I am going to try this as at almost 70 I find I'm generally quite stuff getting up from a floor position or out of the bathtub. My preferred option is to go onto my knees and slowly get up from there. I swim hard for 30 mins, sometimes twice a day, did a lot of gardening this past summer, but seem to feel a general stiffness malaise with my body these days.
Lot of discussion earlier on in this thread about GP services. As I moved house earlier this year I changed surgery and the contrast couldn’t be greater. The last bunch were passive, didn’t want to see patients, even on the phone, took an age to get through to and near impossible to get appointments. The new lot is the exact reverse, proactive, calling me in for annual checks, COVID/flu jabs etc. I don’t understand why the weaker practices can’t learn from the good ones. Also discovered that you can get your entire medical record (or the GP version) uploaded onto the NHS app, which I’ve asked for on Monday, when I was in the surgery to have some blood taken for routine tests. It was uploaded this morning (I was expecting it to take weeks) and including the results of the tests on the blood I gave two days ago (all good). Brilliant, and obviously achievable for all. Nice to be positive for a change.
I had some bowel cancer follow-up tests recently (a blood test, a stool sample test and a CT Scan) and have similarly been able to view the results online via Patients Know Best. As you say, this is great, but what has let the process down for me is that no one has contacted me to discuss the results, particularly of the CT scan. I've established from the report that there was no further cancer detected - which is good and was the main purpose of the scan - but there's a lot of other stuff that really needs explanation. For example, the scan showed that I have a hiatus hernia, which I had to read up on to understand and realise that this most likely the cause of my chronic indigestion.
How is Patient Knows Best different to a fully activated NHS app? You should have had specialist follow up on that scan. For my tests they explicitly said if you don’t hear from us, it means everything is fine, and on the screen for each result it says ‘no clinician comment’. In fact I did get a call from the surgery today to say they wanted to make a tiny dose adjustment to the one medication I take, and, most importantly, the process/ additional tests in a few weeks time to make sure it was having the desired impact.
First of all best wishes and positive thoughts to you all, Col, Steels, Kiwi, Didley...and the rest of you. We are all getting on...I am 70 next week. My mum and granny both died at 72...so I have only 2 years of invincibility left. Going to make the most of it My NHS app, up loaded all my records immediately, and can see back at least 40 years. It is amazing. So I can say ...when offered statins for a 70th birthday present.. Why doctor? My cholesterol levels are lower now that they were 20 years ago. My husband started taking them and they have made him very lethargic ( apparently a known side effect)...
My Mum, 84, was put on statins by the practice pharmacist a few months ago and didn’t get on with them. When I asked her what her cholesterol level was she didn’t know, but asked her doctor about it at her next visit, and he said there was nothing wrong with her cholesterol and took her off the pills. GP practices are ‘incentivised’ ie paid to get people over a certain age onto statins, whether they need them or not. They are cheap, and on a population level, relatively effective in reducing the chances of cardiovascular events. But if you don’t need them you shouldn’t be given them. I learned today - my mum is staying with us after her second cataract operation in six weeks - that the practice pharmacist has prescribed her statins again……
Nice post, Beth, thanks. Don’t worry about your age, as a QPR fan, you’ve already locked in to being a long suffering fan so you’re not going anywhere soon. In regards to Statin, there are various types & level of it. I was on low dose for two years, which was increased six months ago. Not long after that, l developed continued nerve ending pain, especially in the toes, which are badly affected with Arthritis. After four months, l stop the statin completely ( after consulting my GP ). My blood pressure has gone up a little but the daily nerve ending pain has gone completely. Of course, this is only my experience but if you speak to your doctor about, they will acknowledge certain levels of statin can bring on nerve ending pains.
Happy Birthday for next week Beth. Congrats - will be celebrating another b’day next week too Interestingly, I had a health check and requested a PSA check too after comments here. Thankfully everything seems very good other than cholesterol level high. Thought it was interesting that the doctor offered statins or health regime change under my own direction to reduce it. Took the health regime change option of course. Thanks guys for the push. I also changed doctors recently Sb and have a similar experience. They are much more proactive. Receiving text updates for vaccines and checks. Not too bad to organise the health check (and similarly the blood results were back in no time).
Good call on the health regime change. But sometimes it is what it is and you have to take the medicine - in my case the dr said (literally) “it’s ****, but your exercise, weight, diet etc are fine. There’s nothing much more you can do to reduce your blood pressure yourself. Sometimes it’s just genetics”. Have to say I resent having to take the (still very low dose) pills but I feel the benefits of the health regime in many other ways - especially low guilt levels on wine and cigars……..(one cigar a week and 3 no booze days. A boy has to have something to look forward to, especially if he supports QPR).
Very true (especially the QPR bit, we all need something to dull the pain right now - I’m sure Staines has some alternative therapy ). To be honest my real fall-down is cardio exercise (and probably a few beers over the recommended). Diet is pretty good. So just need to kick myself up the arse. Other half accuses me of being a workaholic - she’s probably right. I’ll sort something out
Stroller I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia in my early 20s and suffered from heartburn ever since. As I have gotten older it got worse (now approaching 60) heartburn every day, consuming gallons of gaviscon, also really bad heartburn can give symptoms of a heart attack, which is pretty scary. Just before Covid I had such an episode to the point where my husband called an ambulance. After an awful lot of tests to prove I hadn’t had heart attack, before and during Covid which meant no one really told you anything just go for this test, have a covid test in a car park before you attend hospital and wear a mask, they decided it wasn’t heart attack, which I already knew. Then referred to gastric team, more tests….. and more phone calls from different doctors who made me repeat the whole story time and time again. The original incident was New Years Day and some time in September I get another phone appointment from yet another doctor. He had actually read my notes and asked me to try a prescription of Sertraline and Amatriptaline both anti depressants, sounded very odd but he convinced me to try it, and OMG it’s changed my life! I have no idea how it works all I can say is it did for me, both drugs together in low doses. Having had severe heartburn after eating for nearly 40 years it’s unbelievable. I occasionally get pain if I eat something like onion by mistake or have a vodka that maybe is too strong and sort of burns, but other than that a life changer! If your pain is bad it’s worth discussing with your doctor. Hope this helps And best wishes to all those here recovering from various medical ailments and surgeries. Cate
Glad it's eased Cate. I've had a hiatus hernia since my thirties and have been on Esomeprazole ever since. These reduce the acid in the stomach, thus reducing acid reflux and indigestion. I still get it occasionally, but mostly the tablets keep it under control. As I understand it, it's the valve at the top of the stomach that doesn't close properly, allowing acid to escape up. I was told it was a small hiatus hernia and when it was checked a while back, it hadn't got any bigger. All the best.
All the best to you, Cate. Correct about the valve, Col, mine is eroded away. You mention Esomeprazole, 20's or 40's? I've had 40's years ago but gave them away when there was mention of a possible link with Esomeprazole / Nexium and alzheimer's disease. I take one 20 mg tab once a week. As you say, they do there job. Food for thought ............... The research, published in the journal Neurology, examined data from more than 5,700 participants who initially did not have dementia and found that those who took proton pump inhibitors for about 4½ years or more had a 33 percent higher risk of developing dementia than those who did not take the medications. Can esomeprazole cause memory loss? The most common PPIs in use were omeprazole (Prilosec), pantoprazole (Protonix), and esomeprazole (Nexium). All participants were free of dementia at the study's beginning. Yet, after the eight-year follow-up, chronic PPI users had a 44% increased risk of dementia compared with those who did not take any medication. 30 years ago, a much older gent who had previously had bad reflux told me to try crushed horseradish in a jar. He told me l would never suffer from acid / heartburn again...................... he was right. I tried it for 6 months but absolutely hated the taste of horseradish. For those who stay with it, you will fine it does work.
Hi Col& Didley I had most of the tablets ending razole over the years but never seemed to work, then I read omeprazole (which I think I had prescribed most) could give you B12 deficiency which I know have. After all the tests I had to have the upper gastro team said it wasn’t even acid reflux, they referred me to the lower gastro team and that’s when I was prescribed the low dose antidepressants. When I had the call back from the amazing doctor who finally after nearly 40 years stopped my pain, I asked him why had I not met him 40 years ago! He spluttered a bit and then said sorry I wasn’t even born! When did doctors get that much younger than me…. Sure sign age is creeping up!
My contribution is for the older forum members on here (think there are a few around!). It is about 'flu vaccines, and although I live in south-eastern Germany, the details are basically the same. I am recommending the following ultra-strong vaccine against the 'flu. I would emphasise that it is for the 'over 60s', although where I live it is only for the 'over 65s'. Efluelda 2023/2024 Influenza fission vaccine (viral vaccine, inactivated, 60 micrograms HA/strain) intramuscularly or subcutaneously Use from 60 years of age onwards Sanofi Pasteur 14 Espace Henry Vallée 69007 Lyon France Date introduced: 05.05.2020 Have been having this vaccine jab since its inception in 2020, and can honestly say I have never had the 'flu for the past three-years. Just had my 2023/2024 shot on Friday last, and the only minimal side-effect is a bloody sore arm for a couple of days (discomfort already nearly gone). Never fully understood why it is no good for people under the age of 60 (or 65), but that's the way it is. Hope you older guys will find this interesting enough to talk with your family GP about the vaccine.
Everyone in the U.K. over 65 has the offer of a flu jab, plus everyone with a chronic illness/ health condition, plus some kids. The vaccine should change every year, dependent on the strain of flu in circulation (discovered through what happens in the Australian winter). So you should really be having a 2023 version of the jab rather than a 2020 one. Sanofi make a couple of the versions being used here this season. It’s not used for the whole population as most people can tolerate a bit of flu without being hospitalised. It would be incredibly expensive to jab everyone and mostly unnecessary. You can buy a jab at Boots if you don’t qualify for a free one and feel you need it. The point of immunisation is to keep the vulnerable out of hospital. The jabs don’t necessarily stop you getting flu, but they should help ensure it is mild if you do. I had both flu and covid jabs yesterday, so two stiff arms today. I’ve had flu jabs the last couple of years. In the previous 59 years I have never knowingly had flu…..and haven’t since I’ve had the jabs.
sb_73. Should emphasise that Sanofi Pasteur upgrade their Elfluelda vaccine every year since its inception in 2020. The vaccine for 2023/2024, therefore, is most definitely not the original 2020 version. It is almost certainly the very best on the market for people over 60 (or 65). This is not my opinion, but that of the medical profession in general, according to all the info. I have read-up on flu vaccines. It is pretty expensive too apparently, (around €43 against €20 for the usual flu shot). Luckily, am well-over 65 so I'm covered by my state health insurance. As for the Covid booster, I doubt if I will be having this as I am more or less 'house-bound' and always put my mask on when opening the front door for anyone. Wife will, however, have the booster shortly as she does most of the 'normal' shopping about twice a week, although we do use Amazon Prime a lot, which is very helpful. Feel that wearing the approved mask at appropriate times is very important.
