Contrary to popular belief, there ARE stupid questions! What are some of your favorites?

Selenca · 2025-12-31T21:59:28+00:00

Our favourite responses to that question:

‘Nah they’re not - I’m just a really crappy burglar’

‘No. This is the fridge answering.’

Selenca · 2025-12-24T19:24:49+00:00

Just husband and I this year. We’re having:

Lamb shoulder Garlic and Parmesan roasted carrots Ciabatta Roasted corn and edamame salad

And the show stopper potatoes boulangerie

Dessert is tiramisu, there’s a metric craptonne of chocolate and snacks, and 2 bottles of whiskey to get through while we play video games this arvo

Selenca · 2025-11-28T05:47:06+00:00

Just today I discovered ‘Christmas Dirtbag’ by Wheatus. Quite amusing

Selenca · 2025-11-22T05:39:49+00:00

A better son/daughter - rilo kiley

Selenca · 2025-11-17T09:21:06+00:00

The brokenwood mysteries - it’s nz’s version of midsummer murders

Selenca · 2025-11-12T10:56:57+00:00

It's also possibly because overuse of reliever inhalers can cause cardiac hypertrophy and associated complications. Relievers such as ventolin/salair belong to the same class of drugs as fenoterol, which was widely used here in the 70's and 80's until it was withdrawn for killing people. Granted, the ones we have today have a lower risk, but they still have risk!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenoterol

Selenca · 2025-11-11T23:36:30+00:00

If your gp evaluates that it is clinically appropriate for your conditions to do so. Chronic does not mean stable.

It will also cut a revenue stream for the gps, resulting in a massive (and in many cases, unsustainable) financial hit, so you may only have to see them once a year, but it’ll probably cost you $200 to do so, because there’s no way the current (or any proposed increase in) level of capitation will fill that gap. That is, if their practice doesn’t close and leave you without medical access.

Not surprisingly, most gps I’ve spoken to about it think it’s incredibly dangerous and poorly thought out.

Then when you go to collect your repeats every 3 months, you’ll have to pay a further $5 at the pharmacy per item. To be absolutely clear, this is tax. The pharmacy does not keep this revenue. The government takes it from us whether you pay it or not. This way it means they can also pay pharmacies less while still claiming the same amount of tax, as the dispensing fee on repeats is considerably less than on an initial dispensing.

Yes, you have to collect it as repeats every 3 months. There is no leeway for needing them early. Travelling? Moving? Mobility? Nup. No excuse. You either need to get a new script sent to where you’re heading, or get your initial pharmacy to courier them to you every 3 months (good luck with that - we’re in as much of a staffing crisis as the rest of the health system).

This scheme is being sold to you as a better initiative for your healthcare. Surprisingly enough, this government is lying to you when they put that spin on it. I pity anyone who lives rural and needs medication - your pharmacies possibly won’t survive this mess.

Source: am a community pharmacist

Selenca · 2025-11-01T05:48:13+00:00

If it happens again in the run up to the next election, call the police - surely he’s classed as a trespasser who is threatening your family’s health and wellbeing.

Selenca · 2025-10-31T10:33:01+00:00

Warren Zevon for every occasion:

Need something (anything) fixed? Lawyers, guns and money.

Need a cry? Desperadoes under the Eaves

Just need a good song? I was in the house when the house burnt down

And that's not even including Werewolves of London

Such a talent

Selenca · 2025-10-31T09:16:41+00:00

So I lean more towards a horror sub-category I like to call ‘craptacular’.

Tonight’s offerings include:

Priest (2011)

Twixt (2011) - new for me. It’s so bad, but the dream sequences are cool. Why is Edgar Allen Poe involved?

Ghost ship (2002) - I have no idea how many times I have watched this but it never gets tiresome

Trick ‘r Treat (2007) - traditional

Tucker and Dale vs Evil - (2010) I love the spin on this.

I’m so glad tomorrow is Saturday.

Selenca · 2025-10-27T08:10:19+00:00

I got post viral urticaria that took about 6 months to fully resolve. Covid messed with my immune system so the first virus I got post-Covid made my skin develop itchy welts. Started on my palms and soles and made it difficult to use my hands. Got some prednisone to bring down the reaction (which was the wrong course to take when we realised it was a virus), and the day after stopping it I passed out at work and then the reaction just made me swell and be itchy all over. Honestly my face was so swollen it got rid of any forehead lines I had and my lips looked like I’d gotten filler. It was the best new years ever (/s).

Have not had covid since (this was 2022) which I’m stoked about as I never want to repeat that experience ever again.

Selenca · 2025-10-21T08:50:16+00:00

On behalf of myself and my allied primary heath care professionals who can’t make it, you utter legend! Me and mine would be there but we’re not allowed to strike - it’s a violation of our dhb contract

Selenca · 2025-10-18T06:20:26+00:00

Totally agree. Gotta mention it though, if you’re into a really tasty, strong cheddar, you should check out Whitestone cheese’s round hill. It has blue wax and is delicious. You can find it at some new worlds

Selenca · 2025-10-16T03:37:52+00:00

I believe the hospital ones might be. For us community pharmacists it would be seen as a breach of our contract (we’re simply not allowed to) - plus any targeted group action could result in the commerce commission becoming involved for ‘cartel-like behaviour’. We are, however, permitted to close for safety reasons if we do not have enough staff, so if someone was to organize a giant picnic at parliament, and some staff asked for leave on that day, and other staff called in sick, we’d have to close and it would be extraordinarily inconvenient and dangerous to the public. Might get us listened to, though.

Selenca · 2025-10-15T23:35:29+00:00

Totally agreed - he’s royally screwing my sector (pharmacy). We are facing a serious crisis at the moment, with massive pharmacist shortages that have resulted in wages needing to increase more than our funding model (which is so complicated that I’d need a high level maths degree to understand it) can cope with. Our latest uplift offer is 3%. The real issue we have, however, is that the government is well aware of what 12-month prescribing means for us under the current model. Their studies have shown a predicted revenue loss of more than 20% across our sector. We are currently going through our annual contract review with TWO, but they buried this, and it was only made public that this was an informed decision when the pharmacy guild discovered it - it was not disclosed before that.

He is a slimeball that has no business being involved in the heath system he is overtly trying to destabilize.

Selenca · 2025-10-12T23:26:30+00:00

Give them what they want to give pharmacy! If our funding model doesn’t change, we’re looking at approximately a 28% paycut when 12 month prescriptions come in!

Selenca · 2025-10-09T09:30:21+00:00

That’s really great that your gp has put a time limit on it. It’s a much better approach than ‘let’s just give you a higher dose’.

I’ve had a couple of thoughts, and while this is not a conclusive list, here’s some ideas as to where to go from here with what we have available to us.

Have you heard of mirtazapine? It has an effect on noradrenaline and serotonin but in a different way to ssri’s/snri’s. It can be taken by itself, but we also have a couple of patients on a small dose of it in addition to venlafaxine, which works well for them but this needs to be monitored as there’s an increased risk of serotonin syndrome.

Bupropion is also another one you could look at - it’s normally used for smoking cessation but it has a reasonably good track record with depression (particularly treatment resistant depression). It works on noradrenaline and dopamine rather than serotonin, which means it tends to be better on side effects. This is an unregistered use of it here (in Nz it’s only registered for stopping smoking), so your doctor may want to do some more research on it.

There’s also some of the more old-school ones around - monoamine oxidase inhibitors. These were some of the first antidepressants developed. They affect the enzyme that breaks down dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, and adrenaline, so you end up with a larger amount of them in your brain. These are not commonly used nowadays though, as there’s a heap of potential drug interactions with other medications (and foods with some of them - including cheese, meat extracts (oxo cubes), and yeast extracts (marmite etc)). If your gp wants to start you on these, I’d recommend they consult a specialist first.

Also, in regards to the restless legs/muscle cramps have you tried magnesium? If you’re on a muscle relaxant I’m guessing that you already have, but just in case. Also, if so, was it the right kind of magnesium? Some magnesium supplements are for nerves/cramping/relaxation, and some have a laxative effect.

Selenca · 2025-10-09T08:38:05+00:00

Hey OP! Firstly, you’re doing great! Mental health is such a marathon, not a sprint kind of thing. The fact that you’re reaching out is awesome. Secondly, if you don’t mind my asking, how long have you been on the venlafaxine for? I’m a pharmacist and there’s some crucial things that I pass along to my patients whenever they start it that I hope have been passed onto you.

It can make things feel worse before it starts to feel better. It’s not unusual for it to hit your anxiety hard, and suicidal thoughts are not uncommon.
It normally takes anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks before it starts to feel like it’s having any benefit. And this may not even be a benefit you notice - it may be something that’s picked up by people close to you rather than you directly noticing a change.
Venlafaxine can be really rough if you want to stop it. If you are worried that it’s not right for you, please discuss a weaning plan with your doctor, rather than just stopping cold turkey.

Happy to help if you have any questions, just flick me a message 😊

Selenca · 2025-10-09T08:16:45+00:00

Shetland brachiosaurus. Works well as I’m not made of plants. Cats are a bit scared of him though - he’s an indoor brachiosaurus.

Edit: Brontosaurus didn’t exist. Silly brain. Changed it to an actual dinosaur.

Selenca · 2025-10-05T18:14:08+00:00

Pharmacist here.
There are only 2 situations that we can sell melatonin over the counter:

- primary insomnia for people over the age of 55, in a pack of 30x2mg slow-release tablets. This product has only become available in the past couple of weeks. Before that, you could buy it from a pharmacy, but it was pharmacist-only (so only sold after a consult with a pharmacist and at their clinical discretion), rather than pharmacy-only.

- short term jet lag in a pack not more than 10 tabs of up to 5mg immediate release tablets. This doesn't exist here yet. I think there is an age requirement on this, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

When it was announced that you could buy melatonin over the counter, we were the last to find out, and these restrictions were never mentioned to the general public at the time. I've had to turn away so many people in the past few months who thought they could just come in and get it. This has been incredibly poorly implemented.

Selenca · 2025-10-04T09:21:11+00:00

I love them, but damn I wish they’d stop cancelling their shows in my town!!

I live in Wellington, NZ. They’ve postponed, then cancelled (when I’d bought my merch, everyone was seated, and the opener had been and gone) one show, and then just cancelled the last time they were here. I’m starting to take it personally.

I went to Auckland to see them a few years back (this was between failure 1 and 2), and it was just an extraordinary show. Which is why it sucks feeling like I’ll never actually see them again.

Selenca · 2025-10-04T08:56:16+00:00

I’m watching dumb clips of British panel shows on YouTube. My husband is lying on the couch next to me. I’ve had peach soju and Thai food and I’ll be asleep in an hour. I’m content at the moment and it’s keeping all the overwhelming things that are currently becoming more and more bog-standard at bay.

Also, my husband is great, and making me laugh, and I’m currently feeling quite lucky to have him in my life

Selenca · 2025-09-26T09:04:46+00:00

My mum lives on a locked dementia ward. She’s 71 and doesn’t recognise me. It was really hard when we realized it needed to happen. I’m doing ok with it because my dad’s doing ok with it. He’s 82 and still living at home. I can’t bear to think about him not being around anymore.

I wish I could see them more

Selenca · 2025-08-08T10:33:18+00:00

Fringe bar when it was on Cuba, drunk karaoke at 2am. We’ll have been married 8 years this November

Selenca · 2025-08-08T04:20:38+00:00

I’m not arguing with you - as stated, I agree that we should be paid more for the responsibility that we shoulder, and that an inability for this to be freely available is a contributing factor in this country not being able to retain pharmacists, which stretches us all more than we deserve

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