Navigating senior years.

[Donstar]

A couple of nights ago we awoke to our smoke alarm chirping every thirty seconds.  It was telling us 10 years have passed since  I replaced the last one.  My dog forgot this happened before and that there was nothing to fear!  She shook and panted until I restored order in her kingdom!  It took a bit to get a ladder, remove the alarm and put it somewhere where the dog couldn't hear it.  (They are simple to silence when you know how but that was a project for the morning!)  Today, I installed a new 10 year alarm and showed my wife how to silence the beast in case I'm not here next time!    

[TrueBlue]

Our dogs don't like them much either. A few years back our daughter's was chirping, driving her dog nuts so my wife and I drove over in a blinding snow storm at night to bring fix it. It was up high and she had no ladder. On the way home I slid out on a roundabout and did about $7K damage to our Highlander, none of it body damage. Sold it about a year and a half later so I could get into a proper 4WD again.

[KARNUT]

My mother in laws house has one in almost every room on the ceiling. They are all tied together and hooked to her alarm system. They have battery backup and all sing together when they want attention. Those batteries get changed preemptively. My house has the old style. You change the 9 volt twice a year not to have that chirp. No ladder needed. 

[Donstar]

I pushed the test button on my new smoke alarm while Star(dog) was out for a stroll with her mum.  Our canine companion will probably have heart failure if she ever hears the new alarm/voice combo in the middle of the night!  She is in her senior years and will not experience this alarm's 10th birthday celebration!  My wife and I also appreciate we'll be on the plus side of the average life expectancy charts and used this opportunity to share more of how we do our respective household tasks.  Our 5 decades together have found us each with preferred household responsibilities.  I believe we share the workload evenly but it is surprising how traditional our division of labour has evolved!    

[Silverado4x4]

Our smoke alarms are tied together also runs on electric with battery backup. One night about 3am the one in the basement went off 1st then the others I jumped out of bed and probably hitting 2 or 3 stairs heading down fast I got to the basement and saw nothing then they stopped. I was talking to a electrician buddy about it and he laughed a little and he told me what probably happened was a tiny spider crawled across the sensor and set it off. We'll a few days later I saw that little bastard on the side of the detector and he is no longer around.

Edited February 19, 2025 by Silverado4x4

[OnTheReel]

My wife got one of those talking ones on sale so I put it in our office. Years later I’m sitting in the den alone one night and hear a faint female voice in the distance. Scared the crap out of me. I follow the sound and find it’s just that smoke detector telling me “replace battery” in a thick Chinese accent. Instead I just replaced the whole thing with a normal one. 

[Silverado4x4]

5 hours ago, OnTheReel said:

My wife got one of those talking ones on sale so I put it in our office. Years later I’m sitting in the den alone one night and hear a faint female voice in the distance. Scared the crap out of me. I follow the sound and find it’s just that smoke detector telling me “replace battery” in a thick Chinese accent. Instead I just replaced the whole thing with a normal one. 

Had to laugh at that one as I had a similar experience. I was sitting in the living room one day wife wasn't home and I hear someone talking so I got up opened the front door and looked outside didn't see anybody sat back down and I hear it again for the 2nd time now iam getting pissed after the 2nd time getting up I heard talking upstairs so I go upstairs and realized I left the tv on in our bedroom. It was a program on that someone was only talking once in a while.

[Donstar]

What about that annoying person who tries to tell you your door is a jar???

[Donstar]

My outside garage door opener quit the same week as my smoke alarm.  I ordered a new one from amazon that appeared identical to the one I wanted to replace.  When it arrived, I was disappointed to find that the new one was battery operated.   Today I was going to return it and get one that was hardwired.  This morning I woke up wondering if I made a wrong assumption.  As soon as it was light out I went and removed the cover from the old keypad.  I was surprised to find a no-name 9V battery on the inside.  I put in a fresh battery and the control works as good as new.  We have lived in this house for 11 years and use this point of entry on a regular basis.  The house was 4 years old when we moved in so I suspect this battery lasted 15 years!  

[KARNUT]

The first time my mother called me when I just got my GPS was amusing. Your next turn is in 10 miles. Who’s that! I milked it for awhile.

[Donstar]

Wednesday night we had to make a visit to the ER. (We are ok)  We spent close to three hours in wait time.  What a place to people watch!  When it was our turn, we were treated as if we were the Doctor's only patient yet s/he would have dealt with dozens of others before and after our visit.  I can't imagine how ER staff can live a normal life after a shift.   You need super human qualities to function in such an environment and it's definitely not for the paycheck!  

[KARNUT]

18 minutes ago, Donstar said:

Wednesday night we had to make a visit to the ER. (We are ok)  We spent close to three hours in wait time.  What a place to people watch!  When it was our turn, we were treated as if we were the Doctor's only patient yet s/he would have dealt with dozens of others before and after our visit.  I can't imagine how ER staff can live a normal life after a shift.   You need super human qualities to function in such an environment and it's definitely not for the paycheck!  

We have a ton of small emergency centers here. People would jam the emergency room with silly things like a cold. People who don’t have doctors. The small emergency centers handle that for the most part. The only way I would go to a hospital emergency room is by ambulance. You go right to the back for instant service because it’s an emergency. There was never a time in my life that I didn’t have hospitalization. Our hospital emergency room is jammed with people who use it as a doctor visit. Thank goodness for emergency centers.

[Donstar]

We also have smaller walk-in clinics and hospital emergency rooms being heavily used by people who don't have a family doctor.  Most people use these services for good reason even though their symptoms may appear insignificant.  I come from a family of hard-asses who  wait until there's blood or disfigurement before they'll see a Doctor.   I would far rather be told I have nothing to worry about than I should have come in earlier.  I had a brother, sister and sister-in-law who left their families to mourn unexpectedly and prematurely from dismissing warning signs. I get very testy when my senior friends say they're not feeling well but haven't told a medical professional.  Your symptom may be warning you of something other than what you suspect.  Also,  Google can provide all sorts of ideas but can't replace in-person medical attention.  

[KARNUT]

18 minutes ago, Donstar said:

We also have smaller walk-in clinics and hospital emergency rooms being heavily used by people who don't have a family doctor.  Most people use these services for good reason even though their symptoms may appear insignificant.  I come from a family of hard-asses who  wait until there's blood or disfigurement before they'll see a Doctor.   I would far rather be told I have nothing to worry about than I should have come in earlier.  I had a brother, sister and sister-in-law who left their families to mourn unexpectedly and prematurely from dismissing warning signs. I get very testy when my senior friends say they're not feeling well but haven't told a medical professional.  Your symptom may be warning you of something other than what you suspect.  Also,  Google can provide all sorts of ideas but can't replace in-person medical attention.  

Everyone should have a GP and go once a year. Parents should take kids to get a routine going. My mother tried to do that with me with dentists. I refused. My first pull was at 20. Second at 40. Finally my father had all his pulled and got dentures. He came in the office and said it wasn’t worth it. Take care of your teeth. I went in any got them all done. Twenty years later I got an abscess, OUCH. I got them done again. The dentist chewed me out because I have great teeth. Now I get them cleaned every 6 months with X-rays. It’s much easier to get a small cavity fixed than a root canal. As far as yearly doctor visits. Since I was 19 I’ve had high blood pressure so I go yearly. Genetics. Even if there’s something that you don’t want your doctor to do during your yearly visit, fine. They won’t do it. But the blood work alone could, will save your life. 

[Donstar]

Unfortunately we're experiencing a shortage of Doctors and not everyone who wants a family physician can find one.  This is  a significant problem in less populated regions.  I agree that you need to tell your Doctor if you're afraid of a particular test or procedure.  Often, there are other ways to get the  results they need.