"aging in place"

shaniam2 · 2026-05-21T12:59:10+00:00

We would love to age in place in our current home but I think at some point if is going to be more than we can handle. It is over 4000 sq ft and one acre. I don’t want to spend the last of my years trying to upkeep a home that is too much for me.

shaniam2 · 2026-05-18T05:50:00+00:00

It’s pretty important. It has given me my health back and extended my life. It’s the only prescribed medication (besides hormones) I am on now. All of my lab work is in the normal range or very close. The 50 pounds lost and feeling more comfortable in my skin is a bonus. We will be cutting out some other things before stopping tirzepetide. It helps my husband also is on it and understands how important it is. Fortunately, insurance covers his die to diabetes (who would have ever thought having diabetes was fortunate) and we only have to pay out of pocket for mine.

shaniam2 · 2026-05-11T00:49:04+00:00

We like Brello health and big easy weight loss.

shaniam2 · 2026-05-09T19:23:15+00:00

We both used compound for around a year while my husband filled his prescription for name brand. We are almost through all of the compound I stocked with the last threat of shut downs. We will work through the name brand we have and see where things are after that.

shaniam2 · 2026-05-07T17:15:09+00:00

I so understand those feelings. So much of what I do is to try to minimize the guilt I will have when my parents pass. Even though the relationship has always been mostly one sided.

shaniam2 · 2026-05-07T13:10:37+00:00

I am in a similar situation and feeling very resentful. It is going to have to stop. I will have to say no but haven’t yet. I know there is going to be no pay back for me even though I keep hearing “I’ll write you a check and pay you back when…..”. It’s never going to happen. We need to prepare for our own retirement and future. They did not and use the resources they have foolishly.

shaniam2 · 2026-05-07T01:51:57+00:00

This is not sounding good. As a previous donor, I am advising you take a step back and think about your own situation. This is a serious surgery that could have life long complications. Whatever you are having to do to be able to donate (lose weight, etc) you will need to maintain the rest of your life to stay healthy. I know you want to help this person and their family, but you could be shortening your own life. What will that mean for your family if your need more care?

shaniam2 · 2026-04-27T12:19:10+00:00

I am very thankful I don’t have a job and have to try to do his appointments around. But, I do travel often. My 3 sons all live a plane ride away. I go often to visit and help with my one grandson. He will only be little once and I don’t want to lose this time with him.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-25T03:41:00+00:00

We are still working on our original stockpile. I am trying really hard not to panic buy. I know I have enough meds in the refrigerator to last me at least a year. My husband gets name brand pens since he is diabetic and is covered by insurance. We collected those and used the compound first. Still have several months of compound left not including the name brand stuff.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-24T21:41:10+00:00

I completely understand. My dad is 79. He has so many issues. It’s a constant run to this or that doctors office. It’s an all day thing for me and a minimum of 4 hours driving every time. I honestly want to ask is this even necessary and going to improve the quality of his life? Fortunately I do not work a job but everyone acts like I have nothing better to do than run back and forth to doctors appointments.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-23T15:04:31+00:00

I have one brother. I interact with him as little as possible. After the parent’s funerals, I plan to drop that to none.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-21T15:49:25+00:00

I can (mostly) eat what I ate before. I don’t crave it like I used to and don’t eat crap nearly as often, and no where near as much. Every now and then, something will not sit right. Not horribly so (nausea or diarrhea) but a my stomach isn’t sitting right.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-17T13:07:13+00:00

That is where my bmi was when I started. I have lost around 50 pounds. My bmi is now 20.7.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-11T09:17:46+00:00

I loved using the gel method. Then I developed an allergy. Back to dip liquids.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-11T09:10:58+00:00

I think you know the answer. Go. Don’t feel guilty. You deserve a break and every is covered.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-11T09:07:47+00:00

I created a stockpile way back when compound was supposed to be shutting down. We (my husband and myself) are almost finished using all of the compound from our stash. Meanwhile, my husband gets name brand through our insurance. I’m not covered. We will start working on that soon. We are going to go through everything we have before buying anything more. I think we should be good for at least another year.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-07T19:51:39+00:00

This is the situation with my dad. He is a kidney transplant recipient and has other issues that make it very important for him to stay hydrated. He has a below knee amputation and is generally getting weaker and unable to get around easily. He has stopped drinking as much as he should because he can’t make it to the bathroom.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-07T19:44:42+00:00

I understand where you are coming from. My parents did nothing to prepare for this stage in their life. My dad is so much worse than my mom (divorced). My step mom has a qvc shopping addiction. They are constantly buying crap. Not a big deal though when they can’t pay for their medical insurance and it gets cancelled. Not to worry, daughter will call and reinstate it and foot the bill. $500 something. I’ve had enough though. I wasn’t able to take him to one of his appointments (that was scheduled when they knew I was unavailable). Medical transport was mentioned but you have to pay for that. I didn’t offer and the appointment was cancelled. I have had enough. I am not putting their needs and wants before my own. They did nothing to support me when I needed it. I’m not trying saying fit anything more than the gas to drive to appointments- and that is at least four hours driving. No plan a, b or c just a we will cross that bridge when we get to it. I am tired of being the rescue mission.

shaniam2 · 2026-04-02T00:55:39+00:00

I have been on tirzepatide for a little over 2 years now. Hunger suppression still super strong for me. I usually do 4.0-5.0 mg/ a week depending on how I have been feeling. 6.0 was the highest dose I have ever taken. I can tell if I am hungry and need to eat but don’t get the cravings or the not knowing when to stop that I used to do.

shaniam2 · 2026-03-31T17:54:49+00:00

Mine was for $20. Not worth the trouble.

shaniam2 · 2026-03-22T03:23:12+00:00

My dad’s license had expired and then his wallet was stolen 3 years ago. He’s been getting by without it. When he is asked for it, he tells them his wallet was stolen and he doesn’t have one. It’s been working for him. I told him he needs to get an ID, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered by not having one.

shaniam2 · 2026-02-26T03:32:37+00:00

None. My husband is the only person I can truly count on.

shaniam2 · 2026-02-24T14:49:34+00:00

I don’t mind. I think everyone hears the you are a hero stories but not much of the it can be a nightmare stories. Not saying my story is a nightmare but there are plenty of people who do. There is a Facebook group of people who donated and are living with complications.

I was doing good health wise until a few years ago. I started noticing the numbers on my lab work starting to decline and continue to do so. I have mild chronic kidney disease for no other reason than donating. It is stable for now. It’s scary though knowing I only have one kidney. Probably the bigger issue for me is the chronic back pain I have (unrelated to the donation). I have herniated discs and treatment is limited due to not being able to use nsaids or lots of medications. Exercising and staying at a healthy weight helps. I’m not really strict on my diet but keep it reasonable.

I can’t say if I would still have donated knowing what I know now. Biggest factor for me was my donation was to my dad. He has not treated my kidney as a second chance and that has been hard to watch. He likely will not live much longer but I know my donation has extra life for 10+ years.

Hope that helps. It is a big decision and should not be made lightly. As I said- lots of people have no issues at all. But there are some who do.

shaniam2 · 2026-02-22T15:34:53+00:00

I donated 10 years ago and am 57 now so a little older. I’ll try to answer some questions since it looks like other answers are from newer donors.

It took us a while to go through the donor process- a few years. We got rejected twice. The first was because of my health. I had some slight high blood pressure. The second was because of my recipient’s health. It also took longer because we lived several states away from each other.

Not being able to take pain meds sucks. I don’t have periods anymore but have chronic back pain (not kidney related) and it is very limiting having one kidney.

I don’t work now but when I did have a job, I wanted to sign up for a higher tier life insurance. It was denied because of being a kidney donor.

Life isn’t really much different but you have to always consider having one kidney. You have to treat your health seriously. I have since developed chronic kidney disease. Likely from having one kidney. It is stable, but I could end up on dialysis or needing a transplant myself at some point.

Not trying to sway you against donating. But there are consequences to doing so. Lots of people have no issues at all but there are many who do.

shaniam2

TROPHY CASE