Hi, Sheesh. I'm a dental hygienist and I can suggest a few things. It's common for teeth to have sensitivity that comes and goes, especially in children---but it's usually cold sensitivity. Stay away from any toothpastes that advertise extra-whitening or extra tartar control. (That eliminates almost all of them on the market.)They actually use abrasives in the toothpastes that will abrade microns of tooth structure away, causing sensitivity. This is particularly bad for those with root recession, as the root is so much softer than enamel and wears that much quicker. I love plain ol' Colgate Total. Sensodyne is a good, OTC paste for tooth sensitivity but even they have begun to put abrasives in their toothpaste in the last couple of years. If you can find the original Sensodyne that does not advertise whitening, you're good. Fluoride usage will take away sensitivity. A mouth rinse that used to be prescription that just went OTC is called Phos-Flur. It can be found in WalMart for around $15 and is great for cavity prevention. All of my orthodontic patients use it, and DH and I use it at home too. It's the best stuff on the market that's over-the-counter. Other reasons for your sensivity could be that you're grinding your teeth, your bite may be off and you're hitting your canines hard, or you do have decay. If you went to the dentist recently, did you get xrays? And if you did, I'm guessing you got the annual 4 called "bitewings," and those won't necessarily image your canines. My recommendation: if it's been going on for over 2 weeks, place a phone call to your dentist. :)

We have Trupanion - but we are Canadian. Trupanion used to be a Cdn. company called Vet Insurance - that was trying to move into the U.S. - but in the end bought a U.S. Company and now is headquartered there. We took out the insurance when our dog was 15 months old - we initally did not take it out because the plan DID NOT (at the time) cover hip dysplasia. Now the plan does BUT NOT for existing clients. Imagine paying premiums for 6 years and your dog develop dysplasia - you are not covered, but someone who signed up 35 days before is. People were very annoyed but with pets who were 6 years old, up the creek. Originally deductibles were not part of the plan. Now of course they are. Our original premiums were $32.00 a month plus our Cdn. taxes. Now they are $75.00 a month - and the increase to $75 happened before we ever had a claim - which did not happen until May of 2011 when our dog developed what was thought to be conjunctivitis but was really an ulcer in the making that in turn became an abscessed cornea. He is a white dog with perfectly clear eyes so we caught the problem day one. We had our most recent appointment with the board certified eye specialist in Nov. of 2012. The "crud" of course is still in his eye. So in addition to our monthly premiums of $75 we have been seeing the eye specialist every 4 months for nearly 1 1/2 years - this after constant treatments with our regular vet. NOTE - RECHECKS ARE NOT COVERED. So if the bill is say $125.00 plus taxes - we receive about $22.00 back (taxes are not returned). I wanted surgery at the beginning - used to have Dachshunds who had full body back surgery - and this happened with my 2 special guys - so I felt cursed. It would have been far cheaper. In retrospect, we would have been far further ahead to have had a bank account for our guy based on his excellent health until the eye problem. Cost wise this has cost us thousands. I called Trupanion after the most recent e-mail regarding adding prescription food, behavior modification etc. to the plan to ask how much this was going to cost us - even though we won't be able to use it. Our dog does cost us a lot of money with check-ups, vaccines etc. - plus dentals. His dentals usually run about $1,200 - and of course are not covered. Many people at the specialist's office have pet insurance and all feel the same. I did call when I heard about the addition of hip dysplasia - our dog does not have it - and asked if it could be added for existing clients whose dogs have never exhibited any signs of the health issue - and who have not submitted any claims. They said they were looking at grandfathering it, but didn't. Also watch the hospitalization issue - although these days you are lucky not be sent home the day after heart surgery. If you are hospitalized for 4 days, the plan will pay for boarding of your dog - EXCEPT my husband and I are both shown as our dog's owners. Since he wouldn't be in the hospital - he could be travelling - at work - visiting me in the hospital etc. - Trupanion would not pay since he would be available to care for our dog - and vice versa. This happened to someone else. So put the insurance in one person's name and hope. Our dog will turn 9 next April - so obviously we are not about to cancel the policy. He will also most likely be our last dog. In the event that the worst should happen and he die prematurely (his breed often lives to be 18) and we did get another dog, it would be a senior dog and we would not take out insurance or go to extreme measures. Each person has to decide what to do. Our breed of dog is known to be healthy if you adopt a standard size as opposed to one that has been mucked about with so that the dog weighs 5 lbs. as opposed to 25 lbs. And this has been the case. Every day I check his eyes - next appointment will be in 6 months, unless something happens. I do believe in pet insurance - BUT - not when they change the plans to attract new customers and leave the existing customers out in the cold. In Canada we do not have the variety of plans offered in the U.S. so I would do some checking. Look at the LIFETIME COVERAGE of a condition (much like kids' braces); the annual MAXIMUM per condition - some plans will pay say $1,000 annually for a broken leg - but a broken leg will cost you a lot more than $1,000 to have fixed - that type of thing - as well as the regular deductible and any breed specific deductibles and general deductibles. Also, exactly what is covered - and if they stop covering certain illnesses whether you will be grandfathered - not necessarily so as my vet found out with her pet. Our dog is more likely to develop Patellar Luxation or tear an ACL - so far so good - and supposedly we would be covered since he does not have a prexisting condition.

Allison, my D levels are good so I don't think I want to take that. I have been advised not to take echinacea because of allergies. I rarely get sick as it is, but I always think about flu season, etc. Yes, Thieves is one I have heard about. YL is the brand the acquaintance uses and I must say her family of 4 (2 young sons) seem extremely healthy. I will look at the other brands you listed. I'm really only interested in diffusing - I especially thought of it during flu/cold season on days I work! Too many people come in when they should take a sick day. Is there a certain brand you like Allison? Kswl, I'm sorry you deal with nausea daily. I had a bout a couple of years ago with some stomach ulcerations and ginger tea really helped. But I'm with you on the Zofran. I had never had it until a few months ago after my colonoscopy. I woke feeling a tiny bit nauseated and the doc gave me Zofran. I told him I didn't want something that made me sleepy/groggy - and it didn't.

DH does our windows...most of them crank open enough to do both sides, but the one in my bedroom, we do together as it requires reaching and is 2 stories high. You can always hire someone. We also take our screens out and vacuum them in the winter to get more solar gain. It's amazing how much sunlight they block. We put them back in the spring when windows start getting opened again. We use a squeegee and we use a dish mop thing on a handle which helps us reach the far spaces. He makes his own window cleaner with corn starch, white vinegar, a touch of dawn and some rubbing alcohol in water.