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Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member

I haven't been using the forums much apart from a couple of responses to others posts. I stopped as I was too busy & trying to keep up with the forums was becoming too stressful. In September My husband went to Europe which was great although tiring due to the pace of the tour we did. Unfortunately a few days before returning home I fell heavily on concrete steps hurting my right side. I continued on relying on icepacks to manage the pain. I couldn't sleep because of the pain when lying down. The last day I came down with a bad cold which developed into a chest infection later on. The pain eased after 6 weeks & I recovered from the chest infection but have ongoing problems with fatigue & abdominal discomfort. My GP arranged pathology tests. The blood tests are normal but urine isn't. Today I was sent for a ultrasound of kidneys & bladder. Next week I have a gastroscopy & colonoscopy. My stress levels seem to be escalating out of proportion each time I see the GP & get sent for more tests. Prior to my accident my mental health issues were settling down but the last week it is much worse. I have lost my temper a few times in the last week without much provocation. This is not normal for me. I have been on a diet for several months but I am now finding it really hard to stick to it I just want to go & eat food I know will make me feel worse. The diet is a healthy one which I normally find easy to stick to because the food is satisfying.

I just want to get back on track & feel in control of my life & not feel so stressed & down. I also feel guilty for feeling this way because There is no confirmation of a serious illness.

974 Replies 974

Hi Elizabeth,

Sorry to read your day was such a disaster. I wouldn't know where to turn the water off in this place either. Well, actually the main "tap" is actually 1/2 a kilometre away at the metre. We are on subdivided land so all the mains water is connected quite some distance away.

Anyway, back to you. I hope the cupboards dry out quickly and you are able to manage with the mess.

Have you thought to call your insurance company if you have one? They may be able to help with repairs and costs.

I too have the house shut up for the summer and I dislike it. A friend said she used to burn lots of candles in summer to make the place feel brighter. I try to get outside early before it heats up.

Recently I was thinking of air conditioned places I could go where I can look out a window at something interesting.

Sorry to read life is getting a bit too much for you Elizabeth. Can you tell your family you need a week off from looking after the children just to regain your sense of peace and calm?

Hope you find some solutions.

Thinking of you from Dools.

Thanks Dools, My son managed to fix the leak when he picked up the kids. The plumber came this morning to double check & he said my son did a good job. The inside of the cupboards are now dry but spent ages trying to get the kickboards off & it is really wet underneath. The water has travelled both under & over the underlay under the floating floor. I have rang the insurance company but I'm unsure if it will be worth claiming by the time I pay the excess & loss of no claims bonus. I have the cupboard contents sitting on the bench & table & to fix the floor I'll need to empty more cupboards to be able to shift end of cupboards to remove the floor. I have no idea how far the water has spread under the flooring.

My DIL hasn't access to childcare ATM meaning I feel bad refusing to help. They will start kinder & school soon which will help.

Tomorrow I'm visiting a friend near the beach for a few days to escape the extreme heat forecast here. Unforunately will return to a messy disorganised house .

Croix
Community Champion
Community Champion
Dear Elizabeth~
I had a hot water cylinder do that, got under the vinyl and everything. The insurance company decided I could just dry it all out with blowers, which I did, however it started to smell, so eventually they paid for everything to be replaced. A right hassle, but I’m sure you will get there.
It may be my imagination but are you starting to feel a little more comfortable leaving your husband for short periods? That trip to the cooler seaside sounds just right
Croix

Elizabeth CP
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member
Hi Croix, I'm taking my husband with me I wouldn't be comfortable leaving him in the heat. He broke his phone recently & still having trouble setting up a new one. His brother gave him an I-phone which he wants to use but he can't see the screen & the voice activated options aren't reliable because of his speech issues. Sim card is different & now having trouble changing number over. I know it sound like a stupid complaint but I'm finding it stressful especially as the phone is essential for him to be able to go anywhere independently.

Croix
Community Champion
Community Champion

Dear Elizabeth~

I had to set someone up who needed phone functionality but the instrument was too small. I ended up using an IPad Mini linked to an iPhone. That gave a very much larger screen area and allowed the functionality of the iPhone on the iPad, including phone calls and texts.

Not the cheapest solution as these facilities only became available on the more recent models, but has worked in that particular circumstances for over a year now.

Voice activation has always been a hassle.

Croix

Elizabeth CP
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member

Unfortunately my husband has no sight so larger screen wouldn't make much difference. O imagine someone with poor vision a large screen would allow them to have very large font

Hi Elizabeth,

Wish I had a friend I could stay with who lives close to a beach! I hope you and your husband are able to escape the heat and enjoy some days away from home and the usual routine. I guess, some of the routine has to follow you so you can care for your husband.

Yesterday it reached just over 47 degrees here and the air conditioner decided it was too hot to work! Apparently there is some kind of mechanism in the ceiling that shuts off when it is too hot.

My husband called the company who installed the air conditioner and the guy answering the phone just laughed at my husband and said something like "Yer mate. It is too hot for it to work. Try it again once the sun goes down!"

The inside temperature almost reached 40 degrees. Yuck. Roll on winter. We used wet towels and fans. I will be even more thankful when the air conditioner does work in future!

Cheers from Dools

Dools, Sorry your air conditioner stopped working when you needed it most. I enjoyed visiting my friend but still struggled on Friday when it was extremely hot. Even though the air conditioner was working fine just knowing it was hot outside made me extremely anxious. At least being with my friend helped me control it to some extent. I returned home Saturday evening after a pleasant day but I'm still feeling tired I think from feeling so stressed on Friday. My house is still a mess from the day the water pipe leaked while I was babysitting & I'm struggling to find the motivation to do anything.

Croix
Community Champion
Community Champion

Dear Elizabeth~

With the iPad it is not some much visibility as more real estate. A larger screen means less precision is needed with each touch, and with such facilities as voice-over one gets feedback as to what one is doing (including typing) finger by finger.

Nothing is perfect, plus it does require learning new skills and a little dexterity, however it can bring a little more independence. There are user-groups for the vision impaired using Apple products.

I'm mentioning this simply as a possibility, it may be entirely unsuitable however I though you ought to know such things do exist - my apologies if you have looked into this already. A phone with raised keys, even with less functionality, may well be the way to go.

I'm glad your visit with your friend was ok and that even if conditions tended to trigger you she was able to help.

I'm sure you will sort the water aftermath, you are very capable.

Croix

Croiux

Elizabeth CP
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member
Thanks Croix, One of the difficulties is none of our family use apple products so I can't even get help from my son to learn how to use it effectively. My husband had a dumb phone which he could use as he cold feel the keys but people at Vision Australia have told him about all these wonderful apps which will help him. Unfortunately they usually have some vision & are used to using the i phone. They also don't have my husband's speech issues & his hand function is deteriorating. He has asked others for help & they have set things up on his phone that he asked for but then he has found he can't use them & then we've had difficulty finding out how to reverse these changes. The I-phone my husband was given doesn't seem to be working properly so we will need to purchase a new phone. I'm reluctant to spend a fortune on a phone we aren't sure he is able to use and I can't help him with.