RUTIN, not familiar with this. Is this a pill? NM

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I now have BC/BS as of 01/01/07, but I had Cigna before that (who covered everything). My gynecologist recommended Mirena placement for SEVERE cramping and menorrhagia for me to prevent hysterectomy which would cause complications due to other medical problems, and was not being placed for contraceptive reasons (I have PCOS). BC/BS said Mirena was not covered and the explanation was that Mirena as a form of birth control was much too expensive and recommended an oral contraceptive. Again, it was strongly emphasized to BC/BS that I did not require Mirena for contraception, but for menstrual problems. I have not used any contraceptive method in almost twenty years...but they denied me. Well, the strangest part of it all is that they denied me the $675 Mirena placement, but BC/BS sent me a letter and I have been approved for the $3800 hysterectomy, which we were trying to avoid because of possible medical complications related to surgery, which could cost even more. Go figure!!!

Friend of mine is moving there to be with boyfriend. She said it's a nice quiet town, but another friend just told me there is a gang problem there. All I know is, it's a small town. Can anyone tell me about this town? Now I'm concerned. The other friend lives in Marietta, GA.

I was also taking this med for weight loss. At one time it was a combo of two drugs, they called them ... �Fen-phen� diet pills. Although I did not take the combo I took the one you were inquiring about. It made me very jumpy, but also brought out an underlying condition (diagnosed by the same doc I got the pills from), and messed up my metabolism, as well as give me High blood pressure, due to the damage the pill had caused, the two issues I have cannot be reversed and I have been living with them since that time. Mind you, this was about 12 to 15 years ago when the combo came out. My advice is this, do your research, talk to the docs, read, read, read, and then if you think that you will be able to work with the side effects, and the benfits outweigh the risk, you should do what you feel is right for you.

Yes I did lose the weight, about 60 pounds at that time but like one other person stated I gained back plus 80. It is like a HYPER drug for your metabolism. Please be careful and good luck.

I love to make scrapbooks. I am currently working on one a thank you gift to the hostess who allowed us to stay with them on our vacation this past summer. They are friends of ours and actually took their vacation to vacation with us. We had a great time in Colorado!

I'm wondering if anyone has used any of the scrapbook softwares that are out. I think I might try to do it this way to conserve some time. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.

regardless of the type of person ANS was......she still had people who loved her, had pain and misfortune in her life, grew up from nothing and tried to make something of herself, but had a type-A addictive personality...........MANY people are like that and you'd be surprised in one's own family how many people are like this...........

look in the mirror lately? I wouldn't point a finger at anybody's life....we ALL have our stories, now don't we?

judge not lest ye be judged (bibles all say this) and/or don't judge until you've walked a mile in someone else's shoes..............

Well, they bought out our local Parisian Dept. store, promised to come in to our town, buy the building (in our local mall), and then backed out at the last minute. We live in a town of over 300,000. Anyways, so there is no longer any store there in the mall. They are just like Macy's. etc.

They have THE POOREST CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER (via phone) I've ever encountered. They don't even bill on a 30-day billing cycle, so my payment was due TODAY when I always thought it was the 6th of every month (I last made a payment Oct. 6 and thought I'd pay my bill a few days early) only to find out that the bill would be considered late if not paid by 5 p.m. EST. If I paid it on line like I always do, you MUST make the payment date at least 2 days later than today's date (makes no sense) so next month I would be LATE and charged 35.00. So I call to make a payment. This rude lady tells me: Go into a store and make a payment. I tell her, "well, we don't have a store within 200+ miles of my home since you guys never did come here," Then she says, "Well, you can pay by phone today by 5 but it will cost you an extra 15.00." So, I'm livid. She gets her supe on the phone who is rude as h*** and tells me that she wasn't the one who decided to pay late! OMG!

So, I call husband very upset. To make a long story short, I finally paid it after 3 LONG PHONE CALLS to these fools (all 3 of them were extremely rude). One guy put me on hold for 15 minutes (I counted!!) after I asked to speak to his supervisor and he gets back on the phone (minus his supervisor) after being put on hold and then I finally pay part of my bill.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE if you work hard, don't shop there! They SUCK** and I will NEVER shop there!!

I have two kids at home and a baby on the way. My husband keeps gettign laid of jobs due to slow business Just got word that after Christmas he will be laid off again. As it is, we can barely afford to feed the family... so dont know what we will do come January when we lose his income.

There are no jobs for him to apply to. We do not qualify for unemployment for some reason....

And its not like we are lazy or bad people. All we do is work. I work 3 different jobs for 3 different MT companies. I wake up 2 hours before the kids go to school, work while they are in school, and even have to make up soem time at nigth when everyone is sleeping. That in addition to my husband's job... we can barely, and I mean barely make it...

Then I spend the rest of my free time cleaning the house, doing dishes, laundry, errands, bills, homework with the kids. Im pregnant and should be getting more rest. HA!! What a joke.

And I know all about the bank fees. We pay probably 100-200 a month in fees becuase when you live paycheck to paycheck it is just something that happens.. Sorry folks... Its not about being good a balancing your checkbook... not in these times. We have to play russian roulette with the monies sometimes.

My husband and myself do not have insurnace. I do now through Medicade because I am pregnant. We were hoping to drop the Medicaid when my husband's insurance kicked in... but he got laid off before that happened. My kids have CHIP, so that is good... But I am down to my last pair of contacts and I havent taken them out in 2 months because I do not have the extra 100 dollars to make an appt and then 50 for the contacts.

The school hits us up for $$$ every week for this, that, and the other thing... which all that does is take food off our plates. If one of my kids loses a shoe or needs a winter jacket, etc.... it puts us out.

Not to mention on top of all of that... My brother-in-law was in a car accident in a car he bought from my husband, but never took the time to put it in his name, and now it is back on us. We have 30 days to come up with 4000 dollars or my they take my husband's license away. Sounds crazy huh? Lawyers say they cannot do that... but they say they can...(the insurance company), but who has money to pay the lawyer for the help?? Not us.

I could go on and on and on and on and on and on.. LIke how it is Christmas, which is hard enough, but on Dec 31st it is my daughter's b-day and then just 3 weeks later it is my other daughter's birthday... How I am going to give them a nice birthday is beyond me...

Anyway, you are not alone!!!!! Of course I have never thought about suicide. That is not an option for me and I cant imagine ever would be...

If you think that way, you need some medication and therapy real quick!!!!!! Other than that, what is the worst that can happen? There has got to be help somewhere... food stamps??? I am going to look into them myself... I might have to skip on paying rent this month... and hope the landlord understands...

Come January 20th, I hope some good things start to happen and we can be on the road to a brighter future... but until then... we have to ride it out somehow. How, I dont know. I just take every day at a time...

And this morning, I cried during my first hour of typing... Typing through the tears.. so you are not alone there either.

THE JOURNEY

by Crystal Ward Kent

When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey � a journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet also test your strength and courage.

If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without leaving its mark.

Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life�s simple pleasures � jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joy of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.

If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace may be slower � except when heading home to the food dish � but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field.

Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details � the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape; we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons brings ever-changing wonders, each day an essence all its own.

Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You will find yourself watching summer insects collecting on a screen (How bizarre they are! How many kinds there are!), or noting the flicker and flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life�s most important details slip by.

You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie � with a cat in hot pursuit � all in the name of love.

Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound.

You will learn the true measure of love � the steadfast, undying kind that says, �It doesn�t matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together.� Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race.

And you will learn humility. The look in my dog�s eyes often made me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.

If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will not be just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be � the one they were proud to call beloved friend.

I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a path you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go. A pet�s time on earth is far too short � especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for awhile, and during those brief years they are generous enough to give us all of their love � every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left.

The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow always knew this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead � young and whole once more.

�Godspeed, good friend,� we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again.