Is the new dose of Adderall working? I think so. At first I did not think the new dose had any affect on me. I mean, I was a whole bunch calmer, but that could simply be that PMS has left this nest for the next 3-4 weeks.
I actually made it on time to all scheduled events on Saturday, even a bit early.
I managed not to throw a fit when all the pigs took all the food at the Cub Scouts Blue and Gold Banquet Saturday night leaving my family with a single piece of chicken, a few crumbs from a bag of chips and some diet Rosmary Sweet Potatoes. That is big, I watched the first 2 rows of tables, each with about 50 people take heaping scoops of Mac and Cheese, Green Beans, Salad, Bread, Scalloped potatoes and other yummy comfort foods. Not nice. I mean did these people not see all the people and the lack of food because they did not bring in food, even though they were required to bring a dish? Pigs, rude fat pigs!
Sunday was a leap on the task list. Still not organized in any way. Still not prioritizing correctly the things that need to be done, bought, cleaned or tossed. But I made a leap. I rearranged my closet. We have been using it to store extra toilet paper and toiletries from my coupon hoarding days in January. I fixed the pile that had happened on the shelfs. I also cleaned the tool box, organized it, and then tackled the fasteners box. Did you know that was insane? Who organizes their fasteners? I don't but I felt compelled to put them all in their place once I started.
No, I am not SuperMom. I failed to cook dinner. I fed the kids left over pizza from their Sunday afternoon playmate. I fed their Dad, left over chicken fajita stuff with some microwave rice. Can't remember what I ate, other then it did not taste good.
What is for dinner today? Not sure, I know I need eggs, something else, and to pay the electric bill. I know that there are other things I should be remembering but all I can remember is the eggs. Eggs.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
New Nurse Practitioner, New Dose...
So yesterday I visited a new office to get my meds refilled. I think this office will be better for me.
The climate in the office was different, it seemed a bit calmer and a lot less judgmental. The lobby was bigger, about 4 times the size. The office personal was further away too. Their receptionist area was larger, maybe that made for a calmer office. I know that when I worked at UOP and we were all on top of each other we were not happy. When you work in close quarters it is difficult to take a breath, let alone mumble your frustration away.
I remember one of the clinicians coming out of the back to see his patient out, he was rather jolly. He saw one of his other patients and he came out to him, sat down next to him, and shot the breeze for a few seconds, shook hands and returned to his office. He seemed nice, I was not assigned to him though.
WHen it was my turn to meet the new Nurse Practitioner, she came out, called me a few times before I realized she was looking for me, and tried to shake my hand, except my hands were full of candy from the vending machine and mail from the P.O. Box I had just picked up. I guess that is what ADD looks like when you get down too it. Hands too full of random things, brain too busy to acknowledge they are being spoken too, a hand bag overflowing with planners, things that still need to be done and it looks rather messy from a distance. That is how I met my new Practitioner.
It appears to me she is very experienced, she reminded me of an old co-worker, Stephanie. Stephanie was overly organized, not borderline crazy, downright anal-retantive. With Stephanie everything had to be done just right and in the right order, she knew if I missed a step and always came out to tell me in person. That is what the nurse reminds me of.
She was annoyed to find that the other office did not send over my paper file, especially since it had been 2 weeks since they made the appointment for me. When she opened the electronic file she was equally annoyed and disappointed. Things that should be there were not. Things like an actual diagnosis check sheet, patient questionnaires, blood work, and special notes justifying the use of a schedule one drug to the DEA, all missing. Nice to know that if the DEA audited my file I probably would have lost access to treatment, probably for months as it was sorted out!
Her office was significantly larger then the offices at the other location. It had more furniture, and if there had been a massage table instead of a desk it would not have seemed out of place.
She typed in all the things that were missing from my file. She suggested that I try an antidepressant that one takes three times a day. All I could think is if I forget to take the adderall at least once a week, how would I remember to take an antidepressant 3 times a day? So she said she would keep it in her notes and see how I did with a higher dose of Adderall XR. Odd, I did not ask for a higher dose. Yes, I was seeing a slight improvement in my ability to finish basic chores, and I had been able to keep a blog. You should know this is not my first attempt at a web journal, it is probably my 5th or 6th, I usually end up not adding any post after the second or third week.
So an end to this is she gave me a written prescription for 20mg Adderall XR, a requirement to see the lab about blood work and a diagnosis in ICD-9 format of V314.01. I had to look that up, but it is Attention-deficit disorder, with mention of hyperactivity. I don't recall being hyper. Unable to sit still, I fidget a lot. That is just normal for me. Can't sit through a meeting at work without tapping a foot, snapping gum, or messing with a pen somehow. But I guess that is how the describe hyperactive. Started new dose this about 2 hours ago.
The climate in the office was different, it seemed a bit calmer and a lot less judgmental. The lobby was bigger, about 4 times the size. The office personal was further away too. Their receptionist area was larger, maybe that made for a calmer office. I know that when I worked at UOP and we were all on top of each other we were not happy. When you work in close quarters it is difficult to take a breath, let alone mumble your frustration away.
I remember one of the clinicians coming out of the back to see his patient out, he was rather jolly. He saw one of his other patients and he came out to him, sat down next to him, and shot the breeze for a few seconds, shook hands and returned to his office. He seemed nice, I was not assigned to him though.
WHen it was my turn to meet the new Nurse Practitioner, she came out, called me a few times before I realized she was looking for me, and tried to shake my hand, except my hands were full of candy from the vending machine and mail from the P.O. Box I had just picked up. I guess that is what ADD looks like when you get down too it. Hands too full of random things, brain too busy to acknowledge they are being spoken too, a hand bag overflowing with planners, things that still need to be done and it looks rather messy from a distance. That is how I met my new Practitioner.
It appears to me she is very experienced, she reminded me of an old co-worker, Stephanie. Stephanie was overly organized, not borderline crazy, downright anal-retantive. With Stephanie everything had to be done just right and in the right order, she knew if I missed a step and always came out to tell me in person. That is what the nurse reminds me of.
She was annoyed to find that the other office did not send over my paper file, especially since it had been 2 weeks since they made the appointment for me. When she opened the electronic file she was equally annoyed and disappointed. Things that should be there were not. Things like an actual diagnosis check sheet, patient questionnaires, blood work, and special notes justifying the use of a schedule one drug to the DEA, all missing. Nice to know that if the DEA audited my file I probably would have lost access to treatment, probably for months as it was sorted out!
Her office was significantly larger then the offices at the other location. It had more furniture, and if there had been a massage table instead of a desk it would not have seemed out of place.
She typed in all the things that were missing from my file. She suggested that I try an antidepressant that one takes three times a day. All I could think is if I forget to take the adderall at least once a week, how would I remember to take an antidepressant 3 times a day? So she said she would keep it in her notes and see how I did with a higher dose of Adderall XR. Odd, I did not ask for a higher dose. Yes, I was seeing a slight improvement in my ability to finish basic chores, and I had been able to keep a blog. You should know this is not my first attempt at a web journal, it is probably my 5th or 6th, I usually end up not adding any post after the second or third week.
So an end to this is she gave me a written prescription for 20mg Adderall XR, a requirement to see the lab about blood work and a diagnosis in ICD-9 format of V314.01. I had to look that up, but it is Attention-deficit disorder, with mention of hyperactivity. I don't recall being hyper. Unable to sit still, I fidget a lot. That is just normal for me. Can't sit through a meeting at work without tapping a foot, snapping gum, or messing with a pen somehow. But I guess that is how the describe hyperactive. Started new dose this about 2 hours ago.
Friday, February 25, 2011
179
horray! The number is going down again. Only 49 more to go. very good. already down 30, nearly half way dun!
Wonder what Dr. Oz will say. I am four from the goal I set for the 11 week challenge. I am not sure when that ends.
Wonder what Dr. Oz will say. I am four from the goal I set for the 11 week challenge. I am not sure when that ends.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
iPad2
i want one. i want one. i want one. blessed be the delivery man that brings this to my door. i want one. i don't care what it cost or how it makes my bank account float like a dead fish. i want one. i've anticipated the day they will say it will be here. the day it will be mine. the voices on my internet say they will tell me March 3rd. i want one.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Soap Box on Individual Responsibility
So I am sitting on my couch. The TV is on and there is another commercial for an injury lawyer; then the news returns and there another story of someones stupidity, of some preventable injury or death. Everyday. While I have not traveled the world, I am certain theses things are not only American happenings. What I am about to say is going to be offensive to many people and someday I might wish I never wrote my opinion about how people have a duty to do the right thing, not that is not just a Scouting message. Yes, my kids do participate in Cub Scouts and I was briefly a Girl Scout, even selling yummy cookie.
Today I read an update to the death of a little boy due to tainted alcohol wipes. My heart hurts for the loss of these parents, they should not have had to go through the terrible heartache or the agonizing misery of filing a lawsuit against Triad Products. Their loss was enough. The terrible fact of how their son contracted a deadly bacterial infection would have been crushing enough for me, but they are doing the right thing by standing up and letting us know what terrible things this company has done. They are right to hold the company accountable in both the court of public opinion and the court of law.
The update to the story states that FDA inspectors knew about the issues this company had with sanitation, sterilization, orderly records, and maintenance of manufacturing equipment as far back as 2009. That looks really, really bad to say the least. Worse is that the government did not issue "official letters" or file paperwork to stop production of products. Yes, FDA has the authority to write you a formal letter saying you need to correct some issues for the safety and health of all mankind, but they did not. The government regulator at the FDA noted that the company promised to correct the known issues.
Of course the company did not correct the issues. If they did I would not have anything to write about right now. What happen? Corporate greed. At least that is my opinion that is what happened. Should we be surprised? If you say no we should not be surprised, I think you are wrong! Do you remember the corporate greed scandals of Enron, Arthur Anderson, Halliburton, Firestone Tires, World Com, or AIG; did we learn anything about individual responsibility during any of them? Certainly, in each case there was at least one person who knew about the atrocities and did absolutely nothing to stop it because it would look bad on a balance sheet. These people who wanted more money for themselves and their "investors" did not do the moral thing and it cost people lives, financial security and the trust of future generations.
Lets face it, if you go to Business School, management in particular, you are taught to maximize the bottom line and that if you fail to do it, there are 10 others waiting outside to take your job. Yes, Business Schools teach that. They teach us that business is ruthless, cut throat and full of gold and pretty spouses if we rise to the task. Of course your pretty spouse will leave you if you stop bring in the gold. At least that is what you are told will happen in business school. As a result of all this bad philosophy taught in Business School, managers do really bad things, immoral things, things not just Christianity says are wrong, but all religions I have ever learned about. Greed and Envy and Pride can be really terrible things if you let them.
So back to Triad Products.... Yes, the managers had a moral obligation to do the right thing. They had the responsibility to make certain its products were "sterile" and safe. After all that is why people and hospitals buy alcohol wipes labeled sterile. So the manager failed to do the moral thing, many times because he was concerned about the bottom line, the gold he takes home and the trouble of loosing a pretty spouse. Here's the thing he would not have lost all the gold or the wife if he had done the right thing.
Why did I label this a Soap Box on Individual responsibility? Because the manager is not the only person with the responsibility to do the right thing! After all, manufacturing plants still have lots of humans running around. Machines do lots of the work, absolutely! People are there to clean the facility, fix the machines when the break, the radiologist in charge of nuking the products to kill germs, the worker in charge of quality control and shipping manager who gets the final product out to you the consumer. That means that there were no less than 5 separate people who knew about problems with their products. The person in charge of sanitation should have know proper and safe methods for ensuring the products produced by Triad would not become contaminated with terrible things. The maintenance worker had the responsibility to stop manufacturing if the products were not sealed correctly or being labeled correctly by the machine. The radiologist in charge of nuking the products to kill the germs that could be on the product had the responsibility to know when they were using enough to kill germs and when they were using too much. Nuking products is actually common, most of the fruits and veggies we eat are nuked before they get to the stores to prevent deadly contamination. What responsibility did quality control have? Well a whole ton! They had the responsibility to make certain all the previous jobs were done using the best practices available 100% of the time! If they walked into the manufacturing plant and people were having a buffet on manufacturing floor, then they needed to stop it and sanitize it! If they walked into the manufacturing plant and noticed a machine was not operating properly, they had the responsibility to get it fixed and check the products to see if quality was affected by it. If they sampled their products and found issues with bacterias or viruses they had the responsibility to have the product trashed and they had to have the Radiologist make adjustments. Finally, the shipping manager had the responsibility to trash bad product and recover bad product that had already shipped. Each individual had the responsibility to say this in not right, let me do the right thing. And guess what?! If they had blown the proverbial whistle, they could not be fired or demoted or otherwise punished or intimidated, because we know lots of lawyers would like to take their case so they could cash in on punitive damages.
Now I must ask, knowing all those other people also had the responsibility as an individual to do the right thing; Is it the governments job to do the right thing for us? I say no. Yes, I think the government should have done more, but it is not their job to do the right thing. The government work is there for when we, as individuals repeatedly fail to do the moral thing, the right thing, to stop terrible preventable things from happening. We don't need more government regulations or regulators, we need more people doing the right thing.
Today I read an update to the death of a little boy due to tainted alcohol wipes. My heart hurts for the loss of these parents, they should not have had to go through the terrible heartache or the agonizing misery of filing a lawsuit against Triad Products. Their loss was enough. The terrible fact of how their son contracted a deadly bacterial infection would have been crushing enough for me, but they are doing the right thing by standing up and letting us know what terrible things this company has done. They are right to hold the company accountable in both the court of public opinion and the court of law.
The update to the story states that FDA inspectors knew about the issues this company had with sanitation, sterilization, orderly records, and maintenance of manufacturing equipment as far back as 2009. That looks really, really bad to say the least. Worse is that the government did not issue "official letters" or file paperwork to stop production of products. Yes, FDA has the authority to write you a formal letter saying you need to correct some issues for the safety and health of all mankind, but they did not. The government regulator at the FDA noted that the company promised to correct the known issues.
Of course the company did not correct the issues. If they did I would not have anything to write about right now. What happen? Corporate greed. At least that is my opinion that is what happened. Should we be surprised? If you say no we should not be surprised, I think you are wrong! Do you remember the corporate greed scandals of Enron, Arthur Anderson, Halliburton, Firestone Tires, World Com, or AIG; did we learn anything about individual responsibility during any of them? Certainly, in each case there was at least one person who knew about the atrocities and did absolutely nothing to stop it because it would look bad on a balance sheet. These people who wanted more money for themselves and their "investors" did not do the moral thing and it cost people lives, financial security and the trust of future generations.
Lets face it, if you go to Business School, management in particular, you are taught to maximize the bottom line and that if you fail to do it, there are 10 others waiting outside to take your job. Yes, Business Schools teach that. They teach us that business is ruthless, cut throat and full of gold and pretty spouses if we rise to the task. Of course your pretty spouse will leave you if you stop bring in the gold. At least that is what you are told will happen in business school. As a result of all this bad philosophy taught in Business School, managers do really bad things, immoral things, things not just Christianity says are wrong, but all religions I have ever learned about. Greed and Envy and Pride can be really terrible things if you let them.
So back to Triad Products.... Yes, the managers had a moral obligation to do the right thing. They had the responsibility to make certain its products were "sterile" and safe. After all that is why people and hospitals buy alcohol wipes labeled sterile. So the manager failed to do the moral thing, many times because he was concerned about the bottom line, the gold he takes home and the trouble of loosing a pretty spouse. Here's the thing he would not have lost all the gold or the wife if he had done the right thing.
Why did I label this a Soap Box on Individual responsibility? Because the manager is not the only person with the responsibility to do the right thing! After all, manufacturing plants still have lots of humans running around. Machines do lots of the work, absolutely! People are there to clean the facility, fix the machines when the break, the radiologist in charge of nuking the products to kill germs, the worker in charge of quality control and shipping manager who gets the final product out to you the consumer. That means that there were no less than 5 separate people who knew about problems with their products. The person in charge of sanitation should have know proper and safe methods for ensuring the products produced by Triad would not become contaminated with terrible things. The maintenance worker had the responsibility to stop manufacturing if the products were not sealed correctly or being labeled correctly by the machine. The radiologist in charge of nuking the products to kill the germs that could be on the product had the responsibility to know when they were using enough to kill germs and when they were using too much. Nuking products is actually common, most of the fruits and veggies we eat are nuked before they get to the stores to prevent deadly contamination. What responsibility did quality control have? Well a whole ton! They had the responsibility to make certain all the previous jobs were done using the best practices available 100% of the time! If they walked into the manufacturing plant and people were having a buffet on manufacturing floor, then they needed to stop it and sanitize it! If they walked into the manufacturing plant and noticed a machine was not operating properly, they had the responsibility to get it fixed and check the products to see if quality was affected by it. If they sampled their products and found issues with bacterias or viruses they had the responsibility to have the product trashed and they had to have the Radiologist make adjustments. Finally, the shipping manager had the responsibility to trash bad product and recover bad product that had already shipped. Each individual had the responsibility to say this in not right, let me do the right thing. And guess what?! If they had blown the proverbial whistle, they could not be fired or demoted or otherwise punished or intimidated, because we know lots of lawyers would like to take their case so they could cash in on punitive damages.
Now I must ask, knowing all those other people also had the responsibility as an individual to do the right thing; Is it the governments job to do the right thing for us? I say no. Yes, I think the government should have done more, but it is not their job to do the right thing. The government work is there for when we, as individuals repeatedly fail to do the moral thing, the right thing, to stop terrible preventable things from happening. We don't need more government regulations or regulators, we need more people doing the right thing.
Monday, February 21, 2011
I need a break....and a pitcher of Margarita
Help I need a break. Badly. Imagine this... You hear yourself screaming at your kids, literally about everything, anything and probably somethings you just imagined happened. You have had too many days of sick, needy, whiney kids and not enough sex or rest. Your kids keep interrupting you every 2-3 minutes. Your tired, frustrated, down right PMSing and you can't seem to get a hold of your temper. I wish the kids would drink some Nyquil or Benadryl and go to sleep; no story, no "Mommy I need a drink!" No, none of that. Right now I wish my husband would get home early for work so I could just leave him with the kids, and not say a word about the terrible day and deadly short fuse I have. I would come back around 10:30pm that way the kids would definitely be asleep and I could have already had a pitcher of margarita, danced on the bar, taken a cab home, woken up in bed and not remember where the car is! That is what I want. I don't want to remember where I went to drink the night away or have anything but some random person with a cell phone picture of me being pulled off the bar by the bar-keep on a Monday night. Oh, and all the things still on the To-Do list that I never remember to write would be mysteriously done.
Controlling the urge to get some wood
Sigh.... WOke up this morning with an incredible urge to get some wood. It is not something I can explain real well, but I have this overwhelming desire to buy wood scraps and some more dog ear fence boards. I woke to this idea that I could build a small writing desk from 2 Dog Ear cedar fence boards for the table top, 1 2x2 pine board for the legs, (maybe 2 so the legs will be nice and stable), a 1 1x3 pine board for the desk skirt. I think that if you count the cost of screws $5.00, paint $5-10, clear poly for the cedar $10, and the wood I can build it for about $35-$45. Huh, in my head I thought I could build it for $20. I know if I take the time to draw it I will just have a stronger desire to go and get the pieces.
Baby is up. Now I will need to type one handed. He is upset. He has been grumpy upon waking for the last few days. His older brother, nicky is sick. The doctor last night said that he has strep and that it is highly contagious, which instantly made me feel like I had a sore throat and that I should go hide.
Baby is up. Now I will need to type one handed. He is upset. He has been grumpy upon waking for the last few days. His older brother, nicky is sick. The doctor last night said that he has strep and that it is highly contagious, which instantly made me feel like I had a sore throat and that I should go hide.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Rained out
Well the weatherman was right. It is raining and it is a cold slow drizzle. I worked on the second garden box this morning. I even got my son to take pictures, because I forgot to do that earlier before I built the first box. I had to take a break to drive to the Surprise Lowe's so my cub scout AJ could watch a video and get a patch. It started raining so now we are just waiting for a break in the rain so we can go move the bricks and put the box where it is supposed to be. Then we will fill it with new garden dirt we got from Lowe's. Sorry but I underestimated how much dirt it would take to fill up the box.
While at Lowe's I stared at the Kregg Pocket Drill kit. It looks so fancy compared to the generic one I got from the Home Depot. Of course my not fancy pocket drill kit cost $30.00 and the super fancy Kregg cost $130.00. They do the same thing so what the hell? I guess it cost a whole lot to run that infomercial every Sunday. I bet if you look you will find it on this weekend. :)
As a family we also picked up 2 Pinewood Deurby Kits for the boys to make. Looks like it is a project above the kids skill level, oh well. I guess their first cars will just be messy and rough around the edges. They can make better ones next year.
While at Lowe's I stared at the Kregg Pocket Drill kit. It looks so fancy compared to the generic one I got from the Home Depot. Of course my not fancy pocket drill kit cost $30.00 and the super fancy Kregg cost $130.00. They do the same thing so what the hell? I guess it cost a whole lot to run that infomercial every Sunday. I bet if you look you will find it on this weekend. :)
As a family we also picked up 2 Pinewood Deurby Kits for the boys to make. Looks like it is a project above the kids skill level, oh well. I guess their first cars will just be messy and rough around the edges. They can make better ones next year.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Dirty...but proud
Feeling proud right now. I actually finished something I started. Okay, really I finished about 50% of what I started. But hey that is farther then normal for me. Definitely I am dirty. I worked on my first of three wood projects. These are wood projects that I have had locked in my disorganized mind for months. The first, I hope is the easiest, our garden box for our patio apartment.
So the garden box. I made it very cheap, oddly enough out of the same stuff you make wood fences out of. Even odder the day after I decided that they were the best and cheapest material to use, I found a website that used the same thing! It’s a place called anaAna White list designs that are free and easy to build, you should go there if you have some furniture you need or just interested in dreaming.
I went to Home Depot and picked up 12 fence boards and had the man, after it took a half hour to find him, cut off the “dog ears” off all of them and then cut 4 of them in half. I picked up some nice 1 ¼” wood screws, a bottle of wood glue, some grade stakes and 4 bags of dirt. Yeah, me! I remembered all the things that I needed to build the boxes including the nice little dowels I am going to use to make the “dog ears” into garden labels.
The first of the 2 boxes is finished, put in the garden spot, filled with the dirt and that is that. I intend on finishing the second box in the morning. So I feel dirty after dumping the bags of dirt into the box. I feel even dirtier knowing that I just cleared off the poo from the Danny’s dirty diapers. I think I need a shower, I am kind of itchy.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Nextcare fiasco
So like I said yesterday my kid Nicky is sick. He was a whole lot of fun and then he spiked a high fever of 103.6F, so I decided I would take him to see the doctor. Bummer was my doctor was booked and Nicky was very irritable. So I decided I would take him to NextCare Urgent Care Clinic on Northern and 101 Freeway. I have been there before and always forget to use their Wahoo service. Wahoo is you sign in online and wait your turn at home or office. Sounds great! Hooray me, I actually remembered to do something that is productive, right?
First I signed in at 3:30 in the afternoon and waited. I did not make dinner, in part because 2 out of 3 kids were sick and because I knew if I started dinner they would call and I would either ruin dinner or miss the appointment. So at 5:15 we went to go get McDonald's, I took the time to forward all calls to the cell phone. I even remembered to put the phone in my bag. Just as we were about to pull in to the drive-thru, they called. Okay. Good.
We arrive at 5:30pm, we are supposed to sign in and go right to the doctor's office. It did not turn out quite like that. At 6:10pm we are still waiting. My kids are now hungry, cranky and board, they don't like watching the news that is on in the lobby or not having any toys or company. I get up and ask, "how much longer?" "Oh just a few more minutes there is one person ahead of you." I take a big angry breath in and go back to my seat.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Oh, yeah we finally are taken to triage at 6:20pm. The nurse is polite. Only a few more minutes now. Back in the same room I was in on Monday with my oldest AJ who is also sick. No magazines, no toys, no eta on when the doctor will be in. We watch Nick Toons for a half hour. I peak my head out the door, "Could you tell me how much longer?" The nurse asks the doctor, oh yeah you guys are next. Back in I go. So hungry, trying to keep 3 kids quiet and from completely distroying the room.
Danny climbs on the counter and starts taking out giant Q-tips and tounge depressors. Nicky is now tearing up the paper liner on the cot. AJ is spinning around in the doctor's stool. Trying to be calm and remain in control. We have now watched 2 episodes of The Last Air Bender and are starting something I can't pay attention to.
Now I am tired, hungry, fustrated, and suffering from low blood sugar. Back out the door I go, demanding to know how much longer! "I just need to start and finish this proceedure," the doctor tells the ever patient nurse. Poor Nurse! I admit to being frustrated, and complaining about the long ridiculous wait. She is compassionate and apologizes. She returns with orange juice and saltines for me and the kids after hearing we are all hungry. She is the only person who apologizes.
We wait more. Ah, now I know what is on it is Fairy God Parents and we are now about to start a second episode. The doctor comes in finally! She tells me the Quick Strep came back negative and then takes down all the same info that the triage nurse, not the nice one, took down. Checks he lungs, checks his ears. His ears have a build of disgusting wax. She leaves the room and returns with an ear thingy to pull the wax chunk out. Very Gross! "It looks like he has a budding ear infection in his ear." She writes this down in the computer. Says she will be giving him a prescription for Amoxicillin. All in all she was in the room less then 10 minutes.
Back to the waiting room. Now we are waiting for the computerized records and prescription to print. We wait. The kids have lost their minds and are playing with the water fountain and pushing all the buttons on the soda machine, screaming and running circles around the waiting room. Too tired to do anything about it, I wait. I talk very loudly and obnoxiously to another mother that has been waiting just as long after also signing in with Wahoo. A guy in the lobby is amused. His wife asks the receptionist to turn off Doctor Oz. Receptionist searches for the remote. We are still waiting for our papers. No idea what time it is when we finally leave, but we leave without our instructions because the receptionist can not get them to print.
First I signed in at 3:30 in the afternoon and waited. I did not make dinner, in part because 2 out of 3 kids were sick and because I knew if I started dinner they would call and I would either ruin dinner or miss the appointment. So at 5:15 we went to go get McDonald's, I took the time to forward all calls to the cell phone. I even remembered to put the phone in my bag. Just as we were about to pull in to the drive-thru, they called. Okay. Good.
We arrive at 5:30pm, we are supposed to sign in and go right to the doctor's office. It did not turn out quite like that. At 6:10pm we are still waiting. My kids are now hungry, cranky and board, they don't like watching the news that is on in the lobby or not having any toys or company. I get up and ask, "how much longer?" "Oh just a few more minutes there is one person ahead of you." I take a big angry breath in and go back to my seat.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Oh, yeah we finally are taken to triage at 6:20pm. The nurse is polite. Only a few more minutes now. Back in the same room I was in on Monday with my oldest AJ who is also sick. No magazines, no toys, no eta on when the doctor will be in. We watch Nick Toons for a half hour. I peak my head out the door, "Could you tell me how much longer?" The nurse asks the doctor, oh yeah you guys are next. Back in I go. So hungry, trying to keep 3 kids quiet and from completely distroying the room.
Danny climbs on the counter and starts taking out giant Q-tips and tounge depressors. Nicky is now tearing up the paper liner on the cot. AJ is spinning around in the doctor's stool. Trying to be calm and remain in control. We have now watched 2 episodes of The Last Air Bender and are starting something I can't pay attention to.
Now I am tired, hungry, fustrated, and suffering from low blood sugar. Back out the door I go, demanding to know how much longer! "I just need to start and finish this proceedure," the doctor tells the ever patient nurse. Poor Nurse! I admit to being frustrated, and complaining about the long ridiculous wait. She is compassionate and apologizes. She returns with orange juice and saltines for me and the kids after hearing we are all hungry. She is the only person who apologizes.
We wait more. Ah, now I know what is on it is Fairy God Parents and we are now about to start a second episode. The doctor comes in finally! She tells me the Quick Strep came back negative and then takes down all the same info that the triage nurse, not the nice one, took down. Checks he lungs, checks his ears. His ears have a build of disgusting wax. She leaves the room and returns with an ear thingy to pull the wax chunk out. Very Gross! "It looks like he has a budding ear infection in his ear." She writes this down in the computer. Says she will be giving him a prescription for Amoxicillin. All in all she was in the room less then 10 minutes.
Back to the waiting room. Now we are waiting for the computerized records and prescription to print. We wait. The kids have lost their minds and are playing with the water fountain and pushing all the buttons on the soda machine, screaming and running circles around the waiting room. Too tired to do anything about it, I wait. I talk very loudly and obnoxiously to another mother that has been waiting just as long after also signing in with Wahoo. A guy in the lobby is amused. His wife asks the receptionist to turn off Doctor Oz. Receptionist searches for the remote. We are still waiting for our papers. No idea what time it is when we finally leave, but we leave without our instructions because the receptionist can not get them to print.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Kids Sick again.
What is it with this years cold and flu season? Is is me or are your kids getting sick again and again? It seems like it at my house. 3 kids and 2 are definitely sick. One a mild flu? The other stomach flu or is it turning into Strep Throat? The school sent home another letter warning us that a kid has contracted strep.
Disappointed that I just deep cleaned the kids bedroom carpet. I think Nicky is destined to throw up on the carpet and not in the bathroom. Hey, he is 4. Also disappointed about cleaning the couch. I go weeks without having anything spilled on the couch and decide to have it steamed, 24 hours later, kids yogurt hits the seat.
On the brighter side I finally finished catching up the checkbook. I now know how much money I can't spend because it is not there. Disappointing. Now I can do all the paper chores, like paying for the Cooking Club subscription and I am not sure, shredding stuff? Still waiting for husbands third W-2 so we can file.
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| Nicky and Danny cuddle while sick |
Disappointed that I just deep cleaned the kids bedroom carpet. I think Nicky is destined to throw up on the carpet and not in the bathroom. Hey, he is 4. Also disappointed about cleaning the couch. I go weeks without having anything spilled on the couch and decide to have it steamed, 24 hours later, kids yogurt hits the seat.
On the brighter side I finally finished catching up the checkbook. I now know how much money I can't spend because it is not there. Disappointing. Now I can do all the paper chores, like paying for the Cooking Club subscription and I am not sure, shredding stuff? Still waiting for husbands third W-2 so we can file.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
huh, to do or not to do
So I went back to the mental health care clinic yesterday. I actually went two days in a row. The first for general counseling to see if my mood is improving. Therapist thought it was improving. So yesterday was for the med check. It was a new med person. I am not sure changing med persons was good for me. I don't think she truly understood me and I don't think I understood her questions the way she wanted. It is something that has to do with no small talk and very little introduction. I get. Your busy and you just took over hundreds of patients in addition to your own. But it made for a less then great experience. Does she understand that her questions really need to be specific and if you want to know about more then the last 6 weeks you need to tell me. I am not working that is in my past. I am not going to school that is in my past, and really 15 minutes to ask me is too little time to investigate an improvement or problem with my adderall medication.
When you get asked a question and you are looking to your clinician to explain what type of behavior she is talking about, you really need to know. I was not trying to be rude, but I really did not get what she implied by "burst of energy"... Does she mean do you stay up all night doing things? or does she mean are you more active in general? Is she talking about something else? When she says are their things that you "focus on more"? What the hell does that mean? Yes I spend more time on the internet then I should. I know I really need to mop the kitchen floor, dust all the things in the house and oil the wood furniture. I should do those. I mean I eventually will before we move again.
Do people with ADHD move more often? I don't know, but I would like to know. I have read about many others who are "suffering" and not thriving with ADHD and having issues with credit and just remembering to pay bills on time. I definitely relate to their suffering. What about friends? Do they have as much trouble as I do connecting with people? Staying connected? Or just being in the same room as their spouse. Do we hyper-focus on the same things? Do they also have trouble with the noise at the grocery store, have they also tried going to the store in the middle of the night because fewer people and distractions are there? Are they annoyed and frustrated by the same things? Do they start thinking about other things on the "to-do list" in the middle of sex? Do they also wish sex did not last as long? Really, trying to find answers to real questions and real solutions is hard. Still need to finish balancing the check book, guess I should finish.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Problems in the real world with ADD
Problems with ADHD today. All the writing in the world on the calendar, planner don't help if you got it in your head wrong. I wrote it down right.
I was 1 hour late to an appointment. I was absolutely certain I was on time. I can't explain to you how annoying it is to think "they" got it wrong, only to learn you got it all wrong.
Thoughts like, "They must have changed it some time and not told me". "Why did they not call me?" "Did my husband get the message and then not tell me?" Other much uglier thoughts happen while the staff tells you that you will need to wait for a new appointment.
If your normal, this is a rare occurrence. Maybe you forget something once a year? Or miss an appointment because you got caught in some bad, bad traffic. But if you are ADHD or ADD this happens far more often. For me this is not unusual, certainly aggravating, but happens about once a month for doctor's appointments and often for paying bills on time. Oh, that reminds me I need to pay my credit card. Hold on I will be right back...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Okay, more aggravation! Remember I left the car unlocked last month, and someone took my wallet and things from my car? Well, I canceled the cards and now I need to wait for the bank to re-confirm my checking account information before I can make a payment. Great...will it be late? Not sure. Worse I think the lady told me when the new card came I would need to do that again. Misplaced the reminder to do that earlier!
So back to that appointment snafu. I came back home and checked for voicemails, but alas just like I thought they never called me to remind me about the appointment. A reminder call, which usually happens for this doctors office could have alerted me to the fact my thinking was wrong! And maybe would have prompted me to take a closer look at the planner and calendar. Funny the office insisted it called me, I may be fallible, but my Magic Jack voicemail never is. I guess they never called........nope, still no message.
If you think the point is it is their fault that they didn't call then you missed the anger, frustration, anxiety and embarrassment of having missed the appointment.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Overwhelmed, again...
So, I know it has been nearly three weeks since I posted any thoughts on anything. I must tell you it has been a rather overwhelming three weeks.
My list of anxiety causing events:
Cub Scouts poor communication
Laundry
Stinky Dog Ears
Rising cost of Meat and Fresh Produce
Freezing temperatures
Actually loosing weight
Husband goes to dentist for the first time in 8 years
Astroid to hit earth 2029, 2036
Potty Training
Treasure hunting
Coupons!
Grocery Sales
Health Care and fear of loosing it in June
Dishes, dishes, dishes
Balancing the checkbook
finding a desk to put my things on
Increasing amount of email
iTouch 2.0 or iPhone
growth spurts of children
no ice cream in the house
Okay it really could go on for another 10,000 items, but these are the things that are on my mind right this second. If you can't fathom all that on the mind at once then you are not a Mom or ADD! The mind of Pamela O is always this busy and random.
Cub Scouts, while a potential way to help my son get a college scholarship and great for building basic organization and self confidence skills is very bad with communication. Perhaps it is not lack of communication but over communication. I personally can not handle 10-15 emails in a week about 3 or 15 different events and important things we should know. I think maybe they should simply send out an email on Wednesday or Thursday right after our weekly meeting. If it was important simply send out one email of all the things that came from the Weekly meetings and all the announcements that come from the all the sports venders that want our dollars. I really can't handle all the emails!
On Laundry... This never ending chore is my nemesis! What is it about boys and them making several pairs of dirty clothes each day. Why do they need to throw clean clothes in the dirty basket. Aye, digress.
Stinky Dog Ears! Oh how I wish I could pay for a visit to the Vet! This poor dog has stinky ears, and really for the last few years! Why can't what ever causes the smell in the ear just die! The problem with being poor and managing money badly....
Then there is this: rising cost of meat! Why does it now cost $20.00 for 2 t-bone steaks? Maybe it cost that before. I've never actually bought such a lavish item. It sounded so sexy. Dinner for two, T-bone steaks, rice, salad, beer and margaritas. After buying it, it is just ridiculously expensive. So the cost of hamburger, something I regularly buy, is now 3.99 to 5.99 a pound. I really want a sale, but if one doesn't come on Wednesday I will take my Safeway raincheck for 1.99 extra lean ground meat. Why does meat cost more? Can't say. I know why fruits and veggies cost more. It is cold so it all comes from Argentina and Chile which cost something ridiculous to ship to AZ. I really do like strawberries, just don't want to pay 4.99 a pound.
It has been cold in Phoenix, AZ. Okay so it is not Michigan cold, there is not snow, at least not in my yard, but it has been below freezing an afoul lot lately. It is normally wonderful in Phoenix this time of year, about 50 in the evenings and 65+ in the day. This year it has been below freezing at least 15 days in my neighborhood, and close to that many more days. That means a higher electric bill. I have a pre-paid electric box, that means when the weather man says it will be 22 degrees on Wednesday, I need to go add money to keep the house warm. The difference between fabulous Phoenix winter days and wholly shit it's cold is $6.00+ a day. A regular day, $3.50. A freezing day, $10.00.
So loosing weight is great! Until your pants starts falling off your hips, and your T-shirts turn into moo-moos! Did you know that there is not any alteration shops around me? You remember supply and demand? Wow, I think I am going to do my alterations after this, $130.00 for 5 pair of pants and 4 shirts. Okay they are jeans and knit shirts, but still it is expensive, and I should probably add most of the pants were way too long and I just ignored it because I would need to take them in for alterations, which is expensive.
So my husband finally went to the dentist. The last time he went to the dentist he was in the Marine Corps, 2002. You bet he had cavities. Why did he finally go, even though we have no money to pay the dentist? It hurt. 
Astroid to come near earth, Friday, April 15th, 2029. I am sure it will be Thirteen Hundred Hours when it happens too. Nasa and Russia claim this astroid will come so close that it will actually fly under our satellites. Worse still, we do not have any Space Ships to go out into outer space and try to stop it! Why is this so important, I mean, really, it is just near Earth. Well, glad you asked! It is predicted to return to Earth in 2036 and scientist are not certain if Earth's own gravity will cause it to collide into Earth or push it off into space. Now I bet you see why the government should spend Money on NASA, and why we should be teaching math and science in our schools. God gave us means to do it, so lets do it. I would like to be older than 55 when I die. Of course this is all null and void if the world ends in 2012.
So now I must stop this typing and go fold the laundry and do all the other things I still have not vented about.