Managing Lifelong Mental Health as a Senior

@elizabethbryant, Wow, Liz. I'm again impressed with the way you have begun to prepare for this upcoming appointment. I take it to mean that you have contacted a church in Baltimore to help you get to the doctor's office? So, if I'm understanding correctly, your sister is going to travel with you to Baltimore? Good work! Yes, I'll continue to pray that this all comes together. Teresa

HUGS,HUGS, and more HUGS! I think most of us know about ups and downs and can relate to not seeing your grandchildren. At least I know I can. I don't get to see mine as often as I like. Maybe you can call your son or daughter to work things out. They may have no clue to how you are feeling about this. Now, the neuropothy is no fun to deal with. I have not experienced it but my sister has and she has told me how bad it can be. Can you go to another doctor to see if there is anything else you can do? Second opinion? I wish you luck and hope you are pain free really soon!

Hello to all. I just got back on the forum as we "speak". I feel like i am in a giant whirling tornado that is soaring and swooping and tosses me continually about and never actually lands anywhere. I am suffering from chronic fatigue along with all this other mental stuff and physical stuff and just getting online to connect is very hard. I just finished reading this page of posts and i am trying to catch up. I see i miss a lot in even one day.
Johnjames...you are definitely an inspiration . y8ur c8ntinued efforts at getting the help y8u need and also helping others is motivating. But i cannot help but get annoyed and very angry at medical professi8nals who tell a patient they have a certain am8unt of time to live. For many many people, doctors are "gods". And, sure enough, we all have been to doctors wh8 seem to think they really are gods. There a a zillion reasons why medical pros feel this way. But that is a wh8le different conversati8n.
Since i am responding without my m8rning cup of coffee, i will throw one thing out on the table first. All of us 8n earth have a terminal illness from the day we are born. It's called death, and everyone has this "disease." there is n8 cure. And there is no "set in concrete" timetable. When we go to a doctor, they keep a chart on us. Having worked in many clinics, i remember making out these charts for patients. But in all these years i do not remember seeing one single form that had a place to write in "estimated time that patient will die."
One can certainly say that a certain affliction or disease or condition CAN result in terminati8n of life. Or they can even say HAS IN SOME CASES resulted in death. Johnjames...you are not a "case" ....and none of us on this forum....is a statistic. Thank goodness we live in a time where most of us can get the help we need from specialists...and the medicine we need to maintain our bodies and mind in a reasonable level of health. I am grateful beyond words that most of us have such valuable res8urces. Good and caring doctors sacrifice an awful lot to work in the medical profession. But they are working with human beings, complex creative creatures who are c8mposed of much more than bones and organs and physical matter. Our doctors see only the physical representation of a patient and that is it. So that is what their diagnosis and prognosis is based on. Caring and c8ncerned pr8fessi8nals do a very good job in obtaining data to treat our physical conditions. But when it comes to "the stuff inside of us that makes us who we really are".... Doctors cant see that. In my personal opinion...that which makes us human, that which makes us exist...has the final word.

You are my prayers sweetheart. I am hoping they can find out what is causing your tongue problems and then maybe it will help me to relate to mine, All we keep doing is the best we can. I have had a very stressful day today I mean STRESSFUL but hearing your upbeat experience helps.
Keep me posted on how you aree doing.
Patti

Virtual hugs may not be the same as in person hugs, but I can add mine to the others. I'm so glad that I sleep well, as it gives me a break from the neuropathy pain. Our daughter is having her first baby, a girl, in just a few weeks, and my wife is flying out on Tuesday to New Hampshire, to spend a month with her. We live in Oregon, a long ways from our son in Indianapolis, and his 4 year old daughter, and a long way from our daughter, as well. The good news is that her husband, who is in the Coast Guard, is being transferred to Alameda, CA, in July, so we'll be able to see them much more often.

I have sleep apnea, and use a CPAP machine, and take several meds that are drowsying, and those things help me, even though the meds don't do much for the daytime pain.

In April, I'm going to try a spinal cord stimulator implant. I really hope it will help. My feet hurt all the time, from a 3 to a 7. No fun, is it.

Another hug to say goodbye.

Jim

Hi Patti, I spoke with my neighbor (suffered with white tongue also) we both agreed it comes from stress and it comes up from the
stomach and you MUST control the stress at all costs. These words don't mean much perhaps, because I thought I could get
away with the stress, and just kept on.......one day the stress will eat you up. Got to stop it, the white stuff comes from your stomach
as a result of the stress. I am now taking a nausia med and this helping as it cuts back a bit on the extra salvia. We need salvia to
have healthy teeth. With this condition I had pooling of the salvia, Yours may be different, it took awhile for me to produce the extra
salvia, I think I am producing extra as the body's way of protecting the irritated tissue, hopefully you don't have the irritated tissue yet.
Keep believing beloved one of God and He tells us to be anxious for nothing. We must be obedient or we now pay the consequences.
He knows we will we anxious, so God repeats this over and over again in Scripture.
Remember the white stuff on your tongue is coming from your stomach. It would be good if you could take 1 M G of clomazepam
an anxiety drug at night. Check with your doctor as this works best if you have not taken other medications for this issue.
God bless.....Elizabeth

I will, too, Liz.

I have a lot of great memories from the "good old days", too, Elizabeth. We are blessed to have positive memories, as there are a lot of people who have mostly bad ones. Memories play a part in shaping us, though, thankfully, they don't have to define us. I think it's good when we can live in such a way that future memories will be good ones for ourselves and our family.

Jim

Clonazepam (Klonopin) is one of the things that I take at bedtime, and can take a second mg earlier if needed. The primary reason for it is anxiety, but it helps to calm my legs so I don't kick my wife at night, and helps me sleep more deeply.

If you see a psychiatrist, she or he might be more likely to prescribe it than a pcp 2

Jim

@jimhd Hi Jim: Please keep in touch with us and let us know when you will have your appointment for the spinal cord stimulator implant. I'll certainly pray about that for you. I have many friends at my church who have had that with very good results. Pain relief is SO important! Best wishes my friend! Teresa