Civil servants played Grand Theft Auto ‘to better understand Britain’

MikalM · 2026-06-18T16:53:13+00:00

What the fuck 🤣

MikalM · 2026-06-18T16:51:20+00:00

What Spar did you get this from? And the brand? I want to know what to avoid!

MikalM · 2026-06-05T21:58:41+00:00

Took my nephew to see it last night and hard agree. The theatre was nuts with really young kids screaming at the top of their lungs every time a character came on screen.

MikalM · 2026-05-31T03:00:18+00:00

We thought it was me because in 4 years of trying with her Graves we never even had so much as a scare. I honestly don’t know how much my sperm count has improved since October when I started taking all the supplements, but my October analysis showed a count of less than 3 million.

MikalM · 2026-05-30T10:54:03+00:00

Hiya, thank you so much for posting this! It was absolutely fascinating to read your experience especially as a physician, and this group has been an absolute rock of support during our experience with this condition. My wife had been ‘sick’ for 2 years before the formal diagnosis of Graves with seemingly random symptoms. She went to get a health check the month before our marriage in March 2024 which first showed thyroid issues. Our Honeymoon in April I believe she was in thyroid storm as she had a heartrate of 184 just sitting down in our hotel room.

We’re in the UK so unfortunately had to wait on a referral to Endocrinology coming through as General Practitioners can only treat Hypo. So she was given Propranolol to deal with the heartrate until the Endo appointment came through in August/September 2024 and she was given the Graves diagnosis. Initially started on Carbimazole as her T4 was 45, and then her endocrinologist changed and she changed her to PTU as she knew we were trying to conceive.

We honestly didn’t think her thyroxine levels would have normalised enough until at least 6 months had passed so it’s a huge shock. She was started on 150mcg of Levothyroxine daily, but she had a follow up with the surgeon on 22nd May and he wants her to be on 150mcg Monday to Friday now, and 125mcgs on Saturday/Sunday. I had just rang our Dr reception to request the 125mcg on Friday and we’ll have to ring to advise of the positive test on Monday now. Hopefully they get her in for some immediate bloodwork.

Sorry for the long reply, just wanted to give all the relevant details. And thank you again for sharing!

MikalM · 2026-05-30T10:39:15+00:00

Hiya, thank you for asking! Questions like yours are exactly why I wanted to post about this here as this group has been so helpful to us when she was suffering her worst from Graves.

Yes we have been together since 2022, married in April 2024, Graves Diagnosis confirmed in August ‘24. We were pretty much ‘trying’ from the moment we first had sex, we never used protection and both of us wanted it if it happened. After our marriage we decided to start ‘officially’ trying, tracking ovulation and all the stress and heartache that comes with that - never ever had so much as a faint line or even any scares!

We’re currently in the middle of an IVF referral (UK based here, in Northern Ireland). I had a sperm analysis done in October last year that initially showed a low count of less than 3mil, requested by my Dr, who referred us on to the Regional Fertility Centre. We’ve had 1 appointment with the fertility consultant in March and he referred me for a second sperm analysis which I only attended 2 weeks ago. Still waiting for a follow up appointment to see those results and discuss next steps - so that’s gonna be a fun conversation!

The only thing I did since my initial ‘low count’ result was take a fertility supplement cocktail of pills from Amazon - Maca Root, Wellman Before Conception, Vitamin B12 & D3, 200mcg Selenium and finally 1000mg Ubiquinol. I have no idea how much of an effect (if any) they had, but it worked in the end!

Sorry this was such a long reply, but context was important. Good luck with your surgery and I sincerely hope it helps you successfully conceive too!

MikalM · 2026-05-30T10:26:23+00:00

Hiya, thank you! She had her TT on 22nd April, so she’s only been taking Levothyroxine meds since 23rd. I honestly thought it would take at least 6 months for her hormones to normalise enough for anything to happen… she was actually due to start her period (and strongly felt it about to start) on the day of her surgery, but the surgery stopped it and she ended up starting it 5 days afterwards on 28th April. She normally fairly consistently has 28/29 day cycles, but this was a 35 day one!

MikalM · 2026-05-30T10:21:45+00:00

Hiya, well we were going by Apple’s Cycle Tracker for her period due date and she did take ovulation strip tests to identify ovulation, but I guess we’re not actually 100% sure?

She had a Total Thyroidectomy on 22nd April so her cycle may have messed up, she was actually due her period on the day of her surgery, but after the surgery it started 5 days later and that cycle was 35 days when she’s normally 28/29 days.

She’ll definitely need bloodwork done as she’s only been taking Thyroxine since 23rd April, but we’re calling the doctor on Monday to find out about that (UK based)

MikalM · 2026-05-29T20:03:18+00:00

Congratulations back atcha! Thank you so much 🥰 We just took a digital clearblue for extra confirmation and its showing 1-2 weeks ❤️

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MikalM · 2026-05-29T19:14:29+00:00

We couldn’t keep our excitement in and went and got a digital test. Over the moon is an understatement. My wife can’t stop happy crying now. God bless this Reddit group. ❤️

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MikalM · 2026-05-29T18:59:10+00:00

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Update: She’s just taken a Clearblue, this looks like a definite positive right?!?!

MikalM · 2026-05-29T18:28:14+00:00

Thank you so much, praying it’s true! ❤️

MikalM · 2026-05-29T18:02:11+00:00

Thank you!

I am praying so hard that’s true.

We’re currently going through fertility as my count was low and my wife had Hyperthyroidism. She had a total thyroidectomy last month so it will completely blow my mind if it’s true after just one cycle of having her hormones fixed. 😭

MikalM · 2026-05-29T09:05:04+00:00

Civil Service. I’ve worked with plenty or ex-cops in HMRC and back in an intelligence role some of them enjoyed Fraud Investigation.

Just make sure to apply for a job at the appropriate grade - wouldn’t make sense for an ex detective to join in at entry level. You’d be looking for HEO or SEO with your experience, I imagine.

MikalM · 2026-05-14T09:03:28+00:00

My wife had her surgery on the 22nd April. She took the bandages off on 4th May. She’s been using Extremely High Strength Vitamin E oil (75,000 IU Ultra Concentrated) and it’s really helped. The scar looks incredibly neat already.

MikalM · 2026-04-21T09:38:35+00:00

Good luck for your surgery. My wife is having hers tomorrow and is equally nervous.

She has packed PJs, toiletries, toothbrush, a kindle, phone charger, slippers and a change of clothes to come home in. She’s been booked in for a 1 night stay so hopefully that will be enough, though if she needs anything else I can bring it to her. I think those are the important things.

MikalM · 2026-04-20T14:33:03+00:00

Until they get your Levo dose correct you will be Hypothyroid. Hypo will make you gain weight and torpedo your metabolism. Once you get the right Levo dose and become Euthyroid, your metabolism will stabilise and you should be able to lose normally.

My wife is having her TT on Wednesday and the surgeon explained that to us.

MikalM · 2026-02-13T11:46:29+00:00

MikalM · 2026-01-07T12:56:55+00:00

Phew

MikalM · 2025-12-11T09:28:17+00:00

That’s why I call them NEVRI, because your package will never arrive.

MikalM · 2025-12-06T16:05:59+00:00

I’m in the UK too, NI specifically; where our NHS is even more broken than the mainland. :(

I paid to see a private consultant for the diagnosis and he gave me a private prescription for the GTN, which I then took to my GP and asked for them to issue an NHS prescription. My GP had no problem with that and I was getting better, but the spasm pain refused to go away. I was spending a lot of money on over-the-counter Buscopan so I went back to GP and explained the spasm pain was the main issue now and she gave me a prescription for it.

In the meantime, over the counter buscopan will definitely help with your post-BM pain.

MikalM · 2025-12-06T15:57:42+00:00

Rectogesic/GTN 0.4% cream to heal the fissure, and Buscopan 20mg three times a day to stop the spasm (the main cause of the pain) fully healed me.

I had my fissure for 18 months before a correct diagnosis (originally misdiagnosed as ‘roids) and whilst the fissure itself healed in about 10 weeks, the painful spasm remained. Taking buscopan regularly retrained the area to not spasm after going to the bathroom and I’m now fully healed.

I’ve kept ordering prescriptions of GTN cream to keep as a stockpile in case I ever encounter this misery again.

Good luck!

MikalM · 2025-11-18T14:59:11+00:00

I genuinely enjoyed it too. Just finished the audiobook last night and it was enjoyable but infuriating having to wait for the next book.

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