When shall we three meet again? The not quite NT, not quite weightloss thread ......

[moosemama]

We were full up ladies, so we finally have our very own weightloss-ish thread!

Ah but TLP, no-one actually knows how much I weigh at the moment ... I fear the worst. Although there's no one to blame but myself.

Eek. Christmas Do!
Dh is in new job as well this year - last year's Christmas do was a nightmare. I even posted on s&b! (Had never been to a Muslim Christmas party before...). I suppose there will be alcohol this year! He did offer me the chance to go to an oyster evening with his new boss yesterday at some posh club in the city. I told him to make up a really very convincing excuse, as there is no way I'm up to standing around looking purty and shucking oysters . Am hoping the Christmas do will be mucho more traditional.

I only had to stand on one leg for three weeks, so I hear ya. Ten weeks would have finished me off, and mine was only intermittent!

The job is v funny, it's essentially manning a brand new show home, but they are obv looking for someone who can fake class. they want to pay peanuts, I'm sure, but are obviously convinced that a more mature candidate can schmooze the buyers more convincingly than a student... I'm guessing they are targeting out of towners for second homes, so it's v part time in terms of hours. I have a mental picture of the woman who has been emailing me, which I am dying to compare to the reality. I suspect wardrobe might be a clincher here though... What do ya reckon? Black with statement jewelry? Or whatever looks the most expensive? All ideas welcome.

I wouldn't intend to do it long term (shhhh, don't tell) particularly with Christmas hols looming (when I imagine they will be schmoozing tourists for all they are worth and will want a show home dolly for extended hours) but it might be interesting to pay for christmas help build a bit of a cushion. If it fits in... And they offer it to me...

I may even have to wear make-up... I may be going off the idea. I might start another s&b thread. I figure one a year is sufficient for most of my sartorial requirements .

I think you're going along the right lines with black and statement jewellery, but don't forget to do your nails. Showhome 'laydeez' always have killer talons.

Sorry to say, make-up is probably de-rigueur (sp?) in those sorts of roles as well I thing.

There's absolutely no way I would qualify, given the above requirements - well that - and my brummie twang would probably have them running a mile. Folks around these parts seem to think I sound a bit posh, but whenever I leave the midlands they can spot my brummie-ish origins a mile off.

If I have to go to dh's 'do' I will also need a thread in s and b.

Just listened to their video on tinternet. Prices start at less than a million dollars! that'll be the 1 bed plus den...

Nails and make up. Feck. I might have to hit the drugstore for a free makeover en route

Even brummie passes as posh round here. . (I lived in Coventry for a while, and got accused of being posh all the time. I'm rural oxfordshire. Hardly the queen.)

I'm not going to get it, am I? not unless I grow a foot and lose a stone and develop a grooming streak overnight...

Don't say that. I reckon an English accent will help actually - anything but full on brummie/black-country or liverpudlian.

Definitely wear heels to the interview.

Gah!

Left an answerphone message this morning and emailed the foot guy the whole sorry story to see whether or not he thinks he can help, but he hasn't got back to me. Really hoping he's not on holiday or something.

It's looking less and less likely that I'll be getting an appointment for this Saturday now and as I can't get there on his other clinic day, that will mean waiting another week. Harrumph!

Still, I managed two school runs this afternoon. Had a warm bath first, as that's seems to be when my foot's at it's best. Then used both crutches, so all non-weight-bearing and am not suffering too badly for it this evening. Which is good, because I am back to 3/4 runs a day as of tomorrow.

Did I tell you all this immobility has led to me becoming a gaming addict? I downloaded World of Goo to take on holiday with me, as I never do anything like that and I thought it might give my brain a rest after all the statementing stress. Well, I loved it. Completed all the levels and am now working my way back through trying to get the 'obsessive' scores.

That got a bit samey after a few weeks, so last week, while Mum was doing the school run and I was sat here on the sofa bored out of my brains I downloaded Machinarium. Finished that today, so ds1 and I have just selected another one by the same company to download.

They are really lovely games, beautiful graphics and based around logic and brain training problems, so probably doing some good for me ol' noggin.

I feel just a bit silly, but it really does take my mind off all the crap that's normally swimming round and round with no let up.

Another positive to it is that it's given ds1 and I something in common. I sometimes struggle to get involved with stuff on his terms, because it's all Pokemon, Star Wars, Lego and computer games. Obviously he doesn't really notice I'm only feigning interest, but it has been really nice to have something we are both interested in to talk about. He is also really proud when I ask his advice on what to do when I get stuck. He came back from cricket this evening and sat with me to help me work out a particularly tricky puzzle and it was really nice.

Who'da thunk it - me - a gaming nut!

Well, foot guy rang this morning to discuss. Said he'd ask physio to call me and arrange to assess in the first instance as he is not able to do an appointment in local village treatment rooms until Saturday 1st November.

Physio called a few minutes ago and she is coming to do a home visit appointment on Tuesday.

Apparently she is going to assess me first and then they will see me together, possibly Thursday evening, if it's appropriate.

Both were absolutely lovely and really helpful - a million miles away from NHS style service.

Tuesday isn't too far away. It's not Saturday, but at least you are getting somewhere with people who are going to help you work out what's going on, rather than the 'I don't know' numpties.

Lol at the gaming. I can't do it. I can manage to get through angry birds, but anything else leaves me with really weird eye/brain pulsing and I can't sleep. Everyone else is obsessed by carcassone, but it makes me feel sick, so I've avoided anything more computer based. I can surf and word process fine, but anything with moving bits on a small screen makes me feel v weird and sleepless. I don't get it with tv or the wii. It just seems to be handheld stuff with eye scrolling or pulsing images or something... V odd.

I can't play anything fast paced or stressy. The ones I've played are all beautiful graphics, not timed and involve puzzling, decoding stuff rather than fighting baddies.

I cannot do anything where the graphics are all 3d-ish/scroll as you move around and definitely nothing where you move around and see things as if you're seeing the environment through your own eyes. Those give me a migraine and make me feel sick as well. Strictly low-tech 2d stuff for me.

Fingers crossed these people will know 'feet' and be able to at least tell me what I should/shouldn't be doing.

I have had ds2 off again today. His teacher went home on Monday lunchtime and has been off all week since, with a throat 'thing' (apparently she gets them regularly). Ds2 woke us in the night to tell us his throat really hurt and he had a bad headache. He couldn't speak by the time he got up this morning, but a drop of calpol later and he was well enough to complain about dd not letting him watch his programmes on the tv.

I have not had a single week without someone being off sick so far this term.

oh good, sounds like progress with physio, much as I love the NHS, it was so much nicer dealing with private salt than nhs as felt with nhs I was just meant to suck it up and be grateful ds was getting any salt.

re:gaming - 2d is fine, but like moose I can't cope with 3d. I seem to have the mind of an 8 year old boy, i like pokemon, dragonquest and lego ds games myself

So I went for my interview (in dark grey trousers, cream cowl neck blouse and a lighter grey fitted jacket/ cardigan thingy w asymmetric zip... And heels. (Black boots). And a New Zealand fern necklace. (And no make up or nail polish I didn't have time. I decided to organize a district camp for 150 people this morning, and then got stuck in the bank. As you do. I got home with 5 minutes to get completely changed and back in the car!

It's interesting. It would be kind of fun, but quite quiet... With the added advantage that I would be working on my own.

So we'll see. Nice house though! Interviewer was nothing like I expected. Nothing.

Oh TLP you are ds1's dream Mum! It's Pokemon and Lego games all the way with him. He started out with The Legend of Zelda games, but has moved on.

I have completed yet another game now, so have offered to make some caring carrot badges for MNSN to keep me occupied instead if anyone is interested.

I am generally a supporter of the NHS, I just think it has been hobbled and hog-tied by bureaucracy, standard protocol and financial cuts. Every time I go now I can predict the standard flow-chart they are going to follow in order to dx me and before I even get there I know they aren't going to come to the right conclusions, because they aren't allowed to think outside the box or look at the bigger picture. If you don't fit the standard profile for a certain injury, or present atypically you've had it. Of course there are some rubbish doctors out there as well, but it's usually the system that's at fault.

Madwoman, your outfit sounds very stylish - how did you feel the interview went?

I like the sound of getting paid for sitting in the peace and quiet - imagine that, getting paid, whilst escaping the madness and chaos of home - fan-bloody-tastic! Will keep everything (except my ankles) crossed for you.

I know! Bizarre. I'd literally just have to hang out in a designer pad on my tod, on the off chance that anyone popped by to have a look. the interview went fine - they seemed a bit clueless tbh, so I'm not sure they actually know what they are doing. They have huge multimedia screens in the house, and for some reason (she said it was the only blue ray they had) were showing a david Attenborough film with lions ripping carcasses up and the odd random llama wandering about, and I pointed out it might be better to have those showing an extreme skiing/ golf lifestyle montage as an added incentive to living here. She was almost bizarrely grateful that I had suggested it, when I thought I t was more weird that they had gone for multiscreen lion kill... I also came up with a couple of ideas about evening open houses during the Christmas period to lure people in - and decking the apartments out with twinkly white lights and a bit of tasteful Christmas decor, and serving canapés and whatnot, to pull in the out of towners who have come to ski for the holidays. Push the lifestyle bit.

I have no idea tbh. I'd probably take it until Christmas, if it was offered, and then slide out gracefully. Long term I can see it would be a bit of a drag, particularly as (with the best will in the world) this isn't the market to be flogging luxury apartments. Might as well beat a dead horse. but if it pays for Christmas, or at least a bit of it, that would be nice.

I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Camping tonight though, so must get off. Back tomorrow, but will probably be dead on my feet!

Oooo I'm sure you'll get the job after your advice re appropriate viewing matter.

Who on earth thought big screen lion kills were the way to sell property?

I am feeling a little happier now. Have bought the stuff to start making caring carrot badges, as per the Friday Night and Tony Attwood conference threads and dh has just arranged for someone to come and quote for decorating dd's bedroom at long last. So between that and booking my physio assessment I feel a bit like things are starting to move again - even if I'm not actually moving myself.

Enjoy your camping trip.

Well ... I have a diagnosis for my foot and it's blooming Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome.

Private Physio lady was really good, really knows her stuff and specialises in feet and ankles. She has treated quite a few cases of CRPS in the past.

So, now we know what it is, the bad news.

It's going to take at least another 10 weeks of PT to sort it out and it's gonna hurt. Basically we need to rebuild normal function of the lower leg, calf, ankle and foot and work on teaching the body that the foot isn't actually injured, it just thinks it is. She also recommended a course of acupuncture to turn/tune down the nerves in the foot to help speed recovery.

She did say that it would be unlikely I would have got it properly dx, let alone treated via the NHS route and she should know because she still works for the NHS in a pain clinic, treating people with CRPS!

I have some very basic exercises to do, have to use my exercise bike and not weight-bear for the time being because I don't have the muscle structure to support proper function. I'm not to stand for longer than 5 minutes at a time and have to try and squidge my foot into my MBTs for the school run, but use both crutches so that I am doing normal heel-toe walking action, but without putting any weight on that foot. I can gradually lose the crutches as normal function is restored.

But ... in the meantime it is going to continue to hurt like hell, as my brain has been convinced by my dodgy nerves that my foot is traumatically injured. I can either take whopping painkillers, opt for Gabapentin (which she would request via my GP) or grin and bear it in the knowledge that although it hurts like nothing on earth, I am not actually causing any damage to it.

She seemed quite excited at the prospect of helping me sort it out - especially as she feels my undxd neuro issues might have predisposed me to the condition and also because of my frankly weird hypermobile feet/ankles making it more complicated to deal with. Also, the problem is basically autonomic dysfunction, which of course can come with JHS/EDS. All very knotty as what caused what and what's implicated where, but quite interesting for a motivated professional I suppose.

Urgh.
I wrote a huge response before I went to work and the computer ate it.

That's a complete pita, but I guess at least you know what you are dealing with now, and have someone on side to help you get through it, even if it's going to hurt like hell...

Life here is chaos. I had three hours sleep on sat, and 5 on sun, so my first day at work yesterday was fun! I caught up a bit last night, but am running on adrenaline, I think. Camp was great, but got thrown into disarray as one of the girls made a complaint to her parents that she was hit by another girl. None of the leaders knew anything about it (it was at about 2.30 am) and so we are all a bit confused - they were all absolutely fine in the morning, no issues at all, but the parent has gone completely mad and started visiting all of the other girls homes to track down witnesses, and even gone to the girl she has accused and started questioning her with no adults around etc etc. oh, and she is also a leader. Which makes it much worse, as she knows the policy and procedure, and is quite deliberately ignoring it. So.... She has been suspended (I put in a formal complaint as she was going into my girls homes and interviewing them in front of their parents, and making them cry). She shouldn't even have been discussing it, it should have been immediately reported for others to deal with. Oh, and her husband called and shouted and berated, and said he was calling the cops and reporting an assault, and the following morning had to call back and ask what had been said the night before, as he was drunk he couldn't remember...

Sooooo, I've spent hours writing reports, and combined with a new job it's been kinda an off the wall week. I'm only two days in and longing for Friday night!!

Right, lunch break over. Back to work!!

(Am lolling at the motivated professional... I bet she has the same look in her eye as they do reading ds1's psych report!!)

Yep, even knowing it's going to hurt (and boy does it after all that prodding, poking, twisting and exercising this afternoon) I feel better just knowing what I'm dealing with and what needs to be done.

The bad news is that it's a chronic condition, so it's never really going to go away, can relapse at any time and may spread to other limbs. Also, it could well be my body's default response to even minor trauma from now on, which isn't a pleasant prospect, but I'm choosing to ignore that for now.

Forgot to say.

I didn't realise you were starting your new job so soon.

Hope it's all going well, in spite of your chaotic start to the week.

Honestly, sometimes I feel like I must be cursed.

Was sent to A&E at 5 o'clock this morning when I woke up desperate for the loo, didn't make it and passed loads of blood in my wee. Continued to pass what looked like pure blood for the next hour whilst shivering and shaking, called OOD, who sent me straight to A&E.

A&E staff couldn't be arsed to open the doors, let alone treat me some courtesy. I was stood outside in the rain on my crutches for 5 minutes before they answered the buzzer and yet I was the only patient.

They were basically dismissive until they asked for a sample and saw what it looked like.

Have been given antib's for 3 days and have to follow up with the GP as doc said that much blood would be unusual for a uti, so I will probably need further investigation. I am to go back to A&E if it gets worse.

Meantime, I have all 3 dcs home as they all had to be dragged to the hospital with me, because both sets of GPs on holiday and there's no-one else to call in the middle of the night - not to mention there's no way I could get them there and back in the state I'm in.

Dd is ridiculously tired and devastated she can't go to nursery, cue lots of tantrums and dh isn't due home until 10 tonight and can't do anything about it. (It's the inaugural meeting of a user group he's set up with some other professions to do with his work and he's the chair.)

Feeling very sorry for myself. Have sent boys to their room to watch a dvd and plonked dd in front of the tv. Have duvet on sofa and am now going to try and sleep and hope the antib's kick in quickly.

Thought I'd better bump the thread before we disappeared into oblivion.

Hoping everything is ok with everyone else.

Sorry I've not been around much, still not well, but getting there slowly.

Hello, hope you find this!

Apols for going AWOL - the whole work thing combined with delightful ds1 going off the rails meant that I couldn't even face our tenuously linked weight loss thread!

I lasted a grand total of three weeks in my job.

During this time I was getting emails from school essentially washing their hands of ds1, and basically an end of the world scenario at home c/o the same child. Given that I was having stress dreams about the job even when I managed to sleep (which wasn't often) I figured that as it was only the money I wanted from that particular job that it wasn't worth it. More to life etc.

So, I have a meeting with ds1's teacher and learning support tomorrow (which I know is not going to go well, given their recent emails).

And on a slightly better note, I'm back at bootcamp, as I no longer have a job.

Ah well, onward and upward.

Hope the antibiotics sorted out the apparent uti - (?) very scary. Winter always seems to throw up additional stuff. Did they do their additional investigations? (Lordy, you're going to end up on the ckd list like me)

Fingers crossed that health situation is stable and improving x

Oh gosh Madwoman, I completely missed your last post. So sorry.

Sorry the job had to go. Things sound like they have been really stressful re ds. What do you think has triggered him getting worse? Is he still seeing the psych regularly? What's their take on it all?

Had to laugh at the last line of your post though.

Quick bumpetty.

And rofl at cheap Christmas... I wish!

I eventually gave up yesterday and emailed the new bank manager and said 'HEEEEELLLLLP'. She is going to honour all payments until Friday (pay day) and do the math to work out a blend and extend on our extremely high rate mortgage to reduce the payments. I'd been asking the last one to do it for a year, and she said we couldn't. This one appears to actually be doing her job, so fingers crossed.

I've applied for a few more jobs (better paid and actually interesting, hopefully should give me something else to think about), and the uplift in pay means I can get older and more experienced child care in place, which should be less problematic for ds1.

Lots of snow here, racing into ski season and I've got ds1 onto the adaptive ski program as well as dd2. I haven't paid for it yet, and am not entirely sure how I will. But it's just over £100 for ten weeks of lessons, and would be sooooooo good for his self esteem, so I've got until January to work it out.

On the upside, I appear to have lost half a stone without trying. Bizarre.

On the downside, sil is back in 2.5 weeks and will, I am certain, be smaller than I am, now. I know it isn't a competition, but she has done soooooo well. (She must have lost about 80 lbs now). I feel like a total loser in comparison!

Glad dh is getting his act together. Will he manage to get to your appointments with you?

Just realised I never came back. It wasn't just a uti. It was a God awful antibiotic resistant Ecoli kidney infection.

Ended up going to the GP three days after A&E and nearly being sent to hospital on the spot. Fortunately he agreed to let me stay at home, as long as I agreed to go straight to hospital if there was no improvement after two doses of the second type of anti-bs.

Fortunately the second set worked, but I was flat out in bed for just under two weeks in total. It was rough.

Took me a couple of weeks to get over it and start to feel human again, then the neuro symptoms and episodes started up again and almost a month to the day the kidney infection started I had the seizures.

No wonder ds1 thinks I'm old and decrepid!