What was your fasting blood glucose? (full on chat)

[gennepher]

Tonight we both had to go to the Norwich NHS drop in centre. Mr K has had a cold for a couple of weeks which suddenly triggered a chest infection and high temperature today. I have what seems to be a sebaceous cyst which has become infected.

Luckily it wasn't very busy and we didn't have very long to wait. We both have antibiotics which we had to start tonight and Mr K also has steroid tablets.

Extra hugs for you both. I hope you both get better quickly @Krystyna23040

 

[gennepher]

Good morning everyone on a gloriously quiet start to the day here in the dark and dangerous north. Town and back yesterday, in the sunshine but by lunch time the rain turned up and washed the cars. The ninky nonks and Little Miss Pamplemouse will be here about lunch time for a Halloween spectacular few days. This afternoon is a visit to a pumpkin farm to hunt down a pumpkin each and then draw their faces onto them - grandad will be in charge of any sharp knives. They of course will be using spoons to spoon out the seeds and pith. I shall tell them that the pith is sent to a factory and made into pith helmets. Art bit, making differing shades with black ink and water. Hope your day has at least one good smile. I am already on koffy number 2.

View attachment 63966

Enjoy your hectic day @dunelm

I love this Art bit, very effective. Reminds me of driving on early misty mornings...

 

[Krystyna23040]

All the best to you and Mr K, have a take it easy weekend if you can.

Thank you @dunelm . We definitely will be taking it easy this weekend.

 

[Annb]

Tonight we both had to go to the Norwich NHS drop in centre. Mr K has had a cold for a couple of weeks which suddenly triggered a chest infection and high temperature today. I have what seems to be a sebaceous cyst which has become infected.

Luckily it wasn't very busy and we didn't have very long to wait. We both have antibiotics which we had to start tonight and Mr K also has steroid tablets.

Sorry to see that you are both unwell but hope the antibiotics work quickly for you,

 

[ianpspurs]

I was told the theory of the spoons many years ago when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia @lindisfel

I am lucky if I have between 5 to 8 spoons a day. Rarely do I have more. I am maybe on a 5 or 6 today. Yesterday I expended extra effort because I was sick of not having enough energy, and my remaining 3 spoons flew out of the window and deserted me.

I have already expended one spoon today. And I am mentally planning the rest of the day. It doesn't involve much, but I am losing ground overall in getting stuff done.

Even though I know about the spoon theory, and I try to work with it, it frustrates me that it constrains me.

How do you get more spoons? Not easy to do.
Rest in between using up the spoons. Little things, like I spoke awhile ago on here where I sit in the car a few minutes when I get to my destination before I get out of the car. I do the same before I set off in my driveway. And then the return journey, I get back in the car, I just sit for a few minutes before I start the engine, then do the same when I get home, even in my driveway. That makes a difference to getting out of the car to take my shopping in in that I feel lighter, instead of feeling like a lump of lead and I can barely get in.

Years ago I would have treated myself to a piece of dark chocolate when I got home, sit in the car (not gobble it up like people generally do) and savour it for as long as it would last.

I think what I am also saying is stop during the day at various points, and savour the moment (not necessarily with food, and certainly before you are exhausted). In that way you can pull in a bit of extra energy and hopefully an extra spoon, and if I don't do that when I get home in the car I can barely get my shopping in, and then I don't have the energy to put my shopping away not even the chilled or frozen stuff, and I collapse on the couch or bed. But if I have that few minutes in the car in my driveway, after I turn the engine off, and by the way I always have a flask of tea in the car, and I might pour myself a mug full, and sit quietly and sip it for a few minutes or as long as I need. And then when I get out of the car it is with a lighter heart and I can much more easily bring the shopping in, unpack, put away, make a cuppa, and then go on the couch and have a rest.


My insensitive Mr BerlinWallXmasLights neighbour is very puzzled with me when I do that, and he comes out and sits in his car and watches me....


Just read @dunelm 's advice.
Another thing I do to get the most out of a spoon is repeat a short sentence/phrase over and over in my head, maybe 50/100/ more times to keep me going until I have finished that task. I can't explain why that works...

That was a really moving but also helpful post. I hope you soon have more spoons after the cold returns those it borrowed. I think I have plenty of spoons but can't use them properly due to a design flaw i.e. spinal stenosis. After a while the nerve obviously shuts down communications with my lower legs and to avoid falling into things I need to let it shrink/resume communication. I was due to have a procedure to help with this almost two years ago but the pre-op MRI found something far more sinister. Having more spoons than I can use doesn't suit me one bit and restricting myself to sensible duties is not in my DNA. Breaks my heart when JKP asks one of the boys to lift things which I know I can lift but can no longer walk about with. No strategy on earth will pacify me over that. Depending on the latest scan results there may be moves to see what can be done about the original issue so there is hope.

 

[Krystyna23040]

Morning all on the Feast of St Simon ans St Jude. I had my feast yesterday on our 39th wedding anniversary. Ate in a 16th century coaching Inn owned by the Guinness family - surprisingly called the Guinness Arms. It is in Icklingham, Suffolk.The swordfish was succulent and who knew frozen grapes with one's cheese is now very much a thing? @lindisfel hug for the tiredness but the spoons concept sounds a good idea. @SlimLizzy hug for the worry over your mum. @dunelm I didn't thank you for sharing the art yesterday so thank you for that and today's. Enjoy the time with the grandchildren. @Krystyna23040 hugs for you both but good news that the sebaceous cyst didn't require an operation - two long stories there. What with the meal, Spurs winning and England winning the rugby, part 1 of the MRI results (head) all clear yesterday worked out well for me - thanks be to God. Enjoy your day.

Congratulations on your 39th wedding anniversary. Your feast sounded wonderful.

Mr K is on the mend as his temperature has already dropped back to normal. He still feels under the weather though. Hopefully he will be sensible and rest today.

The nurse has warned me that I will still probably need the cyst taken out and wrote some very lengthy notes for my doctor on my online record.

 

[gennepher]

Fbg 6.9

Wildlife nighttime camera
Fox then Cat Jade watching Badgers
54secs

Creative...another owl, after Lin Fengmian

Time for me to get on with the day.

A cuppa tea first...

 

[Annb]

6.4 on a froogy, misty morning, no rain yet, deep cloud cover, all manner of greys and blacks.

I opened my gob didn't i?
My back is sore, no idea why, woke up with it, maybe the vivid dream caused it, who knows?

Still gotta had to do chores and shopping, phone calls, and #7 & #8 have been around to have us running after them. #7 has been drawing for Halloween and spiders and ghosts have appeared around the house!

As I mentioned, my dad was a Chindit and he had the honour to be attached to the Indian army, have photos with his fluted ceremonial turban and his other main headgear, which was a wide brimmed Ghurka hat. He was given when he was on the jungle trek with the Chinditss and Ghurkas. He was also given a kukri.

I don't know much about that trek behind the Japanese lines other than what I have read or seen in documentaries. But it must have been horrific. I would be right in saying that only around a third of the troops returned, so savage was the fighting. And my dad would never speak about it!

Unfortunately, those few years in the far east, had a adverse effect on his health, having suffered malaria, twice. And reoccurring from time to time, he did well, to survive into his sixties.

He brought his kukri, along with other items back home. And a Japanese officers sword, which he acquired in the jungle, he said he found it! But I think not!
In 1960, we had a difficult winter, so he sold the lot to his sister in London.
I still have his many medals and insignia, along with his Chindit badges and letters from the Chindit association.I
He would never purchase anything from Japan, until around the late 70s, when he was offered a Mitsubishi colt, a car, it was a great bargain and he reluctantly got in and that was it! He wouldn't even consider a brand new car that I could have bought on my company scheme!

When we visited, Berlin in '70, and talked about it with our hosts, my dad said, he actually didn't hate those he fought, but the people responsible.
As I was told many years ago.
A war always ends in a peace agreement, so let's do away with the killing and get writing it!

My best wishes to you all as always!

Still not raining!

Hope your back is feeling better today, @Lamont D. Wish more of those in power would follow the recommendation and make peace before anyone gets hurt. Sadly, most wars can be avoided, but it suits some politician to go ahead and send their young to fight and die.

 

[Krystyna23040]

Extra hugs for you both. I hope you both get better quickly @Krystyna23040

Thank you @gennepher. The antibiotics seem to be working really quickly for both of us. Luckily Mr K flagged up that he was feeling worse and didn't try to ignore it and soldier on as he has done in the past - which is not a sensible option as he has quite severe asthma.

 

[ianpspurs]

Congratulations on your 39th wedding anniversary. Your feast sounded wonderful.

Mr K is on the mend as his temperature has already dropped back to normal. He still feels under the weather though. Hopefully he will be sensible and rest today.

The nurse has warned me that I will still probably need the cyst taken out and wrote some very lengthy notes for my doctor on my online record.

Thank you and I hope the antibiotics work and the cyst is soon removed. You would like the Inn - old beams, bare brick, log fires. The coffee (with cream) and the food are delicious and customizable - walnuts and leafy salad with the cheese rather than crackers and chutney. The food (and logs) - swordfish apart obviously - comes either from their Euston estate or locally. Do rest up this weekend.

 

[Annb]

I do fear for the English language

Whilst not at university lecturer level, I still get peeved by how some use it.

A major high st brand I worked at had a test.

Most of the questions were YES or NO.

This one fooled many, and seemed particularly poorly worded.

"Would you NOT pick up someone who had fallen over ? "

Yes or No....mmmhh.

It came around every year, despite so many complaining

And the idea 'k' is so much quicker, so of course it's preferred over 'ok' when I text with our Steph...

Like you, I am saddened to see and hear the way the English language is going as well as people's inability to use punctuation. I had a discussion with Neil about it a while ago and, while he is very correct in his use of the language (and has a deep understanding of the origins and development of languages), he happily accepts that others use the language in a more modern way. Language always develops, he says (of course it does) and the developments should be embraced, if one wishes to do so.

I'm just an old stick-in-the-mud!

 

[gennepher]

That was a really moving but also helpful post. I hope you soon have more spoons after the cold returns those it borrowed. I think I have plenty of spoons but can't use them properly due to a design flaw i.e. spinal stenosis. After a while the nerve obviously shuts down communications with my lower legs and to avoid falling into things I need to let it shrink/resume communication. I was due to have a procedure to help with this almost two years ago but the pre-op MRI found something far more sinister. Having more spoons than I can use doesn't suit me one bit and restricting myself to sensible duties is not in my DNA. Breaks my heart when JKP asks one of the boys to lift things which I know I can lift but can no longer walk about with. No strategy on earth will pacify me over that. Depending on the latest scan results there may be moves to see what can be done about the original issue so there is hope.

I am not good at restricting to sensible duties either @ianpspurs
I hope you get what needs to be done over the original issue.

 

[Krystyna23040]

Sorry to see that you are both unwell but hope the antibiotics work quickly for you,

Luckily they are working quickly. The drop in centre was brilliant as it was hopeless trying to get an appointment with our GP.

 

[ianpspurs]

I am not good at restricting to sensible duties either @ianpspurs
I hope you get what needs to be done over the original issue.

Thank you and thank you for your wise posts. I assume that wonderful wise old owl creative has passed on wisdom by a mysterious form of osmosis. Polish those spoons for another day.

 

[Krystyna23040]

Thank you and I hope the antibiotics work and the cyst is soon removed. You would like the Inn - old beams, bare brick, log fires. The coffee (with cream) and the food are delicious and customizable. The food (and logs) - swordfish apart obviously - comes either from their Euston estate or locally. Do rest up this weekend.

Yes, the inn sounds like I place I would love.
I will definitely rest up this weekend.

 

[Annb]

When I worked in the gas house I often had the help of an electricians mate from that area of Lincoln. I was just in my early twenties and he took to telling me about when he got captured by the Japanese and was put in jail in Singapore then he worked on the Death Railway until released after hostilities ended. He reckoned the conscripted race that fought with the Japanese were worse, they just pushed men off bridges for fun. Those were the ones who particularly got to him.

Somehow, the worst kind of people seem to find their way into authority during wars. They are the ones who authorise atrocities and recruit the kind of people who will commit them. It's not the general population of any country who want to mete out the horrific treatment that is often seen in wars.

Although we were aware of the horrific behaviour of some Japanese during WW2, we found the Japanese people to be gentle, kind and considerate. In fact, very much like people in our own countries and I'm sure the same is true of Germans, Bosnians, and any other populations you could mention. And who was it who dropped the first atomic weapons? Was that an act of compassion?

Two wrongs don't make a right!

If it was a working woman. Would you (not) pick her up?

K!

Depends on the possibility of serious injury if you do. Can't be a Yes/No answer. Tom's youngest sister slipped and broke her ankle in her bathroom. Her daughters came to her aid but when they phoned for help, they were told that, under no circumstances should she be picked up. She had to lay on the cold floor for 5 hours until an ambulance came to assist. It might have hurt her to lift her, but I do believe she should have been picked up and made more comfortable. However, I do see the reason for not lifting her. A friend slipped and fell on tghe ice in London a few years ago and passers-by came to his aid and lifted him up, which caused the damage to his spine to actually damage his spinal cord so that he never walked again. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

 

[Annb]

That was a really moving but also helpful post. I hope you soon have more spoons after the cold returns those it borrowed. I think I have plenty of spoons but can't use them properly due to a design flaw i.e. spinal stenosis. After a while the nerve obviously shuts down communications with my lower legs and to avoid falling into things I need to let it shrink/resume communication. I was due to have a procedure to help with this almost two years ago but the pre-op MRI found something far more sinister. Having more spoons than I can use doesn't suit me one bit and restricting myself to sensible duties is not in my DNA. Breaks my heart when JKP asks one of the boys to lift things which I know I can lift but can no longer walk about with. No strategy on earth will pacify me over that. Depending on the latest scan results there may be moves to see what can be done about the original issue so there is hope.

You sound so much like my brother, Ian. He has been fretting over his inability to lift and carry things as he did before his heart surgery. He makes no allowance for slower healing now that he is almost 82. His left arm is not much use as a result of polio in 1948 and that doesn't help. However, he told me last Sunday that he is now walking fastger than his wife, who has always walked quickly, can keep up the pace for 2 or 3 miles, has found a way to climb the stairs carrying cups of tea first thing in the morning, and is doing lots of DIY jobs in the house. At 82 I reckon he is doing more than most of his peer group. But he is never satisfied and thinks he should be doing more.

Glad that there may be some hope about the original issue, but please, do try to restrain yourself so that you don't do any harm.

 

[Krystyna23040]

That was a really moving but also helpful post. I hope you soon have more spoons after the cold returns those it borrowed. I think I have plenty of spoons but can't use them properly due to a design flaw i.e. spinal stenosis. After a while the nerve obviously shuts down communications with my lower legs and to avoid falling into things I need to let it shrink/resume communication. I was due to have a procedure to help with this almost two years ago but the pre-op MRI found something far more sinister. Having more spoons than I can use doesn't suit me one bit and restricting myself to sensible duties is not in my DNA. Breaks my heart when JKP asks one of the boys to lift things which I know I can lift but can no longer walk about with. No strategy on earth will pacify me over that. Depending on the latest scan results there may be moves to see what can be done about the original issue so there is hope.

It was good that the pre-op MRI found the sinister issue much earlier than it would normally have been found. Hopefully the original issue will be resolved in the not too distant future.

I (and Mr K) also have the issue that restricting ourselves to sensible duties is not in our DNA.

It is really hard to accept that we cannot do what we used to do.

Getting older does have some perks though. Last night when we got to the drop in centre they said they were not accepting any more patients as they were closing in an hour and already had their quota.

We said 'oh no - we have just driven 20 miles to get to you'. They asked us our ages and decided that, because we are both so ancient, they would see us after all. Of course they didn't word it quite like that.

 

[Annb]

There have been so many posts that I would like to answer but I can't keep up and think I may have missed some. If I have, I apologise and accept my best wishes for all trials and tribulations and prayers that things will improve for everyone.

BG at 3.30 am was 7.5. 7.4 by 6.30. I actually only had one meal of scrambled eggs yesterday and am feeling a bit peckish now so I'd better have some breakfast before I start feeling nauseous again.

 

[ianpspurs]

Like you, I am saddened to see and hear the way the English language is going as well as people's inability to use punctuation. I had a discussion with Neil about it a while ago and, while he is very correct in his use of the language (and has a deep understanding of the origins and development of languages), he happily accepts that others use the language in a more modern way. Language always develops, he says (of course it does) and the developments should be embraced, if one wishes to do so.

I'm just an old stick-in-the-mud!

I like Neil's way of thinking but recognise context is all. Language usage doesn't bug me that much. Halloween as it has become is a whole other matter. Some big differences in family P. The boys know my thoughts - I think they felt hard done by as children although they remember a sleep over in the church as a good alternative.