The health and fitness thread about random things

[rafletcher]

A note on damaging contacts - daily disposables are the thinnest of thin things. They are quite easy to tear if you're a bit ham-fisted, but great when touring as no solutions to carry.  Monthly softs are quite robust, and I never damaged one in 20+ years of wearing them. But then again I found I adapted to soft lenses in about 5 minutes. Like Ian, I even had rigid gas permeables to start with, but because I had quite a "strong " prescription they were relatively thick, and I got hazy vision after 8 hours due to lack of oxygen in they eye (I think). The soft lenses were in from 6am to 10pm most days.  Unfortunatley I now need varifocal glasses, and "multifocal" contact lenses didn't work for me - my dominant eye is too dominant apparently, and not even a 3 month trial worked :-(.

I still keep some "near enough" toric dailies for riding, and a pair of cheapo reading glasses when I need to see the garmin track or a map.

[simonp]

I have found the local opticians here to be really good, and everything is handled by the optometrist rather than a sales person. This is the way it should be. I first tried contacts many years ago before the advent of the gas permeable soft lenses, and it was more like BrianI's experience, though I got on with the lenses ok. I stopped using them eventually for other reasons.

The new lenses are a lot more comfortable to keep in for a decent length of time. I wear them all day when I'm commuting on the motorbike. It's quite an odd experience, if used to wearing glasses for years (34 years in my case), if you ever sleep in them, to wake up and be able to see (ish - the lenses do move a bit and it takes a moment to settle).

[hellymedic]

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/men-who-suffer-cardiac-arrest-during-sex-four-times-more-likely-to-die-a3623506.html

Suspect successful out of hospital CPR is more likely if there are multiple bystanders and casualty is on a firm surface.

Both are unusual in a typical bedroom scenario.

Even in France.

Out of hospital cardiac arrest has a statistically dismal prognosis. Victims need several folk to give the a chance. It's not possible for one person to do CPR, call for help and unlock a dwelling simultaneously, even if they don't give a f*** about the state of dress/undress.

[Auntie Helen]

If you cannot get on with contacts and dislike glasses then you could consider Laser surgery.  Scary but fantastic if you are suitable. 

I went to Mooorfields as they are proper ophthalmic surgeons and the top guy there invented most of the laser kit.

I did the same, a fantastic investment 15 years ago! Well worth the money, and the peace of mind that Moorfields did it.

[barakta]

I wish my vision was stable enough to consider laser surgery... Myopia which gets worse every 18-24 months and silly astigmatism is making my other visual issues much harder to deal with...

On the other hand I prefer how I look wearing glasses. And if I find a good optiquack I can get good prescriptions and fitting.

[BrianI]

A bit of an update! 

Unsatisfied with Specsavers, I had a wander into a family owned local independent opticians, Ferrier & Mackinnon, http://www.fmoptom.com/ today, mainly to ask if I could get a second opinion eye test, and see about getting a proper contact lens fit.

Luckily they had an appointment available in the mid afternoon for a complete eye test, and contact lens fit!

40 minutes for the eyetest, and I got *everything* checked including digital retinal photography, eye pressure test¹, field of vision test,  shape of cornea test as well as the usual "better or worse" lenses test as well as colour vision test.  Pretty thorough compared to the 10 minute test Specsavers gave me!

That done, the same optemetrist then spent a good twenty minutes patiently guiding me through putting in and taking contact lenses out!

While he didn't have any contacts of my exact up to date prescription available, he has given me  a pair of monthly contacts of a close enough prescription / lens case and contact solution to practice with , and he'll have my contacts in stock for my next appointment next week! 

I'm certainly feeling a lot more comfortable regarding contacts, plus I know that I got a very good eye test.   

 

Thumbs up for family owned independent opticians!

¹ Due to father & grandfather having had glaucoma, I am at increased risk, so I was glad the optician did the eye pressure test.  According to the digital retina scan, I have a very large optic nerve, and all is well.  But they want me to have annual, rather than every two year eye tests.

[Ruthie]

That's great Brian!

It's befuddling that you got such poor service from Specsavers. You'd think they'd want to maintain a reputation for quality. Do you intend to complain?

[T42]

Slowly realizing that climbing for half an hour last Tuesday with my heart running at 102% of rate at which "slight" ST depression appears probably starved my quads of oxygen so they likely cannibalized themselves; which is why I didn't much enjoy Sunday's 67k. Legs were sore to the touch yesterday, and a bit sore after a stroll round the village this morning.

Doesn't bode well for doing BRM in this neck of the woods next year, what with all those handy mountains.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The UN Special Rapporteur on rights to health has issued a report on mental health care worldwide, the first to look at this in the light of the 2006 Convention on Rights of Disabled People, though it applies to all. It's interesting in that it takes the view of mental health as reflecting problems in societies as much as in individuals.

The crisis in mental health should be managed not as a crisis of individual conditions but as a crisis of social obstacles which hinders individual rights. Mental health policies are in crisis – not a crisis of chemical imbalances, but of power imbalances.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21689

[Kim]

I think I just picked another bit of Gay Hill^[1] out of my arm.


_{[1] Wasn't named by a cyclist.}

[barakta]

The UN Special Rapporteur on rights to health has issued a report on mental health care worldwide, the first to look at this in the light of the 2006 Convention on Rights of Disabled People, though it applies to all. It's interesting in that it takes the view of mental health as reflecting problems in societies as much as in individuals.

The crisis in mental health should be managed not as a crisis of individual conditions but as a crisis of social obstacles which hinders individual rights. Mental health policies are in crisis – not a crisis of chemical imbalances, but of power imbalances.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21689

Social model of mental illness, good!  There's long been research showing that mental ill-health rises with social inequities and inequalities.

I am very tired of mental ill-health being linked to individuals' lack of resilience rather than shitty things that are done to people by power imbalances and oppression.

Not that we follow the UN Convention on Rights of Disabled People despite ratifying it in 2009. We've just been given a second slap by the UN about it, our government is already poohpoohing it.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Must reflect on physical health too, most obviously obesity.

already poohpoohing it.

Always makes me laugh, thinking of Stephen Fry as the General in Blackadder goes fourth.
https://youtu.be/QeF1JO7Ki8E

[barakta]

One prescription for topiramate to try and prevent migrainosity and general brainsplode and one for sumatriptan for nobbling known 'migraine attacks'.  Two friends had serious effects, two didn't. GP thinks nausea is likely to biggest issue. Migraine nurse thought possibly "word finding" for a few weeks.

Got about 2-3 weeks before next likely job interview and likely gap in having to submit applications so now is as least-worst a time as any...

Hope I'm one of the ones who doesn't get a fried brain or digestive system.

[cycleman]

Wishing you good luck and success 

[BrianI]

That's great Brian!

It's befuddling that you got such poor service from Specsavers. You'd think they'd want to maintain a reputation for quality. Do you intend to complain?

Funnily enough, I got a "could you fill in a survey" email from Specsavers a few days ago.  So I gave them a fair review of their poor customer service!

Anyway a couple of days ago I was into the same  independent family owned opticians, for my fit of the trial toric lenses.  An aura of calm, in there, compared to the almost running about like headless chickens in the national high street chain which rhymes with "smecsavers".

The very patient optometrist¹ was very thorough in checking the various brands of contacts for fit and comfort.  And I've got 4 pairs each of two different brands to try for the next week to see how they go.

I've managed wearing them for around 6 hours, without too many issues, so I may try them at work tomorrow. (hopefully I wont end up misdelivering here, there and everywhere..... ) 

¹ Even althoug he looked of an age he should still be in highscool... I take its a sign i'm getting old..... 

[BrianI]

A complete day at work wearing a set of  the trial contacts!    These are the most comfy of the two sets I'm trialling:

https://coopervision.co.uk/practitioner/contact-lenses/clariti-1-day-toric 

Does this make me Cooperman? 



 

No trouble at all with distance or close work while wearing the contacts.   

Had the lenses in for about 9 hours now, and just starting to feel a bit dry.  So for the rest of today, I think I'll go au naturel in the eyeball region!

[T42]

Found a bloody great haematoma on the inside of my thigh this morning, high up. Reckon I must have caught it on the underside of the nose of my saddle yesterday, on the upstroke. There was one point when, negotiating a wretchedly-close set of overlapped barriers, I had to uncleat both feet rapidly to avoid a tumble, so I'm blaming that and our god-damned nanny town councils.

Anyway, this damned thing hurts when I walk and will probably do so for a couple of days, so I am in an official Bad Mood.

[T42]

And it rubs on the eaves of the saddle so I can't ride. Bugger.

[BrianI]

The trial of the daily disposables went well!  I can put the lenses in and take them out in seconds now! As a consequence, I think I'll be going for monthly disposables as I think I'll be wearing contacts the majority of the time.

Unfortunately the optician's didn't have monthly disposables of my exact prescription in stock, so I've been given a pair of almost the right prescription to trial for the next 2 weeks, if I get on OK with them, then I've to phone and let them know, at which point they'll get my final lenses ordered in, and I'll set up the direct debits for payment of lenses & 6 monthly contact lens check. 

Certainly a very good service compared to Sp*csavers!    

[barakta]

8 days into Topiramate and so far pretty good. Brain is a bit working memory, executive function, proprioception impaired and I might be dizzier than usual (hard to tell cos my baseline balance is SO appalling atm). Basically "a bit stoned".

I got mild gassiness and sometimes a funny metallic taste in my mouth. Oh and pins and needles but I get that anyway from dodgy balance/overload and have done for years (which confused the fuck out of neuro bods in 1995) but it's more noticable and persistent in hands and feet with this drug. I also get migraine symptoms after each pill for a bit - which is almost certainly "to be expected" cos anti epileptics are totally "gets worse before it gets better" meds.  I've had one nasty migraine, threw one of the sumatriptan + domperidone at it, not convinced it helped much but I may have left it too late before noticing... It's useful to know sumatriptan didn't do anything evil either. I could have done without 1 day with poorly working vision and 2 days of photophobia though.

I was going to double up to 25mg 2x a day this morning, but my first BAHA abutment decided to go manky, painful and stop me sleeping cos I can't lie on the other side *scowls at shit shoulder* - I definitely can't do sleep dep on these drugs. So I decided to bounce dose uppage to tomorrow. I'll keep logging the lot of it and see what happens.

Clinic letter arrived, it's a good thing I'm very intelligent, educated and totally speak medicine, cos it's appallingly badly written even for dictation, repetitive, and contains bollocks info. I was told about two non drug options, a forehead "electrical stimulator" and a neck one - but cos it was all audio (no leaflets) I didn't catch the names. Nurse said it would be sent to me with the letter so I expected proper leaflets. She talked at length about how NICE had said they worked and she thought they were potentially good but NHS wouldn't fund them so people have to go private for them.

My letter refers to the Cefaly V1 vagal nerve stimulator but googling http://www.cefaly.co.uk/en seems to suggest that this is actually an external trigeminal nerve stimulator. The second device was a vagus nerve stimulator but there is no mention of that in the letter

I will look through NICE and Cochrane at some point and see what they do and don't cover and what they say. A friend who has wrangled NHS more than me says I may be able to get my GP to fund stuff that the NHS officially doesn't fund, or put in a case for it.  But I suspect not until I've tried some of the medication options.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Ime the tingly buzz goes with higher doses, mostly. I still get it occasionally , feels like muscles in my face are vibrating. Definitely not every day.

[barakta]

I have transient tingly buzz frequently, I've long used it as a marker of audio and balance overload so I'm fairly used to it - the neuros had no idea what it was, and acted like I was making it up, very odd. It's not as evil as the endless twitching eyelid thing I got on amitriptyline...

And yeah, effects are weird, effects don't always become more severe with more dose. I am getting more noticeable visual weirdness, but it's the same as my usual (and always present for me) visual weirdness.

[T42]

Sounds vile. Sympathy.

[essexian]

On the 22nd Feb 2002 I had a car accident when my car was hit from behind while stopped at a set of traffic lights. The resulting damage to the car was terminal, whereas I got off quite lightly with only whiplash (which actually hurts like hell) and a bruised calf muscle. Little did I realise at  the time that what I thought was a bruise actually turned out to be a bad soft tissue injury which kept me off my bike for over five years.

Fast forward 15 years to Monday of this week when I decided to see what running was all about and attended a beginners session at my local running club. After the session, I noted that my calf was a little sore but nothing special painwise: I put it down to cramp. However, it was slowly got worse over the last few days and now I cannot walk without pain/ a Herr Flick type of limp.

I am not best pleased as it feels like I have aggravated the old injury. If so, then that's put an end to my cycling for some considerable time.   

[mrcharly-YHT]

That is one heck of a soft tissue injury. What on earth was it?