Vikings! Personality! Genes! Sex! Diet! Stress! S... - PMRGCAuk

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Vikings! Personality! Genes! Sex! Diet! Stress! Sibling Order! Who Knows with PMR/GCA ?

111 Replies

No one knows do they!!

Sibling order is an interesting one for myself! Last one out the pot by 10 years! Always catching up with the others! Don't know what it was like for yourselves!

Different lives lived always! ATB

Last years photo. They are on the way now.

111 Replies
DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer

Youngest one as well, by 9 years! Others pre- WW2, me - post!

Don’t know what affect that had on me, apart from being the stroppy one - and most definitely a Viking and a hot headed Aries!

Ce la vie 😉

in reply toDorsetLady

Innocent brainwashed my self! As we are all! But! Always catching up on the stuff you didn't know! There's the beauty of it! D L.

Rimmy profile image
Rimmy in reply toDorsetLady

That's right ! - you reminded me DL 'we' 'hot-headed Aries Vikings' should stick together !!

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer in reply toRimmy

Too right!

scats profile image
scats

Sorry I'm the eldest but then my brother has PMR too!

I love that, looking at last years photos to give you something to look forward to. Thats a garden for you, always something to look forward to.

in reply toscats

Different lives & experiences always for us scats!

scats profile image
scats in reply to

Try as we might we never seem to come up with a common factor.

in reply toscats

Probably a good job too! We would be all on a strict something!!!

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador

I'm the older too ...

in reply toPMRpro

Ahh! Must be a different experience!

Nuff1 profile image
Nuff1 in reply to

and OH is the elder of two males

in reply toNuff1

Hope they get on ok!

Nuff1 profile image
Nuff1 in reply to

Once or twice a year unless the younger is able to ride his motorbike then they might see each other more often for a bike ride.

(It's noticable that the majority of the riders of larger faster bikes have grey hair!)

in reply toNuff1

Ha! Yes. Same round here..Some with horns above their ears too!"Hells Old Angels!"

Never cut those guys up on the road!

Love looking at the garden photos. I am an avid gardener. However, I am in the US and sometimes the plants/flowers are unfamiliar time. Would those of you who post these type photos be kind enough to identify them if you can? Thank you.

in reply to

Hi. Lu. ...Brodiaea... Are the the corms... Foliage pushing through strongly now, to flower in the Spring. Tough & reliable they seem to be as well.

GOOD_GRIEF profile image
GOOD_GRIEF in reply to

We call them "cluster lilies" here.

in reply toGOOD_GRIEF

Yep. GG. A native American plant it is. Didn't know the name "cluster lillies" Brodiaea is the botanical name. Don't see many grown over here! We are more on the Bluebells in the Spring. They must look stunning in a woodland mass.

GOOD_GRIEF profile image
GOOD_GRIEF in reply to

Also known as "wild hyacinths".

*typo....to me ....not time

Marijo1951 profile image
Marijo1951

I'm the eldest of 5 daughters, like Jane Bennett in 'Pride and Prejudice'. Funnily enough the next one is Elizabeth. So far, neither she nor any of the others are showing signs of PMR or GCA, thank goodness.

in reply toMarijo1951

That's great.

Chrob profile image
Chrob

I’m the eldest

in reply toChrob

MMMmmm. Are you sure!

PJarret profile image
PJarret in reply toChrob

I am the eldest also, with no symptoms of PMR or GCA in the others,

So far, no one in my family seems to have had PMR, except my younger sister had an auto immune disease in her twenties, sarcoidosis. I’ll post a pic from Kew Gardens last week....

in reply tobraininjurythepits

Love to see it. What a great garden experience Kew is.

Hmmmm, easier said than done

scats profile image
scats in reply tobraininjurythepits

If Dr Who can do it.....

braininjurythepits profile image
braininjurythepits in reply toscats

Hehe, I can’t claim to have super powers, if someone can give me a heads up on how to import a photo on this forum, it would be much appreciated! I’m on my iPad

scats profile image
scats in reply tobraininjurythepits

Photos can only be added to post not an answer. There are instructions to follow when you start your post. My OH used to work in Kew Gardens, in the herbarium, but that was a few years ago. Spent many a happy hour there.

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer in reply toscats

And the flowers were nice as well.....:.:😳

in reply toscats

You are still in "blue" it seems!! Braininjury is in "green"! ! What am I to make of this !! Secret code on this site maybe!

scats profile image
scats in reply to

Aaghhhhh! You're doing my head in with your coulors!

in reply toscats

That was a big AAghhh! ..Anyway I'm half fighting off a fridge raid on the cheddar!

Tough call this one! Again! Think my typing finger is running out of energy! Phew!

just about finished this sentan...........

teesher profile image
teesher

I read that pmr is very common in Scandinavia, so I blame those pesky vikings.

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer in reply toteesher

You obviously never read this first time around - healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

Nuff1 profile image
Nuff1 in reply toteesher

and OH is Welsh - Local Celt in looks and build ( although Danes did raid from their N. Ireland settlement).

SheffieldJane profile image
SheffieldJane

Beautiful! I am an eldest - we have our issues too. 😉

in reply toSheffieldJane

Wouldn't doubt it Jane. ..There are so many different perspectives for us all... When you consider the incredible changes in technology,science,education, media, to name just a few! Sibling order is just another issue to put out there! But who has the greater stresses! Or doesn't it make any difference! It's probably immeasurable in human terms or so called scientific ones!

I'm just looking at the stress traits that may lead to our type of illnesses! If indeed it is our fault that we have them! That's all.

Grants148 profile image
Grants148

Lovely photo Pepper,not long to wait now before spring arrives ! I was the middle child,between two brothers .

in reply toGrants148

Were you ok with that! Was there a big age gap between you?

Lovely yes Spring not far off now Grants the plants are pushing their way through.

Wraysbury profile image
Wraysbury

Yes I’m the youngest, 3 older brothers. My childhood was full of fun, excitement and freedom, I even went to a school for 4 yrs until I was 11 when u didn’t have to go to lessons unless u wanted too!! So I didn’t, I ran around the grounds and waved at my friends, ( I was a county sprinter) I wrote the music for all the school productions and had a ball!! So no stress at all! ( we were all meant to gravitate into classes, but I was never one to conform!!)

What a great childhood for yourself. No sibling order stresses in your life then to drive you on later! Sounds wonderful. I can sense the rebel in you!

Blearyeyed profile image
Blearyeyed

And I will not help your survey at all as I am an only child , but I am the youngest in the my generation of the family.

Our illnesses of autoinflammatory and autoimmune origin all seem to hit the women on my maternal side .

My male cousins , my uncles never have anything .

Heart related conditions from my paternal side , mainly in the men.

We all love gardening though 😁😊 xxx

in reply toBlearyeyed

If you are the youngest by a long way it's more or less like being an only child but having more than two parents!!! Eldest brother was 18 years up. We all had very different generational experiences!

As far as I know I am the 1st to go down with GCA. My dad did suffer with Rheumatism badly & had gold injections etc. which were ineffective! We always put it down to being a full time gardener with all the physical work he did! Not much machinery in those days!!

Don't forget the "Great Backyard Count" birdwatch. Believe it starts next Friday! I'm baiting the garden already to train them in!!! ATB

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador in reply to

If your dad got gold injections they thought he had rheumatoid arthritis - also autoimmune. Or was it something else?

in reply toPMRpro

I don't think they really knew. This would be back in the 1950's!

He used Belladonna plasters on his back & shoulders for years. Not much fun ripping those off!! I think he tried horse liniment at some point!! Obviously as a deflection from the pain!

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador in reply to

My grandfather almost certainly had PMR - and used horse liniment too! That would have been 50s and early 60s. Sloans - which you still get!!! And in the same sort of bottle

ebay.co.uk/itm/SLOANS-Linim...

Apparently it is capsicum - which the pain clinic here recommends ...

in reply toPMRpro

I might try that myself on my shoulders! " Deep Heat" doesn't do much for me!

In my footballing days we used a "Wintergreen" oil blend which was very effective as an embrocation! Think there are some blood thinning hazards with that though!

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador in reply to

I liked the smell of wintergreen...

in reply toPMRpro

Believe me we had to be careful sloshing that stuff on! Certainly made my eyes water & put a spring in the step!! It does smell great.

Bronni profile image
Bronni in reply toBlearyeyed

Exactly me!

Telian profile image
Telian

I'm the eldest of 7! Youngest brother 17 years younger - as you say different lives but we are all close and respect one another. I'm expected to know everything! Lovely Photo - again.

in reply toTelian

Great that you all get on. Probably made quite a difference you being a girl too with the childminding! My mother was the eldest of 2 brothers & 3 sisters. She clearly was the respected boss & font of all knowledge!!

Telian profile image
Telian in reply to

All true. I have three of each and they don’t know The depth of involvement I had - helping with babysitting and knowing how Mum struggled sometimes - it made me concerned for her and I don’t think 🤔 that was good for me as I didn’t know when to switch off - if there is such a thing as being too loyal that was me. Just learning on that one.

I have happy memories too. Although it broke my heart to hear it at her funeral - I arranged to have Debussy’s Claire-De-Lune played. Mum was a trained pianist and one of her, and mines, favourites that she played every Sunday afternoon after dinner. They never knew how well she could play.

in reply toTelian

My elder (14 years) Sister copped the brunt of looking after me after mother suffered from post natal depression & nerve problems after giving birth to me. (All my fault!!) I don't think I was planned for! Blame M&B Brewery for that one!!

One of the mysteries of being the youngest is finding your way through the family mythology. Blimey there were some tales told! Even to this day I haven't a clue about some of the stuff!!

Moments like that at your Mums funeral really get through don't they. Music penetrates any prepared stiff upper lip in my experience.

Telian profile image
Telian in reply to

Aww thanks Pep. Never think how knowing that must make you feel! My youngest brother certainly wasn’t planned, Mum had just got her first proper job after having us lot and had to give it up - needless to say depression followed and although

s & bs were older by then they never got involved in helping out. I made a promise to Mum to look over him and I do - all of them. Although he’s a successful businessman he’s my ‘little bro’ and was diagnosed with MS last year after the worry of his wife getting Leukaemia. It has brought us even closer as he does discuss things with me he never used to.

in reply toTelian

All reflection from me T.! You had a loyal bond with your mother. Those early family experiences & responsibilities had a huge impact on you! It shows in your understanding posts & comments on here!

Maybe give up the worry about looking after those big boys & girls now!

If you can of course!

Telian profile image
Telian in reply to

Spot on, been a long time coming but I am having to - we keep in touch but I don’t do the worrying anymore. My philosophy is if I’ve done all I can that’s enough and save my energy for when might be needed again.

in reply toTelian

Wisdom & reality in that T. You can't do it all! Others have their responsibilities too.

Take it easier with yourself.

On a lighter note Villa are 3-1 down at home to Sheffield Utd. The Bluenose in me is struggling to be contained!! I might just allow myself a smile! Sweet dreams.

Telian profile image
Telian in reply to

Will do Pep. No 1 son supports Sheff U he'll be delighted - presume you're Villa - commiserations! Go on let the little chink show through - you've just got another! Broad beam now! Sweet dreams back.

in reply toTelian

Oh No I 'm Birmingham City! It was 3-0 when I first started replying! It's like the Alamo with 5 mins stoppage time!!

Telian profile image
Telian in reply to

For my son then hope United win! Night night sleep tight etc

OMG they've equalised....

in reply toTelian

Story of my life! Both my brothers supported Villa! I must have trod in something early on somewhere!! Sheffield look a good side! No justice! ATB

Telian profile image
Telian in reply to

Think they took their foot off the brake according to hubby, didn't watch just listened.

Sofarbrnun profile image
Sofarbrnun in reply toTelian

I am the youngest of three girls. We're 4 and 5 years apart respectively. My mother passed away at 92 on Jan 2nd.

I chose Claire de Lune for her CD as well. Not only did my oldest sister learn piano from CDL, my mother's middle name was Claire.

I miss her mightily, however I think I'm the only one I know of having had PMR. Great grandmother was half Swedish though. Bless your heart, Telian for looking out for your mum and family members. May fond memories remain in your heart.

Telian profile image
Telian in reply toSofarbrnun

Aw thank you for your kind words Sofarbmun. I’m sorry to hear about your Mum, she reached a good age. You will appreciate the music as I do. Lovely your sister learned the piano, I always fancied the violin! If I had I could have blamed the PMR on it! We don’t know of anyone in the family either but suppose back then it might not have been diagnosed if indeed anyone would have complained about the symptoms to a doctor. Memories will never be erased and the same for you too- very soon since you lost your Mum - commiserations to you.

PinkertonCat profile image
PinkertonCat

Viking for sure. 2nd born, but age spread makes me like only child... I am useless at gardening. I feel sorry for my plants.

PinkertonCat profile image
PinkertonCat in reply toPinkertonCat

P.s.. my spirit name is Signe, and although I don’t believe in elves, I am sure they might exist.

in reply toPinkertonCat

Blimey! You sure you don't mean shelves!!

Constance13 profile image
Constance13 in reply toPinkertonCat

?????

in reply toPinkertonCat

Sorry pc my reply seems to have gawn!

Sandradsn profile image
Sandradsn

I was an only child🤔

in reply toSandradsn

That's ok Sandra. My wife is too. ATB

Suffererc profile image
Suffererc

Youngest as well by 18 months.🍼🍼🍼🍼

in reply toSuffererc

That's quite close. That would have been 2 school years. Can't imagine it myself! I spent a lot of my childhood amusing myself which didn't really bother me much at the time. My older siblings were on a totally different planet,but I guess we all have that experience to some degree!

York54 profile image
York54

I'm an only one!! No siblings, wish I had!!

We are gardeners too, it's great to see the snowdrops and crocus flowering, daffodils won't be far behind!!

We visit the Malvern show every year in May. Last year we visited Hampton Court flower show too. Spring is on its way , hooray!!! Lol 🌹🌹🌷🌷💐💐💐🌼🌼🌻🌻

in reply toYork54

Yes hooray! Miserable dark wet day today though! It's indoors today!!

Use to go to Malvern every year Spring & Autumn shows. Lovely backdrop & on a fine day takes some beating. Excellent Floral Marquee, Nurseries flogging their plants & those Welsh Oggies are very moreish too!! Some amazing veg & fruit exhibited at the Autumn show.

Never been to Hampton Court!

York54 profile image
York54 in reply to

We wait to buy plants at Malvern, I like to use independent nurseries as much as possible. We have been to Tatton and Chelsea ( just once), Malvern takes a lot of beating!! We make a weekend of it and take the tourer , site in Hanley Swan.😃

Hampton court well worth a visit, we stayed in Kingston on Thames and went by boat. Last year was soooo hot though.🌞🌞🌞

in reply toYork54

Hanley Swan that's the way we came in from the M5. Lovely local villages worth a stroll around.

Yes can't beat quality plants from the independents. Tough life now against the supermarkets & big garden companies.

patriciawhite profile image
patriciawhite

I was the youngest by 10 years too .I had two older sisters (Twins ) We didn,t really come together until after Mum died in 1996 .They fought their way through life ,competetive with each other and I trailed along behind .Yes different lives .Very .Mum had a car accident aged 38 and was wheelchair bound Dad died in a plane crash 2 years later aged 37 so they had a life with two fit parents until 14 . I had a life with one from age 4 . Very different . My dear friend and sister ( had GCA missed and treated as high blood pressure until she had a stroke and the hospital saw her ) of the last 22 years in which we were the friends we could have always been but I am so glad we made the effort to be who we were eventually were there was a lot of damage and we repaired it . They were pre war and I was post war .

in reply topatriciawhite

Very different lives lived for you patricia & your siblings. Most unfortunate with your parents accidents.

I was post war too & the other three were pre war! 10 years is a big gap especially with the intervening war & a big culture change after it!

Good to have eventually closed that gap between you in the end. ATB

patriciawhite profile image
patriciawhite in reply to

My sisters were born in England and raised in Canada and I was born In Canada and raised in England . Yep very different .;-)

readingbooks profile image
readingbooks

Definitely the eldest---by 10 minutes ! And I never let my sister forget it !

in reply toreadingbooks

Ahh! There you go! I suspected as much!! Always the last word I'll bet. ATB

patriciawhite profile image
patriciawhite in reply toreadingbooks

There was an hour between my sisters ,JEEZ my poor mother .

bunnymom profile image
bunnymom

I am the oldest of two and a bit bossy so says younger brother. Well someone had to be in charge 😊 I am jealous of your Spring. We have many weeks of winter still left. Very cold, windy and rainy. I am going to a class on starting seed indoors next week. What fun! It's great to be retired for the gardening season.

in reply tobunnymom

Well he must be right!! Hey I'm on his side!!!

Not Spring yet though the signs are there!! Plenty of bad weather still to come I fear from past experience.

This week I sowed some tomato & sweet pea seeds indoors to get them going early. Covered them with stretched clingfilm,find it's very effective for germination! The spare bedroom is packed with tender succulent plants! Like a jungle in there!

It's great growing from seed, very satisfying but expect some failures! Even better when you collect & grow your own seed. Enjoy your class.

bunnymom profile image
bunnymom

Do you use indoor grow lights or is everything in a greenhouse?

No just seed trays on a bedroom shelf with good light. We do have a heated greenhouse but the temperature is set to keep cacti & succulents safe from freezing. Germination for most seeds usually requires a higher temperature such as in the house.

Propagators are useful to provide ideal conditions. Once the seeds are going it's important not to let them race away through lack of light otherwise they end up looking like leeks!!!

Jackoh profile image
Jackoh

Lovely photo - as usual!! I’m an only child but in theory would have lived a brother or sister. Did have a very close friend from about 2 years on ( mothers were friends) so I suppose she became like an adopted sister.

in reply toJackoh

Seems great Jackoh. Ideal in many ways. I'm probably probing about family order, stress & competitiveness! How I feel it effected me as I got older & still does to some degree.

Another punt with no clear correlation as usual! Interesting though!

Grants148 profile image
Grants148

Hi Pepper,my older brother was five years older than me the younger one three years younger.l spent most of my childhood rambling over the fields,swimming in the river Cam and walking to Grantchester meadows.I cannot imagine a better time,we roamed around with another brother and sister the same age as us.The little brother only came out with us once and fell into a stream ,this after my mother had told us to look after him because he had been very ill with pneumonia,needless to say he was not allowed out with us again ! I have to admit l often squabbled with the little one but things improved as we grew up.l see them often and l really value having them around. Thinking of plants again,l am considering buying a greenhouse,l would like to have a go at growing from seed.l just hope that they are not too much hard work ,the PMR could get in the way ,l am often under the illusion l can do more than the PMR allows.Best wishes Pepper,l hope you have a good weekend .

in reply toGrants148

Human nature in that young experience Grants. Sure that shapes us all a lot for future life!

All reflection on this post! Always different lives lived!

Worth a greenhouse if only to grow some decent tomatoes, salads plants & flowers.

The adventure of it is what's it about really. No real hard work!

Mikb profile image
Mikb

I'm the youngest, with two older brothers. Only one in family with GCA. There is 2 years difference between brothers and two years difference between me and middle brother. Middle brother is my best friend, and has been since the day I was born. Even with us all being so close in age, my brothers have different views on things that happened in our lives. And my dad told them stuff, like about his time in the RCAF, that he never told me.

in reply toMikb

Understand where you're coming from on this Mik. A couple of years can be a lot in early family life & what goes on & what you know about! Hope you're doing ok with the GCA.

I’m beginning to think genetic predisposition is key. I previously thought lifestyle, environmental and other factors were key. Now, not so sure...influential but I guess in the next 20 years or so, our Haplogroup will inform our likelihood of disease development.

I haven’t had any genetic health test offered by a few reputable companies. But, I’m surprised that following 3 separate and different dna tests related to genealogy, I know my Haplogroup. I can trace maternal (mitochondrial) DNA and the generic health indicators are surprising. My Haplogroup is linked to longevity, higher auto immune condition risks, low Alzheimer and a significant increase for a specific cardiac condition. It’s fascinating and scary in equal measure.

in reply to

None of us complainers know matey & certainly there is a huge hole in the medical science on how to help! ATB

StillBreathin profile image
StillBreathin

Youngest by 5 years, however my other two siblings are over 20 yrs older. ;-)

in reply toStillBreathin

Got me on the maths on that one SB! Don't know the complications!

StillBreathin profile image
StillBreathin in reply to

Same parents, they had the first 2 close together, waited 15 years had another, waited another 5 years and had me. Supposedly none of us were planned. I remember my sister coming home from college and saying mom were is my sweatshirt, I would look at her and say, she's not your mom, she is mine. Not being able to fathom I guess that I could have a grown up sister... haha

in reply toStillBreathin

What must of happened in the bits in between I wonder!ATB

tgca profile image
tgca

Eldest by nearly 3 years and a very happy childhood with two loving parents. I'm a Pisces Viking so maybe not quite as bossy as some other Vikings claim to be and I can row... (a boat as opposed to have a quarrel... oh, I can do that too). No signs that I know of pmr or GCA in the family although my father did suffer with his eyes/glarey light and my aunt had parkinsons. Lots of stress in last 20 years so there we are... hope that helps?!

in reply totgca

Interestingly my dad couldn't stand bright light in his later years! We shaded the overhead light underneath when he was watching telly! He did have back of the head headaches to go with his rheumatism as well!

Grants148 profile image
Grants148

Thanks for your reply Pepper,l just need to decide which greenhouse to choose.l have sometimes managed to grow tomatoes outside but it depended on the weather as to them ever getting ripe ! ATB.

Yes it does help to grow them in a greenhouse with our usual rainy summers & tomato blight! Getting them going early helps too.

PMR2011 profile image
PMR2011

I’m middle of four but all the others are “he’s” so maybe the X chromosome at play?

in reply toPMR2011

Seems it with the stats! But who know's really!

Love the middle of four! Is that 1 down & 2 up! ATB

PMR2011 profile image
PMR2011 in reply to

1 up 2 down! Been slightly above average my whole life and happy to be so! Tho am a very fast eater, with 3 brothers I always had to fight for my food!

in reply toPMR2011

Yer I'd describe myself slightly above average too!

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