Another disservice by the NHS.

[Rod]

Enjoy the enema! [emoji12]


Rod

 

[Pinch]

Enjoy the enema! [emoji12]


Rod

Indeed. I didn't know they blow air from the top as well, but according to my notes, they do. I said to Mrs P last night, "I might be letting off a few on the way home tomorrow my sweet." She replied, "Nothing new there!" :lol:

I couldn't face the bacon sarnies after all. I've had some toast instead and 2 cups of tea . I had to eat something because of the steroids - down to 2 a day since last Saturday. Well that's it, only water now until about 2pm :|

 

[AndyP]

Good luck mate.

 

[RogerS]

The only time I've ever had an endoscopy was after my gliding accident. Not my fault...the Chief Flying Officer with 2000+ hours was in control when we had our 'incident' and the top strand of the stock-proof fence tried to decapitate me. I was sitting in the front seat, the canopy shattered, large cut on my cheek bone and luckily we came to a stop with the wings hitting a couple of sturdy fence posts and said wire across my throat with my head pushed right back. Lots of blood from the cut and off for an over-nighter at Cheltenha General who were great.

"Ooh, they won't let you home tonight" said the nurse. "Far too interesting. No-one's ever come in with that sort of injury before and a fractured hyoid is most unusual".

"But I need to be out of here tomorrow as I have a job interview that I have to get to", says I...(thinking to myself "I've got to get from Cheltenham back to Bidford-on-Avon, collect my car, drive back to Malvern, get suited up, drive down to Cheam for a 4pm interview....mmmm :eusa-think: )

So there I am the next morning and the consultant is doing his rounds complete with training entourage. Asks me how I'm feeling..."OK, I say, still a little discomfort swallowing". He wandered off muttering 'endoscopy'.
"Hang on a moment" I called out. The ward sister spun round and glared at me as if to say 'You don't speak out like that to the consultant'.

"The deal was that I'd be out of here first thing" and the consultant then went on to say that they wanted to check the back of my throat etc to check things were OK. "Don't worry" he said "I'll put you at the front of the list".

So I waited. And waited. After a while I asked one of the nurses what the hold-up was and she said that they couldn't get hold of a porter to wheel down. "Wheel me down? I can run there". And so I did.

Now, picture this. The day of the gliding accident was a gloriously hot Sunday. I'd gone up gliding wearing a pair of scruffy fairly skimpy shorts (one has to take every opportunity to work on ones tan, after all), T-shirt and scruffy trainers. The T-shirt had long gone covered as it was in water and blood from my cut (ten stitches done through my beard as I didn't want to shave it off for the interview). But that morning, the weather outside was foul, grey, cold and raining. Everyone else was swaddled up in warm, wet-weather clothing. And there is this dishevelled individual just wearing shorts and trainers padding his way down the corridors. "Security ?! Security !? There's a madman wandering around half naked". :lol:

Good luck with your procedure, Paul.

And remember the pictures

 

[Pinch]

Good luck mate.

Cheers matey

 

[Pinch]

The only time I've ever had an endoscopy was after my gliding accident. Not my fault...the Chief Flying Officer with 2000+ hours was in control when we had our 'incident' and the top strand of the stock-proof fence tried to decapitate me. I was sitting in the front seat, the canopy shattered, large cut on my cheek bone and luckily we came to a stop with the wings hitting a couple of sturdy fence posts and said wire across my throat with my head pushed right back. Lots of blood from the cut and off for an over-nighter at Cheltenha General who were great.

"Ooh, they won't let you home tonight" said the nurse. "Far too interesting. No-one's ever come in with that sort of injury before and a fractured hyoid is most unusual".

"But I need to be out of here tomorrow as I have a job interview that I have to get to", says I...(thinking to myself "I've got to get from Cheltenham back to Bidford-on-Avon, collect my car, drive back to Malvern, get suited up, drive down to Cheam for a 4pm interview....mmmm :eusa-think: )

So there I am the next morning and the consultant is doing his rounds complete with training entourage. Asks me how I'm feeling..."OK, I say, still a little discomfort swallowing". He wandered off muttering 'endoscopy'.
"Hang on a moment" I called out. The ward sister spun round and glared at me as if to say 'You don't speak out like that to the consultant'.

"The deal was that I'd be out of here first thing" and the consultant then went on to say that they wanted to check the back of my throat etc to check things were OK. "Don't worry" he said "I'll put you at the front of the list".

So I waited. And waited. After a while I asked one of the nurses what the hold-up was and she said that they couldn't get hold of a porter to wheel down. "Wheel me down? I can run there". And so I did.

Now, picture this. The day of the gliding accident was a gloriously hot Sunday. I'd gone up gliding wearing a pair of scruffy fairly skimpy shorts (one has to take every opportunity to work on ones tan, after all), T-shirt and scruffy trainers. The T-shirt had long gone covered as it was in water and blood from my cut (ten stitches done through my beard as I didn't want to shave it off for the interview). But that morning, the weather outside was foul, grey, cold and raining. Everyone else was swaddled up in warm, wet-weather clothing. And there is this dishevelled individual just wearing shorts and trainers padding his way down the corridors. "Security ?! Security !? There's a madman wandering around half naked". :lol:

Good luck with your procedure, Paul.

And remember the pictures

Cheers matey

Blinkin ek chap! That was a close shave to the wire! :|

Did you make the interview and get the job?

Gliding is a strong activity here and it always amazes me the altitude some of these guys make. I mean, really really high. :shock:

I might ask for a blindfold during the procedure as I don't fancy seeing a tube directly in front of me knowing what it's doing. Yes I know, I'm being a wimp. :|

 

[RogerS]

Did you make the interview and get the job?

No ! After all that. The feedback was that on initial impressions I was a bit stiff. Even though I'd pointed out that I had ten stitches in my cheek and we spent a lot of time talking about flying (he flew choppers).

Gliding is a strong activity here and it always amazes me the altitude some of these guys make. I mean, really really high. :shock:

That's probably the Dorset Gliding Club at Hyde

https://youtu.be/_JPDAXdExYE

 

[Malc2098]

Good luck, Paul!

 

[Pinch]

Did you make the interview and get the job?

No ! After all that. The feedback was that on initial impressions I was a bit stiff. Even though I'd pointed out that I had ten stitches in my cheek and we spent a lot of time talking about flying (he flew choppers).

Gliding is a strong activity here and it always amazes me the altitude some of these guys make. I mean, really really high. :shock:

That's probably the Dorset Gliding Club at Hyde

https://youtu.be/_JPDAXdExYE

Ah, gliding gliding - proper gliding. I was thinking paragliding and these guys fly very close by to us on Oakford Hill, Ibberton and Bulbarrow. Yes, Dorset Gliding Club near Wareham I believe.

Excellent film and music! I could clearly see Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door - The Purbeck is beautiful.

Here's a couple of pictures of my step-daughter and me at Durdle Door earlier this year.

A Fred Scuttle impression. :lol:

Oops, where did that come from :lol:

:text-bravo:


I want a cup of tea! :|

 

[Pinch]

Good luck, Paul!

Cheers Malc.

Hope your dig is going well.

 

[Malc2098]

Fred Scuttle?!! More like Cosmo Smallpiece!

 

[Pinch]

Fred Scuttle?!! More like Cosmo Smallpiece!

:lol: :lol:

:text-bravo:

 

[Pinch]

"I am just going outside and I may be some time."

:eusa-think:

 

[Malc2098]

C U L8R! Good luck!

 

[Pinch]

That was a wasted journey - 45 mins each way. :|

On arriving and going through all the usual stuff, I was called in and I sat with a nurse in a little room where we went through the paperwork etc which took about 20 minutes. The majority of the check boxes was 'no' which was good, but my blood pressure was high - 181/112. She also checked me down for the sedative and throat spray. A bit later she apologised and told me she's just remembered the sedative wasn't available today as there has been an influx of inpatients. I was a bit annoyed and told the nurse I phoned a week ago specifically asking to be booked in with the sedative. The nurse then offered me Entonox as a substitute (she really tried hard to sell this on me - so to speak) and although I wasn't totally happy, I agreed and just wanted to get on with it. She then left the room to make sure the doctor was happy with my high blood pressure and asked me to wait in the waiting room.

Ten minutes later, the nurse returned and told me the doctor wasn't happy with my high blood pressure and that I couldn't have the Entonox after all, or indeed the throat spray. She gave me two choices; (1) lay down in a ward for an hour with the hope my blood pressure goes down, or (2) go home and make an appointment to see my GP for high blood pressure tablets and they would send out another appointment.

I couldn't see the point in hanging around. My blood pressure was probably high because of where I was and the thought of the procedure (I'm only guessing), and I couldn't see it coming down over the following hour. If anything, it could have risen even more. As soon as I told the nurse I'll go home, she instantly agreed it was the best decision.

So, we came home and I'm now booked in to see my GP on Thursday.

I've just had the most loveliest cup of tea.

Curry tonight.

 

[Rod]

Sorry to hear that Paul - it was probably the "White Coat Syndrome"!
My BP always goes up like that, even when visiting the GP. I now have a machine at home which records the readings and take them at different times the week before a visit to show they a normally "normal".

I forgot you were having it throat down - an Enema wouldn't have helped at all. [emoji3]

Rod

 

[Malc2098]

That's a bummer, Paul, if you'll pardon the possibility of a pun! Hope you can get it sorted soon.

 

[RogerS]

That's a real drag, Paul.

Hopefully it's a case of white-coat-itis. Mine also spikes but when I do the seven day test...arm BP meter (not the wrist one as they are too inaccurate)..take two readings in the morning before coffee (!) and two readings in the evening...same arm on both occasions. Then average it out it's fine. I'm what they call pre-hypertension and so just try and make sure it doesn't get any worse.

 

[Tusses]

yep .. every time I have the cuff on, my blood pressure spikes !
I have the home one, and it's fine.

one time, the GP gave me tablets for high blood pressure .. and I nearly fainted due to low blood pressure ! :evil:
That's when I got the home tester.

They have memories, so can show the last lot of readings .. see if they would accept that ? as it's quite common to get false high readings in the H ot Docs

 

[Pinch]

Thanks Chaps. I'm sure you're right - the white-coat thingy. Perhaps the nurses should change their uniforms as well... maybe take a visit to one of those 'Anne Summers' shops Hmmm... on the other hand... :|

I had a BP machine here at home for a week a few months ago from the surgery - two readings per day. My average was around 150/90 and the GP said it was just into the 'high bracket' but not to be too concerned. She ummed n arrrred about prescribing me the tabs and decided not to just yet. It will be interesting to see what my reading is this Thursday. Perhaps it might be a good idea to go onto the tabs until I've had the endoscopy.

You see, all of this might be interlinked with the old bowel stuff. I do get light headed, palpitations and hot flushes - mainly the hot flushes. My body temp feels like it's slightly high most of the time. I'm looking forward to the neurologist on the 14th. Also, I have in the last couple of weeks felt like my brain has kicked in here n there - a few sharp crystal moments. This has been great, although short lived, but certainly encouraging.

I guess this is where I should concentrate on my diet a bit. I eat a fair bit of red meat, chocolate and of course, I don't think alcohol is good for high BP is it? Cor, that would be a blow if I had to give up the red meat, chocolate and beers - my word, I can feel my blood pressure going up just thinking about it! :lol:

Right, that's that one sorted then!

:text-bravo:

 

[RogerS]

Dark chocolate - good.

Milk chocolate - bad.

Cadbury's - beyond the pale :lol:

 

[AndyP]

You don't have to give up anything Paul. just everything in moderation

 

[Tusses]

do you have much salt Paul ?

I'd be aiming for 120/80 or less

 

[RogerS]

do you have much salt Paul ?

I'd be aiming for 120/80 or less

That's a big ask, Rich, from just lifestyle changes if his BP is up at the 150/90.

 

[Tusses]

it is Rog .. I was more wondering what is raising it ?

I'd be determined to get it down if I was 150/90

 

[RogerS]

One of the many interesting current developments in medicine is drug-gene testing or pharmacogenomics. There is a test available..eye-wateringly expensive at around £2.5k...and what it does is tell you what drugs are effective, which are not, which will give you side-effects etc etc. SWMBO has researched this and is rather keen on it. Her research is 99.99% always spot-on and so good enough for me to think about it (need the £2.5k first).

The other thing to mention in passing and which some folk might not be aware of and that is why some drugs come in different strengths eg 25mg, 50mg and 100mg. The reason is that the waste-disposak unit in the body aka the liver metabolises anything that shouldn't be there ie drugs. But folk are different and so if your liver metabolises a certain drug too fast before the drug has any effect then the doctor will up the dosage to the next size. Of course, if one had pharmacogenomic testing then they'd get it right first time.

And the other temporal factor and of relevance to Pinch is the gut-transit time. The antibiotic that he's been prescribed is a 'delayed release' by giving it a coating that gradually gets dissolved/eaten away by the digestive system. The idea being that it releases the drug at the right place and the right time. Trouble is that folk have different gut transit times and even their average time can vary dramatically. Pace a vindaloo.

 

[Tusses]

2.5K .. not so much when you think how much it could save on prescriptions and wrong medications , hospitalization etc ! .. it should be a standard test/procedure !

 

[Pinch]

Dark chocolate - good.

Milk chocolate - bad.

Cadbury's - beyond the pale :lol:

I've just eaten a Double Decker (preferred the older ones!), and that was after a chocolate mouse pudding, which was after a "large" bowl of home made red meat lasagna - bloody lovely!

Mrs P is veggie now and she made a veggie one for herself. Poor old girl has to cook two separate meals pretty much every night. :|

 

[Pinch]

You don't have to give up anything Paul. just everything in moderation

Ah yes, moderation... :|

To be honest, I think I do eat and drink moderately. Mrs P looks after me well and she cooks some right corkers. She's a messy bugger in the kitchen though! When I cook, I clean as I go (I'm a bit OCD), but Mrs P doesn't, she leaves it in the sink for me to clear up. But I don't care, she's worth it

She sometimes messes with my OCD as well.... sneaking up behind when I'm not looking and moving things slightly off kilter, but I don't care, the ole girl's worth it.

 

[Pinch]

do you have much salt Paul ?

I'd be aiming for 120/80 or less

Ummmm... Mrs P never seasons while she cooks (I do), so I do like a good sprinkle when it's served. I sometimes have processed meat in my sarnies at work, always with crisps too, so I probably do have my fair bit of salt.

In fact, funnily enough, only tonight, I told Mrs P I shall prepare my own sarnies from now on - I always used to. I've been thinking the best way I could approach this one without upsetting her. So, I've told her it will be one less chore for her to worry about first thing in the morning. Her instant reply was, "What's wrong with my butties?" Awwww, I felt right awful... "Nothing!" I said. "I knew I cut the cheese too thick and wonky this morning." She muttered. Oh boy, I felt so bad. Truth is, I'm a fussy bugger when it come to sarnies. I know how I like me sarnies, and that's all I can say on the matter.

So Mrs P has said I shall forget to get the bread or rolls out of the freezer the night before, that I'll get all mixed up with the dates on the food etc.. and I'll probably eat the same thing two days on the trot etc etc...

Conclusion... Mrs P will continue to make my sarnies every morning. :lol: :lol:

Sorry, I've gone adrift a bit here.

Yes, 120/80 or less will be a good target.

 

[Pinch]

One of the many interesting current developments in medicine is drug-gene testing or pharmacogenomics. There is a test available..eye-wateringly expensive at around £2.5k...and what it does is tell you what drugs are effective, which are not, which will give you side-effects etc etc. SWMBO has researched this and is rather keen on it. Her research is 99.99% always spot-on and so good enough for me to think about it (need the £2.5k first).

The other thing to mention in passing and which some folk might not be aware of and that is why some drugs come in different strengths eg 25mg, 50mg and 100mg. The reason is that the waste-disposak unit in the body aka the liver metabolises anything that shouldn't be there ie drugs. But folk are different and so if your liver metabolises a certain drug too fast before the drug has any effect then the doctor will up the dosage to the next size. Of course, if one had pharmacogenomic testing then they'd get it right first time.

And the other temporal factor and of relevance to Pinch is the gut-transit time. The antibiotic that he's been prescribed is a 'delayed release' by giving it a coating that gradually gets dissolved/eaten away by the digestive system. The idea being that it releases the drug at the right place and the right time. Trouble is that folk have different gut transit times and even their average time can vary dramatically. Pace a vindaloo.

That's very interesting.

I remember the doctor saying my drug is designed to target a specific area with a specific release time - probably similar to what you've mentioned. My steroid (as you know) is Budesonide (3mg), currently on two tabs in the morning. I didn't realise this is an antibiotic. And the other which I shall start again once the course of steroids is complete, is, Mesalazine (800mg) three tabs a day. :shock:

Pace a vindaloo... :lol: I had a Madras last night (big portion) with 10 poppadoms, then a pudding and a cup of charlie - no chocolate. Mind you, I didn't eat much during the day due to the hospital - messed me up a bit.

 

[Pinch]

I was looking at buying a BP machine last night. We probably will sometime in the future.

I felt drained last night and I'm sure I could feel my BP was higher than normal. Probably all the subconscious emotion going on. Slept like a stuffed monkey. This morning, I was top-of-the-morning.

 

[StevieB]

Chaps - I have stayed away from commenting on this thread for a number of reasons, but feel I need to interject at this point as a scientist and geneticist. Please do not go throwing £2.5k at pharmacogenetic testing, it will tell you very little and probably nothing. If you are on the wrong medication then you will fail to respond and your GP will alter either the dose or the drug as a consequence. Genetic risks in 99.999% of cases are minute compared to other things and not terribly accurate. No GP will proscribe based on genetic tests for common conditions and will require confirmation of anything suspected through an accredited diagnostic laboratory. Genetics is far more useful in terms of what we call Mendelian disease (got the mutation, get the disease eg downs syndrome) but these are rare disorders with severe consequences. Genetic testing for common conditions such as IBS, coeliac disease, blood pressure etc is pretty useless from a treatment perspective at the current time.

In terms of dosing - yes, genetics MAY play a role in rate of metabolising certain compounds (google aspirin resistance for a common example) but many other factors have greater effects - there is a reason some drugs say 'avoid alcohol' or do not take drug X in combination with drug y etc. The vast majority of clinical trials do not currently incorporate genetics into their design, and thus information is partial, incomplete and not verified in anything other than scientific experiments rather than randomised double blind clinical trials. Different drugs to treat the same physical symptoms can also act via different mechanisms, which is another reason a GP may change your medication. Other reasons include side effects (which differ in different people), cost and a shifting evidence base.

I do not plan to go into huge detail on the specifics of pharmacogenomics, healthcare or genetics in an open forum as comments get taken out of context or can be misunderstood outside of a scientific discussion, but my definite advice is to save your £2.5k and spend it on tools, timber or SWMBO!

Steve

 

[Rod]

I suppose I'm fairly lucky in that I'm surrounded by Medics - my wife is a Pharmacist, my elder daughter a hospital Sister, my younger daughter a hospital Consultant and a son-in-law is a Neurosurgeon.
I have always been guided by them and they certainly advise traditional "normal" hospital practices and treatment.

I cannot help thinking Paul that your diet must be part of your problems - have you ever been referred to a Dietician?
Eating big meals, curries, red meat, processed meat, bread and beer are not good for the sensitive gut.

Rod

 

[Pinch]

Thanks for your post Steve and I understand you wouldn't want to go in too deep about pharmacogenetics for obvious reasons. My metabolism rate has apparently always been high (or fast) and I've wondered over the last years whether this has anything to do with my condition. The chaps in the gastro department often use words "it's likely" or "it's unlikely." I totally understand their reasons for not committing as they've told me before they're constantly learning (as in all science I guess) and the bowel is a hugely complex organ. I guess the lack of funding has much to do with this as Roger touched on a while back. But, is there anything in this thread which has jumped out to you (excluding my off-hand silly jokey stuff) as a potential issue relating to either Rich, Jimmy or me? I know this isn't your field, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

 

[Pinch]

I suppose I'm fairly lucky in that I'm surrounded by Medics - my wife is a Pharmacist, my elder daughter a hospital Sister, my younger daughter a hospital Consultant and a son-in-law is a Neurosurgeon.
I have always been guided by them and they certainly advise traditional "normal" hospital practices and treatment.

I cannot help thinking Paul that your diet must be part of your problems - have you ever been referred to a Dietician?
Eating big meals, curries, red meat, processed meat, bread and beer are not good for the sensitive gut.

Rod

That's great Rod. How's the treatment going matey?

Yes, I've been referred to the dietitian a couple of times over the years and I've tried various diets with no changes to my symptoms. I've also tried my own experimental diets as well. The gastro chaps are happy the main core of my condition isn't diet related, although, some of it will either help or perhaps worsen. I do joke around a bit, maybe too much unnecessarily, but the big curry meal the other night was a rare one. I eat red meat twice a week and I don't eat that much processed meat. We eat fish and chicken (although Mrs P doesn't eat chicken) every week and we eat a lot of veg and I eat fruit everyday. I could certainly reduce the chocolate and maybe the red meat, possibly the beer as well.

All my recent blood tests have shown good normal results including liver/kidney function, heart, glucose etc. But, my BP was slightly high and another blood test showed my cholesterol was bordering at 6 which is why my GP suggested the reduction in red meats and chocolate. Although, she wasn't too concerned at 6.

 

[RogerS]

It's not total cholesterol but the ratio of HDL/LDL that is more important I believe.

Thing is that like a lot of medical issues, research paper 1 will say this and research paper 2 will say the opposite.

 

[Pinch]

Yes, that's it - the good and the bad.

I'm with you on that - papers and experts contradict.

 

[Pinch]

Evening Chaps.

I had a good chat with my GP this afternoon. She's been investigating the 'disservice' and it appears she's found the culprit.

My referral for the colonoscopy was made in August 2011 and the appointment was September 2011. We moved house and a few miles away from our surgery at the beginning of September, so we registered with another surgery local to our new home, which I never visited. Five months later (Feb 2012), we moved back near to where we moved from, which meant we registered with our old surgery again.

After the colonoscopy, a letter was sent from the hospital with my diagnosis and treatment plan to the surgery where we were registered for five months. The surgery never contacted me about it and when we moved back to our former surgery (now current), the letter was never forwarded on either. My GP read out the treatment plan to me today and it's exactly what I've recently started, with additional alternative medicines in the event of any problems.

There are all sorts of other contradicting events too which baffles me intently; emails sent from the hospital to say my colonoscopy was normal, then to say collagenous collitis, and then IBS.

My GP reckons the cause of the 'disservice' (although she hasn't used this word) is the result of a chain of events with moving, registering and re-registering. She also very politely said I should have followed up the case as my symptoms worsened, which I did on a few occasions at our current surgery. On one particular occasion, I saw another GP at our current surgery (he's still there) and told him I was diagnosed with collagenous collitis at the hospital, but he told me the results came back as IBS and I've just got to get on with it. It's a complete mess!

Incidentally, my BP this afternoon was 165/90 - less than Wednesday. I'm now starting a course of Ramipril 2.5mg tomorrow night.

I tell you, my blood is boiling, especially since watching the headline news tonight. :twisted:

 

[RogerS]

....
I tell you, my blood is boiling, especially since watching the headline news tonight. :twisted:

What news ? Jedward to split ? :lol: