RE: Hi Al!

[Guest guest]

Hi Al. It's nice to see you, but I wish you had better news. I was hoping

you were away because you were feeling so good you forgot about your health

altogether! The weight loss is a cause for concern, and I hope they find an

answer to that soon.

Are you still taking the Ambien?

We're still going to need you for our legal defense, although Lucy and I

were talking and October is looking like less and less of an option. I

think Lucy could use some of your Mom's Avgolemono soup right about now! I

hope she's feeling better soon. She's had such a time of it.

I hope your rough time is over and you're feeling better soon.

Much love,

Carol

[ ] Hi Everyone

I probably won't be able to catch up on all the posts I missed the

past few days but wanted to say hi to everyone. Debs, I hope that you

are doing better as well as everyone else having a rough time. You

are all in my thoughts and prayers everyday.

Although my tests results all came back normal, my sleeping is still

erratic and I am still losing weight. I see my rheumy again on Monday

and a pulmonologist on Thursday. Don't know what is going on in the

weight loss department but I have lost about 5-7 more pounds since

seeing my rheumy a few weeks back. And here I thought prednisone

would put weight on... Perhaps someone will have an answer.

Take care everyone and I hope you all have as pain free a day as

possible.

Love and hugs,

Al in IL

[Guest guest]

Hi Carol,

Thanks. I saw my rheumy today and have lost 21 pounds since June. I

lost 10 in the last 2-3 weeks. This mind you, while taking 30 and 20

mgs of prednisone.

As a result, I need to have some tests done on my abdomen. A CT scan

and possibly a colonoscopy. Although I am remaining upbeat, it's the

first time my rheumy has looked really concerned. They drew about 8

vials of blood and took urine so they can run a whole bunch of

tests.

I am going to start taking Exlavil? instead of Ambien. My rheumy

thinks it will help me sleep. 4-5 hours a night for 2 months instead

of 8 really affects a person after a while.

I hope that you're doing good Carol. Thanks for writing me back. It

means a lot to me.

Love,

Al

> Hi Al. It's nice to see you, but I wish you had better news. I

was hoping

> you were away because you were feeling so good you forgot about

your health

> altogether! The weight loss is a cause for concern, and I hope

they find an

> answer to that soon.

>

> Are you still taking the Ambien?

>

> We're still going to need you for our legal defense, although Lucy

and I

> were talking and October is looking like less and less of an

option. I

> think Lucy could use some of your Mom's Avgolemono soup right about

now! I

> hope she's feeling better soon. She's had such a time of it.

>

> I hope your rough time is over and you're feeling better soon.

>

> Much love,

>

> Carol

>

>

> [ ] Hi Everyone

>

> I probably won't be able to catch up on all the posts I missed the

> past few days but wanted to say hi to everyone. Debs, I hope that

you

> are doing better as well as everyone else having a rough time. You

> are all in my thoughts and prayers everyday.

>

> Although my tests results all came back normal, my sleeping is still

> erratic and I am still losing weight. I see my rheumy again on

Monday

> and a pulmonologist on Thursday. Don't know what is going on in the

> weight loss department but I have lost about 5-7 more pounds since

> seeing my rheumy a few weeks back. And here I thought prednisone

> would put weight on... Perhaps someone will have an answer.

>

> Take care everyone and I hope you all have as pain free a day as

> possible.

>

> Love and hugs,

>

> Al in IL

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

<PRE>good luck with all your tests al. i remember getting all those vials of

blood

too. kinda scary. hope they can figure it out soon. i talked to my atty

today. she still doesn't feel very confident about my appeal. she feels i was

lucky to get ssd. but the point is i did get it. i am disabled, i wish i

could be dependable enough to hold a job. i don't even feel i'd be good as a

volunteer. if they asked me to work on thursday, i won't know until then if i

can do it or not. keep us posted on your tests. kathy in il

[Guest guest]

Dear Al...you are in my heart & in my prayers. I'm sorry things are so

worrisome right now. Thank goodness you have a great doctor to

intercede for you.

Please take care of yourself, Al. By the way, I take elavil to help

with sleep. It really has been helpful. I hope it helps you, too, dear

Al.

Love & Hugs....

Tess

[Guest guest]

Hi Tess,

Thank you very, very much for the kind words and thoughts. That's

great news about the elavil. Sleep would be nice. I am glad it's been

helpful for you.

Tess, I hope that you are doing well and that you are not

experiencing the blues. I pray and worry about you.

Much love,

Al

> Dear Al...you are in my heart & in my prayers. I'm sorry things are

so

> worrisome right now. Thank goodness you have a great doctor to

> intercede for you.

>

> Please take care of yourself, Al. By the way, I take elavil to help

> with sleep. It really has been helpful. I hope it helps you, too,

dear

> Al.

>

> Love & Hugs....

>

> Tess

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

Hope you are keeping cool today. It is soooo hot out!

Thank you very much for your kind words. I have given so much blood

over the years but it does get tiring after a while.

I am sorry to hear your attorney doesn't feel good about your appeal.

I hate that some people think disabled individuals are looking for a

way out of working. If they could only step into the disabled

person's shoes for a minute. Hang in there.

Love and hugs,

Al

> <PRE>good luck with all your tests al. i remember getting all those

vials of blood

> too. kinda scary. hope they can figure it out soon. i talked to my

atty

> today. she still doesn't feel very confident about my appeal. she

feels i was

> lucky to get ssd. but the point is i did get it. i am disabled, i

wish i

> could be dependable enough to hold a job. i don't even feel i'd be

good as a

> volunteer. if they asked me to work on thursday, i won't know until

then if i

> can do it or not. keep us posted on your tests. kathy in il

[Guest guest]

Dear Al...It sounds as though you have a lot going on

right now. I hope that your dr is able to get to the

bottom of this weight loss issue. Taking Elavil is the

only way I have gotten any sleep over the past few

years. One good side effect, in your case, is weight

gain associated with it. Best wishes. Iris

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi Iris,

Thanks. The Elavil worked wonders last night. Slept from 9 until 5.

That's the first 8 hours in about 2 months.

Any idea how much weight one gains while on this? Please let me know.

Hugs,

Al

> Dear Al...It sounds as though you have a lot going on

> right now. I hope that your dr is able to get to the

> bottom of this weight loss issue. Taking Elavil is the

> only way I have gotten any sleep over the past few

> years. One good side effect, in your case, is weight

> gain associated with it. Best wishes. Iris

> >

> >

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Al, that's excellent news that you slept so well!

Much love,

Carol

[ ] Re: Hi Al!

Hi Iris,

Thanks. The Elavil worked wonders last night. Slept from 9 until 5.

That's the first 8 hours in about 2 months.

Any idea how much weight one gains while on this? Please let me know.

Hugs,

Al

> Dear Al...It sounds as though you have a lot going on

> right now. I hope that your dr is able to get to the

> bottom of this weight loss issue. Taking Elavil is the

> only way I have gotten any sleep over the past few

> years. One good side effect, in your case, is weight

> gain associated with it. Best wishes. Iris

> >

> >

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Carol,

Thanks! I was shocked to hear my alarm go off. It's been a long time.

What's interesting is that I am still a bit tired although I've been

up over three hours already.

Hope you are doing well.

Love and hugs,

Al

> > Dear Al...It sounds as though you have a lot going on

> > right now. I hope that your dr is able to get to the

> > bottom of this weight loss issue. Taking Elavil is the

> > only way I have gotten any sleep over the past few

> > years. One good side effect, in your case, is weight

> > gain associated with it. Best wishes. Iris

> > >

> > >

> >

> >

> > __________________________________________________

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi Al:

So happy to hear that you finally got a good night's

sleep - that is so important. As far as gaining

weight, I am an " expert " at it lol - while you are not

sleeping, be eating! My son went through trying to

gain weight - both my kids are petite (did not take

after mom's side of the family lol) - and he drank a

lot of milk shakes, adding a weight gain protein

powder that he got from the health food store, and

this helped. He also ate peanut butter sandwiches and

lots of red meat. It did help him put on weight but

he has to fight to keep it there. He was at 103

pounds at the beginning of summer break and now at the

beginning of his senior year he is at 112 pounds -

he's 5'3 " - so his wrestling status has gone up. Good

luck with the weight gain - it seems to come very

naturally to me - but I guess not everyone is as lucky

as me lol!

Kathe in CA

__________________________________________________

- We Remember

9-11: A tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost

http://dir.remember./tribute

[Guest guest]

Hi Al

I took Elavil a couple of different times. The first time I took it, I did

gain weight, but I can't remember how much. The last time I took it was

about 2 years ago. I had to stop taking it soon after starting because it

made me so terrible sleepy during the day that I couldn't function at my job.

But it did help me sleep. Too much. I'm so happy to hear that you did get

a good night of sleep. I know that it makes a tremendous difference. I hope

you get many more.

Love and Hugs

Stacey in PA

[Guest guest]

Hi Stacey,

Thank you. It actually made me feel groggy until about 2:00 pm. It

was great sleep but functioning during the day is key.

How have you been doing?

Love and hugs,

Al

> Hi Al

> I took Elavil a couple of different times. The first time I took

it, I did

> gain weight, but I can't remember how much. The last time I took

it was

> about 2 years ago. I had to stop taking it soon after starting

because it

> made me so terrible sleepy during the day that I couldn't function

at my job.

> But it did help me sleep. Too much. I'm so happy to hear that

you did get

> a good night of sleep. I know that it makes a tremendous

difference. I hope

> you get many more.

> Love and Hugs

> Stacey in PA