Across the Pond

For some time now, I have been reading a blogger in the UK. It is very instructive to see the differences in health care on the two sides of the pond. The really big pond, that is.

I had always imagined that healthcare in England was much better than in the US because it is nationalized. Wrong. If you go here you get a huge sampling of some of her typical daily troubles, and it isn't pretty.

This lady is lovely and upbeat, and has many, many problems caused by caretakers that we would not tolerate here in the US. I find her blog to be inspiring, morale-wise.

Makes me feel like a "whiny, puling fool." (Romeo and Juliet)

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Little Pond

Last of the lovely days for a while.

Pretty, isn't it? I am still fine-tuning the Zyrtec/Chlor-trimetron balance, and trips to the river are often a disaster, continence-wise. Especially if I hike it. I need to remember that the tree-fever season is just the beginning of a very long allergy stint, ending with the hard frosts of fall. Apparently I still have MS even when I don't much feel like it. Or maybe it's all denial, as my coworkers and kids tell me.

I am watching every single thing that goes down the hatch these days. Calorie counts are kept to 1500 or less on weekdays, a little more liberal on weekends. I am finally beginning to see the small signs of success. One benefit of my new diet is better sleep. Chocolate must have been taking quite a hidden toll on me.

Pat's Pond now has a new blog (like this is something rare?) and it's attached to the paper. They decided they didn't need another columnist, so they suggested I run a blog on their community. So that's probably how I would have eventually been relegated, anyway. We can only hope that people will see some of us regular bloggers and decide they would like to join, also.

You can check it if you like, but be forewarned that it activates a ton of popups. It's called Walking the Dog, and will have very short entries, usually with a photo, and links to these Blogger sites. Actually, it will likely contain stuff from our regular Blogger sites, so don't be surprised if it looks a little familiar.

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Little Pond

Beautiful weather

Trips to the River are just begging for allergy medications. This is the time when the trees start causing a big problem for me. Below is a pretty thicket alongside the Newtown Creek last Tuesday.
Today I am experimenting with Zirtec. For the last two days, I have taken Chlortrimetron 12 hour tabs, and they are messing with my nerves. So far the Zirtec seems to be working well, but let's see what happens when I try to nap.

No nap on Thursday made the toughest night of the week even tougher. Last night was bad, too, although I was a little more accustomed to the twitching and nodding.

When it gets really bad, I take another Baclofen, but the idea of upping any of the meds is somewhat scary. On the other hand, it's not fun when knee jerks and other spasms begin to catch people's attention.

The other factor will be the cost. I take a LOT of medications and supplements, all at doctors' orders. And the cost of food and gas are sucking up every little bit of money I would normally aim at the extra meds.

But tree fever is so miserable. It 's nice to be able to alleviate it.

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Little Pond

Not One Ounce (28g)...

Give me a break, God!

Finally got to the GP this week. When the time came, I eagerly stepped on the scale. Only to learn that I weighed pretty much what I did last August.

All the exercise, calorie counting and abstinence availed me nothing.

Alas.

You see, the lakes around here are glacial, both geologically and figuratively. That means Spazz Lady lives up to the moniker when she so much as dips a toe in them. Swimming pools are full of chlorine, which makes a mess of the asthma.

So no worries about bathing suits to spur my efforts. On the other hand, I can probably expect really decent blood test results.

Calcium and lipids, to be exact.

Otherwise, back to the drawing board. And try to figure out how I fooled myself into thinking my clothes were looser.

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Little Pond