MEDICAL MATTERS

[PanBiker]

I think the first scan results were in about 10 days.

When I go to Leeds for my MRI scans, the results are usually in about 3 - 4 weeks for me.

[Tizer]

I got a text message last Friday saying I could book a Covid vaccination so I went online and found that they were starting from Monday. I could have booked any time that day and chose a slot in the afternoon. They now use rooms in what was the old bus station here in Taunton. Turned up about 5 minutes early and was out again almost immediately! Very efficient. I was fine that evening but tired and listless by the Tuesday afternoon. Went to bed early and was completely back to normal the following morning. It was the Moderna vaccine with the latest Covid strains.

[Cathy]

Here in Adelaide they are urging us to have COVID and FLU Vacc’s. I had both yesterday at my local Chemist.
I only popped in to make enquires, next thing ‘all done’.
I have felt a bit low key today, but all good.

[Stanley]

My Covid booster is booked for Monday 6 May. Sounds as though it is still a meaningful vaccination from the after effects. I shall watch out for them and look after myself.

[Stanley]

Update on the vaccination front. I have had my vaccination date cancelled three times now. I shall try once more and then abandon the attempt. (All three booked on the NHS app.)
Later, after another attempt to book. This time Well Pharmacy in Barlick aren't flagged as a participating pharmacy. I said I wouldn't travel for the jab so I shall leave the matter except that next time I am in the pharmacy for my meds I shall enquire what went wrong.
I think it's a scandal that a town of over 10,000 inhabitants hasn't got a source for the vaccination.

[PanBiker]

I forgot to mention I got the results from my follow up lung scan last week. All OK, no changes to the small nodule that they found on the first CT. I was told in the first letter that a 3 month follow up was prudent and if OK I would be off the radar as small nodules are quite common and nothing to worry about if there are no changes. Second letter was all positive but they have decided too scan me again in 12 months

Just had a thought, maybe it's keeping a few folk in a job.

[Stanley]

As part of my overall good day yesterday I called in at Well and got my Meds.
I asked about the vaccination position and they said the system had sent them the vaccinations but not the kit for injecting them so they are waiting for a delivery. Until then they are taking no appointments. I shall enquire on NHS app later.

[PanBiker]

Went to the surgery myself today. I saw Helen who is the Nurse Practitioner. Weekend before last I noticed the area below my right thumb nail was inflamed, by Monday it was weeping a small amount of clear matter. Towards the end of the week the bottom of my thumb nail looked as If I had whacked it but is is red rather than black and I have definitely not given it a clout! The nail is soft at the bottom by the cuticle, swelling had gone down below the nail and I have no pain. Thought I had best get it checked. She has given me a five day course of 4 times a day antibiotics, (a Dr Fleming's variant) and told me to apply a heated compress three or four times a day. There is a slight ridge laterally across the nail bed which she thinks will grow out.

While I was in the waiting area a bloke called in and asked about Covid booster vaccinations receptionist said there was no provision in Barlick and to ring the Covid hotline (119, free call from mobiles and landlines). They will inform of the nearest availability and dates.

[Stanley]

Well have got the vaccine but not the rest of the kit for using it. (Whatever that is)
Susan had bad luck and got an ear infection. They are over on the East Coast at the moment and she had to find an Urgent Care Centre. She waited 5 hours yesterday but came out with a prescription for the ABs that will sort it.
The people that buggered the NHS and made my little girl sit there all that time should be condemned to having that experience once a month. They would soon change their strategies! (Remember 'Safe in our hands'?)

[Stanley]

I have tried and been successful to book my Covid booster at Well so they must have got whatever it was that was missing from their vaccination equipment. Now to see whether it can survive. The last one was cancelled three times!

[Stanley]

No such luck! Just had a message telling me that my Covid booster has been cancelled for the fourth time. It was scheduled for 11:35 this morning. Evidently not a high priority with the powers that be.

[Big Kev]

No such luck! Just had a message telling me that my Covid booster has been cancelled for the fourth time. It was scheduled for 11:35 this morning. Evidently not a high priority with the powers that be.

Well Pharmacy aren't listed on the NHS website as somewhere to get a booster, the closest is Taylor's in Nelson.

[PanBiker]

Just ring 119 which is a free call from landlines and mobiles. They have all Covid vaccination related information.

[Big Kev]

Or go to the Co-op on Monday or Tuesday

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[Stanley]

Yes Kev, but they have been listed on the NHS site though and that was when I booked.
Thanks for the heads-up about the pop-up clinic on the Co-op car park Kev. I shall go there.

[Mags]

Dad, If you dont manage to get it done I will take you when I come over the following week. Mick and I have had ours done along with our flu jab at our local pharmacy. All free, no issues. I had one in each arm but Mick had both in his right arm as he is a lefty.........

[Stanley]

Thanks Margaret but I think I shall get sorted in the car park. We can go out and do fun things, not mundane ones like vaccinations!

[Stanley]

Taking it easy after the jab seems to have worked. Arm sore and I feel a bit achy but nothing more than that.

[Tripps]

After decades of being told the very opposite - it is disconcerting to find that Fish very oil supplements may be dangerous, and I have a faint memory that after swearing by cod liver oil for years - didn't SCG stop taking it?

What's a fellow to believe?

[Wendyf]

When I was in Colne Library this morning a lady came in trying to find over 75s who wanted a Covid vaccination as the Vaccination bus was in Colne but no-one seemed to know it was there. She said the uptake in Barnoldswick had been poor as well. No advertising by the NHS.

[Tripps]

Kev knew and Stanley didn't. Perhaps making it known on Facebook when your target is the over 75's isn't the cleverest strategy. There are of course other possible reasons for the lack of enthusiasm.

[Stanley]

All the evidence indicates that the NHS weren't very enthusiastic about the vaccinations. They couldn't even be bothered to turn up on time on Monday with an adequate no of doses.
You're right David I did stop taking Cod Liver Oil for a while as I was having problems with bleeding after one of my Covid vaccinations and thought I was possibly getting enough long chain Omega-3 from my diet and I know that too much triggers nose bleeds etc. Later I decided it was the effects of Covid and went back to taking Cod Liver Oil again.
As for not knowing who to believe about the need for long chain Omega-3, Read 'Queen of Fats' by Susan Allport. This is the best digest I found of all the facts and research available on fats and is a fascinating read if you're really interested. (LINK to copy for under £6)

I read the article David and it demonstrates how deep the arguments about saturated v. non-saturated fats went. Much of the information we were fed was deeply flawed and it's generally accepted now that the key fact is the balance between Long chain Omega-3 and other fats in the diet.

[Tizer]

After decades of being told the very opposite - it is disconcerting to find that Fish very oil supplements may be dangerous, and I have a faint memory that after swearing by cod liver oil for years - didn't SCG stop taking it?
What's a fellow to believe?

It's Chinese research and has limited value because it's only observational and is not a fully controlled study, as pointed out later in the linked article. Many other full studies have been done and have found overall benefits.

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Peter..... That bears out what I believe from my reading and personal experience.
Once again, read Queen of fats.... When I first found the book I gave a copy to my GP at the time and he told me later that much of what Ms Allport was describing was new to him.
Something I have pointed out many times is that we don't really treat nutrition as seriously as we should. For years NICE was parroting the propaganda that was being published by those people who benefited from avoidance of saturated fats. Another field is micro-nutrients and trace minerals in the soil. I have always believed that these are far more important than we give them credit for but thankfully that might change as agriculture seems to have discovered mixed farming again, they call it the Regenerative Revolution.

[Wendyf]

We have a change in Colin's health and quality of life to report.
When he was in hospital following his oesophagectomy the gastro intestinal nurses insisted that he added Metformin to the cocktail of diabetes drugs that he was already taking. In the past he had tried it and found it upset his digestion but just did as he was told following the op. For 3 years he has suffered constant, debilating problems with cramps and diarrhoea to the extent that he became frightened of eating anything at all, putting the symptoms down to the fact that he no longer has much of a stomach. I have occasionally suggested that Metformin could be making the problem worse but he just dismissed the idea. 3 weeks ago I tried again and suggested that he experimented with cutting out Metformin for just a couple of weeks.....he agreed and hasn't had a problem since the first Metformin free day. Obviously he is still limited to very small meals and struggles with anything bulky but he has his appetite back.