57redbird

Here's our 14+ year old pup, Max. He's an Eskipoo - American Eskimo & poodle.

I'm from western Washington where Louie Louie originated....it's my ringtone on my phone. 🙂

20240410_145112.heic

@Nickelpenny Thanks for more fabulous pictures...they are amazing.

@StLouisCruisersFabulous photos!!

& do try any garments on -- I bought a blouse/top & unfortunately it runs small --- wish I would have followed my advice....it's hanging in my closet & has never been worn.

I'm chiming in on the doctor thread....I've never been crazy about my PCP -- he was a default choice when our previous PCP retired....I had dealt with the 'new guy' as a nurse & thought he was pretty good but as his patient, I've never been really satisfied with him. We have Medicare A & B as well as Kaiser....again I dealt with a Kaiser MD as a nurse & liked him (& worked with his sister, also an RN)...finally got an appointment to see him yesterday & he's working on getting my pain meds figured out so I can get some relief....the surgeon's PA put me on increasing doses of Gabapentin, which I didn't do....this new MD said 300 mg was probably too much & reduced the dose to 100 at bedtime along with Ultram once a day...too soon to know the results BUT....he's going on a sabbatical for 9 months so I won't be able to see him again till January.....anyway had a bunch of labs drawn yesterday, got a pneumonia booster, need a DXA scan, etc.....so so far I'm very pleased.

We were under a small uncarpeted area of the Lido, near Canaletto, & we heard chair scraping around 10 pm every night....didn't last long but any cabin under the Lido is a hard no for us.

Except when you don't like on our 35 day cruise out of San Diego last year....was part of the "herd".

How did Poohby Joe get his name?

@JazzyV - have you tried Ultram (Tramadol)? I'm not sure if Gabapentin was really helping or just masking the pain & making me sleepy. Tramadol 50 mg q 6 hours as needed (Im only taking it when I get up & before bed) seems to help.

Max, our Eskipoo, does much better with an inflatable collar than a cone.

Finally a positive medical message!! DH & I have Medicare A & B & since he is a federal retiree we have Kaiser as a supplemental. Our PCP's office went to a membership practice effective January 1 to the tune of $250 pp per year which covers a lot. I decided since we were already paying for Kaiser I'd switch to an MD I dealt with when I was still a practicing RN. Noitified our PCP's practice on Friday to transfer my records to Kaiser & today I received a letter stating this practice would provide routine & emergency care for 30 days till I reestablish with another provider....I thought that was a very generous & thoughful thing for them to do.

That's how I feel about Aperol Spritz....YUCK!

@kazu Have you asked your vet for recommendations? Since they make house calls I would think they would be a good resource or your groomer?

We did this cruise in 2023 ....For Tahiti -- I wouldn't recommend Unique Tahiti Tours----finding the vehicle at the pier was somewhat confusing - the owner showed up but our driver wasn't there yet...owner gave me something to give to the driver when he did (which I did)...shortly after departing for the tour the Mercedes van started not starting after any stop that was made -- the driver finally figured out how to keep that from happening. The rest of the tour was as described except we stopped for lunch at a place, which was not included in the price of the tour as we found out after we'd eaten & there was no light or soap or hand sanitizer in the restroom. Then on the way back to the ship, the driver took us to his house where he had to touch base with his wife. We did see what was advertised but the whole thing was kind of weird.

@ger_77 Prayers for Maurice & you! 🙏

Yep -- meant March 22...

We just left Ka anapali January 22 --- not too many whales left.

Our CO & unlimited laundry was refunded when we had a paid upgrade to a Neptune.

@JazzyV I feel like I lost a lot of strength in my quads as far as getting up went (& goes) & I agree about the suction cup bars unsticking...we had them in our bathtub & they came loose more often than not.

@JazzyV just wondering if you know the medical terms for your surgery choices... being a retired ortho floor RN, I wanted my dr to just do a laminotomy (not a laminectomy) -- he said if he did it would probably collapse in a few years & then I'd need the laminectomy & fusion - that made up my mind just to do both now instead of later.

@JazzyV glad you finally have a plan -- hope it is super successful! Just know it's a bit of a long recovery....I'm about 3 1/2 months out from my spine surgery & am still having good & bad days with pain. Only did 4 PT sessions 'cause I didn't feel they were worthwhile... 4 exercises today, 3 different ones the next time, 4 different ones the next time & then I said 'Forget it". I'm 79, not overweight & fairly active with my only limiting issue is emphysema (not on oxygen) so I thought my recovery would be easier than it seems to be.

@JazzyV Only 1 more sleep on Maui - you can take me off the celebration list. This visit has been totally different from our previous ones without Lahaina, @kazu I think Max sometimes wants to go out for the treat, too - they're funny.

@jazzyv - I was supposed to increase my Gabapentin after about 8 weeks post-op - only did it for a couple of days - too sleepy. Went back to 300 mg at bedtime for a few weeks but now taking it morning & night - still having hip & thigh pain but it's not waking me up.