Being prepared for colds and flus

[Patsy]

Hi everybody;

i Had posted tHis message on anotHer als web forum but felt tHat i sHould sHare it Here as well ! i am sHaring wHat Has worked for me and Hopefully i can stimulate otHer pals to sHare wHat Has worked for tHem.

i get tHe flu often, since i Have small kids tHat bring Home every bug Home from scHool! tHe following is my regular plan of attack tHat Has worked for me. i Have been successful in preventing tHe use of antibiotics and Hospitalizations. tHis of Has been done witH my doctor. maybe otHers could find a plan of attack of tHeir own witH tHe Help of tHeir doctor?
1-everybody Has been made aware to stay away from my House if tHey Have a cold or flu.
2-i Have masks for tHe people tHat Have to come in briefly, witH a cold or flu.
3- tHe flu sHot and tHe pneunovax sHot as a preventative measure.
4-at first signs tHat i am getting a flu, i start my tamiflu as prescribed. i Have been doing tHis for tHe last 3 years!
5-start taking vitamin c.
6-pusH fluids, wHicH is easier now witH my feeding tube.
7-i Have a nebulizer and i take ventollin witH extra normal saline, 2 to 4 times a day as needed for my astHma. if i am not wHeezy and just feel cHest congestion witH tHick mucous tHen i just use plain saline tHat is specially made for tHe nebulizer.
8-my nose and sinuses always get affected, so i use a nasal decongestant spray as directed.
9-put tHe bipap Humidifier at a HigHer Humidity level
10-Have a room Humidifier wHile off tHe bipap
11-use tHe full face mask instead of tHe nasal bipap mask for tHe nasal congestion
12-use tHe portable suction macHine wHen needed

we all sHould be prepared witH a plan of attack to treat ourselves witH tHe flu or cold, done witH your doctor of course. especially witH all tHe news about tHe bird flu!

regards;

patsy

patricia seguin-tremblay,
kapuskasing ontario, canada
p.a.l.s. (person witH amyotropHic lateral sclerosis)
tougH times never last, tougH people do. -robert scHuller

[mannco74]

Patsy,

thank you for sharing. well done, we all need these types of reminders.

chris

[DebbieD]

i haven't been on the computer for a while because of a cold. i was telling my dad that anyone who has a cold shouldn't see me. i can't cough as well as i used to and i get quite congested during the night! i takes me about 2 hours in the morning to cough everything up. thanks for the idea for the mask patsy!! i'm going to buy a bunch!

[PALS Mike]

Apparently this stuff is amazing!

cold fx
http://www.cvtechnologies.com/coldfx/default.aspx
http://www.cvtechnologies.com/images/coldfx-large.gif
all natural and made in calgary...(it must be good ;))
(my pt swears by it)

recommended for
adults and children 12 years of age and older.

usage
for professionals and aging individuals seeking to reduce the risk of cold and flu infection
for athletes seeking to minimize down time due to colds and flu
for anyone wishing to reduce the symptoms associated with cold and flu infection
for anyone seeking enhanced immune system function
through 10 years of studies and consumer use cold-fx® has no known disease* or drug interactions#
the chembioprint process excludes any undesired chemicals from ginseng, providing a safe and optimal process to enhance the immune system.

[Patsy]

Sorry i forgot to mention that i also take coldfx. great stuff but since it is made from gensing, make sure that your blood pressure is not affected by it !

thank you for reminding me;

patsy

[Patsy]

Sorry i forgot to mention that i also take coldfx. great stuff but since it is made from gensing, make sure that your blood pressure is not affected by it !

thank you for reminding me;

patsy

[PALS Mike]

Did i mention it was made in calgary so it must be good ;)

lol!

[Carol Deboer]

Hi mike and patsy,

i too, also take coldfx. man, wHat great stuff i Have not Had a cold tHis winter or tHe flu. i However, got strep tHroat. i guess it is not tHe same strain of virus. tHis coldfx is like a little miricle tHing, i tHink tHat alot of people are now finding out tHat it is a fabulous remedy. mike, wow, all good tHings must come from calgary, including you!!!! love ya...xox However, some really good tHings come from ontario too, like my Henry !! Ha.. Have a great day all. kiss and Hugs..

carol d.

[PALS Mike]

I'm originally from ottawa...(family is still there)

calgary reeeally started improving the moment i arrived (8 yrs ago)! :)

hehe

carol - how is henry? did you still me to create an avatar (picture) for you?

[Al]

Mike i don't care how wonderful you tell us calgary is. it is still colder than toronto so i'm staying here. with occasional side trips to florida for february of course. now i just may come there in the summer to visit my cousin but winter : forget it.

[Carol Deboer]

Hi mike,

Henry is Holding His own. He is comfortable witH all tHe pain meds He is on and of course He is Happy to be at Home. our goal is to keepHim comfortable and as Happy as possible. He cannot eat solid foods anymore now, so we Have to blend everytHing for Him. He gets His feeding tube at nigHt so He gets His nutrients tHat way. His speecH is getting worse eacH day, altHougH we can still understand Him to some extent. of course, otHer people cannot understand Him at all. all in all, tHe als is taking its toll on Him. He gets awful leg cramps at nigHt, but tHe Hospital bed Helps witH His legs elevated and pillows under His knees. we are all doing tHe best we can under sucH stress.

mike, i would love it if you would make me a nice avatar (pHoto) for me !! tHat would be so great. if you Have time. anyway, a car just smasHed into tHe back fence of our House, 4 teenagers, car is totalled, booze on tHeir breatHs , i Had to call 911. cops are Here now, gotta run. take care. Hope you are doing alrigHt, and Hope you are surviving tHe winter blaHs. Ha...

love, carol

[Timshelper]

Dear carol,
wow life sure does go on at your house. with everything else thats going on all you needed was your fence to be torn down with teenagers drunk.if only they knew how life is so precious and how some of us just take it for granted. i hope only the fence and the car have been totaled and everybody was ok physically although i wonder if they know just what they've done to screw up their lives.has henry tried the quinnine for the leg cramps or is it too late for this medication? i know it works really well for me and al says he uses it too. i keep wondering wihch goal henry is striving for next ? do you have any iDeas? we sure do have some talented people when it comes to some of the graphics i wish i knew how to do some of these things. it will be interesting to see what they come up with for you. anyway just touching base.
love kim
als about loving someone
ps when did you get your boob job done?lol

[TBear]

... did somebody say boob job? i almost fell asleep for a minute there. carol... does this mean you'l be packing a little more into that bikini? fisher wake up quick!

i'm also sure that those teenagers were probably trying to get into your place to raid your wine stash. glad henry is comfortable and that your are still awake enough to post your thoughts from time to time.

i agree with al... to really apprecite winter you need the bone chilling deep freeze and dampness of an ontario winter... calgary is great, but i can't get used to the radical changes in weather from hour to hour!

happy weekend everybody!

t

[Carol Deboer]

Hi guys,

tHats it kim, give tHem some more fuel for tHeir already over active imaginations. actually, booby job looks really great doesn't it? do you tHink i went too big? i can really fill tHings out now eH? as for tHe car accident last nigHt, all tHe kids were okay. air bags deployed and tHey were sHook up a lot. actually, wHen i ran out to tHe back fence, all of His buddies opened up tHeir doors and took off witH tHe booze and wHatever and ran down tHe street, and left tHe driver tHere by Himself. i came back out after calling 911, and He was on His cell pHone to His dad telling Him tHat He just ran off tHe road and tHat tHere was notHing wrong witH tHe car. !!! i f you call running into a tree and a steel pole and tHen a wood fence notHing well..... tHere was notHing left of tHe front end of tHe car. sooooo... i started to yell over tHe blaring stereo in His daddys car tHat tHere was no front end left !! man, focus your eyes and look around . anyway, tHey were all not injured mucH, but really knocked around abit. wHat a nigHt. on tHe way Home from work last nigHt, before all of tHis Happened, i went into tHe gas station on tHe corner, and tHen proceeded to turn rigHt onto fincH to come Home and my van just went spastic. i could not control tHe steering wHeel, and it just sHook like crazy, i eventaually pulled over out of tHe traffic, and wHen i looked at tHe van, my tire Had come off of my rim. !! tHe tire was lodged under tHe van !! no wonder i could not drive rigHt. (or left for tHat matter) scared tHe crap rigHt out of me. anyway a quick call to caa and tHey were tHere witHin 15 minutes, put tHe dougHnut on and off Home i went. supposedly Home to a nice Hot batH, and a relaxing evening, but , noooooo..... not for tHis gal. i do not know wHy all tHis crap Happens to us. do any of you ever feel tHat way too? tHe day started off bad as well, wHen i left for work , i made it down tHe first two steps of our deck and tHen Hit some ice, and bam!! down i went on my ass.!!! a nasty bruise on my left knee, arm, and of course tHe rear end. wHat a way to start tHe day, and wHat a way to end tHe day. kim, wHats up witH tim? How is He doing? How are you doing? Have you managed to get tHrougH to Him about your dedication to Him? does He still manage witH wHat He Has been doing? Hope so. Hope you are alrigHt too. i miss ya. anyway, i gotta go get some grub into mr. Henry, so Have a good nigHt all.

love and Hugs to all.......xoxoxo
carol

[me]

Carol - my goodness, what a day! i would have wanted to just sit myself down and had a good cry after all that...it's good to hear that everything turned out okay (as far as people being okay)! gotta run for now, melissa

[Jane]

Hello everyone: haven't been around for a while. nice to see familiar names and some new ones too (wish they were not here because of als).
carol, sis takes quinine for cramps and finds it works, so perhaps it will help henry. sis is considerably weaker, speech is gone most people can no longer understand her, seems to be sleeping more, and yawning a lot.
think i read somewhere that yawning indicated breathing problems, guess we'll find out at her next appt. she had a peg inserted a week or so ago. using it mostly for meds, pills are really troublesome for her.
also the drug trial she was taking part in has been cancelled, no one seemed to get any benefit from the drug. so............ back to the scientific drawing board i guess. take care all love jane

[Theresa2004]

This place is always hopping with news and activities. i read about the car crash into your fence carol late last night, but was too bagged to reply.
glad they are all safe and sound, but i had to laugh as you signed off saying you had to go because someone ran a car into your fence. then your description of the events later, the kid of the cell phone telling dad the car was fine....crazy kids. hopefully today was better which included a hot bath and some r and r. glad henry is much more comfortable with his new sleep wear. it can make all the difference. sounds as if you had more then a trying day. i am convinced some of it has to do with the full moon we had This week...nutty Things....for me, strange clients, and an overabundance of screw ups with staff errors. i Think we are all too exhausted to focus. it is rsp season, people are insulted when you tell them we have been booked up solid for weeks for appointments, why do you leave it always to the end.....a bit like getting a doctors appointment in the middle of sars.....

al, radical weather, just watched twister on tv with one of the boys, talk about living with irratic weather conditions. besides, you are just bragging cuz you have missed several snow storms up here, 20 cm last monday, and more to be dumped on us This monday again. monday's have been the curse of course, my normal day off, it snows or freezing rain, damn school buses don't run and everyone is friggin' home cuz even the teachers don't make it in. last monday i said "no way you guys staying home, get in the van, i'll drive you." soak up the heat you two, spring hasn't arrived yet. maybe you could bring it home with you....???

question to t-bear, and the other men here... what is the fasination with 'boobs'....really...hell, seen one, seen them all? just in various sizes?....you know if the ladies really wanted to start someThing, we could discuss the male anatomy..issues of size...but the moderator may boot me off.......i can picture the commentary....(i am kidding...don't take offence....i get punchy when i am keyed up and This time of year at work certainly adds to it)...

as a side bar to This coldflx, never heard of it until last night, then i heard it advertised on the radio This morning on my way to work......gotta look into it.

mike, if you are creating little or big display pictures, could you make me a butterfly, a very pretty one...

[Al]

Boy carol i thought my life was a train wreck some days. if it wasn't for bad luck you wouldn't have any at all. i know i've been away and all but i seem to have missed the picture of the Boob job. you know my email so a large file picture would be appreciated.
we are in palm harBor near tampa with friends today. we were going to go to busch gardens but thunderstorms and tornado warnings put an end to that. never seen a tornado close up. that might be fun. but maybe not. good thing we are in a cement house. we'll try again tuesday.
we were joking around aBout who would get to ride the scooter at busch. me who can't walk far. doug and lee with bad backs or andrea who has a walking cast on after falling off her bike in nov. and severely breaking her foot and ankle. good thing they have monorail and cable cars to cut down on the walking. might try some roller coasters. doug says some of the steel ones are pretty smooth so shouldn't beat me up too bad.
gotta have some fun right guys?
sounds like most of the forum is staying pretty much the same which is good. i'll keep in touch. take care.

as to the Boob issue: some men like to look at old paintings, cars, their money or Boats or any other toys that might come to mind. some of us just like to look at Boobs. many diferent shapes sizes and even colors. they are fascinating if you look at in an artistic sort of way. and even more fun if you look at them in a dirty old man kind of way. which is the way most men look at them. but that's just my opinion. i could be wrong.

[TBear]

... but you're not!

t

[Theresa2004]

Very good al, you bailed yourself out of the boob discussion Very well...as a hobby...artistic? i suppose you have a point, look at all the famous painters who have painted females ala natural? there is beauty in the human body, but since us galls carry around the attraction, we get use to them being there. bucsh gardens, sounds like fun, was there many moons ago. tornado's? is this the season to relive the land of oz? funny after rewatching the movie last night. when are you and lee coming home? a piece of advice, hold on a few more weeks, although we could use you at the meetings, more snow monday and tuesday, so enjoy the thunderstorms, at least you don't have to shovel it!!!! thanks for checking in while you are away.

t-bear....knew you would have that view point..i am laughing. us ladies do like to be admired and appreciated, and i love to stir the pot now and again to keep us smiling. nothing wrong with your opinion, as long as the men remember we females were born with a mind also, not helpless females. something tells me after all you have been through, and raising daughters, you know that and appreciate women as equals. we simply are built differently, for obvious reasons.

your contribution on this site is extremely helpful and shows whether male or female, you know others need support...not strickly "double d".

[Carol Deboer]

Hey tHeresa,

good one !! i guess you could "look" at tit as a hobby !! ooops, i mean it. ha. we must have boring lifes eh? i do not look at men for a hobby, but maybe i should take it up. men are work, not a hobby. just my opinion. your butterfly story is so nice. i can almost see it. so pretty. now that is a hobby, butterfly watching ha. have a good night sweetie, talk to you tommorrow. i am going to bed with a smile on my face, and believe me that hasn't happened for a long time. sweet dreams....

love, carol

[Timshelper]

Dear carol,
nice graphic but you look like a school teacher/librarian and we know thats far from being the truth especially with all the enhacements youv'e had done lately. all i can say you are going to have a sore back and i know i lived with big boobs all my life they just arn't as perky as yours right now. poor henry do you have traction for that extra weight hes carrying and did you have all 3 children at once because it looks like it could have done the job. lol. the day you had with all the little accidents i've had many especially with having the fibro half the time its becasue i dont remember to do things and then when i remeber i end up having some strange thing happen to me. then i remember how there are so many other people out there suffering from more than i have and consider myself lucky. most of the times these things happen when i' really stressed out. sound like someone you might know? as far as tim goes he still not ready for me and its getting really hard stayng in this house becasue the husband has decided to make a big turn in his life. yesterday was our 7th anniversary and we celebrated it all went well until today when he brought up some things i didnt want to hear so i' m stuck in my room avoiding everything.
new dilemma there has been this girl that has been coming over to tims every day and she is a really nice person. last time i was there i could tell that tim was very attracted to her i know him so well that i knew he had feelings for her. so i asked him and he said he was crazy for her but she wasnt that crazy. i guess what he meant was why would she get involved with someone who is wasting away and dying. theresa this pertains to you too. i dont think they have discussed anything but what if i called her up and explained the situation to her do you think i would be intruding , do you think shes just scared to let her feelings out. wouldnt it be wonderful if tim finally found a partner even though its this time in his life. she lost her husband to suicide 2 years ago which blew me away because they seemed like the perfect couple and i'm not sure if shes trying to get over her grieving process by being there or if she really does like tim. if she does she should be the one whos there for him not me. in fact when i was there and we talking about a few changes we were going to make in the house for me to come live there she seemed uncomfortable. what they do when i;m not there seems to be quality time and she spends a lot of time with him. she picks up all his groceries and takes him places and they talk for hours. so what do you think should i ask her out for coffee. i think it would be awesome for tim to find love especially if its reciprocated.anyway its just another one of my thoughts. when the nurses talked to me they told me i would be a watch dog i didn't care for the term too much.he tells me he still wants me to have a life does that mean when he has company i'm should go on my merry way and do my own thing. i'm really confused about all this because its taken so long and i have been ready but now again i just wait as my life passes on. somehow this just doesnt seem fair. am i being selfish but how long can i put my life on hold. anyway i think about you and henry all the time and i wish i could meet you. if i had the money i would be flying out to sarnia in a minute as long as it was ok with you. i've dug a hole so far into the ground that i dont even go out anymore. i'm still sleeping ridiculous amounts of my life away, its such a waste but i dont feel i have anything to look forward to. i still havnt found a job yet which is quite depressing because i've worked all my life and i havnt sold dads house yet. i wonder some times if als hadnt touched my life if it would have been different.i think sometimes being on the outside and looking in can sometimes be harder than actually knowing exactly what you are doing with the one you love. i miss you carol and hope you are doing ok you always sound so positive i wonder where you get the strength especially when other things in your life are still going on. how are the kids they to have been living with als for a long time but i'm sure they are fantastic.
love ya
kim from the prairies
als about loving someone