I am very sorry to hear about your mom - but now she is in peace How are you taking everything? OK I hope. The diuertics Yes it did help me, at first I tool them every day, Now (2 years later) I only take them when I am swollen. You can tell if you take your shin & press on it with a couple fingers ( right next to the bone, in the middle) hold it for a couple seconds, let go and if there is a dent & it takes a couple seconds to level off. You have allot of water in you system, take your pills. When I was prescribed the water pill (Bumetanine 1mg), the doctor also prescibed a pill that acts a loop to keep my potassium level up(water pills can lower your potassium) This pill was called Spironolactone 50mg. So I was told to take them together. The fruit is very good & don't worry if this is all you can eat, you body will tell you when you need something else. (sometimes this is all I eat) The Lactalose- Yes it is BAD it make me sick too! this is a laxative, but it also works with to fight the ammonia in the blood (which can cause memory loss) I never did take it very much but I was prescribed a power drink (Cholestyramine 4mg Powder)Two timea a day & it helps me a lot better. Constipation- Yes you have to always stay on top of that!! you are suppost to have 3 or 4 lose bowel movements a day. If I get constipated The bile backs up into my blood & causes me to itch, BAD! I bleed from these lestions on my skin. Its really bad I had to take light treatments 3 time a week with UVB rays, This did help. The AC - this is normal I did the same thing! Hes very sick. Never thinks about drinking again - this is great so if you have to deal with his smoking so be it , One thing at a time. When I ws in the hospital they told my mother I was not going to make it though the night, but then I did, but it seems like I have such a different out look on things, and I too said I would never drink again. And I still say that, matter of fact, I do not talerate drunks!! ANyway I started smoking too, but now I am thinking that I am going to quite because I am in tune with my body, and smoking is only hurting it, PLUS I just found out it is a big factor on liver cirrohsis. and I think to myself if I stopped drinking over night I can stop smoking too! What are some of the meds he takes? I have read & I take Ursodiol/Actigal 300mg 3x a day. this is a galstone med, but I have read a lot of people say this has helped there itching a lot. Night walking - I do the same thing & I eat most then too. They gave me sleeping pills. The thrush mouth, I get this every time I eat something that is not good for me. Recipes - Yes I will type some and send them. should I type them in this or e-mail them to you? OH! what is DB? What is your bothers name & how old is he? if you want you can let him ask me some stuff that is bothering him. that helps me a lot when I can talk to other people with the same. Can he use a computer? Take care, talk to you soon

The reason glasses etch is the alkalinity of the water they are washed in. Dishwashing detergent is alkaline as is some water. The stuff in the dishwasher detergent that makes it alkaline, is what also cleans the dishes. Food residue on dishes neutralizes some of the alkaline stuff. the amount recommended by the detergent people is a crap shoot because they don't know how well you rinse nor if you have hard water of soft water. The better you rinse your dishes, the less detergent you should use. The softer the water you have, the less detergent you should use. Vinegar in the rinse dispenser will reduce the chance of etching, but also reduce the cleaning power of your detergent. Etching is not the same as lime build up. Etching is actually damage to the glass and nothing will remove it. There is no magic formula to perfectly sparkling glassware ( but for hand washing and drying!)...you have to experiment with your detergent, method of washing and water. I worked in the testing department of a "major appliance maker" for several years.

Ahem... OJ, my friend, your hypocrisy is showing! ;) As I understand it, you're a "bottle babe" too, right? But you're a closet bottle babe. You drink bottled water as I recall. In fact you drink nothing but if memory serves correctly. And you're a water bottler too so all these companies and people you go at about bottling water is done by that guy in the mirror? Or have things changed? :D I make no apology that I drink spring water. Can you carry 20-30 cups of tap water in your vehicle so you have it with you and available when needed and wanted? I think not. The cost? 7¢ to 9¢ a bottle is what I pay. Certainly not going to break me. And I'm not driving back and forth every day or two to get this water, burning gas, oil, tires and wear on the vehicle. :D (OK, end of the jabs!). Now to the "clubs". :D I know it's become fashionable to vilify water. Complain about "all those bottles in the landfills!!!!" LOL People who do this, I have to wonder what's in your water? Interesting how pop, tea, juice, milk and other containers can go in the same landfills and no problem with that right? How about all those foam coffee cups and plastic dome lids on the coffee cups that people insist on buying at Starbucks, Tim Horton's, Caribou and the like? Where's the screaming about that? Dead silence. Perhaps that foam and plastic doesn't use petroleum products? Or maybe they're 100% recycled? Or is there another reason? What about the pod coffee drinkers? Nobody's bothered by that plastic going into the landfills. Those little plastic cups going into the garbage don't seem to offend people? Why? OH, it's not water! I forgot that water is the target. I also have to ask, where's the same (manufactured) outrage over all the diapers that go into those landfills some are so concerned about? When's the last time anyone has recycled a diaper? 'Splain that one to me Lucy! Shall we talk about all the other stuff that goes in those beloved landfills? (Today they're "landfills". I remember when they were called "dumps"!) Light bulbs, batteries, packaging, greeting cards, expired gift cards, rotisserie chicken containers, fem hygiene products, toilet paper and paper towel rolls and wrappers, and so on and so on and so on. I realize that water has become a fashionable villain these days. Must be people having stock in Coke, Pepsi, Huggies and Starbucks. I used to have great water here. I don't anymore. And I am not going to have a cow over spending a few dollars a month to buy spring water, have it handy and not buy soft drinks, coffee and the like while out and about. So go ahead and yell and scream about people like me who drink water rather than sugar-laden or aspartame-filled drinks. I recycle my bottles. Coffee drinkers don't recycle many of their cups, lids, stir sticks, creamer/sugar containers, lids, etc, I'm sure. Every time there's a national disaster what's the first thing they ask for? Coffee pods? Diapers? Soft drinks? Nope. WATER! Perhaps we should never again send water to these people. Or the places with contaminated wells. They shouldn't drink bottled water. If tap water isn't good enough for you then you should go without? Hey, now THERE'S a possibility. I'm going to go have a bottle of water right now. Might have a bottle of juice to go with it. At least juice doesn't seem to be a villain like poor innocent water is! Proud to be a water drinker. Just noticed how old this thread is, but it was a good response that didn't deserve to be deleted. And after thinking about it, compared to many of the "current topics" being posted, it's more interesting, more thought provoking and far better than many of those topics. Moving on! :)

I picked DS up at rehab 2 days ago. He had a rough time which pleases me. The rehab was very regimented. Every second accounted for and one session or lecture every hour. There were many court mandated, formerly incarcerated, heroin addicts in the rehab. They were a tough group. A few were going through the motions because they had to for the courts. DS saw and lived in a whole new frightening world. He says he took it very seriously and never wants to be in that position again. He is aware that his problem is no different than that of his fellow patients. Just the addiction is a different substance and he is not facing jail. So now he is back with his really lovely girl friend. But she has no more tolerance and she is fully capable to be on her own. He knows that. His job is up in the air. He doesn't know if they will take him back, but he will wait until he has all his out patient commitments lined up before he contacts his boss. His drivers license is suspended until he pays a fine which he can't pay because he is broke. There is public transportation in his town and the outpatient facility is 1/2 mile away. So DH and I are not frantic this week. We are realistic and hopeful. Maybe this time. Thank you for all your support and giving me a place to scream. Laura