Oh dear Bob, it certainly is a bad start to the year for you.
I’m so sorry to hear about Mrs Fox being rushed into hospital, I hope it won’t be anything too serious and she will be home again with you soon My very best wishes to her.
I hope you get your bank cards sorted out soon.
If I lived nearer to you, I would come and wash your dishes … and I’d even wash your underwear for you
Keep your chin up, things will sort themselves out soon.
Please keep us informed how your wife is. A big :hug: to you. x
Thanks Mags and Tabby, after a CT scan they have found a bowel blockage caused by an area of bowel disease. She will have to have an operation to have a small section removed otherwise it will just continue to get worse. I’m going to visit her after this post. Priorities and all…
So a bank who I have banked with for over fifty years which contain a large part of the Foxes estate refused my application for a credit card, but Tesco, who I have shopped with for just a few years said they’ll have me, and a card is in the post…
I shall write a strongly worded letter to the bank in question and possibly take my business elsewhere.
So just before I go to visit Mrs Fox I shall start the washer on a darks wash…Sixty something isn’t it?..
So What’s Bob been doing for the last couple of months…?
After a couple more bouts of inflamed big toe joint and even a swollen ankle I decided to visit the charming Doctor Roberts who instigated a blood test.
In view of the recent Covid19 I decided not to add to the NHS workload, and anyway, it’s so hard get through to the surgery these days, so I didn’t find out the results…So I was surprised to receive a call from the Doctor on Friday afternoon…
He explained that my reading of 480 umol/L was rather high, and they would recommend a reading of 300 umol/L or below. So I’ve been prescribed Allopurinol and Colchicine.
Fortunately, I’ve only missed a couple of runs, and now the swelling has subsided, after a few clumsy starts I’ve been putting in some decent runs.
And this morning was no exception as I jogged through a deserted village. Perhaps it was due to the social distancing or people had forgot to put their clocks forward.
On my eight mile route along deserted country roads and being buffeted by a scathing North Easterly breeze, I felt quite comfortable and managed a respectable time. Although the sun made occasional appearances I was aware of some flurries of sleet in the distance that never managed to reach me until I arrived home.
I’ll keep it going as long as I can Summer, after all these years I still get a thrill out of it, and there’s still plenty of drive and enthusiasm in me yet…
Thanks Mags, I’m not much of a tablet taker and although I was prescribed two 100 mg tablets each day, I only take one, see how I get on…
It’s strange really, the medication meant to prevent the gout actually brings on an attack when you first start taking it, and that’s why the doctor prescribed Allopurinol and Colchicine which is a powerful anti inflammatory. Needless to say I wasn’t in any pain so I’ve not been taking the Colchicine, I decided to take it as and when, only when the pain got too much to bear.
Well after taking the Allopurinol since Saturday the pain started in my big toe joint last night. Rather unfortunate really as I go for a run first thing on a Tuesday morning, and after waking up in the night and taking an Ibuprofen, I wasn’t looking forward to this mornings outing…
I could only just bear to stand on it when I climbed out of bed, but put on the running kit anyway and set off up the street in earnest. It felt a bit awkward for the first mile and then it seemed to ease off so I managed a lonely run down deserted streets and back down the long empty lane…It just goes to show what a little bit of determination can do for you.
Not at all Mags, It’s always nice to hear from you…:hug:
The Allopurinol are for life Mags…They will reduce the amount of uric acid in my blood which is responsible for the gout.
The Colchicine is an anti inflammatory and the doctor gave me three months supply to take one per day while the Allopurinol settles down the uric acid.
Once the acid has been reduced I shouldn’t need to take any painkillers in the future.
The pain arises from crystals of acid migrating to the joints, in my case the big toe joint, I believe that flexing the joint during running will help to dissipate the crystals which is borne out by the fact that, although painful at the start, does ease with the distance. That’s my theory anyway Mags…
Running has provided me with many benefits over the years Mags, Discipline, confidence, fitness, good friends, a voracious appetite (and never gain a pound) a love of nature, and has probably helped me to survive two heart attacks. At almost seventy I can run, cycle, swim and walk long distances, I consider myself very lucky, and I believe that my fitness is a result of a determined, pig headed and disciplined approach to running for most of my adult life.
It is a life that that I won’t give up easily because it’s taken a lot of hard work to get to this stage of it, and I’ll go down kicking and screaming if necessary… Sorry for rabbiting on Mags, but some things only a runner can understand…Runners never die, they just wear out their sole…
We went to Tesco about 8:00 am Baz, early mornings seems about the best time, although queues were beginning to assemble in the car park when we came out…I don’t know if it’s the same where you live, but Sainsburys don’t seem to be attracting the queues like Tesco do, and I was able to obtain a very large box of Yorkshire Tea from Sainsburys last week when Tesco had no tea on the shelf by any supplier… I thought it was the end of the world…
Last time I shopped it was at 08.00am, all was very orderly with a few people queuing and just a few let in at a time. Not much by way of shortages but there had been, apparently. I just did my usual shop which has lasted me. Now though it’s time to stock up again. I usually have two or three weeks’ worth of food in stock just in case I am unwell or cannot drive for any reason.
I will just play it by ear, if the queues are too long I will return home and try again another day. I am not going to starve anyway, that’s how I look at it.
I thought it was the end of the world…