Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/78565
4B Daily News – Tuesday, August 14, 2012 FEATURES Inconsiderate friend irks woman Dear Annie: I am no longer speaking to my best friend of more than 20 years. I thought ''Katie'' and I were friends for life. She is even godmother to my daughter. Two years ago, we invit- ed Katie and her husband to my 50th birthday party. My husband offered to let them stay with us so they would- n't need a hotel. They did not attend, stating that the 10-day RSVP time frame was not sufficient notice to travel the four-hour drive from their home to ours. Yet two weeks before, they made a six-hour drive to see other friends for a mini-vacation. I under- stood that they might not want to take another road trip, but I certain- ly expected a card or phone call. I received neither. them an invite to my daugh- ter's confirmation. Since Katie is her godmother, we thought she'd want to be there. She declined again via email, and there was no card. Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar After a month, Katie called just to chat. It was an uncomfortable con- versation. Afterward, she wrote me a letter detailing her excuses for ignoring my birthday and said her card must have been lost in the mail. In January, we invited Katie and her husband to my daughter's sweet 16 party. They declined, but sent her a magazine to read. In June, we sent will be forgiven. For my daughter's sake, I want her godmother to be connected. What would you sug- gest? — Peeved and Perplexed in Pennsylvania Dear Perplexed: We don't know if Katie wants to sever the friendship or if she is just overwhelmed with other things and has been inatten- tive. But she is your child's god- mother, and this implies religious responsibilities. Please call Katie and tell her nicely that you under- stand it's been difficult for her to stay in touch, and if she would like to be relieved of her obligations to your child, you will release her and name another godparent. Her response will give you a better idea It is unfortunate that my daughter has become a vic- tim of my strained relation- ship with Katie, who is now ignoring both of us. I keep hoping she will make some type of good-will gesture, a card or a phone call, and all of where you stand. Dear Annie: My sister, ''Jack- ie,'' has multiple children with multiple men. She has been using government assistance for the past 10 years. She tells her caseworker that she's unemployed and lives with her kids, when she actually lives with her current boyfriend and has three different jobs that pay cash. Jackie was recently charged with fraud and was denied this month's benefits and fined for the benefits she received over the past five months. Now she, her boyfriend and her children want to move in with my husband and me because they can't afford their bills. My husband and I have been married less than a month. We need some time alone together. How do I tell Jackie no? — Stuck Between Dear Stuck: In plain English. Jackie needs to learn how to be more responsible instead of scamming the system and taking advantage of her relatives. Moving in with you will only postpone this, and you will be writing us again in a year wondering how you got into this mess. Please set your boundaries now, and tell your sister that you love her, but you cannot support her. Boomers turning 65 Medicare workshop Passages Health Insur- ance Counseling & Advo- cacy Program (HICAP) is presenting a Welcome to Medicare workshop geared for those who will be new to Medicare 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Aug. 22 at the Red Bluff Community Cen- ter. interactive seminar will help recipients understand how Medicare benefits work. Registration is required in order to ensure all attendees will receive the necessary This free, two-hour, workshop materials. Regis- ter by calling 898-6716 or 1-800-434-0222. Important questions that will be answered include: • What is Medicare? • Do I really need a Medicare Part D prescrip- tion plan? policy? • What is a Medi-Gap • Can I coordinate health care plan benefits? available to lower my Medicare health and pre- scription costs? • Are there programs HAD A SMASHING WEEK? WE WILL GIBBS GIBBS NOW OFFERS RENTAL CARS M-F 8AM-5PM 527-2649 780 EAST AVE. (behind Food Maxx) STRAIGHTEN IT OUT. Voted BEST in Tehama County all 7 years 2006~2012 AUTO BODY REPAIR A Retirement Community for the Active Senior Citizens EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY 750 David Avenue, Red Bluff • 527-9193 • What happens if I miss my initial Medicare enroll- ment period? Remember, HICAP does not sell or endorse any insurance products. 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Coenzyme Q10 may relieve statin aches TOR K: I'm a 61- year-old man. My doctor wants me to take a statin to lower my choles- terol, but I'm wor- ried about muscle damage. I found a website that claimed coenzyme Q10 would help. Is that right? DEAR DOC- Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. DEAR READER: It might be, but coenzyme Q10 has not been well studied. It surely should be: Tens of millions of people take statins in the United States alone. They power- fully lower total cholesterol and LDL ("bad") choles- terol levels in the blood. More important, they reduce the risk of heart attacks. Although the current crop of statins is relatively safe, they can have side effects. Muscle aches are among the most common complaints: About one in 10 to one in 20 people get them after starting statins. Fortunately, serious muscle injury is rare — more like one in a thousand people. When muscle aches occur, they are usually mild, but they can be really bothersome. They usually resolve quickly when the statin dose is reduced or therapy is stopped. Some- times switching to a differ- ent kind of statin will elim- inate the aches. The two statin drugs that seem to have the least tendency to produce serious muscle injury (more than aches and pains) are pravastatin (Pravachol) and fluvastatin (Lescol). sense that it could help, since there is good evi- dence that statin therapy depletes levels of coen- zyme Q10 in muscle. Coenzyme Q10 is a compound made naturally in the body. Depleted body levels of the compound can be restored by taking it as a dietary supplement. It is available as a nonprescrip- tion product. aches, since many people need their cholesterol low- ered. And it makes the calcium-chan- nel blockers dilti- azem and verpamil and the antidepres- sant sertraline. It would be great if coenzyme Q10 could help relieve muscle People taking statins who also have an underac- tive thyroid condition or kidney problems are more prone to muscle aches. People taking statins who also take some other drugs are at higher risk, too. Per- haps the most commonly prescribed drugs that can interact with statins to cause muscle problems are But before taking a treatment, it's good to have some evidence that it's going to help, since most medicines have the poten- tial for side effects. The evidence I would like to see is the result of a ran- domized trial in which large numbers of people on statins are treated either with coenzyme Q10 or a sugar pill. In such a study, participants wouldn't know if they were taking the real supplement or the sugar pill. They would report regularly whether they had muscle aches, and blood tests for muscle injury would be per- formed. A few such studies have been published, but they are small and they don't all show a benefit. Having said that, I have seen patients who swear that coenzyme Q10 helps them. And when I have a patient who keeps having muscle aches on multiple different statins, including pravastatin and fluvastatin, I sometimes add coenzyme Q10 — and it sometimes seems to help. Used in doses of 250 mil- ligrams (mg) a day or less, coenzyme Q10 appears safe. $5 off Signature Service® Oil Change 190 S. Main St., Red Bluff 530-527-8264 Jiffy Lube, the Jiffy Lube design mark and Jiffy Lube Signature Service are registered trademarks of Jiffy Lube International, Inc. ©2011 Jiffy Lube International, Inc. DONATE YOUR VACATION newspaper dollars to the Newspaper In Education Program Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. HELP OUR CHILDREN DAILYNEWS For more details call Circulation Department (530) 527-2151 RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 PHONE: (530) 527-2151 FAX: (530) 527-5774 545 Diamond Avenue • P.O. Box 220 • Red Bluff, CA 96080