Author Topic: The health and fitness thread about random things  (Read 470843 times)

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3975 on: 17 June, 2022, 02:59:08 pm »
I’ve got a paronychia down the side of my right-hand ring finger which has been irritating me for about 6 months and hasn’t cleared up.  It’s been getting more painful recently whenever I’ve had it immersed in water; when the skin is dry and hard it’s quite resilient, but when the skin is softened it’s rather tender.  I’ll see if I can get a photo to upload.  It looks pretty insignificant (only about 1/2 an inch in diameter), but I’d much rather it go away!
Never got round to uploading a gross-out pic, but I got an appointment this afternoon and was prescribed a course of floxapen which will hopefully see it off...

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3976 on: 19 June, 2022, 07:18:20 pm »
Eye test tomorrow. Better mention the "pale optic discs" which my neurologist flagged up last year.   :facepalm:

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3977 on: 19 June, 2022, 11:07:52 pm »
Eye test tomorrow. Better mention the "pale optic discs" which my neurologist flagged up last year.   :facepalm:

Suggest you request testing colour vision and visual fields...

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3978 on: 20 June, 2022, 07:39:15 am »
Pretty severe stomach pains that was spreading, so ended up going to ER. 4 hours and 1 CT scan later and I got diagnosed with diverticulitis.
I've had funner Sundays, but at least it wasn't anything serious.
Liquid/bland diet until clears and a short course of antibiotics.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3979 on: 20 June, 2022, 08:32:54 am »
Good luck!
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3980 on: 20 June, 2022, 02:18:39 pm »
Eye test tomorrow. Better mention the "pale optic discs" which my neurologist flagged up last year.   :facepalm:

Suggest you request testing colour vision and visual fields...

All done today.

Maybe very slightly less colour vision in left eye, than right (particularly the pale red & pale green colour vision test).  But not serious enough to be an issue .No issues on the visual fields tests (the one where you  look into a plastic dome with one eye covered up, and press a button when a dot flashes in the dome). 

Optic discs look pretty much the same as they did during my last test in 2018 (near enough identical when they showed the images side by side). So while there might be something neurological going on, and affecting my eyes, it's not a clear cut case. And while the optic discs might be pale, the only other comparison image was that taken in 2018, again so nothing that the optician can say for definite if it is optical neuritis etc.  I did mention slight discomfort on moving my eyes full left / full right up and down, again the optician isn't too concerned about that yet.

And I passed the glaucoma screening test as well.  Although optician did say if it was something neurological I eventually get diagnosed with, it's more likely that the neurological condition will affect my eyesight eventually, than glaucoma (which both my dad, and grandad had)

No change to my glasses prescription. So next eye test in two years time. 

So while I've no obvious clear cut diagnosis opticians wise, to go back to neurologist with, at least I know nothing is bad enough yet that it is affecting my eyes.

The opticians was an independent chain (Ferrier & Mackinnon), who I've used for a while and gives a decent eyetest, rather than Specsavers (who I find rushes you through an eyetest in order to flog new glasses).

So just the lumbar puncture to get done next week, and we'll see what that brings. 

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3981 on: 21 June, 2022, 10:56:09 am »
Trying not too ponder too much about the fact that next week's Lumbar Puncture, may very well indeed come back as inconclusive. Cue then a Tick  Box Diagnosis of Functional Neurological Disorder, and a discharge and cheerio?  :facepalm:   Although one of the leading experts in Functional Neurological Disorder, Professor Jon Stone, who I saw a while back, doesn't think my symptoms match Functional Neurological Disorder.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3982 on: 21 June, 2022, 01:32:31 pm »
Lumbar puncture can be negative even with a definite diagnosis of MS too. Mine was.
It can confirm a suspicion but is not definitive.

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3983 on: 21 June, 2022, 09:54:14 pm »
Lumbar puncture can be negative even with a definite diagnosis of MS too. Mine was.
It can confirm a suspicion but is not definitive.

Unfortunately, none of my 5 mri scans showed any signs of MS :-/, apart from high foci signals which were put down as "age related changes in the brain"  :facepalm:

I just want some answers!

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3984 on: 21 June, 2022, 10:16:32 pm »
Of course you need answers!
Hope you get some!

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3985 on: 22 June, 2022, 05:25:47 am »
Ingrowing toenail.
It's been sore for a few days. Very sore. Extremely sore.
Without thread necromancy (from 2009) I'll just agree that because I'm a Real Man I've been avoiding professional intervention, but may have to swallow my pride.
Too many angry people - breathe & relax.

arabella

  • عربللا
  • onwendeð wyrda gesceaft weoruld under heofonum
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3986 on: 22 June, 2022, 12:20:04 pm »
Last week I did some gardening, removing unwanted plants before they seeded.
One such plant was alkanet.
I collected all the (not-quite-seeded) fronds in the crook of my left arm.

I now find that alkanet can give you a lovely itchy rash (in the crook of my left arm, the right hand which was doing the pulling is fine).

I've been smearing it with anti-histamine (not much use) and germolene ('cos it has anaesthetic in it) (also not much use).
This morning I tried a salty scrub (damp/wet table salt & rinse off).  It seems to have lasted better than the previous options - got 5 hours with itchiness mainly alleviated, rather than the usual 1.5-2.5 hours.
The internet has zero suggestions, though it says alkanet roots are good for your skin.  I haven't yet got to the point of trying this though, just in case it makes things worse which I really don't want.
Any fool can admire a mountain.  It takes real discernment to appreciate the fens.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3987 on: 22 June, 2022, 12:25:13 pm »
That's exactly the sort of reason why I try to have as little to do with Gardening as possible.

Hydrocortisone cream?

arabella

  • عربللا
  • onwendeð wyrda gesceaft weoruld under heofonum
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3988 on: 22 June, 2022, 01:15:10 pm »
I did think of that but there doesn't appear to be a (massively out of date) tub(e) hiding in my cupboard.
I have sufficient clue to realise that ibuprofen gel isn't the same thing!
Any fool can admire a mountain.  It takes real discernment to appreciate the fens.

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3989 on: 23 June, 2022, 08:35:31 am »
Aloe vera?

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3990 on: 28 June, 2022, 04:32:50 pm »
Todays lumbar puncture went well. Apart from a "sharp scratch" when doctor injected the local anaesthetic, and some "discomfort" as he inserted the spinal needle and manipulated it to the right spot, overall a painless experience.


Hopefully a pain free rest and recuperation the next two days which I've booked off work.  :thumbsup:

Neurologist should have the results when I see him on the 12th of July

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3991 on: 28 June, 2022, 05:12:32 pm »
Keep REALLY well-hydrated for the next week!
Lie down if you get a headache.
Post-LP headache can be very gradual and insidious in onset!

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3992 on: 28 June, 2022, 06:14:39 pm »
Keep REALLY well-hydrated for the next week!
Lie down if you get a headache.
Post-LP headache can be very gradual and insidious in onset!

Apparently full fat coke helps as well, (not the diet caffiene free stuff).

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3993 on: 28 June, 2022, 06:53:42 pm »
Yeah, SUGAR, caffeine & water FTW.
The American MS groups were recomending Mountain Dew in the 1990s.

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3994 on: 29 June, 2022, 09:29:30 pm »
So far no signs of post LP headache.

Slightly achy back though.

And my walking is a bit more mince today.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3995 on: 29 June, 2022, 09:48:03 pm »
Good to read you have no headache.
Mine only started 48 hours post-procedure...

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3996 on: 02 July, 2022, 09:31:34 pm »
Got a text asking me, rather rudely I thought, if I was intending to make use of the FIT test that has been sent to me. I would do so, if they had sent one.
The text includes a number to ring which, after a series of slightly clumsy steps, brings you to the appropriate local hub where one can request a FIT test. Tried a couple of random times a day over a few days while off with COVID. No answer; there simply isn’t anyone there, I suspect.

No big deal I guess but this is the sort of thing that should be done via the NHS app, or even by text.

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3997 on: 07 July, 2022, 05:42:16 pm »

If ever you go for a biopsy on your prostate watch out for the long needle that injects the anaesthetic! It's about 4 inches long! It made me scream as it was pushed inside me! Having the surgeons take the samples wasn't too bad. My first pee after the procedure was the colour of a dark red wine. I'm a bit tender below, so no riding for a few days.

Today’s visit to the Urology Department handed me the news I didn’t want to hear. On a scale between 2 – 10 (with 2 being the mildest form of the prostate cancer, and 10 being the most aggressive) mine is 7.

I have been given tons of information to read through, with the aim of choosing the most appropriate form of treatment.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3998 on: 07 July, 2022, 05:43:12 pm »
Can only wish you well.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #3999 on: 07 July, 2022, 08:35:14 pm »
Going to have my painful knees x rayed tomorrow.  Probably just wear and tear but could be arthritis I'm been  told.
Wishing all of you worse off than me the best 🙂
the slower you go the more you see