It’s a bitch getting old, Kilburn. We tell the kids we’re spending their inheritance on prescription drugs & medical ongoing repairs. They now say we overmedicated and a pair of geriatrics.
I may be extremely lucky but after years of going down every year with at least two bouts of flu/cold, walking the dog for between 2 and 4 hours a day seems to be the perfect self-medication. We've had him for 3 years now and no bugs in spite of walking though rain and snow blizzards more times this year than Rangers have matches in a season. Getting the work life balance has been the biggest problem until I learned the trick that as people are consulting me rather than vice versa they have to fit in with my lifestyle and accept that I am not available before 10.00 am. The customer ain't always right. But the dog is.
Following on from our Christmas cruise we both came down with chest infections and only now getting over it...... it was so bad that we almost took part in dry January, only managed 2 bottles of vino during the whole month, just didn't fancy it.... resorted to benolin to clear the persistant cough....
A follow up to my hip replacement. It's been 6 months now and everything has settled really well. Anyone considering having one, don't hesitate if you're in a lot of pain and can't get around much. I also had a prostate biopsy last year,just before the operation and that was all clear. The NHS were absolutely brilliant throughout and have a follow up, routine scan in May to keep an eye on things. I think I'm lucky as I've stayed with my doctor in Oxfordshire, even though we've moved to Bucks, giving me access to the Oxford hospitals.
What were your symptoms for the hip Col? I don’t have any joint pain anywhere for which I am profoundly grateful, but would like an idea of what to expect when the inevitable kicks in…..
It started a few years ago while I was still working 3 days a week. I'd get a kind of spasm pain in my hip at the end of the day, but it went away within hours, with rest and maybe a little heat treatment etc. This seemed to calm down when I fully retired and when we moved to The Chilterns I was taking long, hilly walks during the summer of '22 with no or little pain whatsoever. I'd also taken up table tennis again, which I used to play at a decent level when I was young. Anyway, gradually the pain returned in my hip and also seemed to spread down my thigh towards my knee. It very quickly became very bad and meant that I was virtually playing table tennis on one leg and unable to walk very far at all. I then needed painkillers to get to sleep because of the pain. The doctor sent me for an xray which revealed no cartilage left between the bones in my right hip and not an awful lot left in the left hip. I got referred and chose a private hospital near to us that offered hip and knee replacement on the NHS. The GP told me to expect to wait at least a year for the operation, but the surgeon offered me a date within a few weeks. The recovery took longer than I expected, but it is quite a major operation. 6 months later and it's pretty much perfect. The joint pain was gone immediately after the operation. I should add that the medics all said that this sudden increase in pain and immobility is very common. Within 3 months I was hobbling and unable to walk far.
Bummer. So it jumps out at you with little or no warning rather than creeps up over a long period. Though having looked up the numbers it’s relatively few men who needs a replacement.
That was certainly my experience, but I'm sure there are different examples. I played football from aged 8 to 32 along with stuff like tennis and table tennis in my teens, then cricket for another 20 years. Add to that having a very physical job for much of my working life and it's no surprise that my joints are wearing out. I play table tennis with people who haven't had a physical job and have no joint issues whatsoever. I'm surprised the numbers for hip replacement are low, as I thought they were on the increase, but I haven't really looked into it. My surgeon called it the forgotten surgery, because once everything is back to 'normal' it's easy to forget that you have an artificial joint. I suspect the other one will need doing in the not too distant future.
Quite common here in Oz. I'm often hearing about fellow tradies our age getting done. My right hip has gone downhill over the past 12 months. Its aches most the time. Too many years wearing a fully laden tool belt, which l was force to stop about 5 years ago. Of course, my son ( fellow builder ) pays me out all the time for not have certain things at a moments notice. Is there any wonder animal eat their young............... good trade though!
Most hospitals in the southern half of England seem to be good imo. You mention Oxford. London hospitals are excellent, I believe. I used Guildford Hospital which is also excellent (though my experience of Chichester not so great). I have a friend in Dorset who says Dorchester Hospital is first class. The bad hospitals seem to be in the Midlands, Stafford, Liverpool etc I find myself conflicted on the King's diagnosis of cancer. Had it been prostate cancer caught early, radiotherapy would have knocked it on the head. The success rate at eradication is about 94%. I doubt Buckingham Palace would have announced it in the same way. So, it's a more difficult cancer, perhaps bladder (although I would have expected him to see blood in his urine), or limph nodes in the groin. The fact that the type of cancer has not been specified will automatically lead to a lot of speculation. The Palace must have realised that, so there must be a good reason to keep the announcement vague.
Hayden on the bench, which is good to see. Who's out at the moment? This thread has slipped down the pages, which is a good sign. Something definitely seems to have changed at the club because we were having injuries for fun previously.
Joe MacDougall, our doctor this past year just passed away after he stroked out after hip surgery. Living here in a community of 75,000 with a patient waiting list of 14,000 people, after a chance swimming pool meeting, Dr. Joe took us both on as his new patients because he was a decent man and liked us, circumventing health authority rules. He told us that his internship in the early 1970's was in emergency medicine in California working in the ER of a hospital in a poor neighbourhood of Los Angeles where his patients were mostly gunshot wounds, knifings and drug overdoses, so well rounded practical experience, he didn't use a computer and always personally phoned with your blood, urine and X-Ray results. He will be sorely missed and now we once again have to find ourselves another doctor. Obituary of Joseph Allan MacDougall It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Dr. Joseph Allan MacDougall on April 9, 2024 at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital, due to complications following hip surgery. Born on November 29, 1944 in Saint John, NB, he was a son of the late Joseph and Mary (Mooney) MacDougall. Joe completed his residency in Los Angeles and fulfilled a dream by moving his growing family to the Catholic mission of Silveira in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) for two years and Malawi for one year. The family returned to Lincoln, NB, and established their homestead there. He practiced as a family physician in several communities in New Brunswick, including Fredericton, Harvey, St. Stephen and Oromocto. Joe had many unusual hobbies: writing essays, collecting various stray humans, watching classic movies, reading theology, and bag-piping. He was an active member of St. Francis of Assisi Church choir, and a member of the 5th Canadian Division Base Gagetown Pipes and Drums. Surviving are his partner, Margaret; children, Colin MacDougall (Karen), of Kingston, ON, Stephanie Dolan (James) of Scarborough, Maine, Les MacDougall (Jenn) of Fort McMurray, AB and Ian MacDougall of Peterborough, ON; son-in-law, Michael Maines of Gray, Maine; daughter-in-law, Kim MacDougall of Peterborough, ON; grandchildren, Branna, Brogan, Bronis, Padraig, William, Michael, Rielle, Kieran, Keegan, Fiona, Rhodes and Lennin; siblings, Robert, Jack, Alan, Colin, Jane, Mary, Eileen, Ann, Elizabeth and Martha and virtually countless nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Joe was predeceased by his children, Heather Maines and Stephen MacDougall; his brother, John Paul and his sister, Suzanne. We hope that he is now with our beloved sister, Heather, and brother, Stephen (we really miss them), and that we will join them someday (just not today). We would like to especially thank all the nurses of the Palliative Unit at DECH who looked after him over the 12 days he was there. Dr. Joe gives your care two big thumbs up. Visitation will be held on Thursday, April 11, 2024 from 2-4 and 6-8 pm at Oromocto Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Lincoln, NB on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 11:00 am with Fr. Calistus Abazie presiding, followed by a time of fellowship. Interment will be held at a later date in St. Francis of Assisi Cemetery. For those unable to attend the service, a livestream will be available at the following link: https://vimeo.com/event/4223852 The family would appreciate if donations in Joe’s memory could be made to Camp Chikopi where his kids and grandkids spent many summers (cash or cheques will be collected at the funeral home, or e-transfers can be sent to [email protected]).
A word of praise for my GP surgery. I got an email last week saying that I was due for a routine blood test, so I made an appointment for yesterday morning. A few hours later I had a further email from the NHS Trust saying that my record had been updated to show the results of the test, which I could view via Patientsknowbest. They had looked at levels of Free T4, Creatinine, GFR, Potassium, Sodium and TSH. None of it means much to me of course, but there was one thing that I'll follow up with the GP about. The GFR (which measures kidney function) showed a significant decrease from previous tests and there's a recommendation for a follow-up urine test. If patient has risk factor for CKD, consider urinalysis for haematuria and proteinuria. Ensure urine ACR has been performed in last 12-24 months. I'm not sure whether this routine testing is commonplace, or whether it's my age and/or medical history that prompted it, but this kind of testing for early signs of disease seems to me to be something that the NHS should be focusing more on.
l think as we get older, we should have regular test to gauge how we’re going and to catch anything in it’s earliest of stages. l was having them fortnightly but have now been scaled back to every 3 months. Get checked for your healths sake.
