The Diary Of Onebrokelady Aged 60 And A Half

Onebrokelady

I woke up this morning feeling hot like I had a temperature but I didn't 🤷‍♀️ It's also been a very mild day here today but also dark and dismal. I went out to tidy the front garden up a bit and I got as far as the steps leading up to my front door then it started raining so I had to go back in .

The heating man has been to service my boiler so that's done for another year and he also measured up to give me a price for replacing my radiators. I just have to wait for an email now to let me know how much it would cost. Hopefully not too expensive 🤞🤞

Ive done a load of laundry which I did peg out but I've had to bring it back in now. It was out for a couple of hours though so partially dry 😊

Im not feeling too good so have taken it easy today 

Cherryfudge

Our weather was like that yesterday: I don't think our bodies know quite what to do with it. It could also be that you're still coping with the lingering results of whatever it was you had recently. It's really hung around for a long time, hasn't it?  

I remember now, you did say about your parents before and I probably said the same to you then as I did now. Very difficult for you, especially as know it would be easier all round if there were carers going in.

You are making progress with the house though! And do you still do dolls' houses? I never got any further with mine: it seems too big a decision to paper over the 1950s original paper inside even though it's wrecked. (Your mention of a 'taking it easy' day along with progress on the house started me thinking about this, in case it seems a big change of subject).

Onebrokelady

Cherryfudge said:

Our weather was like that yesterday: I don't think our bodies know quite what to do with it. It could also be that you're still coping with the lingering results of whatever it was you had recently. It's really hung around for a long time, hasn't it?  

I remember now, you did say about your parents before and I probably said the same to you then as I did now. Very difficult for you, especially as know it would be easier all round if there were carers going in.

You are making progress with the house though! And do you still do dolls' houses? I never got any further with mine: it seems too big a decision to paper over the 1950s original paper inside even though it's wrecked. (Your mention of a 'taking it easy' day along with progress on the house started me thinking about this, in case it seems a big change of subject).

The weather is weird at the moment. It's been very mild today, it felt more like an October day than a February one 😳  I'm sure whatever I had is still lingering too but hopefully it will clear off soon. I've been ill for a while now and it's getting on my nerves. It's not helped by the decrease in steroids as I'm back down to 4mgs a day now. I'm not increasing them again now though, I just want to stop taking them. It's been 14 months now so hopefully the Polymyalgia will burn itself out by December 🤞🤞

Things would definitely be easier with my parents if there were carers going in but it's not going to happen at the moment 😟

The house jobs are slowly being organised. I'm doing the radiators first because they really are on their last legs then I'm arranging to have the kitchen floor replaced after that. I need to sort the garden out but I will be doing that, I'm also still decorating when I can illness and pain permitting. 

I haven't touched my dolls house for a while apart from to decorate it for Christmas but I do plan to do some more now I've got more time and money. I don't spend a lot but you can get seriously carried away if your not careful. You should have a go at yours it's good fun 

Onebrokelady

Cherryfudge said:

Our weather was like that yesterday: I don't think our bodies know quite what to do with it. It could also be that you're still coping with the lingering results of whatever it was you had recently. It's really hung around for a long time, hasn't it?  

I remember now, you did say about your parents before and I probably said the same to you then as I did now. Very difficult for you, especially as know it would be easier all round if there were carers going in.

You are making progress with the house though! And do you still do dolls' houses? I never got any further with mine: it seems too big a decision to paper over the 1950s original paper inside even though it's wrecked. (Your mention of a 'taking it easy' day along with progress on the house started me thinking about this, in case it seems a big change of subject).

Here's the dining room decorated for Christmas 😊

Onebrokelady

I got the results from my pelvic X-ray on Mycare today. The report says the joint spaces are normal but there is some bilateral acetabulum overgrowth which means extra boney bits are slowly wearing away the cartilage that's lines the hip socket. That explains the hip pain. My GP hasn't contacted me about it though so I'm wondering if nothing needs to be done. I would have thought they would have contacted me if there was some sort of treatment 🤷‍♀️  

badmemory

Apologies for the bluntness.  I have found that in some the stages of dementia lead to an increase in self interest.  Is it possible that she may respond to a comment along the lines of - is it in your financial interests to make sure he lives as long as possible & if so perhaps carers will enable that.  Unfortunately dementia kills the people we love before they actually die, if you know what I mean.

Cherryfudge

The dolls' house is lovely! You're right, I should do mine. I decorated the outside of it for Christmas - there's a string of what look like tiny fairy lights and a tree - but the inside is sadly empty.

It sounds as though the hip problem is rather like those bone overgrowths that can happen in shoulders (sorry for complete lack of technical knowledge). Wouldn't it be wonderful if bone growth could be programmed to go in the right direction? I can well believe it's painful so I hope they can find somethign to relieve it.

debtfreewannabe321

Hi I have just read through your diary, just thought I would add my thoughts on the SMOL vs the ecover. I used to use Ecover and buy in bulk on amazon. It was hard to find a place for it all in my kitchen though. I swapped over to smol on recommendation from a friend and I bought their dishwasher tablets and also their kitchen cleaner. Both good. I got an email last month asking if I wanted to sign up for free trials on some other bits, you basically pay postage and get trials on most things on their website. I have their washing up liquid, laundry tablets and bathroom spray now on top of the kitchen cleaner. All really good products that smell nice too. And it's all delivered to your door on subscription  

Thoughts on your mum and dad, are there any services that offer 'friendly chats' type home visits. I remember a few years ago I nearly signed up to volunteer to do this. It was offering up your time for free to go and sit with the elderly and do small jobs for them. I wonder if it is nationwide? I don't recall the name of the local charity though sorry...but I thought it was a good idea. My nan was a nurse in her career. She also wouldn't accept help into the house to care for my grandad even though she was physically incapable of doing it at the end of his life. I think she would have accepted someone coming in for a chat though (all are DBS checked).

Onebrokelady

badmemory said:

Apologies for the bluntness.  I have found that in some the stages of dementia lead to an increase in self interest.  Is it possible that she may respond to a comment along the lines of - is it in your financial interests to make sure he lives as long as possible & if so perhaps carers will enable that.  Unfortunately dementia kills the people we love before they actually die, if you know what I mean.

No need to apologies I entirely agree. I'm not sure what she would say though . I think she is hoping he won't last too long and she can hopefully manage until the inevitable. She won't care about and doesn't need to worry about the money side of things. They have never got on and she must be really angry inside that she has ended up looking after him after all the abuse she has suffered over the years ( mental not physical) it doesn't help that she is not that healthy and is used to being the one who is looked after and having all the attention and now it's switched to dad she doesn't like it. He is a difficult man who knows how to turn on the charm and act a certain way when we are there but I've now doubt he is a pain in the !!!!!! when  we aren't there to see it. 

When he was in hospital all the staff loved him because he was so lovely to them all and he would tell them stories about how much he loves my mum and what a special lady she is. When they told me I didn't recognise the person they were talking about because he's not like that behind closed doors. I have been terribly conflicted over this because it's not an over exaggeration to say I actually hated him for nearly the whole time I've known him (12 years old to now). When he developed dementia he changed into this frail sweet old man who was very scared and upset so my compassionate side went into overdrive about it all. I'm now seeing parts of his normal personality come back so it's making it easier to be a bit less emotional but I honestly I find myself feeling angry and resentful mostly about both of them. My mum brought me down here against my will and I have been living  with the consequences of her decision my whole life to the point it's made me ill. 

Any way sorry for the massive rant 😀

Onebrokelady

Cherryfudge said:

The dolls' house is lovely! You're right, I should do mine. I decorated the outside of it for Christmas - there's a string of what look like tiny fairy lights and a tree - but the inside is sadly empty.

It sounds as though the hip problem is rather like those bone overgrowths that can happen in shoulders (sorry for complete lack of technical knowledge). Wouldn't it be wonderful if bone growth could be programmed to go in the right direction? I can well believe it's painful so I hope they can find somethign to relieve it.

Thanks Cherry 😊you should give it a go. I will try and post some more photos at some point 😊

I think they can happen in quite a few places. My mum had them on her spine and had surgery to remove them. It didn't help her much though. There are some recommended exercises so I've started doing them.  It basically just says rest and anti inflammatories if it's mild then if it gets worse you can have steroid injections and the the last option is surgery when all else fails. They do cause damage and will lead to arthritis in the hip so they advise no doing things like certain sports that will aggravate it. I'm not sure riding is ok and will have to find out