After getting a crown re-fixed today by my dentist, he advised I may benefit using an 'oral water flosser' as apparently my vigorous ordinary flossing may have been the cause of the crown coming out.

On an Ebay search, they seem to range from £20 - £90! This is virgin territory for me, anyone have a personal recommendation of such a device?

On 2/2/2025 at 8:42 PM, iantt said:

How about " how many pills you take a day. 

I will start at 6. 🤣🤣🤣

26 pills a day, plus oramorph if the pain gets real bad. Spinal surgery that went wrong. Every day is an adventure.......🤣🤣🤣

On 3/25/2025 at 9:09 PM, StephenFord said:

On an Ebay search, they seem to range from £20 - £90! This is virgin territory for me, anyone have a personal recommendation of such a device?

In the absence of any recommendations, I went for the cheapest £20 model, I know, you'll be shocked 🤣 Very quickly delivered, and I'm very impressed. Came with 5 x spare nozzles, has 3 x modes (High, normal, & pulse), USB rechargeable, 300ml water tank. The best thing is though it genuinely works! You do need a learning curve to enable you not to soak your bathroom LOL, and the water only last a couple of minutes but being beside a tap, this isn't a big burden.

Haven't a clue what the £90 ones do, but like expensive cars, I'm sure it'll be just full of features you'll never use!

On 3/20/2025 at 9:33 PM, Tizer said:

Thanks Stephen and I would be interested in how your wife gets on Roger because when I had my eyes tested a few months ago I was informed that I had very early stages of Cataracts.

Well, not the best date (!) but today was the day for my wife's cataract procedure (posterior sub-capsular). Early start and left her in the ward at 8.15am and was told (politely!) to clear off and return at 11am. 

I did as I was told and at 11.10 my wife returned from surgery accompanied by the nurse. I could see immediately from the grin on her face that things had gone well, and she said she could already see very well out of the eye concerned.

The procedure took about 15 minutes to replace the lens, under local anaesthetic administered by drops. My wife said it felt "strange" rather than painful, though she was told to expect discomfort after the drops wear off, which seems to be happening now. In the (apparently rare) event that she has severe prolonged pain we were given a "hotline" number to the eye unit.

Follow up appointment in about 4 weeks, also she was told to get an eye test at our opticians before then and bring the results to the review, but not to get any new specs (if needed) until afterwards.

So, looking good so far!😀

 

 

 

58 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

and she said she could already see very well out of the eye concerned.

That's excellent news 👍

She'll be out 'clubbing' tonight 🎉

40 minutes ago, unofix said:

She'll be out 'clubbing' tonight 🎉

Clubbing me over the head more likely!😀

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Well, not the best date (!) but today was the day for my wife's cataract procedure (posterior sub-capsular). Early start and left her in the ward at 8.15am and was told (politely!) to clear off and return at 11am. 

I did as I was told and at 11.10 my wife returned from surgery accompanied by the nurse. I could see immediately from the grin on her face that things had gone well, and she said she could already see very well out of the eye concerned.

The procedure took about 15 minutes to replace the lens, under local anaesthetic administered by drops. My wife said it felt "strange" rather than painful, though she was told to expect discomfort after the drops wear off, which seems to be happening now. In the (apparently rare) event that she has severe prolonged pain we were given a "hotline" number to the eye unit.

Follow up appointment in about 4 weeks, also she was told to get an eye test at our opticians before then and bring the results to the review, but not to get any new specs (if needed) until afterwards.

So, looking good so far!😀

 

 

 

I personally would be interested in an update about how things are when things settle down if you don't mind.

7 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I personally would be interested in an update about how things are when things settle down if you don't mind.

Yes, I'll report further. She might need the other one doing, so not the end of the story yet!

23 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I personally would be interested in an update about how things are when things settle down if you don't mind.

I can probably Fast Forward on this. I had my left eye done 4 years ago. There was no real 'settling down' as the difference in sight was instantaneous. Takes a couple of weeks to ensure there is no infection, with a bandage and careful rest. I have one 'permanent' side effect where at night, if I look at a bright light, I see a halo effect round it, but honestly, after a day or so, you don't even notice it. I was told at the time that due to other heath issues, it's likely my other eye will need the same procedure, but all good so far...

1 minute ago, StephenFord said:

Takes a couple of weeks to ensure there is no infection, with a bandage and careful rest. 

I was expecting my wife to have a dressing on the eye, at least for a day or so, but she emerged without which apparently is now normal. A lot of "dos and donts" about aftercare, hair and face washing and no eye make-up, and she has 2 different drops to use 3 times a day for the first 2 weeks, but that's it. Presumably things may have changed, as they often do, or maybe NI uses different guidelines.

Yes, we were also told "that's it" in terms of improvement to the actual eye, anything else would come from spectacles.

30 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I can probably Fast Forward on this. I had my left eye done 4 years ago. There was no real 'settling down' as the difference in sight was instantaneous. Takes a couple of weeks to ensure there is no infection, with a bandage and careful rest. I have one 'permanent' side effect where at night, if I look at a bright light, I see a halo effect round it, but honestly, after a day or so, you don't even notice it. I was told at the time that due to other heath issues, it's likely my other eye will need the same procedure, but all good so far...

Thanks Stephen. do you know what kind of Lenses you had fitted, I believe there are three types?.

The reason I ask is that my distance sight is very good, I can almost always read the second bottom line on the chart and can see a Bus number in the distance as easily as everyone else but I now need a lot of light for close up stuff and need Reading Glasses.

And I probably said this before but my Mother went bling because of Cataracts, they couldn't operate on her because of her Parkinsons. 

Edited April 1, 20251 yr by Tizer
Additional info

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Clubbing me over the head more likely!😀

Once she can see what you said you did but didn't! 😀

28 minutes ago, Tizer said:

Thanks Stephen. do you know what kind of Lenses you had fitted, I believe there are three types?.

I wasn't offered a choice, indeed wasn't aware about options. Unlike my aortic heart valve which I did much research into what kind of valve I wanted LOL

8 minutes ago, Turvey said:

Once she can see what you said you did but didn't! 😀

Or, indeed, what I said I didn't but did!😀

35 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Or, indeed, what I said I didn't but did!😀

Fair point! 🤣🤣🤣

Quick update. Couple of days after cataract surgery, and my wife seems to be doing fine. Only thing she has noticed so far is an occasional faint crescent shaped outline which presumably is the edge of the new lens. The pre-op info mentioned this as nothing to worry about, and something that may fade or become less noticeable as time goes on.

 

Some may know I was due to be admitted to hospital today for an operation. On arrival, I was then sent home because operation was cancelled! No beds, and no operating theater capacity. I was pretty upset. Most just rock up for an operation, I have spent 6 days preparation, coming off certain meds, stopping Warfarin (blood thinner) substituting a daily variable bridging injection all for nothing.

Not to mention a wasteful £36 taxi ride to get there, arranging additional care for my elderly mum, booking my cat in to a cattery, house sitter etc etc (Though the NHS did pay for a taxi to get me back home)

You often hear of such 'cancellations' on the media, but until it happens to you, you just kinda ignore it.

It has now just been rescheduled for another 2 weeks (hopefully), and that's another 2 weeks of constant pain I was hoping to do without. I know it's no-ones fault, but still, bl**dy annoying all the same

14 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Not to mention a wasteful £36 taxi ride to get there, arranging additional care for my elderly mum, booking my cat in to a cattery, house sitter etc etc

Very sorry to hear that Stephen. I can fully understand the disappointment and frustration. You have to prepare yourself mentally as well as physically when you know that you're going to be having an operation, and then for it to be cancelled at the very last moment. 🙁

On a positive note you will be around to see to getting your cars both repaired 😀

@StephenFord not quite the same but due to plane landing at Inverness instead of Aberdeen on the day of my MRI I do kinda know what you have had to endure. Granted, I didn't have to come off medication or pay for anything etc etc but gearing yourself up for a procedure for a couple of weeks only for it to be cancelled last minute would be most infuriating! 

I can only hope that your next appointment goes off without any problems and you get yourself back on the road to recovery 👍

On 4/1/2025 at 4:32 PM, Tizer said:

I personally would be interested in an update about how things are when things settle down if you don't mind.

A quick update on my wife's recent cataract procedure on her left eye.

Yesterday, as requested by the hospital, she had a full eye exam at our opticians who pronounced vision in the eye as "excellent" and would not need correction (for distance at least) with spectacles.

Today she saw the consultant at the hospital who was also very pleased with the outcome. Apparently there was still some very minor swelling at the rear of the eye (not noticeable to my wife) which they said is entirely normal after this procedure but have given her another course of drops. No further follow up needed on that, unless she has a problem.

This has now shown up the right eye which is obviously not as good (though still passes the legal requirement for driving!) so they have placed her on the waiting list for that. 16 months (!) at our nearest hospital, 4 months if we are prepared to go further afield. We did that last time and she got an appointment (cancellation) the next week. Unlikely to be that lucky twice! 

 

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

A quick update on my wife's recent cataract procedure on her left eye.

Yesterday, as requested by the hospital, she had a full eye exam at our opticians who pronounced vision in the eye as "excellent" and would not need correction (for distance at least) with spectacles.

Today she saw the consultant at the hospital who was also very pleased with the outcome. Apparently there was still some very minor swelling at the rear of the eye (not noticeable to my wife) which they said is entirely normal after this procedure but have given her another course of drops. No further follow up needed on that, unless she has a problem.

This has now shown up the right eye which is obviously not as good (though still passes the legal requirement for driving!) so they have placed her on the waiting list for that. 16 months (!) at our nearest hospital, 4 months if we are prepared to go further afield. We did that last time and she got an appointment (cancellation) the next week. Unlikely to be that lucky twice! 

 

Thanks Roger, looks like I don't have much to worry about if I do have to have the same thing done. 

On 2/3/2025 at 8:41 AM, Guest said:

white rabbit .....................

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

 

That's weird! Heard this twice on the radio over the last couple of days! 

Copied and pasted from my Facebook feed! 

This is on top of my MS diagnosis in 2011. So now I've got a neurologist, a urologist and a haematologist to answer to! 😀

 

Earlier this year, in May after an MRI in January and a biopsy in March I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer,  albeit at a fairly low scoring level and hopefully old age will get me before the cancer will. No treatment needed just now and I'm going to be kept an eye on with regular blood tests for the time being.

A couple of weeks ago I was down in Aberdeen to speak to a Haematologist who informed me that I also have something called Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia,  CLL, again at a fairly low level and no treatment just now and regular blood tests as well. This was picked up on the MRI in January.

This all originally stemmed from me getting a PSA test around this time last year after Erik Smiths mini campaign to get men my age to go for a PSA test. Yes, the waiting for results can be a pain but now I know I'm being kept an eye on I can carry on with my life. 

So, along with Erik, I'll be encouraging men my age to get a PSA done. 

Now to get a holiday booked! 😎

2 hours ago, Turvey said:

This all originally stemmed from me getting a PSA test around this time last year after Erik Smiths mini campaign to get men my age to go for a PSA test. Yes, the waiting for results can be a pain but now I know I'm being kept an eye on I can carry on with my life. 

Sorry to hear of your problem. I likewise have to have my PSA level checked every 3 months, which has been the case for the last 4 years now. Things have improved and my score which was 7.9 is now 3.2, sounds fantastic but it's not quite as simple. I have for the last two years been prescribed Finasteride (little blue tablet but not what your thinking 🤣). It has the affect of halving your PSA score, so my 3.2 is actually 6.4 when corrected because of the medication. Still it's better than what it was 👍

Hang on in there Kevin, and "always look on the bright side of life" 😀  

Another member of the high PSA club here. I started off having that tested over 20 years ago now on a "let's keep an eye on it and see if anything hapoens" basis.

Since then tests were added for other stuff - heart, diabetes, blah, blah. It's now got to the point where my GP just ticks every box on the blood test request form!!😀

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

 

Since then tests were added for other stuff - heart, diabetes, blah, blah. It's now got to the point where my GP just ticks every box on the blood test request form!!😀

 

 

 

That's nearly an armful! 🤣