homes, and there was a woman around our age in one of them, with the medical diagnosis of MS. She told us that she also did quite a few illegal drugs in her past... so lets make note... illegal drugs could be a major contributor. Makes sense to me. I also hold out hope that the illegal drugs are the reason why my mother is so incredibly mentally ill.
Anyway... I'll wrap this up for now, because it is already 12:30, I still don't hear the pitter patter of teen feet, and I need to go make myself productive with other things.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day!!
