After the Break

 

To be totally and transparently honest my break from blogging for the last few days was not just because of our weekend away, but also due to a health scare.  

Once again my blood pressure has gotten totally out of control and lots of changes have to be and are being made.  Signing myself out of hospital last Thursday so that we could go on holiday was the best thing that I could have done, as with Alan doing all the driving and me being able to mostly relax and having new higher dose tablets the readings on my blood pressure monitor started to dip consistently.   As requested by the consultant I returned to the hospital for a check upon Monday as soon as we got back, and this saw me being signed off and handed back into the care of my GP.  

Last night I got a telephone message from the NHS Portal informing me that an telephone consultation appointment with a cardiologist has been made for me for a follow up.  The date of the appointment ... 30th April 2024.  They must have quite the waiting list if they are booking in phone calls over a year in advance!!

Hardcastle Craggs from the viewing point just up the road from our lovely holiday home.  As you can see from the top photo we also had a similar view while we were washing the pots each evening.

We stayed in a National Trust holiday home, Widdop Gate Barn, a converted barn in West Yorkshire.

Oh I saw alright ... drinking in the views and thinking on how lucky we were to be able to be there.

As you stepped into our holiday home the kitchen still has the old stalls for the cattle, with the table and chairs in the largest and a washing machine and a dish washer in the two smaller ones.

The vast window in the dining area, which really let in the cold at night.  The curtains were drawn straight after tea to try and keep things cosy.  Alan loves barns, and this was a good example of one that had been converted very sympathetically with hardly any full interior walls or false ceilings ... which made it very chilly!!

The photos on the National Trust website make it look a lot smaller and cosier than it was in reality.

The main bedroom, even this large king-sized bed seemed dwarfed in the space.

We had a large log burner in our Welsh house, but although this one was twice the size it still seemed dwarfed by the room it was in, and we went through a LOT of logs.  We sat wrapped in fleece blankets watching the television, wishing we had brought binoculars as it seemed so far away,

We went into Hebden Bridge on both the Saturday and Sunday, and the vibe on the two days was totally different.  On Saturday it was full of visitors dashing around taking photos and bustling through the shops and the market.  On the Sunday there was a large contingent of motorbikes parked in the square, with all the owners sat outside the many pavement cafes drinking coffees and chatting happily away.  There was a busker playing his heart out, and everything was just so much more chilled and laid back.

The dogs both loved the break, and once they mastered all the stone steps in the barn were relaxed and happy to be away with us ... but they were even happier when we got home.

This time, unusually for me, I bought my self a few souvenirs, but of course you know me ... they had to be useful things too.  

The wooden 'flour' box is actually lovely old wood and if I turn it around the other way on my shelf it will just look like a beautiful wooden box and the cockerel will be my little secret.  I was in the pottery shop making my rather excessive selection, when the 3pm emergency alarm practice went off on everyone's phones, causing much confusion to some people who had no idea what was going on.  It did get us all talking to each other and we had a good laugh as some phones were slightly late to the party and rang five minutes later.

Back soon.

Sue xx

Vitamin Delivery, a Days Food for Me ... and Then a Real Shock

It's been a week of deliveries this week.

First there was the pasta that I talked about on the last post, then my sons Christmas presents arrived and are currently filling up Alan's hall space. Then yesterday my year's supply of Veg1 vitamins came via the postman.  I buy mine from the Vegan Society, as I'm a member I get 10% off my order ... every little helps and all that!!  

Not eating meat I do need to ensure that I have a good supply of B12 in my system, people that do eat meat have it because the animals that they eat are given the vitamins in their food.  Sadly, most animals no longer get to graze outside enough to have it in their systems naturally as B12 comes from the bacteria found mostly in soil and untreated water.  

Anyway, I now have enough to see me through another year and typing this has made me realise that I have yet to take todays tiny chewable tablet.

You can tell that the weather briefly went much cooler ... although it was 17.5 degrees here yesterday ... as I have once again started having porridge for breakfast most days.  My favourite is with a banana sliced and cooked into it for the last couple of minutes.  Having the banana in the porridge and thoroughly heated up, rather than just sliced cold onto the top is a real gamechanger.

Lunch on this particular day was a delicious hummus and salad bun, followed by a delicious dairy free chocolate bar.

Much too tasty for its own good!!

Tea was of course some pasta.  This time cooked with broccoli and peas and then I stirred through a bit more of the hummus to form a delicious sauce with a dash of the pasta cooking water.  Once in the bowl it was topped with some grated Violife.  

I buy the blocks of Extra Mature and grate it myself.  Ready grated cheese always has something added to keep it flowing separately, usually just cornflour, but I really don't like the taste of that in my cheese, so I just grate a whole block or two at a time and keep it in a lidded container in the fridge.

Sadly, when I went to The Vegan Kind online supermarket to pick up a photo of the chocolate bar, I came across THIS message ... wow, what a shock, and what a shame to lose them just as I was about to put in a Christmas order.  There are so many companies really struggling at the moment.

Well, that was definitely not what I was going to post about when I sat down today, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. 

Sue xx

Tinned Tomatoes at WHAT price!!

 

I was rummaging about in the cupboard the other morning looking for some tinned tomatoes to have on toast for my breakfast.  I had an almost heart stopping moment when I thought I was about to use the last tin, then I moved a tin of Black Beans slightly to the left and discovered a whole other double height row of lovely tomatoey tins ... phew!!

Breakfast was had and enjoyed and the leftover two thirds of the tin was decanted and put into the fridge ready to be used for another meal.  I can easily get three meals out of one tin of tomatoes, which got my challenge brain thinking ... how many other food items do I get at least three uses out of?

That would be interesting to note down instead of just thinking about, doing and forgetting.

I don't know why this idea even came to me, but when I was out shopping later in the day I suddenly thought ... What is the price difference between the cheapest tin of tomatoes and the most expensive?

You know me I had to look!!

The ones on the left, picked up from Booths were £1.30 and the ones on the right picked up from Sainsbugs were still available at just 28p.

Wow ... that is some difference for the same sized can of tomatoes.  

I haven't opened either of them yet, but it will be really interesting to see if the taste difference is between the two in any way justifies the cost.  But I would be able to get four tins of the Sainsbugs ones for less than the cost of the others.

The big question is ... Do people actually buy these on a regular basis just as day to day tomatoes for use in pasta sauces etc?  I guess the taste test will tell me when I get around to it.

The slightly littler question is ... WHY did I buy two more tins of tomatoes when I had just discovered a row of eight in my cupboard?

And the teeny, tiny question tapping away at the back of my mind is ... How many other things are there that are so different in price that are just normal every day items of food stuff ... too many for me to buy and taste test I guess.  But it's made me think, and I will be looking a little bit harder at brands and prices next time I go shopping.

I couldn't resist showing you my little seedlings, not bad for six days since sowing.  It always pays to sow seeds a little later than you think you should.  I got home from Manchester yesterday and the Mizuna were up, then this morning all the other ones appeared.  🌱

Sue xx

Blogmas - Advent Day 24

 

The final day of the beauty Advent calendar and I have a bronzer.  When I saw the box my first thought was 'ooh a soap', but no it's a bronzer.  Do I want to be bronze, not really ... maybe if I was one of Paul Kelly's turkeys, but no thinking about it who would want to be a turkey at this time of year  😟

I'm not usually a mince pie type of person, but these are the best I have ever tasted!!

*** *** *** 

For all those of you who have been kind enough to ask after my health over the last seven months, here is the final results of The Back Saga.  You'll have guessed by now I'm not someone who likes talking about my health and usually you will just get a quick 'not bad' or 'I'm fine' if you enquire about my health ... yes even these days ... so this is actually quite hard to write about. 

Seemingly I'm so healthy ... apart from the obvious ... that the broken bones have already healed too much for any simple operation to be done.  The consultant, who is a spinal surgeon said that the best option is to let the healing continue and to just accept the new curvature to my back, taking pain killers for as long as I need them which could be for a few more months as the bones continue to heal and my body adjusts to it's new shape,  and to rest and exercise to suit how I feel each day, just pushing forward slowly with the amount I do.  It was not quite the outcome that I was hoping for, but at least now I have had an expert opinion.  He also said that I am lucky in my doctor and the MSK team that he works in, as they are excellent in their field.

The blood tests that I had have showed that I am really healthy in everything.  Heart, liver and kidney and thyroid function.  I am also really good for all vitamins, minerals and iron, and I  have very good calcium levels ... something that seems so weird to me ... but my doctor says this could be because I don't drink cows milk which actually leaches calcium from your bones leaving you with a calcium deficit over time.

So I am relieved that I have finally completed all the necessary tests and now have heard the expert's opinions, and that I can now just let nature take it's course, helped along with daily doses of paracetamol, Naproxen, Omeprazole and Alendronic Acid once a week ... oh and some rather tasty calcium and vitamin D tablets every day.

Don't shake me too hard or I'll rattle 😄

Here endeth the one and only health update, and thank you for all your concern.  We can now move forward slowly but surely into the Christmas festivities, then come January ... on my own orders ... I want to try to lose two stone in weight, after all if I'm staying three inches shorter I have to get my BMI down to a sensible level again.

Sue xx  🎄

Blogmas - Advent Day 8

 

Sorry I'm a bit late with this one, I've been as sore as hell since my DEXA scan on Monday night, it was the lying flat bit (added to the journey there and back) that did it, it was worse this time than the MRI, and things are just running away with me.  I used to cope with so much so easily but last night I went to bed at nine o'clock with a hot water bottle, had a good cry and then slept until 4am this morning.  I'm feeling a bit fresher now but no doubt getting up so early will mean I droop early again tonight ... at this rate I'll be getting up before I've even gone to bed!!.

A quick update on my results for all those of you kind folk asking, your concern is very appreciated by the way.  I have got osteoporosis of the spine, although my hips are classed as 'good for a woman of my age' ... how to make you feel old in one sentence eh!!  I was told to phone my doctor to initiate the right treatment, which sounds exactly the same as that which my Mum has been taking for the last five or so years.  In the meantime Charlotte the radiologist, said to get myself some vitamin D and calcium tablets from the chemist and start on them, no doubt she had the inkling that me getting to even speak to a doctor at the moment might take a while.  When I finally got through yesterday morning after an hour of trying, all the phone consultation appointments were gone and I was told to try on again on Thursday when the my doctor has a few appointments still available.

So I'm going to have a word with the local pharmacist today and buy some calcium tablets and check that the vitamin D I already take is enough ... it should be, seemingly with my Veg 1 tablets from the Vegan Society and my multi-vitamins and iron tablets from Tesco I should be getting 500% of my daily requirements.

Todays Advent calendar socks have little foxes, very cute and the tiny little hand-cream from the Aldi beauty calendar will be great for slipping into my handbag.

While I've been opening my socks and toiletries calendars each day Alan has been opening the doors on his to reveal a selection of cheeses, chutneys and crackers.  

I photographed the ones he hadn't eaten like this ...

... but Alan said they should be laid out this way!!

Seemingly an engineers brain cries out for symmetry in everything ... even cheese and crackers. 😄

He had another calendar too but he seems to have completely eaten all of his Lindt chocolates including the Christmas Eve teddy bear ... naughty boy!!

Sue xx 🎄

Reaching for the Light ... and My Results for Mum

 

My spider plant loves it on top of the larder cupboard and really reaches for the light from the Velux window.  I wish I could reach up so high but even watering this is now out of question and once every two weeks I ask Alan to lift it down and give it a drink.   I could of course move it somewhere lower, but it loves it's new position so it can stay reaching for the light as long as it's happy.

Google image.

And the reason I can't reach upwards is my back.  

I promised my Mum I would post pictures showing the results of my MRI scan on Sunday so here is a Google image that I have added  circles to to show where the fractures and nerve impingements are.  This first image shows the original fracture that showed up on the X-ray a couple of weeks ago in red and the original painful area from back in May when all this trouble started circled in green.

And here is the updated version with the original T12 fracture circled in red as it is classed as severe, then there are three other fractures that showed up on the MRI and classed by the radiologist and the MSK team as mild to moderate.  

The two red stars are at L5 (original injury) and L1 and these are nerve impingements.

I have now been told to wait to be contacted by the Spinal Care team at The Royal Preston Hospital, so I will keep you ... and my Mum ... informed as soon as I have any more treatments news.

Sue xx

This blog post will self-destruct in one week .... I hate medical stuff 

Am I the Only One ...

 

Image from Google Images - BBC Good Food - Porridge Bowl

Am I the only one who looks at a bowl of 'porridge' like this and thinks 'for God's sake just give me a bowl of porridge ... please'.

Google Images - Stock photo

Just nice warming, plain porridge made with water in my case but occasionally with a splash of almond milk to finish.  Some days I do take the more healthy road and add a sliced banana or a dollop of apple sauce but I make sure that gets eaten up in the first few spoonfuls so that I can finish on a nice plain porridge taste.

A Health Update

I thought I'd do a quick one-off health update as lots of you have been very kindly enquiring about my health, and I have now finally got the results of the x-rays I had a month ago.  They had not been forwarded to my doctors office but after managing to get a telephone appointment and speaking to him last Thursday he sent for them immediately and then I had a face to face consultation for over half an hour the next day - yes actually in the surgery with a doctor!!

Basically my initial problem was with L5 (circled in green) and started with stress tissue damage and inflammation causing damage to the vertebrae.  This then led to my muscles reacting and protecting that area which in turn caused a fracture higher up in my back T12 (red circle).  This has now collapsed and is triangular shaped instead of being square.

I am really lucky that the radiologist at the hospital noticed the now very pronounced curve to my back and made a point on one of the three x-rays taken, of x-raying higher up than he had been instructed to.  This cleverly captured both the fracture that was higher up as well as the damage in the lumber area that he had been asked to x-ray.  If he hadn't done that I would now be waiting for an x-ray on the thoracic area of my spine.  It's nice when people work together to save the NHS time and money.

I am also very lucky in that the particular doctor that I have been talking to and finally saw on Friday also works at a specialist spinal clinic, as seemingly GPs these days cannot request MRI scans but in his position at the clinic he can.  I am now waiting to hear firstly about a DEXA scan and then afterwards if necessary an MRI.  This is to see if I have osteoporosis, which is quite likely as my Mum has it and possibly my gran also had it.  So more waiting but this time with more painkillers and at least knowing that the doctor finally knows most of the extent of my problem.

While I wait I am doing everything I can to help myself including a healthy diet, mild exercise, lots of rest, losing weight and learning to meditate.  The latter will help with my high blood pressure as all the tablets up to now that the doctor has tried me on have given me serious side effects that meant I had to stop them.  All this off my own bat but now with the doctors full agreement.  There now I've turned into a moaning about my health type of blogger - BUM!!

Anyway enough about all that .... what is your opinion on porridge?

😀😄😉

Sue xx