Perhaps we need to get back to nature… nettle-tea anyone??
I had a young colleague blow up like a balloon on ibuprofen, but I suspect he was fully maxing out the dose.
Personally when I’m ill I reach for actual medication. I’m currently getting over the flu I’m very grateful for codeine paracetamol and ibuprofen - all taken in very moderate doses.
Did you know there’s a brain eating protozoa lives in tap water ?
It doesn’t stop me snorting the odd handful when my nose is blocked 
1 Like
That brain-eating protozoon clearly has no appetite for my brain, which not only surprises me, but rather hurts my pride. I have always been of the opinion that my brain was rather tasty.
And I’ve always partaken of tap water, especially that publicly available water that springs delightfully from a municipal fountain straight into one’s slurping gob, just by pressing a brass button.
My consolation has to be that some protozoa are known to be schmucks, no taste, no discernment, no sense of decorum.
I think people who suck water from a plastic bottle must be seriously nipple-deprived, they look like worried toddlers, ready to burst into tears if their comforter is taken away. Ye Gods and Little Fishes! 
4 Likes
To be fair I got this from a blogger who got brain damage after regular swimming in a freshwater lake but his research told him that the protozoan could bypass water purification systems.
I am allergic to ibuprofen.
I become really spaced out and it is very disconcerting.
Back to nature sounds good to me Stella…x
My go to is always homeopathy in the first instance…
I’m actually feeling quite emotional at the minute…My disabled mom in UK has a complex range of medical problems being insulin dependent amongst a myriad of others including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and osteoporosis to name a few…
She’s been in so much pain for months and painkillers prescribed by her doctor were no longer working and at best she was getting a couple of hours sleep a night…I knew things were bad as she never complains but had rung the doctor for an emergency appt…shockingly even as an emergency this was 3 weeks away…Thinking there was nothing to lose I ordered her a homeopathic combination pain relief from Helios (In a spray form as I thought it might be easier for her to handle…) which was with her two days later…
She took it four times the day it arrived and then for the first time in months slept all night and has done ever since…She calls it a miracle worker…
She had felt like she was “seizing up”…felt like her body was in a constant spasm…her hands were turning into claws…she’s thrilled that her whole body day by day feels “looser”… thrilled about little things like being able to get a coin out of her purse…little things we all take for granted on a daily basis that were becoming increasingly difficult for her…
She still has a multitude of undeniable complex medical problems and has to take a cocktail of pharmaceuticals… but just being able to sleep through the night and ditch the painkillers has brightened both her days and mine…
3 Likes
Hi Helen, my little bro suffers terribly with rheumatoid arthritis, he’s had hips, shoulders and knees replaced, one 4 times now. He has become so tolerized to oramorph, it no longer works for him. I’d love to find him an alternative, but I must admit I’m a bit on a sceptic regarding homeopathic remedies. Wondering if you could pm me details of what you got for your mum, got to be worth trying.
Thanks xx
2 Likes
RA is an autoimmune condition isn’t it? I’d have thought homoeopathy would be more effective than in other types of pathology,
1 Like
Homoeoquackery ?
Gawd 'elp us
1 Like
Jeremy…you can mock all you want to…
My mom is in her 80s…she developed a complex and progressive myriad of medical problems since she was in her 40s…She’s no stranger to pain…she has coped remarkably well with all of it…
Not so long back she was prescribed a high dose morphine patch to try and deal with her pain…these worked for a short time but she became severely allergic to the adhesive so the doctor had no choice but to discontinue…and she had no choice but to go back to the painkillers that weren’t working and were making her feel sick and ill on top of everything else she puts up with…
I try not to ever interfere with her doctor but I knew that for my mom to ring for an emergency appt that she was really in a bad way…I speak to her at least twice a day every day…I felt that there was nothing to lose by ordering for her…It could never harm her but it may just help…and it has…
1 Like
From reading the article it would seem that over the time period concerned there were an average of around 22 cases a year of serious complications aggravated by the two drugs concerned. I think that it is important to keep matters in perspective by considering the huge number of people who use these drugs quite safely and effectively each year. There will always be a small number of cases where things go wrong, but then perhaps those things would have gone wrong anyway ? (The article does talk about cases where conditions were aggravated, rather than caused by, the medications concerned.)
2 Likes
You have hit an important nail on the head Robert. A huge number of people use these medications… bought over the counter… and freely administered for a multitude of ills… they have no idea of what could happen… these medications are often a favourite standby and taken ad lib…
Why on earth anyone would give these anti-inflammatories to someone with chicken-pox (one example) is beyond me… but perhaps that shows how folk do not understand the true nature of these pills …
This Report shows that these inflammatories should be used for absolutely no more than 3 days in case of fever and 5 days in case of pain… and never when there is already a skin problem…
Another important point…
Never take at the same time, two drugs from this large family of NSAIDs (naproxen, diclofenac …), sold under various names.
So, if nothing else, this Report may make folk aware of what could happen… if they overmedicate/mix etc…
So far as I can tell, my young colleague was taking ibuprofen for nasal congestion and it actually started CAUSING inflammation and he was taking more and more ibuprofen to try and counteract it.
The photos were impressive. He had a rash as well as his head blowing up like a balloon.
This is the sort of happening the Survey is highlighting… inappropriate medication… your colleague was lucky not to suffer anything longterm/ghastly afterwards…
I wonder how many people actually bother to read all of the leaflet that comes inside every medication pack. Doing so aids in identifying an adverse reaction or side effect at an early stage, and it can be a lifesaver in that it can stop a person from taking two different medications in what may be a dangerous combination.
The Medecin Traitant should be aware of all the medications prescribed for a particular patient to avoid conflicts, but sometimes, for various reasons, the doctor may be unaware of some medications being used by the patient. Prescribing mistakes do happen ----- doctors are human too.
To avoid this happening, every patient should keep an updated written list of ALL the medications they are currently taking (together with the daily dosage used), and should give a copy to any doctor they consult at the start of EVERY consultation. The list should also include any vitamin or other dietary supplements and all Over The Counter medications currently used.
We all have a duty to take some responsibility ourselves, and we need to do everything we can to help the hard pressed doctors to help us.
Personally, I have found that doing this always starts the consultation off on a good footing.
5 Likes
Have always done that Robert.
Name, address, D.O.B, Carte Vitale number and always printed in red’ allergies’
More so for when my mum was alive as she had so many allergies/medications didn’t stop a ‘specialist’ prescribing a treatment that contained one of the products she was allergic to though.
Luckily I always checked with a pharmacist when anything ‘different’ was prescribed !
This would be a good reason for subscribing to the DMP facility with your CV.
Sadly, not all MTs and hospitals are onboard with this so a separate list as Robert says is a must.
Interestingly, on my last visit to Angoulême Girac hospital, the English speaking doctor I saw mentioned that it seems only the English and Dutch seem to use the DMP system.
Years ago my gp wanted to syringe my son’s ears knowing full well he had grommets. Luckily I had the sense to refuse even though the gp was quite annoyed with me.
Will the DMP be told when a person is self-medicating with over the counter stuff… ???
I’m impressed by French pharmacies. My husband had a chronic cough in January. I asked for cough medicine and after carefully checking if it was appropriate the young pharmacist wrote carefully on the box how, when and amount to be taken.