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Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four


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....had my annual review with the Dr this week and all is well...probably because l don't tell her too much!!

 

 

Hi S,

 

Wifey had a note from the GP recently telling her that no more prescriptions would be issued until she made an appointment with the nurse to have her BP checked. As you know, GP's receive a bonus for BP checking. This atttitude directed towards responsible adults is in my view unacceptable. I feel we are being harvested like crops and not encouraged to be responsible adults.

 

She has explained several times that we check her BP at monthly intervals or so as she takes a light med for BP. She was anxious to get to the surgery before time and parked her car in town and walked very briskly the mile or so to the medical center where she was sent straight in to see the nurse without sitting down in the waiting room. Without sitting and calming for a minute or two her BP was taken and of course it was raised. In fact it always is, because like me she has "white coat" hence me keeping an eye on both our BP's at home. She was then subjected to a detailed and totally inappropriate interrogation where she was told by the obese nurse that she must take up cycling. She doesn't own a bike, and has never ridden one. But she maintains two homes, we walk most days and she does the gardneing. She looks extremely good for her age and I feed her a proper diet. The nurse knocked two inches off her height but still managed to calculate a BMI of 24'ish .... not bad for a lady of wifey's age.

 

The fact is that we are adults and content with our BP. We take some meds but are not going to change or increase them. We accept that sometimes the BP is raised. I have once nearly been killed by meds. We take fully informed adult responsibility for our health and really do not like being treated like we must be obedient, schoolchildren who are presumed to be untruthful and irresponsible about the life style we choose to pursue by obese NHS nurses. I think the process has gone badly wrong. It seems barmy that we obsess about extending our lives by giving up so much pleasure at an age when we can enjoy pleasure, when so much of the population seems to have the last few years of life potentially so terribly grim.

 

It is most unlikely that the vast majority of us who are taking medications for this or that are extending our lives by anything or much because something is going to get us in the end and it may be a month or two later. And if not does it make sense to forgo the degree of pleasure we are told to forgo by giving up a shared half-bottle of wine each and every day at lunch in the hope of an extra month or two at the end of our life when many lives are pretty grim anyway?

 

I think that this over indulgent regime based on the presumption that we will live a bit longer if we become neurotic and unbalanced and obsessed with out health and by taking vast numbers of preventative meds is sucking the joy out of life and making us all far too anxious. I think the balance is simply wrong.

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Good morning all, an unusually warm and pretty day in our ara.

 

Jeff, I so much agree with you. After a certain age, determined by its holder, one accepts the futility of expanding a life cycle that may not be enjoyable otherwise. Like you say, responsible adults should be able to control their life span as they see fit.

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Greetings Coolers! Rain and fog here this morning though it is 47 F. Not our usual February weather!

 

J...your meal looks delicious and healthy! :)

 

Extending your life span sounds really good in theory. Reality does not necessarily reflect the idealized version of a longer life. As we age our bodies start to show signs of wear. Dealing with those bits becomes an obsession for the medical community without too much regard to patients' wishes. When there is a trade-off between medications with nasty side effects and the patient's preferred approach to manage their own health the medico's sometimes become bullies. Whose life is it anyway? Not the medico's! Recently there has been a focus on the care offered in long term care facilities here. Reports are ugly! Video evidence of abuse abounds. Care givers beating patients, patients beating other patients. Would anyone really want to extend their lives in order to face that in their elder years? Not I!

 

On that note Coolers, enjoy every drop of the goodness today offers! :)

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Hi Cam, they were all very nice but no.....they did not tell me how tight the machine was beforehand.........they put a pair of headphones on me because they said it would be too loud otherwise........well, that was not the issue..........but I wasn't given a detailed explanation about it, no. As for the meds.....they cannot prescribe it and I didn't know this was going to be so bad so I didn't get anything from my GP before hand..........

 

 

 

Lois: my husband was allowed to use a eye mask, which helped him immensely. Just make sure it contains no metal.

 

 

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There are times I think that front line NHS services are being ‘shaved’ to put more money into other aspects of care. I rang my GP with an ongoing cardiac problem and - over the telephone - he reduced my beta-blockers to half of what the Cardiologist had prescribed. No BP checks ... no physical checks ... no questions ...just a change of meds? No need to visit the surgery apparently as they can deal with more patients by using a telephone. It makes you wonder at times. When I finally had to have a BP check etc it was with an obese nurse ....

 

On a lighter note .... remember when you were told by the medics the only thing you should put in your ear was your elbow? Now if you need your ears syringed the GP cannot claim a fee as it is no longer a front line service so they advise you to buy a DIY kit that allows you to push a syringe into your ear .... blind .... mmmmm.

 

 

 

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Jeff....l totally agree with you....no review, no repeat prescription so one is almost forced into going.

Thankfully on this occasion l didn't have the third 'lifestyle' degree which rather pleased me albeit l was prepared to fudge the truth somewhat!

 

The brief consultation could have been done by telephone if only to reduce the risk of catching some dreaded disease with many patients sat coughing and sneezing minus handkerchief support which can raise ones BP in anticipation!

 

Yes, we have obese nurses in our practice too one of which should have been in the gustapo and whom l now refuse to see which is my perogative as l also have zero tolerance!

 

The whole system is a mess...even with my relatively small country practice......if one plucks up the courage to ring in for an appointment or result we are treated to a three minute pre recorded message describing stroke or heart symptoms at the end of which one must dial 999....by which time one could be well and truly chorusing with the angels......and l am convinced that by the time we reach the grand old age of 60 they are already planning to kill us off asap anyway!

 

Such is life!

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Greetings Coolers! More freezing rain in the forecast for tomorrow! :(

 

Apparently, the solution to the problem of school shootings is the arm the teachers. It seems to some minds that more guns is the way to go.

 

"He suggested that arming teachers could help prevent school shootings, and said his administration would emphasize background checks and mental health in an effort to make schools safer."

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/donald-trump-speaking-notes-meeting-shooting-survivors-1.4546472

 

Have a great day all! There is goodness out there somewhere!

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Greetings Coolers! More freezing rain in the forecast for tomorrow! :(

 

Apparently, the solution to the problem of school shootings is the arm the teachers. It seems to some minds that more guns is the way to go.

 

"He suggested that arming teachers could help prevent school shootings, and said his administration would emphasize background checks and mental health in an effort to make schools safer."

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/donald-trump-speaking-notes-meeting-shooting-survivors-1.4546472

 

Have a great day all! There is goodness out there somewhere!

 

 

John and I are both retired teachers. We didn't know if we should laugh or cry at that idea. What was he thinking? OMG....pretty scary times we live in, but maybe, just maybe this last horrible event may have tipped the balance, at least a little!

It's almost Friday....which is a good thing (although for us, everyday is Friday....or Saturday....or a holiday!).

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lovely food jeff.

ms s, no clue on hotel in miami ...do they want south miami, miami beach, downtown miami, brickell area, the grove, the gables?

 

IMO, background checks may help, depending on who is doing them and whether certain other regs may be pierced, like HIPAA, juvenile records, etc.

totally agree that police should be given broader ability to Baker Act (put someone in psych hospital against their will if they are a danger to self or others, the time in facility may be three days). Totally agree that assault weapons should be banned( gun lobby already has called into question of what an assault weapon really is, and gunmakers created methods of getting around the definition).

The NRA will never let the ban happen if they have oxygen left in their lungs.

Arming teachers with guns just creates a horrific scenario in my mind.

the classroom as a battleground with bullets flying.

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What I think demonstrates the utterly blind stupidity of the gun lobby supporters is the suggestion that teachers would be content to be armed in the classroom with a primed and loaded weapon in a state of constant readiness, and that even if they agreed to be so armed that they would without any moment of hesitation shoot a pupil.

 

The idea beggars belief and calls into question the sanity of anyone who seriously suggests it.

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You are so right Spins. A former teacher told me...if I were armed and see a student reaching inside his/her vest/jacket, would I spring for my gun?...maybe I would, while the student takes out his cell phone... I would never want this!, she said, and I think she speaks for most teachers.

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The whole idea is ludicrous! Teachers are under enough pressure now dealing with behavioural issues without the added stress of carrying a weapon! If they were overtaken in the classroom by an unstable student, the resulting harm would be irreparable. A student of a mind to kill would not need to obtain their own weapon. Seriously?????? Back to the drawing board sir!

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The solution to guns is ... more guns?

 

 

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I know........when I watched that "Listening Session" I thought.......you have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME:eek:........I feel so badly for the families but what a totally idiotic suggestion......and I think most of the families are against that one too........lets put another gun out there..........NOT...........

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Andrew Pollack's daughter, Meadow, was one of the 17 people killed during the gun rampage at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Pollock delivered these remarks directly to President Trump at the White House Wednesday during a "listening session" on mass school shootings which is possibly the most moving speech many of us have ever heard.

 

"I'm here because my daughter has no voice. She was murdered last week and she was taken from us. Shot nine times on the third floor. We as a country failed our children. This shouldn't happen. We go to the airport, I can't get on a plane with a bottle of water, but we leave some animal to walk into a school and shoot our children. It is just not right.

 

And we need come together as a country and work on what is important. And that is protecting our children in the schools. That is the only thing that matters right now. Everyone has to come together and not think about different laws. We need to come together as a country, not different parties, and figure out how we protect the schools.

 

It is simple. It is not difficult. We protect airports. We protect concerts. Stadiums. Embassies. The Department of Education that I walked into today has a security guard in the elevator. How do you think that makes me feel? In the elevator they got a security guard.

 

I'm very angry that this happened. Because it keeps happening. 9/11 happened once. And they fix everything. How many schools, how many children have to get shot? It stops here with this administration and me. I'm not going to sleep until it is fixed.

 

And Mr. President, we'll fix it. Because I'm going to fix it. I'm not going to rest. And my boys need to live with this. I want to see everyone. You, you look at this. Me, I'm — I'm a man, but to see your children go through this, bury their sister. That's what I keep saying because I want it to sink in, not forget about this. We can't forget about it. All these school shootings, it doesn't make sense. Fix it.

 

There should have been one school shooting and we should have fixed it. And I'm pissed. Because my daughter, I'm not going to see again. She's not here. She's not here. She's in North Lauderdale King David cemetery, that is where I go to see my kid now. And if we all work together and come up with the right idea, school safety.

 

It is not about gun laws. That is another fight, another battle. Let's fix the schools and then you guys can battle it out whatever you want. But we need our children safe. Monday, tomorrow, whatever day it is, kids go to school. Do you think everyone's kids are safe?

 

I didn't think it was going to happen to me. If I knew that, I would have been at the school every day if I knew it was that dangerous. Work with the President and fixed schools. That's it. No other discussion. No more discussions. I'll never see my kid again. Never ever will I see my kid. I want to sink in. Eternity. My daughter, I'm never going to see again. And it is simple. We can fix it."

 

.

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I think Australia had the right attitude after a mass shooting in Tasmania many years ago.

There was a gun amnesty and a lot of guns were handed in, taking them out of circulation. I’m pretty sure there is also a ban on automatic weapons. That won’t stop someone who is intent on shooting people, but limits the destruction.

 

On a lighter note, I know JP is off to Australia before long, and that some wine regions of South Australia are on the itinerary.

Here is an article about some of the restaurants in the area. I hope it works.

We have only been to 2 of them, but enjoyed them.

http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/restaurants/restaurant-reviews/2018/2/where-to-eat-in-south-australias-wine-country/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20170223%20Fri&utm_term=list_gourmettraveller_newsletter

 

Jill

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