MEDICAL MATTERS

[Stanley]

Too bloody right Richard! Apart from Botulism, it's the worst I have ever been and it took me months to fully recover even though I was a super fit lad and doing all the right things.

[Big Kev]

Pasta for diabetics
Fascinating stuff...

[Stanley]

I saw that on Trust Me I'm a Doctor Kev. As you say, fascinating and it seems to apply to other carbohydrates as well. Perhaps I'm not doing myself as much harm as I thought with my bread and spuds!

[Stanley]

See THIS for news of a miraculous cure for one man whose spinal cord was severed in a
knife attack. The Polish surgeons stress that this was a clean cut. Cells from his nose were transplanted into his spinal cord and the nerves renewed themselves. A wonderful advance and proves for the first time that damaged nerve cells can regrow.

[Stanley]

Further evidence that my eyes are still changing. I have been using my old distance glasses for watching TV because they were better than the new varifocal ones but last night I tried changing back to the new ones and things improved. It's a slow job but nice to see that things are still improving.

[Tizer]

Good news about preventing age-related memory loss...
http://www.oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/view ... 606#p63606

[Stanley]

I sometimes wonder whether the constant nagging by the media on dementia, fuelled largely by the cost of dealing with what seems to be a growing problem, is producing more worry and fear of old age than is warranted....

[LizG]

Mum's still in bed after almost 4 weeks. Self diagnosis is not a good thing. At first she said she'd hurt her back, then it was her hamstring. She finally went to the doctor and scans show that it is chronic arthritis in both hips causing the pain. Hopefully the proper medication will kick in and she'll get out of bed soon. I'm worried about loss of muscle now but she won't talk about it...oh dear.

[Stanley]

Worrying Liz.... I've always believed that keeping mobile, no matter how limited, is a key factor as you get older. Far too easy to fall into bad habits. My personal trainer Jack makes sure I have regular walks and getting back into the shed instead of sitting reading all day is definitely having a good effect. I think I'm walking better now than at any time on the last five years. I shall keep working at it!

[Stanley]

One of the subjects covered in 'Trust Me, I'm a Doctor' last night was the value of everyday activities as exercise. Very interesting and it reinforces my belief that the shed is doing me good. If you add in my dog walks I am way above the 150 minutes they set as a bench mark to aim at. I'm not sure if this wasn't for a full week! If so, there must be some very unfit people out there! My score is at least 5 hours a day.....

[Cathy]

My day usually starts with a hot shower, having that hot water running down my back does wonders. i live in a small place (like you Stanley) and find that I don't move enough to get up a momentum, within that space. When I go outside into the community (shopping, work, walking) I can feel my body moving and getting back to normal and moving easier and quicker. After a few hours of being more mobile I do have to rest tho, and then it all starts again. But it's not just the body that benefits, it's the spirit too.

[Stanley]

Dead right Cathy. One of the interesting things about the study of exercise on Trust Me, I'm a Doctor was that ordinary tasks like vacuuming or ironing all have value as mobility aids but you're right, nothing beats having a half hour walk at a brisk pace through pleasant surroundings. That's the value of having a fitness trainer like Jack. No matter what the weather he is the incentive for getting into gear and going out! (He doesn't mind the weather and mention of a walk always gets him jumping about with excitement.

[Stanley]

Blood test at Diabetes Clinic this morning prior to my latest assessment on Monday 10th November. Urine sample as well. I have a question.... has anyone else ever had a sample rejected because it was too pure? I have and the nurse said she had never seen it before. Am I too de-toxed?

[Cathy]

Rejected?? No haven't heard of that before. Maybe you will have to eat some junk food, drink some alcohol, and take some drugs of some sort Stanley to be accepted...

[Tizer]

I think she's pulling your leg Stanley. What does she mean by urine being `too pure'? After all, it's a means of excreting lots of natural chemicals from your body at low concentration. Some of these are not from what you've eaten or breathed in but just the remnants from all the cells that are replaced every day throughout your body. If she's only referring to sugar concentration then perhaps you don't have diabetes?

I once had a routine check up from a doctor who dipped a clinistix paper (the type that changes colour if sugar is present) in my urine sample to see if it contained any sugar. It changed colour to show a positive for sugar. He looked at it, said "That can't be right", dipped in another which didn't change colour and declared me free of sugar and sent me home. Which left me with a 50:50 probability of having diabetes! I wouldn't have employed him in my lab!

[Stanley]

I see the diabetes nurse next Monday and I'm fairly sure that if there is a slight elevation in my sugar levels she will want to change my medication. She tried it last time even though all the other parameters are well within limits. They don't seem to understand my contention that the 'limits' are arbitrary and based on averages and I am not 'average'. I doubt if anyone has a better diet than me. I take no drugs apart from the 3X500mg Metformin a day and I am in superb health for someone approaching 80 years old. I am not interested in their version of prevention being a good thing. Prevention of what? Are they promising me that if I follow their instructions I will live forever? Of course not but that's the premise they work on. The Diabetes Programme is a good thing and I'm all in favour of it but a bit of common sense added into the mix would improve it. Luckily they can't force me to do as they advise. That will be a very bad day if it ever comes.... So, we'll see what the blood test says.

[Tripps]

Hello folks - It's me again. I've had a few problems post op, and I'll spare you the detail, but hopefully now in the process of resolution. I was back in hospital for three days - and it's now three weeks since the Consultant said "the stage where sudden death was a possible outcome has now safely passed".
I guess I should have put that on 'Quote of the day'

[PanBiker]

Sounds ominous Tripps, infection related perhaps? Seems to be high up on the post op risk list more nowadays. Anyway seems like you are on the mend, keep positive for a speedy recovery.

[Stanley]

David, your consultant sounds a bit insensitive! Was he perhaps speaking more for himself? Anyway, I hope things go smoothly from here on in.... Best of luck!

[Stanley]

I can't find any mention on the web but there has just been an interesting report on BBC R4 about a new discovery in the treatment of heart attacks. The doctor said that they have known for a long time that one of the biggest causes of damage after a heart attack is that when cells are deprived of oxygen they start to secrete a chemical that reacts with the oxygen when clot busting therapy is used and the supply is restored. The by products from the reaction are more damaging than the actual heart attack and the resulting damage means long term heart problems for the patient. What they have discovered is that a very common chemical inhibits the reaction of the cells to oxygen deprivation and they suspect that if this is applied as part of the clot busting treatment they can alleviate the otherwise damaging after effects. I hope I have got that right! Sounds like a very promising line of research.....

[Tizer]

I think this is what you want:
http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/new ... ack-stroke
`Fruit Chemicals May Minimize Organ Damage After Heart Attack, Stroke'
British science of course! Research published in `Nature' and done by scientists led by teams at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Mitochondrial Biology Unit, MRC Cancer Unit and the University of Cambridge. Looks promising.

[Stanley]

That's it Tiz. I was somewhere near right then.....

[Stanley]

Good blood tests at Diabetes Clinic. Everything fine except that blood sugar is creeping up so Metformin500mg increased from 1x3 a day to 2X2. Still well within maximum dose. They think I might live a bit longer.... Oh, and she persuaded me to have the shingles vaccination which I was already thinking about having seen a poster in the surgery. NHS working well, no complaints.
PS. Following Dracula's advice I took the nurse a cream filled chocolate éclair, her face lit up.....

[Stanley]

My pilot light is flickering this morning, feeling a bit delicate... Suspect it might be the Shingles vaccination. No other symptoms and the actual site of the subcutaneous injection, which can cause a reaction, is OK. I shall play safe and treat myself kindly for a day or two....

[Moh]

Hubby had the same reaction to his shingles injection. I remember when I had shingles (which consisted of one spot on my forehead) I was so weak it took too much out of me just to get up to switch the tv over - in days before remote controls!