Saturday Night Dull

Do they make Saturday night TV dull for a reason?

Now that the football season is over, we are left to contend with movies that have been shown at least a dozen times over and repeats of every TV series from every decade since the 60s.

So Adoring Husband and I have watched The Muppet Movie and now we're watching an old 1943 Western called 'Desperadoes' starring Randolph Scott, Glenn Ford and Claire Trevor.

It's probably a good thing, since we are rising bright and early for a drive down to the Sunny Coast to visit the Chicklet family tomorrow.

The best thing about tonight is that I changed the sheets on the bed today, so I'll be sliding into nice crisp clean bedding. That's one of life's special pleasures.

For anybody who cares, Jack (the dog) is home and doing very well. The whites of his eyes are blood red as a side effect of the inflammation and high temperature of his condition, which makes him a little bit freaky to look at, but other than that, he is happily barking at the dog next door, so that's gotta be a good sign.

It's been a while since I shared some facebook quotes.

My bed is calling me, so ...

Nite all.

Sick as a Dog

We rushed our dog Jack into the Vets yesterday afternoon.

We feed our dogs at 3pm every day and usually, all three dogs come running. They bark and jump up and down, and run around in circles like circus animals full of excitement.

Jack is obsessed with the dog next door (Reb), and sometimes plants himself at the fence peering through the gaps at him. When he doesn't appear at feed time, we call out 'dinner' and he's at our feet in an instant!

Yesterday, Jack did not appear.

We found him cowering in a dog bed behind the ottoman near my study. He wouldn't (or couldn't) get up. When I demanded that he 'come here' (he usually walks to my feet when I make that demand), he attempted to move forward, but slumped back down with an apologetic look in his eyes.

Even though he cringed, I picked him up and he was very tense in the body. When I put him back down on the ground, he could barely stand up and when he tried to walk, he staggered and his back legs seemed uncoordinated.

He staggered outside for a pee and then struggled to get back up the one step into the house.

Adoring Husband offered him a mouthful of food and Jack turned away. We offered him some water and he turned away.

Wishing that I had some Valium to feed Adoring Husband, who by this time was panicking and talking in a very high pitched voice demanding to know what could be wrong with Jack - as if I'm the expert - we decided to take him into the Vets.

AH phoned the Vet to let them know that we were coming and told them that we thought perhaps Jack had a tick because he was displaying some of the symptoms .. like partial paralysis of the hind legs.

On the way into town Jack had a loss of bodily functions from both ends .. of course, in AH's panicked state, he didn't want to take the time to put anything down under Jack in the car, so he had a nice smelly mess to clean up later!

Luckily there was a towel in the back of the car, so we wrapped Jack in it and as we walked into the Vet's clinic, the reception area was full of people and their dogs and the receptionist looked up and asked if we had Jack.

She took him straight out the back and they did an immediate check for ticks .. which turned out to be clear.

Then we had to wait for a room to be free to take Jack for further investigation.

Finally the Vet came in and took Jack's temperature, which was a whopping 41C, took a sample of his stools (which by now were splattered all over his rear end!) and disappeared into the back rooms to do some tests on it.

He returned with the unpleasant news that Jack had pancreatitis, that he was in a very bad way and needed to stay there overnight with a saline drip, antibiotics and to be monitored closely overnight.

He said that this is caused by too much fat in the diet. We have always fed our dogs a raw meat diet and for the past few years have fed them heart smart mince from the butchers, so I'm not sure where the 'too much fat' comes from. We never feed our dogs scraps from our plates or anything OTHER than the mince.

You know me .. I am sceptical of this reasoning .. and having done a little research online last night, couldn't find any reference to too much fat EXCEPT where people feed their dogs the fatty scraps from their own plates, and that the highest incidences of pancreatitis in dogs usually occurs in the holiday seasons when humans tend to eat more junk or fatty foods and share it with their dogs.

However, we are now changing their diets from raw meat to processed dry food, on the Vet's advice and we'll see if that makes any difference to Jack's health.

The reason that I am sceptical of this Vet's advice, is that we have taken one of our other dogs to this same Vet twice in the last few months, with the same symptoms/complaint and have been given a different reason each time. She still suffers from the same complaint. If the change of diet doesn't make a difference to both of the dogs, I will be changing Vets (after I take a few months convincing Adoring Husband).

So the Vet phoned AH this morning to advise how Jack was doing and his temperature has dropped to 39C and he is doing well. The Vet wants us to leave Jack there until late this afternoon.

Wish us luck!

Adoring Husband has been on a special diet since he had his tumour removed in August. Something similar to the ketogenic diet to reduce the acidity in his body, which means removing, or considerably reducing, his intake of milk (which was getting close to 2 litres per day).

We've done this hoping that his PSA readings will either drop, or at the very least, steady off.

This has caused a bit of a dilemma for AH who loved his cereal in the mornings (which I made gluten free and sugar free) and now has to find a replacement breakfast.

AH is a creature of habit and abhors change of any kind, so it's been a struggle for him to change his thought processes for breakfast meals.

I was very pleased to see him take the initiative and create a healthful breakfast for himself ...

An egg wrap filled with mushroom, baby spinach, smoked salmon and feta cheese with a side of fresh asparagus out of the garden and some rocket. I was almost disappointed that I had declined his offer to make it for me too!

I am on nest watch at the moment.

There are two nests that I'm watching, but this one is the lowest and I'm hoping to get some nice shots of the chick/s when they hatch.

Can you believe it's just after midday! I'm twelve hours early!!

Afternoon all!

Playing on my Mind

This is going to be a bit of a rant, so if you disagree with my stance on doctors, or you are sick of listening to me harp on about what I consider to be dubious or questionable medical practises, then you should probably log out now.

After yesterday's visit to Adoring Husband's doctor, there are a couple of things that have really been playing on my mind.

First of all, while AH was taking antibiotics to prevent further infection after his dental procedure PLUS taking a steroid based nasal spray to help open his nasal passages that he was having trouble with, he began to experience chest pain and had trouble breathing.

Naturally, this was highly concerning for him and caused a bit of a panic.

I researched a bit more about Parkinson's Disease and there was some information about this being symptomatic of the disease, however, it doesn't usually just appear, it happens gradually and there are breathing and posture exercises that can help, as well as building strength in the core by exercising regularly .. cycling, walking etc.

It didn't seem to me that this sudden onset was anything to do with the Parkinsons, so I then checked the list of side effects for both of the medications that AH was taking and BOTH of them listed 'breathing difficulties' as side effects and both stated that he should either consult his doctor or stop taking it.

He stopped taking both immediately and soon the symptoms subsided .. not completely, because he still has a dull ache across his chest that we are investigating further.

So we tell his doctor this story about the side effects and he makes this scrunched up face and shakes his head stating "you know you can read the side effects for any medication and they will all list the same things".

He says it as if this list should be ignored and that we have to take the drugs and are going to suffer the side effects anyway, so why bother?

Seriously?

So what he is telling us, is that to stop feeling like s&*t, we have to take drugs (sometimes indefinitely) that make us feel like s&*t in a different way, and that we shouldn't question it.

NEXT ..

He tells AH that he thinks there may be an infection in his chest.  Just a minor infection and that this is causing the dull ache that he is experiencing.

He makes this announcement after firstly listening to AH's chest and then reading AH's history which showed that in 2011 he had a chest x-ray highlighting some scarring from previous bronchial/lung problems in his life.

He then proceeds to explain that a prescription for antibiotics will soon clear that up.

Silence from Adoring Husband .. quite willing to accept some more drugs.

I said "He has just taken two rounds of antibiotics for the tooth abscess that he had. One round to get rid of the infections and then a second lot to prevent further infection after the dental procedure, which he only stopped taking 2 days ago. Shouldn't THAT have cleared any infection in his chest IF he had one?"

"Oh really?" was his response. "Yes *insert name of antibiotic here* should clear any general infections in the body. Ok, well, let's get an x-ray to rule out anything else and then we'll consider our next steps."

I'm sure you can tell that by now, I am seething.

I'm sitting in the chair beside Adoring Husband with my new book "Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry" on my lap, and at this moment, I would like very much to take an almighty swing and belt him over the head with it!

He knew that AH had just had dental work because of an abscess .. surely common sense would tell this health professional that drugs would have been involved.

It seems to me that Adoring Husband needs his 'Body Guard' with him for every visit.

You see, I always thought that a doctor was supposed to help us feel good.

I don't see any of my friends, who take ongoing medications, feeling good or feeling alive, energetic, vibrant, alert, healthy or healed.

Since AH has been seeing this particular doctor, I have seen him get sicker and sicker and every time he returns from a doctor's visit, he has at least one new prescription to have filled for yet more toxic drugs.

Every year there is a new diagnosis for a new disease or condition that was probably caused by one of the many toxic drugs that he has ingested over the years anyway.

What amazes me more than anything else .. is his pure and unadulterated scepticism of Naturopathy and the Natural Health industry which supports and facilitates the body's natural ability to heal without toxic drugs or invasive treatments.

The problem is, that there is so much damage already done by the medical and pharmaceutical industries, that it seriously takes a LOT of time and a lot of work to bring the human body back to a healthful state, by removing the toxins and healing everything from the inside out.

I don't believe that supplements are the answer .. for example, you can't take fish oil tablets and expect them to override all the toxic debris that you have in your body, to fix your aches and pains. You also can't abuse your body with poor diet, lack of activity, ingestion of toxic drugs for 30, 40 or 50 years and then expect to fix it overnight.

I believe that it's all about your attitude.

You can believe in your doctor 100% and continue taking the drugs on offer, but as your health continues to deteriorate and your mind becomes more and more negative about your 'lot' in life, nothing will ever change.

I've said it before .. and I'll say it again .. we have to take charge ourselves and be an active advocate for our own healthcare. Don't be ridden into the ground.

Meanwhile, this 'bodyguard' will be on permanent duty from here on in.

Nite all.

Blood Red .. or not

Bombarded all day long.

The radio. The television. Conversations between strangers.

A lunar eclipse.

Tonight, the moon would turn blood red as the eclipse reached it's peak. It promised to be a spectacular sight as the sun, the earth and the moon became perfectly aligned.

So Adoring Husband kept watch and as the moon began to change, I set my tripod up outside and began taking photos.

Very soon, the scattered cloud floated across the sky and the moon decided to hide for longer and longer periods of time. Every so often there would be a brief clear patch of sky and I would hurriedly take a couple more shots.

In the end, the clouds won and this is the best I could do.

Quite disappointing really. Certainly NOT blood red, as they promised. Less than spectacular.

There have been quite a few photos of tonight's moon posted on facebook and some of them are brilliant red and orange .. obviously tweaked with some extra saturated colour during editing.

There have also been lots of complaints about thick cloud cover over Cooktown to the north, and on the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane to the south, so there are quite a few disappointed photographers scattered about the place.

Meanwhile, today, Adoring Husband and I spent a good part of the day in The Bay researching blenders, food processors and discussing the pros and cons of the Thermomix.

We had a delicious lunch at Aquavue and then popped in to the Go Natural Health food store, where I found a copy of a book that I've been wanting for some time. Now the I have it permanently in my hot little hands, I will be sharing snippets from it here in future posts.

I know you'll love it :)

While we were out, I got phone calls from Number One Son AND Vegan Chickie!

Number One Son is moving to Adelaide next week to start a new exciting and challenging job.

Vegan Chickie and Chicklet have been getting to know the families in their new neighbourhood, which, by the sounds of it, has also been exciting and challenging!

We bought a ticket to win $40 million in Thursday night's Powerball .. stay posted for THAT one!

A visit to Adoring Husband's Dr, who called me AH's 'Bodyguard'.

I admit that I like that title and I can also tell that the doctor struggles to do the right thing when I'm present .. AH left with only one prescription for his usual Parkinson's medication and for a change, no other prescriptions, although the doctor did attempt to issue more.

*sigh*

It's now after midnight and my eyelids are feeling a touch heavy, so ...

Nite all.

Bloggone it!

Oops!

I went to bed last night, quite late, and just as I was about to doze off, my eyes sprung open and I realised ... I forgot to do my blog!

Ah well, too late she cried!!

Yesterday afternoon, Adoring Husband and I did a barefoot walk on the beach which was really nice and I carried my camera with me (of course).

I began to study for the new term today.

This is going to be very interesting .. and quite a bit more intense than last term .. although I am not going to procrastinate for the first three months like I did last term! And then panic for the last three months!

This evening we gathered with a group of friends down at the Lions Park for a barbecue dinner, with each of us contributing a food plate.

There was a roast pumpkin, pine nut and spinach salad, garden salad, potato bake, coleslaw and four cheese tart. We each took our own meat and drinks.

Good food, good wine, good friends gathered at a perfect location for a really pleasant evening together. We are going to make it a regular event.

Nite all.

Go the Bunnies!

Fantastic NRL Grand Final game tonight between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs.

Rabbitohs won 30 - 6.

First Premiership in 43 years!

Rabbitohs have been the underdogs for so many years that I think all other club fans were so happy to see them win (all except the Bulldogs fans of course).

Made a delicious Roasted Sweet Potato and Chickpea salad for lunch today. It was the dressing that really made it. It had lemon, honey, coriander, thyme, olive oil, salt, pepper and chilli in it. The salad had roasted sweet potato, chickpeas, flat leaf parsley, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, onion, red capsicum and feta cheese.

For dinner I made a savoury turkey mince, using one of my home made pumpkin and cauliflower soups as a base and I added mushrooms, onion and spinach, as well as some sauerkraut. I also added half a cup of the green smoothie left over from today. It had spinach, silverbeet, lettuce, orange, apple, carrot and hemp protein powder.

So much healthful goodness ending with chocolate zucchini muffins accompanied with strawberries, blueberries and cream.

The best part of my day was searching for and finding bargains for my text books for this term.

The first book I searched for came up at two different prices .. $245 and $189 .. I searched on Gumtree and found it for $30!!!! Secondhand but like new. Hardcover. Very happy.

The second book gave me an even bigger scare! Three different prices .. $390!!! $360!!! and $330!!!

I found it in Booktopia for $138 + $7 postage.

How is that for bargain shopping???!!  Impressive I'd say :)

Well, I think I've settled from the Grand Final excitement. Time for bed.

Nite all.