Frugal Frump to Fab-u-lous Dharrrrrrrling Winter Solstice to Spring Equinox

podperson

Hi all,

Just a quick one so won't comment individually, but *hugs* to those struggling at the moment. I must admit I'm feeling a bit demotivated as well. Probably not helped by the fact that I'm completely snowed under at the moment - have so much to get done this weekend and am just feeling frazzled as I know I don't physcially have time to do it all. Am working tomorrow and then straight to OH's choir to film their rehearsal as it's going to be a run through of the show next weekend. Then Tuesday have my choir and between those have to fit in sorting clothes and packing to go down on Wednesday.

Haven't had time to go shopping for anything for the wedding so am going to have to make do with a dress I have already - it's just not particularly 'weddingy' plus it's like a peacock pattern on it in green and purple, I normally wear purple tights with it but not sure if that would work for a wedding - plus I have some nice purple shoes I could wear but then that would be too much purple :rotfl:What other colour would work with them? Not sure if black tights would really work for the ceremony? I hate planning outfits

mineallmine

Damn! With all the snow and ice I've missed lots of walks. Went for a wobbly walk. Not sure if my knees or back hurts the most

Anyway managed it and I resolve to get back to daily walks. Maybe even twice a day. I'm feeling very low with it. I'd worked so hard to get mobile and now I'm back to square one.
So daily walks and physio exercises are the plan.

I saw arnica gel on a shopping channel and they said about its benefits for arthritis, pain relief. Anyone used it?

the_cat

I'm another devotivated soul! Have been impossibly busy the last few months as on top of everything else have been spending at least 3 hours a day helping DS1 with job hunting. It's been a long and tedious haul and he's applied for hundreds(literally) of jobs. Found out Friday he finally has something in the bag, so I now have some proper time to concentrate on myself for a change

So tomorrow is the start! Need to go and get a decent stash of healthy food and start proper meal planning and will go to an exercise class too. Only other essential for tomorrow is to work out/try on an outfit for dinner dance on Saturday.....only do a very,very occasional posh do and need lots of basic clothes so don't want to buy something new as need to use the money on clothes that will work harder for me.

lessonlearned

Arnica works very well for bruising and sports injuries and the like.

You can take tablets and use gels and creams together. It is particularly recommended to help with surgery and childbirth - to help with skin trauma.

I've not heard about it being used for arthritis but there's no harm in trying. Just check with your chemist to make sure there are no contra-indications if you are taking other drugs.

Well - what can I say. Arrived at the nursing home and could see that OH was a bit unwell, runny nose, wheezing and coughing. Within an hour he was burning up. Oh-oh obviously a chest infection. Got them to take his temperature - it was 39.4

Gave him paracetamol, sponged him down etc. Got the nursing staff to ring the NHS out of hours. A doctor will call "asap".

Stayed with him for 5 hours, sponging him down until his body cooled and I got his temperature down. I eventually left, he looked pale but "normal" ifyswim.

Honestly, I am not a professional carer or a nurse. I have no real medical training other than learning from my two grannies - one was a midwife the other an amateur herbalist. Why is it only me who spots the warning signs and swings into action.

What are these bloody people paid for:mad::mad:

My poor OH just looked at me doing my Florence Nightingale bit and said very quietly "What would I do without you". I just turned it into a joke and said "Shucks, I don't know - what would you do without me" in my best "Goofy" voice.

He asked me why it was so important for me to get his body temperature down so quickly, so I explained to him quite graphically.

"Because my darling you run the risk of having a seizure if we don't get you cooled quickly". These bloody people are supposed to be experienced with people with neurological conditions:mad::mad: At least now that I've explained it to him he might be able to alert them himself if it happens when I'm not there.

The frightening thing is his temperature can soar within a very short timespan and they just don't notice. This is the second time this has happened and the wretched carers just don't see it, even when it happens in front of their eyes. No wonder I'm such a control freak -there are so few people I can trust with his care.

Rant over.:o

Needless to say I now feel drained and exhausted. There is a very good nurse on duty this evening - one of my favourites who I can trust so l've come home to get some sleep and will go back early tomorrow morning.

So not much rest or fabbing, grabbed what food I could on the run. Will rest now and have an early night. DS2 unwell - but he went out on the razzle last night and his "illness" is entirely self inflicted.

Daft b*gger. At 27 you'd think he would have more sense. This is the lad who doesn't normally drink. Actually I don't think he drank much - he's like me he can't really drink - neither of us has any real tolerance to alcohol. Like me he's a cheap date.:rotfl:

Rummer

Well I have had a couch day and eaten my body weight in sweeties. Not the best route for fabbing however it has been wonderful and once in a while doesn't do a great deal of harm

My new outfit is lying out ready for the morning and I am feeling quite excited about wearing it

mineallmine

Thanks for the info cheapdate I mean LL! About arnica. I was wondering if it'll help with general aches and pains. I need to move my b&m primarily...
Sorry to hear about that for your DH. How upsetting. Has he got a fan where he is, or one of those spray cans of water to have on hand? Sending hugs to you to get some rest and him that he has a good night :A

castlelough

Thank you all for such warm welcomes to the thread.

Thanks also for the suggestions (about cleaning teeth/brushing
hair and sleep ).
I ran a bath last night, but unfortunately the water was only luke-warm despite the emersion being on for hours. I didn't stay in long, but I lit a candle, shaved my legs and had a good slosh. And afterwards I filed my toenails, and moisturised my whole body :eek:. I felt so good after all of that.
Got up this morning and made an effort with hair, makeup and clothes. Planned meals for the week (porridge for breakfast every day, and yesterday's homemade soup & bread for lunch) and have an outfit ready for tomorrow.
Thanks for giving me the boost I needed!

LL - You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You've had a very busy move and are caring for your OH as well as looking after other family members. You do need to take time for yourself, but sometimes that may mean having a nap or a rest to recharge.
WW - Congratulations on the compliment in the supermarket! :T Like I said to LL, try not to be so hard on yourself. The first few weeks back at school have been very busy for you.

Waves to everyone else :j

Skymist

mineallmine wrote: »

Thanks for the info cheapdate I mean LL! About arnica. I was wondering if it'll help with general aches and pains. I need to move my b&m primarily...

In the past, I've used Arnica tincture diluted in a warm-water bath to relieve general muscular aches and pains.

Here's a bit more info for you....

http://www.evitamins.com/a/what-is-arnica-alternative-treatment-s-popular-choice-natural-pain-relief--370


http://www.naturalnews.com/036188_Arnica_pain_relief_remedy.html


http://www.medicinehunter.com/arnica

It could help you with pain relief for your arthritis too as it's used to help with joint (the body ones!!:rotfl:) pains. You should be able to obtain it at any chemist....that's where I used to buy it.

S

podperson

LL - how frustrating it must be that they still don't seem to be on top of things. I appreciate that they must have a few people to keep an eye on but surely as medically trained professionals they should be ones to be picking up on their patients being ill and not having to rely on the luck of their relatives being there :mad: Try and get some rest and a decent night's sleep now, hopefully he will be a bit better in the morning x

Well, I'm actually quite impressed - I had a dress in the back of the wardrobe that I'd pretty much written off as I didn't think I'd fit into in. Just tried it on and success! It's a 10, and am not going to kid myself that am actually that size but the style is such as it just fits round the bust and then is quite floaty so think it's probably quite forgiving size-wise :rotfl:Remembered though when I got it out that I can never do the zip up all the way on it, one of those awkward ones that goes all the way up the back and I can get it almost halfway from the bottom but just not far enough to reach it from the top! And the way it's fitted can't really pull it round to the front. Had to get OH to do it - good job he's coming with me to the wedding or I'd be stuck in it all night afterwards :rotfl:How on earth do single people manage these things? Just have to try and find tights, shoes, bag etc now - had the perfect shoes in mind but after turning the house upside they have of course disappeared into thin air - apparently is not my shoe day!

Ah well, feeling a little better, got the first set of edits finished on my photo job, done the planning on another job and just had a shower and sorted my hair. Still loads to do before going away Wed but getting there slowly.

lessonlearned

Mine - don't know what meds you take for your arthritis.

I hope the following doesn't contravene thread rules but I will tell what I have learned.

I cannot take any of the usual NSAIDs because they upset my stomach. Diclofenic worked wonders but made me feel like death so gave it up as a bad job. Even Ibruprofen doesn't sit well with me over any length of time.

So...... over the years I've had to look for other methods of dealing with joint pain and stiffness. I've tried a number of complimentary meds with greater or lesser success. Personally I think it's trial and error because we are all different and the word "arthritis" is such an umbrella term which covers a number of different conditions.

Anyway here's what I know.

There are a number of anti-inflammatory compounds that can be found in ordinary every day foods. You can buy extracts of these at health shops, as pills or potions. You can also add more of the anti-inflammatory type foods to your diet.

Ginger, turmeric and chillis are all anti-inflammatory. You can easily add these to your cooking. A teaspoon of turmeric can be added to milk as a soothing bed-time drink.

Devils Claw is a natural pain reliever. Bromelain is an anti-inflamatory. You can buy these at chemists or health shops. Bromelain is extracted from pineapple, so you can add pineapple to your diet.

Glucosomaine - especially with added chronditin - helps maintain cartiledge and connective tissue. I find this very good for my knees. Green muscle extract is supposed to be good but I've not tried that.

After years of being told that my aches and pains were arthritis I eventually had a blood test to ascertain the level of inflammation.

It turned out there was none, my joints were technically ok, it's my muscles that were the problem. Years of physically moving my OH did a lot of damage.

Plus - prolonged exposure to stress also puts the adrenal glands under pressure. Too much adrenaline will also affect the muscles.

Obviously the muscles support the joints so if there are problems with muscles or connective tissue this can have a knock on effect on the joints, causing pain and stiffness.

Keeping the joints "well-oiled" helps, so olive oil added to your cooking plus lots of oily fish in your diet.

One of the things I find very helpful is good old fashioned Cod Liver Oil.

As you've found out lack of exercise makes matters worse, so lots of gentle exercise, walking, swimming, yoga, pilates etc. And of course carrying too much weight puts extra pressure on our skeletons. Losing weight can really help.

When I am sore and stiff, then the best treatment is heat. A warm bath, a hot water bottle, a wheat and lavender bag. Cold damp weather really affects me, so keeping warm is a must.

A massage is very soothing, especially with lavender oil. Lavender is a muscle relaxant so even just a few drops of lavender added to bath water will help.

Another thing that seems to affect joint pain is food. Again different foods can affect different people. The most common culprits seem to be wheat, tomatoes and citrus fruits. And of course we've all heard about gout and rich living:rotfl:. Gout is caused by over production of uric acid - too much red meat can affect some people quite badly.

Some people have a problem with milk. Actually it's not the milk - it's the lactic acid found in milk.

I find I'm better if I reduce my wheat intake and I sometimes buy Lacto Free Milk. It tastes just like ordinary milk. At one time I had the Lacto Free milk while I bought semi-skimmed for the family. Then we switched to organic milk and I find I'm generally fine with that.

One thing I will say when trying alternative or complimentary therapies is they do take time to take effect.

Conventional medicines and drug therapy such as diclofenic etc work very quickly but natural supplements can take several weeks before you notice any real benefit.

Hope this helps - hope I don't sound all preachy and a right know it all:o