martianmooncrab

UP to date on all the injections, got steroids in both knees which does help with lower pain levels.

Started new water PT and have 15 appts sked.

Started tibial nerve protocol for the bladder.

Coming out of the fog from the biologic psoraisis injection, and dealing better with Pharmacy since our come to Jesus moment a couple months back when they asked me quite rudely if I was picking up meds for a Veteran. totally disregarding that I was the veteran. They werent asking any man that was at the window if they were picking up for a veteran, just the women. Lets just say I had a lovely 10 minute rant about respect, about women veterans (not someones caregiver!) and sexism. I went thru the clerk at the window and her supervisor before I finished. And, I did not get arrested! I am also greeted by name every time I go to the window now. Hmmmm I think they have my picture posted in their spaces.

I have at least 3 appts each week, and its exhausting, and if I get woke up before noon, its disrupting my sleep a lot, which makes me tired and cranky, very very cranky. My brain sometimes blinks on me, but, its not a total disaster.

after reading that the govt is going to clear horses off of BLM land and kill them,

I then read that Tump is going to source cheap beef for the US but not saying where its coming frm.

hmmmm

well I see that they are trying to build the new Fuhrerballroom yet again.

last week the steroid shot in my knee wore off in the middle of the night, it felt like someone took a ballpeen hammer and whacked it. I am trying to get another shot to make the pain go away, but they doing the arcane math of steriods, time, and which way the wind is blowing. Meanwhile,it hurts and doesnt like working.

The water therapy ran into VA rules, they will pay for the therapy but not the associated pool fees. I am awaiting their next move.

I did get civilian Urologist, and starting in October, I am going to do 12 weeks of applying an electrical pulse to the tibial nerve in the right ankle, which is connected to the bladder, and see if that reins the damn bladder into compliance. I would like to hope. The other option would to inject botox into the bladder, and just, no, no toxin in the bladder.

Lets see, went and saw Minions and Monsters movie with my niece, it was a hoot. Not sure what we will see this month, I need to check on when Coyote VS Acme is coming out, I have always loved those cartoons.

I keep plugging away at everything, but, there are more bad brain days and bad body days than I care to count. I do go outside and do something, even if its just sitting and watching the birdies, and I replenish their food. Trying to make friends with the little tuxie kitty that has been hanging out in my yard, out of all the neighborhood cats who come to visit with me, I do think this one is homeless. So, some dry food is out for the kitties, and .. not for that damn raccoon.

Seeing a lot more garden snakes, even tiny ones, and a lot less froggies. Today I saw a progression of Quail .. about 16 or so come from across the street into the side lot, three different sizes too. And the lone female duck is back, she enjoying the single life, she hangs out, nibbles and just relaxes. There are the 2 young bucks that show up and their little velvet antlers are pronounced.

I started some stuff from seed, 2 kinds of okra (I dont eat it, but its a pretty plant, and one that I used to get for a deceased friend) and 3 kinds of gourds, two of which are austrailan varieties, so a blue pumpkin is a thing of beauty.

Got a CT scan sunday for the lungs to see how the lung sparkle is doing, and waiting for the rescue inhaler that they ordered for me.

My world is getting smaller some days, and more exhausting.

I had my birthday on the 1st, it was very low key and delightful.

Had my 2nd Stelaris injection, this one is affecting me more, but, I still functioning. I can see and feel noticable results, I am not longer shedding skin 24/7 I more of a snake lady discretly shedding. The itching remains a problem but, I no longer want to take a belt sander to my delicate bits.

my other bigger thing was a I got a steroid injection in my bad knee last week. I just couldnt stand the pain anymore and some times you have to get way outside ones comfort zone. Like a needle into the knee, which actually wasnt that bad. You dont know how much pain you are in or tlerate until its no longer there. I am walking better, more even strides and not waiting for the knee to strike. Being able to get comfy in bed without the knee demanding more attention and where it feels is best for it, being able to use the leg to turn or move without losing it..so much better.

Other than the incident at the VA pharmacy window where I really came close to being arrested after I went off on the tech at the window. I showed my VA picture ID, said my name and last , and stated I am here to order one of my medications. The tech didnt look up and just asked me if I was there to pick up meds for a veteran. I am a Female veteran. I felt my brain tweek a bit, and just went off about do they ask every person who comes up to the window that question or just if they are women, and she said something about they have a lot of caregivers who pick up, and I informed them in very precise and small words that I didnt appreciated being unseen, that women are veterans too, and that question was extremely sexist, ... I got her supervisor trying to rescue her, and I dug in on him too. Oh, and my med wasnt available on top of that. I raised my voice a bit, but seriously, just because I am at the window dont assume shit. If they had asked the men who were in line in front of me if they were there to pick up for a veteran, I dont think I would have been so angry. I asked if they even bothered to check my VA issued Picture ID... I told them I found it to be insulting, demeaning, dehumanizing and beyond sexist in I was being treated as a civilian and not a disabled veteran. In all, it was an extremely pointed rant. Either you ask everyone or no one at the window.

since then, I have been back at the window twice and I was greeted very pleasantly by the tech by my name before I even gave it to them.

sigh, I keep plugging away at the yard and garden, I have a lot of blackberries left to kill and dig out, and flowers and veggies to plant, but, you can see the raised beds and I have quite a few eggplants potted up, and I discovered I have 3 habenero pepper plants. I do like my spices hot.

Went and saw He Man Master of the UNiverse with my niece, total popcorn movie. I do intend to see the new minions movie, since it has an eldritch horror in it.

Had to change comix stores, since the new owners of Dark Horse decided that having comic book stores wasnt good enoungh, and I was lucky that a store relocated here to Oregon city. they are a pretty nice crewand its a welcoming space.

I have been given a consult the VA is going to send me to water therapy for my body and arthritis issues then I realized I didnt own a swimsuit. Sigh. I ended up finding a sports bra and short set that will work wonderfully. I cant shave anywhere to make things tidy because of my psoraisis, and my girls need support, so this I think will be a good solution. And yes, its a shade of purple grin.

The new orthotic shoes are working out, I dont wear them every day, because of yard work ... but, they dont hurt my feet and make walking normal.

No doctor appointments for the rest of the month, this is a real change in my life.

I do think the Lincoln reflecting pools is made of soylent green.

I got burned out on all my appointments, and then the weather improved, so I have been working in the yard and making some minor headway.

Like, getting the blackberries and the trash trees dug out of my flower beds, tubs and anywhere else they have magically appeared.

Slowly, mind you, but still I am making inroads.

Health is slowly improving a bit, my heart has actually healed from the medication induced congestive failure two years ago, its now 2 sizes smaller! My grinch reversal I say. The left floppy ventricle has also tightened up, yeah, its still a slacker, but not as bad. Waiting on new psoraisis medication, they denied the move to Skyrizi and now I am supposed to get Stelara. who knows. Getting new oropedic shoes, and they are slip ons, plus they have a variety of colors and styles, I getting a coral pair (its a lavender) and brown ones with cheetah print.

Still struggling with deep feelings of loss, I still processing my friend T's death last month, and one of my former work friends lost her husband of 40 years last week.

Getting a lot of spam calls on my cell phone, its really obvious when the phone says the call is from Legacy Health and the chipper accented voice tells me they are AT&T. I hang up and block.

Today, meeting eldest niece to see the Sheep Detectives movie, the books were a delight. So, great anticipation... speaking of which, they had the broadway cast of rocky horror do Sweet Transvestite on Jimmy Fallon the other night, and Luke Evans was Dr Frank n Furter.... omg... one of the best I have seen (no one can outdo Tim Curry! so if you want, look up the clip on utube. or wherever they have it. loved the patterned tights too.

its been awhile since I posted, mostly dr appts but I have been trying to get things done around the house and failing a lot. I am also still sleeping even more erratically.

I am turning more analog each day, I do take a lot of intense glee when asked for my phone number I give them my house number, which is a landline, wackiness ensues.

March brings more dr appts, seems I tore at least 2 muscles in my shoulder and impinged my roto cuff which is fraying a 3rd muscle. the 9th I see orthopedics about a fix for the shoulder, possibily surgery.

Still feeding the birdies and the stray cats, its why I get out of bed each day to get outside.. oh yeah, and getting dressed first.

I got my van back yesterday, and they even cleaned the interior for me, my poor rolling dumpster of a van is now clean. I dont know if it or I am in shock .. grin.

now I can fill it back up with useful crap.

going to do some cataloging today, after my start, I did nothing, but, its a slow process, and I do love cataloging, I am relearning Readerware, and its soothing to me. I need to get a shelf or two done so I can stack some funko pops on top of the books.

I finally remembered how to delete the cover icons ... all that stuff just takes up valuable data space in my reality.

for documention of progress ... 1207 fun item was Jobe vol 3 , worth 160 by the programs estimate, it will join its siblings on the Wall O Myth.

more van issues, seems I have a leaky gasket in the engine, so another week and another chunk of change.

cardiology ... my doc was having an emergency and I got one of the fellows ...she was a good doctor, but, english not her first language so I was flopping about trying to understand what she was saying. Got the mediation issues sorted out, I getting one of those small pedal exercise devices and they also dont claim the spot in my chest/lung. Picked up meds at pharmacy and reallly wasnt impressed with customer service.

After the VA I went about my errands, and I actually got all of them accomplished. At the holidays I gift the over 21 crowd with a bottle of booze, yeah, something I know they will use... grin. But this year they all getting the same bottle, its vodka, and its called Five Wives. Family history here, my dad was married 5 times. So, a tip of the old bottle to Daddy this year. Yes, I do have warped sense of humor. Sold a couple of books back to Powell's since I have restarted The Great Work. Thats my book inventory, sadly my old list got eaten by a computer issue and I was never able to reconstruct it. I may even utilze the cloud for storage this time, despite my neo luddite ideals.

I was exhausted when I got home and went to bed, where I proceeded to sleep a lot more.

every now and then you see something right, so the other night I was waiting at a red light, and I watched some testosterone car make their left turn and right behind them was a city cop. Oh, yeah, the t car came thru the intersection hit the straight and gunned it. Oh its 30mph there, and the cop was right behind them, and before the next traffic light, the disco lit off... sigh.. so many times you see someone being stupid and they keep on going, well... it was gratifying.

I get my van back monday, its been up and down, and they did find a broken part and had to wait for the replacement to come in. they painting it at the moment.

cardiology on friday, niece on saturday to see Wicked, and family xmas on sunday.

pulmonology says my lung sparkle is caused by my reflux issues, saw speech therapist last week and she agrees, she scoped my vocal bits... which I do not recommend, it gave me flashbacks to covid testing... because they run the scope up the old nose and down the back of your throat. gag.

pulmonology was such a tap dancing moment, they were disavowing the spot on my lung, they blamed the old mammaries (hah! already had that checked!) and now they saying its heart tissue. Which I will address on friday. After trying to schedule me a year out for my next appt, its now on for March, since I told them I wasnt comfortable with waiting a year.

the shots for the psoraisis are still kicking my ass, but, my ass isnt as scaley and its slowly healing up, I still shedding skin but its not like I am molting full time. Still itchy as hell, but, not 24/7 ... slowly slowly slowly, but improving.

my sleep study ended up working. I do stop breathing at least 12 times an hour which is double normal. I even got 8. hours of sleep clocked in, and I thought I got only 5. I must have a very active brain because I swear I woke up at least once. Now I wait for my primary doc to chime in.

ouhmmm.. and my A1C had come down! not down enough, but, still... its single digits now.

lots of things to do, but not whipping up enough ambition.

Solstice is coming!

After playing phone tag I got the sleep study sorted out, seems they could change my pickup day to a friday and I dont have to drop it back off until monday, which they should have just done when I made the original appointment, but,...nooooo.... sigh.

Skin still healing up, but I do have one post injection side effect I need to chat with doctors about, its really only an event that happens once, 2-4 days after the injection. Or maybe I have delicate hemeriods. who knows.

Van goes in on the 24th, so far my insurance company has assigned liability to the person who hit me.

My allergy appointment was a colossal screw up, I wasnt sure what to expect, but, setting a low bar helps. Turns out that I was supposed to have a consult prior to this appointment, which I didnt, and I was to stop taking my antihistimines for 7 days. the test they were to administer was to put me into anaphylactic shock. When I was offered the do over, I declined, since I have heart issues now, and the not quite really diagnosed lung issues. Two of the major things with having a reaction is either to have a heart attack or stop breathing. so again, a very definate NO. getting tired of this.

Still having the erractic sleep issues of no sleep;, or lots of sleep.

I have been getting more reading done, which is a very nice things.

Went to see Nuremberg with my niece. I was impressed with it, the cineamtography was amazing, Russell Crowe was the epitomy of entitled banal evil, and the entire movie was well done. Yeah, there were some hollywood moments in there, but it was a historical moment in time.

The new medication make me sleepy or not sleepy depends on the day, but my skin is healing up-

Orycon was the last, and its done. sigh.

Just been overwhelmed by many things up to and including getting my van bumped last night by a person making a right turn on red while I was transiting the intersection. seems to be minor damage but I cant open my passenger door, I think I have part of her bumper jammed in there, stuck behind my fender guard. Well part of one of her running lights. I will see when I get back outside and can see the damage in daylight. Now the joy of the electronic file circus.

Have a sleep study scheduled for next month on a take home device, but, they want it back the next day between 8-10am Which is not going to work, because for me to do that I have to stay up ... so no sleep.. sigh.. I am going to negotiate with community care about a late fee I will be hit with if I try to do it my way, otherwise its going to get cancelled.

too many little things breaking my back as it were.

Started the new biologic psoraisis medication tuesday, its interesting to see how its side effects clash with my other current medication side effects. Wackiness ensues.

Tomorrow, Orycon, last of its kind.

I have a praying mantis living in the space between my front door and my storm door. every time I go in or out I make sure I know where it is so I dont hurt it.

took a drive thru the so called war torn SW side around the ICE facility. The worst part was the 3 bicycle cops that jumped the curb and cut in front of me mid block and I almost hit them.

More folks with cameras and such and of course the Portland police standing about, there werent many protestors or demonstrators, or as they say paid antifa there. Geez, this is Portland people, we have our own style here and having fun is the best part, make it festive while exercising our 1st amendment rights! Oh and if the protestors were being paid, you know they would have union reps to ensure that it was equal pay for all.

the allergy appt was a bust... same old bs

And Portland is not a dumpster fire... the only bad part of town is the block where ICE is holed up with their aggressive goosesteppers and snipers on the roof. This last week they knocked down an 81 yr old vietnam vet and his spouse and they were on the sidewalk. Observing. Oh, and he was using a walker. A veritable threat

I start my biologic shots next week, it was an experience getting my meds from the post office because they lost the refrigerated box. Eventually they found it after over 30 mins of looking, and my post office branch isnt that big. Even with a tracking number it was messed up. And, its 7k a shot, and there were 8 doses in the box. sigh. I also had to get my covid booster at least 2 weeks before starting the new med ... and since the VA isnt giving those out til the end of October, I had hoop jumping to get that done.

I got approval for the biologic injection for the psorasis but, there is confusion as to whom is going to administer the shots.... sigh.

Per pulmonology I got some kind of 3mm sparkles in my lungs, not anything like actual glitter in there (which they seem to know what it looks like) more testing in my future, and 4 more vials of blood were taken from me because the tests dermatology took blood for are not what they wanted blood for. Some ballparking ideas are I have a form of bronchitis pneumonia asthma.... whatever, its still testing for things one at a time to eliminate what it isnt.. or is.. or narrowing the field.

I have allergy testing on tuesday at the VA.... I wonder if they will actually do testing or its more BS chatting and them telling me stuff that has no bearing on my allergic reactions. Probably more blood tests not allergy tests because they do love my blood up there... and I have to check on my COVID booster for the year, and if its a live virus or whatever due to constraints on the biologic for the psorasis. I giving up hope of any outcome.

the rash is inverse psoraisis... and I have taken the blood screen tests (7 vials of blood!) if my blood chemistry is within specs I am might get a biologic treatment, but, then, Pharmacy has to approve it, and considering their track record in trying to kill me, I not getting my hopes up.

my 2nd CT scan was ambigious and I seeing pulmonary on monday, so they calling it ground glass opacity for now which is medical jargon for... yeah, something there dont know what it is... sigh.

still struggling, still depressed...

I went to worldcon in seattle, and it was a good con despite the death march from the hotel to the convention center. Uphill both ways... sigh. the only downside was I got a call from Doug to let me know his wife Ru Emerson died aug 14th ... I am devestated, we have been friends for 35-40 years, we did cons together.. she helped me with my yard and garden (she was a master gardener!) I could go on but she was my friend, and I miss her so. Almlost lost her a few years back to ovarian cancer but she was a fighter. Her Daddy was a Pearl Harbor survivor, I mean, she had stories... both the ones she wrote and the ones she lived. I even sold them my gold ford focus when I no longer needed it. sigh.

I was in Bremerton visiting friends, another old friend is currently dying so I had a chance to visit him in his care facility, he may be gone by Yule.

health update, since I actually saw Dermatology this week, new diagnosis is psorasis, so treatments have changed, and pretty much other than the antibiotics I have wasted the last 3 months trying to get the rash under control. Biopsy was taken, so in 1-2 weeks, I will find out my schedule for the injections in the clinic to get this under control. I hope. I still shedding skin off my ass at an alarming rate, so I am still in my reptile era.

next week is sibling birthdays my sister would have been 77 on monday and my brother will be 73 on wednesday

I am tired and yes, I am depressed. Seems my world is getting smaller, each loss diminishes me a bit more. It really amps up my abandonment issues.

survived my 71st birthday

still fighting the 3 rashes, have done 5 days antiobiotics, still taking the oral fungicide, still spackling my ass with the fungal ointment, the zinc oxide and the fluid for cleaning. I am not winning at all, and it itches, oh the itching.... sigh... they called me 3 days ago to find out how I was doing and I havent heard back since, some parts are drying up and others just dry and seep on their own schedules. its gross and all sorts of unpleasantness. I still shedding skin like a snake... lots of skin... dont know how I have any left. words I do not want to think about are moist, seeping and of course.. itch.... whimper whimper whimper.

Cant go outside in the heat, because. yanno heat rash, so the yard is overgrown, the garden what I have planted, is on its own other than me turning on the sprinkler, I am feeding the birdies, and we now have a Bobcat in residence. Looks like a young one and its dining on fine birdies from what I can see in the yard. Lots of feathers. I worry about my 2 time share kitties from the neighbors, I hope they are staying away.

I did get my personal chainsaw and cut the broken branch off the apple tree, it was just at dusk so it wasnt so hot out there. The blackberries have taken over several of my flower beds and I have 2 trash trees coming up in one. The wisteria has left the trellis and has tendrils (yeah, very large ones) snaking out to my curbside flower bed, so thats about 12 feet or more. I do adore the frondy bowers but, they are overgrowing the side yard and going for the garage and engulphing parts of the garden fence. My pomegranate tree has tons of flowers on it this year, I hope I get some kind of fruit.

welcome to my jungle, thats for sure. All the garden paths and my gravels are covered in strawberries and mint, so I could be making daquiris .. grin.

I have a rash thats spreading, its from a heat rash and other factors gone wild. I have already had a medication issue (and ER visit) ... plus the Va pharmacy thinks I am using up the ointments at a faster rate than they think is allowed. sigh.. I have a lot of ass to spackle there, so I calls into my primary care doctor.

waiting on my brain MRI to see if I still little friend free.... I do apprecaite their followups.

I did score a new upright walker this week, it folds down better and its bright blue!

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martianmooncrab

October 2026

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