Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/15091
Saturday, August 21, 2010 – Daily News – 5A FEATURES Help with hoarding mother Dear Annie: My three grown sisters and I have a wid- owed mother with a severe hoarding problem. Due to numerous roof leaks and ani- mal infestations, her drywall and ceilings are collapsing. When her neighborhood association took legal action against her, we managed to get a new roof installed. It was the first time in years that we’d had a glimpse of the inside of her house. The trash, clut- ter and other ‘‘junk’’ (unworn clothing with tags still on, rotting food contain- ers, bags of groceries never put away, refuse thrown in piles, etc.) reach heights of six feet. A small ‘‘cow path’’ exists to navigate from room to room. We have tried interventions and counseling, but Mom refuses to acknowledge the problem. We have offered to help her clean or find anoth- er place to stay. She says it is her busi- ness and we are to leave her alone. We do not have a clear picture of Mom’s personal finances, but we know the mortgage and monthly utilities are being paid. The furnace, air condition- er and water heater, however, are no longer in working order. When we get together for family outings, her clothes smell of mold and mildew. She cannot shower in her home, as every bathroom is completely unusable except for one by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar State and county offi- cials remind Californians to use caution when using poison baits (rodenticides) to control rodent pests. Careless use of these chemicals has injured and killed wildlife and pets throughout the state. The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and County of El Dorado Environmental Manage- ment Vector Control have issued the warning in response to a recent increase in the use of such baits, as residents are responding to a rodent population explo- sion. In El Dorado Coun- ty and other parts of the state, unusually high numbers of voles are cre- ating problems for home- owners. Voles are small, outdoor rodents that build and use grass "tun- nels." They are similar in appearance to house mice, with short tails and smaller ears. Residents should be aware of the dangers that some rodenticides pose to wildlife and pets, par- ticularly through sec- ondary poisoning. Sec- ondary poisoning occurs when scavenging species eat dead or dying rodents We all know the bud- get story for park sys- tems across the country, right? Well, here’s a pro- gram from Coca-Cola that is designed to encourage millions of Americans to be active outdoors and cast a vote for their favorite park to give that park money. If you do so, as part of Coca-Cola’s Live Positively initiative, then the park with the most votes will win a $100,000 recreation grant. From July 29 through August 31, people can go to LivePositively.com to cast a vote for their favorite park to win the title of “America’s Favorite Park” and a $100,000 grant from Coca-Cola for new activity equipment such Mon.-Fri. 10:30 to 5:30 Sat. 11-3 40 Crafters in 1 Shop! 650 Main St., Red Bluff 530 528-2723 Crafter’s Boutique Come & Shop Or Rent a Space to Sell Your Crafts Gifts for family & friends Plenty of parking on Pine Street Annie’s Mailbox toilet. We fear she may one day fall and be unable to call for help. Mom has two part-time jobs and spends a great deal of time traveling. She doesn’t suffer from dementia and so is not considered a danger to herself. We all live close by. Should we contin- ue to offer assistance? Should we seek legal guardianship or just honor her wishes to stay out of her business? — Frustrated Siblings Dear Siblings: Your mother’s hoarding has reached epic levels, and ‘‘honoring her wishes’’ could cause her great harm. This is a form of mental ill- ness, and Mom needs professional help. Please contact the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation (ocfounda- tion.org/hoarding) at P.O. Box 961029, Boston, MA 02196 for information and a referral to a therapist who spe- cializes in these disorders. Dear Annie: During the really warm months, we open our windows in the evening to cool our home. The problem is, our neighbors like to sit out on their porch and smoke. Every few weeks, they invite a horde of chain- smoking friends over. Their porch is 15 feet from the only windows that open on that side of our home. Their smok- ing is very bothersome, and the next day, I find butts flicked onto my prop- erty. We have a neighborly friendship, and our kids play together. I know they have tried, unsuccessfully, to stop smoking. I have thought of telling them I am allergic to cigarette smoke and asking that they please smoke on the that have been killed by rodenticides. Owls, hawks, other scavenging birds and predators such as raccoons, fox, skunk and coyote are at risk. Pets will also eat dead or dying rodents and unpro- tected bait. Deer may be attracted to the pellet forms of rodenticides. Over-the-counter rodenticides - including many commonly known brands-that contain the active ingredients brodi- facoum, bromadiolone or difethialone can only be legally used to control rats and house mice in and around structures. It is not legal to use these products in open areas such as pastures or fields. Bait products that con- tain the ingredients chlorophacinone or diphacinone can be used legally to control outdoor rodent pests such as voles, ground squirrels and gophers. These com- pounds require multiple feedings to kill rodent pests, so they pose a lower secondary poison- ing risk compared to rodenticides used to con- trol mice and rats within homes, barns or other structures. It is important to read as bikes and kayaks, or for the restoration and construction of activity areas. We have heard that a other side of their porch, but I simply can’t find the right words to broach the subject. Any advice? — Choking in S.W. Washington Dear Choking: You don’t have to claim allergies, but you can certainly tell them quite honestly that you have a sensitivity to cigarette smoke and ask that they please puff away on the side that doesn’t face your home. You also can invest in a fan, an air purifier and other inexpensive remedies and see if those help. Dear Annie: ‘‘No Open Casket’’ said she thinks people don’t look ‘‘wonderful’’ in their caskets. They look dead. The last time I saw my father in the hospital, he was dying of cancer and looked absolutely horrible. At his wake, I had to force myself to view him in the casket, but when I saw him, he looked so peaceful. All his pain was gone. If I had not gone to the viewing, my memories would be of him in his suffering. So my vote is for an open casket. — Better Memories Dear Better: This is such a person- al decision that everyone should let their family members know their pref- erence. Thanks for sharing yours. Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W.Century Blvd., Ste. 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Warning issued about controlling rodents with poison rodenticide product labels carefully and to strictly follow all use directions. Rodenticides should only be used in small treatment areas close to structures. Be sure to check these areas daily for dead rodents. Collect the carcasses as soon as possible, place in plastic bags and dispose in garbage cans with tight lids that other animals can’t open. Always wear protective gloves when handling any dead ani- mal. Since 1994, DFG's Pesticide Investigations Unit has confirmed at least 136 cases of wildlife poisoning from anticoagulant rodenti- cides. Brodifacoum was the poison most frequently detected. Animals impacted include coyote, gray fox, San Joaquin kit fox, raccoon, fox squir- rel, bobcat, red fox, mountain lion, black bear, Hermann’s kanga- roo rat, golden eagle, Canada goose, great- horned owl, barn owl, red-shouldered hawk, red-tailed hawk, Coop- er’s hawk, turkey vulture and wild turkey. “Since animals typi- The cam- cally retreat to their dens, burrows or other hiding places in the final stages of anticoagulant poison- ing, the number of non- target wildlife killed by this compound may be much greater than we know,” said DFG Envi- ronmental Scientist Stel- la McMillin. “For the research we did, most of the birds and mammals exposed to brodifacoum were collected in areas adjacent to urban devel- opment around the state.” More information on protecting wildlife and pets from rodenticide baits is on the DFG web- site at www.dfg.ca.gov/educa- tion/rodenticide. Protect your wild neighbors and pets from accidental poisoning. Use pesticides very care- fully and follow all label directions, or choose organic or mechanical methods to control pests. More information on voles and alternatives to poison can be found on the University of Califor- nia, Davis Integrated Pest Management Program website at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/P MG/PESTNOTES/pn743 9.html. Coca-Cola’s summer campaign supports a “Favorite Park’ vote ages to play. few other states are get- ting huge numbers of votes from their resi- dents, so we are hoping that Californians rise up and decide that they will not be outdone in their support for one of the finest park system in the world. Below is an excerpt from the Coca-Cola news release recently issued: Through online engagement and com- munity grants, Coca- Cola is donating more than $500,000 to nation- al, state and local parks across the country to restore and rebuilt places for people of all paign also encourages people to support the national and state parks system by voting for their favorite park on LivePositively.com trough August 31, 2010 or coming out to local park health and wellness events that Coca-Cola will host this summer— all with the goal of mak- ing their communities a better place to live. “Coca-Cola has sup- ported America’s national parks for the past 40 years through campaigns like this because of our belief that everyone needs a place to play and spend time with family and friends,” said Katie J. Bayne, President and General manager, Sparkling Beverages, Coca-Cola North Ameri- ca. Specialized Group Training for only $25 a month! 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Join us for the Pump & Run Sept. 11 Tehama Family Fitness Center 2498 South Main St • Red Bluff 528-8656 • www.tehamafamilyfitness.com RSP helped by hydrotherapy DEAR DR. GOTT: I am a 39-year-old mother to three small children who was just diagnosed with full- body Reflex Sympa- thetic Dystrophy. I was going 150 miles per hour in my life when I twisted my ankle. I knew right away that something was wrong. The pain just never went away, but I ignored it. I was then diagnosed with CRPS/RSDS. Ten months after the orig- inal diagnosis, an aggressive tailgater crashed into the back of my car, causing the RSD to spread from my lower right extremity to my entire body. To be involved in two accidents in 10 months was unimaginable to my family and me. Dr. Peter Gott so far is that I will be in a recliner for four hours a day for 10 days, similar to a chemo patient, but without all the chaos that chemo brings. I don’t know if there is biofeed- back, but I will be asking. On a happier note, after The pain gets so bad that no one understands it unless they have this ugly disease! I’ve become disenchanted with the medical communi- ty. I’m sent from doctor to doctor because of their lack of knowledge and/or treat- ments. I’ve been on so many medications in the past 17 months that I feel like a guinea pig. I know that the doctors are trying to find a proper medication for me, but what I am worried about is long-term damage to my organs. I’ve had 18 ganglion blocks in a two-month span, being put under each time thinking that we could put this disease back into a remission of sorts. There is a small window to treat this disease — smaller than what doctors report. There is a lack of communication between offices so I carry all of my medical records so I don’t have to sound like a broken record. Now I am a candidate for Ketamine infu- sions. I recently went into a pain management/surgical center. I was supposed to see a cer- tain MD. This MD was unavailable, so I saw an associate. He looked at me and said there was nothing they could do for me and placed me on Kadian. This made me feel so bad that I stopped taking it after five days. I called the center and asked to talk about the med- ication. I was fortunate enough to speak to the MD whom I was originally there to see. He also suggested Ketamine infusions. This is my last chance at getting some sort of hold on the RSD. Is there some sort of protocol that a doctor should perform before the infusions? I had a psych work-up and then a cardiac clearance. Should all doctors who treat patients with RSD follow this protocol? The doctor who originally told me about this treatment is a long distance away. Howev- er, there is a closer doctor, but the girls in his office know nothing about this pro- tocol. What I have been told my first accident, I was in a pool playing with my kids and supervising them. I was in the pool for four hours and found myself going off on my own a lot. I started doing kickless laps using “noo- dles” and stretching my aching limbs. I think this has helped me a lot, but my problem now is finding a pool where I can do these exercises. I have one last shot with the Ketamine and I have hope. If it doesn’t work, I will have to find a pool and I know that will help me feel better. DEAR READER: RSD is a complex pain disorder. Many of the things you are feeling commonly accompa- ny any disorder that causes chronic pain. Depression, anxiety, feeling helpless or a burden, and others lead to more stress that can, in turn, worsen symptoms. I have chosen to print your letter with slight modi- fications owing to length restrictions because it not only offers a glimpse of life with a chronic pain disorder; it shows that holding on to hope is still possible. Despite your difficult situation, you have found a way to ease your pain in a medication- free way and are unwilling to give up when things get tough. If hydrotherapy pro- vides relief, I highly endorse it. Check with your local community center, hospital physical-therapy department and other locations for the nearest location to you. I applaud your outlook and offer your letter as inspira- tion to others. To provide related infor- mation, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Managing Chronic Pain.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed stamped No. 10 envelope and a $2 check or money order to Newslet- ter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092-0167. Be sure to mention the title or print an order form off my website at www.AskDrGottMD.com. Dr. Peter H. Gott is a retired physician and the author of several books, including “Live Longer, Live Better,” “Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Diet” and “Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Cookbook,” which are available at most bookstores or online. His website is www.AskDrGottMD.com. Season Tomatoes Make your tomato season last longer. These tomatoes will keep producing until it freezes Garden Center Red Bluff 766 Antelope Blvd. (Next to the Fairground) 527-0886 Cool