Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

Bluey, your 3rd World experience is far too common nowadays. ....and you're not even old! Every negative experience builds a little bit of pressure for change, and one day the lid will blow, probably in the wrong way, as it's not the foot soldiers (pardon the pun!) who are primarily to blame.However, like the PO scandal, individuals going along with things and not questioning enough is what allows it to happen.

twopenny said:

I've finally got a call from physio, 3mts+ and I had to ask what I'd written on the referal! Also asked if 'managing' the problem means help or take two paracetamol ........

You're not as well-served over the border there as we are here. I've been granted the call in a month, but I'm well aware from Mrs Dusty's experience how things may go from there!  I believe in being proactive and managing whatever remedy is chosen, but knowing it's appropriate is what matters. Poor Mrs Dusty did exercises for 6 months “to see if that would ease things” when an X-ray would have shown them to be almost useless. Putting things assabout-face, was just a delaying tactic because there was nothing the overwhelmed 'service' could offer her at the time.

Anyway, best of luck. Mrs Dusty actually had her operation in your county, when she finally got it!

Farway

What a poor result YBE, but at least the Oracle has proved to be a "Good Neighbour"

I suggest you make notes in a diary, because if it is gout it'll be back. Ball of foot is familiar, as it back of ankle.

Then next GP visit you will have details, dates etc.

Toes red & itching as well, hurts to even have bedding on them?

Glad the bear lightened everyone's day. Advert are a pain, but sometimes not entirely a waste.

Very dull & grey again, I think I've sorted my camera, it's too clever, like my mobile, not that there is much worth photographing in the garden

Only gardening is very minor, empty the tea leave slops into the compost Dalek, but I'll take the opportunity to check on my rhubarb, just in case it is still alive & coming up

And is the new Morries clematis still here or moved to the fiords?

pink_poppy

Aw, YBE that sounds awful but definitely thank goodness for the Oracle, she sounds lovely. Did you mention the possibility of it being gout to either of the Drs?? I know they don't like patients googling their symptoms - I think everyone does it though, especially when you can't get an appointment - what do they expect... Fingers crossed the pain eases and it doesn't spread any further.

Farway, how was your gout diagnosed??

Good luck with the lifeboat trip, twopenny - hope it's not too cold and you get some decent pics.

It's actually warmer here today - the grass is green and no pretty frost on my bin lid I think it's only a temporary respite though, as low temperatures and the possibility of snow are forecast over the next few days.

Dustyevsky

After the above rant, I'd better report that the weather here is calm, cloudy, dry and without the wind chill that has made 4c feel much colder. I might even get to pick up some of the 'hay' I cut earlier this week! Who knows, a little gardening too maybe?

The past week has been mostly about keeping the sheep in and working on the hedge rejuvenation, but there's been another issue, rodent related! Mrs Dusty sussed 'something' had removed an egg from the nest boxes and hidden it, but she was unsure where that 'something' might have set up home. Using the skills of an accomplished hunter-gatherer, she eventually worked out the route being taken into the hen pen, but the question remained: how many?

Experiments with the trail camera gave mixed results; mainly people's feet, or someone with a torch walking up the lane, but on Thursday night she cracked it.

There were about a dozen visits during the night and always just the one, which is a relief. The rat bait box is currently in the chicken house, picking up chicken smells, but soon it will be deployed. Never had one hang around before like this. Of course, they're everywhere, but there will be no setting-up home!

EDIT: 'Thing' to the right of rat is a mouldy banana, which it rather enjoyed!

YoungBlueEyes

Yep Farway, I've got a notebook and I'm diligently writing it all down, just in case. It's definitely gout, absolutely classic text book case according to the pics and description on the nhs website. My 3 middle toes are tight and shiny red, you could toast marshmallows in the heat coming off them, and I can't bear anything touching them at all.  I'd say more tingly pin-prickly than itchy though. The 2 docs have clearly never had gout, and a good dose of it would be useful for them imo  

I tentatively mentioned gout to both docs pp, the first one said no it'll be a chilblain cos it's cold, the 'hurry up and wait' clinic doc who actually saw it said it's a trapped nerve.  Your tax dollars at work I only D'Ducked it cos it's a 7 week wait for a non-emergency appointment with a GP. I'd hazard a guess they ain't waiting 7 weeks in 3rd world countries. Ahem. 

Jeez Dusty, I thought that was gonna be a ferret or summat I expect you've got it covered, but I remember how granda used to get rid of rats. I can't say it on a public forum, but let me know if you want a back-up plan  

OT umm still cold out there, probably. Sun's trying to come out mind.

Farway

Dustyevsky said:

EDIT: 'Thing' to the right of rat is a mouldy banana, which it rather enjoyed!

Yes, I found out the hard way rats love ripe bananas. I had over ripe ones in a fruit bowl, so ripe you could smell them, waiting for the banana bread making urge at the time.

Took me ages to get the rats out and finally kill them off

They are in my garden, bird feeders next door. There are horrifying videos on You Tube, but not for the squeamish.

ArbitraryRandom

YoungBlueEyes said:

I tentatively mentioned gout to both docs pp, the first one said no it'll be a chilblain cos it's cold, the 'hurry up and wait' clinic doc who actually saw it said it's a trapped nerve.  Your tax dollars at work I only D'Ducked it cos it's a 7 week wait for a non-emergency appointment with a GP. I'd hazard a guess they ain't waiting 7 weeks in 3rd world countries. Ahem. 

I don't know about your area, but if I were you I'd call back and complain it's spreading/the painkillers aren't helping/it's impacting on your mobility/independence - ask/say you want specifically a blood test to 'rule out' gout. They're done by a nurse rather than Dr so should be quicker/a weekly clinic... plus if you make a fuss then they might agree just to stop you from calling back a third time! 

YoungBlueEyes

Thanks Arb. My plan is to keep taking the strong-ish painkillers the Oracle gave me, give it the weekend, then see where I am. I'll start with the docs again on Monday if necessary. Neither of them mentioned the blood test cos neither of them thought it was gout. Grrr  

Re rats and bananas - I've read on here somewhere that old banana skins are great for putting round your roses. How do you feed the roses with them without attracting rats...? I was going to start doing this in the spring cos I have a banana every morning but I'll not if it means rats again!

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:
Re rats and bananas - I've read on here somewhere that old banana skins are great for putting round your roses. How do you feed the roses with them without attracting rats...? I was going to start doing this in the spring cos I have a banana every morning but I'll not if it means rats again!

I don't think rats would want the skins. The hens will have a go at most things, but they shun banana skins.

As for the gout, first treatment is usually an anti-inflammatory, like ibuprofen, and then ramped-up to  a stronger NSAID if necessary. So, you could use ibuprofen straight away if you are typically OK taking it.

It might have been gout I had in my late 40s, but it was knees, not toes. Went from normal to “Blimmin heck, I can't walk!” in a matter of hours. Doctor didn't commit, but prescribed diclofenac, a not-very-good-for-you NSAID. I was 'normal' again within 48 hours and gout, or whatever it was, never returned.

A very grey day out there now, and at 2c, norra lotta fun.  Hope 2p is OK with lots of blankets in her car on the lifeboat pull route. Those folks won't be cold! 

You can watch an earlier one here:

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-lynmouth-charity-lifeboat-pull-1980-online

PS Is that Michael Fish running past at the start. Answers on the back of a faulty hurricane report 7 years later!

pink_poppy

Did you know that you can make 'bacon' substitute out of banana skins - I've never tried it and don't fancy it tbh.

YBE, that's why I asked if you'd mentioned gout to the Drs. I have heard that some ailments are seen to be more male territory, like heart attacks, so Drs don't always check when it's a female presenting the same symptoms. I wondered if gout was the same. Sorry, that sounds really clunky, hope you know what I mean.