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Topamax Diary – what is it like to take Topamax?

28 Jul

I have decided to take this “heavy duty” drug. I have done a lot of reading on it and all the side effects. I admit I am a little nervous but I am hoping the benefits can outweigh the side effects. I got my prescription yesterday. I am starting with 25 mg. each night for 7 days and then I am supposed to increase to 25 mg in the morning and 25 mg in the evening. I have read, however, of some people who do 50 mg. at night for the next step rather than 25 /25. I am thinking about that depending on the side effects. I don’t want to be fuzzy during the day so if taking it more at night will help, I might try that. If, I am adjusted to the 25 at night at the end of 7 days then it might be fine to try the 25 in the morning – we will have to see how I feel. I am also going away with my husband on our 20th wedding anniversary cruise and I don’t want to be making adjustments to my meds when I am on the trip, so I am thinking I might just stay at 25 mg until we return. I will have to see how I feel. The goal of this post is to provide a diary of my experiences for those considering the drug. However, from what I have read, this drug varies dramatically from person to person. Although it is nice to see how one person progressed, this by no means will be a sample of how someone else will progress.

Day 1: Took 25 mg at 7 pm. Felt very spaced out. Had some vision distortion. Had some taste distortion (very minor).
Day 2: Woke up, had a slight headache (probably not from the topamax), no longer feel spaced out, some taste distortion, maybe some mild appetite decrease (or just wishful thinking). At 8:00 pm took 25 mg. Felt a little spaced out, much less than last night. Significantly less side effects tonight which surprised me. Still have a tad of a headache but again I don’t necessarily think it is from the drug.
Day 3: Felt fine all day. I had no change in appetite. Soda still tasted fine. I decided to consider taking 50 mg tonight since I haven’t had much in the way of side effects. I have decided for sure yet. I took 25 mg at 5:00 pm and may take another 25 mg later tonight – I will wait and see. I am a little spaced out right now but not too bad. I decided to go ahead and take another 25 mg at 7:30 pm. I feel just as spaced out as I felt the first night. Nothing too bad, so I think I will continue to take the 50 mg each day until I get back from vacation and then increase to 75 mg. I hope to see some impact on my appetite and migraines at 50 mg.
Day 4: I woke up feeling fine this morning. I stepped on the scale, hoping to see something going in the right direction but I had GAINED a small amount of weight, WHAT!!! I am hoping it is just a fluke. I am going to try and be really careful about what I eat today and really monitor what my appetite is saying now that I am taking the 50 mg. I have been trying to read what people say about WHEN they started seeing the weight loss. Most people don’t directly tell you but it some say, “I lost 5 pounds or 11 pounds in the first 2 weeks” so I have to assume that means they started losing weight right away and that they didn’t start out on 100 mg per day so they must have lost weight on lower doses like 25 or 50 mg. I drank soda this morning and it still tasted only mildly flat. Not bad enough that I couldn’t drink it and since it is my “coffee” for the day, I want to drink it as long as I can tolerate the taste. I am able to tolerate large doses of meds that affect others at smaller amounts – like I need large amounts of valium to do anything and I can take 2 doses of muscle relaxers 2X per day and not feel tired, so this may be part of the reason why I am not being hit with side effects from the Topamax. But… I really want it to work on my weight as well as my migraines. No migraines yet but it isn’t like I get them all the time so it hasn’t been long enough to tell if it is working on those yet. I plan to take another 25 mg. after I get back from my chiropractic appointment today since I don’t have to go anywhere and then 25 mg. this evening around dinner time. I did take another 25 mg. Continued to feel spacey. I was still hungry and ate a normal dinner – no change in appetite at all :-( So far don’t see any impact on weight loss at all, really hoping that is going to change. I will be taking another 50 mg. tomorrow. I will take 25 mg in the morning since I don’t have anything to do tomorrow but clean the house.
Day 5: I took 25 mg this morning (well, it was more like noon by the time I got up). It made me feel feel sleepy. It definitely didn’t decrease my appetite at all. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a bowl of pasta for lunch, and 3 slices of pizza for dinner! I checked my weight and I did “lose” the pound I had put on at the beginning of this, so that is good but still no weight loss or loss of appetite. I also haven’t had to “do number 2.” That may be part of the weight – I am going to have to take something to get things moving, had no idea that this could cause constipation but things seemed to have just stopped – so I guess so. I will be taking another 25 mg later tonight. Took it before I went to bed, got tired and went to bed early.
Day 6: I can’t believe it has been 6 days already that I have been on these meds. It is disappointing that the weight is not falling off like I hear from many of the other posts that I read :-( So far my biggest side effects are constipation, fuzzy head, and tiredness. Not what I was hoping for. So far no migraines but I will need to go 1 month without migraines to feel that it is working for that since my migraines can be sporadic. I took 25 mg. in the late morning today and will take another 25 mg in the evening sometime tonight. I will stay on 50 mg throughout my vacation and then move to 75 mg when I return. Soda still tastes okay. There is a small change and it takes a little flat but tolerable. I am still hungry although my cravings for sweets seems to be a little bit less – we’ll see if this continues. I certainly won’t be boasting 5-11 pounds of weightloss in 2 weeks like others though :-( I read some studies last night that definitely showed weightloss was correlated to dosage meaning the higher the dosage the more likely you were to experience weightloss. So maybe if I go up in dosage, I still have a chance, however, I don’t see myself going above 100 mg per day with all the side effects and of course, I hear terrible stories about going off the meds, basically if you ever go off – all the weight will come back no matter what you do… I would like to see someone who says that isn’t true for them!
Day 7: The day has finally arrived. In addition to finally getting my constipation a little bit under control, the scale registered a 2-3 pound weight loss this morning. Maybe this is the beginning? I will wait to see more… I am also having pins and needles in my hands, feet, and legs!!! It isn’t too bad (yet)! I took 25 mg this am and will take my second 25 mg tonight.
Day 8: Well, today was not as promising. :( I haven’t done my official weigh in but it looks like I am not showing any more loss and my loss is closer to the 2 pounds rather than the 2-3 pounds from yesterday. On the other hand, my weight seems directly related to my constipation – so when food goes in but nothing is coming out, I am going to weigh more – so maybe if that was normalized I would have seen more, who knows. Also, it may not be a daily thing. The good news is that I am still down 2 pounds from the start in 1 week which is healthier than losing more than that in such a short time. So, we will continue to see what happens. I did find a slight bit of an increase in appetite reduction. I did not want to eat anything at all last night and I usually get hungry for a snack while watching TV in the evening. This morning, I feel hungry but don’t want to eat, it is strange. I am due to take my morning pill, so I am off to do that and then I will keep you posted. Not too much to report today. My side effects are much less now after 8 days on 50 mg per day. I would normally increase my dose right now if I were not leaving on vacation but I don’t want to mess with things as it is I am concerned about how my constipation will impact (no pun intended) my trip. I took 2 more laxatives and am waiting but am thinking I may have to take an enema as I am getting uncomfortable. No more tingling, fatigue is better, no more vision issues, head feels clear, no headaches, and weight loss remains at 2 pounds. Although soda doesn’t taste bad, I don’t seem to want to drink it, I am thirsty a lot and my main drink is koolaide made with sweet n low. I drank one glass of tea today and that was the only caffeine I had all day. Will continue to report – although I am sorry to say that there will be no reports or weight updates on the 6 days that I am gone on my trip, you’ll be left in suspense to see what happened! I will be increasing to 25 mg in the morning and 50 mg at night when I return, however.
Day 9: No change in weight. Holding steading at -2 pounds.
Day 10: I will report my weigh in soon but today is going to be my last post before my trip. Summary: some mild side effects but nothing too bad still bothering me at 50 mg, constipation is still a HUGE problem and not sure what to do about that, weight loss is still minimal – hoping that my increase in dosage upon return from my trip will jump start the weight loss.
Day 19: Well, I am back from my cruise. The trip was great, TONS of food. I did not have the side effect of “aversion to food,” I ate quite well – still hoping that maybe I lost weight…. wishful thinking. I stepped on the scale when I got home and had GAINED weight – like 5 pounds or so! Yikes! But, this morning, I was back down to just 1 pound more than when I left. I had no side effects on the ship EXCEPT that my eyesight became really blurry when I read. I read about the vision problems that can be associated with topamax. I have an appointment scheduled with an ophthalmologist to check and make sure I don’t have high optical pressure in my eyes.

 
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Make Money Playing Video Games

09 Jul

My son is getting ready to launch his new GAMING PORTAL: Portal Strike. It is not ready just yet – I will post an update when it goes live. Hopefully in August 2010. Portal Strike will allow gaming enthusiasts to MAKE MONEY for playing video games. Wouldn’t that be awesome? When your parents say that you are on the computer for too long, you can say “I’m working, Mom!” Each month, selected game(s) will be available for a contest. The players with the highest scores win CASH. It is that simple – so keep playing it over and over and become the best and we will send you a check with your name on it! This is a great way for those who can’t (or don’t have) a job. You may also be able to get bonus money for referring your friends. Portal Strike is going to be the HOTTEST new portal out there!

 
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Stomach Viruses – No Fever Needed

26 Apr

I will admit that I have a phobia of vomiting. So – I am very very careful to limit contact with viruses that cause the stomach flu. One of my pet peeves, however, is the number of people who don’t understand the stomach flu. If I were to count the number of people who say, “well, he didn’t have a fever – therefore, it must just have been something he ate that made him vomit like that,” I would be very wealthy. There have been some that give TYLENOL to their children to PREVENT them from getting sick and those that think ANTIBIOTICS fix all – like colds, flu, and stomach viruses! NO PEOPLE, NO, NO, NO!!!!

So let’s get the facts straight… first of all antibiotics only helps with bacterial infections. Most illnesses are viral and not bacterial. Ear infections – YES, bacterial, Strep Throat – yes, bacterial, Pneumonia – only SOME are – some are bacterial but some are VIRAL. Colds, the regular FLU (as in influenza – not vomiting flu), stomach flu – these my friends are VIRAL. Antibiotics will not help you and will only make you resistant to when you do need to use them.

Tylenol brings fever down – it does not help PREVENT you from getting sick. Even if you have a fever and use Tylenol to bring down the fever – you are still SICK!!! It treats symptoms, not the illness. On top of that – unless the fever makes you very uncomfortable – LEAVE IT ALONE – a fever is your body’s natural way of fighting the virus or infection. Your body raises the temperature to help kill the bad stuff. By taking Tylenol, you are slowing down the help your body is trying to do for you. A fever is your friend … yes, if you are MISERABLE with really high fever, get some help … but if it is that bad, the Tylenol won’t even make your temp go to normal. However, if you can deal with the fever or your child isn’t miserable (by the way, sleeping is not miserable – it is good and will help your child get better sooner) – let the fever help fight the illness.

The “Flu” – the regular flu (the virus that we get offered vaccines for each fall/winter) is almost always accompanied by a fever. If you think you have the flu and you don’t have a fever, you probably don’t have the flu (but with that said, you can still have the flu without fever – it just isn’t that common). Flu is fever with cold like symptoms and lots of fatigue. The flu happens most often between October – March – with the highest chances around January and February most years. Flu usually lasts for a week and then kind of lingers. But note that the STOMACH FLU (see below) is NOT the “THE FLU.” We call it the stomach flu but it is not the influenza virus!

The STOMACH FLU - this is not really a flu. It is a virus that causes vomiting, diarrhea, and usually lasts under 12 hours. This is when you start feeling sick – are throwing up every hour or so – and after a few hours (sometimes just a couple to up to 12 – longer if it is a nasty case of Rotavirus) start to feel better. You have to eat slowly to get your stomach used to food again. This virus does not cause a fever in most people. So – if you or your child throws up multiple times in a few hour span but doesn’t have a fever – they are still SICK!! Don’t think that if they don’t have a fever – it must just be “something they ate.” Most of the time, it is not something they ate (in all my life, I have had the stomach bug multiple times and only ONCE was it from “something I ate.”). If they vomit only once and they can eat fine – then YES, they probably are not sick. But … multiple times (and yes with no fever) – guess what – they have a stomach virus. Do they need to go see the doctor? NO! Well, in most cases. We were in the ER once and a family brought in their 2 year old to the ER because their child threw up in church – SERIOUSLY??!! Take him home, let him rest, give him sips of water and wait a couple hours to see what happens. Now, if you or your child is dehydrated or seems REALLY ill – yes, go to the doctors or hospital – but not just because they threw up in church or school! And don’t take your child out with you! They are still contagious – remember the misery they just went through? Don’t inflict that on others! Don’t send them to school – don’t take them into Walmart – don’t use the bathroom at McDonalds when you are out. If your child is sick – if you are sick – please STAY HOME! These viruses are VERY contagious. Did you know that they can live on surfaces in your house for 2 weeks or more? So, if your child is sick and a week later when your child has been well for 6 days – they have a friend come over – if you missed a spot when cleaning – or maybe you didn’t go nuts with bleach like I do after someone in my house is sick – well, that friend could catch it! Yes, a week later – at your house – long after your child has been well! Finally, after throwing up, your child may become thirsty. They will want to down a large glass of a drink – and guess what? it will probably come back up!!! You need to offer small sips, spread apart – after each vomiting episode, let the stomach rest for at least 1 hour before starting anything to drink. Give a small ice chip if your child is “dying of thirst.” Yes, we want them hydrated but don’t overdo it when the tummy is not happy!

So – to summarize…

Antibiotics only work on bacterial infections – colds, stomach bugs, and the flu are NOT bacterial!

The FLU is the regular winter flu – it generally does not cause vomiting – and usually does have a fever but is different from the Stomach Flu!

The STOMACH FLU – or STOMACH BUG – usually does not a fever – that is the norm – do you hear me??? NO FEVER!!! And yes your child is sick – and NO – it is probably not the candy they ate if they have thrown up multiple times – the candy – that would be a single event!

DON’T rush to the ER and doctors as soon as your child throws up in most cases – the doctor will tell you “your child has a stomach virus – gradually increase liquids, don’t let them dehydrate and put them on a bland diet (BRAT diet) until they feel better. Think before you act! Although if something isn’t right – then go to ER!

DON’T take your child out in public when they are sick! Think of others!!! And remember that the virus can live in your house for weeks!!!

One last thing? How can I stop the Stomach Flu? The obvious answer is hand washing (lots of it!) especially before eating!! But, I also have researched and have had excellent personal experience with 2 supplements: Echinachea (take as soon as you are exposed or start feeling sick) and Vitamin D3 (about 5000 IU’s per day) – not just the amount in your calcium supplement (that is only about 400 IU’s per day). If you don’t believe me – look at the research! Both of these have helped me from getting sick and I swear by them!

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor and this advice is based on medical fact about viruses and bacterial illnesses as well as personal experiences of a mother of four.

 
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2009 VW Routan Minivan Review

10 Nov

Review of VW Routan

We purchased our VW Rountan as a used 2009 minvan with 14,000 miles on it. We bought the extended warranty of 6 years and 100,000 miles. Here is what I like about the van and what I don’t like:

Like:
1. Remote start: This is a great feature to start your car ahead of time without having to go outside – it allows you to cool down or warm up your car – and it is just a really cool feature.
2. Automatic with shifting – I didn’t think I would care about this feature but I really love it. When I need to downshift to pass another vehicle or if I am on a hilly road, it is very nice to be able to handle your own shifting (yet clutch free) and use regular automatic when in more normal driving conditions.
3. Seat heat warmers get VERY hot, which I imagine will be really nice on a cold day.
4. The wireless headphones so that I don’t have to listen to the TV when the kids are watching it, I can listen to my stereo!
5. The Bluetooth connection is great.
6. Having a hard drive and an Aux connection is great
7. I really like having the rear camera for backing out especially with how big the van is.
8. Having 3 power doors.

Dislike:
1. The force and location on the air vents. It gets really hot in NC in the summer and I wonder if the AC will make me feel cool enough, I am used to the high speed, freezing cold air blowing in my face in my Sienna – the Routan doesn’t angle up enough to hit my face and the amount of cold air does not seem like it will be enough.
2. The dual TV’s block my rear view out the window.
3. The controls to use both DVD players are not very user friendly – especially the DISC one, the VES works easier.
4. The fact that you can’t store the front seats in the floor.
5. The van is very long and bigger than the other minivans although it has less head room for really tall people.
6. Watch out that you don’t hit someone in the head with the power lift-gate.
7. I wish the engine had a little more power – it is not bad for a minivan but a little more spunk would be nice.

I will add to this list as I come up with more likes and dislikes.

 
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Scope & Sequence in American Mathematics

18 Sep

We do it all wrong!

Why?

1. To give students a wide breadth of mathematical knowledge
2. Because our teachers don’t know how to teach math very well
3. Because we don’t have our act together and repeat, repeat, and repeat
4. Because we feel the need to give TONS of the same type of problem
5. Because our students don’t GET MATH and we think that means we need more problems and more repetition

If we learn how to teach math better and don’t waste time with so many worksheets of the same problem and don’t confuse students with so many different mathematical topics, we could progress at a faster rate with knowledge retained by students.

The NCSCOS (North Carolina Standard Course of Study) has goals in 1) Arithmetic, 2) Geometry, 3) Statistics and Probability, and 4) Algebra and 5) Measurement. One day our teachers will be teaching factor trees, then the next they are switching to Geometry vocabulary (what are acute angles? What does it mean to be perpendicular?), the next day they are having the students do “pretend” Algebra, where we don’t actually do what would be done in Algebra, we hide it, with a missing addend instead of a variable, and then students are doing graphing and finding out how many combinations exist if I line up 4 books on a shelf, then they are working with the metric system and measure items using how many “book lengths.”

This breadth of knowledge is good but I fear that we lose so much by constantly shifting gears on our kids. They forget what they learned in the Geometry unit in grade 4 when they get to Grade 5 and we start all over again. The “Algebra” skills are not really helpful yet until the kids can grasp more advanced ideas and the uses of Algebra. Measurement, to some extent, is necessary – certainly telling time, using a basic ruler, and money. Probability and Statistics are very useful, but again, let’s finish one thing before we address a new thing.

Here is what I see as a draft of scope and sequence for elementary and middle school mathematics:

Grade K:
1. Skip counting – by 2′s, 3′s, 5′s, 10′s. Expanded skip counting by 5′s and 10′s. What if I start with 25 and now want to skip count by 10? Apply to learning to count money.
2. Tally counting and apply to telling time.
3. Adding – group by ability – some can add all 1 digit numbers here, some will need to just add low numbers +0, +1, +2.
4. Exchanging – Using base 10 blocks, teach the idea that for every 10 units you can trade in for a 10 block.
5. Modeling place value with 10′s blocks for units, 10′s, and 100′s.
6. Reading numbers to the 100′s.
7. Learning doubles: work on memorizing (using song is helpful) all the doubles.
8. Adding to 10 (10 + 3 = 13) Build the concept of place value.

Grade 1:
1. Mastery of counting money
2. Mastery of telling time
3. Adding numbers without regrouping
4. Using what was taught about regrouping in Kindergarten, expand to modeling addition with regrouping
5. Add place value to the 1000.
6. Teach addition strategies.
7. Introduce the concept of multiplication and how it applies to addition and begin study of multiplication
8. Begin unit on subtraction and teach subtraction strategies
9. Teach basic measurement

Grade 2
1. Review units on telling time, counting money, addition of numbers with and without regrouping, subtraction
2. Teach multiplication strategies
3. Teach concept of factors
4. Link multiplication to division
5. Begin the process of modeling with division
6. Do mixed word problems, teach wording of problems involving +, – , X
7. Expand place value
8. Introduce concept of fractions & decimals
9. Order decimal numbers
10. Do 2 digit by 1 digit multiplication

Grade 3
1. Solidify multiplication
2. Build to long division
3. Equivalent fractions
4. Adding fractions with like denominators
5. Using equivalent fractions, add with unlike denominators
6. Multiply fractions
7. Divide fractions
8. Introduce decimals and how they relate to fractions
8. Introduce concept of percent and how it relates to fractions and decimals
9. Convert between percents and decimals
10. Add and subtract with decimals
11. Discuss degrees (90, 180, 270, 360) – do turns with your body

Grade 4:
1. Introduce mixed numbers
2. Add & subtract with mixed numbers – use models
3. Convert mixed numbers to improper fractions
4. Multiply and divide with mixed numbers
5. Apply real world uses of percents (interest)
6. Discuss concept of variable
7. Use variable to represent unknown in math problems
8. Introduce Perimeter and Area and practice arithmetic by applying these two problems

Grade 5:
1. Discuss multiples and factors
2. Build factor trees
3. Find GCF and LCM (relate LCM to equivalent fractions)
4. Probabability and Statistics UNIT
5. Begin Pre-Algebra

Grade 6:
1. Algebra 1 with modifications (1/2 year)
2. Geometry Unit (1/2 year)

Grade 7:
1. Finish Algebra 1 curriculum (1/2 year)
2. Probability and Statistics UNIT (1/2 year)

Grade 8:
1. Advanced Algebra 1 (for students who are struggling – this is a full Algebra 1 class with topics from Algebra 2 introduced at a basic level) OR
2. GEOMETRY

Grade 9 – all students will be ready for Algebra 2 or Geometry

 
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Youtube Video – Spinal Fusion Video Diary

30 Jun

 
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1 week Post Op from Minimally Invasive Spinal Fusion L5/S1

30 Jun

Hello all – I thought I would post an update to my surgery. First a refresher…

Went in Monday 6/22/09 to Duke Univ. Hospital for a L5/S1 fusion. The n-surg did two 2.5 inch cuts in my back and did a minimally invasive fusion. He cut off 1 facet and ground it up to use as an autograft. It was put in a cage and put in where the L5/S1 disc had been. He then secured it with rods and screws. They used glue, no stitches.

The first few days were HELL! It would have been a lot better if I had some nurses to help in the hospital but I got no help and no pain relief (see other posts for details on how that got screwed up).

I spent just 1 night in the hospital and welcomed coming home so that I could get my pain under control and get some help.
Once home, I went to see my primary care doctor to get a good routine for pain meds. I am on Oxycontin 30 mg, twice per day for long term pain control. I have Percocet (10 mg) for breakthrough pain and Tramadol as well. Yesterday, I made it through with just the Oxycontin and tramodal without needing any extra Percocets.
I also had arm pain (near my bicep) – a big red splotch, very sore when I moved my arm, and kind of hard. I went to the doctor who sent me to the hospital for a sonogram. They found superficial blood clot and inflamed vein. I was given antibiotics for infection, told to take 600 mg. of Motrin 3X per day (even though normally I would not be allowed to because of the fusion), and told to put heat on it. It is somewhat better today.
The one week mark came with a definite improvement in overall pain. My incisions look great and I am moving more easily. My back is sore but overall – I feel so much improved. I still can’t tell if the surgery was successful at reducing my pre-surgery pain for severe Degenerative Disc Disease or not.
I am walking every day. Yesterday was my first walk of any significant length, I went about 1/2 + mile. Today, I am going to the gym and trying the treadmill so that I can see how much I can tolerate. My legs are sore but I have a massage chair at home that will massage my legs and that has been very helpful to get the blood flowing better through my legs.

It did take me 7 days before I had my first BM post surgery and it was very difficult. I feel like I didn’t have any muscle strength in that area. I am still a far way away from being back to normal in that area but I am happy that at least I started feeling the need to go again!
If you have any comments or questions, I would love to hear them!

 
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Video Diary Spinal Fusion – Part 1 – on YouTube

25 Jun

You can view my video diary on YouTube at:

 
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Spinal Fusion at L5/S1 – Part 1

25 Jun

Early Monday morning, we left for Duke Hospital.  I was brought into the preop area where I met with a variety of doctors.  They did an IV.  This time I asked for no Lidocane as the Lidcane was worse than the IV last time.  It stung a little bit but not too bad.  Then it was just time to wait.  Of course, lying in bed like that was painful and I was anxious.  Dr. Isaacs came by and wrote on my back to mark out the surgical areas.

Finally, they put the mask on and I was out in about 2 seconds, maybe less.  They went to Joe to report on status periodically during the time.  I think the surgical time was about 2 hours although I was back there about 4 hours between getting ready and an hour to get me awake.

I don’t remember much waking up.  I know I was crying out in pain and asking for drugs and then falling back to sleep within seconds.

The first thing I remember was being in my room.  I could not stay in one position for very long (and lying on my back was not even an option) so Joe kept helping me to slide from side to side by pulling on a medical pad that was underneath me.

The evening nurse was great and so very helpful but she had to leave at 7 pm and Joe left slightly before that to go home and take care of the kids.  From then on, I was on my own!  The next 2 nurse shifts I got were useless.  They didn’t help me or check in on my.  I told one that I was going to throw up so she is puttering around looking for a bedpan and I said, “I am going to throw up NOW.”  She pushed the waste bucket towards me and I vomited a lot.  The nurse decided it was from the pain meds, so she decided not to give me any more oral meds and just give me my “breakthrough” morphine that was order.    Of course that was not enough to touch pain.  I also had so much IV fluid that I had to get up and use the bathroom every 1.5 hours – nurses were too busy to help!  It was horrible, getting in and out of bed.  I couldn’t stay in one position for long, so I was trying to roll over from one side to another or switched out with the car -  which is too hard to use as a single person who just had back surgery.  The bed was an airmattress and constantly deflating so I had no support for turning or getting in and out of the bed and all this with very little pain meds to control my pain.

The next morning, the new nurse was even worse.  She had a attitude that she knew what was best for me despite what the doctors or what I said.  They made me keep track of the frequency of the pain meds, so I would have to ask for them every 2-3 hours and then she would give me attitude about taking so much even though my doctor told me to stay ahead of the pain.  Someone screwed up my breakfast and I didn’t get any food until 9:15 am.  I asked for some crackers and got “the last one” with the read between the lines – and we won’t go find anymore.

I really could go on and on about the nurse care I received, it was really bad.  My whole situation could have been so much easier to deal with if I had someone compassionate and helpful like I did until 7 pm.  I had to ask the to empty the toilet measuring device so that I could pee the next time without it overflowing (it was clear that I was peeing just fine – but they refused to take it out) and I would get attitude that they were annoyed with me for asking for the few things that I had to ask for – even though I should have gotten help with so many other things.

I started to push for discharge as soon as I awoke the next morning since I knew that I needed to be on a healthy regime in order to get better with consistent pain control and help for getting up and down before I ended up falling and hurting myself.  The surgeon came in to talk with me and was also appalled at the lack of care and he said that I just needed to get an xray and then I could go home.  They brought me down for xray but then said they didn’t have discharge papers.  The intern wrote up discharge papers and of course he wrote for a different set of drugs than what my surgeon had told me to take.  I was just happy to get out of there though.

Getting in the car was quite painful.  The ride was okay until about the last 10 minutes or so.  I went to sleep once we got home and took pain pills on a schedule, used a lot of ice.  Moving was still very difficult but I had some periods when I wouldn’t move and was more comfortable.  More to come as I feel better and can write more.

 
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All About Spelling

13 Jun

All About Spelling Program

Link:  All About Spelling Page

Schools have gotten lazy about teaching spelling these days.  Many of the spelling programs start off teaching some basic phonics but reach a point where they just “assign” spelling words and expect children to memorize the spelling, do some worksheets, and pass their spelling tests each week.  Lots of children cannot learn this way and as they get behind in spelling, the teachers just push them further ahead as a group instead of back-tracking and really “TEACHING” children how to spell.

When we began to have these troubles with our 8 year old son, we realized he was failing his spelling tests in the third grade and couldn’t spell words he should have gotten in the second grade.  He had no strategies being taught and was just expected to memorize the words.  As an educator myself, I researched to find the best spelling program available that would use a multi-sensory approach, teach rules and strategies, and build a foundation in spelling.  I found this in the All-About-Spelling Curriculum.

The first day I read through the program, I realized there were things I didn’t even know about spelling.  When in school, I was taught that the “magic or silent” E would make a vowel say it’s name as in the word “time.”  AAS teaches other uses of the “magic E” – for instance, it is used to make the g say it’s soft sound in a word like “large,” it also stops a word from ending in a u or a v, like “twelve.”  Did you know that English words do not ever end in a v or u?  Lots of these concepts are taught in a comprehensive, multi-sensory approach to spelling.

Please click on the affiliate link above as we will get funs to continue to support the time needed to find and research the best curriculum programs if you use our link and choose to purchase the program.

 
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