Too Many Pesky Pills

Keeping track of one’s pills can be a bit confusing.  Those plastic weekly pill containers worked good to help my dad remember to take his pills every day.  He had three separate holders for his morning, lunch time and evening pills that he clearly marked.  He would fill up the containers On Sunday and that way he would know if he took his daily pills or not.   The only problem was that if he fell asleep, sometimes lunch time wouldn’t be until 3:00 or his evening pills would be really late which he was supposed to take at the same time every day.  It’s sad that as we get older we generally have more pills to keep track of which can become a bit confusing and sometimes overwhelming.

I used to think he was making a big problem out of nothing but now I have six pills to take and realize it is an added responsibility.  One is only on Saturday morning and one is only every other day (I use the calendar to help me remember which days to take them).  I just pull the bottles out of the cupboard when it is time to take them and after I take the pills, put them back right away.  I do not use the weekly pill holder because sometimes I take them at home and sometimes I take some at work.  Fortunately, my memory is good enough that I take them right on time each day.

Last week though, I had a day off so was out of my usual routine and was pretty stressed out.  I remembered I had to take my vitamin pills that I normally take at work, but instead of reaching for them on my second shelf, I grabbed the morning pills I take from the first shelf out of habit.  Oops!  I had the 5 a.m. swallowed and the next one in my mouth when it dawned on me these were not the right ones!  I was able to spit the second one out, dry it off and put it back.  I felt very stupid but from now on, I will take them out with the others when I am home so that doesn’t happen again.

I told the Pharmacist I accidentally took my early morning pill twice and asked if I should skip it the next day or still take it.  She said “Why would you take it twice?  How did you do that?”  I answered, because I’m stupid and explained I was off my routine.  She told me it wouldn’t hurt and that I should still take one the next day as usual. It sort of scares me a little that I did such a stupid thing when I’m not even a senior citizen yet!

Everyone makes mistakes but I try not to make the same mistake twice.  I think this will work.  Do you have pills to keep track of yet?  If not, you are lucky!  If so, what system do you use?

I am donating 50 cents per comment this month to Heifer International.

Where Did I Put That Letter Opener? (Writer's Workshop)

Harry also spent a lot of his time looking for things he misplaced. One day, he told me "I can't find the letter opener so I am using scissors to lock the door." (Since his door lock broke and he was still in the process of fixing it himself, he used the letter opener to lock it.) I spent the whole time there before work helping him look for it, but I couldn't find it anywhere either. Later that day, I got a call from dad at work saying, "Hello, Karen, this is dad. I just wanted to call to let you know I found the letter opener under my pillow." We both laughed at that, wondering how in the world it landed there. At least he found it!

Head on over to Red Pine Mountain to enter her giveaway for an autographed copy of my book, "My Funny Dad, Harry."  Contest drawing is June 9 and all you need to do is leave a comment on that post to enter.

This is an excerpt from "My Funny Dad, Harry" which I posted in response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt:  “What did you once lose? Write about your search to find it again.”

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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5 Products My Dad Used In His Old Age (Writer's Workshop)

Five products my dad used were a weekly pill box, a magnifying glass, a grabber gadget, a very cool walker and a wheelchair that his favorite cat, Blackie, liked riding on.

Weekly Pill Box --This kept him organized enough to take his pills. He had quite a few to keep track of and with his memory going, sometimes he couldn't remember if he took his pill or not. Don't laugh, I've had this on occasion too. He would put them all in the three weekly pill boxes he used--morning, noon, evening. It was a good system that worked for him.

Magnifying Glass--Since Harry didn't go to the Optometrist regularly, he couldn't see very well so he used a magnifying glass all the time. I must admit, however, that his instructions that came with his diabetes gadget and his watch and clocks had such tiny print that even I couldn't read them without a magnifying Glass. When I was showing him how to use the computer, he needed a magnifying Glass to read everything unless it was 14pt or bigger! He even had a special one for reading books or the paper. It was flat on one side and curved on the other and about 8 inches long so he could just slide it right down the page. Why spend money on eyeglasses when he could see just fine with his magnifying glasses.

I'm Having A Pill Pity Party Here!

I never expected to have a line up of pill bottles before I even got to be a senior citizen but here I am. It makes me feel old to be taking so many pills every day and needing bifocals. If it weren't for all these pills, I would still feel like I'm only in my 20s--yes, I really feel that good. I remember when the doctor first told me about ten years ago that I needed to take a pill for my thyroid which affected my metabolism and another to keep my cholesterol level in check. I was in shock thinking this shouldn't be happening so soon! I did notice, however, that I had more energy and felt better.

When working out with a trainer several years ago, he noticed that working my shoulders caused me some discomfort and suggested I start taking Glucosamine/Condroitin for my joints. It did seem to help but this put me up to four pills a day!

About two years ago he told me and my husband to start taking Centrum (which I replaced with one especially for women over 50), a vitamin supplement, so then I was up to three a day.

Now since my bone density test results showed that my bones are slightly below normal and I'm headed for Osteoporosis in my future, I should start taking Citracal which will help my Calcium and Vitamin D deficiency and improve my bone density--oh and these I am supposed to take twice a day so that puts me up to six! The doctor told me that years ago they wouldn't have detected this so no one would have mentioned anything about it to me. I guess it's good to know so preventive measures can be taken, but I hate having to fuss with all these pills!

I always felt bad for dad that he had so many pills to take when he reached his 70s. He took Levothyroxine for his thyroid, Centrum, an iron pill, Metformin (usually morning and evening) and one at bed time plus insulin in his 80s. Wow, I'm up to as many as he was and here I'm only 55! No wonder I feel old!!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Where Does The Time Go:

After my mom dad and dad was on his own, he still had his day filled with things he wanted to do. I always thought it would be nice to have the whole day to just do whatever you wanted. I envied him in that way and was always amazed when I'd go visit him the next day on my way to work when he was in his upper 80s to find out he didn't get much done the day before. He would tell me that after breakfast, he fell asleep reading the paper and woke up and it was already lunch time. He would get so frustrated with himself because he'd tell me there just isn't time to do the things he likes after he gets everything else done that as to be done like testing his blood sugar, eating, taking his pills, taking care of his cats and then it seemed that took up his whole day.

I felt sad for him when he'd tell me that and think, wow, what a life. He had several pills to take and at different times in the day which was sort of a hassle for him to keep track of. Then to make things more complicated for him yet, if his blood sugar was over a certain number, then he'd have to give himself some shot. I was impressed at how good he did this all by himself. He didn't need the shots until his last year or so. Up until then, he controlled the diabetes with just a pill.

Now that I am home, recovering from surgery, I experience a similar situation. I have all day and think how much I'm going to accomplish today: comment on blogs, walk the dog, post to my blogs, do a little reading, play with my cats, review my Sunday School lesson and read the paper, maybe even play a little on pogo.com. Then the time flies by, I get a little tired so lay down for a bit with my cats and boom--the day is gone, Gerard is home again and I maybe got half the things done that I wanted to do.

Fortunately, I will get better and become stronger again. The first day I tried going back to work two weeks after my surgery, I was dead tired by the time I got home. The only other time in my life I was that tired was the day we moved. I walked like a 90-yr.-old woman on the way home from the bus stop. I just was out of pep and my shoulders and neck were all tense. It was awful. (I wrote about this on my other blog if you want more detail: Exhausted After My First Day Back To Work. I thought I was ready but found out differently.

My dad, however, never did recover. Getting old involves a big adjustment. You just have to slow down and not expect as much from your body as you once did. This was the hardest thing for him to do because he liked puttering around the house and fixing things. Things that used to take a little time, now take longer to do and although your mind tells you, "I can do this" your body says "No, I can't."

I have decided to take the time that the doctor says I should and enjoy the extra free time God has given me to get caught up on things and schedule some posts ahead again. I hope to start posting on this blog once a week again and so the first thing I did after reading the paper this morning was t write this post. It's been way too long since I posted on here.

Do you get everything done you want to do each day? Probably not. That's why we have to prioritize and do the most important things early to make sure those at least get done. I feel good I finally got my post done for this blog today. Do you make the most of the time you have?

100-Yr.-Old Woman Crossing Guard--Amazing!

I read a delightful story in the PLAIN DEALER Thursday morning, March 26, 2009, about Anna Lark, a 100-yr-old woman, who works as a Cleveland school crossing guard every day! She said she didn’t want to just sit at home doing nothing and this gives her a reason to get out of the house. I think this is great! It’s amazing to me how she is able to stick on a schedule still and hold a regular job like this. Oh, and she walks a couple blocks to get there, even in the winter! Cleveland winters are cold, snowy and icy! I can picture myself helping at an animal shelter or the zoo when I retire. I just hope I am in good enough health by then to be able to do it. This is the kind of news I like hearing and reading!

I thought about how my dad was at age 89. There was no way he could have worked a regular job like this lady did at that age. For one, his legs were so bad that he wouldn’t be able to walk without a walker (because of the diabetes). I can’t picture a city hiring a school crossing guard that used a walker. Then there would be the sleeping problem—he used to fall asleep during the day and wouldn’t wake up for hours! When he was taking Toprol, he could even be in the middle of doing something and just fall asleep. He would doze off while reading the comics, cleaning the litter box, and even fell asleep while shaving in his chair one day! An alarm clock wouldn’t help keep him on schedule because he was so hard of hearing that he wouldn’t hear it! He was very happy to stay at home and always said he was never bored because there was always something to do! He never regretted taking early retirement at age 62 and I intend to do the same. Hopefully, it will work out.

Time Is The Secret To Patience With Dad

I just finished a Bible Study on patience this week and it brought to mind how hard it was to be patient with my dad at times. As he aged, he just did things slower, such as walking, eating, fixing things, etc.

I realize that if it weren’t for time, I’d have no problem with his being so slow. The problem usually came when I visited with him on my way to work. Since I take the bus to work, I had to leave his house at 7:25 a.m. Sometimes, he would bring up a subject right before it was time for me to leave and I’d just have to say, “got to go.” He understood.

Sometimes on Sundays visiting him after church felt rushed too because we were anxious to get home to watch the football game. Often, he would go into a long explanation about something and it became very annoying that he was taking so long to tell me something.

Probably the thing that used to aggravate me most was when I’d try to change his schedule around so that he would be able to get things done more efficiently and he’d come up with a lot of reasons I thought were stupid as to why it wouldn’t work.

I learned a lot about the elderly by watching my dad grow old. Allowing extra time when visiting him or taking him somewhere really helped improve our time together. If it wasn’t committed to be somewhere right after my time with my dad, I could enjoy him in spite of the slowness. I would be more relaxed and our time together went better.

I remember our last trip to Lowe’s was so enjoyable. He was having a great time shopping for hardware and I had cleared my schedule so could just be with him for as long as it took. He was such a wonderful dad who never wanted to be a burden or put me out. Sometimes elderly people can be very demanding and always asking you to do things for them but that’s not how my dad was at all. In fact, it was hard sometimes to get him to let me help him.

I write this to encourage you if you have elderly people who sometimes get on your nerves to check to see if time isn’t the reason. Allow extra time when visiting with the elderly so you don’t get stressed out about being late for your next appointment. If you have to take them to the doctor, take the day off to do it so if you have to wait long, it’s not really putting you out.

Oh, how I’d love to spend a whole day with my dad and his cats now! Cherish the time you have with your loved ones while you can!

George Carlin on Aging

This was in an email. I think it's so good about aging that I want to share it with you. My dad died at age 89 and was active to his dying day.

George Carlin passed away at age 71 on June 22nd 2008 his advice on age is priceless George Carlin on age. (Absolutely Brilliant).

George Carlin's Views on Aging Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five!

That's the key You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could b e 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16!

And then the greatest day of your life .. . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!! HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more a bout the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.