Sort of debt-free but hope to be a super-scrimper in 2019

[Deleted User]

I found it riveting too:rotfl: I don’t think I could have even attempted that:eek: I use an old wire radiator brush - you know the one with the very long handle that you use to clean behind the radiators to unblock my sink - works every time. Even used it to unblock my toilet once:D

Hope you manage to get a doctor’s appointment soon.

[Deleted User]

Retired_lady wrote: »

I found it riveting too:rotfl: I don’t think I could have even attempted that:eek: I use an old wire radiator brush - you know the one with the very long handle that you use to clean behind the radiators to unblock my sink - works every time. Even used it to unblock my toilet once:D

Hope you manage to get a doctor’s appointment soon.

Cleaning behind radiators????. Sorry, I'm obviously very lax in the hygiene department:o. Have never owned a radiator brush or even seen one. Will keep a look out for one now though. Thanks for the tip:T

[Deleted User]

It is long and bendy. I got it from Wilco many moons ago. To be honest, it wasn’t much use for cleaning behind the radiators as it was a bit stiff - far better to use a softer long brush - if you ever get the urge:rotfl:

jwil

Well done on clearing the sink!

elizabethhull

carbootcrazy wrote: »

My kitchen sink was blocked,

I'm sure you found the above a really riveting read:rotfl:. I'll put the sink episode down as a little success (in the end) but a failure was my trying to get an appointment with the GP for some meds for the neuralgia. Self-medicating just isn't doing much. Fortunately I haven't had any neuralgia pain for almost 48 hours:j but I'll still make an appointment asap so I can have some heavy-duty meds at the ready for when it flares up again as I know it will.

Anyone who's managed to read to this point will be thinking what a totally un-fascinating life I lead:rotfl:. Hopefully, something more interesting to report next time;).

Here's another who actually DID find it interesting to read ! We must all lead similarly unfascinating lives, except that it is a basic fact of home ownership - the occasional unblocking of wherever.

We have to unblock the upstairs toilet periodically, the pipes are narrow beyond the u-bend and easily get clogged. As you imagine, it all boils down to whoever does bigger or stickier poos (!!!!), and DD1 and DSIL are pretty well guaranteed to block once over a w/e. It matches with the huge increase in toilet roll consumption which remains a mystery.

We've had a loo plunger for decades and it's been worth its weight in gold. I got DH a little sink plunger in his stocking 3 Xmasses ago - that has also been very useful, although it only cost 99p !

I've had increasing chronic back/hip pain since 2012. Since nerve ablation in Jan, it has actually got worse, and I manage the day with Anadin Extra and Tramadol, but it doesn't do more than address the edges. I am now getting around with a stick, temporarily (hopefully) not playing badminton, barely doing anything around the house that involves standing or walking ! Pretty pathetic all round. I do a lot of seated exercises - have to do SOMETHING.
I hope you get your appointment (we still have the old-fashioned open surgery, but only on 3 days a week for a couple of hours),and some medication sorted out. It doesn't seem to me that the NHS is much good at dealing with chronic pain. Yours sounds worse being intermittent and unpredictable.

beanielou

Have to say NHS is not good on chronic pain.

WEll done for the sink unblocking.

Karmacat

Totally agree with elizabeth and beanie, the NHS is terrible on chronic issues



Back to sinks! My brush sounds like the one Retired Lady has - Wilko would be great, I was a bit desperate at the time and got one off ebay, I think, couple of quid

Lifeisforliving19

I also found it interesting. I am happy to say....touch wood, that blocked sinks is not something we suffer with. I would not be brave enough to attempt it myself though, that is definitely an OH job...:rotfl: Well done on your success though. :T

I agree about the chronic pain. I tend to try a lot of alternative remedies if I can. Massage...especially face and pressure point massage and Indian Head massage, can be good for neuralgia. I am also a great believer in reflexology helping different parts of your body and rekei and crystal therapy. I know not everybody believes these things work, but I have had success with them on more than one occasion. Its just a pity they are all so expensive.

[Deleted User]

From the amount of responses it looks like a lot of you have experience of chronic pain. My sympathies:kisses3:

I've always been reasonably tolerant to pain but this is like nothing I've experienced before. I'm still sorry to be making such a fuss about it though:o. In the absence of prescription meds I take soluble co-codomol ( a paracetamol and codeine mix). I prefer the soluble version, they seem to hit the spot quicker, but the tablet form is slightly cheaper. I buy the generic ones/ Boots own brand as it works out cheaper that way. Still costs up to £4.30 for 32 tabs though and the max dose of 8 a day on a really bad day isn't unusual:eek: These are the strongest painkillers that I can buy without prescription although they are stored behind the counter and I have to ask the pharmacist, Our local town is very small and I've lived round here for about 40 years so know all the staff at both the chemist shops (not just for medications but socially too). I feel like a drug addict when I go to buy my pills because they ask the standard 'are they for you?' question and then proceed with the 'mustn't be taken for more than 3 days' warning etc etc. Codeine as an over-the-counter drug has been banned I think as it is an opiate and habit forming. It is in such a minute amount in these pills but I suppose over time it all mounts up.


I'm embarrassed to say that I've got OH to buy them for me (although I give him the money for them) if he's in our nearest 'big' town where there's a variety of chemist shops and in-store pharmacies in the supermarkets there. He sometimes comes back with a couple of boxes bought from different shops for me to keep in stock but he worries about pushing his luck and using any one shop too often and being recognised:eek:. Anything I'll be prescribed by the GP will be free as I'm an OAP and get free prescriptions now. It will put an end to all this cloak and dagger painkiller buying once and for all. OH will be very relieved;)


I've recently discovered that painkillers are not the correct remedy for facial neuralgia and merely slightly take the edge off it. Apparently there are 2 main standard medications. One is an anti-depressant which is of great value for this type of pain control and of a lower dosage than the usual one for depression. The other is an anti-convulsant of a similar type to treat epilepsy. Either way, they both seem rather odd remedies and the thought of needing either scares me:o. Apparently the condition isn't 'curable', just manageable. It occurs largely in people over 50 (yep, that's definitely me:( ). It can also arise after shingles (not me) or as a symptom of MS (hopefully not me)


I always seem to have a flare up in very cold weather but I don't think that's really a contributory factor. I've been fine yesterday and today despite the freezing cold weather but I'll stick to my scarf around my lower face 'bank-robber look' whenever I go out for the next few days just in case. I've been sleeping really well again (touch wood:rotfl:)

Karmacat

Post shingles, and ending up looking like a bank robber, thats me! Feels crazy, but thats exactly it

CBC, have you ever tried that ibuprofen gel? I haven't used it for the nerve pain myself, just for the shoulder arthritis sometimes, so I don't know if it would be any good.