Battling For Good Health

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Well done you - 4km an hour is a pretty good speed Get stuck in with the Pilates again as a strong core will help your walking too.

The effects of exercise hang around longer than we think.

Maybe worth popping onto the "Big-Bottomed Girls and Guys" thread - I know you're teeny, but don't let the title put you off! It's more an exercise challenge thread, we're trying to just get off our bums and do something each day. Some good banter in there

HBS x

spidystrider

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Well done you - 4km an hour is a pretty good speed Get stuck in with the Pilates again as a strong core will help your walking too.

The effects of exercise hang around longer than we think.

Maybe worth popping onto the "Big-Bottomed Girls and Guys" thread - I know you're teeny, but don't let the title put you off! It's more an exercise challenge thread, we're trying to just get off our bums and do something each day. Some good banter in there

HBS x

Thanks HBS, I've never looked at that thread, because I'm skinny. It sounds good though, so I will take a look.

Fire_Fox

spidystrider wrote: »

T
Even though I was breathing really badly when I put on the appointment last week, I ended up with a junior doctor. He listened to my chest and thought he could hear something, but I am positive there is nothing wrong with my chest. Twice he had to leave the room to talk to a senior doctor and thankfully that doctor told him to give me one antibiotic, that would deal with both problems. Both doctors decided between themselves that although I have had health problems for nearly 13 years, that I will be fit and healthy in the next week or so, so I can do jury service. I remember now why I never go to see doctors. :mad: If I was a junkie I'd get a medical certificate in 2 seconds flat. I am now left worrying about how I am going to cope sitting in a packed courtroom trying not to cough my insides out, surrounded by loads of strangers!

I will be going back again in a week and will make sure I see a different doctor this time. Maybe I will find one that will put my health and welfare first, but I won't be counting on it.

Rant over and away to jump off a bridge.

I wonder if this is part of the problem. If you don't have a consistent record of issues on your medical notes it won't look like you have chronic health problems but rather intermittent more minor ones. The more regularly you go the clearer the picture will be about how much you are suffering and the more likely you are to get more in depth testing or hospital referrals.

Nothing wrong with a newer doctor that consults someone with more experience, that demonstrates professionalism. I've had older GPs who clearly don't keep fully abreast of the research or are generally clueless. By all means see someone else, that is well worth doing. Maybe make a double appointment and go in with notes on each issue, symptoms, frequency and so on.

It's not really necessary to do a dip test for a urinary infection if the symptoms are clear enough - that doesn't test for bacteria it's very crude and tests for acidity and/ or the presence of blood (as already noted can also test for protein and sugars). You would need a sample sending away to microbiology to test for bacteria, which takes a few days. Clearly you want antibiotic treatment before that.

spidystrider

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I wonder if this is part of the problem. If you don't have a consistent record of issues on your medical notes it won't look like you have chronic health problems but rather intermittent more minor ones. The more regularly you go the clearer the picture will be about how much you are suffering and the more likely you are to get more in depth testing or hospital referrals.

Nothing wrong with a newer doctor that consults someone with more experience, that demonstrates professionalism. I've had older GPs who clearly don't keep fully abreast of the research or are generally clueless. By all means see someone else, that is well worth doing. Maybe make a double appointment and go in with notes on each issue, symptoms, frequency and so on.

It's not really necessary to do a dip test for a urinary infection if the symptoms are clear enough - that doesn't test for bacteria it's very crude and tests for acidity and/ or the presence of blood (as already noted can also test for protein and sugars). You would need a sample sending away to microbiology to test for bacteria, which takes a few days. Clearly you want antibiotic treatment before that.

Thanks Fire Fox, I have had a bit of a re-think about visiting the doctor. After that last bout of health problems, I have decided to go far more regularly and start attending the asthma clinic, which is held at my doctor's surgery. I will also start putting my appointments on with the same doctor whenever I do make an appointment, as I used to just see whoever was available first. I have been back a second time and seen a very nice female doctor, who knew exactly what she was doing and gave me some great advice.

My goal is of course to get myself back to full fitness, so that my health stops taking such dramatic down turns.

Fire_Fox

spidystrider wrote: »

Thanks Fire Fox, I have had a bit of a re-think about visiting the doctor. After that last bout of health problems, I have decided to go far more regularly and start attending the asthma clinic, which is held at my doctor's surgery. I will also start putting my appointments on with the same doctor whenever I do make an appointment, as I used to just see whoever was available first. I have been back a second time and seen a very nice female doctor, who knew exactly what she was doing and gave me some great advice.

My goal is of course to get myself back to full fitness, so that my health stops taking such dramatic down turns.

Sound like a great plan. :T

spidystrider

Well I am definitely back on track :j and I've had a great morning. I managed my 10 and a half minutes on the treadmill at 4 km/hr and didn't feel that out of breath. I then did my exercises on the multi-gym and went on to do a half hour of Pilates. I even managed to do 20 sit-ups after that before deciding that I had done enough for the day. I am sticking with my exercises for my nose too and it's only slightly swollen now.

Roll on tomorrow

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Yay! Nice work

HBS x

moneyistooshorttomention

I can feel some hours of Internet research coming on.

I've seen a herbalist and will be back for a revisit later this week. She has had me keep a food diary for a week to see if I'm having anything that is causing/exacerbating the heartburn/acid reflux.

So - she sent me back to my NHS doctor to have blood tests to check that all is well there - just as a precautionary measure. I've had them back and got the printouts to hand her and its all in gobbledygook as far as I'm concerned with all those figures and things - but she'll understand it. There was a covering letter with it from my GP practice though - which I did understand...only I dont...I'm thoroughly puzzled.

This letter said I'm "pre-diabetic" - hence I'm thoroughly puzzled, as I cant see that that would be possible for someone on as healthy a diet as I am. I know a lot of British people are diabetic and those that go on to get it in later life seem to be doing so because they are eating the typical British diet (ie unhealthy as heck - with loads of sugar in). They shovel down the cakes, puddings, biscuits and then (perfectly understandably) get diabetes.

I don't do that. I eat pretty darn healthily and am trying to rack my brains to think of the last time I ate anything with sugar in - think it might have been a slice of cake about a fortnight ago.

There is whatever-there-is sugar wise in alcohol. I'm not sure if that counts - but I'm a moderate drinker - a few days a week I might have a couple of small glasses of wine or perhaps a half-pint or pint of lager and that's about it.

I thought people had to be downing loads of sugar to get to be pre-diabetic and it barely passes my lips (apart from that sugar in those glasses of wine count).

So - it's "Huh!/who?/how? Wonder how often they make mistakes about that in their readings?"

I'm not going to start that internet research tonight to look for an explanation for that odd result. Tomorrow will do. There's going to be an innocent explanation somewhere for that reading and, for right now, I'm wondering if the blood can carry a residue of an unhealthy diet eaten earlier in life - but a residue is all it is and all it ever will be. As I was brought up on a diet that was pretty unhealthy even by British standards and remember loads of sugar - all those biscuits, puddings, cakes, sweets - loads and loads of them....but that was many many years ago now and I feed myself MUCH more healthily than my mother ever fed me.

signed
Puzzled of Surbiton:rotfl:

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*bites tongue regarding herbalist*

Dear Puzzled of Surbiton (love it!)

Diabetes does not always equal sugar - my ex has Type I and it upsets him that people think he's a lardy oik.

Do you eat a lot of pasta? Bread? Rice? Potatoes?

Yours,

HBS of Tired x

(Sorry, it's the most amusing agony-aunt thingy I could come up with!)

moneyistooshorttomention

Dear HBS of Tired

Opens mouth to take foot out of it....

Guess I'm thinking of someone I used to know who ate his way through piles of sugar and had the noticeable amount of overweight to show for it. I used to say to him not to eat as much sugar, as he'd land up with problems because of it. It went in one ear and out the other and he duly subsequently got told he had diabetes and I wasn't at all surprised. Thus, it made sense to me to read the articles saying this as a cause and, though I've known other diabetics, the ones I've met personally have never been what I would call a healthy eater.

Hence my total surprise at being told that I'm pre-diabetic:eek:. Have done a bit of Internet research so far - mainly centred around "How on earth did that happen to ME?". To date:

- been reassured that only 1 in 3 pre-diabetics go on to get diabetes and that those odds can be significantly lowered if I lose the little bit of extra weight I have/take more walks/cut down the stress.

- found that healthy eaters can indeed get pre-diabetes or diabetes and that the likely cause (at least in my own case personally) is chronic stress.

Now that makes sense to me. I'm in the process of losing that bit of weight and adding in more walks anyway. I'm also in the process of selling my house and moving to elsewhere in the country - which means extra stress levels for the time being, but will result in me living in pretty much the back of beyond and away from a family situation where I am having huge pressure put on me to become a carer against my will and blow my own life (a situation I never expected to occur - a sentiment that apparently would be shared by a lot of people who have found that they have been put in that situation other than by choice). Back of beyond will suit me personally nicely. I will have as much as I personally need in the way of facilities. My area has become much too "urban" for me and I am someone who has a need for "greenery" around me as much as I need my food and drink.

So, I think I have to monitor my health/be more careful than usual for around about the next 6 months - year whilst I complete the Changeover Period into full retirement and New Area and then all should be well without any Extra Efforts being necessary any longer re high blood sugar/low stomach acid levels:)

I can see what's coming along down the line for me re my health if I stayed put here and got manoeuvred into being a carer. Between the two - over the next few years - I'd likely get heart problems/diabetes/blood pressure problems. But, because I'm clear that that is what life has lined up for me if I do that - I will be "up and away" soon and glad of the warning signs reminding me I am doing the right thing.