Just some thoughts

So my flare up has died down. I am sure partly with the help of the naproxen which I had not taken previously. The pain and swelling is gradually decreasing. I noticed my skin condition has eased up as well. Would this be usual for them both to flare up at the same time? I hadn't noticed that before.

I guess the stress I have put on myself has eased also. I'm more positive, patiently waiting for news on the two jobs for which I've already applied and interviewed.

Now for my father. He had a hip replacement many years ago. Now the other hip is bothering him. It's arthritis, I just don't know what kind. He's having a lot of trouble getting around. I don't think he moves from the sofa much at all at this point. Last week I stopped to see him probably at least 4 of 6 days. I've convinced him to let me take him to his appointment this week. He's 80 and not good at relaying info to me. He really doesn't understand it all and I need to know what's going on.

He had stopped taking his naproxen after a week, he said it wasn't helping. I had to explain to him why he should keep taking it and how I'm on it too and will continue to take it for weeks to come if not longer.

So he told me yesterday that he started taking the naproxen again. I was amazed. He's very stubborn and doesn't usually listen.

I hope his appointment this week helps me understand what's going on.

Wow - it sounds like you're dealing with a lot. I'm glad things are calming down for you. It's great to hear your Dad is listening - perhaps having you going through something similar is just the push he needs.

Good idea, Dini, taking him to his appointment. You will be able to get the info and “feed” it to him in digestible bits. With an old person, that is so important. My sister and I kept a notebook in which we kept note of questions for the doc(s), and what the doc(s) said. One of us would always accompany her. We are sorry we didn’t start doing this ten years earlier: we might have prevented some problems down the road.
Good luck with this!