MEDICAL MATTERS

[Stanley]

My thoughts exactly. I can come clean now and tell you all that I was worried sick that I was going to get into an endless round of hospital visits for 'checks' and 'investigations'. I'm a realist and know I am on borrowed time and my ideal is to be left alone in my house with my routines and supported by the medical profession, not have my remaining years spoiled. Luckily I have a doctor who understands this. So, I shall stick rigidly to low carbs and lose some weight. I reckon that gives me the best chance. After all, if a bloke can stop smoking after 75 years he can lose a stone and a half! Onward and upwards.

[Cathy]

Good news Stanley

[Stanley]

Thanks Cathy.....

[Stanley]

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday I couldn't sleep for worrying when I went back to bed for second sleep. This morning I did 3 hours, no problem..... Lovely.....

[Tizer]

We're glad to hear your good news, Stanley. Keep it up!

[Stanley]

Peter... This looking after yourself as you get older is complicated stuff. I shall work on being very good at it!

[Whyperion]

Just been round to the surgery for a blood test. Booked it a couple of weeks ago as a follow up when my last one showed slight iron deficiency. I have popped the iron tablets as advised for a couple of months and then had a month off as also advised. Thankfully my bowels have recovered from the onslaught!
Anyway, I rocked up at the required time and was called in. Nurse had a go in my left arm, started and then stopped. She swapped to the right arm with apologies and could get nothing, more apologies and back to the left, nothing, further apologies and a then a wait for another nurse to have a go when she was free. New nurse, straight in the left no problem, samples taken and I'm done. Four needles, two syringes and two plasters, feel a bit like a pincushion! Maybe first nurse was having a bad day or something or lack of practice.

Ring in a week for the results. If I am clear I will book my next donor slot, I never have a problem at blood donors and have the tracks to prove it.

Wonder if some nurses have been giving IN so many vaccine injections they have forgotten how to take OUT blood ?

[PanBiker]

I will probably be able to do a double whammy at the Docs tomorrow. I need to make a face to face appointment tomorrow if possible, I seem to have developed an ear infection at the right. Very painful and swollen last night when I tried to eat my tea, I had to leave it, aggravates it when I chew. I'm on porridge and home made chicken soup today! I noticed on Friday that I had slight tightness and numbness at that side but it is not uncommon as I occasionally still get transient sensation like that as a legacy of my brain surgery. Not the case in this instance though. Popped a few paracetamol tabs last night, swelling has gone down with rest but it's still tight.

I was supposed to ring for my blood test results but if I am going I might as well ask if they are back. I am booked at Colne Health Centre to have my ears syringed but that's not until April which was the earliest slot.

[Big Kev]

I am booked at Colne Health Centre to have my ears syringed but that's not until April which was the earliest slot.

Youngest offspring has just had his ears vacuumed out. He has 'egg timer' shaped ear canals apparently so gets a build up of wax in there. He said it felt much better than syringing.

[Tizer]

I hope the doc sorts it for you, Ian.

[plaques]

Sainburys Colne do a micro suction at around £34 per lug hole. You have to book but they may not do it if you have an ear infection. As far as I know the only micro suction on the local NHS is at Royal Blackburn by referral from the GP.

[Big Kev]

Offspring used a clinic in Harrogate, he had to go back for a second visit as one ear needed it's contents softening with olive oil. I believe the total bill was around £60.

[Stanley]

Ears are such ticklish things and so painful if things go wrong. My daughters have been plagued with ear problems all their lives, a genetic legacy from Mary Agnes, Vera's mother. I hope it quietens down and you get a good result Ian.

[PanBiker]

I didn't ring the docs this morning. My ear seems to have cleared completely, no tightness or pain at all and the side of my face no longer tender to the touch. I doubt that he would see anything so I have decided to leave it for now. I will take another view tomorrow when I ring for my blood test results. Mondays are always a bit manic anyway and I reckon I will survive.

[Tizer]

Good news, Ian, I hope it stays OK now.

I heard a noise in the neighbour's garden this morning and saw it was a new fence being erected after the wind damaged the old one. Then I recognised Simon, the man who put up all our new fences when we came to this house and had done fences at our previous village house. We had a good chat over the fence but I was sad to hear that he's suffering from long-covid. He's a big, strong bloke, well-suited to fencing and was always very active even though he had asthma. Now he's finding everything to be much harder and sometimes he's unable to work for days at a time. Even when he can work he has to take it more slowly and stop if it gets too much. A real problem for a self-employed man doing a heavy job like fencing. It's times like this when I feel really angry that our government didn't act more quickly when they first were told about Covid by the epidemiologists...and I could say the same for climate change and Ukraine and our previous governments too.

[Stanley]

One of the first things I do Ian if my ears are below par is check I am drinking lots of water. It makes a difference.
Long Covid is a bugger Tiz and one of the problems is that so little is known about it. Susan is much better than she was but still not the same woman she was before the Sarcoidosis struck her. Of course nobody will say definitely that it is Long Covid, they haven't a clear definition. But I have little doubt there is a connection because both of them are intimately connected with the immune system.
As in so many other matters I am grateful I have been spared so many things!

[PanBiker]

Non joined up thinking! Rang the surgery this morning for my blood test results. Preamble for the first minute about doing it online and first appointments being by phone etc. Then the options, 1 for emergency 2 for results, hold for everything else. I press number 2 and then get a message to say that I have to ring back after 12 noon and before 6pm! Why can't this info be part of the preamble?

[Tizer]

Because that would make it too easy to get through!

[PanBiker]

I rang back this afternoon and my blood results are normal. As a result I have booked my next slot at blood donors.

[Stanley]

Good! Is your ear still good?
Margaret hasn't got the result of her PCR test back yet..... She needs a negative result to finalise her ticket.

[plaques]

Getting through to the Colne Health Centre can be more than a little frustrating. The switch board opens at 8.00 am. the best plan is to keep ringing every 10 seconds until you finally get through to the blurb. When you do you may be lucky and be 6th in the queue if not you could be anything up to 20th.
One young lady was complaining in Boots chemists that being unable to make an appointment directly visiting the reception desk she had to resort to telephone calls at 20p a minute only to find that after spending £4 on the call there where no appointments slots available. Clearly she was very had up and could not afford the luxury of some expensive mobile phone plan.

[PanBiker]

In the main, I still find our surgery very good and can always get the result I expect from the services provided. As long as you take into account the restraints they have to work under and don't go off on one at every barrier you are OK. My post above just seems common sense to me.

I must have hit Colne Health Centre at just the right time when I booked for my ears. Phone rang out for about 10 seconds and was answered. Appointment sorted in a couple of minutes.

Yes Stanley. It just seemed to be flare up on Saturday it was OK by Sunday and has been fine since. My own immune system must have jumped on it and done it's stuff.

[Stanley]

Glad to hear that Ian....

[Tizer]

This is good news, let's hope people continue with the better hygiene!...
`Fewer stomach bugs recorded during UK's lockdown' LINK

Here's an important note from the article...
Prof Gharbia said...."As with Covid and other infectious illnesses, handwashing is really important to help stop the spread of this bug, but remember, unlike for Covid, alcohol gels do not kill off norovirus, so soap and water is best."

[Stanley]

I still keep to my regime of making sure my kitchen sink, the faucet mouth and the tap handles are all sanitised with a bleach solution once a day. Not sure if that's enough but at least I know I have killed the bugs at least once!
I see the state of some people's sinks and wonder how they can live with them!