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Minus a tooth.

My middle sister puts it down to us having inherited lousy genes. The it in question is my sisters and I pondering why we seem to be having more than our fair share of operations and procedures, compared to our peers. We all do our best to stay healthy and fit, but it would appear the powers that be have other ideas and so it’s off to the hospital once more, for one of us.

A fortnight ago it was my turn again. This time a troublesome tooth needed to be tackled, in the operating theatre. The roots of this monster were so long and twisted, and worryingly close to my facial nerves, that my dentist admitted she lacked the nerve to tackle it. ( No pun intended.)

And so, in an operating theatre, in a hospital not very local to me ( more on that in another post) a slight, young woman, but by no means lacking in substance , wrestled the tooth and one root from my middle-aged jaw. The other root had to remain, due to it being very close to my facial nerves. 

“Look at the hook on that,” I heard her comment to her colleague, as a tremendous crack echoed throughout my head and heralded the removal of the offending tooth.  

I lay on the bed wrapped up in what felt like a warm water blanket, with a soothing eye mask, to protect my eyes from the extremely bright lights. I could have been having a spa day, if it hadn’t been for the dentist drill and the battle taking place around me to pull the tooth.

Fast forward two weeks and other than a minor infection that hopefully has been sent packing by a short course of antibiotics, my jaw seems to be adjusting to the loss of the tooth. Very strong painkillers assisted when I was climbing the walls, in the days following the procedure. But, I managed and even took my swollen and red face out to a family meal, two days after the operation. 

I’m in awe of our amazing National Health Service (NHS) and am truly grateful for everything they do for us. Sadly, they are under real pressure at the moment. In my particular part of Yorkshireland, our local hospital in Scarborough has seen many of its services transferred out of the local area. This is worrying and causing a lot of hardship and problems for local residents. A very dedicated and hardworking team of protesters who care about our brilliant local hospital are battling the powers that be to ensure that we keep essential services at a local level. We are a tourist town and a lack of essential services such as an A&E would impact massively on our town.

I feel strongly about this topic and will be posting on this subject again. I know that this problem is not just restricted to my area.

So, I am finally rid of a tooth that threatened to give me a lot of trouble.

Unfortunately, my days of visits to the operating theatre are not over… an arthritic knee needs to be replaced by a presumably  plastic fantastic version. It would appear that my years of hiking and hill climbing have not kept the big A at bay. 

So, how about you… do you have any views on the health care in your part of the world? Are you the proud owner of lousy genes, no matter how hard you try to remain relatively healthy? 

It’s time I wasn’t here, but thanks for dropping by.

Dorne x

P.S. I’ve written this post on my phone using the new editor. So, it will be interesting to see how it turns out!

I’m fed up with my fat suit!

Ten years ago I lost 4 stone (56 pounds). But, gradually the weight crept back on over the years. 

The weighing scales grew rusty and my waistband grew tighter. I went up a dress size.

Great- a new wardrobe. Life was for living… right? I was approaching middle-age and a few pounds here and there was to be expected. I was a curvy woman and I loved my curves so much. I celebrated my curves! I was an ‘average’ size. Nothing wrong with that… right?

The healthy eating went out of the window… life was for living… right? 

And, the new wardrobe now largely consisted of sacks with lace on.

Who was I kidding? Certainly not my body.

In my youth I had taken my brilliantly fast metabolism for granted. I could eat whatever I wanted and didn’t gain a gram.(I am trying to get with it!)

However, middle-age had other ideas. A hysterectomy and developing hypothyroidism, and fibromyalgia all exacerbated the weight gain. I deluded myself that I would not be able to lose weight and took refuge in a box of chocolate eclairs!

Then, the arthritic knee decided it wasn’t happy with the womanly curves bearing down upon it. 

Spoilsport! 

Despite of and because of physiotherapy the knee wouldn’t play ball… or anything else for that matter. A replacement knee was the answer.

But, guess what? A weight loss is required before surgery.

 In my particular corner of Yorkshireland, our National Health Service Trust stipulates that if you are obese you must lose ten per cent of your body weight before they will operate on you. 

There are those that would argue that this takes a discriminatory approach. That overweight people should have access to the same treatment as others. 

But, for me it was my watershed moment. The idea of having a general anaesthetic for such a major operation and putting my life at risk, because I was so heavy, was a no-go. I want to wake up afterwards and get to know my plastic – fantastic knee!

Fast forward to present day and the weight loss is well underway. As I did ten years ago, I have returned to my local Slimming World group. The food optimization produces fantastic results. More importantly, I never go hungry. Because, as we all know hunger is your enemy when you are weight watching. It distracts you from your goal and tells you you can’t do it, you need food.

I have lost over a stone and hope to reach my 10 per cent body weight loss before Christmas. That is my Christmas present to myself. That and a new wardrobe, when I achieve my target weight. Just another 3 stone to go! 

I imagine my lost weight as 2 pound bags of sugar. (I am also a sixties child and can’t quite get used to kilos… yet. Although I do now work in centimetres.)

I have lost approaching ten bags of sugar. Perhaps,  if I ever go off plan, I should strap them all back on to my body to remember how it felt? 

It’s madness what we do to our bodies, sometimes. It isn’t straightforward and of course our minds need to work in line with our bodies to achieve the desired end results.

So, for now I am ‘in the zone’. I hope to remain in it. My initial weight loss is already benefiting my poor, deformed knee. Not as many bags of sugar for it to carry around.

I don’t claim to understand how sometimes I can tolerate and even embrace my ‘fat suit’ and then I want rid of it.

A renewed sense of hope and confidence accompany the weight loss. 

And… the use of this new editor thing on here. I can’t remember the name of it. I can’t access the preview or anything else for that matter. But, I am about to hit the ‘publish’ button; because, I have lost weight. If I can start to strip off my ‘fat suit’ what else am I capable of? 

Here’s hoping that this post makes sense.

How about you?

Do you struggle with your weight?

Any tips to share?

Shall we be fat friends – slimming down?

Do you have a gammy knee?

Until next time.

Dorne x

Finding the words again.

 

How many times over the last year have I tried to find the right (write) words… for posts on here?

Sometimes life does that to you and we all have our own ways of dealing with a word-drought and an inability to write.

Some turn up at their blank computer screen daily and just type. It doesn’t matter what appears on the screen, at least these determined types have written something!

Others work through exercises, to get the writerly juices flowing.

Some of us give ourselves permission to just not write. We don’t want to do it, we don’t have a clue what to write and besides we’re a lot happier not writing… yes?

No, actually!

My WordPress dashboard is littered with half-hearted and half-finished posts. Begun with such gusto and passion and then abruptly brought to a halt by that voice of doubt.

Can I still write? Could I ever?

So, I’m trying to re-enter the blogsophere and try to remember how to drive this thing. In truth, I probably never really passed my test before! And now – there’s a new kid on the WordPress block… Gutenberg editor! I thought why not have a go, downloaded it and presently I have no idea where it has gone. Some things never change.

So, as I brush off the cobwebs and try to actually complete this particular post, I have much to learn and re-learn.

What about you guys… have any of you had a blog break? By choice or due to certain circumstances? Are any of you using the Gutenberg editor? What do you think?

Let’s hope I locate this Gutenberg guy and learn how to get on with him soon.

Thanks for taking the time to drop by here.

(Hey, I actually finished a post!)

Dorne x

 

 

 

 

I’m still here!

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As some of you may be aware life has been a challenge this year. My posts on here have been sporadic…  to say the least. And yet -folk still drop by. They don’t always ‘Like’, but, hey they visit. Come to think of it they probably make a hasty retreat and vow to never call again. After all… there is a plethora of other rubbish to read out there. And then there is some really GOOD STUFF!

Anyhow… I just want to wish you all a very happy Christmas and say a huge thanks for following me, reading me and running away very quickly – when you realise what this blog has to offer.

I plan to reappear on here next year. Sooner, rather than later. You have been warned!

Wishing all of my victims a peaceful and contented Christmas. Yeah, right… like that is going to happen. Just survive, just survive! 

See you on the other side.

Dorne x

P. S. If there are any spelling mistakes in this post, it doesn’t read very well, or you’re bored silly by it – that’ll be the fault of my cataracts.

 

#Gluten Withdrawal Symptoms

Thanks to Micki Rose for this post and blog.
I have gone gluten free and am in my first week of the withdrawal symptoms. Feel rubbish at the moment, but hope to feel better and lose some of my big bottom!
I’ll be back to bore you with the details and explain my reasons for giving up gluten… when I can stay awake long enough.
Thanks for reading.
Dorne x

TrulyGlutenFree

I am currently helping a particular chap who, we assume, is suffering with ‘gluten withdrawal’. This is a pretty common phenomenon when you remove what are essentially very addictive (and opoid-like) substances from your body. I wrote about this here and here too.

P is suffering from neurological symptoms (mostly anxiety and depression) and not having a very nice time of it. He has been searching for reassurance on the internet (as we all do!) and came up with a couple of really useful links, (actually ones already on this blog – follow the second link above), but we share them again here for anyone else needing them:

First, a LiveStrong piece: Gluten Free Diet and Withdrawal which details some of the theories why it happens to some people. It doesn’t happen severely to most people in my experience with patients so far, but almost everyone gets some form of…

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Writing in Pajamas

To be lost in the moment – lovely.
Enjoyed this post and so I am reblogging it on Write Dorne.
Thanks to D Wallace Peach and thanks to you for dropping by.
Dorne x

Myths of the Mirror

pajamas Peach pj’s on the line

I just spent 5 days editing without changing out of my pajamas. It seemed a good time to share an old guest post I had the honor of contributing to Seumas Gallacher’s wonderful blog. Thus…Writing in Pajamas.

To me, flannel pajamas are symbolic. Whenever I get the chance, I wear them all day, and in case you were wondering, I’m pj-clad as I type this post.

In my mother’s generation, all-day pajamas indicated a mortifying degree of sloth. Pinch-lipped gossips would roll their eyes toward heaven, conjuring images of beer before breakfast, dust bunnies, and soap operas. If a woman wore pajamas all day, she certainly didn’t chair the holiday bazaar or volunteer at the library. Her kids lacked appropriate moral supervision and, no doubt, roamed the neighborhood like hooligans. Never mind her neglected spouse nibbling TV dinners after a long day at the plant.

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World’s oldest albatross lays egg — Dear Kitty. Some blog

 

I’m reblogging this amazing short film from Dear Kitty. Some blog.

I can’t get my head around how old this bird may be and the amazing life she has experienced. Some hope in these troubled times I think.

Thanks for dropping by.

Dorne x

This video says about itself: 19 February 2016 World renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle reflects on the incredible connection between a Laysan albatross named Wisdom, the oldest known bird in the world, and the Worldwide Voyage of Hōkūle‘a, as both have traveled countless thousands of miles over the last several decades. From the South China […]

via World’s oldest albatross lays egg — Dear Kitty. Some blog