Thanks guys, lucy, i'm not just throwing away my meds all at once and i'm not doing it on a cut off my nose to spite my face attidude.I'm trying to save mine and my daughters life for as long as i can. We have between us had 5 horrible misdiagnosis by doctors that have left both of us disabled in differant ways and are on disability because of it. The reason i have CHF is because of diabetic meds i took for years.I had a stroke because of another medication prescribed. Had almost a 3month bad reaction to another drug even tho it was on my records not to give it to me.The doctor forgot to read that page for the reactions i had before.I did'nt have to pay for that hospitalization.Because they thought i'd sue. I was hospitalized for severe pain in the left back upper abdomen and was dehydrated,high temp,high wbc. Ihad sat at home in pain for 5 days because of my warrented distrust of doctors. Went to emergency room ,was admitted. However the ER record that showed a large kidney stone blocking the tube at the kidney was left in ER.Floor dr. could'nt come up with diagnosis, however bp had shot up So dr gives me lisenopril in hosp.Turns out as with a few other drugs i had a one in 10,000 reaction to drug. temp up, slight rash and my throat started slowly swelling.Nurses said i was having a panic attack and had lain on my pillow wrong and had a crick in neck.I lay like that over nite till i could'nt talk and was having trouble breathing. When things were finally under controll again My DD asked the dr. What about the kidney stone? Dr. said "what kidney stone? After an MRI, i was transferred to another hosp and emergency surgery done.The kidney dr. said he did'nt know how i stood the pain that long.Sometimes the pain is better than the cure.DD,s lawer wanted me to sue, said i had an ironclad case. I do not sue people because that could not make me whole and that is all i want. That is not all thats happened to me and my dd in the health care system nor anywhere near all my health problems. bu it's all i'll talk about for now anyway.Does that give you an indication of my feelings for health care. Yes i have a resonable dr now and no i would'nt tell you if he told me to forget medical care and go for the herbs.I'm not stupid either and i like this man. eric, my feelings do not reflect on you in any way. I don't understand this prolong life attitude. For what? The quality? I'm not afraid to die and i wont go looking for death either. Obviously i'm not afraid of pain either.If i take care of myself i'll probably have less of it. No i don't think dr.s care either except when it applys to them or their familys along with apollig and most of the populace. Eric again i'm not saying you are like this but this is how the med field is perceived by many. i also wish the med profession and herbalism could peacefully join together and in some countrys this is and has always been so. Just not here. but more importantly the patients and doctors and nurses need to peacefully join together. The populace needs to be educated in basic understanding of medicine and health and the med field needs to be educated on talking on a level playing field to patients. Patients are much more intelligent than most med field people think. They are in general just lazy. LOL! Eric, as far as i know you do talk to and understand your patients .but most dr,s don't. When standard billing practice is to charge the patients for all care and meds caused by doctors mistakes, What can you expect? The way i put researching, on google i was misunderstood. That is what i do. I enjoy it. but not to have to proove everything i say on line. Tomorrow i'll address the other thread. just glancing through i saw a link to an herb that might help me. Thanks much. I'll thankfully look into it. See you tomorrow. vickie

I just got my first Android (LG Utimate 2) through Tracfone on a QVC Today's Special. It is a CDMA which uses Verizon or Sprint. This TF uses Verizon. Note: GSM phones use ATT or TMobile. Love the phone and it came with 1200 minutes talk, 1200 text, 1200 data. If you use it in your home or elsewhere that has wifi, as long as you turn wifi on, you are not charges minutes for calls or texts from the appropriate bucket/pool stated above. Also, I can transfer my current # and minutes to the new phone. All transferred minutes (I have 1550 on old phone, will be tripled for each call/text/data bucket. So, 1500 mins is now 4650 in each bucket, then add the 1200 that comes with phone for total of 5,850 minutes each bucket for a year plus whatever time was remaining on the old phone. I paid $130 for this GREAT 3G phone that does all the things the big boys do, and the size measures up too. The 1200 minutes that came with are good for a year and rollover. I am not a heavy cell user, but now I can check work email when I'm away or price compare when shopping, etc. The only drawback is it does not roam, so if you don't get a Verizon signal out in the sticks, you are out of luck. But, Verizon is the best covered company, so I suspect signals are vast, though there will be spotty areas. PS: I have always had great experiences with Tracfone cust. service contrary to all the negativity out there. I've been using TF for 4 years coming from an old Verizon contract. I'm a sensible person that prefers to keep money in my own pocket especially if my lifestyle isn't keeping my eyes on my phone practically 24/7 like a lot of people I know, plus I work from home so another reason not to pay an astronomical monthly cell bill. Here is a link that might be useful: In case you didn't know: CDMA vs GSM

Seems like it might be a good idea to return that cuff, Schoolhouse, and get a different one. Those reviews are very discouraging. I have an Omron wrist monitor, which I like a lot, easy to use, and pretty accurate. I usually take it with me when I have my check-ups, to check it against theirs. It's always within about 2 points of their reading, which he says is perfectly acceptable. To answer your question, yes, I use mine often, sometimes as often as 3 times a day. Almost always at least once a day. No, I am not a hypochondriac, nor am I OCD about it. I have been on BP meds since 1970. It's a pretty long story, so I'm not going to tell it. Just let me say, I'm very fortunate to be alive. Many MANY tests were done, and the cause was found. Various forms of treatment were used. But I have been under the care of a Nephrologist for the last 40 years or so. Appointments every 3 months and daily (almost) monitoring of BP. My case is unusual, but I think that if your doctor suggested you get a cuff and monitor your pressure at home, do it. And keep a written record of the reading with date and time noted. Take that record with you to your appointments. It can be a big help to your doctor in treating you. It will also help you to know if the BP is causing dizzy spells, headaches, etc. Good luck, Rusty

I really was taken aback by the "holier than thou" take on my post. I sure don't feel that way, nor did I intend to come off that way. Hands free is legal in my state, however, the law now prohibits any contact with your cell, even when stopped in traffic. I've never used my cell in the car, I never look at texts and certainly wouldn't text myself. If hands free were illegal, I wouldn't do it. I never used my phone in the car before I had hands free and it is really a rare occasion when I do now - maybe to let someone know I'm stuck in traffic or running late. I have one route I take on a 2 lane country highway to my cabin, with long stretches of open road and sometimes I will talk to a friend for an extended period, but that, too, is rare. I am careful about when and where I talk, not on unfamiliar roads or when traffic seems to be erratic. I do feel like I am a super aware driver, I drive defensively. The same with my GPS...I always put in the address before I start moving and it talks me through maneuvers. I do glance at the dash display to see what the next move is going to be and how far away it is, but like I said above, it's no more of a glance than at my speedometer. I guess you can be livid if you want. I hope you don't ever turn on your car radio, or change the station or listen to the news. For some people that could be a big distraction and time with your eyes off the road. Same with smokers who light up while driving. Or people who drink their lattes, or even sip from water bottles. Only one hand available to control your car. I think it's a spectrum of distractions and abilities.