 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Lupus / June 2004New chapter to the "You don't look sick" book (RANT!!!)
Lately I;ve been taking the Cytoxan (along with all the other crap that the Doctors give me to "make me well." I\And I'm a lucky guy. I have so many friends and fasmily that love me and care about me and wonder how I;m doing. As many of you know, I spend a lot of time in the hospital. "That which ails me," is so rare that I've become a himan guinia pig and, while the Doc's have been up front about that from day one, It's real obvious that I gety sick a lot and end up in the hospi. Here's the problem......If someone calls me and I don't get right back to them (they leave a voice message cause I'm just too damn tired to talk n the phone for an hour) they freak out if I don;t get right back to them and let em know I'm OK. EVERYTHING that's wrong with me along with EVERYTHING I take medicine-wise has fatigue as a part of it. IF I don't get right back to them they start calling the emergency rooms and asking if I'm in the hospital. THEN, when I do finally get enough energy to spend half a day on the phone returning phone calls, they're rea;;y pissed of that I didn't call them right away. I can't figure out how to tell them I get too tired to spend so much time on the phone. My 79 year old "little old lady" girlfriend is always relieved to find out I'm alive but then I have to hear about her daughter, what she had for breakfast, why the neighbors hate her little dog (she's ruined this little "barker." If I lived in her neighborhood I'd have a real problem wioth the dog too....). There's no such thing as telling em that I'm dead tired and ionly have a few minutes to talk. Maybe I need to put together a mailing list and do a mass mailing everytime I get too tired to talk on the phone. I try sending mas e-mails but then I get, "Oh, I only check my e-mail once a week or so....." Makes me want to report them to the "E-mail police." FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!! The hard part is that I know they just mean well and they get worried about me. Ijust get too tired to talk on the phone with this new chemotherapy. It's bustin my chops! There! I got to complain a little and I feel better.. Hi Michael! I have an idea. It comes from being hearing impaired & knowing what deaf people have to do to call an ambulance. I don't have to do it personally, but they have a tape recorder & they record a continuous message for 911 & play it when they call. So, you could get you a few tapes for your answering machine & record you some messages & mark on them which message each one is. Just keep them right next to the machine & use them as needed. Message one: This is Michael. Thank you for your call. I'm feeling crummy at the moment, but I'll get back to you within the day. Message two: This is Michael. Thank you for your call. I'm feeling quite awful. Not enough to go to the hospital, but just unable to move my mouth to talk clearly enough for you to understand anything I would want to say. I will call you as soon as I'm feeling better. If it's been two days, please check on me cuz I could be in the hospital. Message three: Hi this is Michael. I just called 911 & I'm on my way to such & such hospital. Message four: Yep, Michael again! I'm fine...I just don't wanna talk about neighbors & dogs today. Mugsy's feeling neglected, so we're having some quality time with Milk-Bones & frisbies. : ) Remember, they just care enough to check on you & I know that can be annoying at times, but it's a blessing indeed. Hugs, Maggie > Hi Michael! > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > Hugs, > Maggie I get my husband to ring me on my mobile, then tell the OP that I have to get the other phone!!! Janet  Signaturewww.doohickeys.co.uk for desirable devices > I get my husband to ring me on my mobile, then tell the OP that I have to > get the other phone!!! My method is much easier: I tell the caller I need to hang up and rest now. As for the original poster: could you record a message on your answering machine/voicemail stating that you're not in the hospital but not available to talk; leave a message and I'll call you later? Signature"Did Father shoot him? I will eat Grandfather for dinner." - Helen Keller, on learning of the death of her grandfather Just knock on any wall in the house and say someone is at the door. LOL Sometimes I can talk forever. But that doesn't mean friends can talk if I call them. And sometimes I can't talk on the phone for all sorts of reasons. I, too, have little windows of time in which I can converse with someone. I know exactly what Michael is talking about when he says friends just want to talk forever and sometimes you can't get off the phone. Many years ago I almost went insane because a very close friend was going through a rough time which ended in divorce and she'd call me and talk for hours. Not once a week or once a month but daily, sometimes a couple of times a day. By the time I'd get off the phone with her I was jumping at my own husband for not taking the trash out, etc. Every time the phone rang I was almost afraid to answer it. I finally realized what her "friendship" was doing to me and I had to put an end to it. I think Maggie has a great idea for an answering machine. Also if you use the one from the phone company you can program it from almost anyplace. So if Michael is in the hospital he can do it from the hospital phone. "Hi, this is Michael I can't talk right now............." But remember you do not want to give too much information. You don't want a would be burglar to have enough information to know when to strike because you are not home! Bev > I get my husband to ring me on my mobile, then tell the OP that I have to > get the other phone!!! > > Janet [ >There's no such thing as telling em that I'm dead tired and ionly have a few >minutes to >talk. I did once consider getting a loud bell or bleeper, then I could set it going and say Have to go that's the fire alarm / police at the door / souffle ready... SignatureAndy Taylor [Chair, N E Lupus Group] See http://www.northeastlupus.org.uk for more! "Andy" <andy@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > [ > > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > going and say Have to go that's the fire alarm / police at the door / > souffle ready... Funny! seems whenever my phone rings that within approx. 5 minutes 'oh dear, someone is at the front door' ...... which means of course that I have to get off the phone quite quickly, usually saying 'I'll talk to you later, do keep in touch!' and I quickly click off the connection to prevent more chitchat ... I really don't believe it is deceitful; I do believe it is one appropriate way to end what would become an exhausting conversation that I was not up to at that point in time .... and if/when I do have the energy reserves I can always call back at that point and/or email whomever. I don't like the phone a bit ..... never have..... and during a flare, I dislike it even more than just a bit... it is an annoying and a noisy interruption IMO. (perhaps one day someone will come up with a better means of contacting each other for people like us - one can hope) If I am having a very bad day I turn the ringer off and leave a message explaining to some extent that 'I am not up for a chat but thanks for calling' and I suggest they maybe send an email instead 'as I check that pretty much daily!' fwiw........ Shelagh [ >I don't like the phone a bit ..... never have..... and during a >flare, I dislike it even more than just a bit... it is an >annoying and a noisy interruption IMO. Oh, the phone is a *wonderful* invention. Pity they had to spoil it by making two of them :) SignatureAndy Taylor [Chair, N E Lupus Group] See http://www.northeastlupus.org.uk for more! "Andy" <andy@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > [ > >I don't like the phone a bit ..... never have..... and during a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Pity they had to spoil it by making two of them :) LOL!! well said Andy... EXACTLY right! imo anyhow! ....... Shelagh > "Andy" <andy@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > Funny! seems whenever my phone rings that within approx. 5 > minutes > 'oh dear, someone is at the front door' ...... which means of > course that I have to get off the phone quite quickly, usually > saying 'I'll talk to you later, do keep in touch!' I have pictured you here as the Travelocity Gnome... "don't forget your hat!" LOL Mair > > [ > > > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > door / > > souffle ready... and I quickly > click off the connection to prevent more chitchat ... > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > daily!' > fwiw........ Shelagh |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.