I have him taking 3 every 6 hours which seems to be making a dent in the pain, but then he read the back of the bottle and got nervous. He hates taking pills. So, I just wanted to make sure it was okay. If I told him I verified with the "smart people"(his term for buffistas), he'll feel better about taking it. If 3 stops helping, I'll tell him he can bump it up to 4.

Tell him that 4 (which is 800 mg) is what he would be prescribed by a doctor. Seriously. It's not an unusual amount.

I did tell him that, but it wasn't his actual doctor telling me directly.

I took that dosage for weeks for my effed up shoulder, with no ill effects.

Happy to say that my shoulder is less effed! It's almost D'ed, in fact. Much better.

Oh, TCG. I want to poke him and hug him. I mean, yes, it's never a bad idea to play around with meds in the absence of information stating otherwise. So good for him, seriously, for not wanting to tinker with the dose on the bottle. But he can tinker! A little.

He's been lucky enough not to deal with much chronic pain in his life, and really has no idea to deal with these things. He's adorable, but seriously, just trust your wife with the chronic pain.

He's adorable, but seriously, just trust your wife with the chronic pain.

Seriously. Poor Tim developed moderate arthritis in both hands this winter, and I feel so powerless to help him, because nothing is managing it very much. OTC analgesics did nothing. He's having some improvement with Rx analgesics, but not much. Fancy glucosamine helps a little. But overall, it's not much better. And I hate not being able to fix loved ones who are in pain or ill.

(I pointed out that several sources have said that sugar is a source of inflammation, and maybe giving up sugar would help. He is still resisting that change.)

smonster, I had Daniel photoshop it onto a pic of Harvey... I'll send it to you on Facebook.

This is being a hell of a month.

It sure fucking is. Knew it was coming, in Kara's case, but "it is always sudden". And unfair. I was telling DJ last night that part of my brain has wrapped around her being gone but part is living in a parallel universe where she's fine and going to walk in that door at Pete's any time.

Andi, thank you so much. I have shared it with the fb group set up for friends wanting to help during her illness. Ever since you originally posted it, I knew it was something I would turn to at this time and share with others.

They're giving my husband to the woods this afternoon. Kara ( his daughter, that name has been giving me twitches) and his sister are taking care of it. I know my limits. It's a part of the national forest where he worked as a forest ranger for a couple of years. He loved it up there, whenever we drove through there he'd say "I helped rebuild that cabin" or "I used to camp in there" and such.

Come the fall, I'll go up by myself. So many wonderful people have offered to be with me during the hard parts, and I love them for it, but I can't find comfort with other people when it gets bad. I have to howl it out by myself.

I hope they understand I'm not rejecting them, that I do appreciate their care. But for this, it's just me and the universe.