6A The Mining Journal
Friday, January 7, 2022
Good advice
Dear Annie
She can’t continue being a caregiver
ear Annie: Our son
has been married
to a lovely girl for
Now, I recognize that
my daughter-in-law may
have shared something
with her mother, but our
son has not shared them
with us, so I am unwilling
to talk about it with them
not present.
How do I handle this
without offending some-
one whom I need to keep
a relationship with? —
Mom-in-Law Who
who is 93, lives alone in
her home. My wife and I
and my sister-in-law and
her husband have been
her caregivers going on
20 years now. Her hus-
band passed away years
ago.
three times a day. I have
told her to at least look at
a place, but she refuses.
We feel like hostages. We
can’t force her to go to as- compromise she’ll need to
sisted living, but she is not make in order to remain
safe at home alone. Short
of going to a lawyer and
getting guardianship, I
she is dead set against leav-
ing her home for a facility,
she must accept the help of
an in-home aid. This is a
D
over 20 years. She is a
daughter-in-law everyone
should have. She cares for
us; she keeps a gracious
home; she is a good moth-
er.
My problem is with her
mother. We see them two
or three times a year. Her
mother will get me alone
and start to share things
about our son and his wife
that we do not know and
don’t need to know. Al-
ways negative. And I am
pretty certain that they
are not true, as other
things would be manifest
if they were.
in her own space and
without giving up any le-
gal rights — for now —
to her own care and life
choices.
She does not drive. We
do her laundry, run her to don’t know what else we
doctor appointments,
shop for her groceries,
etc. Her house is filthy.
She doesn’t bathe at all,
just “washes up” in the
sink. Her doctor has told
can do. Any advice? —
Tired in Ohio
Dear Tired: Your mother- hard for any older person to
in-law is very fortunate to
have the four of you in her
life, watching out for and
This kind of change is
Wants to Keep Her Ears
Clean
Dear Clean Ears: There
are lots of reasons people
gossip: entertainment, inse- but she refuses.
undergo, but ultimately, it’s
one she must accept for her
own safety and well-being
and for that of your family.
her to go to assisted living, taking care of her. But tak-
ANNIE LANE
ing everything into consid-
eration, it’s unfair to expect
that you, your wife and
your in-laws can continue
as you have for the last two
decades.
EDITOR’S NOTE: “How
Can I Forgive My Cheating Part-
ner?” is out now! Annie Lane’s
second anthology — featuring
favorite columns on marriage, in-
fidelity, communication and rec-
onciliation — is available as a
paperback and e-book. Visit
om for more information. Send
your questions for Annie Lane to
curity, loneliness, pure
boredom. If this woman has wife is 69. My in-laws are
I am nearing 70. My
knew because our daugh-
ter-in-law had spoken
with me, but I did not
want to talk about it be-
hind her back. Her moth-
er has tried to talk about
difficulties with the
grandchildren and what
she thinks ought to be
done.
something productive to
say about her daughter or
your son, she should bring
it up with them — and you
should feel free to tell her
that.
in their 70s and in poor
health. We have told her
we can’t continue doing
this. She refuses any home
care or any house clean-
Last time, at a gradua-
tion, she shared money
troubles she felt they were
having. Before that, her
daughter’s troubles with
depression — which I
Though she is stubborn
and likely scared, now is
ing and gets mad when we the time to confront your
mother-in-law with her op-
advice. My mother-in-law, ing sure she takes her pills tions, once and for all. If
Dear Annie: I need some do it. We take turns mak-
Hints from Heloise
Fraud alert: Be careful of online bargains
ear Heloise: I saw
an ad for a cat tree
on a social media
Dear Heloise: I have
several lovely watches I
wear with various outfits.
To keep the batteries
from running down soon-
er than they should, I just
pull out the stem and
Arden Hills, Minnesota
NO MORE SORE
THUMB
self from hitting one of my
fingers or my thumb. The
last time I tried to hold a
San Antonio, Texas
D
EDITOR’S NOTE: SEND A
GREAT HINT TO:
site, and since the price
was so good (in fact, TOO
GOOD!), I decided to buy
it. Even at a bargain
Dear Heloise: I found that nail while hammering it I
Heloise
if I use a pair of needle-
nose pliers in my left hand
to hold a nail while I ham-
mer it into the wall with my umn in the San Antonio Ex-
right hand, I can save my- press-News. — Anne T.,
hit my thumb and my nail
turned black!
I love reading your col-
P.O. Box 795001
San Antonio, TX 78279-
5001
Fax: 1-210-HELOISE
Email: Heloise@Heloise.com
price it still wasn’t
place it in a drawer when
not in use. — Valerie N.,
cheap, but the picture
looked so nice that I de-
cided to splurge.
About a month later it
arrived. Instead of a cat
tree that my pets could
use, it was the size of doll-
house furniture. It was
less than 3 inches tall! I
had just paid nearly $70
for a useless knickknack.
When I contacted them, I
was told that the ad did
not lie (no dimensions
were given in the ad) and
that if I assumed it was a
full-sized cat tree that was
my fault! Then they re-
fused to refund my mon-
ey, and within a week they
closed down their site and
were gone.
Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Bureau of Professional Licensing
HELOISE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
search a company and their
products very carefully be-
fore ordering online. —
Heloise
THREATENING
PHONE CALLS
January 28, 2022
9:00 a.m.
Dear Heloise: Nearly a
week ago I got a call from
someone claiming to be
from my utility company.
They claimed that I was be-
hind on my electric bill and
someone would be out to
disconnect my electricity
unless I paid them by debit
card or credit card then and
there. I knew I was up to
date on all my bills and
owed no one a dime. I fig-
ured it was a scam, and sure
enough it was. I hung up on
them after a few choice
words. Apparently, these
low-life scammers are call-
ing people all over the
country. So please ask your
readers to be aware of this
latest scam and not to pay
them. — Joseph A., Tem-
ple, Texas
Location: 611 W. Ottawa Street, Conference Room UL 4
Lansing, Michigan 48909
The hearing is held to receive public comments on the following administrative rules:
I know nothing can be
done now, but I’ve
Social Work—General Rules (MOAHR #2021-53 LR)
learned my lesson. Buy
with a credit card, not a
check or gift card. Read
the ad very carefully, and
if it seems too good to be
true, it’s probably a scam.
Don’t buy on social me-
dia, and investigate the
company by typing in the
name of the company with
the word “scam” and/or
“fraud” and see what
pops up. — Ellen J., Fres-
no, California
Authority: MCL 333.16145, 333.16148, 333.16287, 333.18516, and 333.18518, and Executive
Reorganization Order Nos. 1991-9, 1996-2, 2003-1, and 2011-4, MCL 338.3501, 445.2001,
445.2011, and 445.2030).
Overview: The amendments to the rules clarify definitions, update educational standards, and
update the training standards for identifying victims of human trafficking. The amendments also
clarify the requirements for registration, registration by endorsement, and reregistration and
amend the registration by endorsement and reregistration rules to require an applicant to
disclose each license, registration, or certification in a health profession or specialty issued by
any other jurisdiction or entity and require the applicant to demonstrate that no disciplinary
proceedings are currently pending and that any prior sanction has been satisfied. The
amendments add the requirements for a Canadian-licensed applicant to apply for licensure by
endorsement as a bachelor’s or master’s social worker, and they require an applicant for
licensure by endorsement or relicensure as a bachelor’s or master’s social worker to disclose
each license, registration, or certification in a health profession or specialty issued by any other
jurisdiction or entity and require the applicant to demonstrate that no disciplinary proceedings are
currently pending and that any prior sanction has been satisfied. Amendments have also been
made to the requirements for relicensure as a bachelor’s or master’s social worker to reduce the
number of hours of supervised work experience hours needed for those applicants whose
license has been lapsed for more than 3 years but less than 7 years. The amendments also
clarify the requirements for license renewal and the accumulation of continuing education credit
hours.
Ellen, we received a num-
ber of letters much like
yours. Readers, please re-
WATCHES
To Your Good Health
Blood pressure medication
caused terrible leg cramps
By Keith Roach, M.D.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I
ANSWER: Muscle cramps
are extremely common in
people with or without
have high blood pressure,
and I hope that you can ad-
vise me. For 10 years, I
have suffered with terrible
leg cramps in one or both
calves. I visited numerous
doctors in order to learn
what the cause was. Not one
practitioner questioned the
blood pressure medicine that
I had been taking: amlodip-
ine. My research showed
that in very few cases
cramping resulted. My car-
diologist won’t believe that
amlodipine causes this
cramping and he is insisting
that I go back to using am-
lodipine ....
blood pressure problems,
and I have not had a person
with cramps that went away
on stopping amlodipine. The
fact that they came back
when you restarted it, how-
ever, is pretty strong evi-
dence that the amlodipine
may be causing it in you.
The cardiologist still has
many other options. Am-
lodipine as a calcium chan-
nel blocker and is generally
very effective at lowering
blood pressure. There are
other calcium blockers that
might not have the same
side effect, and the cardiol-
ogist might try one related
to amlodipine (like nifedip-
ine) or unrelated (like dilti-
azem).
The rules will take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State, unless specified
otherwise in the rules. Comments on the proposed rules may be presented in person at the public
hearing. Written comments will also be accepted from date of publication until 5:00 p.m. on
January 28, 2022, at the following address or e-mail address:
I began to experiment.
Very gradually, I cut down
this medication, and almost
immediately, the cramping
disappeared. Each time I
went back to the amlodipine,
the cramping returned. I also
use benazepril, which causes
me no problems. My doctor
added carvedilol, and is in-
creasing the dosage, but so
far it isn't helping the blood
pressure go down.
Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Bureau of Professional Licensing– Boards and Committees Section
P.O. Box 30670
Lansing, MI 48909-8170
Attention: Policy Analyst Email: BPL-BoardSupport@michigan.gov
There are other classes of
medicines, such as diuretics,
which can also be used.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Roach
regrets that he is unable to an-
swer individual letters, but will in-
corporate them in the column
whenever possible. Readers may
email questions to ToYourGood-
Health@med.cornell.edu or send
mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlan-
do, FL 32803.
Have you ever heard of
this happening? — H.S.
