Time to consider “Senior Housing.” (Maybe.)

JackieOnLine · May 2, 2023

I'll be interesting to hear what you think of it, especially the food! and your neighbors, too.

could be really good.

Spiky Bugger · May 3, 2023

JackieOnLine said:
I'll be interesting to hear what you think of it, especially the food! and your neighbors, too.

could be really good.

Today, they REALLY made me mad. Mad enough to “suggest” I might need to reconsider. In CA, there’s a form your doctor has to sign before you move into one of these facilities. Well, invasive, but I can see why and can deal with it.

How-FREAKIN’-ever, they ALSO threw in some forms that make sense ONLY if you are going to Assisted Living or Memory Care. In those situations, the facility is responsible for ordering/storing/dispensing meds. They wanted me to have my “Primary Care Physician” complete the form listing ALL my meds and authorizing 11 refills of each. Because they serve a glass of wine with dinner, they also wanted my “Primary” to authorize or prohibit alcohol. Well, ****, too.

My “Primary Care Physician” is not a PCP in the current sense of the term. She’s more like my “Family Doctor” from the olden times. I go to her for routine stuff…mammogram, annual checkup, flu shots…but I don’t need to and don’t go through her for specialists. And I don’t have an HMO or use specialists within the organization she belongs to.

IOW, she has no idea, unless I tell her, what my GI/Uro/Hematologist/Bariatric/Derm/VA/etc doctors have diagnosed and are treating me for. So now I’m supposed to get her to reorder Rxs for conditions the specialists have diagnosed and are treating? Because I simply tell her I have those conditions? I wouldn’t HAVE a doctor dumb enough to sign that form.

So today’s lesson was, “Uhm…no! We will be doing this SUE’s way.” And, ”Hell, no! Do NOT contact my physician or involve yourselves with my drugs until such time as I need Assisted Living and you are in charge of my medical care.”

Anyway, they seem to be “trainable,” so we’re still packing. AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT…there’s a new tv series just for this project. It’s a tad raunchy, made by the folks who created “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” but based on, and named after, the book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. MiniSue told us about it. We found the show on Peacock TV. I really liked the shrink that is part of the team. Understanding WHY we have trouble letting go of things is helpful.

Stop, Sue. Your arm will hurt more with all this writing.

southernlady · May 3, 2023

LOL, they’re not use to push back! Glad you squared them away on the forms. And I wouldn’t want my doctor saying yes or no on alcohol, I’m still an adult (not that I drink but still, the principle of that crawls my ***).

Spiky Bugger · May 3, 2023

southernlady said:
LOL, they’re not use to push back! Glad you squared them away on the forms. And I wouldn’t want my doctor saying yes or no on alcohol, I’m still an adult (not that I drink but still, the principle of that crawls my ***).

Right? My last alcoholic beverage was years ago. MrSue doesn’t drink at all. And I can see why they’d need that so that they are not serving alcohol AND drugs to someone who should not have both. But while I am INDEPENDENT, I’ll be making my own decisions.

ETA: if I DID drink, I wonder how would I know if I should ask a neighbor in for a glass of egg nog at Christmas?

southernlady · May 3, 2023

Spiky Bugger said:
ETA: if I DID drink, I wonder how would I know if I should ask a neighbor in for a glass of egg nog at Christmas?

You wouldn’t. It would be up to that individual to accept or pass on the drink themselves. Sounds like too much “mommy, May I?”

Spiky Bugger · May 4, 2023

southernlady said:
You wouldn’t. It would be up to that individual to accept or pass on the drink themselves. Sounds like too much “mommy, May I?”

You are right. But now I wonder if there are rules about that. It’s a BIG “Resident’s Manual,” but I’ll try to read. (Hard to do when loaded and/or in pain. Shoulder MRI Tuesday, results a week from Friday.)