shinny

Thanks Barb, I wish I could take the day off work and recover but we are just too busy at the moment. I'm still all stuffy, but I don't feel as bad as I did yesterday. For me, it's my sinus' that always give me so much hassle when I get a head cold !!

Hot Ginger drinks sound lovely actually. I really like Ginger. I actually don't like the taste of Whiskey at all, but we had it laced with cloves and lemon and plenty of water to drown out the taste, lol. It definitely does help though !! I'm not sure why it works, but it does !!

Hope you feel better soon.

shinny

Hey all,

Chapiro. You are right about taking care of yourself. Actually, my company gives out the flu shot for free, seeing as our health providers over here don't. However, I never get it done. Don't ask me why, but I just feel a bit funny about it. The thing is, I really hate when people say they have the flu when what they have is a bad cold. I remember only ever once getting the real flu and I will never forget it. I was in my very early twenties, just after I had the chicken pox and it knocked me for six. Since then (over 10 years now!!) I haven't had the flu. Touch wood. I've had bad colds and bronchitis this year (my first time ever) but not the flu.

Studio, I'm laughing at you trying to get the house clean before your parents arrive. Isn't it funny how they'll always have that effect on you!? Enjoy having them there.

Lol Barb, I love your reasoning !! There is some good logic in that. My cold is all but gone. Have a little bit of a sniffle, but otherwise it's fine. I know it was prolonged by how busy I was in work, plus people forget (in our world of antibiotics) that colds last that long!

Bala, I've two words for you cayenne pepper. Go and buy some of it. Put a little bit in a glass of water and knock it back. It immediately warms you up. Plus it's good for your blood circulation. In fact, cayenne pepper has been used in medical emergencies for people suffering heart attacks or stroke.

Arielle, it's a little bit like that here during our winters. Morning freezing, midday mild, evening cool!

shinny

And don't even get me started on the "Man Flu" - sorry boys, but it is true that you are the worst patients ever when you have a sniffle.

Man: "I think I might have Meningitis. Look at this rash I have"
Woman: "No love, that's where you fell asleep on the remote control"

shinny

Hi Penny, it's great to hear from you. You've been really missed around the forum. Good to see you back

shinny

Lol I did know that about the flu virus. I guess the root of it for me is that if I'm well enough to fight something off myself, then I should. I guess if I had a compromised immune system or was older than I am, I might consider it.

Something that really annoys me here is how frequently our doctors give out antibiotics. In fact, I read somewhere recently that Irish Doctors give out antibiotics more than any other European country ! I remember being in with a doctor who was standing in for my regular Dr. She told me that I had a viral infection that was causing the cold that I had (I had gone in as I was flying to New York the following day and was afraid that my ears might give me trouble on the plane) - Anyway, she said I could fly but gave me a prescription for antibiotics. I said to her, but I thought antibiotics can't treat a viral infection. She was a bit take aback and then said, yes but this is in case it turns into a bacterial infection! I was gobsmacked. I hate taking antibiotics. I just told her no thanks, I'd cross the bridge IF I came to it.

Then they wonder why we have Superbugs and MRSA !

shinny

I do hear what you are saying, but we might just have to agree to disagree. It's a personal thing for me.

I agree with you about antibiotics. The Minister for Health is trying to crack down on this problem. I believe the same issue happens in the UK as MRSA is as much of a problem there as it is here. I'm not sure about Europe as a whole though. Guess what it all boils down to? Money! Yes, the pharmacutical companies here are literally in the pockets of the Doctors. It's disgraceful. I'm amazed at the amount of people who go to the Dr and say they are told that their Cholesterol is slightly elevated, for instance. The Dr tells them they need to go on a statin and they don't question it. It happened recently with an Aunt of mine. So I said to her what were your numbers?, and she says oh 5.5 (below 5.0 is ok here) I then say, ok so how much of that was LDL and Triglycerides & lastly your HDL. She looked at me blankly and I said I can't believe she agreed to go on a drug that has to be monitored for the potential damage it could do to your liver. Or in the long run the damage it can do to your Heart, Kidneys etc. When the reason your cholesterol may have been slightly over is because your HDL was higher, which is OK!!

At the end of the day, you need to look out for yourself ! It frustrates me that people don't question the Doctors and that the Doctors bang them on tablets because they get a kick back from the Pharmacutical companies.....!! It's outrageous.

Ok, rant over !!



[ Last edited by shinny at 11-27-2008 20:08 ]

shinny

Well it gives me some comfort to hear you say that, to be quite frank. I'm glad not all doctors are "influenced" by the pharmaceutical/drug companies. I can't believe the lengths that some of them will go to. There is so much money in it though and that's going to show the ugly side of people!!

I remember reading that somewhere before, about the ratio. So that would mean your LDL divided by your HDL.

My uncle is a surgeon in Austria and when he was over with us the last time I was talking to him about cholesterol. He was saying to me that there is a belief now that the statin drugs cause more damage than than actually having elevated cholesterol itself. I found that amazing. I think we still don't know enough about it. Plus, now they are linking too low of a cholesterol level to mental health issues and some cancers.

shinny

I find all of this fascinating by the way. You'd never guess, lol !! So I really appreciate your thoughts on it.

shinny

I totally agree that it's misunderstood too. As time goes on, more and more will be known about it.

How is everyone else doing? It was my birthday yesterday, ended up being a very quiet one for me, which I was very happy about. It's freezing here at the moment, so I preferred sitting in by the fire !!

shinny

Thanks Studio !!!

Barb, sorry to hear that. Clearly you made the right decision, but that's not going to make it any easier.

shinny

Hi Barb, yes it obviously was a blessing in disguise. All though it's hard sometimes we just have to be realistic about things like that. Doesn't make it easier though !

Hey Studio, how are things with you?

The weather here has been sooooooooooooooooo cold. We might even have a white christmas here !!

shinny

Hey girls,

Barb, I don't really know how to describe it, lol. It's actually quite sunny here, but cold. We generally describe it as crisp cold or fresh. It's actually quite nice once you are wrapped up well. I read the other day that it was the coldest November that we've had here in Ireland in 20 years ! Every morning the roads are very icy and then it thaws out during the day, only to refreeze and night. It makes driving very hazardous! We've had some snow too, but only on high ground.

shinny

Exactly, it's relative to what you are used to. Last night was our coldest night so far. It was -6c. So the roads were pretty awful this morning, big ice rinks! and all the cars were frozen solid.

The thing is, because we don't get really cold days here that when we do get relatively cold ones we're not that well equipped. For instance, if we had a heavy snow fall now, we'd most likely be stuck. We don't have snow ploughs or the like!! A few years ago I had to take force majeure day from work because I couldn't get into the office due of the snow fall!!

And as for our "cold gear" - you might find one or two places that specialise in snow boots or extreme out door wear, but they'd charge you an arm and a leg. Because it's not the norm, we wouldn't have many places that sell clothes like that. I actually bought my Columbia jacket in New York a few years ago. It's getting great wear at the moment !!

Mel, hope you feel better soon.


[ Last edited by shinny at 12-7-2008 12:00 ]

shinny

Will you be there before Christmas?

shinny

I've never been to Munich myself, but I heard it's great from friends who have been. I heard that the one thing you must do, is the Christmas Market. The reason I was asking when you'd be there is because they end on Christmas eve (24th) so, you'll just be in the nick of time.

Check out this website. It  give details on the Christmas Markets + other things:

Munich

shinny

Hi Penny, nice to hear from you. I know that you are too busy being an expert gamer !! Well done you !!

Hey everyone, I'm sooooooooooooo happy it's Friday. This was a long week for me, but now the weekend is almost here and I can relax a little.

I need to finish off my Christmas shopping, but I have most of it taken care of now. I'm really looking forward to Christmas now. It's probably my favourite of all the holidays because all the family get together.

shinny

No problem at all. I hope you have a brilliant time. You deserve it after working all of those hours. I have no idea how you and many doctors put in those hours.

shinny

That's great. I'm glad the children liked it !!

Just back home now after a hectic day celebrating Christmas. It was a great day, but I'm so shattered now and to think we'll do it all again on New Years Day.......

shinny

Hey all, how is everyone? I've managed to lose my voice ! Yep, good old laryngitis. I couldn't speak at all yesterday, only whisper. Today it's coming in and out. I sound like a teenage boy who's voice is breaking

shinny

Thanks Barb. Yeh, I was sounding very funny alright. I text my friends to say I'd lost it so they wouldn't ring me, but of course then they had to ring me to hear for themselves!!

I've never had it before, so it's quite funny. I mean, I've had a husky voice before from colds & singing too much (usually at concerts!!), but never lost it !!

I'm a lot better today, it's practically back, just a little husky.

Sorry to hear you Mum's health is worsening, but it's great that you are there with her too. I'm sure she really appreciates that. It's good that people are calling to your house though, that's thoughtful of them.

I hope your migraine clears up soon. Take care.