aml0017

So lately I have been having some health issues, mostly with high blood pressure, hormonal issues. Been going back and forth to the doctor lately and trying numerous bp meds and back on birth control pills. I had been feeling bad, fatigued alot, not sleeping well at all. I had been noticing for a while that I was seeming to get infections more, small cuts took longer to heal.

Two or so weeks ago, I got this big bump/pimple formed on the edge of my lip. It looked infected but was hard and when I picked at it it just bled and scabbed. The thing went away but still has left a bright red scar. I don't think it was a cold sore, it didn't scab over or anything. This was bad enough but since i got that one sore, i have been breaking out all around my mouth/chin in small hard bumps/sores that scab and then leave a slight scar. I do not think it is a wart, seems to go away on its own mostly. It is different from regular acne as I have had acne my whole life.

I don't know if this could be a reaction to the birth control or hormones or if this is a staph infection or impetigo or fungus???? I will be talking to my doctor about this but it is driving me crazy. I have been tested for std's all clear. I just feel like my body is falling apart.

Earlier this spring, my 4 yo female pit/lab mix started getting these raised pimple like bumps all over her back, sides and head. They are pea sized, sometimes have pus, and scabbed over, along with dandruff in the affected area. Nothing on her underside. They never seemed to itch or bother her in any way. they would get better and come back over the course of a few weeks. I thought it was allergies and was finally gonna take her to the vet, but in the meantime, I switched her to a food with no corn or wheat, and the bumps went away completely overnight.

I thought this was the answer, and it was, her skin was perfect all these months. Then, last week, they started coming back same as before. No changes in food or anything else since last spring. All I can think of is right now the weather has been very damp and rainy/foggy for two weeks. It was the same last time this happened. Perhaps some mold/weed etc that is arising from damp. I live in South Louisiana so pretty much allergens can happen all year round.

I DO have a vet appt scheduled for Tuesday, but just wanted to see if anyone else has seen these types of issues with their dogs and what was it, was it resolved? I am not hugely concerned as the bumps don't seem to itch or otherwise bother her. It is just I see them and it bothers me. I guess if she had longer hair I probably would never notice. Perhaps it was only a coincidence that the bumps went away with the food change last time?

Any ideas?

First some background: my uncle is 45, has Tourette's and (perhaps misdiagnosed) bipolar disorder. There is a long history of alcoholism with the males in my family. Anyhow, my uncle dropped out of school, couldn't hold down a job, and of course turned to drinking. He now collects disability which he uses to finance his alcoholism.

He is able to do this because he is enabled by his mother (my grandmother). He lives in her house, she takes care of everything for him, she gives him a ride to the bar every night and stays up until he calls her to pick him up. She works an extra job to make sure he will never run out of money for alcohol and cigarettes. Any real attempts that could be made to help him are immediately cut down by her. "He's had such a hard life" "Why shouldn't he have a right to go to the bar and have a social life like everyone else?" "It's not his fault." It's like he is the only person in the world who is not subject to personal responsibility.

I have largely chosen to let it go because I don't feel there is anything I can do at this point. I can see that she is enabling him but I can't show it to her because then she portrays herself as the martyr and brings up every little thing she may have ever done for me "After all I've done for you, all I ask is you just leave it be!" "Oh, are you so perfect, how dare you judge him??" and so on. I just gave up. However, it came back up because last night she pretty much attacked my sister because she said my sister was "bullying" him. My sister saw him at the bar and told him he should go home (he stopped drinking for a year but started again). "He was so embarrassed, how could you do that!"

Sorry so long but I guess I just had to vent. My question is, has anyone dealt with this before? How do you get past the codependency to actually help the addicted person?

I am really upset today because I just found out my brother is in jail for his 3rd dui. Once again, thank god he didn't kill anyone. I am angry at him and he deserves whatever consequences he gets. However, I am mostly sad and disappointed in him. It is hard because I can't afford to let his actions affect my life negatively, I have my own problems.

The men in my family have had a history of alcohol problems for sure. My grandfathers, my uncles, my dad, and now my brother. He knows his history yet he can't admit that he has an alcohol problem. He is like my dad, he can go for long periods of time without drinking but when he does drink, he drinks hard. Even when he just drinks a little, he acts stupid and impulsive and gets pulled over for one little thing and Boom! dui.

I guess with my dad and my uncles and grandfathers, I was always able to keep it from affecting me somehow. I was always upset when they got in trouble but I felt apart from it somehow. But with my brother it is harder. He is only two years younger than me and we have always been close. It is hard for me to emotionally detach from his problems. We went throug so much growing up and we always dealt with everything together.

I am wondering if it would be a good idea for me to go to an AlAnon Family Group Meeting? Has anyone attended one, is it a helpful thing?

I just paid off a personal loan, that means I have $ 100.00 extra a month to put towards other debts. I do have some credit card debt at 6% and student loans at ~3% that I am currently paying towards. I also have a car loan at 7.5% which I owe about 2500 on and pay $ 221 month.

Since the car loan is the highest interest debt I have and is the lowest balance, I want to pay it off as fast as I can then I can put that $ 200 towards my other debts. It is due to be paid off in June 2012 at the current payment schedule, but with the extra $ 100 dollars a month, plus any income tax refund I get in February, and a third check in March, I can have it paid off by march or before.

My question is, I only have about $ 200 in my emergency fund right now. I do deposit $ 110 a month so it will grow. Should I put that $ 100 extra a month to my emergency fund until I get $ 1000 and then start paying down the auto loan? Or should I just put that extra to the auto loan and keep on putting my regular deposits to my emergency fund?

I have not believed in god since I was young but I don't really talk about it to others, even my family members. It just never comes up. Some people know I don't believe but others probably think I just don't go to church. I am not ashamed but I live in a very Catholic, small town with all the small mindedness that comes along with that. I just feel it is better to keep it to myself, though I will assert my beliefs if necessary.

At work the other day, some people were trying to "convince" another girl I work with to believe in god. Turns out she is an atheist too though I never knew it. They weren't being mean about it or anything but it just got out of hand and she was uncomfortable I could tell. I just sort of came to her rescue and just blurted out that I don't believe either.

I just don't like having it out there since people can be so small minded. Also, my boss is a born again preachy self-righteous evangelical Christian. It just worries me, job wise, cause I don't always know how people will react. Most just shake their heads in disbelief or say they will pray for me. Some try to "prove" it to me. Some are a bit crazier and accuse me of worshipping the devil (lol) or something though I am such a good person it is crazy.

I am just wondering how others deal with these situations. I won't apologize for my beliefs but I don't feel the need to put them out there like some people.

I am the oldest of three (I'm 30, my brother is 28, my sister 22). So, we are all full grown adults. Through the years we have had problems or financial setbacks like anyone. Our mother has always been way too obsessed with our lives, especially in a financial sense. If she would hear that we had a past due bill or anything to do with money, she would just swoop in and pay it or give us money, usually without us asking for it. She would insist and swear she wanted to do it cause that's what parents do. Stupidly, we accepted the help. I have pretty much declined all help from her for the last five years since I have a good job now. However, my brother and sister have had ups and downs but nothing so serious. They are not destitute by any means, they make mistakes and learn from them like anyone else.

My sister was living with my mom up to a few months ago. She goes to school and was trying to cut costs by living at home. However, my mom seems to think this gives her the right to tell my sister what to do, beyond just the "you live under my house, my rules" thing. My sister is a good kid she doesn't need to have her life micro managed like she is five years old. Finally, she said enough and moved in with our brother. He works offshore and is gone half the time so it is a good arrangement for them.

however, my mom is convinced that they are ungrateful after everything she has done for them. She remembers every little cent she ever gave them and every little favor she ever did and thinks this gives her the right to boss them around and tell people how horrible they are, leaves ugly messages on their phones. They have told her that they are grateful for her help but they will not accept any more money or other assistance from her if she is using it as a means to control their lives.

I feel trapped in the middle of this situation. I have tried to stay neutral but it is hard because I don't condone my mom's behavior at all. She is really going off the deep end with the ugliness and controlling behavior. She works at the local bank and checks up on our bank accounts and what we are spending. She pays our bills without us knowing and then gets mad at us if we spend a cent on anything she thinks is unnecessary. She opens my sister's mail that still goes to her house. She drives by our houses to make sure we are going to work. I can't even list everything. It is getting to the point we will have to report her to her boss re: the snooping but we don't want to have to do that.

I don't know why she has latched on to the financial part of our lives, which is none of her business. Maybe because she feels that is the only way she can keep us in her life, by giving us money and holding that over our head. We will do what it takes to stop her but why is she doing this? Anyone else ever experienced this with a parent or anyone? She will not listen to us and therapy is not an option because she believes her behavior is totally justified.

I have a 2 year old male cat (neutered) who I have had since he was a kitten. He is indoors, does not like to go outside. His litter, his bed, the house, the dog, his food...everything is the same for the last two years. He has always been a high strung cat but as long as he had his routine he was ok.

About 4-5 months ago I noticed he had pooped on my bedroom rug which was odd cause he had never done this before. I realized that he was peeing on my clothes in my room and wasn't eating cause he wouldn't leave my room. I got him out of the room but he seemed to be scared to death of certain rooms. Everytime he would pass through the kitchen he would look up at the ceiling like it was going to attack him. His food is in the kitchen and his litter box was in a room that is behind the kitchen. I figured he maybe got spooked by something. Every hour or so, I would go and sit in the kitchen on the floor and just talk to him and pet him and allow him to eat and go to the bathroom. I still wouldn't let him go in my room for a while cause I couldn't trust him not to pee in there. After a week or so it seemed he was ok and was eating and using the litter again like normal. After a while I started letting him come in my room again.

Now, yesterday, I noticed he is doing the same thing again. I haven't noticed that he used the bathroom anywhere at this point but he hasn't really been eating anything. It seems the kitchen freaks him out same as before. He runs through there eyes wide and hissing and meowing at nothing. I don't see or hear anything out of the ordinary. I will do the same things I did last time but this is driving me crazy! Should I bring him to the vet or something? I just hate to do that cause if he is spooked by something putting him in a crate and driving him to the vet and all is just gonna stress him out more.

I just posted a comment re: the fact that my cat is all of a sudden peeing out of his box. I think he is mostly stressed but I thought it might be the litter. I have been using fresh step which is scented for a while now and he seemed to have no problem. However, I usually line the litter box with a trash bag as I have always done. I just realized I have been using lemon scented trash bags because that is just what I picked up one day. It is a strong lemon scent. I just realized it. I wonder. Ima go ahead and change out his litter today and put an unscented bag and see if that helps. Maybe try the non scented litter.

I have a male cat about 3 yo. When he was one or so he started spraying in the house. I got him fixed and treated everything with urine remover. I scoop his litter every day and change it completely once a week. I haven't had any problems with him since then. Then, this week, he peed on one of my pillows that was on the floor and this morning he peed on a pile of dirty clothes in my bathroom and he pooped on my bedroom carpet. I checked his litter box this morning and it wasn't really dirty but I noticed he peed on the outside of the box. So, I am thinking he has some issue with the box, especially since he pooped elsewhere, which he never did before. Also, he is peeing on things rather than just spraying. There haven't been any changes in his environment, though he has always been a nervous cat. This is driving me crazy!!

I have been spending money (that I don't have) like crazy lately. I am not that surprised cause I have had this problem in the past. Usually I deal with stress by overeating but I have been watching my diet and exercising lately and doing really good with it. But when I don't use overeating as a bandaid I turn to shopping. I have had problems with overshopping in the past. The difference now is I have no credit cards which is good. I don't spend a lot overall, mostly small things like makeup, clothes,etc. a bit at a time. However, I am still on a limited budget and this puts a crimp in my income.

I know this is a deeper issue that I need to work out and I am doing so. But in the meantime, I still spend impulsively sometimes, it is almost unconscious. I still have to go to the store to get my groceries etc. What are some tips to prevent this impulse spending in the meantime?

My car (05 Honda Civic) has been making a squeaking noise, mostly when I turn. I don't hear it well when I am in the car but several people have told me they heard it. I thought it might be my brakes and I had my brakes checked out twice at two independent mechanics but both times they checked out ok. Other than the noise, there is no problem with the way my car is driving or anything. I hate to go pay an arm and a leg to get this "fixed".

I checked out three books from my local library last month. After I finished reading two of them I deposited the books in the library's outdoor drop box. When I went to the library today to return the other one, they told me I had a late fee due on one of the two books I returned previously. I told them I had returned the book, because I distinctly remember returning BOTH those books together and obviously the other one was recorded as returned. I even checked the library shelf where the book would go to see if it was there but it wasn't.

I can't prove that I put the book in the drop box obviously but this is driving me crazy. They want me to pay $45 for the book. I know that I don't HAVE to pay for it but I like getting books from the library and don't want to lose that privilege.

I have a small house that I rent and a small yard. I don't want to do too much gardening due to the lawn service that comes in once a month. However I have a cute porch and entryway and wanted to do a container garden. I want to put pots on my steps and hanging baskets on the porch. However, I have no experience with plants and the ones I have had in the past didn't last too long.

What are some good plants/flowers that do well in containers and aren't too fragile? I live in South Louisiana (subtropical zone) with high humidity/heat, fair amount of rain. The porch faces north so wont get too much direct sunlight but a lot of indirect sun.

I have suffered from anxiety for a while now. I had a bad anxiety attack a week or so ago. I got through it and talked to someone about it, but I can't get rid of that nagging weight or hollow feeling in my chest. It is mostly there when I wake up and gets better during the day. I hate it cause it just makes my whole day start off wrong. I have been coping by all the methods I know how. I have been eating right and exercising, journaling, relaxation techniques and talking to others. It just won't go away.

I am wondering if it might be time to talk to my doctor about pursuing medical ways of resolving this. I have taken an antidepressant in the past but always shied away from antianxiety meds cause I alway think of Xanax or something that will make me out of it.

I used to jog when I was younger (high school and college) but I am 30 now and gained a lot of weight. I am 250 lbs now. For the past couple months I have started eating healthy and exercising, mostly walking and light weights. However, despite being a bit rusty I am still in pretty good shape and have found that just walking wasn't getting my heart rate up to target. I decided to start jogging again, just a gradual walk/run program. I have been doing 60 secs jog/90 sec walk for 20 min, 3 times a week. Cardio wise I feel fine but my knees and ankles hurt some. I understand I have a lot more weight to carry now and I am out of practice.

My main question is: is this pain something I should worry about? I feel fine once I stop running and no lingering pain. My thinking is I should just keep up with it and give my body time to adjust. Any advice?

This is not really a question so much as a plea. I don't like to label myself politically but if I had to I would call my self a moderate, or a conservative democrat maybe. Really, I vote as I see it, and I try to make the best choices I can without having to vote along party lines. This is getting a lot harder to do lately, I just want to not vote at all sometimes.

I live in south louisiana. A lot of people (blue collar white people in the community I live in) have totally jumped on the tea party bandwagon. I am not in total agreement with democratic/Obama policies but nor am I in total agreement with Republican/conservative/teabag ideas either. When people I don't know feele the need to bring up a political debate I always politely decline. I don't like being preached at (ie yelled at) about what I should or should not believe about the current political state. I find so many of the arguments levelled against either side are incorrect or completely untrue.

The old adage about not talking about politics and religion in mixed company is true for a reason. It is one's right as an American to vote for whomever they choose. Let me do the same.

I previously asked a question re: my 3 yr old pitbull mix. She was chewing and dumping the trash a lot. The genteral consensus seems to be that she is bored and needs more activity and challenge than she is getting right now, and I agree.

I got a lot of good ideas for activity including kong toys and spring/flirt poles. Any other ideas for indoor and outdoor toys and/or activities that will keep her challenged. I will def up my activity with her. However, she will still have to stay in the house when I'm at work. What are some good toys that will keep her occupied until I get home.

Thanks in advance for all your ideas!!

My dog and my cat are due for their yearly vet exams/vaccinations. Both my animals are young and healthy, and are inside animals. I have brought them for their physicals/vaccs previously but I am a little tight on the money this year. I haven't even been to the doc this year. If money weren't the issue I would bring them of course. But seeing as they don't have any obvious problems I am thinking about skipping the exams this year, or at least until I have some xtra cash.