Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Did The Thyroid Doctor Contact Me?

Did she heckaslike!  It's almost two weeks now since the doctor said 'she would sort it out herself' did she really mean by 'sorting it out' that she would just ignore it and hope it would go away? WRONG!!!  I don't 'go away' you see and after Easter, I will be back on the phone to her erstwhile secretary to ask what the blue blazes (polite version) is going on, and do I really have to take this higher?  I really don't want to have to do that as I don't think this doctor, out of all of them, needs a complaint making against her but if she persist in this non communication then I'm afraid she will.

It's highly likely that's she's been so busy she's forgotten, which is abysmal in it's own right but when you also consider this is the NHS are you really surpised?  I'd be surprised if you are.

Further updates as they happen ...

© silversapphire 2010
All rights reserved. No part of the publications, or of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means without the express prior written permission of the Author

A Very Small Thunderstorm?

Last night, about eight o'clock it started raining heavily, very heavily.  In fact we thought it was never going to stop.  It was so heavy we thought it was hailstones, but no, just rain, lots of it; oh, and wind too.  Then, for no apparent reason there is a huge bang ourtside the house accompanied by a very bright flash. This was at eye level, not absorbing the clouds, menacingly moving across the sky like a maurauding army as thunder and lightning usually does, it was most odd.  The thunder sounded like a mortar bomb it was that loud, a huge, cracking, ear splitting bang.  Yes it could have been a firework or a car backfiring, or even (Heaven forbid) a gun going off but, and here's the thing, there was no after effect like you'd get with a gun (no spent cartridge), firework (no casing or residue), and no car outside.

We concluded it was a single, solitary burst of lightning and thunder.  A thunder & lightning hybrid child having a singular tantrum because it's older siblings wouldn't come out and play.  In fact, it's just as odd as the thunderstorm we had in the snow in January here.  I have never seen a thunderstorm happen in the middle of a snowstorm but it happened, I think that January's thunder and lightning had given up waiting for the snow to turn into rain that it decided 'to hell with it' and just jumped right in there.

© silversapphire 2010
All rights reserved. No part of the publications, or of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means without the express prior written permission of the Author

The Husband is at it again ...

... No, not that!  This time he's been trying to mend our kitchen sink tap which drips and drips and then becomes a major stream.  All because the people who had this house before us were into 'Destroy It Yourself' in a major way.  What they did to the plumbing system under the sink mystifies even the most knowledgeable plumber, so it doesn't bode well for hubs - but, he tries, and you gotta love him for that. 

This time he announces at 10pm on Saturday evening last that 'it'll only take me an hour' to fix it!  If you've ever read any of my other blogs on the hubs' DIY (yes that does mean Destoy It Yourself) then you'll probably know what's coming.  For those who haven't read them here's what did happen: It took way more than an hour (which I said it would before he started, not to sound superior or anything like that, just going on past experiences), the air turned purple (we are way past blue at this point) as the tap refused to mend.  Hubs well and truly blows his stack, all angry eyes and hard looking face and then announces: 'And I've lost my favourite screwdriver.'  At which point I just lost it and burst out laughing, telling hubs he can't really be angry when he comes out with lines like that, and it made him laugh too.  Thing is it upsets doggie as he doesn't really know the difference between angry and just talking loudly so he thinks there's a storm a-brewin and he was wrong, all he hears is the tone of voice changing and fears the worst. 

It's so hard not to be angry back when hubs starts, but with little gems like the screwdriver going AWOL (and whom hubs has christened Matilda) it takes all the steam out of the argument.  Hubs had a brainwave in bed (apparently it does happen) that he would change the washers over in the hot and cold taps, and it would suffice till we get the plumber in to mend the damned thing once for all this week when hubs is threatening to have a holiday!  He did change the washers, went out and bought a new screwdriver - a big one!  He then announces that it is fixed, not with arms outstretched and head back sort of announcement you understand, just passing a comment.  We decided between us that we'd get a new tap altogether and we did, but it's not cheap this tap replacement lark - oh no, the one we have is a mixer tap and we've now moved away from having the conventional screw tap on each side in favour of taps which move up and down - far simpler (allegedly) as the cold tap is the side that's causing all the problems.  So we get the new one which as I said isn't cheap, it cost £114 + vat, and then there's the plumbers fee to consider.  All in all, we think a second mortgage might be in order but first, I feel I have to have a lie down in a darkened room ...

© silversapphire 2010
All rights reserved. No part of the publications, or of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means without the express prior written permission of the Author

And talking of Yogurts ...

Why are ALL the major brands these days (including my all time favourite brand -Ski) adding probiotic and/or the grossly sounding 'lactic cultures' to their yogurts? Is it REALLY necessary? Why - because everone else is doing it?

Whereas Ski for example, used to be a great flavour yogurt it now has this abominal stuff added to it with the result that I don't eat it anymore.  Whatever happened to having good old plain and simple yogurt without lactic cultures in them?  I detest these yogurts now, so I certainly won't be buying them anymore, I'll stick to the stores' 'own brand' until that too falls under the sinister cloak of 'probiotic.'  Just because every major chain have to add this stuff to their products doesn't mean they couldn't give the customer a choice.  I do not like being dictated to, especially by  yogurt makers over whether I have probiotic and/or lactic cultures in my foods.  It would be far easier to give the customer a choice and let THEM decide instead of doing it for them.

© silversapphire 2010
All rights reserved. No part of the publications, or of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means without the express prior written permission of the Author

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

Revolting Perle De Lait Yogurt/Dairy Dessert

If you've ever seen the advertisements on UK telly for Perle De Lait, you'll understand why I'm laughing at the thought of it.  They feature a woman eating what she describes as a horrible, bitter and sour tasting yogurt - complete with facial grimaces and scowls to match; then we see her eating a Perle De Lait and she is all smiles and telling us how 'lovely' this new yogurt is ... except it isn't, it is more like the first one she tried, bitter, sour and absolutely horrible.  It makes me laugh just thinking about it but honestly, imho, the only really nice thing I can say about Perle De Lait is the name, that and the packaging 'cos the adverts and the stuff itself are abysmal.

© silversapphire 2010
All rights reserved. No part of the publications, or of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means without the express prior written permission of the Author

I've now joined The Double Chin Club

And I'm not happy about it either; if it's possible for me to look any worse than usual this is it.

My late dad had one but no-on else in the family did so guess what? yep, muggins here is the one that kops for it.  I have a choice, live with it or go find a liposuction bod at £2000 a pop and get it sucked out, nice eh?  Makes me look real old and I'm not - that's the point.

Tried dieting, massage, excercises but nothing works.  It just sits there mocking me because it knows it can and there's not a damn thing I can do about it ... well not yet anyway.

© silversapphire 2010
All rights reserved. No part of the publications, or of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means without the express prior written permission of the Author

Monday, 22 March 2010

Thyroid Doctor Not Responding

So now it's nearly three weeks since I was unceremoniously 'discharged' by my thyroid doc.  After I get her letter explaining things, I sent an email in reply, telling her I was not happy being discharged as I've still not had the promised scan.  I am not being discharged until I've had one, I need to know what's going on inside.  I'm not convinced by her just looking at my neck or her comments that 'your thyroid has shrunk nicely' - it may well have done but are the nodules still there? if not, why am I still feeling all the things I had there BEFORE I had the Radioactive Iodine?  I want to go back and see her and that's what I said.  This was on 8th March but I was then informed by the secretary that the doctor was on holiday again and would be back on 15th March.  I waited a few days after this to give her time to get back in and when nothing had happened by Thursday 18th March I called again.  This time the secretary told me the doctor had my email and was 'dealing with it herself' and guess what, it's now Monday 22nd march and still nothing.  Bet she forgets.  But I've told the secretary that I'll call again in another two weeks if I don't hear anything and failing that, I'll have to get my GP to send me back to her and start the useless messing about in the merry go round system.  Apparently now, the hospital I go to has introduced a triage system of appointments - ever heard such rubbish?  It goes on though.  Now, you get an appopintment but in sinsister overtones further down the letter it says that the appointment date is merely a pending appointment which means it has to be passed by a triage assessment and if they think you are 'seriously ill' enough to see a doctor then you'll see one, otherwise you are, I hate this saying, 'released back to the care of your own GP.'  Now, considering the GP is the one referring you to the hospital, what's the point?  The point is, they mess around with your health, they pass the buck, by the time you've fought through the system you could be dead (which, secretly I think that's what they want - one more name ticked off the list then).  Imagine how much luck I'm going to have getting back in to see my thyropid doc as I've been 'discharged.'  Why do these idiots in the administration think this is a good way of saving money, it probably is to them, but they alwyas foregt they are there to serve the patients, not the other way round.  All this nonsense comes at the expense of the patients well-being.  The last thing I need right now is to go fight this lot to get to see my thyroid doc again, despite her assertions to the contraty that it's easy to come back - oh yeah? - you try it.

© silversapphire 2010
All rights reserved. No part of the publications, or of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means without the express prior written permission of the Author