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I had cataract surgery on my right eye a few years ago. It didn't hurt, but was really freaky with all the colors during surgery. And it wicked itched after. But i can see so much better. Just need readers. I'm going to need it on my left eye soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by CAinOH
CA and Martha, I hope after everything, y'all start to feel better.:grouphug:
A bit of good news from me, after working as "contract labor" for my security company for the past four years, I finally got hired on full time this past week! I applied to two apartment complexes and one looks like I might have a chance of getting it. I'm still going to look around at other places too, but this gives me hope. And I also found out from one of my roommates that we don't have to move until the first week of April instead of the first of March, like I had thought. So that gives me a bit more time to save up.
I wish everyone here on the border good health and happiness on this Chinese New Year. Gong hei fat choy! Happy year of the tiger!
My part time job has allowed me to finally start saving money for the first time in my adult life. I've set up an account with my bank that automatically takes a bit from each paycheck and puts it into the savings account. I'll probably try to stay at this job for a few more months before attempting to find full time employment (if my health allows). I've started the search into grad school. I'm about 95% positive I'm going into history (possibly public history). I enjoy working in a public library, but I much prefer being around academia. My boss is working on a M.S. in Library Science, and watching her do her work has turned me off of doing that. I've sent away for more information from a few universities within 2-4 hours of me. Just gotta see where the money is at, too. It's possible that I'll start in the Spring of 2023, but Fall of 2023 is more probable, being that most schools don't allow spring starts. I won't have enough saved up to apply and do everything before the Fall 2022 admission deadlines.
AG95 - good luck.
CA - glad your surgery went well!
MarthaJo - feel better soon!
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I've been fairly absent on here for awhile now, I've kind of scaled back my online presence somewhat. For no major or singular reason. I've closed all but one of my social media accounts. I decided to keep Instagram but I deleted Facebook and Twittter and I have to say I don't miss those platforms. Now not all of my friends were the problem. 2/3rds to 3/4ths weren't. But I would have had to unfriend quite a few (10-15) and then explain it if it came up. Not something I want to do. I try to avoid conflict! They became cesspools for health misinformation, bullying, conspiracy crazies, and radical politics. I felt like I was being drug down into raging anger or feeling hopeless depending on what I was reading. Heart string pulling posts on one end and crazy hateful political posts on the other. And that's just Facebook. Twitter was more public and was people I didn't know so I had less emotional connection, but I would still read things that would make me want to reach through my screen and strangle the other person. It wasn't healthy anymore. I feel like a certain hateful community of people have taken over that platform and it's a community I don't respect nor do I tolerate. I feel like Instagram being that it's pictures is a harder one to be toxic on and is one I still enjoy. I can just follow people who post guitar pictures, food pictures, animal pictures, etc. Done. Don't follow the meme accounts or people just screenshotting their toxic FB/Twitter posts. I ended up closing a bunch of other tech-like accounts for services that I didn't use much and am trying to narrow my digital footprint and concentrate my focus on where I do want to interact and why. Mostly for no specific reason but I needed to decompress and destress. And I feel like as much as I support social media as not being terrible as some think and as much as I'm a techie and proud millenial, lol, I felt I needed to get away from the harsh realities of the world and just unplug for a bit, even with message boards where I'm (mostly) anonymous. I still use tech. I have no intention to leave The Border or my other guitar forum, but I just wanted to take a break from online interactions for a bit and I did. I had a "people break". I find that immersing myself in my own world and imagination is a great release or healing for when reality is just too much to bare or my anxiety regarding world events or the state of things becomes too hard to deal with. Perhaps some might say that's the wrong way to react or handle things or that it's child-like. But it works for me. It keeps me balanced and mentally sound. TEHO. I also have been listening to music, watching movies, playing games, playing guitar, and doing things that don't involve thinking about things actually happening to either myself, my family, or the world. I feel all of these changes have been helpful in making me feel better. I am pretty much focused on just a few areas of online communication now and it's under my thumb and I feel I can control what I see better and what I'm sensitive to can be avoided. It was a good detox and that's how I view it. It was a realization that something was making me feel like I didn't want to feel and be who I'm not.
Unfortunately, as of about 3 weeks ago I've been sick with an unknown illness. I have abnormal bloodwork and I'm in limbo waiting to see some specialists but I've had crippling pressure-like headaches in the back of my skull, little appetite (which is usually the least of my problems!), nausea, joint and muscle pain, and serious fatigue. It started with vomiting and I ended up in the ER needing IV fluids. The vomiting stopped as I was given nausea medication to take now (Zofran). They say that inflammation is high right now in my blood and I'm not getting any better and my 2nd set of repeat labs are even higher. We are thinking it's likely a rheumatological problem and so now I wait for an appointment. I feel like my mental health was just on the upswing when this hit me. The only thing that helps my headaches is caffeine, lying flat (which isn't something I want to do all darn day), and Tramadol. Tylenol and Motrin just don't do anything. I get the most relief from laying down, but if I'm up and about, caffeine makes it manageable and towards the end of the day I take a Tramadol so I can get it under control before I go to bed and try to relax because it will continue to increase throughout the day and even if I lay down, by that point it hurt so much I couldn't fall asleep. It's unlike any headache I've ever had. I've had migraines, tension headaches, sinus headaches, etc. This feels like an air compressor plugged into my head.
WF-- Sorry about all you have been dealing with. Hoping your issues can be quickly diagnosed and taken care of.
And I think everyone could benefit from stepping away from the bombardment of (mostly bad) information that is the 21st century.
Continued best wishes for your health, Austin.
Thank you, FF and Dreamer.
I'm going for a Brain MRI Thursday morning and more labs. It's looking to be some kind of vasculitis.
Take care, Austin. I'll be thinking of you!
Had my second cataract surgery two weeks ago. Now all that remains is a final check-up next week and eye drops for two more weeks. The weirdest thing about this whole deal is that I am no longer near-sighted. I don't think my brain has wrapped itself around that yet. And, the halos at night aren't fun, but they're subsiding somewhat. All went well... I am fine.
Not fun....they kept telling me to be still when I had one, and I would have swore I was! Hope you can get some answers, and they can give you some relief!:pray:Quote:
Originally Posted by WalshFan88
Wonderful! After my Mom had cataract surgery, she did not get the desired results, and would never go back for them to correct it. They said "it sometimes happens". So glad yours went so well! :nod:Quote:
Originally Posted by CAinOH
Glad to hear it went well, CA!Quote:
Originally Posted by CAinOH
I *hate* not being near sighted! I went through the same change after my cataract surgery last October. I have to use glasses to eat food off of a plate, let alone my phone or computer LOL! I always liked wearing glasses for distance, and being able to use them for everything without having to take them on and off like reading glasses or wear bifocals. Now, I'm using bifocals and while I'm slowly adjusting, I still miss my nearsightedness. Everything I do is up close with a screen of some kind, or a guitar, and I miss my nearsightedness. People pay money to fix it when they are young with LASIK and I'm like what?!?! :hilarious: I always saw it as an asset/benefit. I have a distance monofocal lens.
Also, my cataracts were causing haloes at night and went away with surgery! Very weird how it affects different people. I had posterior subcapsular cataracts from years of steroids I have to take for adrenal insufficiency. Those cataracts form right where the light enters the eye. There are three different places in the eye to get cataracts, but all are treated the same exact way. :) Being blind in one eye, I only had the right eye fixed. It was so nervewracking to have it done on my only good eye, and while I do miss nearsightedness, it was the right decision. Having only one eye and not being able to see much out of it with a grade 3 cataract was my breaking point to finally have it done.
Since forever, if I have trouble reading or focusing on anything, I've taken off my glasses and drawn the item closer. I took off my glasses to read, but I did have monitor glasses for my computer because I refused to get bifocals... I knew they'd drive me crazy. Pulling something close now means it goes out of focus. I had a heckuva time interpreting a screen shot someone sent me over the weekend, trying to get the url off it. I'm learning. I do use very mild readers for the computer now. I can read and use the computer without them, but they just let me eyes focus a little better, and my eyes don't tire so much using them.
Last week, I had a few days where I was questioning my sanity in having the procedure done. But it's getting better.
Everyone here, I am sending you my strongest best wishes for improvement in your health.
I hope you all get the very best care and recovery comes quickly. Love to you all. :hug:
Austin - I am so sorry to hear about your health problems. I hope you are feeling better and the tests help answer questions. My thoughts are with you !
CA - Glad to hear you are feeling better from the cataract surgery - it takes time. I had mine years ago and took time for my eyes to adjust. How are your eyes doing now that it has been a couple of weeks ?
I am doing better as far as haloes and fuzziness. Thanks for asking! Got some readers that are also blue-light blockers for my computer work, and that actually helped a lot. I can read the monitor without them, but using them just relaxes my eyes a bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by New Kid In Town
Thanks everyone.
Glad to see you back WalshFan88. Pray you continue to see good results
Well gosh - There must be something in The Border air because I recently had cataract surgery, too. I had both eyes done, but I still have severe astigmatism. Therefore, my nearsightedness can't be fully corrected and I still have to wear prescription glasses. I also have dry eye and since the world is much brighter since the surgery, I am really struggling with extreme light sensitivity. My doctor put me on Restasis, but that takes about 6 months to see results. CA, I was searching the web a few weeks ago about getting some blue-light blockers to see if that would help. Do you remember What kind you bought?Quote:
Originally Posted by CAinOH
Cheapie readers from Amazon:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ive always been a dreamer
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks a lot for the info, CA. Since I have prescription glasses, I'm going to have to go with clip-ons. But, I noticed that there is a really wide price range, so it's nice to know that the lower priced lenses work fine.
Dreamer - I hope the blue light blockers work for you. I also suffer from dry eye due to my wearing contacts for so many years. I have used Restasis in the past and it worked really well for me. My eyes started feeling better in less than six months. I have not used it recently as it is not covered by my prescription plan and is very expensive. I also suffer from light sensitivity and wear my sun glasses outside even on cloudy days. I hope both problems improve for you.
Thanks NKIT - I have been using the Restasis for almost 3 months now and have noticed some slight improvement, but it's definitely not the results I'm hoping for. It is really expensive. I even changed my prescription drug plan this year to get a lower price so I only have to pay $42.00 for a month's supply. In reality though, the 30-day supply lasts 60 days so that's a huge difference than the $600+ that I'd have to pay without the new plan. My doctor says I may end up having to have surgery for the light sensitivity if this doesn't help.
Life update: Hey y'all! Haven't been on here in a hot minute, so I thought I'd give everyone an update on the dumpster fire that is my life.
I have less than two weeks left before our lease is up. My roommates, a trio from the fiery pits of the underworld, were able to secure themselves an apartment. I, on the other hand have not. I have been filling out application after application, but to no avail. My only way out of possible homelessness is another roommate situation. But I guess that's better than sleeping on a curb. This housing situation is nobody's fault but mine, as I should have done all these applications last year after I found out about the eviction. So there are times when I feel like I'm in quicksand.
On the job front, things are actually going quite well. I am working a lot and have made some great work buddies. One even has helped me sign up for a program that helps low income non-elderly disabled people find places to live, so that's good.
I did my taxes this year and even though I qualify and technically was issued a stimulus check, child support took most of it for arrears and I have yet to get the rest of the check in the mail. So knowing that, I don't have expectations when it comes to my actual tax return. The guy at Jackson Hewitt said I would get it, but it's not much. But hey, something's better than nothing.
So yeah. That's what's been happening in my life.
I'm so very sorry to hear about this, Elle81. Best wishes that things change for you soon.
I think everyone including myself can feel extremely destitute and helpless at times. Some of us have a worse hand dealt to us at birth or at any point in our lives than the other people we may know in our own lives or even the majority of the people around you personally or in your city/town, but there is always a worse situation than the one we are in that we may not know about or know of the person going through it, even a remote stranger in another country. Doesn't make it any easier to deal with, doesn't make it any less wrong or unjust to be put in that position, or fix your luck but it does make you feel not so alone in your situation of having it rougher than most and it certainly helps you to remember the things that might otherwise be unappreciated that you do still have that others may not and provides perspective and humility and gratitude, even if you feel like you have nothing to be proud of or thankful for you can always find something as no matter how isolating it may feel, there is someone in your situation, and even someone in a situation worse than that - you just may not know them or hear about it. Feeling alone is one of the worst things you can feel. And I don't just mean alone as in having no companion or friends. But rather feeling like you are in an injust situation and feeling you are the only one in said situation. I felt that for the majority of my youth. And I still can catch myself feeling like that. But you gain more perspective as time goes on and reading things like this is just another way to make you realize while you may not have much, you have something others may not. And rather than feeling boastful it humbles you and makes you realize you may have taken basic yet essential needs for granted.
Thanks, Austin for those kind words. I actually have a bit of good news to share. I got a call back from an apartment that I had applied for and once they fix their glitchy computers (isn't technology wonderful? :|) then I can complete the application. The manager I talked to said once I submit the completed form, it should take a week to process. And she seemed super excited when she asked if I still wanted the apartment and I said yes. Hoping and praying to the housing gods that I get this.
In the meantime, I have an account on a roommate/house share website and am looking at other options. I know and understand all the dangers of this and I am only considering that as an absolute last resort.
Such an insightful post from a great young man! Beautiful response, Austin, you make me proud to "know" you, if only online. :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by WalshFan88
Good luck, Elle, and hang on to the habit of hoping and praying! :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Elle81
Thanks, LT. :hug:Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvTim
Wow. Thank you so much.Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvTim
I just felt like sharing that because I know how it is to feel completely helpless and alone in the sense of feeling like you are going through something no one else is or has and how isolating and even more unfair it will feel as a result, beyond just the initial facts of the matter. It doesn't help and it can really spiral out of control. To know someone else is in a similar or same situation helps. And knowing that someone is in a worse place certainly helps bring you back down to earth and appreciate things you may not have before. I certainly have skated very close to the edge of depression before, and I've attempted suicide before as a teen and ended up in the hospital. A lot of it had to do with school bullying and the health situation I was in combined and feeling so alone and unheard and I'm thankful I made it through it. None of that experience was fun, but it was essential not only to save my life itself but to help me feel understood and heard. That band-aid had to be ripped off at once and it hurt.
Medication and therapy go a long way of course and I'm still doing both. I don't do therapy that much now but at least 3 or 4 times a year. I think having someone neutral and unconnected there to hear you out without feeling like you're burdening loved ones with these thoughts and feelings is so helpful, even though I've never been made to feel like a burden, I naturally worry about that because not only do I carry my own load of anxiety, I tend to pick up on everyone else around me that I care about and take on their worries and concerns like a sponge. It's something I'm cognizant of and I know it's not good for me, but I can't not do that. It's something I've worked on for years and made no progress if I'm being honest. I still add even more stress when others around me are struggling or hurting. It definitely makes my struggle that much harder because there is no way to perfectly line everything up all the time where I *and* the people around me are all feeling good and have no worries. It's usually one, the other, or both. And of course I'm that way, so I assume everyone around me is too so I naturally smile when I don't feel like it or downplay/hide how I'm feeling because I don't want to worry family and I'm a pretty closed off person in real life and wear things close to the vest.
Because the computer glitched, my application was late and I was denied the apartment. The good thing though is that our lease was extended for another week, so that gives me a little bit more time to find another place or rent a motel room. I'm trying to look on the bright side, at least we aren't being forced out today.
I found out last night that my sister was rushed to the hospital with kidney stones. And since she is in California and I'm here in Utah, I can't simply go and see her. I wish I had a place to live and the extra money to go right now.
I was able to talk to the nurse and her boyfriend and they both said that right now, the doctors are trying to get her fever down and get her to pass the stones on her own. And if that doesn't work, then they'll take her to surgery.
I am so worried. :worried:
I'm sorry to hear this. Best wishes for your sister.Quote:
Originally Posted by Elle81
When it rains it truly pours...
Right? :|Quote:
Originally Posted by WalshFan88
Thanks for the well wishes, dude. I haven't had any update since earlier today.
Got kind of a update on my sister. One of her friends came to the hospital and gave her her cell phone, so now she can text and she texted me a little bit. So that's good.
And today I went and faxed over an application for an apartment, and almost immediately got a call from the leasing manager. So I'm meeting with her tomorrow, so hopefully I get this place. And move out day is coming soon, so I really hope I get it. Because if I don't, then I'm looking into motels. And that ain't cheap.
hey y'all
just wanted to come on and say that my sister is doing better. She's home, but with a tube in her kidneys still draining fluid. There apparently is one last kidney stone that hasn't passed yet. And if it doesn't pass, then they'll do surgery.
And apparently, because I have no credit, I won't be approved for this apartment that I was applying for. Like I said on facebook, I seriously am wondering if the job is worth living here. And honestly, I don't know. I am so upset right now, I don't know what to do. :depressed::weep:
Elle, I'm glad your sister is better, and hope she continues to improve.Quote:
Originally Posted by Elle81
Have you checked into government housing? I have friends in different types, and they're not all bad. These people are working, single, and without children, but still qualify. You should check with your local office. Even if you don't qualify for subsidized rental, you could qualify for a home. They might could steer you to other affordable options, if not. When she was young, my mother went to a large house where an elderly widow lived alone, and asked if she would consider renting out a room for a small amount + help around the house, and she got it!
But, maybe another area is more suitable to where you are right now. You may do some research on other areas, and what other work/living arrangements are available elsewhere. Just remember whatever you get is a stepping stone toward something better that is meant for you! Good Luck.
Elle81 - Glad to hear your sister is doing better and wishing a complete recovery for her.Quote:
Originally Posted by Elle81
FF has given some good ideas. I know people who have rented rooms in houses and it gave them the chance to save some money for an apartment. Have you checked into living with a roommate ? Wishing you good luck.
Elle81 - glad to hear your sister is doing better. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with housing.
Thanks, dude. I haven't found a place yet (found out that no one will rent to someone with no credit and no co-signer) , and tomorrow is move out day. I am going to stay with my current roommates just for the weekend to help them unpack. But then I'm going to stay in a hotel for at least a week. I'm going to ask my co-workers if they know anybody willing to sublet. I've also talked to my doctor and she once again is going to have someone from social services to try and help me.Quote:
Originally Posted by WalshFan88
And I talked to my sister earlier today and it sounds like she is almost back to her bratty self. She still has one kidney stone that hasn't passed, but her infection might be going away. When that happens, then the doctors can operate and get that stone out.
Thanks NKIT, I have been looking all over for a roommate, or at least an apartment to sublet for a while. But either I always get online when they get off or they don't post for weeks. It's just my luck. But I refuse to give up hope.Quote:
Originally Posted by New Kid In Town