Since we last chatted.....

image from Clipart Library

.....life has been bobbing along, with the weeks flying by as quickly as ever ~ hence the rather long radio silence from yours truly yet again 😳

My leg issues have continued, unfortunately.  You may recall that I spoke with my GP on Thursday of that week; fast forward to the Saturday I had another cramping episode in my right leg again, albeit much less severe than previously.  I wasn't sleeping very well at all, probably because I was so nervous of getting cramp again in the night.  I ended up sleeping downstairs on the sofa; it isn't quite wide enough for me to lay fully stretched out which meant that I could keep my toes pointing up, which in turn meant that my calf muscles were kept stretched out.  It really wasn't an ideal situation, as I'm sure you can imagine, so I made an appointment to actually go and see one of the GPs at the surgery.  He was very thorough and decided to have various blood tests done to see of there were any underlying problems, such as a potential blood clot, vitamin deficiencies, liver/kidney issues, etc.  Anyhoo, the upshot was that the tests came back absolutely fine although they had me in again just to double-check the potential blood clot scenario.  After another thorough examination of my legs, including measuring the calves to see if there was any difference in size (there wasn't), that was ruled out.  The GP discussed my other leg/back/hip issues and decided to make me an appointment with the practice physiotherapist, as she felt that there was a connection between everything going on.

I saw the physio last week and we discussed the problems I've been having.  I know that my back hasn't been back to "normal" since I had a prolapsed disc some years ago, and I do have to pace myself when I'm trying to do physically demanding things.  I've also been aware that over the last couple of years or so my walking gait hasn't been quite right in that my left foot has been rolling over somewhat to the outside.  The physio examined my right hip, which is causing me discomfort for much of the time and is actually quite painful at other times.  He said that I have bursitis in the hip ~ by 'eck, it was bloody painful when he pressed around the area!  Basically, everything does indeed seem to be connected ~ the foot-rolling is causing strain on my hip, which in turn is aggravating my back *sigh*  Still no definitive explanation as to what caused those awful leg cramps but I guess it is quite possibly connected to all the walking issues I'm currently experiencing.  He is making an appointment for me to see a podiatrist re the foot issue.  Hopefully if that can be sorted out, then the knock-on effects with the other joints can at least be somewhat alleviated. 

Despite all my tales of woe, we still managed to get through The Great Housework Campaign, which left us both feeling somewhat knackered but very pleased with our efforts.  As I've said before the house still looks awfully shabby as most of the rooms need a helluva lot of updating, but it's amazing how very much better a good 'ole clean and tidy-up makes it all look 😉

Amanda and Liz came up on the 23rd June and stayed with us for the first time since we moved here; it was so lovely to see them 😍 We then all flew to Shetland on the 26th for a few days.  Poor Adrian set the scanners off both at Kirkwall on the way out and Sumburgh on the way back for some reason ~ security couldn't work out what the initial issue was but it resolved itself after further checks so goodness knows what that was all about.  He dislikes flying at the best of times, so he wasn't a happy bunny at all as you can imagine!  We're flying south later in the year, so fingers crossed for no more scanner incidents on the way there or coming back 😯

We stayed at Busta House Hotel, which was very nice albeit a tad too warm in our room for Adrian and I, believe it or not 😄 We ended up having all our evening meals at the hotel, too, as the menu was very good.

The Shetland landscape is very different to Orkney, much more rugged; I definitely prefer the "softer" feel of Orkney ~ not that I'm biased or anything of course 😏  We had a nice few days away even though my mobility was a tad limited; thankfully my sister had hired a car so we were able to do a fair bit of sightseeing in comfort.  

I did take a walking pole with me for a little extra support whilst I'm having the walking issues, but didn't actually find it very comfortable to use.  I've since given in and bought myself a proper walking stick, even though I was very reluctant to do so and had to be nagged into getting one by Adrian!  It's a folding one, and I must admit that it's useful to take out with me in case I need that little bit of additional support when my hip starts to feel uncomfortable/painful.  Hopefully if I can get my foot sorted out, the hip issue will ease and I won't then need the "just in case" walking stick 😊