MEDICAL MATTERS

[Wendyf]

I have a friend who takes a diuretic because a doctor prescribed them years ago presumably for high blood pressure, she is constantly dehydrated and carries a bottle of water everywhere.

[Stanley]

I am very suspicious of diuretics, or as we used to call them, 'water pills' especially if the prescription is long term. I know of one instance where prolonged use led to I think it was a Potassium deficiency which eventually triggered the final cause of death. I would be asking a lot of questions if I was your friend Wendy!

[chinatyke]

Potassium sparing/imbalance is a known side effect. Diuretics only reduce BP slightly, about a 5 points reduction, and in this context are usually used with other medication. My BP is obviously well inside the limit and I can do without the side effects of this particular drug. We have to be very careful about dehydration whilst living with high ambient temperatures in the tropics, and I've noticed a lot of ex-pats living here have gout, which I attribute to low hydration (and excessive alcohol intake!).

I was like you, Stanley, suspicious of any long term drug use, but I now take daily ACEI, low dose aspirin and statin. Hopefully that should protect me a little while longer!

[Stanley]

Good luck with it China!
I always remember a friend of mine who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I asked her what the treatment was and she told me she had gone onto the whisky and intended to die a good colour. She did exactly that!

[Stanley]

Remember me swapping the sofa for an upright armchair with a winged back? I have lost the pain in my left side which I suspected was due to me slumping in the corner of the sofa. It looks as though I was right! A change is as good as a rest!

[Stanley]

I mentioned the other day that we had a medical emergency in the family. My son in law had all the symptoms of a heart attack. The ambulance paramedics whipped him direct to Blackpool where evidently they have a specialised unit. After a full MOT it was diagnosed as Pericarditis, he was given anti inflammatories and is back home. He can go back to work if he wants to. I've never looked into it before but it seems to be quite common.
Huge sighs of relief all round but didn't the NHS do well. Incidentally part of the blood tests confirmed that his encounter with Covid19 has left him with a very effective load of antibodies.

[PanBiker]

That's good news Stanley, I wish him a speedy recovery.

[Stanley]

He's resting and perfectly well thanks Ian.

[PanBiker]

Been for an eye test today, I got a "make an appointment" letter, so I did. Specsavers at Skipton, I went last July which I seem to remember so I asked why I was back within 1 year instead of 2? Optician looked at my last years notes and said it was because I had not scored enough on the peripheral vision machine where you have to press the button every time you see a light, the one that goes on for about 10 minutes for each eye. Anyway he did his tests after consulting the results of my eye pressure tests done shortly after arrival. Pleased to say I surprised him with reading the middle line on his chosen chart for me which he said placed me with above average sight. I passed the red/green tests with good scores also. He marked me as above average and no change's required as far as my reading glasses go . He passed me on to the peripheral vision machine lady to repeat the test I did last year. 20 minutes later after reviewing the results of that session he was happy, I scored above average on that as well.

So, above average on normal vision and no change on my near sight requirement. Don't need any new specs and he has put me back on 2 year recall unless I have any concerns of my own in the interim.

[Tizer]

Well done, it sounds like you share Stanley's fighter pilot vision!

Stanley, has your son-in-law had covid-19 or some other respiratory infection? They can lead to pericarditis.

[Stanley]

Yes Peter, both he and Susan have had it and recovered. Both have tests every week and have a good antibody score but that's interesting. I'll tweak him and ask if the doctors mentioned that.
Eye tests are funny Ian. I can score on the smallest lines of text with my left eye but the right has a distortion due to the detached retina and is the one that leads me astray. They offered me another operation on it to try to cure it but I told them on the whole I thought it better to live with it. They agreed. That's the one that leads me astray in the shed.
The time to worry is when you wake up completely blind in one eye. That gets your attention very quickly.
So I'll settle for what I have got!

[Tizer]

My cousin's 15-year-old daughter has just gone back to school to start her A Level courses but a kid in her chemistry class has got covid so she's back home again already. On our walk yesterday we passed her some of Mrs Tiz's `Cosmic Flapjack' at the front door - that should stop her getting covid!

[Cosmic Flapjack is the name the Field Studies Council gives to the much-appreciated flapjack made by the cook at one of its study centres.]

[Tripps]

I went for a Flu jab at 11.58 precisely this morning at the Village College. Well organised (eight jabbing stations with two or three nurse per station) and I was back home at ten past twelve. It's about the longest time I've spent out of the house since March. I wore a mask as instructed, and found it hot and uncomfortable, but tolerable for the few minutes it took. . All the candidates seemed to be aged - not a pretty sight en masse, quite depressing actually.

I couldn't wait to get back and put the kettle on. How do you spell agrophobia?

[Stanley]

Sounds good David. I have a lot of faith in the annual Winter Flu jab. Mind you, now we are all experts in self isolation I realise that my anti-social habits over the years might have been just as big a factor as the vaccine!

[Tripps]

Not good yesterday. Having decided too soon that there were no after effects - I woke up feeling quite groggy. Decided that a shingles jab in the afternoon wouldn't be a good idea, so re scheduled it for next week. Surprisingly easy to do. Took two Ibuprofen and put my feet up literally .

Back to land by Judge Rinder.

[Stanley]

Hard luck David. Should be short-lived. Lie close to a bottle of whisky.

[Marilyn]

Had an incident tonight as I was finishing dinner ( a normal night, a normal meal). I suddenly felt intensely unwell and had to go and lie on the bed, unable to finish dinner. Slept for over an hour without moving a muscle, only woke up when hubby came in and threw a rug over me. Got up after another half hour and declared I felt fine.
Gosh...what was all that about?
I feel pretty good now. Have not had that happen in my life before, but I simply had to make my way to bed.
( hope it isn’t Covid!!,,!,,)
( he said go and get tested. I replied that I am fine now and he can get tested if HE gets sick).
What an extraordinary thing to happen though - it came on so suddenly and I felt terribly ill...

[PanBiker]

How is your BP Maz? When Sally had her back seizure incident a few months ago her blood pressure dropped through the floor. She has low blood pressure anyway but that incident floored her in the short term. Fine after a whizz through A&E as recommended. Medics put that one down to a trapped nerve.

I hope you continue to feel fine.

[Marilyn]

I didn’t give a thought to my BP.
( I don’t think I would have felt well enough to take it, though our BP machine sits atop the bedroom dresser drawers).
I feel perfectly normal now!
( but Blimey I felt really terrible. I laid on the bed, did not want to move a muscle, and was aware I wasn’t really sure where my limbs were...I thought where are my arms and hands? I couldn’t tell! Then I started wriggling my fingers and toes and was convinced my hands were laying on my tummy. No they weren’t...they were tucked under my bum.)
All good now. Feel 100% normal.

[chinatyke]

Had an incident tonight as I was finishing dinner ( a normal night, a normal meal). I suddenly felt intensely unwell and had to go and lie on the bed, unable to finish dinner. Slept for over an hour without moving a muscle, only woke up when hubby came in and threw a rug over me. Got up after another half hour and declared I felt fine.
Gosh...what was all that about?
I feel pretty good now. Have not had that happen in my life before, but I simply had to make my way to bed.
( hope it isn’t Covid!!,,!,,)
( he said go and get tested. I replied that I am fine now and he can get tested if HE gets sick).
What an extraordinary thing to happen though - it came on so suddenly and I felt terribly ill...

That's scary. I'd be inclined to check it out with your GP if you can't pinpoint the underlying cause.

[Marilyn]

I have had a few weeks of tingling in my right arm ( BP has been ok), but it is a positional problem and if I sit up straight, it goes away. I’m sure it is part of my Spinal nerve trouble, with several discs bulging. I have an appointment soon when I meant to mention it ( but you know GP’s.they tend to look at you like they are not quite sure they really believe you).

[PanBiker]

Sounds similar to the transient seizures I got before surgery. Mine were restricted to complete loss of function and sensation down one side though not whole body seizures. I know there are many on the support site I visit that do get full body seizures including triggered epilepsy. Left me some mobility but I learnt quite quickly to sit down if they came on when active. Pretty queer anyway Maz, worth mentioning to a medic, could be neurological I suppose. They treated my symptoms twice as TIA's until they shoved me in a scanner.

[Marilyn]

I’ve been in the MRI several times, but only from the hips/waist down I think...
Funny thing is I have been getting neck cramps on the left side lately ( brief but painful) but the tingling happens on the Right arm...bicep muscle, along the inside of the lower arm, then thumb and index finger...
As I say, if I adjust my posture and sit up very straight, the tingling goes away.
( I am a great one for ignoring things)
But I will make it a point of conversation with the GP.

[PanBiker]

Left hemisphere impacts right and vice versa of which I am sure you are aware. I still have residual numbness down my right shoulder and upper arm and when I am tired that spreads to my neck and lower jaw. Par for the course with a motor cortex tumour after surgery, apparently that is the void left behind settling down. It can take years to resolve, not debilitating just annoying and an awareness that that side feels "thicker" than the other if you get my drift. I take it that your episode didn't affect your respiration as such. If it happens again though I am with China, time to hit your equivalent cavalry button if you have one. Total fall over regardless of duration should not be ignored, but you already know that with your nurses hat on don't you?

[Marilyn]

One thing I could concentrate on was my breathing, and it was just fine...the fact that I was just happy laying there and not moving troubles me more, but I was not in any pain at all. My eyes were shut but I was not asleep. Weird.