Bea sent a lovely picture from the sunset over the lake.
I am still waiting for the appointment at the pain clinic..I could get used to living in London again. The proximity of everything, supermarkets open all the time even on Sundays, hopping on buses with my Oyster card. All that makes my life so much easier.
The acupuncture didn’t do much this week, nothing actually so I bought some knee pads and ankle pads yesterday as well as ice packs! I am thinking of getting a cane! 😃 Not joking but I am getting so stiff!
I’ll try the knee pads today see if that gives me a little more support, I am going down steps sideways 😂
I read an article about cold and pain. I knew about cold and injuries and I do put cold on when I have had a fall or sthg but I don’t like it much. I like heat! ☀️
Now they recommended the cold spray footballers have at the side of the pitch but the pharmacist said you are better off with ice packs.
Well I said Im not at home and I was right I should have bought the spray because the ice pack she sold me will barely cover one knee once it’s frozen! Can’t freeze that in my minibar so I gave it to the B&B’s kitchen and they said I could have tomorrow😮 what kind of freezer do they have?? Anyway that was an expensive mistake I will need to go back for the spray!
And I have 2 knees and 2 ankles..so far 😃
Monday I have a match to see, Chelsea-ManU so I must get it right!
Thank you Jo, I checked.. a lot of gases, you are right. Didn’t think of my lungs. There are ice patches as well I will investigate, if there are no NSAID it’s ok. X
Hi Fran, you are in a bit of a pickle but I’m sure you will find what works best for you. I also prefer heat but at the moment nothing is really working on my back.The cold spray I buy is Biofreeze which you wouldn’t want to breathe in with lung problems but they do it in a roll on too. See if you can buy it locally but I get it from Amazon.
Hope you feel less stiff soon but yes, do get a cane. I have one.
Yes I saw a roll-on. They have everything at the local Boots. If it works I will get it from Amazon when Im home. I must say they brought me the ice pack just now and I put it in its bag in my sock as the external side of my right foot is the worst, and it’s numbed the pain.
Ok I will have to look for a specialist shop for the cane also because my right side is where the vertebrae is broken. I know they have an orthopaedic one in Central London. So I will give it a try.
Take care too and hope Pete is feeling better these days xx
Sorry to jump in on your conversation with our lovely Hidden ,but I knew Pete's mum was unwell with Dementia,so I would like to pass on my sincere condolences to Pete,yourself and family,at her passing. As you know my mother has exactly the same condition and we/they suspect that Dad has the early signs now too. So happy to read Pete is doing well although the loss of his mother will take its toll. Condolences to you all.
Thank you so very much SH. We have our family close by which helps. You’re kind words mean a lot and I’m thinking of you, your dear parents and family. Xxxx
Computer just Crashed on replying to you, Start again...Hola Fran, lovely to hear from You. I use a cane as Recommended by a Resp., Nurse years ago, Enables me to balance, Lean on it to Breathe. A Good Prop. I agree that sprays would get to your Lungs. I use "Ibuprofen"(on Prescription) Gel for my Arthritic Places especially my Neck & Hip(replaced) plays up when very cold. The Photo from Bea is Lovely. I know what you Mean about London, when I go I feel like I'm Abroad, ( my son takes me to all the Places quite easily, being a Met Policeman), Street cafes open all night as everything else. Enjoy the Chelsea-Man-U Match Tomorrow. Besitos Carino. xxx
Good to know how to use the cane, I thought I would have to be taught yes. Unfortunately I can’t have NSAIDs. I have been using that Arnica massage oil, it’s ok after a shower but they say 3 to 4 times a day so you imagine..
I am thinking of you..we never talked about all those aches and pains before and here I am moaning but I see I am not the only one. I think I need one or two things fixed or replaced I’ll see what they say when I finally get to that hospital appointment.
Oh so you go speeding around in a special car siren blaring 😃😉 London livens me up too yes.
Gracias Querida, Je Je Je , The Thought of me in a Siren Police Car..Only on Arrest.. Ha Ha Ha ...The Sun is Out , Spring is here. Happy Smile's for Everyone. xxxx Mwarr.
I love the colours in Bea's photo, say thank you to her for sharing. The morning sky is pinky yellow here too, but all I see is rooftops, no view to speak of.
About the acupuncture , I tried it years ago for my breathing.....no joy really for that but my shoulder pain vanished after a few sessions. I have a heated pad for my back, and this helps together with some gentle yoga. But I asked my GP first after the back fracture healed, and my yoga teacher knows my limits. Meditations for back pain help too.
I told Bea! She likes sending me photos and says it’s for your lung forum. She is a lovely thoughtful person. I am so lucky.
You are right I won’t give up I have 2 more appointments, on the 19th and 27th but he is not treating the pain as such but the adrenal glands insufficiency and the kidneys, which are the root of the problem. So I will see what he says.
I can’t do yoga or any stretching..
Presently there are times I can barely walk, which I do every day anyway at my own pace..I haven’t found a swimming pool to my liking because exercising in water helps me a lot at home but there is too much chlorine here.
I meditate also, and self-hypnosis is a great help when I am in. I like going out and about and seeing something else. Even to buy the paper and sit at a terrace, the weather has been great. I mean far from the -5 and the snow I left back home.
Best thing I did to take this trip despite all the little happenings and medical discoveries! 😃
Good morning Fran, Yes, do get a stick, it makes getting around much easier if your are getting pain in your legs. As Hacienda has said it helps keep your balance and a good leaning stick. Hills which are normally an obstacle become manageable when you use it to help push you up the hill. Going up steps becomes easier too. You will be able to walk a greater distance. You no longer have a hidden disability, I find that (some) drivers will stop to allow you to cross the road and give you the time to do so. For what they cost, they provide incredible value for the assistance they provide. It will take a few weeks of practice to learn how and when to use it to your advantage and of course remembering you have one, not forgetting it, leaving it behind somewhere. I highly recommend getting one.
haha..so all those kids will get up for me on the bus now without me getting grumpy?
This week I subscribed to a new podcast I heard of on bbc breakfast called Older and Wider! I had a good laugh! 2 grumpy old women! I thought beware Fran..😃
Sorry to hear you are having problems with your knees/legs, a walking cane is a good thing to have, just make sure that you get it fitted for you. I didnt realise how important that was until I bought one and it was a little too big and couldnt use it properly, even the adjustable sort dont always fit your height correctly. Glad to hear you are enjoying your trip to London, it will help you out of the dreary months of winter. I have woken up to a lovely sunny day here in Manchester, I just love the sunshine it makes everybody so happy, although still a little cool yet, i may just be out in the garden later pottering. Irene x
Lake Leman or Lake Geneva as they say..where we presently live in Switzerland.
It’s the Cushing Syndrome doctors diagnosed following the adrenal glands insufficiency due to steroids following the LAM lung disease 😃 I must laugh because it has been a spiral of poor immune response I think rather than poor care.
I think doctors try their best for me with their battery of pharmaceutical goodies but one thing led to another and here I am!
Glad you are having good weather ☀️
Thank you for the information. Yes I will go to a special shop if I have to spend for one you are right it must be fitted properly.
Hi Fran, so pleased your enjoying your London vacation, it's a different world from my town so much going on, and the traffic.. say no more. Get a cane they are useful for guarding your legs when fast moving bikes, pushchair and mobility scooters are charging toward you on the pavement. I have the flat handle type as I have hardly any grip. Sun's shining so have a great day. 🌞 Jane. Ps ..hows the cbd ? Any improvement.
A cane it will be! I didn’t take the cbd oil, once I got those 3 boxes of Chinese medicine I didn’t want to mix plus I read it is addictive so I thought keep up the paracetamol until you get the pain clinic appointment.
So sorry to hear you’re having so much pain..,.and more difficult to manage while you’re away from home. For ice, a bag of cheap frozen peas is often better than an ice pack....fits on your pain better, wrapped in a scarf or something- maybe your B&B will keep it frozen for you??
A walking cane/stick/pole sounds vital for you at the moment. I use a walking pole sometimes, from an outdoor shop, adjusts in two places, base grips well and sometimes using it set higher than a cane is more comfortable- mine is bright purple!! 😃 For longer walks or slippy surfaces....takes so much less energy, and removes that fear of falling. Squares up your body. It reduces to very short for travelling too. Find an outdoor kit shop and give it a try....can always put it back on the stand!
I daren’t think about the Chelsea game, with all our injuries, and a follow on from PSG disaster- but I’ll be watching!!!! ⚽️ Hope you’ll cope with getting to your seat at Stamford Bridge??! Or are there servants in hospitality???!!! Ha! 😃😃
Enjoy your London day....I’m still envying you that....but I heard yesterday that Jill, our eldest, is arriving this afternoon, for the whole half term week, with her two children, 14 and 10!! Didn’t I teach her manners mean more notice??! 😬 It will be good to see them, as always, but I feel tired already!! Lucky you having Bea to send you such lovely Lake photos. Hope it hadn’t made you homesick.
Ahhhh the famous bag of peas! Always had one of those in my freezer..No it is awkward at the B&B.
Well I got 2 of those nexcare now, they can travel in my suitcase and the little bag they fit it in handy.
Im going with my daughter’s best friend husband! She asked me to take him if not I would have watched it on tv so he’d better help me to the stands 😃
Wow get ready Granny...is something going on in her life? Maybe why she needs a break at Mum’s at such a short notice. I may sound unhealthy but get those take aways they indulge in and forget about baking your Victoria Sponge!!
Wonderful advice about the meals, Fran....!! 😃 But will I get it past my health conscious daughter of her generation?! The other daughter has already gone vegetarian! Entertaining isn’t what it was. At least they were happy with a roast chicken dinner yesterday evening 🍥🍗 yum...and John cooked it! While I went to my Mum’s to sort her eye infection....GP calling today.
Haha..Oh yes you have one of those clean eating too!! 😃 Well I have had to model myself on mine no gluten no lactose, no sugar, nothing in your plate or your glass next 😂
I have just had a vegan veg soup and gluten free toast! Although I read yesterday in the Times that toasts are dangerous 😅
Not even a coffee just a camomile tea..
Well if that is the life of leisure they promised me when I retired 🤣
I’m feeling a bit bogged down at the moment with family stuff...sandwiches and all!!. I’ve been feeling so much better lung-wise since I moved house, a few weeks on codeine excepted, that I tried cutting back on the low dose of ab’s I’ve taken for years....my asthma sprang back in as though it had never improved, so I’m back on them, to stop the whistling and wheezing. Who knows where I’d have ended up. I was hoping for a miracle cure!!
Good luck with your more complex health problems and possible cures brave Fran 🌸, So glad you’re enjoying being in London despite everything.
🕺🏻💃🏻👯♀️ Maybe a bit of cyber dancing will sort us out??! Nightie night ❤️ Penny xx
Oh dear I do feel for you. Constant pain must be so wearing and yet you do so much! Being a country mouse I would be terrified, marooned in London with the noise, traffic, pollution and having to try to use public transport. I am so glad that you are enjoying it and do so enjoy the accounts of your adventures.
in reply to
Hello Littlepom,
I didn’t do too much last week but this week looks heavier! Family coming!
Monday is football
Tuesday acupuncture at the other end of London
Wednesday rest day but if I don’t have a reaction to the day before I will go to the pictures, not far.,
Thursday I have a senior theatre matinee ticket, hope I can make it. Bus gets straight to West End so it’s handy.
Friday my cousin arrives from Paris for the weekend! And early in the morning! And she needs a lot of support, such as she will talk and I shall listen..I booked a musical for the Saturday matinee...and Sunday she leaves late so I will have to think of a long Sunday lunch somewhere..
In the meantime I will search for the perfect stick!!
Happy,i am sending you my ski poles so maybe you can even ambulate off piste down Oxford street on your next shopping adventure,as for pain i can't really advise given that i start with red wine and gradually increase the dosage until all pain in my body disappears.
Enjoy the match tomorrow but as a blues fan i already feel the possibility of pain given United's recent form.
Haha..🎿⛷🏂 you made me laugh with your ski poles. Dad had ski poles actually..hmm must be somewhere but he was such a tall man..
I never go to Oxford street not my thing..just to the first M&S I can find 😃 and I stocked up in jeans and jumpers I can tell you so much cheaper than in Switzerland. And now of course it’s so warm here, I will have to look for t-shirts!
I am not expecting anything tonight just want to be pleasantly surprised 😉 but they just came back from
malmo and won, still tiring though. Man U lost at home against PSG so Ole will want to do his best in the FA cup etc..
As for using a walking stick, I have found that I lean on it very heavily and my spine becomes quite twisted causing more pain. A three wheeled walker works better for me and I bought one second hand for £20.
It has a bag in the middle to carry necessities and you can get them with a seat but I’m not ready for that yet. It works the same as resting on a trolley in a supermarket, takes the weight off of your legs and back but supports you too.
Thank you for the advice and link Jeanrita. I could have a walker with a seat and a shopping bag I can assure you but they are heavy even they fold..to travel with anyway..but I may get one for home.
Love,
Fran xx
Hi Fran, Very nice photo the view over the lake. Sorry you are still in pain 😡 I don't like cold and prefer heat i like those heat pads and find they help me. Hope you haven't long to wait for the pain clinic. Good idea about the stick. Nice that you are enjoying London take care dear Fran wishing you well. Majt 😘 xx
in reply to
Hi Majt 🌸
Yes at night dull aching keeping me awake..and I have to be careful getting out of bed or getting up that my knees don’t give up..during the day I take paracetamol, put on my pads now and get that body moving, then back in with ice packs! 😃
Well it’s good because the weather is fine but yes heat in winter!
Still yesterday I just put on the ankle pads and that really helped, I didn’t feel my knees so much..who knows where the pain starts from..trial and error..
Thank you for thinking of me 😘xx
Fran
in reply to
Hi Fran, Hope the pain clinic help I've been to one it helped me with injections in my spine, and medication, and they have other things to. I had physiotherapy it helped. Take care Majt 🤗🌷👍xx
in reply to
Hi Majt,
Ahhh sounds good that’s what I want in that broken thoracic vertebrae..medication can be a problem for me, will see. Physio is always welcome. So 🤞..
It’s half-term so I expect at least another couple of weeks..
I wore skinny jeans a couple of months ago but I’m past that now..a walker more like!!😃
Hope your knee replacement does last, pads are good but thick although you can have all sorts, I went for the real support for now.
I have swollen like you won’t believe with the hydrocortisone..In a couple of months! I had to go to M&S to get proper trousers..it’s just unbelievable the side effects of those meds..
Cushing thins bones and muscles..so going down steps is the worst presently, one at a time but those ankle pads are so good, I could walk yesterday and I will today. Hopefully the rain will let off a little.
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