Small Update

[starfire]

Hi Friends,

Since I haven't been posting (even lurking) very much for a few months, I thought maybe I should mention a couple of things.....

I don't remember if I posted about my plan to move back to Pa in June after my grand daughter graduated from high school. I thought by then that I would be totally finished with some extensive dental work that has been going on for a long time now. However, I was under an incorrect assumption that the last two implants would only need 2 months heal time (the event is scheduled for the 28th). I was mistaken. It's 4-6 months. If I followed through with my plan to attend the graduation I was pretty well stuck here for the summer since it's not an easy thing to make the trips required with an 86 year old Mother.

After much thought and after talking with my daughter I have decided to leave for Pa by mid April and stay in Pa until perhaps early Sept. By that time I should be ready to get the crowns attached and finally be finished. Then I'll be totally free to move back to Pa. which I will do - hopefully by Thanksgiving if not sooner.

I felt like I was going to go absolutely insane if I had to stay here all summer for several reasons...... The horrible heat and humidity...... the total disinterest in maintaining this place..... feeling horrible about leaving the place in Pa to go to pot. I don't know why I hate it here so badly but I do. Maybe it's because Bill and I never managed to create much of a "history" here... I don't know, but I am totally connected to our place in Pa. and that's where I want to be. If I find out later that it was a mistake I'll worry about it then. I just know it isn't working for me here at all.

Well, that's probably more than anybody wanted to know but..........

There is another issue that has presented itself. I saw my GI Doc on the 6th of this month. Just a checkup, more or less. I complained that my hair is thinning and that I thought it was the long term Asacol use. He looked up the side effects and it was listed. I thought maybe he'd prescribe something different but I suppose the meds similar to Asacol probably cause the same problems.

Instead he wanted me to go off meds completely. I was taking 4 a day. I am now down to 1 per day. I think I'm going to stay on that for a few weeks because I have to be on antibiotics after the implants, plus I got a call that I have a UTI (lab work from last week) and have to start an antibiotic for that today. What a test!!! I have to admit I'm a bit nervous.

Well, a long winded post from someone who hasn't posted this much in months. Sorry about that.

Love, Shirley

[Rosie]

Shirley, you've sure had a lot to deal with recently. I'm a relative newbie here and don't know much about your history, but I sure hope that your dental work goes smoothly and that your reduction of meds turns out OK.

Rosie

[starfire]

Thanks Rosie,

I was pleasantly surprised today when I picked up my Rx. It was CIPRO. Guess I lucked out on that one. According to Polly & Tex it's the antibiotic that doesn't wreak havoc with MC.

Love, Shirley

[Gloria]

Shirley,

It sounds like you have been pretty introspective about your decision to go back to Pennsylvania and have made the right decision for you. That's a pretty big accomplishment. Many people aren't able to articulate why they're bothered by a situation . I think you are on the right path.

Yes, Cipro is the antibiotic of choice for us MCers. I'm sorry that you have a UTI. I think I've had to be on antibiotics three times this year because of UTIs. Now I'm drinking cranberry juice each morning. Everyone swears by it keeping UTIs at bay. I hope it does.

I hope the tapering of your meds goes OK and your MC stays under control.

Gloria

[tex]

Shirley,

It's good to see that you've finally settled on a plan. That's always the hardest part. Sorry about the UTI - I hope the Cipro gets the job done, without any side issues. It should, of course.

Thanks for the update, and I hope all your plans go smoothly.

Love,
Tex

[ant]

Dear Shirley,

Home is wherever you really want to be, and it sounds like you know where that is.

All best wishes, Ant

[MaggieRedwings]

Morning Shirley,

I am in unison iwth Ant on this one - home is where you want to be and where your heart is. It is definitely not in Florida. You will be right back here in PA with me. Sorry about the UTI and hope the teeth thing goes well.

Love, Maggie

[hazel]

Wow, Shirley, you have a lot going on. Some decisions are made for you and some you are making. I'm sure it is different (and difficult) without Bill. You get so used to making shared decisions and discussing things. It sounds like you are being very practical and making a good plan, considering teeth, Mom, health.... Short term, I hope everything goes well with the Cipro and the lower dose of Asacol. Long term I think you are doing the right thing--PA is home, FL is not. However, enjoy Florida right now--there are flood warnings in PA!

[Mars]

I'm glad you have made your decision to move back to PA, that should be a load off your mind that a decision has been made! It should make for a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!

I was in Florida in May a few years back and I don't know anyone can handle the heat through the summer months! It gets soooooooooooooo hot! I have to admit, Spring in Florida is wonderful! I sure do hate the cold.

Good luck with your implants and healing from that. What a long drawn-out process!

Love and hugs,
Mars

[Stanz]

I'm confused, as from my research Cipro seemed to be the catalyst for MC and all kinds of problems. I've just returned from the clinic w/a dx of UTI and a prescription for TMP-TMZ, which has worked for me in the past, and I specifically declined Cipro. Now I realize it was the massive dose of this that triggered my 2 yrs. of D. Anyone have experience with this med? Opinions on whether I should swap meds at this point?

[tex]

Stanz,

We are all different, of course, but to be honest, I don't recall anyone on this board ever developing D from a short course of Ciprofloxacin, (prior to your mention of it, of course). On the contrary, many of us, (myself included), have found that if we have active D before initiating a treatment with Cipro, the D will quickly resolve, and then return a few days after the treatment has ended. No one knows why it works so effectively for us, but as a group, we have had very good luck with it. We would recommend it as a treatment for MC, except that it carries a significant risk of tendonitis, and, in fact, one or two members have suffered from torn ligaments, due to long-term use of it, and one or two have experienced tendinitis, from short-term use of it, especially if it is used in combination with a corticosteroid, (e.g., Entocort EC).

Is it possible that you might have also been taking another drug, at the time, that could have triggered the D, or anything that might have caused an adverse interaction with the Ciprofloxacin?

Did you mean TMP-SMZ, by any chance? Sulfa drugs can cause problems for a lot of people.

Have you tried D-mannose for UTIs? Some people find it to be very effective, and much less risky than atibiotics. Here's an endorsement by a urologist:

http://www.healingtherapies.info/D-Mannose.htm

Tex

[Stanz]

Hi Tex,

Yes I meant TMP-SMZ, which is what my PCP gave me when she thought I had MRSA 2 1/2 yrs. ago. I took a massive dose of it then and my symptoms went away but shortly after that I started with 2 years of D. I do not have D now, but I've been feeling sick all week, having psoriasis flares and just generally feeling crappy. I noticed the tell-tale backache yesterday so I started with the D-Mannose then, but by 3 this afternoon I was peeing every 10 minutes and in a great deal of pain so it being Friday (why is it always Friday?) I decided to get cultured and had a very high bacteria count and a fever of 102.5 and my usual temp is 97.6. Don't feel like I've got much of a choice at this point but I was given only 6 tabs and don't take the next for another 10 hours, so conceivably I could switch meds.

All I know is that when I was researching antibiotics as a possible trigger, Cipro had a huge amount of hits and if I do have a Mycobacterium then Cipro won't kill that from what I've read.

Thanks for the response. Sorry to be such a baby.

Connie

[tex]

Connie,

I certainly agree that it was time to do something.

why is it always Friday?

You know, I've wondered that very same thing, all my life. Back when I did a lot of farming, which requires a lot of machinery these days, It always seemed that 90% of the breakdowns occurred late Friday afternoon, or Friday night, (after the equipment dealers closed for the weekend).

Anytime that I have some sort of ailment that's not bad enough to see a doctor about, all week - suddenly on Friday afternoon, it will take a turn for the worse, and I'll wish that I had done something earlier.

Several times over the years, I would be grinding metal, and a tiny hot metal fragment would somehow bounce off of a piece of steel, and fly straight for the pupil of my eye, somehow getting around my safety glasses. The last time it happened, I was wearing safety glasses and a full face shield, and it still got into my eye. All but one of those times, it happened on a Friday afternoon, too late to see an optholmologist. That makes for a mighty long weekend, waiting for Monday, and by Monday, there'll be a rust ring which will have to be carefully scraped away, after the fragment is removed.

So why is it that "stuff" always seems to happen on Friday afternoon? I wonder if that's true, or if it just seems that way?

Seriously, I hope that you can get the infection under control ASAP.

Tex

[Mars]

Yep - it's ALWAYS Friday for me too..................I guess that's how the ER stays so busy..............

Mars

[ant]

Ah .. Fridays!! It must be Murphy's Law..... are you sure we do not all have Irish genes, as well as the others that muck up our guts?:roll:

Best Ant