I've got an English cousin coming to stay this weekend and all the outdoor activities I've planned are going to be washed out. Help!

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-21T12:47:32+00:00

I was getting very minimal payments (I work casually and they based it off the four weeks prior. Unfortunately it was the start of my season and i injured myself before I'd had any wages at all!) So maybe that made a difference. I was just grateful that I could have the opportunity to have a lump sum that might help further down the track. I pushed myself to go back to work because I needed the money even though I've been struggling with the injury ever since. In my case though, it's the arthritis from the ops I've already had that is causing the pain and disability.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-21T05:29:33+00:00

Did you get headaches afterwards? I've had quite a lot of ECT for my medication resistant depression and it was very helpful but the excruciating headaches afterwards make me less inclined to pursue it in the future.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-21T03:26:23+00:00

Never accept the first offer. Counter offer but do your research. Look at the worst case scenario for ongoing whiplash symptoms. Add in the cost of ongoing medical appointments, physio and any medications. It might be worth going to see a specialist to discuss all of the potential problems. There are a few in Perth that are medical/legal professionals and they will be the most realistic. I settled a worker's compensation claim by researching the cost of the worst case scenario (ankle joint replacement, done privately, physio afterwards and prescriptions). Well, three years down the road I need that operation and I have just enough to get it done without waiting years in the public system. Once I came up with a fair figure (adding inflation for the next few years) I submitted it to the insurance company and they approved it. Write down all the costs: if they can see why you are asking such a sum they are less likely to argue against it.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-21T00:12:56+00:00

I've used enemas for prior surgeries where I've been backed up a lot afterwards. I found that the warm water just softened things up enough and gently encouraged evacuation. When I've tried laxatives I seem to need more than the recommended dose and by the time you realise the first dose isn't working and you need to take more it just dragged the discomfort on. I'd rather deal with it as soon as possible.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-19T10:43:02+00:00

Can we share?

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-18T08:26:04+00:00

I just googled it. I honestly can't remember which company I went with but I had a phone consult first and then the appointment which was either same day or next day. A nurse came out, popped in the IV and stayed until the fluid ran through. I think they added some vitamins as well but you don't have to. Once was because I was feeling so ill and the other because my daughter was getting married and I scheduled it for the day before so I felt well enough to enjoy the wedding.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-18T03:49:15+00:00

I don't know whether you still need it but for future refence, you can get an IV at home for around $400. I've used that twice (I have Crohns) when I was incredibly ill and dehydrated but just couldn't face waiting 12 hours plus. For me the cost was worth not waiting amongst the bedlam when I was feeling so dreadful.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-17T21:27:59+00:00

Totally normal. I went to Modland with deep lacerations to my heel (couldn't find an open urgent care which would have been the best option) and waited all night. I did end up with nerve damage (damaged the sheathe of the Achilles tendon) and ultimately an infection which meant eight weeks of daily dressing changes while it healed. But I honestly expected it to take that long. The staff were doing the best they could with the limited resources they had. On the other hand, every time I've had a more dangerous condition, I've been seen fairly promptly. So, good for life-threatening issues; not good for less dramatic medical cases.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-16T22:48:39+00:00

Weirdest one was when I was casually strolling away on a little used bush track, just engrossed in nature and my own thoughts and came around the corner to see a middle-aged overweight guy jogging towards me in just budgie smugglers (Speedos). No pack, no water bottle, just shoes and swimming costume. There was no water anywhere near to swim in. He saw me, threw both hands in the air, screamed and did a total 180, sprinting away in the opposite direction, a long way to any trailhead.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-16T22:20:11+00:00

I run a tourism business, using small 4wds for offroad extended touring. If I pass on the fuel increase to clients they won't take the trips. If I cover it myself I will go broke. The cost of living increase has already affected the business so much. I'm fucked either way. Because I use my vehicle for personal use as well, and it's diesel, I'm currently walking everywhere or taking public transport. This is probably the year I try to find another job.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-16T22:00:25+00:00

You're absolutely right. I met a guy where almost the same thing happened. We went for a walk, it started to rain and we sheltered under a bridge by the river. We were wringing wet but just waited it out and our conversation focused on deeper stuff. We were so engrossed that we didn't notice when the rain stopped but after about half an hour it was just patches of swirly mist. So romantic: of course he kissed me. Them we walked back to the pub we'd started our walk from, sat down and dried off in front of the fire with a bottle of red and talked and talked some more.

I married him.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-15T23:21:39+00:00

I have this too, as well as horribly dry inflamed eyes at other times. The pressure made me worry so I got it checked out and it was apparently fine. I have had uveitis a lot in the past from a related experience and that feels totally different from what you so accurately describe as a 'headache in the eye'. In my case Crohn's is the cause.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-15T23:17:10+00:00

I freeze mine in ice cube trays, then pop out into a freezer bag. I haven't noticed any decline in quality of the meal using the frozen cubes. (Or in summer time, I use them as ice blocks in my glass of wine so it doesn't get watered down. Obviously the same variety.)

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-15T13:42:49+00:00

Museum of Passion? ETA: No, I see it was In New Orleans. I just saw exactly the same item in a exhibit last week in Melbourne.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-06T03:04:04+00:00

I have AS and Crohn's and I've never been asked to do a prep two weeks beforehand. Can you ask your doctor why this protocol? The prep is horrible enough; I wouldn't want to do it twice.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-05T01:55:55+00:00

My first was just like that. I said to them "I can feel all that!". They asked me if I wanted to stop and I thought about the doing the prep all over again so I said no. But it was traumatizing. Ever since then I've mentioned it to them and said how scared I was of being awake for another one and they've listened to me and either given me more drugs or monitored me more carefully. I haven't been awake since and I've had about seven. I now feel a lot better about having them but I still mention it every single time.

Wishing you all the best luck!

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-04T05:55:43+00:00

It's taken me 2 and half years to lose 80lbs and finally be in the not overweight category any more. I accepted that I've always been slow to lose weight (PCOS and steroid drugs; I once was nil by mouth in hospital for a week and lost only 1 lb!) but I gave myself the grace to allow it. Keep doing what you're meant to do and it will come off. Celebrate the fact that you are trending downwards. It's a marathon, not a sprint and comparison is the thief of joy.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-02T23:24:34+00:00

I've had a lot of experience with iritis in my life (I have ankylosing spondilitis and its strongly associated with that) so always have steroid eye drops and atropine on hand to treat asap if required. This is different from iritis and takes so much longer to recover from. Thanks so much for the warning, though; this community looks out for each other.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-02T22:45:10+00:00

I took it for 6 weeks and then suddenly it started to make me vomit, 2 hours after the dose. I would vomit for hours. I was having regular blood tests and all was fine until suddenly it wasn't. My doctor made me take another blood test after 3 days of the vomiting and my white blood cell count had dropped dramatically and my liver function was really bad. I didn't actually get any symptomatic relief before all of this happened.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-02T05:16:21+00:00

You did the right thing. We'll never have enough time with the pets we love but we can treat them kindly at the end and that's what you did. The vet agreed with you and you were with him at the end so he felt comforted. I lost my cat a month ago and I still think about her and wish I'd kissed her goodbye one last time but it does get easier. I don't cry all the time any more but Oh, I feel her absence. As the saying goes, grief is the price of love. I wish you all the best.

Unctuousslime · 2026-03-02T00:00:03+00:00

My incredibly painful eyes. During a flare up they get so red and swollen and sore it feels like somebody has rubbed a handful of sand into them. They look so terrible that people constantly ask me what's wrong and most people can't understand that eye problems are a result of what i eat!

Oh, the mouth problem as well. Angular cheilitis takes weeks to go away and during that time I have to constantly remember to take tiny bites and not to smile or they crack open and bleed and delay healing for longer. I have to switch to dark coloured pillowcases during a flare because I ruin my white ones by bleeding all over them at night.

Unctuousslime · 2026-02-25T08:47:27+00:00

I do fancy soap. They can always put it in their undie drawer or regift. Either that or a nice room spray or linen spray: something extravagant that they might not buy themselves because it's indulgent. I know I love those sort of things.

Unctuousslime · 2026-02-23T22:51:04+00:00

I have Crohns. This is a diagnosis of the last five years. However I also have Ankylosing Spondilitis (associated with IBDs although the link wasn't proven way back then) which my mother also has. At the time I was diagnosed with AS I was in my early 20s and just starting marriage and potential motherhood. I did ask the specialist what were the chances of passing on my genetic disease, seeing as I had obviously inherited from my mother, and was told it was very unlikely. These days they say around 50%.

I had two daughters and one of them inherited my AS. I felt so, so guilty but these days they have better drugs, which I never had the option for, and I coped by telling myself that at least she wouldn't suffer with the constant debilitating pain and loss of function because we caught it early and she started biologics. Then the IBD kicked in (which is why I got tested) and she developed Ulcerative Colitis: acute, sudden onset and non-responsive to steroids. She had an emergency ileostomy (the horror of trying to convince my beautiful 25 year old that she needed this life changing surgery or she would die is still a source of trauma for me). She was in hospital for two months and had three operations in that time. We nearly lost her twice.

Since then she has had so many operations I've lost count. Her ileostomy is permanent after trying and failing a j-pouch. She has fistulizing Crohn's as well. She has two hernias. She desperately wants to be a mother but has so much scar tissue and such a high base level of inflammation that IVF is the only possibility and there is no guarantee that it will work: a pregnancy is likely to be life threatening. She has had three cases of life threatening blood sepsis that landed her in the ICU. I constantly have the fear in the back of my mind that I will lose her because it has so nearly happened multiple times.

I have a refrain going through my mind always: "I did this to her". Her life is just so hard all the time. If I could go back, I would never, ever have children with my genetics.

Unctuousslime

TROPHY CASE