Christmas

Friday, August 7, 2015

Friday Fragments

That week seemed to fly by – again! I can’t believe we’re into August! Here are this week’s bits and pieces.

Old or MS? I question whether a pain or symptom could be an MS flare or just old age creeping up on me. A while back, I mentioned that I had strained a muscle in my side. Well, it keeps happening again and again, but in different places. It started on one side right around my waist. It healed quickly, only to be replaced by another pull on the opposite side and above my waist. Now, it goes to the muscles under my rib cage. I know that I often use a great effort to haul myself around, and I’m convinced that’s the cause, but it’s so annoying. Would I have similar aches if I were younger? I hate to blame anything on just MS or just getting older, but sometimes there’s no other answer. Ibuprofen takes care of it, so I’m not totally disabled from it, just annoyed.

Vicious Circle: The other day, I noticed two blister like welts on the top of my chest. The first thing I thought of was the condition my mother had two years ago. She kept getting blisters in the same spot, and eventually had to see a dermatologist, who prescribed a steroidal cream. It healed quickly after that. It was called bullous pemphigoid. When I visited Dr. Google, it said that it appears in elderly patients! It also said it could be auto immune, or it might be caused by excessive use of NSAIDs. Yikes! I’m not nearly as old as my mother was. It was only two blisters. But I was taking a good deal of IB. So I did what any freak would do – I put an antibiotic cream on the blisters, and voilà, they’re gone. I guess it wasn’t the same as my mother’s, and it probably came from an allergy. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Confused: Does anyone watch ‘Rizzoli and Isles’ on TNT in the summer? I got kind of hooked on it, but I can’t follow some of the background. Maura’s father was supposed to be Paddy Boyle, head of Boston’s Irish Mob. Then this week, they have her father as Arthur Isles, a PhD scientist who is visiting Boston. What gives? I’m so confused. Now, I must have answers!

Cute:  When my daughter called last night, my older little guy wanted to talk. He thanked me for my letter, and then went on (in a horrified manner) to tell me that his younger brother took his arms out of his car seat harness. “Isn’t that really bad, Nanny?” I agreed, but I neglected to tell him that he did the exact same thing when he was his brother’s age.

Books: I finished The Stranger, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was suspenseful from start to finish and took place in NJ. Now, I’m halfway through A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler. It’s a sweeping family saga, and the layers of that clan peel away like onion skins as you read. I’m really enjoying it, but it will end too soon.

That’s about it for now. Have a great weekend.

Peace,

Muff

8 comments:

  1. I laughed about the arms out of the car seat. I keep wanting to remind my daughter of the fact that her 14 year old daughter is definitely forging new ground!

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    1. Isn't it funny how we change when we're grandparents from who we were as parents? I'm enjoying this voyage as a Nanny, and I savor every minute.

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  2. I had to delete my comment when I saw that, even after proofreading, I had mistakes. I'm going to have to hold off posting something until time has passed. My brain is short circuiting.

    Is it aging or MS is very much an issue for me to figure out. The next MS Momentum magazine is apparently going to tackle this as an issue. At this point, I don't know either what is causing what.

    And, I hope there isn't an uncaught error!

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    1. Seriously, you need to stop fretting over typos. I know you take great pride in how you write, but I've said before that I have mental auto-correct -- I read what should be there. I love hearing from you, and if your brain is misfiring some days, then so be it.
      I can't wait to see what Momentum has to say!

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  3. it's tough muff, you just don't know. i always tell peeps, i wish you could crawl into my body for just one day and evaluate my pain, my stiffness...all the sensory symptoms i feel. are they symptoms??? does everybody feel these things, we will never really know. growing pains, aging pains are real, what if some of this is just that. i try hard to only focus on symptoms that are really changing the quality of my life and focus on getting help for those!!! have a great weekend muff, i hope you get to do something special!!!

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    1. I say similar -- walk one day in my shoes, and you'll understand what's going on. Then I take it back -- I don't want someone I know and love to ever go through this.
      I know that 'normal' people don't go through these things, but then they could be suffering from something worse. You're right -- we never know.
      The weekend is going to be gorgeous -- I'm definitely going outside.

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  4. Hi Muff - hear ya on the question- Is it MS, old age? I have no clue. Have you heard of the MS hugs? It is tightening of muscles around the torso area - like a tight hug. I get those at times. Sigh.....Glad you resolved the blister issue. Good Lord
    Have a nice Sunday
    Love Gail
    peace......

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    1. Gail, I've had the MS hug, but not for some time. What I have now is definitely a muscle strain. Driving me up a wall!

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