The Garden Fence - help and support in tough times

Softstuff

Thanks Fuddle, I can't say having read up that I thought they'd be good for me, that just confirms it.

ivyleaf

fuddle You can definitely make dumplings without suet, though I don't have a recipe to hand. They do of course taste different from suet ones.

http://http://www.foodcheats.com/how-to-make-dumplings-without-using-suet

Hope that worked!
You may be able to get hold of secondhand brownie uniform if you ask Brown Owl, but I'm not sure about Guide uniform as they changed their uniform recently so there probably won't be much secondhand stuff available.

monnagran I think you're amazing. Yes, I know you wouldn't agree

Hester As are you.

((HUGS))) to everyone with health worries.

Pooky

I use a tens machine quite a bit and find it very helpful - the bog standard ones aren't great as you need to fine tune to the frequency and strength you need. The new digital ones are highly recommended by pain clinics now and I can see why.

It really does depend on the pain you have as to how well it will work for you. I use it for neck and shoulder pain and it instantly blocks the nerve pain that leaves my hands numb. If I place the pads in the wrong place it will do nothing for me but when I get it right then I've got instant pain relief without the need for drugs.

Worth a go if you can borrow a decent machine.

fuddle

I used butter ivyleaf. They worked but as you suggested weren't quite what we know dumplings to be. Suet is on the shopping list now.

Would acupuncture help with the pain at all? I have no experience but a friend of mine is having it on the NHS and says she's now a convert.

nursemaggie

Research suggests there is nothing in it apart from pain. No one knows why but pain clinics have very good results with it. Does not work for anything else. If you an persuade your GP to refer you to a pain clinic fuddle I would go for it. My mother used to swear by it. Apparently it does not hurt when they put the needles in.

greenbee

I've used tens for back pain - it is very good for breaking muscle spasms, but as Pooky says you need a decent one with adjustable settings.

As for acupuncture - my mother had to stop having hers when I was getting excruciating pains in my hands which appeared to relate to the times and locations she was having needles stuck in her. Which makes no sense as I didn't actually know for the first few weeks she was having it... Mind you, I was also had severe upper back pain when she fell off a horse in Australia and broke her back. (I have issues with my lumbar spine so this was unusual).

Pooky

I had acupuncture - the needles don't hurt as they go in, just feels like a small pinch but the area around does get warm and felt buzzy, left me with hideous bruising in some places and not a mark in others. Didn't help with pain at all for me but did make me feel awful and I spent 24 hours in bed - they do warn you that everyone has a different reaction to it. I had 2 sessions but it wasn't for me.

Hard_Up_Hester

Well 6 hours of dealing with faulty machinery and shed loads of work has left me on my knees and cross eyed with exhaustion.
Thank gawd for the DGD's who cheer me up, I've just read The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch to gales of laughter from DGD,
She's asleep, as is my L&M, I won't be far behind.
Hester

silvasava

Just too quickly add I've just had 4 session for acupuncture on my hip which had been so painful I had difficulty walking - it kept me awake at night and was really making the miserable. I felt relief after the first session and I'm now pain free and getting a good nights sleep. I do think it's one of those things that either works for you or not. Needless to say I'm now a convert!

Softstuff

Thank you lovely folks for the suggestions. I don't think acupuncture is for me. I'm all about the research and if something in multiple double blind trials is no better than painkillers or placebo, I'm not up for it. I can appreciate it's successful for many, my mother swears by it, different strokes and all that... I'm going to head back to a colleague of my favorite physio, she's also a physio, but deals in abdominal/pelvic issues and is a specialist in deep tissue massage. Though she'll do nothing for the adhesions, I suspect part of my problem is how I tense up when I'm in pain and hang on to that tension. Seeing her will be a healthier version of whisky I'll also switch to her pilates class. Exercise is always a good idea. She has various machines and other doodads there too, she may wish to do something that way. We'll have a chat.

And I'll stop whining. Soon

Good luck with he property hunting over the weekend Hester. Hope you manage to fit a bit of rest in there.