The Bluestocking Arms Women's Pub, where women make friends with Beetles, Androids, Cakes, Dragons, Hedgehogs and other women, where wit and wisdom flourish

[inkymoose]

Here at the Bluestocking there's a place for all women. A break from Reality, and many laughs and stories to share. Have your fill of Tunnocks bars and tea cakes, sing feminist anthems, drink as much beer or gin or hot chocolate as you desire. It won't make you fatter or drunken but oh, it's fun. Sit in the garden with our Lion resident or the Quokkas and Capybara. Express your opinions loudly in Pedantry Corner. Ask for whatever you fancy to be served by our obliging Gerbil staff. Come in, all women, welcome!

Nocellara olives are the best !

Interesting chat re blood pressure and migraines. I get migraines and have generally always had low blood pressure. They last exactly three days. I’ve never gone to the Dr about them as I tend to find them a bit dismissive of that sort of thing… By a process of elimination I realised that normal OTC painkillers wouldn’t touch them so I’ve always just thought nothing could be done.

I just hate it when I'm offered the opportunity to apply for the job of the man who beat me to the last role. Not having it.

Quite right too, Myrtle.

Most OTC painkillers ARE useless against migraines.

It feels a bit dodgy to be recommending medications online like this but... they are OTC/ non prescription so I guess it's OK: Migraleve.

They contain paracetamol, codeine [🚩so the pharmacist should have a little chat with you about that] and something else that is anti-nausea or anti-emetic or something similar. That's the pink ones, the yellow ones are minus the codeine and are the follow-up ones in case the pink one hasn't knocked the migraine on the head, so to speak.

They don't work for everyone, but they work well for me, as long as I catch the migraine very early; once it has set in, that's that. Though I find that even if take it too late, the Migraleve at least lessens the headache element.

Thank you @MarieDeGournay . I have heard of them . Trouble is that I generally get the migraine when I’ve been engrossed in stuff and forget to drink/eat/sleep properly etc so I don’t notice til it’s too late and I wake up with the stonking headache. And I always assumed that was too late as I’d read that you needed to take them ASAP. But I could try it I suppose. Even to lessen the headache would help. It’s the dizziness and pain behind the left eye that accompanies it too. Even lying down in the dark isn’t any use as I just focus on the pain.

I realised, thanks to the "unexpected symptoms of menopause" thread, that what I'm getting are vestibular migraines. Co-codamol and Stugeron (both available over the counter but echoing Marie's comment re codeine), if taken early enough, will sort them. I was prescribed Stugeron in my 20s for vestibular neuritis, which still comes back occasionally, so when I realised that there were similarities with my newfound migraines (cheers, perimenopause) I tried it at the same time as the painkillers, to great effect. It's usually a travel sickness medication.

I used to get them much more often in my 20s when I was in an air conditioned office with bright lights. I should be more careful with hydration etc but I just forget and sunglasses are often not enough to shade my eyes in summer.

DM used, who suffered from seasickness as well as migraines, used to refer to them as 'stagger-ons'.

I don't think she ever tried them for migraines, though.

I shall remember "stagger-ons", next time I take one! 🤣

I was prescribed sumitriptan for when I get the aura, usually about half an hour to an hour before the headache arrives.

I think we need to delegate one of the gerbils to pop around to your place at very regular intervals with a tray full of refreshing drinks and nutritious but delicious food, because fasting and not hydrating is not - as you know - the best defence against migraines!

They are very caring, the gerbils
[EDITED to say that the image that was supposed to be here didn't appear at all, not being checked, just didn't copy. I'll try again]
BTW I retrieved that image from the 'Thread Gallery' on one of the old threads listed below - I never noticed the thread galleries before, but I recommend picking a Bluestocking thread at random and looking through all the images - totally, completely, cleverly, and wonderfully daft😂

Second attempt at 'caring gerbil' image..

Oh she looks very caring!

Yes she does! I'm not sure the food she has brought is as nutritious as it is delicious, but being Bluestocking food, it is packed with every nutrient under the sun😉

Having 'nagged' Shocked about not eating regularly, I've just looked at the clock and realise that I haven't done enough of that today either, so ta-ra for now

I shall use the mental image of caring gerbil to prompt me to eat and drink regularly! On a serious note, part of the reason I got out of the habit of drinking enough was the impact of the “urinary leash“ during Covid, when I had some horrible experiences with the closure of toilets. Especially important when you’re breastfeeding and recovering from birth … So, again, there is a direct link to women‘s health and our biology.

We used to have Guardian Angels to keep us on the straight and narrow when I was little, now we have Guardian Gerbils, Shocked

.

I know this was a few days ago but just delurking temporarily to recommend Tim Sullivan's detective novels - his main character is an autistic detective sergeant. Not savant, just dogged, detail oriented, and highly organized.

Welcome, Chick! Lovely to see you. I agree that an autistic detective would be a bonus on any force.

If you need anything, just ask the nearest gerbil to bring it. And if lurking is your thing, there are some very comfy quiet corners of the Bluestocking where you can settle in and watch without being disturbed x

I woke a little early, so have already been outside, said my morning prayers (guardian angel included) watching a bat flying around between the trees against a background of peach-coloured sky, listened to the birds and a bumblebee, washed my face in the dew to ensure ongoing beautifulness, and am now back in bed with a cup of tea ready for a bit of podcast listening.

Happy first day of summer, all Celtic calendar fans.

Lovely start to the day.
Most years I’d say the Celtic calendar was a least a couple of weeks early, but this year it’s late - yesterday was properly hot here in Lancashire.

Forecast is 29°C here in Kent today, so that'll be fun for teaching in. Then next week it's back down to teens temperatures.

Overcast and a predicted 13C at the A&B coast today but yesterday was 24C when I left work.
"Sumer is icumen in" playing on Radio 3 , love that song.

24C predicted here today - slight cooling coastal breeze.
And then of course the temperature plummets in time for the bank holiday weekend. We could really do with some rain. I had a chat with our local ancient farmer while dog walking yesterday (he was hobbling along, but had both sons' tractors in view, one uphill of him and one down). He commented that the barley was a month ahead, that everything was terribly dry, and that the climate is just mad extremes these days.

On the plus side, the butterflies are loving it (I saw a brimstone, a small white, sundry peacocks and possibly a tortoiseshell on my afternoon walk yesterday). I took the dogs out this morning and heard at least one, probably two and possibly three cuckoos