Off Topic Other Stuff (anything you want to share)

Be careful BC....the bears are bigger up there and white.

 

Well Sadiq Khan easily won a third term as London Mayor.....all the inner boroughs voted for him and most of the outer boroughs voted against him.

A big anti-Ulez situation...plus talk of Londoner's having to pay by the mile soon to drive in the Capital ....couldn't out vote the inner city Labour majorities.

It seems the only way for the Conservative leaning suburbs to gain more votes is for a Boris style candidate to be chosen other than an unknown Tory.....someone who is actually known and people feel able to vote for.....Sadiq Khan has imposed Ulez on outer London and the sawn down and damaged Ulez cameras litter the streets in some areas.....My son had a very nice low mileage diesel Rover estate which he used for his greetings card franchise.....but some of his shops where in an area where he couldn't afford to drive....and then Ulez killed his Rover off completely ....he lost thousands when he handed it in for scrap.

 

Great Bank Holiday Monday today......rained all night....and the forecast shows rain all day as well.....might consider buying a consignment of rice and planting it on my so called lawn.

 

Bromley's first problem will be tearing up their plastic pitch....not allowed in the FL.

 

I've still got this bloody cough and it'll be three weeks soon.

I can't see a doctor because doctors don't see anyone in case they catch something nasty. But I can do an e-consult.

Ah, no, even though this is an online process, you can only do it during opening hours when there's someone at the surgery who doesn't have time to see you in real life. Or indeed to attend to your e-consult so the daily number available is limited. The NHS is the only organization that has online processes which can't store data until someone DOES have the time to look at it.

I'm referred to the NHS 111 online service, I select coughs. It asks me all sorts of questions like "has either of your arms turned blue and dropped off recently?" of which the relevance to a cough is not clear to me. I answer no to all these alarming symptoms. I have an annoying cough, I've had it for two weeks, I'm bringing up phlegm which at night is catching in my throat and waking me with a splutter. My chest is a bit sore from all the coughing, that's it. I'm not dying, but it's annoying.

Those questions aren't really asked, with the exception of "do you have pains in your chest" to which I tentatively say "yes" as my chest is indeed bit sore. Painful? No not really but it's sort of true. I'm advised I'm having a heart attack and must ring 999 for an ambulance which will be too busy to see me today.

I retract the "chest pain" answer and I get to the end of the process.

I'm advised to contact my doctor.

 

Our surgery rivals Fort Knox for security.....Mrs Plym knows her doctor from another situation that they both are involved in.

Doctor of course cannot discuss medical matters out of the surgery ******.....but says leave it to me I'll get the receptionist to phone you with a date.....brilliant.

Next working day as promised the Surgery receptionist phones...and offers Mrs Plym a 4.10 pm telephone call in a FORTNIGHTS TIME.

Luckily with Mrs Plym's Kidney problem we are directly under Kings Renal Department at Denmark Hill S London....who come over to Orpington with a Renal Clinic on a Friday afternoon.

At present we're there roughly once a month....but if we have any problems we can phone their Renal Department Secretary....who contacts one of the three specialists.... and we get a phone call from one of them within an hour or two.....when we get low on the Kidney medication (Tacrolimus) they will text our local Hospitals Pharmacy and we can go along and pick up the medication the same day...(open seven days a week).....luckily our local Surgery cannot supply a prescription for this medication...because if they could it would take ages to get it.....I'm sure the surgery believes that it would work more efficiently if it wasn't for the damn patients.

PS.....notDistant I would have thought all the shouting Saturday would have cleared all that phlegm from your chest.....you need an extra pillow or two to help your chest problem at night....can ease your breathing....we have experienced that if you go private you quite often see the same Doctor/Specalist as in the NHS....but sooner......

 

When Mrs Plym had her second hip replaced...we saw the same specialist that did the first hip...(8 yrs previous).....he said that he had no gaps in his NHS schedule....but don't worry I'll fit you into my private schedule as an NHS patient.

She was admitted within a week into the local private Hospital.....had a luxury room to herself....excellent food...top rate nursing and was kept in for four days...(in the NHS it would be two days).....she had 6 weekly outpatients visits...far more than the NHS would offer.

The only draw back was I couldn't visit or take her in to outpatients....because of their strict Covid rules.

Doctors Surgery = rubbish.......Specialists = Brilliant.......and the availability of the Hospitals Pharmacy SEVEN days a week = Brilliant.

 

For info notdistant what you describe is how I started and initially ignored it. I just thought it was a cold which wouldn't go away and then I heard about this 100 day cough thing and put it down to that. Eventually I woke up not being able to catch a breath and in a bit of a panic. When it didn't improve over a couple of hours I caved in to herself calling 999. As it now turns out I have had tests and probable COPD. Thing is though by leaving it I now don't expect to reverse things and will more than likely have breathing problems for whatever time I have left. Not that I'm expecting to pass on any time soon. It does though change your lifestyle. I was lucky, not to get this in the first place but because I have had a heart attack previously. Lucky in the sense that my wife could say yes to that question on the phone to the 999 operator and not be exagerating. Due to chest pain the paramedics were at my door in about 15 minutes or so. They then sorted me out at home having spoken to my GP of course on a magic number and getting me medication which was picked up in a couple of hours after them calling on me.

The advice I would give though is don't give up and leave it because it is difficult to get anywhere with GPs these days. Persevere and then insist and if you have to lie.

 

This is no cold: I don't have a runny nose just the cough. Neither do have a temperature, there's no blood and it's not Covid. It's weird. My daughter had something similar which lasted a couple of weeks but I'm usually pretty robust with these things and this is going on and on.

As It stands this evening, there's a bit less coughing I think.

I appreciate we have to careful with antibiotics but in days gone by it would have been a quick chat with your surgery and a 7 day course. Not so simple these days....

 

The 111 website does say that in the absence of other symptoms, you shouldn’t bother your doctor until it’s been more than 3 weeks. I’m not quite there yet but it’s not like me at all.

I felt so rough on Friday night that I nearly didn’t go to the game on Saturday but I thought **** it, I’m needed so I went anyway!

 

Mine wasn't a cold either. Same as you no runny nose, no temperature blood or covid.. Eventually it developed into a chest infection which brought out the COPD thing. I got a 5 day course of antibiotics with the treatments to get rid of the chest infection. Didn't completely get rid and was given a second 5 days. That's as much as they will give now in one go. I also got a weeks worth of steroid pills. I took 6 together once a day. With the other pills I have I was taking pills for an age every morning. 10 then and three in the evening. But, the point of my message is the COPD which is basically a blockage in the system which eventually doesn't get better. Can be congtrolled or helped but not got rid of. I should add that my cough got better then worse then better or the time. Best to get it seen at least.

 

Look up 100 day whooping cough outbreak....the worst for 10 years......has its own website.

Thousands have gone down with it since 2023.

 

hope you feel better soon not distant and well done for going.. it was worth it and a great display from us.

 

glad your on the mend sensible..

 

Thanks Joe. I'm more under control than better but I can get to Home Park when it matters now which I had a problem with before. Off to Rhodes on Saturday on an all inclusive so have to be fit to walk to the Bar often.........

 

I'm sure sensible that you have considered adequate medical insurance coverage.....especially at the moment having had a dose of the 100 day coughing infection going the rounds..... regarding your trip to Rhodes (great place especially the old town).

Having experienced about a dozen holidays on the islands and mainland of Greece over the years....we where aware of medical care out there in the holiday resorts are rather patchy without too much thought going into it locally away from the big mainland cities such as Athens and Thessaloniki....Asthma attacks in a hot country can be difficult in a hot environment.....I suffered one in Italy on my honeymoon believe it or not.....so make sure you travel with adequate supplies....because local pharmacies might not be up to UK standards especially interpretation of medication.....and now we're not in the EU club you need to be on top of it.

 

Enjoy it Sensible and take a rest in the bars .. keep safe

 

My agent (daughter) does the hiring and firing stuff for holidays. She will make sure we are covered for whatever eventuallisty. I have just got my prescription early for all the medical needs so will be well covered with that. 2 extra inhalers as spares. I am not planning on falling down with anything so am not even thinking anything will be needed. But thank you for the advice.

When I say not planning to fall down with anything Joe that was a bit of a fib. It would be rude not to on an all inclusive wouldn't it........

 

Six days after being beaten by Bromley for entry into the Football League at Wembley...Solihull Moors where again at Wembley in the FA Trophy final versus Gateshead...... they lost yet again after a penalty shoot-out after yet another 2-2 draw.
That must be hard to cope with....the only difference this time was they lost on penalties 5-4....last week is was 4-3.

 

Several papers carry the story that Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far. Extraordinary isn’t it that here we are in May and it’s getting warmer? Good job the papers alerted us to it.

In other stories, there are further allegations that the Pope is a Catholic whilst other reports confirm that an international scientific study has found evidence that bears do routinely defecate in woodland environments.