Accelerating liquor sales growth in Utah

[yellowstone123]

So, where do you go from here with alcohol and benzodiazepine consumption? How do you picture your life from here on out making these choices for yourself?

Thanks for concern. I will try not to run out of the Xanax early because After a day, I’m driving to the liquor store. The Psychiatrist prescribes a huge a mount, and I see him at least once a month. But I seemed to go through the Xanax quickly and 90 2mg pills per month is a lot. I’m trying just to take 3 a day with a bupropion in the early morning before my 35 min walk. The doctors that I have had do not seem so concerned about the benzoyl, generic Xanax or Valium, from Walmart; it’s when I tell them at night sometimes I take two or more of the temazepam to sleep that they look at me intensely and say slowly only one. They give me a bottle of 30 every month and I know I just need five or six to send me into respiratory arrest within an hour but like I said, my dad is completely alone, my mom passed, my four sisters never check in on him a d most of the time in a wheel chair. But he was out mowing the lawn on his John deer mower/tractor the other day for an hour. I took over and finished it. He still has a good few years ahead as long as I’m here. His lower half is declining but from his waist up he’s fine. Sometimes I wish I could push record as he tells me of running away from home at 16 in Rochester NY, working farms for room and board around then going to high school in Rochester NY in the late 40’, joining the Marines in the early 50s, the War, The marines including senior DI, and the LAPD from 58 to 83. When he turned 90, one person from his 1955 recruit class sent him a Facebook birthday message. He apparently followed my dad onto the LAPD. My dad can be super nice. His main things now are, the yard, cooking dinner, and a new cat we sort of adopted. As to liquor, I did find some Idaho silver vodka and told him I was drinking it. He said Idaho vodka is the worst.

[msnobody]

Yellowstone123, thank you for recognizing my questions/comments were out of concern.

I suffered from clinical depression for five long years. It felt like I was dying a slow death that wasn't fast enough. It was a hopeless, helpless feeling as I could not make it go away. Thankfully, the depression did finally go away. Hang in there, friend. This may only be a temporary affliction, even though it feels it will never go away. Please, please only take your meds as prescribed, not mixing xanax with valium (Please forgive me if I assume too much). You don't need alcohol. That is adding a depressant onto your depression. If your meds are not effective, tell your MH provider.

Some of the things that make us anxious and run through our minds when we try to go to sleep, may not always continue to be sources of anxiety. Please also keep that in mind.

One of the things that used to keep me awake or wake me up right after I had gone to sleep was that I had an elderly parent to take care of. When people get to ages 89, 91, and such, once they begin to decline, it seems it can sometimes happen quickly. My mother could walk to the bathroom from the wheelchair with assistance, then suddenly one day, I helped her raise up from the wheelchair and it was like her legs stopped working. It is truly a blessing for me to have my mom at 89, and you to have your dad to age 91. Do the best you can do. There are often hard decisions to be made, and often none of the choices to choose from are ideal. Do the best you can and when dad has run the good race, don't second guess your decisions. You did the best you could do with the options you had available and what you knew at the time. Don't let bitterness well up inside you toward your siblings, as it only brings you down. I know it isn't fair. Some people are just not cut out for caring for persons. My mom spent her last two months in a nursing home, which absolutely broke my heart, but it was the best place for her to get the care she needed. It also allowed me to enjoy my mother's last two months of life, take care of myself, and just to enjoy her. Honestly, the stress took a toll on my health. That September, I got COVID, next was a severe case of HSV1 (due to stress), then an obstructing kidney stone that led to surgery, antibiotics, which led to an allergic reaction to sulfa and levaquin, and if that wasn't enough, C. diff from the antibiotics. I had to stay away from my mother so as not to make her sick. Not easy when you are an only child. It wasn't easy because I could not always make her understand why I was not visiting.

You said your dad was a Marine. I hope he has been able to utilize some of his V A benefits. He should have some of the following things available to him. I'm going to name a few of the benefits, so you can be aware of them.

- Get the DD214
- Request his military medical records
- Enroll in Veterans Healthcare Services
- See a V A primary care doctor at least yearly
- To pursue gaining service-connected disability (30% =/> is desirable), contact the Veteran's Service Office (VSO) in your area. They can guide you. At least that is how it works in our state.
- At some point Aid and Attendance may be helpful. This is extra $ that can be used to help with hiring someone to assist him, or assist toward nursing home costs.
- Apply **early** (NOW) for V A nursing home. The waiting lists are like one to two years long. He can always decline if a spot comes open and he isn't ready or doesn't want to go.
- Some V A 's have geriatric clinics that provide primary care and have even more helpful resources geared toward the elderly.
- Home Based Primary Care (HBPC)- This is primary care that is provided in the patient's home. This helped my dad be able to stay in his own home for much longer than he could have otherwise. A team of people come to the home on the first visit (doctor, nurse, dietitian, social worker, etc.). They assess the veteran’s needs. Physical therapy/occupational therapy can come out as well. They assist with any transition of care that may be needed. Sometimes there is a waiting list, patients have to qualify as well. The doctor visits the patient in the home. Nurse draws labs, etc. My dad also enjoyed the company of the people that visited.
- Modular ramps are available (vertical lift if the door is too high for a ramp)
- Home health aide to assist with bathing, light housekeeping
- Assessment for canes, walkers, rollator walkers, scooters, power mobility chair (A modular ramp and power mobility chair allowed my dad not to be stuck inside the house all the time). Transport chair, transfer board.
- Grab bars
- Home Improvement and Structural Alteration (HISA) consults to widen doorways for wheelchairs, walk-in showers ($2,000 per lifetime with no service connection. More, I think , if there is service connection).
- A lift to help the veteran to be raised up into the vehicle.
- Hearing aids, prescription eyeglasses
- Reacher/grabber to pick things up with
- Hospital bed, over-the-bed table, beside commode, shower chair/bench
- Pull ups, diapers, pads for the bed, incontinence pads
- Burial benefits (there is a time limit for reimbursement- I missed it)

Anyway, please make good choices for yourself. Keep in mind that your current situation may not be permanent. Much love to you Yellowstone as you go through this season of your life. Hang in there.