Staying/Getting/Doing Well – Moving goalposts or fixed target?

[Paw Prints]

Hi, this is my first post, though I have been reading the forums for some weeks. I’m probably expressing myself badly when I say that I have found reading about other people’s journeys reassuring. Finding a community of people who “get it” even when they have a wide variety of experiences and lives lived is not something I thought I would ever find.

Though people talk about getting well & there is a section Staying Well, I’m curious as to what this actually means to other people and how they manage their expectations. I noticed some people refer to being well as ‘being like themselves before they got ill’, whilst others don’t express an exact aim.

My idea of being well has changed over the years. I was first diagnosed as an 8 year old child back in the late sixties. The doctors told Mum that the voices in my head & the sudden crying bouts were because I suffered from ‘nerves’ & I was given meds to calm me. Of course such things were not discussed back then & I was told not to talk about it to anyone, not my school friends nor siblings, just Mum. For decades after my idea of being well simply meant being able to hide my illness from others.

A number of events in my life caused my illness to worsen, until some years ago I became so ill I needed to be hospitalised for my own safety. This lead to my current diagnosis of Major Depression, Anxiety & PTSD. I’m no longer in that dark place, but each day is still a battle (though I can now believe in a future). For now only my siblings & one friend know about my illness, though some things they still don’t know.
So, what does ‘being well’ mean to me, it is ever moving goalposts. If you had asked me 5 years ago would I be as well as I am now I would have thought it impossible as I couldn’t envision a future. If you had asked me last week (during one of my down periods) I would have said my progress was all an illusion & I was fooling myself that things can get better.
For now my idea of being well is being able to believe that things can change for the better, that I will one day be able to manage the everyday things like housework, caring for myself & caring for my dog & maybe, just maybe I will even be able to enjoy myself.

Paw Prints
**I took the tip to give myself time to write my post by writing on a word doc & then paste it.

[Eagle Ray]

Hello Paws,

I think it was the hormone med that caused the pain. It was identical pain to what I experienced mid last year when I increased the dosage of the hormone meds. I got excruciating pain then that according to the Health Direct nurse in the middle of the night and the doctor I saw the next day would be the gallbladder. So I have stopped the hormone med. I do have yet some more options I can explore with the naturopath including a supplement with a good evidence base for hormone balancing. That is the next option me thinks 🤔

I had a doctor appointment this morning actually. The naturopath wants me to do a Vitamin B6 test and suggested I try through the doctor so it can be covered by Medicare. However, the GP wasn't having it, stating they can't follow the naturopath without an evidence base. It's so frustrating because everything the naturopath has done has been way more evidence-based than any of the mainstream doctors I have seen and he has achieved measurable, successful outcomes. Vitamin B6 is often depleted in the liver disease I have and he wants to know my levels before suggesting it as too much of it can cause problems. I can do the test through him now. It will just be a lot more expensive 😞 To say I am fed up with mainstream medicine is an extreme understatement.

Yes, I think some of those retirement complexes are very expensive. I noticed ones in the posher suburbs definitely cost more. I have found some retirement villas in less posh locations (e.g. on busy main roads or outer suburbs) that are between $250K and $375K for what looks like a really nice unit. Some are even two bedroom at that price. I think some do allow pets, it just depends on the regulations for the particular village. Here in this complex where I live pets are allowed providing they are not causing a disturbance, according to the strata rules. Something to keep in mind is that with many retirement units it is on a "Lease for Life" basis which means you don't own it fully outright. You basically get to live in it until you die but then it is resold. You don't have to pay stamp duty in this arrangement from what I understand. I think it would be very important to look carefully at any contract before signing, including any additional costs that may not be included in the purchase price, such as ongoing maintenance costs. Yes, I'm starting to see it as a possibility to last another 5 years here now.

It's great you are organised with your food. Being in a town, and walking distance to the supermarket (and all other main services) I tend to not plan ahead much. I try to have some things on hand, especially for when I get the odd migraine as having hydrating liquids for energy and food for when I start to recover is important. I'm often still not up to leaving the house but start to need to eat again. Yes, fresh milk is a lovely thing. There is long life milk of course but it's not quite the same. I don't have dairy now since finding out I'm strongly allergic to the casein in it in 2022. It cleared up a decade of chronic sinus issues. But I do miss it quite a bit. I'd like to have the occasional bit of cheesecake or bocconcini cheese - yum 😋

I'm really glad it will be nice for travelling to your sil's. It will be lovely to have a few cool days. Believe it or not I have had to put a jumper on this evening! There is quite the howling wind out there at the moment. Such a contrast with Perth where jumpers seem unimaginable.

I did sleep ok apart from occasional wakings with gallbladder pain 😣 The pain has definitely eased off today though so I think not taking the hormone last night was the right decision. I hope you are going ok with your sleeping Paws and finding a pattern that is working for you. May you have a happy day tomorrow 🙂

Hugs,

ER

[Paw Prints]

Hello ER,

Your GP has left me shaking my head in disbelief.  It was just a B6 test for pities sake, you weren't asking for medication, nor was it an irrelevant test, you do have liver issues..  I am genuinely stunned by such an attitude, you are right to be fed up with such nonsense. 

I had to look up bocconcini cheese as I hadn't heard of it before, it sounds yummy.  Until I started work I had never had any cheese other than Kraft Cheddar & Kraft Mature Cheddar, anything else was just not even thought of or tried.  Dad gave me so little money for housekeeping & had such set ways when it came to meals, trying new things wasn't possible.  I must confess being raised with such a limited food range has left me not being familiar with many foods & not really liking them when introduced to them.  I do keep trying new foods & these days do eat a much wider variety of foods than I did when I was younger, but things like Brussel Sprouts & Garlic are still on the yucky list.  Cheesecake is yummm...

When I lived in the city I did have a Woolies just a 5 minute drive away, I do miss having that.  Not having close easy access to fresh foods such as spinach & other things that don't store well is one downside of where I live, especially in Summer when I like salads.  I could drive into big town to get them, but wanting to just grab one or two things facing a 55 minute drive each way puts me off, so I only grab them when I go in to the chemist each month.

My sleeping had been going well, but last night I had another mega sleep, despite going to bed just after 9pm I didn't wake until close to 4:30pm this afternoon.  I'm really annoyed with myself as that will make it hard to get to sleep tonight & I need to be up in the morning to go to my sil's.

I struggle with wearing jumpers as I tend to overheat & have had that problem all my life.  In winter when at home I prefer wearing shawls as I can easily adjust them if I start feeling too warm & if I'm out I just tend to wear long sleeved tops if I'm outdoors or short sleeves indoors (people always have the heating on too high).  

There is a lot to consider when choosing a home for our later years, especially with our bodies letting us down.  Being on set incomes I think makes it even more important to get the long term costs associated with where we move clearly understood.  I think for me deciding when to move will be the hard part.  I want to stay here as long as possible, but I don't want to be caught out by staying too long & then being limited in what was available at that time to move too.  

I hope with coming of the med you pain quickly goes away.

Rest up.

Hugs

Paws

[Eagle Ray]

Hello Paws,

You might like bocconcini cheese. It has its own unique texture which may be a bit different, but it has a freshness about it that I find delightful 😋 It’s sort of light, fluffy and fresh. I do think the foods we’re exposed to in childhood can have a sort of lifelong effect on what we tend to eat. My dad used to bring a lot of Italian foods home as he grew up in the Goldfields among a lot of Italians and several of his relatives were married to Italians. So as a kid I loved things like garlic and salami.

I wonder, Paws, if it would be possible to grow a few salad greens in pots where you are? Of course there may be creatures who munch them before you can. But sometimes you can protect them a bit more in a pot compared to in the ground. One thing that will grow well in shade is beetroot, so if you even wanted to grow something on the verandah (if you have one) that could be an option and use the beetroot leaves as a salad green or perhaps in quiches or something like that. Or you may be able to grow some things on a sunny window sill indoors as some people do with herbs in their kitchen.

That is a really epic sleep Paws! That's 19.5 hours. I really feel like something must be happening physiologically to make you sleep so long. I am such a detective, I always want to find the answer. Do you think it could be medication and whether it's worth asking the doctor about the dosage? Would the time of day you take the med have an effect as well? I presume taking it at night makes sense if it has a sleepy effect, but perhaps that's causing the extra amount of sleeping? 🤔

Shawls are a nice thing to wear. I actually have a couple in a drawer that I should make more use of, but tend to forget about them. I am ok with jumpers though, if the weather is actually cold. There's something very comforting about shawls. For some reason it reminds me of being at the outdoor cinema and having something to wrap around you. One thing I profoundly miss are the outdoor cinemas in Perth over the summer. Perth summer nights are balmy and it's just a beautiful way to spend an evening. I have to go to Centrelink in a town an hour away next week, so I'm thinking of taking myself to the cinema there. If it's still on, I might watch the Robbie Williams biopic as I'm interested in his life's journey with mental health and neurodiverse issues as well, and how he has got through it all.

I think with moving into retirement villages or similar, opportunities do keep coming up. I guess investigate what your options are. Would you move somewhere like Big Town in preference to the city? I guess there will be more options in the city, but there may still be quite a few options in Big Town depending on its size. My elderly neighbour was able to get into a nursing home relatively quickly. That was in a big regional town with several places to choose from. Her complex includes independent living units as well as the nursing home.

I'm having a real struggle with hormones crashing again today. I felt despairing earlier and called Lifeline. It's strange rationally knowing what's happening but not being able to stop the despair. It's occurred to me I can take the hormone capsules vaginally and I just didn't think of doing that before, so I'm going to try that tonight. That way it's not going through the liver and may prevent the gallbladder pain. It's a common off-label usage that doctors do prescribe. If I start singing happy songs about elephants again I will know it is working 😂

I hope you have a really lovely visit with your sil tomorrow Paws.

Hugs,

ER

[Paw Prints]

Hello ER,

A part of me is suddenly wishing for audio on the forum... you singing happy, silly songs about elephants would cheer everyone up I'm sure 🥰

I'm pleased you rang lifeline, though of course not pleased you are feeling so very low.  You are right about that odd disconnect effect where it is almost like you are watching yourself go down.  I will keep everything crossed that taking the hormone vaginally will work for you lass, you really deserve a win.

I did have some herbs growing in pots on my back verandah & intended to make a raised bed for veggies (raised to keep Woofa off).  The only herb that I had any luck with was the chives.  The back verandah gets too much wind & has baking hot sun for the entire afternoon in summer, which tends to cook the roots of the plants & dry them out.  Plus the local critters loved eating what did survive.  What I am planning to do is hang some woven reed roll up blinds, which I can lower to protect from wind & sun, then raise to get the winter sun.  Yet another project on my never ending "to do" list.  

When I move from here it will probably have to be to Big Town or may even have to be another town further out from Melbourne.  I don't think I could afford even a one bedroom unit nearer to the city, besides I really don't want to move back to the rat race.  

It was lovely catching up & getting hugs.  I'm going to be a Great Aunt again later this year which was wonderful news.  The downside is how much I'm now hurting.  My car has decided to pull to the left, so for the 3 hours each way I had to battle it & now my upper arms & back muscles don't love me for the effort.  I also woke this morning to it being painful to breathe, unlike stopping driving to help my arms & back, not breathing really isn't an option.  If the breathing issue is no better by Monday I will make an appointment to see the GP.

I feel rather certain that my epic sleeps are more psychological than physiological.  It is a way to make the world go away when I'm struggling.  It was the anniversary of my brothers passing earlier this week & my visit to my sil may be the last time I see the house he put so much of himself into.  Plus knowing almost all his stuff is now gone & that seeing it like that today would be hard, which it was.   I'm in tears just typing this.  Next week will be the anniversary of my other brother's passing.  Add in not feeling like I'm getting anywhere with what I need to do, let alone what I would like to do.  

I think rewarding yourself with seeing a movie after battling with Centrelink is a great idea.  The Robbie Williams biopic has had good reviews from what I've seen.  The last time I went to the cinema was to see The Doors movie.  Here I am thinking it was only about 20 years ago, I just googled it to get the right year & it was back in 1991 !!!   Strange it doesn't seem possible for it to have been that long ago... I did enjoy it by the by.  

I hope you felt brighter today... if Woofa was here he would send you gentle slobbers & I'm sure Fluffy Cat has some purrs to send your way.

Gentlest of hugs

Paws

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Paws,

I’m so glad you enjoyed catching up with your sil and getting hugs 🥰 Congratulations on being a Great Aunt again soon too 🎉 The car pulling to the left thing is something my car was doing. In my case it was an alignment issue. Do you think something might have happened when they were working on your car the other day? Another thing to look at could be uneven tire pressure or tire tread. Or perhaps suspension? Would it be worth calling the mechanic to ask about it?

Paws, you do incredibly well to drive 3 hours each way. I cannot drive that much in a day. I struggle to drive 3 hours one way. I wonder if you could either stay with your sil or somewhere close by so it is less taxing on you? I have found breaking up car journeys has made a world of difference to me and it’s more enjoyable because I’m not pushing myself too much.

Paws, I’m sending you a big hug for how you have been feeling about your brother 🤗 It’s very emotional indeed to be where he was once living and where he put so much of his life into. In terms of what you need to do and like to do, I wonder if starting with what you like first may help? So choosing to do a few things you’d love to do which can boost certain feel good brain chemicals like dopamine that also spark motivation in us? Sometimes we can have the idea we have to get through certain chores or “essentials” before we can do the fun things, and yet it’s sometimes the fun things that really shift something in us that then makes our “to do” list more achievable.

Last night I took the hormone and I could feel it having an effect even half an hour later, same as the first time I started hormone meds. In the morning I woke feeling calm with only mild anxiety, yet the previous day I was a completely distraught mess. I had several hours of beautiful calm. Things that seemed extremely overwhelming the previous day including a range of things I feel I have to do plus past grief issues really affecting me just dissipated. Things felt possible, achievable and really ok. But approaching lunchtime my hormones crashed again. I was a relentless sobbing mess, feeling paralysed by grief and overwhelm again. Then after a couple of hours it all settled again and I could think clearly and felt much calmer. So I’m finding at least in my case there’s an underlying physiology to emotional states and the two things constantly interact.

I’m slowly unravelling all of this. I had email communication with the hormone specialist today and still working on solving all the aspects of what’s happening. The naturopath is so on the ball wanting to test B6. It is a cofactor with the DAO enzyme in breaking down histamine which means if it’s low this could make histamine levels high. It is also known to be deficient in the liver disease I have. It also plays an important role in hormone regulation and progesterone levels in particular. He wants to check levels rather than just prescribe it because too much of it can be a problem including causing peripheral neuropathy. He’s taking appropriate care with my health by checking levels first. So it’s extremely logical and medically sound for it to be tested. Yet the GP argued on Thursday it wasn’t relevant. So I’m extremely disillusioned with the sheer uselessness of much of the medical profession right now, but I have to persevere in finding answers.

So I sort of feel brighter now after feeling absolutely shocking for a couple of hours earlier. Thank you so much for thinking of gentle Woofa slobbers. I can also imagine little fluffy cat purring away.

Yes, I think it would definitely be good to check the painfulness with breathing. If it gets really bad don’t hesitate to call an ambulance. I don’t mean to be alarmist and most times it’s not anything drastic, but it can be good to just get a full work up to make sure. I’ve been twice to hospital emergency with chest pains. The first was stress from several weeks of being in a lot of pain to do with a medical condition. It was the stress causing the chest pain. The second time it was costochondritis which is inflammation of cartilage connecting ribs to the breastbone. Both can involve pain on breathing. I wonder if it was how you slept that particular night? Also, sleeping for such long periods may mean your body is stuck in one position for a very long time, perhaps creating compression that might make breathing painful? I hope you are feeling better now anyway.

Take good care Paws. I hope you have nice weather tomorrow. I had little Splendid Fairywrens hopping about my garden today.

Gentle hugs,

ER

[Paw Prints]

Hello ER,

Thank you I am feeling better & brighter today.  The breathing issue has almost fully gone, (now it just hurts if I take a very deep breath), so I'm sure it was just something from how I slept.  The arms are good too, but the muscles around my right shoulder blade are still a bit tender, though getting better as the day goes.  If I had thought the breathing may have been anything serious I would have gone to an ED to get it checked out.  

If the car behaves itself 😣🙄 the 3 hour drive doesn't bother me, actually I enjoy it.  Saying that I mean if I go down for lunch or something else during the day.  If I have to go down for an evening event then I can find the drive home in the dark more tiring.  I did once after a wedding (3 1/2 hr each way) decide about halfway home that though I wasn't yet too tired, I would be too tired before making it home, so I just pulled into the next truck rest & slept in my car.  The benefit of being short is I fit on the back seat, plus I keep a rug & cushion in my boot.  I can also sleep on the front passenger seat reclined as I discovered when due to fires I evacuated here & Woofa had the back seat.  I would never push myself driving.  

Oh that was good to have that positive response to using the hormone med.  Do you think once you have been on it for a few days that you will no longer experience the crash in the middle?   I do hope so.  You are one of the most pro-active patients I've ever known, your GP should embrace that as it has been shown that patients who feel they have some agency with their health care do better on all metrics.  So many patients don't even follow their doctors advice which I think would be most disheartening, I would expect that having a pro-active patient instead would be as welcome as a breath of fresh air to any doctor.  As I said the other day, your GP has me shaking my head in disbelief.

Lass if you want to talk about your feelings of grief or being overwhelmed, you always have my ear here.  Of course I understand if you don't, especially as this is a public forum.

On a brighter note, I remembered that Working Dogs was on & got to watch it...  it has made me puppy clucky... weren't they all just bundles of gorgeousness.  

Whenever you are feeling down feel free to remember that Woofa would be in your face with his big nose & slobbery chops if he saw you upset & he would continue to give you big kisses & even (if you were lucky) re-style your hair with his patented doggy drool styling gel.  Believe me that he would not give up on you until you smiled & the tension eased out of you.

Sending you my slobber free hugs

Paws

[Eagle Ray]

Hello dear Paws,

I’m really glad you are feeling better and brighter 😀 It’s good you are ok with the driving. Like you I am small so I have also pulled over and slept in the back of my car as I too fit quite well on the back seat. I did that on one of my recent trips to Perth actually. You are brave doing that driving at night. I don’t do any rural driving at night normally, especially because of kangaroos. I did attend an evening yoga class in a neighbouring town a couple of years ago but I wasn’t keen driving back on that highway. During the day I always see multiple dead kangaroos and the odd dead emu, fox or possum along it so I’m very conscious it’s a hive of activity at night. In recent weeks I’ve still been seeing emus in the paddocks along there, including adolescent ones who are mid-size and are still with their dad I presume as they are with an adult who usually is the father with emus. It’s very cute seeing them all together.

The hormone med would probably increasingly stabilise mood. But what I’m finding is it seems this one may be messing with my histamine levels too. It’s usually the other that’s the culprit but my body is clearly not functioning in a normal pattern. I’m gradually putting it together though. I’m learning how relevant insulin resistance is in hormonal dysregulation. I’ve likely had this for decades and it would explain a lot about migraines as well which for me have had two main triggers - hormonal changes and low blood sugar. Stabilising blood sugar so it doesn’t peak and crash I think is very important. I’m already eating a healthy high protein low carb diet as this is all my body will tolerate at the moment anyway. Adding in some ketogenic fasting may help to balance both reproductive hormones and insulin. All of this is likely tied in with cortisol patterns as well which were out of whack for me from the beginning of life. Building muscle mass also helps with insulin resistance. I think going out with my camera pack and carrying my big lens for wildlife as much I’m able is one way I can do this.

The GP who refused the Vitamin B6 test is a relatively young new doctor so I think she is ultra cautious to do anything in the practice that she thinks might be frowned upon, including following a suggestion from a naturopath. It leaves you feeling awful though, that they’re not even trying to understand your heath situation and it feels very invalidating. She keeps trying to push a standard antidepressant and I keep explaining that that antidepressant is known not to work when histamine levels are high, and mine are very high at present. I know I know what I’m talking about but they do not think that’s possible. I know well and truly I have to take things into my own hands.

Thank you re: grief and overwhelm. It’s actually ok. I’m just noticing that when there’s a hormonal crash, that’s when a whole lot of grief comes flooding back and the pain of it is overwhelming. But when my system stabilises again, it’s like I’m a different person and everything feels more manageable and much less crushing and distressing. So I’m working on shifting my physiology because I’ve realised it’s a profound driver of my emotional state.

I’m glad you got to see Working Dogs. I did not watch it tonight but I remember how cute those puppies are 🐶🥰 They are adorable. I really understand feeling the puppy cluckiness. I know you are planning on a Field Spaniel so I just looked them up as puppies and they look like such soulful little beings 💗

I loved your description of Woofa’s slobbery kisses and hair styling 🤣 Dogs are just amazing how they lift you aren’t they. My last landlords had two English staffies and also had a baby in the last 18 months I was there (living in a granny flat at the back of their place). The boy staffy was the really maternal one towards their baby. When the baby was still very small, he would lick her to bits given a chance. They let him do it a bit but had to curtail it as it was so enthusiastic. He was exactly like a mama dog licking a pup. They thought he was going to grow up into a tough male staffy, but he was the biggest sook 😂 Poor thing, in thunderstorms he would hide under my table or bed looking wide-eyed and terrified while the female staffy sat on the couch and couldn’t give a stuff. She would also swim right out into big waves at the beach while he stood on the shore and barked, wanting to join in but he was too scared 😯

Thank you for the slobber free hugs and warm, gentle hugs to you too,

ER

[Paw Prints]

Hello ER,

Here I find most of the animal activity near the roads occurs in the late afternoon until just past dusk & in the early morning from just before dawn until about an hour after dawn.  Having said that I do see a few during the day too, but I've not seen any activity by the road in the night hours.  Like you I do see road kill fairly often. During the week just gone, in the daylight hours, I saw an echidna trying to cross the road & separately a koala sitting on the verge.  I did so want to stop & move them somewhere safer, but I know that really wouldn't help them.  I did stop for a wallaby that was on my road (despite what the experts say about not stopping), especially as just a few metres before I reached it there was one laying on the side of the road & just past it another laying in the middle of the road.  I'm guessing a big truck, like a milk tanker collected them & this one was left ok though probably scared.  It just sat there for a few more seconds & then hopped back into the bush.  Sad as it was to see the other two, on my way back home I saw a magnificent Wedge Tailed Eagle feeding on one of them.  Every time I see one close they take my breath away with their size & beauty.  This one must have been hungry as it didn't flap away at my car passing.

Oh what a sweet Staffy, of course he was a sook, he was a boy dog & I've never known a boy dog that wasn't a big softy at heart.  

That is not good that this hormone med is causing problems as well.  I wonder if your young GP would be more willing to do the B6 test, if you were to ask for it as part of an annual blood works, to set base lines & see changes.  It is something my GP tries to get me to do.  

Having your photography which you enjoy as a reason to get out & exercise is a great motivator.  I need to push myself more to get some or any exercise I can.  Building muscle strength at any age is good, but for we women menopause makes it really a necessity.  With thinking about brittle bones as we age, if you don't mind me asking, I'm curious how do you get your calcium if you can't have dairy?

Hugs

Paws

[Eagle Ray]

Hello Paws,

Perhaps most of the activity here is around dusk and dawn too. There’s a beach I’ve stayed at until dusk and driven back from which is a 45 minute drive, and I have to drive slowly the whole way as many kangaroos cross. When in Tassie with a friend we travelled at night from Campbell Town to Bicheno and we had to stay at about 40km per hour as so many little hoppy marsupials went across in front of us. I don’t know what species most of them were. There were several possums too. Tasmania is incredible for marsupial life. In rainforests we saw several marsupial mice feeding on the forest floor in the daytime.

Yes, the Wedge Tailed Eagles are magnificent. In 2023 I was driving down from Mukinbudin to Kellerberrin and two of them glided right across in front of my windscreen at close range. It was so unusual I felt like I was in a movie. But the funny thing was they were being chased by a raven who is so much smaller 😂 There are stories about eagle and crow across many cultures. There seems to be an archetypal relationship between crows/ravens and birds of prey.

I don’t think there’s any point engaging GPs any further. The naturopath is organising so I can have the B6 test. I’m at rock bottom at the moment with both hormones which means a drastic reduction in serotonin and melatonin, hence feeling awful plus only about an hour of sleep which involved an horrific nightmare. It’s the same type of nightmare that keeps recurring under these conditions. But I’m trying a supplement next that has some clinical evidence for hormone balancing.

I seem to still sleep in the afternoon if not at night. But yesterday after a couple of hours sleep in the afternoon I made myself go for a walk. I was drawn to the spot where the Bronze Whaler hangs out. It was overcast humid conditions which can be when sharks are about. I’ve decided to call him Fred. When I got out of my car straight away I heard a fisherman say, “There was a bloody great shark going up and down here yesterday”. Most probably Fred. I scanned the water for him throughout my walk but I didn’t spot him. But my sense that he might be about seemed correct at least. I did see a Great Cormorant catching a large fish and a migratory wader bird.

With calcium intake, 3 of the vegetables I eat regularly are kale, broccoli and sweet potato. They are all good sources of calcium. I looked up kale compared with whole dairy milk and it has more than twice the amount of calcium. So I think I’m probably getting enough. I’d love to still have dairy but it triggers strong sinus pain and my sinuses are streaming usually within 20 minutes of consuming it. I’m not lactose intolerant. I’m very strongly allergic to the casein in cow dairy and moderately allergic to the casein in goat dairy. I’m sure it’s acquired as I don’t believe I had it in childhood. Autoimmunity can be a factor in later onset allergies.

How is your weather Paws? Do you still have the cooler spell? It’s cool here today with a strong breeze and I’ve just had to put a blankie on me.

Hugs,

ER

[Paw Prints]

Hello ER,

Sleeping during the day is fine if that is what your body says you need to do for now lass.  Being as low as you are currently feeling does physically tire you out & getting sleep is important for your body & your mind.  Will you be able to get the B6 test done soon?  Can the naturopath leave the form for you to pick up from reception without an appointment to speed things up?  I think knowing things are moving would help your moods.  Lass be gentle with yourself & hold onto the knowledge it can & will get better. 

I am glad you made yourself go for the walk looking for Fred, I love the name.  I had a Labrador called Fred & given the way he tackled food he may have been a shark in a dog suit.🦈   Many years before I got my Labrador, I had a goldfish called Fred & he ate every other fish I put in the tank with him.... so part shark 🦈 or full piranha 🐟. 

How glorious seeing the Wedge Tailed Eagle fly right in front of you, I usually only see them high up circling on the thermal updrafts or ungainly flapping away from a food source when disturbed.  I've heard of the corvid/raptor relationship, I've never seen it myself, you are lucky to have seen it, so close too.  

The cooler weather has gone, low 30s today & mid to high 30s forecast for tomorrow.  

Gentlest of hugs

Paws