MEDICAL MATTERS

[Stanley]

Sue's experience with Norovirus prompted me to be even more careful than usual......

[Wendyf]

Colin has decided to start on a low carbohydrate diet to control his diabetes...it's a bit of an upheaval to change long held eating habits but we have been making an enthusiastic start. All the recommended "slow release" starchy foods like cereals, basmati or brown rice, wholewheat pasta, potatoes and most bread now banned and cheese, eggs, butter and cream back on the menu. An amazing difference in blood sugar levels already, even though he was always very restrained with portion sizes before. Blood sugars steady throughout the day between 5 and 7 mmols. The next step is to talk to the doctor about cutting down on his gliclazide tablets, because any exercise sends him too low.
We are experimenting with baking using almond flour and other high protein/low carb flours....chocolate cake and scones back on the menu with lashings of cream! I'll get fat of course.

[Marilyn]

You can only try, Wendy ( and good on you both for giving it a go).
Col has to find out what works for him, despite modern day say-so. ( I have the same thinking re Cholestrol. I follow the guidelines, but still have problems and I can't work out what I am doing wrong.) it is frustrating. All I can put it down to is that I was born into a cold/damp climate, and my body chemistry is not meant for a hot/dry one. I was built for harsh winters. My body fats are confused.. )

[PanBiker]

Wendy, have you tried MyFitnessPal. It's effectively a nutrient tracker, most use it to track calories but you can set it up to focus on carbs or protein etc.

[Wendyf]

I think Col subscribed to MyFitnessPal yesterday Ian.

[PanBiker]

Once you get into it, it can be really helpful as it shows you the breakdown of each foodstuff. Very good if you are tracking your intake. Our lad Jack uses it in protein and carb mode as he maintains using the gym, calorie intake is not such an issue if you are doing regular hard physical exercise which I assume will apply to Col to some degree.

We have been using it for nearly a year and both myself and Sally have benefited with weight loss, and in my case reduced BP and cholesterol without having to resort to medication. Let us know how he gets on with it.

[Stanley]

So nice to see intelligent people taking an interest in what they eat. Nice to see the 'killer foods' like cheese, cream and saturated fats getting a reprieve..... Go for it!



Keep your eyes peeled for this. One of the best cheeses I have ever tasted.... Brown's stock it down Gisburn Road.....

[Marilyn]

Hubby is the Cheese eater in our house and likes a good/bitey/strong Cheese.
I am more your wrapped slices of mild/milky/kiddie friendly cheese kind of girl.
I do like the name "Stinking Bishop" ( what a brilliant name)...but it would be safe with me. Not so safe with hubby I expect.
( we spend a small fortune on his Cheese)

[Stanley]

This one is worth looking for.....

[Marilyn]

Battling an ingrown toenail.
I have "operated" on it today, and used plenty of antiseptic...

[Wendyf]

Ouch.

[Cathy]

Cut a V in the middle of the nail, they say it relieves pressure from the sides.

[Marilyn]

Will take another look with that view tomorrow, Cazza.
I have reached my pain tolerance level for today

[PanBiker]

I'm back on Ibuprofin as my shoulder is not right yet. Will let the after Christmas hoards disperse a bit before I make another appointment with my doc. The steroid injection I had before Christmas did offer some relief once it kicked in but the pain in raising my arm seems to have moved to a different set of muscles. It's not good with limited mobility and he'll have to have another go at it.

[Stanley]

Be careful with that toe nail Maz. Consider going to a professional....
Shoulders can be long term Ian. The one I smashed up all those years ago is still with me.... I triggered it when I fell flat on my face. I find it bothers me most when I am at rest, if I'm active I can forget it.....

[Marilyn]

Toe looked a somewhat better today when I took the dressing down...less red...less sore.
So I left the dressing off to get air to it. It's been pretty good all day. Feeling it a bit now, but we did go for a walk.
I will leave it uncovered overnight and review in the morning. No paracetamol required ( though experience tells me that bedclothes can annoy it unless I stick it out of bed all night.)
Might take big toe to the beach tomorrow and paddle in salty surf...

[Tizer]

Maz, be careful in case it's open to infection. Although we think of sea water as being safe because it's salty there are bacteria that survive it and cause problems. One of these, Vibrio vulnificus, is better known for causing food poisoning through eating shellfish but it also causes serious illness if it gets in a wound. Vibrio

[Marilyn]

Well...there goes THAT idea...

[Marilyn]

It had a soak in salt water...previously boiled, and salt came from the pantry.
Not expecting any infection that will cause loss of digits.

[Stanley]

Salt is good Maz but be careful with it.
I got news this morning that a lady friend of mine who is a nurse in a new emergency hospital was taken ill suddenly with violent stomach pain and her husband rushed her into her own hospital straight away. Tests proved that part of her bowel had suffered interruption of the blood supply. By 5AM yesterday she had been operated on, the offending piece of bowel cut out and though still poorly she is making a good recovery. She is on the ward next to the one she worked on and being nursed by her friends. Early days but thank God for the NHS......

[Tizer]

One of our village friends, a man in his 70s, was rushed into hospital just before Xmas with a failed aortic valve. They opened his chest and fitted him with a `natural valve' which they described as being from either a cow or a pig. He was out again fairly quickly and we met him walking with his wife yesterday and looking hale and hearty. It will last him out and is less likely to cause any rejection problems than would a plastic valve. Also he said he was glad to have the animal heart because `the plastic ones sometimes click'! I refrained from asking him if the animal was ritually sacrificed to provide him with the valve - I'd have got into trouble with Mrs Tiz - but what made me wonder is that I'm reading Bill Bryson's `Road to Little Dribbling'. He relates how he visited the museum devoted to Gilbert White in Selborne. A glass case contains the original copy of White's famous book on the natural history of Selborne and a caption says the book was bound in leather made from the skin of White's pet spaniel. Typically, Bryson wanted to know if the spaniel conveniently died or if it was sacrificed!

[Marilyn]

I could possibly dig out another splinter of toe-nail if you have any use for it Tizzy....

[Tizer]

We might be able to clone you, Maz! Could be confusing for Febby though.

[Marilyn]

By the time the Clone of me matures, I expect Febby would be quite confused indeed...he would prefer an instant one...whilst all faculties remain intact.
I have quite a few chores I would happily relinquish.

[Stanley]

My friend has had a bit of a set back but she's getting good care. We all have fingers crossed....
Maz, leave that toe alone!