Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

Podge Gets it Wrong Again

Posted: January 29, 2026 in COPD - Codgers Old Puffing Disease, Health, Podge
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Podge saw his GP on Friday (23/01) as part of his long term care plan. At the end of the review she said all looked good but did say that he should try to keep more active. So with that in mind, on the Saturday he decided he really needed to get the garage tidied so that he could get both bike and treadmill operational. Part of this involved upturning a garden chair and putting it up, leaning over his bike to do it, onto a storage box. Naturally, Podge being Podge, he lost his balance, totally, and fell straight to the floor (even his head bounced though that part seemed ok) and ended up trapped under the chair & bike. He couldn’t move: He tried waving to  Tubbs who was in the kitchen who thought he was just waving at her so she waved back while turning up the music to listen to one her favourite songs: Then she realised he was actually waving from help. She came out to find him in a mess on the floor and had to, and managed to, free him and help him to his feet and back indoors and onto a kitchen chair.

The pain was quite bad so he took Ibuprofen and Codeine  which made him drowsy, that was good, and so he called it a day and went to bed. The next day, Podge peed blood but this, he vaguely remembered was possibly due to Ibuprofen reacting with his blood thinners.

So, Podge just rested taking Paracetamol but the pain wasn’t going away and both Podge and Tubbs started to worry that Podge had broken something so, come Monday they dialled 111. The initial contact said that they would get a clinician to call him back within 60 minutes, failing that, they would send an ambulance. This upset Poor Podge – Podge doesn’t like ambulances. Eventually somebody did call back though he didn’t really seem to know what was going on or even what day it was, then his computer ‘crashed’. He told Podge to go straight to A&E and he would send ‘a letter’.

Podge reached A&E at 12:00 (ahead of ‘the letter’). There, he was examined, prodded, pulled, pushed made to stand then sit: They agreed that it was obvious he was in great pain so gave him morphine type painkillers (twice): They took an ECG (A-Fib confirmed) and took lots of blood while putting in a cannula as he was going to need a CT Scan. While inserting the Cannula, the doctor forgot to stop the valve or whatever it was and Podge’s blood went all over his trouser and over the floor – Poor Podge.

After a while, Podge and Tubbs were summoned to the CT Scanning department (they offered to wheel him round but felt he needed to stretch his legs so they walked V V slowly).

Inserting Poor Podge into the scanning machine was extremely painful and took three nurses to get him to lie down in the right position and then, off went the machine, whirring away up and down his torso and then, it was all done. Podge and Tubbs were then sent back to A&E Department to await the results of his blood tests and the scan.

Eventually, at 21:00 they, the doctors, happily reported that no bones or organs ‘seem to be’ damaged but they remained aware of how much pain he was in (even Patients waiting to be seen frequently helped Podge stand up each time he was called and for that he was very appreciative and, Tubbs was even getting on well with another patient who was showing her photos of his last diving holiday in the Red Sea!). The doctor provided two options for the next phase: Option 1 – stay in Hospital for pain management; Option 2 – go home with lost of strong painkillers. Podge decided that breakfast back home would be much nice so went for option 2. So they gave him a box of strong prescription strength paracetamol and Codeine and home he went.

And that’s where Podge, and Tubbs, are today though the pain is now greater probably caused by the poking and prodding and the the stress and strain of trying to breath and use his inhalers. The doctor did say however that it could take anything from 2 to 6 weeks: Still, it’s only pain so mustn’t grumble though that bit is very difficult.

Poor Podge

As a postscript Podge and Tubbs cannot fault any of the nursing staff and doctors at Swindon A&E. They were marvellous.

Podge Gets Cancer – Poor Podge

Posted: November 6, 2025 in 2025, general, Health, OaP, Podge, Prostate Cancer
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It all started around June of last year (2024) when Podge became aware of a lump in his tummy, but he kept putting off seeing anybody about it. Eventually however, Podge’s GP called him in for his annual LTCA (long-term care assessment) for his long running COPD and Heart Issues: Podge then took the opportunity, reluctantly, to mention it. The doctor told Podge to hop on the examination couch so that she could take a look. She laughed and told him straight away that it’s actually a Diastasis recti, a problem normally encountered by pregnant ladies though fat men can get it as well: Podge now refers to his fat tummy as his food baby. She (the doctor) did however suggest that, given his age, Podge had a PSA test: He declined her offer to do the finger up the bum test. So he had the blood test and went home to tell Tubbs how he was now an honorary pregnant person.

Within a couple of days the doctor phoned Podge to say that the PSA results had come back and were quite high and that he really should go to the hospital quite soon – Actually, the results came in at a level of 291, for a man of 70 and above, as Podge is, the level should be less that than 6.5. She then asked how Podge was feeling to which he replied that he had been feeling fine until she phoned!

Podge’s original Monday hospital appointment was cancelled on the Friday as the consultant was ill. It was rescheduled for the Wednesday.

As both Podge and Tubbs got to the hospital and climbed the stairs to the 3rd floor (got to get those steps up) all the fire alarms went off and they all had to evacuated, back down the stairs, for an hour (this was just for the wing/floor they were in). Eventually they were all allowed back in and Podge and Tubbs once again climbed the stairs to the 3rd floor. Then it got worse. The consultant that Podge was due to see was called out to the theatre in parallel to him also trying to arrange the transfer of patients to another Hospital: This caused another hours delay. Eventually, he returned and Podge and Tubbs were summoned. While in there, he (the consultant) took 3 calls on his mobile in between carrying out the finger up the bum test, Poor Podge really didn’t like that, then, casually telling Podge, as if cancer was an everyday thing to him, that the test results [almost certainly] suggested an Aggressive Prostate Cancer. This was kind of difficult to process at that moment. He now needed to arrange a 2nd blood test which would be followed by a bone scan and a CT scan after which they would get him back in and would be putting him on pre-hormone and then hormone tablets which, he was assured, can be very effective. Then the Consultant received another call on his mobile and that was that: The consultation was over as he dashed off with his laptop and was out of the consultation room before Podge & Tubbs could even standup to leave the room themselves.

Shortly after that visit and the 2nd blood test, Podge was invited back for a bone scan and a CT Scan. Podge was very excited as the Bone Scan meant a visit to the Nuclear Medicine department where he was given, what he assumes was a Radio Active Substance by injection which need to be given time to circulate: During this time he then went for his CT Scan where he was given another injection where he was told he might feel as though he’s wetting himself. Fortunately he didn’t wet himself. CT Scan complete he returned to the Nuclear Medicine department for the Bone Scan. Scan complete, he was told he must have ‘sit down’ wees for at least 24-hours and that he was to wash his hands thoroughly each time. He then went home.

It wasn’t long before the results came back. They confirmed the Prostate Cancer. It had moved into the Lymph nodes but nowhere else, so they put him on a course of blockers by tablets and quarterly injections (these are a form of hormone therapy used to treat prostate cancer). They work by reducing the levels of testosterone in the body, which can help slow the growth of prostate cancer cells. Unfortunately, these would give him frequent hot flushes and cause shrinkage of his ‘wheels’. Podge was becoming suspicious that they were trying to turn him into a woman.

Poor Podge.

Hip or Hernia?

Posted: June 30, 2024 in COPD, COPD - Codgers Old Puffing Disease, general, Health, Podge
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Re-Posting in advance of a new Hospital Visit adventure 🥴

Well, there we were in 2020 and it’s been a long time since I wrote anything under COPD. I make no excuses because that’s exactly what they would be, excuses; seeking to lessen the blame; but the blame is all mine :-).

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Cruising Dietary Habits

Posted: June 10, 2020 in Another Cruise, Cruising, Diet, general, Health, Memories, P&O, Podge, Travel
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The Dietary Habits of a Cruise Ship Passengers

I wrote this while on a long-ago cruise: Ahhh, happy days.

So, when at home my daily dietary habits include:

  • Breakfast
    • Porridge or cereal
  • Lunch
    • Sandwich, maybe an omelet
  • Dinner
    • In the hands of Mrs. Me there I’m afraid.

Obviously along the way there may be a few drinks involved, a couple of glasses of wine, a couple of glasses of whiskey and of course coffee / tea and yes, even water. And this, along with occasional biscuit, cake, crisps etc. does me quite adequately for any day of the week. So why is it that as soon as I and, I suspect many other people, throw caution to the wind; discard common sense ignore what one’s body is saying and devour anything on offer.

When on a cruise ship however my dietary habits change and might typically include:

  • Breakfast
    • Porridge (maybe), fried eggs, bacon, sausage(s), beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried bread, and [sometimes] black pudding, followed by toast and jam and a plate of fruit.
  • Lunch
    • Fish & chips, or curry and chips, or pie and chips plus a chocolate desert and maybe some fruit and a pint of lager
  • Tea
    • Sandwiches (small and various) plus a small cake and a glass of Rosé
  • Fivesie’s
    • Large gin & tonic plus a bowl of nibbles and maybe another gin & tonic
  • Dinner
    • Starter) Prawn Cocktail, Foie Gras or melon:
    • Main Course) Chicken or salmon or steak, with chips, maybe some peas;
    • Desert) whatever is on offer but normally includes cream / custard or, if I’m feeling a little too plump by this time of day, a sorbet.
    • All accompanied by wine and whiskey.
  • After Dinner
    • Retire to see a show or listen to a band to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine / champagne / prosecco / or whiskey.

Obviously along the way there may be a few drinks involved, a couple of glasses of wine, a couple of glasses of whiskey and of course coffee / tea and yes, even water, but, no occasional biscuit, cake, crisps etc. I’m not a pig you know.

I like Whiskey; I like Wine; I just can’t make up my mind which to have; So, I have them both 🙂

Now, taking all this into account, is it really the case that salt water (in abundance on a sea cruise) truly shrinks out clothes or can the be another explanation. Also, in my case at least, adding insult to injury, even my feet need bigger shoes when I go cruising: How on earth does that happen? Does the salt water affect shoes as well?

I leave these thought for pondering.

Navigare Necesse Est

Podge v COPD Week 6

Posted: June 1, 2020 in COPD, COPD - Codgers Old Puffing Disease, Cycling, Diet, general, Hadrian's Wall, Health, LeJog, OaP, Podge, Rome-2-Home, training, Travel
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On the 18th May, Podge reported that he’d lost 4 packs of lard: Yay, go Podge Go. On the 25th May, Podge reported that he’d put back on 4 packs of lard: Poor Podge had to go and sit on the Naughty Step 😢. Podge went into meltdown and took drastic measures including the Toal ban on Jammy Dodgers: The ban did also include Anti-Viral Medications (AVMs) but that ban was quickly rescinded. This week, Podge is happy to say that in the past week, he has lost two packs of lard (that’s a loss of 50% in 1-week, of that lost in the first 4-weeks). I therefore conclude from this that Jammy Dodgers clearly encourage Lard and AVMs make little or no difference, 😂🤪 and Podge is sticking by that.

In edition to losing the lard, my BMI has dropped to 30.3 and Body Fat has also dropped to 44.6 while Body Water has gone up to 39.7. The changes are small but, they are all in the right direction: Despite all being, currently, the wrong side of the trend line, all is good in Podge’s world.

Anyway, back to the job in hand. Over the past week, Podge has cycled a total of 74.45 miles and walked a total of 9.4 miles (not bad for COPD St3).

This means that some serious progress has been made on the challenges currently underway (Lands End to John O’Groats [LeJog] and 2020 in respect of cycling and Hadrian’s Wall and the Inca Trail in respect of walking).

I’ve added the Inca Trail purely to encourage Mrs Me to join me on my walks but I don’t report on it. The progress report on Rome-2-Home has been dropped as it is running alongside LeJog and I don’t actually like the route; cycling along major highways just isn’t realistic. For 2021 however I will remap Rome-to-Home to follow the route I would have done if I’d done it for real; as originally planned for at the beginning of the millennium. That route will be sooooo much longer, but prettier.

All rides on Bkool and reported through Strava. All walks measured using my Apple device.

All virtual challenges are tracked through  ‘My Virtual Mission‘ and challenges entered through The ‘Conqueror Virtual Challenge‘ site.

All rides are done in my garage (walks done elsewhere 😋) as my GP has banged me up for a minimum of 12 weeks (reset to start from the 11th May ) due to having Codgers Old Puffing Disease (COPD Stage 3). 😭

Wish me luck – I surely need it.
Go Podge, Go. 

Podge must stop eating

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