The Garden Fence - help and support in tough times

Softstuff

ivyleaf wrote: »

Was it a cholesterol test Hester? Only, if it was, in our area they've apparently decided people don't need to fast for that any more.
Apologies if it wasn't for that

OH's hip x-ray report is finally back from the hospital, after several months and some reminders. Apparently both hips are bad, one worse than the other (hence his tingly leg) so the GP is referring him to hospital, presumably to see a rheumatologist, and he also needs a bone scan, which all sounds a bit scary

I'm assuming it's a bone density scan? They are standard over a certain age here Ivyleaf and nothing to worry about, if there is loss of density, there are things they can do/recommend for it. As for the hips, I'm no help, but wish you both the best xx

burtha

Hi all,
Hester I am sure you will be ok , but claim for whatever you feel happy with , isn't there a calculator thing on here somewhere that tells you what you may be able to get ? Play around with the figures,

Heating cost us a small fortune for this place , large house has large bills , even with log burner in that does heating and hot water , constantly go around switching things of that kids leave on ....

Trying to be on a health kick , five weeks in , no sugar apart for one slip up of a donut ... actually managed to go for a run tonight , only ran 1.5 miles but felt ok and my knee isn't hurting.
Putting off chasing up hospital appointments ...must kick myself up the butt ..

Lots of stuff ongoing , but dd seams happy at the moment, meltdown for school photos this Friday ,but have managed to get her booked in for cut and blow dry tomorrow night , so fingers crossed ..

Right must walk the small hairy animals , one is trying to out stare me .....

nursemaggie

ivyleaf They need a bone density scan to look inside your OH's joints to see how to proceed with the op. The result will tell them what sort of joint they need to use or if they need to try improving the strength before doing an op.

I would think he will be seeing an orthopedic surgeon so they will be Mr or Ms. The scan is similar to an x-ray. No pulling around just lie on your back with a cushion under his thighs or back. Only takes a few seconds.

The appointment and tests will determine where on the list your OH will go. His level of pain will also determine this.

Hips are still the most successful joint replacement. The outcome is 50% the surgeon and 50% the patient. If your OH does not do the exercises he will not do as well. Best thing you can do is encourage the ops and then keep encouraging the exercises.

Actually exercises to build muscle strength will help from now. There are hundreds on YouTube. Look for strength building exercises for the over 50s, give them all a try and see which he thinks are best.

I am trying to figure out how to make myself a space I can move in near my computer. At the moment there is half an inch between my desk chair and my dining chair, behind that is the dresser and next door. Living where we do we will soon be in for rain for the next six months so need to do some exercise indoors. I just looked up exercises on YouTube as was overwhelmed. Some will say for Seniors as that's what the Americans call us.

Hard_Up_Hester

Ivyleaf, yes it was cholesterol, I expect we are still expected to fast as a form of torture, good luck to Mr Ivy.
my Dr's seems to be behind the times, yesterday I received the diabetes bumpf they should have sent out a year ago, this will be very useful as they have now decided I am not diabetic!

Burtha, I've been looking on Entitledto, it's a benefit calculator.

Thanks for your comments Fuddle, Mar, how are you holding up? Monna how's the elephant?

Phone call yesterday evening to warn my L&M that his shifts are being changed, no consultation, no discussion, I will be speaking to HR about it today.

I have face ache from sleeping with my teeth clenched, my face and neck are covered in stress hives, I have an eruption on my lip that I'm treating with tea tree oil, ouch, and my diverticulitis is flaring up, if I was a horse I'd be shot!

THIRZAH

We still have to fast before a cholesterol test and even if I have the first appointment of the day the nurse still keeps me waiting.
They do seem a bit more relaxed about the results now.Although my cholesterol is high everything else is ok so I've been told my chances of a heart attack etc are actually below the average for a woman of my age.

moneyistooshorttomention

Re the difference in opinion there seems to be between Health Boards (and my own recent memories of having had a fasting blood test) - I think it would be useful if anyone has a link to an authoritative website that will give the exact logical position on this.

If such a website said - "Fasting isnt necessary" or "is only necessary for 6 hours" for instance then we could all just follow the website and ignore whatever our own particular health authority said to us.

I certainly became aware of the value of that - belatedly - when they struggled and struggled to find a vein to take blood from for that test and there was a noticeable amount of avoidable discomfort in the process. The nurse told me (subsequently) that I needed to have had plenty of water to drink at the start of the day in order for the veins to plump up. No-one had told me that in advance of the test - so how was I supposed to know?:mad: I subsequently found a website that gave that advice and thought - "Wish they'd done their job properly and told me that at the time they said they wanted a blood test":cool:

Hence the value of getting a suitable objective website to read in advance - if they are all going to give different "personal opinions" to each other.

fuddle

Life doesn't work like that though.

Surely it is unreasonable to expect that we...

Oh I cannot be bothered. T'ra

mardatha

Hester pet you need a good supply of cake. And gin. And even if you had been diabetic the NHS bumpf is all wrong and out of date, follow their advice and you'd be in trouble!
I'm feeling ok, still exhausted but I don't feel so ill, so maybe the steroids are helping. Got a heart ultrasound scan tomorrow.
Year fairly flying in now, very stormy up here and nights nice and dark.

ivyleaf

Softstuff wrote: »

I'm assuming it's a bone density scan? They are standard over a certain age here Ivyleaf and nothing to worry about, if there is loss of density, there are things they can do/recommend for it. As for the hips, I'm no help, but wish you both the best xx

Yes, sorry, bone density scan They aren't standard here! Thanks for the good wishes.

A long-lost friend's phone rang me in the early hours when it was updating itself. I didn't know about it until this morning because I leave my phone downstairs overnight, but the friend texted to apologise, and it has nudged us into arranging to meet up next week :j I'm so looking forward to seeing her.

nursemaggie Just seen your kind post, thank you To be honest we're not sure if the referral for the bone density scan is directly connected with the referral about his hips, or whether the GP is looking at them as two separate problems. (Serves me right, I should have gone in with him!) But hopefully you're right and there's joined-up thinking going on, which would make a nice change

Softstuff

I got some lovely new painkillers and they really help. Only downside is, due to my other meds, mornings I'm so queasy I don't generally eat breakfast. This morning the pain was bad enough to need them, and they have to be taken on a full stomach. ... I forced down breakfast, fought the nausea and took them. They take just over an hour to kick in, but lasted 6.... you can take them every 8 hours.

Irritating timing wise, just not sure how to manage them. They'll wear off in the middle of the night, so I'll wake up most likely and have to eat before taking more! Maybe that's why Nigella is always raiding the fridge.....