Dentist Continued

Well I went back to the dentist this afternoon. This is my 12th. appointment since the end of May. Again we did the same thing we did two weeks ago. Taking impressions and xrays. I put my foot down and said that I will not be coming back for more xrays or impressions. Also I told the dentist that I will not be letting them pull my last tooth on the back lower jaw and putting in implants. The dentist did confirm today that each implants costs 4,300 hundred dollars. Not the estimated 2,300 as told before.
This dentist didn't like me telling her that I wasn't going to do something. But enough is enough. I just needed to put a stop to this.
Hopefully I won't be scheduled again for a long time. If they do try to schedule me in soon, they will be questioned as to the procedures that need to be done.
I think I deserve a gold star.

Dentist

I have been going to this one dentist now for about two months. In that time, I have had at least a dozen appointments to do the same thing. And 90% of those visits I've had xrays done. You would think that they have all the materials they need to repair my teeth. Again they called this morning for me to come back in and have new impressions done. Two weeks ago, I had an hour and a half worth of impressions [a mold of your teeth] done plus xrays again.
I just don't know what to do. When I try to ask why is this needed, they give me the brush off that the dentist ordered it.
Two weeks ago the dentist mentioned that she might pull some teeth and put implants in. Oh, that got me hot and bothered. First off, pulling teeth is not the answer. And secondly, one implant costs 4,300 dollars. And I think she wanted two teeth pulled.
Now I have to go back next week to do the same thing I did two weeks ago? Augh....!!!!
I may just stop going to this fool all together.

Wednesday

I came home early again today. I definitely have a cold. Still have a cough, sore throat, running nose and sneezing now. Summer colds are the pits.
Along with my cold, I'm trying to get over withdrawals symptoms from nicotine. I've been chewing nicotine gum on and off for about eight years now and it's time to stop it. I realized that I'm using more than the prescribed amount daily. Also it's only suppose to be used for a six week time period, reducing the amount of gum each week.
So, by quitting smoking back in 2009, I just switched one form of nicotine intake for another. I knew that I was chewing too much, but I guess I just needed a "wake up call" to jerk me into realizing that I need to give it up. In a way I was minimizing my nicotine habit.
You know it's funny. I was a substance abuse counselor for 16/yrs. I remember that countless of my clients would always say that I didn't know what I was talking about since I had never had a problem with drugs. But I can honestly say now, that I understand. After all nicotine is a drug. It may not be a major one, but it's still habit forming.
My sister and I had a long conversation about this on Monday and thats when I threw away all of my boxes of this gum. I felt funny at first throwing it all out because it costs 30 dollars a box. But I knew that if I had simply shoved it to the side and kept it, I would eventually chew it again. I had to get it out of my house.
So I said a farewell to it and threw it all in the trash. Last night I was having major cravings. I stuck ice in my mouth and that seemed to help. And the first thing I wanted this morning was a piece of gum.
I did do some research online about this and it said that sometimes quitting nicotine products is harder than quitting anything. The  cravings can be severe. Your body can not only physically crave it,but mentally as well.
I also think that a big part of it is the "chewing." Since I have been on Nutrisystem, I am eating less and the nicotine gum was taking the edge off of my hunger. I remember when I was smoking, I would smoke when I was hungry. I was still over weight, but it helped me for not "over doing it." I guess the gum psychology did the same. I have been chewing trident gum now, just to keep that sensation going. Eventually I'll ease up on the trident and not have to use anything. I just have to get through these next couple of weeks. At least that's what I think it will be to get over this.
So, the best rule of thumb is, when you stop smoking don't grab a substitute that contains nicotine cause it's very misleading.

Yuk!!!

I came home a little early today. I feel awful. Yesterday I woke up to drainage and a cough. Today I have a sore throat, runny nose and a headache. No matter how many omega 3's and vitamin c tablets I take I still catch bugs easily. This is just one of the joys of having diabetes.
Enough about me. My friend is sick again. She had surgery a week ago on her arm, neck and stomach and she has caught a staff infection. I feel so helpless. There is absolutely nothing I can do for her to make her feel better. Because of her kidney disease she develops so many complications. Not only does she have to dialyze every other day, she has bad asthma and arthritis. I've tried to think what I could do to bring a little happiness in her life. But I guess the only thing I can do is to be there for her.
I hate to see anyone in any pain. Things like this really make you think of what is truely important.

Sunday

I went over to my parents house this morning to see them. I hadn't seen them since May. It was nice catching up. I guess thats pretty sad that I live in the same town as my parents, but I don't see them often. I talk to them, I'm just not around them much.
I woke up this morning without having to take Lucy out and you know what? I missed it. This was a test last week for me to see if I really wanted to get a dog. I think the companionship would be great, but having to take them for walks a couple times a day and have to take them out to do their business all day is just a little too much for me. As my Dad says, "it's like having a baby to take care of."
And I know I don't want another cat for awhile. So, I guess I won't be having another pet for some time. Plus I like coming home and not taking care of anything. I've kind of gotten spoiled with that.
But I would like pets to come for a visit, like having Lucy when I did. Cause I'll be giving them back.
What else.... I had a really good walk this morning. I walked right when the sun was coming up. Thats when I usually walk. It's nice and cool at that time.
I hope everyone had a nice weekend. It's not been as hot as it was. Those triple digits really do a number on me.
Oh and what about the killings in the news in Colorado. I think it was 12 people who were shot to death? By a 24 year old man. And what 56 others were injured? It seems that there has been an higher amount of violent crimes lately. This is to add to the shootings in Tuscaloosa. No one died thus far, but still. Crazy folks walking around with guns. It makes you think about what this world has come to.

Lucy

Well, I've had my sister's dog Lucy since last Friday night. And I thought I would like to get a dog. No more. The companionship would be great, but not having to keep taking out a dog to walk and do it's business. Granted Lucy is house trained and she doesn't require to be taken out but four times a day. Actually she's been sitting in front of the front door about every three to four hours. She's made friends with one dog but can't stand two others that are yorkies.
Last night, I had taken the trash out of the trash can. I had the bag sitting on the kitchen floor. I went out last night to pick up the poop. When I came in, Lucy wasn't in the livingroom. I walked in the kitchen and she was in the trash bag with trash scattered all over the floor. I had left a half eaten bowl of spagetti in the trash and she had spagetti sauce all over her whiskers. All I had to do was to look at her. She then crawled out of the bag and sat on the floor just looking at me.
She knew she had done something wrong so no yelling from me was necessary. Plus, it's my fault to leave a bag full of food scraps on the floor. Too much of a temptation.
Although she did get into the trash last night,she's been a complete joy here. She's slept with me every night and has loved her walks in the morning. We haven't walked too far, just out in front of my condo. And she loves to roll around in the grass and lay out in the sun on the grass.
She knows my routine now. I will be giving her back to my sister tomorrow. I think I will keep her again. Maybe not for as long, but I'll keep her again.

Dreams

I wonder what it means to have the same reoccurring dream. I swear for the past eight to nine months I've had this dream. It's always at night and I'm outside. My car is never where I parked it. I'm always looking for my car. As I'm looking, all cars, I mean all cars are white in color. I look down rows and rows of white cars. Then I'm walking down this path in a wooded area. Thats when I wake up.
Strange, huh?
When I was younget I used to have dreams that actually came true. I remember one time I dreamed that a lady in a pink sweater was riding down the escalator at the mall. Not a few weeks go by and I see a lady with a pink sweater riding down an escalator. Isn't that weird?
I have a dream book around here somewhere.

Puppy

I'm sooo excited. I'm going to be keeping one of my sisters dogs for a week. She's one of the sweetest dogs I've ever known. She's an old lady of 12/yrs. A cross [I think] between a poodle and a beagle. Her name is Lucy.
I pick her up tomorrow evening. This is also going to be a test for me to see if I want to get a dog or not. If I do get a dog, I'm going to be looking for a small or toy dog. At my condos, we can't have a dog that weighs more than 30 lbs.
They even have specific areas that are dog friendly. Most dogs that I have seen around here are yorkies, beagles, poodles and that little taco bell dog. I can't remember the breed.
Anyway, I'm excited...

A Sad Thing

I saw the saddest thing this morning. A dog ran out in the middle of the road and was hit by a car. I stopped my car because it looked like the dog was dead, but then it got up dragging his leg. The car that hit him stopped too and the guy started walking towards the dog. Then the dog just ran across the street again into some woods.
I knew not to get close to this dog because you really don't know what an injured dog would do to you. The guy walked over to where I had pulled over and said that he tried to get close to the dog to take him to the vet this guy uses. I told him him that I thought that was nice of him to do that. And I saw that there was no way that this guy could have missed hitting this dog because the dog just ran right in front of his car. I was coming the opposite direction so I saw the whole thing. When I told this guy that he said that it didn't make him feel any better. He did walk back over to the woods where the dog ran but couldn't find him.
There's not a whole lot of people who would have stopped like he did after hitting an animal.

Hamy downs

I have been saving my money. Putting a little bit aside each month to buy my friend a new coat. He basically has only pennies to rub together and he hasn't had a coat for as long as I have known him. So, I decided this spring that I would get him one.
But good news. My Dad is gonna be cleaning out his closet and has a few coats or jackets that might fit my friend. I am so thankful. If these fit him then I'll just buy him a hat and gloves. My best friend, his wife just went to a garage sale and boat a "new" coat for five dollars. She said that when she looked in the pocket the tag was in there and the coat was worth 355.00. So, thats a steal. She says that it looks like the coat was just stored away and never worn.
It's amazing what you can find at garage sales. I used to be an avid garage sales shopper. I remember I got six plates, six bowls and six glasses for only 10.00. Thats when I was just starting out on my own and those things came in handy.
Back to my friends. They need so much that I want to help them. These are the kind of people that would give the shirt off their backs to help anyone. Their always thinking of others. So if I can give them little things that they need then it would really make a difference to them. Their awfully proud, but we are such old friends that they will accept things from me. Plus, I have been pretty fortunate to have parents that could afford to buy me what I needed throughout the years that I want to pay it back.
Or what is it called "pay it forward?" I think there was a movie about that. Anyway, I just want to take care of those I love.

Bad News

Last night I got a call from my best friends husband. They had a bad day at the doctors office. I've blogged about my friend before. She's the one thats in renal failure. She has to dialyze 5 x daily at home. Well she's had an staff infection three times where the lining of her stomach is infected. She has tubing in her stomach and the doctor believes that the infection has attached itself to the tubing and this is why she has continued to get sick. So, she has to start going through hemo dialysis instead.
This is where she is hooked up to a machine in a dialysis clinic for four hours 3 x a week. Next week she'll have surgery to put a portal in her neck. She'll also get new tubing in her stomach for when she's able to go back to pariteneal dialysis at home. She'll be on hemo for the next 3 to 6 months. The hemo dialysis will allow for that infection to heal.
The big deal about the hemo is that she'll have to dialyze away from home and her energy levels will be really low. She said that when she was first diagnosed she was on hemo and it was so depressing. She had a hard time just feeling normal.
But she says that if she has to do this, she'll have to do it because it's whats keeping her alive.
This makes me think that all my problems are insignificant compared to what she has to deal with day in and day out. She just had a birthday. And she reminded me that each birthday is like crossing a milestone for her because she is still alive. When you think about this it's scary. It's scary because we just don't know how long she can survive with this disease.

Freaks

My neighbors are such freaks. Last night they were shooting firecrackers in beer cans and watching the cans fly all over the parking lot. How they did this, I don't know. But they were doing it. If that's not bad, then they were putting sparklers on the carpeted patio floor. Are they idiots or something?
They could have burned down the entire building. So, this morning I found beer cans all over the front lawn. I knew if I didn't pick them up then they would just be there until the garbage man came on Friday.
These people are in their mid sixties, so you would think they would know better. They both smoke. I'm afraid that they are going to fall asleep after drinking with their cigarettes lit and burn the building down. Who knows what could happen?
Last week, they left their car doors open all night. Cause when I was leaving one morning, I drove past their car with both the front seat doors laying wide open.
Enough about them.
I will share with you what happened to me this morning. I went to the grocery store. While I was walking to the car with my groceries, I saw this guy trying to jimmie my car door open. I yelled at him and he ran away. So, I pushed the cart back into the store and asked if a male associate would follow me back outside to my car. I didn't want to be out there by myself with that guy around. I was told that there had been a lot of car break ins in that parking lot lately.
It kind of scared me. Where are cops when you need them?
This just goes to show you that you never know whats going to happen and that you need to be careful around your surroundings.
I hope the rest of my day gets better.

July 4th.

Happy Birthday America!

Sunday

I can't believe that it's July 1st. Boy this year has just flown by.
I went to my once a month diabetes meeting held for diabetics as a support system. I've been going to these meetings for about six months now and they really are beneficial. But I will tell you that theres one person in particular who is a walking time bomb. He's in his 30's. Weighs easily 400 to 450lbs. can barely walk with a cane. He has heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney stones. The reason I know all of this is that he talks about all of his medical problems when he goes. Anyway, he's always walking in with a coke and potato chips. He doesn't have a chance. And yet he believes that going to these meetings, going to his doctor and taking his medicine is going to help him.
It's just kind of sad. We all look at him in amazement that he's still alive.
It makes me want to be a healthier person even more. Things could go down quick when you have diabetes. Even having diabetes causes your organs to work harder. You've got all of these cards stacked against you that it's important to exercise daily,eat smart and maintain a positive attitude. So going to these meetings has allowed me to get a reality check about my health. Of course there are those who have had part of their feet amputated. These are folks who usually have had bad maintained diabetes for years. So as long as I keep educating myself on the dangers of diabetes, I become a healthier person.