Health.....

[Escadrille Ecosse]

36 minutes ago, JohnD said:

This thread has migrated from sad tales of illness towards ESP and seances with the dead.  Let me bring it back  to this Earth with a tale that should make us appreciate the NHS a little more.

Quite! Reality is bad bad enough.

2 hours ago, PeterC said:

But as far as I can tell from much reading, the causes of age-related muscle weakening - sarcopenia- is not known with any confidence.

And yes also. And sad to say the wider medical profession don't really have a handle on this. There is more to be found in sports literature

However as an ageing athlete (I use the term athlete relative loosely) the 'trick' apparently is to 'use it or lose it' according to all the books and advice I've read on the subject. One needs to keep working on both flexibility and strength.

So things like pilates, yoga, etc for flexibility.

For strength there are three main elements; endurance which is mainly cardio vascular fitness for which cycling/exercise bikes are perfect; muscle maintenance which is best addressed through basic resistance exercises, body weight stuff; and thirdly recovery, which takes longer as we get older.

The other thing is about diet which means ensuring you have sufficient protein and carbohydrate intake. That's around 1.2-1.5g per kg bodyweight for protein spread over your meals as anything more that 20-30g in one meal won't get coverted to muscle. There is some debate over the efficiency of protein metabolism as people age suggesting older people need to consume more but the evidence is inconclusive.

This is aimed at older cyclists but speaking to various sports physicians, physios, coaches and nutirionists the general consensus is that we need to actively work at keeping fit as we get older.

https://www.trainerroad.com/blog/a-guide-to-protein-for-cyclists-how-much-do-you-need-to-get-faster/

 

[RogerH]

Over the last 5 - 6 months I have had a white  spot/dot on my left upper eye lid.

Last week it became itchy.

As Christmas was looming and the GP waiting time is 3 weeks I asked my local private hospital

for an appointment to see a dermatologist. That was Monday 12/12/22.

One day later I am with the dermatologist.

He took a few notes, had a look with a mag glass, laid me on the couch stabbed the spot with a pointy thing.

Then tugged it with tweezers and declared it done. (ouch)

He also looked at a rash on my left cheek and was happy with that.

He then looked at my back and was also happy with that.

It all took about 10 minutes.   The invoice arrived the following day (yesterday) - £275

On its own that sounds like a lot of money for 10 minutes work - but he doesn't get all of it.

Was I happy - yes.  Today there is no visible sign of the spot, and Christmas should come and go without

visiting A&E

 

Roger

[PeterC]

2 hours ago, RogerH said:

Over the last 5 - 6 months I have had a white  spot/dot on my left upper eye lid.

Last week it became itchy.

As Christmas was looming and the GP waiting time is 3 weeks I asked my local private hospital

for an appointment to see a dermatologist. That was Monday 12/12/22.

One day later I am with the dermatologist.

He took a few notes, had a look with a mag glass, laid me on the couch stabbed the spot with a pointy thing.

Then tugged it with tweezers and declared it done. (ouch)

He also looked at a rash on my left cheek and was happy with that.

He then looked at my back and was also happy with that.

It all took about 10 minutes.   The invoice arrived the following day (yesterday) - £275

On its own that sounds like a lot of money for 10 minutes work - but he doesn't get all of it.

Was I happy - yes.  Today there is no visible sign of the spot, and Christmas should come and go without

visiting A&E

 

Roger

Roger,  bearing in mind your peace of mind its a bargain- about £15 per day for three weeks' less worrying. Peter

[JohnD]

Glad you're treated and happy, Roger.

You should be happy, if the diifferential is the same as in the above case, that visit the skin doctor would have cost you over £4000!

John

[Gt6s]

On 12/14/2022 at 10:04 AM, JohnD said:

I'm sorry, Laurence, but your smoking expedition troubles get little sympathy.     After abdominal surgery 80+% of smokers get a chest infection, compared to less that 20% if you don't smoke.   Please, give up ASAP!    Try the e-cigs instead!

John

John no harm. I nearly bloody died NOT SMOKING OR EVEN COVID RELATED.

[PeterC]

Spending a few pence per day might help. I'll leave it for you to trawl through the information on colon and prostate, I havent delved in myself.

https://vitamindwiki.com/Overview+Cancer+and+vitamin+D

Peter

[JohnD]

From a paper of 2010:

This consensus statement represents the unified views of the British Association of Dermatologists, 
Cancer Research UK, Diabetes UK, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National Heart Forum, the 
National Osteoporosis Society and the Primary Care Dermatology Society.

 The evidence suggesting that vitamin D might protect against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, 
multiple sclerosis and other chronic diseases is still inconclusive. Some studies have suggested that 
high levels of vitamin D are associated with a reduced risk of bowel cancer although the mechanism 
has yet to be elucidated. For other cancers, the evidence is inconsistent or limited. Even for bowel 
cancer, it is too early to say if vitamin D directly protects against this cancer or if it reflects another 
aspect of our health.

A search on Google Scholar, that finds peer reviewed research papers finds lots of work on cancer And VitD.   Like Peter, I havent  had time to read them all, but I note that they seem to stop about 2012.    Presumably, it was concluded that further research was pointless.

John

[Escadrille Ecosse]

12 hours ago, JohnD said:

A search on Google Scholar, that finds peer reviewed research papers finds lots of work on cancer And VitD.   Like Peter, I havent  had time to read them all, but I note that they seem to stop about 2012.    Presumably, it was concluded that further research was pointless.

If there was a magic bullet I strongly suspect that all the millions of researchers and billions of research hours would have found something after all this effort if there was something to find. Nor with all the effort and numbers of people involved can I believe that there is a conspiracy to hide the evidence either.

Basically, it's hard.

[PeterC]

The research has continued apace and the target genes through which D3 acts against the various cancer stages are being defined, as Carlberg's 2022 paper reviews:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006295221003518

D3 likely is a magic bullet, but it is a huge threat to pharma profits and to academic researchers and their universities seeking to patent new drugs.  Failed RCTs are commonplace, usually because they do not use a D3 dose that reflects our ancestral serum levels prior to human migration out of sun-soaked Africa ca 50,000 years ago. 

My approach, the reason why I am not immersed in the latest D3 research ( 5000 papers annually) is because I supplement to give me that ancestral serum 25(OH)D level, 125 nmol/L ( I need 4000 IU per day). For me evolution and physiology trumps any amount of RCTs.  I keep up with Parkinson's D3 research out of self-interest, but knowing that there is no sporadic PD in elederly rural-dwelling Kenyans, I am as certain as can be I am on the right track to stabilsing it.

Peter

 

[mpbarrett]

I suppose as the classic car enthusiasts age we have to expect more illness but I hope everyone manages to enjoy there cars while we can.

We in Cambridge seem to be having our own problems....
Libby (my daughter, who some of you might know from previous 10CR's) has had problems with her hip over the last 2 years. She has had 3 operations and is due to have anyone one in January (revision hip arthroscopy). The is all to avoid having a hip replacement as she is only 33!
Her husband has just been diagnosed with angina by his GP (although this could be due to stress see below) and is due to see a specialist after Christmas. 
There best friend has just died after a very short (less than 5 months) fight against cancer leaving  4 and 7 year old children.
My wife, Jane, has been just be diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea which means she has had to surrender her driving licence and I have to drive her around. Hopefully after she starts treatment in the new year she will have a chance to get it back.

And finally I have just got Covid for the first time! No idea where I got it from, thought I had a cold, did a test and there was the line. We had plans for a party on Christmas eve and people to stay over Christmas so that buggered up.... 
But a big thankyou for the NHS, there treatment for Libby and Jane has been excellent.
I am sure it helps being close to a major teaching hospital (Addenbrookes).

Mike

[Nick Jones]

Sorry to hear of your family trials Mike. You’ve done well to get this far without catching Covid I’d say….. I’ve definitely had it once (last June) and almost certainly in April 2020 too.  Reckon I can say for sure that I (we) didn’t catch it in our travels now though. 
 

My best wishes to Libby…. 33 is way too young to having a hip replacement or even thinking you might need one. One of my colleagues has been having similar issues starting from age 35-ish, though in his case a county level rugby career probably hasn’t helped. Although, strangely enough, they appear to have fixed his hip problems by operating on the knee on the opposite leg…. Yeah….. strange…. But seems to have worked. Though the knee work was distinctly non-trivial.

Sleep apnea….. don’t know much about that. Presumably the license thing is the authorities assuming you are permanently seriously sleep deprived?

[mpbarrett]

13 hours ago, Nick Jones said:

 

Sleep apnea….. don’t know much about that. Presumably the license thing is the authorities assuming you are permanently seriously sleep deprived?

yes the worry is that she could fall asleep while driving. She has always snored but got worse of the last year, Had to wear a O2 sensor over night and the diagnosis was that she moderate sleep apnea. We didn't expect the driving ban... Has an appointment in Jan.

Re Libby they are trying everything to avoid the hip replacement route.....
So far Covid just seems like a mild case of llu, Lemsip seems to keep it under control. Glad I am fully vaccinated! 

[RogerH]

Hi Folks,

after 34 blasts at Radiotherapy ad 2 years of hormone therapy I was very happy to  hear yesterday that

my troublesome Prostate  (that isn't there) has been tamed.

The last 6 months has produced some life changing side effects that have required the GP & Heart/Lung consultant to get involved.

Thankfully my oncology doctor was able to see my Heart/lung CT scan and bloods and the results 

are very good.  It appears that it is the hormone treatment side effects.

So through this year they should start to sort themselves out and be no more.

 

Roger

[DeTRacted]

Excellent news Roger.  I'm glad to hear they have fixed you. 

 

I'm almost fixed too.  The op in February removed all of the nasty (along with a bit more of my plumbing - but it was early stage and they got the lot). Now starting on my second cycle of chemo tablets (of 8) just in case any odd cells got away. 

I have to say that despite all you read in the papers about delays in NHS treatment, that has not been my experience.  Apart from a three month wait for a colonoscopy everything happened quickly from then on. Colonoscopy early December, scans and diagnosis by end of December, operation second week in February, chemo start eight weeks later to allow for healing.   Maybe I have just been lucky?

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by DeTRacted

[Nick Jones]

Good to hear you are both doing ok.

Treatment availability/standards are a bit of a postcode lottery I think, but generally you get better service where the C-word is involved.

Nearly time for annual PSA test 

[Hamish]

That’s great news for both of you. 
gives hope to the rest of us too. 
I hope you can enjoy more of what you like doing. 

[Escadrille Ecosse]

1 hour ago, Hamish said:

That’s great news for both of you. 
gives hope to the rest of us too. 
I hope you can enjoy more of what you like doing. 

Absolutely.

[RogerH]

My serious dark period was back in January.  I felt soooooo tired and breathless.

I found a MacMillan forum to see if others were in a similar state.  Nearly every post was worse off than me.

It didn;t help my situation but put my mind to rest a little that I wasn't on deaths door.

Waiting/delays to get into the system are the biggest problem.

Once in all seems to flow reasonable well.

 

Roger

[Nick Jones]

Reaction to the hormone treatments seem very varied, but those taking it before/during radiotherapy seem to suffer worst. Of two local friends, one had enormous loss of energy and almost total short-term memory failure leaving him in terror of dementia, that cleared up completely and reasonably quickly after the treatment. The other was (and still is) badly affected by loss of energy and muscle wastage, which is a serious handicap to a farmer…..

[RogerH]

In my case (radiotherapy 3 months into the hormone therapy)  as time went on my energy /stamina

drained away, breathlessness. memory not too badly affected.

To compensate for the energy issue I had a diet of Mars bars and Lucozade. This made me feel better

but the weight increased from just over 13St to just under 15St.

I now have to diet to remove the excess.

But the good thing is, it is going to plan.

 

Roger

[MilesA]

Excellent news Roger. Sure the mental relief is as great as an explanation for the physical symptoms.

Lucky you weren't able to get the original sized Mars bars though; greater satisfaction but even larger trousers!

Hopefully see you around during the summer.

Miles

[Nick Jones]

2 hours ago, RogerH said:

issue I had a diet of Mars bars and Lucozade

. Been getting to know your dentist better? 

[RogerH]

Had my annual dentist MOT two weeks ago.

Everything was 100% except bottom lower right where the gum closes on the tooth.   

Not sure what is the issue but will be sorted next Tuesday.

 

I like Mars bars.

 

Roger

[Nick Jones]

4 hours ago, RogerH said:

I like Mars bars.

 Me too….. and Picnic bars….. and Wispas….