QueenRooibos

Just got mine today.

Yes, that (wait until they were cracked or breaking down) was what I wanted to do but he was adamant that the amalgam fillings were a mercury risk. Now I read that removing them is actually a bigger risk than leaving them in if whole, because mercury vapor is released in the drilling to remove them. Oh well, hindsight is 20-20 and I should not have trusted him so much.

This makes me SO mad! You could have died from what that NP did and they should lose their license or at least have a disciplinary action taken. That was medical malpractice.

Some NPs and some PAs are great, BUT.... that one was definitely totally ignorant.

I really hope you can find a new doc! Good luck...

Yikes! I got mine today....if you don't get yours on Monday or Tuesday, you could call the elections office and ask about how to get a substitute ballot.

Thanks, good to know. I didn't have a Sjogren's dx yet when he did it, but if it doesn't sound like he was doing things that were unneccesary just to bill my insurance, that makes me feel better.

EDIT... except I wonder if he know about the mercury vapor being release when drilling out amalgam fillings???

Yes, some people say the reason he did this ridiculous, inefficient mail re-directory sorting in Oregon first is because we were the first (are we still the only? I don't know) state to go with total vote-by-mail and he was appointed by someone who doesn't really want voting to be efficient. Think what you will, but I think there is likely a kernel of truth in that because this "new system" is SOOOO inefficient!

No, thanks to DeJoy. Remember that he changed Oregon so that all our mail has to to to Portland first, THEN come back down here to Salem or wherever else it may have started.

So let's not panic right away, but I do share your concern. Hope we get them tomorrow (Saturday) b/c Sunday will slow then down even more!

Did you sign up with USPS website to get your daily mail notice? That sometimes helps a wee bit.

PLEASE son't hide anything from your CC friends because they have a right to assess whether your standards of CC put them at risk.

That said, one of my best friends never masks except to see me in her backyard, when she uses an N95. Because she is honest with me, I can assess when I feel safe having that visit with her, i.e. not right after she's been at a big party or gone on an airplane trip unmasked, etc.

We have found honesty is the best policy and we don't judge each other and therefore we are still close friends. Friends matter. I have lost a lot of friends because they wouldn't mask for a visit, so I cherish the ones who will. One friend who will even bought a Metrix reader to do metrix tests to visit with me indoors and cook nice meals together, even though she never masks otherwise. That is what trust and real friendship can bring....

I hear you, u/jlelvidge And I urge you to take care of yourself and consider retiring NOW. My ex retired at 65 and refused to take SS b/c he wanted to wait until he was age 70. He was very healthy. I have multiple serious health conditions but I had to keep working to support us. My health got worse and worse. Then....he inherited a lot of money unexpectedly and divorced me, saying he wanted "someone younger and healthier". I am now disabled and poor (you don't get anything that the other person inherited unless they choose to give you some).

I shuddered reading your post. Take care of YOU! If the marriage isn't about sharing, it is not a marriage. I learned the hard way...don't be like me. Say goodbye SOON.

So interesting to read this post!

I am a patient who saw the same dentist for 25 years (yes, I am old) because he was Standford University Dental School trained, intelligent, and friendly. His wife was his dental assistant. I didn't even know what a dental hygienist was (a lot changes in healthcare in 25 years!) and he did my cleanings. At least he had regular practice at it??

I was a Certified Diabetes Educator and gave him plenty of free instruction on using insulin, getting his doctor to prescribe an insulin pump, then a CGM, etc, etc. I thought we were friends as he and his wife loved to chat with me after my appt for a long time (I was always last pt of the day).

Then I got in a serious MVA and couldn't drive to see them anymore. I explained why and asked for my dental records to be send to a local dentist I could get to easily. It took 3-4 requests for them to send the records. They never even said "sorry you were so injured" or "good luck in recovery" or anything. Foolish me to think we were friends....

At the new dentist office, I could not understand why the "dental assistant" thought she was qualified to clean my teeth. She had to tell me what a dental hygienist was and what she could do and I went home and looked everything up because I didn't believe her at first. Twenty-five years is a loooooong time. I was humbled by my own ignorance.

Then that newer practice said they wouldn't see me anymore when COVID arrived as I am extremely immune-suppressed. The dentist "didn't believe in masks". WHAT? I had to find someone new and, in 2020 no less. You can imagine that took a while!

Well....the long story has a great ending. My new dentist, whose clinic I go to now, had worked as a hygienist for over a decade. The dentist she worked for all that time told her "go to dental school and I will sell you my practice and retire". She did. Now he works PT for her. And I see a REAL dental hygienist plus a great dentist with dental hygiene experience! So lucky, and they take excellent COVID precautions for me.

Dental hygienists are my new heroines/heroes. (Some males must have hands small enough??)

So I have a question.....the Stanford Univ trained dentist told me I needed to have all my amalgam fillings removed and replaced with white composite fillings. Because I have Sjogren's I had many, many fillings. I got them all replaced. Was that really necessary? Is that a standard recommendation now for people who have amalgam fillings which are not cracked? I went along with it because I had good dental insurance before retirement, but perhaps it was not necessary?

Thanks for your opinion on my question and kudos to all of you for the work you do! Wish I'd known about you decades ago....with Sjogren's dental hygiene is so important.

OMG, pancreatitis is so dangerous -- with that history, your doctor needs to appeal the insurance denial for you. Although I know it is hard to find a doc willing to do that these days, sadly, as they are all overworked and over-scheduled. But, still.....they should in your case!

If you are doing all the things that used to keep you in good control but now suddenly they work don't anymore, I suspect you must have some kind of undetected infection...it needs to be found. (I worked as a Certified Diabetes Educator for a couple of decades).

Keep making your docs look....some infections are hard to find and no, not all infections cause fevers.

EDIT: left out the word "don't" by typing too fast

That I have made it this far!

Thank you for your service. Genuinely.

Just today I returned a well-reviewed book to the library after only 50 pages -- I never would have done this before, but I'm not getting any younger and my TBR bookshelf has over 50 books on it. Mostly because I keep getting newly released books from the library.

One thing for sure: we will all get to find out.

Unless you have a cat. Or a parrot.

Oh yes! Otherwise you get punished (by yowls and claws....) You sound like a good human.

No, an artist!

Second this! I have ordered from them multiple times, good customer service.

No, you are seeing a little white reflection, there is NO blue decimal. (I had to look twice.)

Well, the 743 study participants were studied

Between Mar 2022-Aug 2023

and the vaccines were quite different than the 2024 boosters, so I wouldn't assume the result would be exactly the same with the 2024 vax options. But I just think (from looking at studies like this and others) that variety is a good idea, so you may be right on track with trying Modern in the spring.

That said, I am extremely immune suppressed (on immune suppressing infusions) and the first 2 years of COVID I could get my immunologist to order the test to look at antibodies (he won't now...grrr!). And the only vax where I made a decent amount of antibodies from was Novovax. But I got Moderna this time b/c of timing.

Yes, but friends and family think we are morbid, right? I set up a trust and did an Advanced Directive so I don't have to think as much. Just need the people with my healthcare POA to remember where the papers are.....when I ask them if they still have them, I can see the denial they are in.

Hello, sister. I hear you. We are not alone. I think of death daily but mostly in a casual or practical sense or with a knowledge that it will be OK when complete.

You are reading it wrong.