The Bluestocking - where women are women, and small furry animals are gerbils, quokkas, capybaras, or a red panda called Rosy

[MarieDeGournay]

Welcome all to the Bluestocking Pub, a haven safe from harsh reality [mostly] full of good company, and excellent food and drink served by the most efficient team of gerbils in the hospitality industry.

I managed another quarter of a square yard of weeding this afternoon before a friend popped by, and once she had gone it was time to walk the dogs, and after that it was too late.

It wasn't really, I just couldn't be bothered after the furniture moving and gardening and so on of the rest of the day.

We even had some rain late afternoon. About 6 spots, but more than we've had in weeks.

I could do with a sympathy support animal please...I've been grotty all weekend with a bout of vertigo. Horrible stuff and leaves me exhausted. I'm in bed already.

Never fear, Rosy is here.

The vegetation around your head is Gemini's attempt at dizziness. In case it's not obvious 🤣

Well - summer is over here is Scotland. It’s heaving down with rain, and there’s thunder and lightning directly over us. We just had an enormous clap of thunder at the same time as the lightning - it sounded like a bomb going off right over the house - it freaked the dogs out and seems to have blown up the Sky box.

My fellas had that. He said it was horrible and he lives in fear of it returning. You definitely have my sympathy. Glad Rosy is on the case. I suspect a crack team of quokka are on standby as backup.

That's perfect, thank you. I'm glad it didn't show me chucking up and staggering around like a drunk, clinging on to the walls!

Vertigo is rotten - have you seen the doctor?

No real rain here, just a few drops - it feels fresher, but we need a downpour.

Thanks for all the plant ideas.

Sorry you’re poorly @FuzzyPuffling

I’m just popping in to say I’m popping out.

I’m going out to a real life pub tonight. The ones with hangovers. I’m sure it won’t be half as much fun… 😊

(I’m dashing now; sorry if I’ve missed other news.)

Seen a doctor??? Ha ha ha ( hollow laughter)

It's the second time I've had it, so I know what it is. I contacted the GP last time and the response was basically " how sad, never mind". I'll be fine in a day or so.

( Arthritic neck, so Epley manoeuvre might not be a good thing anyway)

Swashy have a fab time at the "real" pub.

( We all know this is the real pub)

One of our dogs once had labyrinthitis, which is the dog version of vertigo - she couldn’t stand up unaided for days, and we ended up sleeping in the front room with her.

I get occasional momentary episodes of it, so you have all my sympathy, @FuzzyPuffling.

Grrrrrr my post disappeared when I went back a page to check what Banned wrote -

Briefly, it was:
-commiserations to Fuzzy, vertigo is awful, get well soon.
-congratulations to Banned for grand baby Banned #3.

but in a lot more words

Bad luck, Fuzzy - hope you feel better soon.
A friend of mine used to get it, and found it really miserable.

I am going to an actual pub this week, on a proper organised outing.

@FuzzyPuffling have you been prescribed anything? I had vestibular neuritis for about a year in my 20s, and was prescribed Stugeron. Which is also available over the counter, so it might be worth a try. Sympathy though, it's bloody horrible.

I never thought I'd be able to offer some gardening advice, I inherited the garden I have and know very little about plants - most of them just grow cos somebody else put them there

So it is with a degree of astonishment that I find myself suggesting a plant to Swash for her problem patch: Sedum/Stonecrop.

It grows in my garden from one little piece given to me by a neighbour, so I can vouch for it being indestructible AND it likes dry soil.
It's lovely in summer, covered in pink flowers. I think the old flowering heads look untidy though some people like them- you won't be able to see them from the house anyway, Swash
It's easily propagated as it produces little individual baby plants at the base of each flower stem this time of year, so in a couple of seasons your problem patch could be Sedum City.

I have had probably three attacks of vertigo, the sort that means I can’t turn my head at all without being sick. It’s quite scary to wake up like that, but fortunately the acute phase eases off after a day of lying absolutely still or sleeping.

I was referred to a neuro physio at my regional hospital, who did a very thorough examination which took about 45 minutes. He suggested some simple exercises, which have stopped it coming back. So far. Fingers crossed. I still sleep with a basin by my bed 😰 just in case.

I’ve just looked online to see if I could find them, to recommend, but have only found others instead. Possibly they are for BPPV, which isn’t what I have. It looks as if the physio was very accurate in suggesting what he did for me.

This sounds very like my sort of vertigo. The first episode I had, BPPV was suggested by the GP, but since mine lasts around a day ( like yours, March) it's a bit disingenuous to suggest it's a momentary wobble.

Anyway, much better today, with the after-fatigue easing too, so hurrah for that.

And thank you all for your sympathy, empathy and get well vibes. X

I wonder is there a connection between the arthritic neck and the vertigo? One of the women at crafters was checked out at our regional hospital and they found a minor problem with her collarbone was contributory factor. Sorry, that's the limit of my knowledge.

I warned all last week about the folly of coming indoors and the danger of CATS and sure enough, there was a showdown this morning, low point an offended wasp landing on me (in the hope of rescue? random heat-seeking?) as I reclined in bed with mug of tea and a laptop. So there was a bit of upside-downing and dabbing with tissues, and then I gave in, caught Wops in a glass and let her out. I hope she has the sense to stay out this time, this is not the cave to nest in.

Then Rosy charged off downstairs and started producing anguished cries as though the pain from the stings had set in belatedly after the hunting excitement wore off. I suppose she'll expect breakfast now.

A busy and dramatic morning Chez DeanElderberry, and all before 8am!
I hope calm has been restored by now
I've had vertigo and it's horrible, especially the falling-backwards kind; fortunately I haven't had that kind for years.

I understand Cake's DF [fella] dreading it's return, but I know two other people who like myself have had one or a few dreadful, totally debilitating episodes and then - nothing since.
The mere thought that it might return is scary, though.

I occasionally get the eye-flickering, landscape-flashing-by-train-window kind [sorry I don't know the technical terms] but I've learnt to control that by forcing my eyes to focus on a series of objects in the room, then going back to the start and doing it again and again. I've been told that it's my own take on the 'Cawthorne-Cooksey Exercises', but I just discovered it myself one morning when the room was flashing by..

Gosh! I have been recovering from actual sitting by the river drinkingness and return to see the garden at the Bluestocking has become riotous with colour and a lot of the regulars are swooning with vertigo.

I had it in my 20s, probably because my then DH and I lost our jobs within weeks of each other, moved in with his parents and they then moved to Birmingham. I couldn't get out of bed for three months.

I am planning to turn my handkerchief patch into a patio, just as soon as I get a job. I generally kill plants (mostly not on purpose) so I'm rather delighted that the peace plant my DM gave me a year or so ago has been repotted twice and is now in a great big pot. It now has four distinct "bits" (stems?) so I wonder if I'm brave enough to separate them into their own pots. It even flowered a couple of weeks ago!

Thank you, Cake, for your good wishes. I spent yesterday evening arguing with AI that I wasn't the best candidate and one of the boys would get it. AI told me I was by far the best and if I don't get it then they're scared of me. Which is probably true. I even asked Monday (the sarcastic version of ChatGPT) and it agreed, even when I told it to be brutally honest and do its worst.

It also came up with a brilliant section for my LinkedIn profile to fill the gap since my last role and suggested I seek interim work (with a list of agencies to contact) if I don't get the job.

I find out tomorrow.

Vertigo sounds grim - I seem to be one of the fortunate few who has never experienced it.

I've been spending obscene amounts of money at the optician today. Apparently my eyes are very healthy, they just can't see anything clearly beyond the end of my nose.

I go to Asda. I get three pairs for around £200. Normal pair, the big black sunglasses I wore on Friday and a lightly tinted pair for driving.

Lucky you! I get horrible distortion with cheap lenses thanks to really bad astigmatism, and that coupled with varifocals means I can't see my wing mirrors because they're lost in the distortion. So I have to pay for the expensive lenses. More trivially, I can't cope with cinema screens for the same reason with cheap lenses, I have to keep turning my head to follow the action because my peripheral vision is barely corrected.