Aunty Bees Advent Calendar. Dec 21. Tis the Season to be Jolly Fed Up!! An unwanted Gift or two from my GP Appointment.

[Blearyeyed]

Tis the Season to be Jolly Fed Up ,

I went to the GP yesterday afternoon just to pick up BP tests , came out with a diagnosis of severe hypotension , cellulitis , suspected Raynaud's and a UTI !!!!!

Methinks my GP has taken the essence of this being the Season of Giving a little too far!

On the upside , now they are convinced of just how broken I am , not only did they offer me antibiotics but even asked which one I wanted and for how long !!!

So , now armed with yet more drugs and enough creams to treat the whole forum , I can say I am " prepared" for Christmas.

Many of us seem to be in the same boat this year , everything feeling like it's going downhill fast just before the Holidays are to begin.

So I just want to wish you all a speedy recovery and hope we are all feeling a little better very , very , very soon.

Take care, Friends xxx

The photo , is Festive in the sense that it includes a Troll and a Dalek , both can be seen sneeking around somewhere at Christmas , and it made me think of how I feel quite regularly while under a Doctor's examination , hugs , Aunty Bee xxx

[jinasc]

Well your GP has thrown the kitchen sink at you - hope you managed to dodge it and just pick up the good bits.

Onward and upward................as ever 💊💉🍄🌀☮ The 3rd could be magic one ?????

[Blearyeyed in reply to jinasc]

Apparently the best place to find those is growing around Hospitals and Crematoriums so some Hippie friends of mine informed me in the 80's .

I think that is possibly the only drug I haven't got in my huge Medicine Storage Tanker this Christmas!!😋😂😂😂

Thanks for cheering me up and Beware of Daleks bearing gifts xxxx

[scats]

Use the darlek to exterminate all your problems. xx

[Blearyeyed in reply to scats]

It is actually a Dalek voice changing head that belongs to me , so I could try and exterminate them myself 😋😂😂😂

[scats in reply to Blearyeyed]

Now that really would be a superpower and we'd all be queuing at your door!

[Yellowbluebell]

I have talked to you before anout being greedy over all these diseases you insist on collecting!! Cant you try collecting thimbles or china or something?

[Blearyeyed in reply to Yellowbluebell]

Honestly , I keep trying to ask them to take all these little illness gifts back but the GP just says , " No returns, No refunds !" 😋😂😂😂

If you want to take one off my hands I will be offering a Disease Regifting Sale later today.

Thanks for cheering me up xxx

[Blearyeyed in reply to Yellowbluebell]

Oh , just remembered , the only thing I collect is dust!!😋😂😂😂😘

[scats in reply to Blearyeyed]

I've got some you could have!

[Blearyeyed in reply to scats]

No thanks , I've got enough here already , and that's not going anywhere now before Christmas !!! 😋😁

[CT-5012 in reply to scats]

And me! 🥳

[Yellowbluebell in reply to Blearyeyed]

Me too!!

[SheffieldJane]

Gosh! Did you even get a tangerine at the bottom of that stocking? Poor you.

I had Raynaud’s before Pred. It seems to have gone, Pred’s cleared up a few things in its wake for me.

I have been thinking about how many of us who seem on the brink of a GCA diagnosis and are urged to go to A&E because of inadequate primary care. Perhaps we should have our Christmas party in A& E to be on the safe side?

I have a basket full of those original trolls from my childhood. Very valuable., I believe. In a fit of creativity I bought Llama hair and glue to renovate some of the most loved ones. One day, and then send them to my grandchildren. I had a Dalek too on ball bearing wheels.

Hugs to you Bea and thank you for bringing real warmth and cheer into so many sickrooms! Xxx

[Blearyeyed in reply to SheffieldJane]

Thank you SJ ,

As I decided to do the GCA then PMR variety , I can understand why people get concerned when the head pain comes in.

I think the one thing to come from this is that non of the above were caused by Pred or the PMR and are only part indirectly of my other syndromes , so it's worth remembering that if you do start getting new or worse symptoms in non usual PMR or GCA places it's worth getting them looked at straight away rather than just thinking , " ooh! PMR!"

Or , you could end up like me coming out of the GP with a stocking full of diseases all at once and no blooming tangerine either.

Honestly , next year I'm going to ask the Doctor for coal instead XXX😋😂😂😂

[SheffieldJane]

A naughty girl stocking. I saw one in the Victorian Museum of childhood. They were monstrous to their kids.

Good advice. I do think UTIs or that kind of symptom might be related to compromised immunity and possibly Pred making wee more acidic.

[scats in reply to SheffieldJane]

I've wondered, I've never had so many!

[Blearyeyed in reply to SheffieldJane]

Yes , it has something to do with the Pred and our Immunity , but I thinking down the lines that sometimes we assume its the usual PMR/ Pred and the Pred or extra rest will fix it , sometimes it isn't , and we need a different sort of medical help. I've got so used to the UTI' s now , I knew it was about really but as it's hard enough to get a quick appointment , I just waited until this prearranged catch up instead.

The Cellulitis is a new one , I was assuming it was just the circulation bringing on the usual Winter doses of chilblains , but no such luck!😋

Honestly , if I go any further down hill I think I could take a message to your Grandchildren in Australia!! 😘😘😘

[SheffieldJane in reply to Blearyeyed]

Oh bless Bea! You’ll pick up, you always do! 😘

[Croft9232]

So sorry to hear of your latest ills xx Your writing is superb, on any and every subject , you must have a book in you somewhere that you could write.

Thank you for your kind words and advise this year.

Margaret 😘

[scats in reply to Croft9232]

I've been telling her that for ages!

[Blearyeyed in reply to Croft9232]

Thank you that's kind , you just made me think , if I do have a book in me , perhaps it's a Medical Encyclopedia , and maybe they should surgically remove it and I'd be right as rain again!

Take care , Bee x

[Yellowbluebell in reply to Croft9232]

Trouble is we couldnt guarantee it would be printable

[HeronNS]

Oh bummer. Let us hope that 2020 brings you better gifts. Meanwhile, get your rest, avoid germ-laden crowds, and focus healing thoughts on your body.

[Blearyeyed in reply to HeronNS]

You too Heron , hope the shoulder is improving and you are catching up on rest after your big trip , take care , Bee xx

[Hidden]

Are we now in competition Aunty Bee? At least l’m not on Antibiotics but it has been the Year of The Antibiotic 💊

You couldn’t make it up could you? Did you ever watch ‘House’? I know Pro doesn’t like these Medical Soaps 😉 but he was always someone l’d like to have seen, even if he never actually speaks to the Patients!

Though to be fair, they always knew what was wrong with them, anyway 😂

[Blearyeyed in reply to Hidden]

Totally agree , I wish I could get to see a ' House' , or at least that You and I had got to see a Doctor like that many years ago , perhaps we wouldn't be competing for World's Most Diseases by now!

Take good care of yourself , and let's hope tomorrow won't be another Year of the Antibiotic , big hugs , Bee xxx

[Hidden in reply to Blearyeyed]

That’s for sure 💕🎄

[Highlandtiger]

Oh that’s just rubbish isn’t it - what rotten timing. Hope you’re feeling a bit better soon.

Re trolls - I had one as a child and absolutely loved him. I have an abiding memory of the smell (presumably plastic or whatever he was made of) he had. Really distinctive. Anyone else or just me?

And I wanted to thank you for the tip about using Etsy for foodie stuff that you put in your Advent Calendar early on. I ordered home made choccies and they’ve now arrived where I had them sent and they seem to have gone down very well and look lovely (I’ve been sent photos). So thanks for that tip.

Take care and look after yourself. xx

[Blearyeyed in reply to Highlandtiger]

So , glad your Etsy shop worked well for you , there'll be no stopping you next year.

Our house is stuffed with retro memorabilia , our girls had a bit of a 1970's childhood

( without the strikes and food additives!!) We have quite collection of trolls , including a pair of Christmas troll earrings.

Hope you have a wonderful time , take care xxx

[Highlandtiger in reply to Blearyeyed]

Btw initially I didn’t notice the Dalek in the photo and thought the poor troll was being interrogated by someone shining a bright light in his face! 😳

I did wonder what he’d done to deserve that and what your Christmas message was going to be about......😂🎅 xx

[Blearyeyed in reply to Highlandtiger]

Well , you were right , it is being interrogated by someone shining a blue light in its face , it just happens to be a Dalek. It does remind me of how I feel quite often when under extermination .... Oops! I mean examination ,especially at the Opthamologist.

We have so many random photos like this at Home , this was part of a collection taken of us during the Doctor Who Anniversary Celebrations when we all dressed up as different Doctors and staged different scenes . Which Doctor do you think I was?

We also have some very funny video of Grandma in the Voice Changing Dalek Head just popping up from behind the sofa , if you ever wanted to know what a Dalek sounds like with the hysterical giggles I could show you😋

Trolls Rule OK !! xxx

[Highlandtiger in reply to Blearyeyed]

Hmmm.....David Tennant maybe?

I’m not yet over being traumatised by Dr Who as a young child and hiding behind the sofa then being ridiculed and bullied by two older brothers about it afterwards. 😢

Oddly enough it’s one thing my late mother remembered and kept mentioning in her 90s when she was in hospital after a fall and a brain haemorrhage and rather confused about a lot of things.

[Blearyeyed in reply to Highlandtiger]

Gosh , that sounds upsetting for her !

And no I wasn't Tennant , that was played by Uncle " travelling " Martin whom has an uncanny resemblance to him. No I played my favourite Doctor , a bit further back than that. Jelly baby anyone?

[Highlandtiger in reply to Blearyeyed]

Yes, the brain is a funny old thing isn’t it. She talked a lot about my near drowning incident (aged about 6) when in hospital too. That was a lot worse than being scared of Dr Who to be fair!

[Blearyeyed in reply to Highlandtiger]

Yes , I'd say so , are you happy in water now or did it put you off for Life?

[Highlandtiger in reply to Blearyeyed]

My family being quite old fashioned and Scottish the whole thing was played down massively and I was sent to swimming lessons the next week and became a really quite a good swimmer, even swimming for the primary school. We were on holiday in a Scottish beach resort at the time it happened. It was only in my 20s or 30s that my parents told me just what a near thing it had been. I remember some of it vividly and knew it was serious even at the time as a rather fierce lady in the same block of holiday flats gave me a packet of Spangles the next day and all the older kids were really nice to me and let me play with them for a few days. I was the youngest by a long way so was usually ignored. Apparently the fierce lady had given Mum and Dad lots of whisky too but I only found that out as an adult. It’s funny how you remember things when you were a kid.

Strangely I’m now a very experienced scuba diver (currently pretty much on hold) and probably one of the most relaxed divers in the world but the first time I did a 'try-dive' the incident came back to me and I freaked out completely as soon as I was a couple of metres underwater and looked up to see the surface above me. I hadn’t been thinking about it nor did I expect it but I suddenly remembered being stuck under that boat aged 6! Luckily the dive guide's son was also there and was a guide himself and took myself and another woman (who'd freaked out too) down very slowly while the rest of the group went with the main guy and as soon as I got down there and saw the fish that was it, I was hooked and never panicked again. I’ve been all round the world diving for about 30 years and have met wonderful people, had some great experiences and have seen marvellous things so I often think how lucky I was that the young guy was there to give me a second shot at the try-dive that day.... 🐬 🦈 🐟 🐠 .....and I guess also that my parents did the right thing too as it would have been easy for them to have cosseted me and protected me from the water rather than encourage me to learn to swim.

[Blearyeyed in reply to Highlandtiger]

It's surprising how these things can stay deep down for decades and then just a tiny trigger and Boom!!

So glad you beat it and got to Scuba Dive though , amazing thing to do ( in places other than the UK , such unpredictable visibility in a matter of minutes).

It's a shame the PMR shoulders put pay to it.

Spangles , Trolls , Hiding from Doctor Who , I think we've actually travelled in that TARDIS back to 1972 this weekend , amazing , love a bit of nostalgia xxx

[Highlandtiger in reply to Blearyeyed]

Yep definitely a 70s fest today! 😂 xxx

[Thelmarina]

So not fair! It’s kind of worse because it’s at Christmas but at the same time Christmas does provide a distraction?! UTIs are so lowering - but at least the medications work and the symptoms hidden. Do take care. You are such a kind and informative member of this group. Sending cherishing thought waves and hoping Santa brings some goodies xx

[Blearyeyed in reply to Thelmarina]

As long as Mr. Bee keeps warming up my back wrap that's a good enough gift for me this year. Who said Romance is Dead ?!!😋

Thank you for your kind wishes and I return a big wave of positive wishes back to you .

Big hugs , Bee xxx

[Pixix]

Oh dear! Not trying to join you but I know how it feels to collect. I wondered about Raynauds during conversations about cold weather effects recently! I’ve had cellulitis, please take it seriously and treat immediately as I ended up in hospital for a while with mine, and it did cling to me for a while! I’m on antibiotics for five months, started last month...they think it helps during the winter if you suffer from repeated infections of differing sorts! I hope your UTI clears up fast and the cellulitis, too. Really sorry to hear your Christmas stocking contained such lousy presents! Sending gentle hugs and sympathy, S x

[Blearyeyed in reply to Pixix]

Yes, unfortunately the GP hadn't got that foresighted yet , despite my suggestion last year that it may be a good idea.

As, I've ended up on antibiotics and antifungals between Dec and April anyway for three out of four years, I would have preferred it to as a Prevention rather than a Cure , at least it would be less itchy , painful and tiring.

I hope Mr. Pixix ( aka Mr. Claus!!) puts something nicer in your stocking than I got it mine , and I thought I'd been so good this year!😋😂😂😂

Take care , and actually it's my turn to ask for your help , do you have any suggestions on how to get more ease with Cellulitis , if I can get rid of it as soon as I can I will be a Happy Pixie xxx

[Pixix in reply to Blearyeyed]

Where is your cellulitis, or is it somewhere you’d rather not reveal? A friend recently had it in her head which I’d never heard of! My first bout was my hand, swelled up like an enormous grapefruit you couldn’t see I had any fingers, but next bout on legs, which was much more of a sore, itchy type feeling. I will look up name of cream I found the best and give other tips when you let me know which bit of you is affected! You may get to see Santa Claus at the party this evening, I believe he has a message for this Forum! The antibiotics I take as a preventative are Azithromycin, taken three times a week. But they were prescribed by the professor in charge of the lung department at hospital...not my GP, who is great, but I went to two different hospitals and ‘worked my way to the top’ before starting on them. I was known as an ‘interesting and unsolvable case’ but the last two winters taking antibiotics have been a big improvement. Not too late to start this year either?! S x

[Blearyeyed in reply to Pixix]

It's my right foot and lower right leg , as you say it's swelling and very itchy .

The two years before this they have continued antibiotic and antifungal treatment but only after the first bout of an infection came in , which was why I suggested back in October if it might be a good idea to start taking them before the event this year. They weren't sure and said they would decide by the appointment on Friday , as you can see the results made it necessary anyway.

The GP did say they would definitely consider the Preventative route next year as long as I came to see them to remind them , fingers crossed 😋

Can't wait to see what you have in store for us !!😘

[Pixix in reply to Blearyeyed]

Don’t get excited...it’s only photos! I’ve used Fusidin cream in the past on my legs, but it’s oral antibiotics that do the trick really. I’m allergic to penicillin so usually have clarithromycin, but haven’t had cellulitis since I started the winter antibiotics. Azithromycin is one of the recommended antibiotics for cellulitis anyway, and, touch wood, it’s preventing mine recurring so far. Hope you heal fast. E45 cream is supposed to be good. I use Atrixo in the winter on chapped hands the skin just splits into little cuts. Take great care and if the area enlarges and worsens then it’s usually IV antibiotics...Christmas or no Christmas. Sorry. Hope it eases quickly. Hugs, S x

[Blearyeyed in reply to Pixix]

Yes , I tried that as I had it for other things , just in case it was Folliculitis .

Tried Hydrocortisone , slight improvement but not much , so she gave me two heavier dose Steroid creams to try so we will have to wait and see.

With my shoulder playing up a little too , probably the tension causing a bit of a General Pain Flare , I've had an ice pack on it and on my ankle , the bits that hurt are still too hot , and the rest of me is shouting , " Don't you know it's winter " and getting the shivers . My middle is the only but that's warm !😋😂😂😂

[Pixix in reply to Blearyeyed]

Nothing like a mix temperature range! Sorry you have a bit of a flare too, though. Yes hydrocortisone is overrated I think. There’s nothing new and wonderful out there, sadly. Hope you feel better after 48 hours of antibiotics and wish I had a better solution for you. Hugs, gentle ones, S xx

[Blearyeyed in reply to Pixix]

You did , you sent me a message from Santa that's better than any medicine ! xxx

[Pixix in reply to Blearyeyed]

I was hoping it would make you smile! S x x x

[Hidden]

Jolly fed up is right. Can relate for sure. Sorry it’s where you are, also. 🤗

[Blearyeyed in reply to Hidden]

Let's hope we can both feel just jolly by Christmas , and Santa decides to give us both a little break ( or lends us some Elves to do the jobs!) Big hugs xx

[Jackoh]

Sorry to hear your latest news- not good at any time, one at a time but certainly not this near Christmas all together. Take care hope the antibiotics kick in soon xx

[Blearyeyed in reply to Jackoh]

Thanks , I'm far less fed up today after all our busy sharing , even got to see Santa , take care xx

[Smokygirl]

Oh so sorry to hear all this Bee. Our type 1 diabetic son had bad cellulitis on his lower leg with a small open wound, after a break and found that Manuka honey dressings , medical grade , helped to heal it it, albeit slowly. Get better soonest xxxxx