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8A Daily News – Friday, September 2, 2011 FEATURES Goggling groom galling gal Dear Annie: My hus- band and I have been mar- ried for 21 years, and we have five wonderful chil- dren. ''Tom'' is 50, and I am 39. In the past few years, Tom has developed an annoying habit. He openly ogles attractive women and young teenage girls. I can understand one glance, but he stares. After we walk past, he'll look over his shoulder to get the rear view. Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar Later in the day, he will some- times remark that I should wear this or that revealing outfit, tone my muscles more, dye my hair a specif- ic color or lose weight. Mind you, I am a size 4. Tom says he finds skin- ny women with large breasts and tattoos a turn-on. I don't look like that. I have told Tom that his new- found habit is hurtful and disre- spectful to me. It makes me feel that I'm not pretty enough and gives the impression that these women could easily steal him away. It embarrass- es me so much that I don't want to go anywhere with him. We no longer take evening walks, and for- get about restaurants. When I tell this to Tom, he becomes angry and often yells at me. He insists he's doing nothing wrong and has no intention of stop- ping. He says I'm the one with the problem, and that I'm jealous and spoiled. Is he right? Do I need to change? Is this the proverbial male midlife crisis? Why doesn't he care how much it upsets me? He could at least not do it when I'm with him, but he won't. — Unhappily Mar- ried to an Ogler Dear Unhappy: Many men have these thoughts, but Tom seems to have lost the ability (or willingness) to censor his actions in public. Ask him to get a complete physical to make sure his ''new habit'' isn't being exacerbated by a medical condition. If he is simply behaving like a tod- dler in a candy store, you must decide whether you can ignore his boorishness. Most women find this behavior pathetic and obnoxious, rather than seductive. Dear Annie: Another family gathering is coming up, and my husband and I find ourselves becoming tense, as usual. My husband has two sisters who think it's great fun to catch mistakes people make and then ridicule them. They do it under the guise of good- natured teasing, but it comes across as mean-spirited. His other siblings are kind and considerate, but the family sticks together and would never tell these two to knock it off. My husband is getting older and has become a little forgetful. He is a target of their ridicule, and he hates it. He pretends to be a good sport, but he has confided in me that this treatment bothers him a great deal. Should I say something in order to make family gatherings less stressful? I hope these sisters will recognize themselves here and try to be kinder, although I know few people see themselves in the col- umn. — The Outlaw Dear Outlaw: Take one of these sisters aside privately and say, ''I know you care about your brother, but he's sensitive to the fact that he's getting older. When you make fun of him, it hurts him terribly because you are his family and he loves you. I know you don't mean to cause him pain, so I hope you will keep this in mind.'' Rest assured, some day the shoe will be on the other foot. Dear Annie: I had to respond to ''Modest in Iowa.'' Being an OR nurse and someone who has recent- ly had surgery, your response was right on. More and more men are going into nursing, and I assure you, they have only a professional interest in their female patients. The male nurses I work with and those who have cared for me are wonderfully compassionate and quite sensitive to privacy concerns. — An OR Nurse 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. School bus driver class offered A school bus driving certification course is being offered by Shasta College. The six-week course, Beginning - School Bus Driver, includes topics of: driver's license and spe- cial certificate require- ment; school bus opera- tion, use, regulations; vehicle components; defensive driving and spe- cialized defensive driving; student loading and unloading; emergency procedures; pupil man- agement; field trips; the exceptional child; and dri- ver public relations. After completing the course, students will be able to pass the necessary written examinations given by DMV and CHP to begin the behind-the- wheel training process to obtain their commercial The Shasta College Community Teaching Garden will be hosting three workshops in September. The first workshop is "Four Seasons Gardening," and will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Community Teaching Garden. The presenter will be Gerry Long, owner of Good driver license and special driver certificate to drive a school bus. School districts are cur- rently looking for quali- fied school bus drivers. Some may reimburse or sponsor your training. Contact the school district for further information. The course begins Sept. 7 and runs through Oct. 19. It will meet on Mondays and Wednes- days from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Shasta College downtown campus, at 1400 Market St. in Red- ding. The registration fee is $150. To register, go online to www.shastacol- lege.edu/ewd and click on "Pathways." For more information on this and other courses offered by EWD, call 242- 7630. New workshops for college community teaching garden The presenter will be Bethany Schaarschmidt, Shasta Work Organic Farm. The fee for this workshop is $15. This workshop will offer Fall Vegetable six-packs for sale. The second workshop will be "Canning Fruit and Mak- ing Jam," from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 17, in Room 822. College Nutrition Instructor. The fee for this workshop is $30. Please do not bring your own produce. All equip- ment, produce and handouts will be provided! The third workshop will be "Growing Great Garlic and Onions," from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Community Teaching Garden. The presenter will be Gerry Long, who is also an Organic Inspector for the California Certified Organic Farmers. He will have premium garlic seeds for sale. The fee for this workshop will be: $15.00. All workshops will be held on the Shasta College Main Campus (11555 Old Oregon Trail, Redding, CA). Pre-reg- isteration can be done online at: www.shastacollege.edu/EWD and click on "Pathways." For more information, call 242-7630. What's your FAVORITE Tehama County "Hidden Gem?" A swimming hole, favorite hike, park site, fishing spot, Sunday drive, thing to do with kids? Share yours with us. If we use it in the October edition of Dr. Andrew PomazalD.O. Physician & Surgeon General Medicine Saturday Appointments Available • High Blood Pressure • Diabetes • Joint & Muscle Pain • Lung Problems We offer Osteopathic Manipulation 530 528-2066 2050 Main St, Red Bluff Accepting New Patients Fall Sale Shopping 101 Saturday, September 3rd @ 10am What you need to know before you come shopping our Fall Sale. Annual Fall Sale Friday, September 9th thru Sunday, September 18th ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please call to reserve a seat. You'll receive a $25 Gift Certificate good at the Tehama County business of your choice. Send to tehamamag@redbluffdailynews.com Before 9-15-11 1 gallon size plants to 30 gallon 40% OFF 766 Antelope Blvd. (Next to the Fairground) Red Bluff Garden Center 527-0886 Anxiety drug may have unwanted side effects DEAR DR. GOTT: I would like information about Ativan to include its long- term use, side effects, and whether a person — especially a senior citizen — should be taking it on a regular basis. Dr. Peter Gott DEAR READER: Ativan (lorazepam) is part of a group of drugs known as benzodi- azepines. It is used to treat anxiety or anxiety- related disorders associ- ated with depression. It affects brain chemicals that may become unbal- anced and cause anxiety. It can be prescribed for other purposes as well. There are a number of issues that should be discussed with your physician before taking this drug. For example, you shouldn't take it if you have narrow-angle glaucoma, severe liver disease, if you are on sodium oxybate, or allergic to benzodi- azepines or any of the ingredients in Ativan. (Its inactive ingredients are lactose monohy- drate, magnesium stearate, microcrys- talline cellulose and polacrilin potassium.) Some medical condi- tions and other medica- tions could interact with this drug. For example, if you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other respi- ratory problems, a blood disorder, thoughts of suicide, take over-the- counter herbal supple- ments or have food allergies, your physician should be alerted to the fact. Further, if you are on non-depolarizing muscle relaxants, nar- cotic pain relievers, digoxin and others, he or she should be informed as well. This can occur if you are seeing more than one doctor who may be unaware what the other has prescribed. Some medications can decrease the effec- tiveness of Ativan, while others can increase the probability of side effects. This is not in any way to suggest you should not be on Ativan. It simply means your physician(s) should have a complete accounting of your medical history and of what medications you are taking. Ativan is available in 0.5, 1 and 2 mg tablets. The general dosage range is from 2 mg to 6 mg (that appears to be high by my standards) taken in divided doses, with the largest dose taken before bedtime. Dosing may vary depending on a person's condi- tion. It is com- mon for elderly patients to begin with 0.5 mg because of the sedative effects that may last longer in the aged. All medica- tions can cause side effects; however, many people may not have any at all. Symptoms are generally dose-depen- dent, with severe effects linked to high doses. Those associated with Ativan include headache, sedation, lightheadedness, weak- ness, drowsiness and unsteadiness. Less com- mon but more serious side effects include hal- lucinations, agitation, confusion, depression and hostility. Drugs in this category should in general be pre- scribed short-term only, such as up to four weeks. Following that, the prescribing physi- cian should re-evaluate the need for extended therapy. However, the drug should not be discontin- ued abruptly because of the potential of unwant- ed withdrawal symp- toms. A gradual tapering of the dosing schedule should be followed. Symptoms following the abrupt termination include insomnia, con- fusion, tingling and numbness of the extrem- ities, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hallucinations, delirium, convulsion, abdominal cramping, palpitations and short- term memory loss. Therefore, continued, long-term use is not rec- ommended. Readers who would like related information can order my Health Report "Consumer Tips on Medicine" by send- ing a self-addressed, stamped No. 10 enve- lope and a $2 U.S. check or money order to Dr. Peter Gott, P.O. Box 433, Lakeville, CT 06039. Be sure to men- tion the title, or print an order form from my website's direct link: www.AskDrGottMD.co m/order_form.pdf. 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