Inconvenient Annoyances

I feel most sorry for my husband. We live in the smallest flat in Scotland and I nearly sent him into a panic attack during what is now known as "the fart that defeated the English at Stirling Bridge".

He didn't know where to go. There was no escape. In his panic, he took his pants off.

I died laughing and was like , "WTF are you doing?" He said he didn't know what else to do.

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hahaha i am so sorry you're in pain and that you're just stuck waiting in this limbo, but that did make me laugh out loud! hahahah why was his go to to take his pants off?!?!

I hate waiting on the NHS. I've got some gastro issues going on... I've diagnosed myself with gallbladder disease. I've had 2 pain attacks in the last month and I've been dealing with the swelling and bloating for a year now plus heartburn.

Today I swelled up so badly I had to buy new pants on my lunch break.

I'm swollen from my breast bone down to my feet, bloated, rock solid belly, terrible wind coming out both sides (such a relief though) and the lymph nodes in my neck are swollen too.

These are my legs and feet. You can see where my sock was. My legs are normally super skinny.

I'm tired of dealing with this already.

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Oh gosh Tami, I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. You may want to go to A&E with that much swelling, especially if you have a fever of any sort to go with it. The reason I say that is I've had many friends with EDS and gallbladder issues, where it turned into pancreatitus from not being treated quickly enough. The only way they got help was going to the ER, because the US also has very long waits for specialists and they kept being fobbed off as over emotional. You need an ultrasound!

Just as an FYI - Another cause of the GI stuff (which can be secondary to gallbladder) is called SIBO (small intestine bacteria overgrowth) and that's made much worse by eating fermentable fibers called FODMAPs. A course of specific antibiotics can actually treat that. I know you follow a lower carb diet most of the time and those are usually loaded with healthy fats and brassica veggies, which can aggravate both of those things.

I really hope you feel better soon! Rest as much as you can ️

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Hopefully your referrals don't take too long NCTami72. When you're in pain and uncomfortable, the waiting for a specialist appointment is agony.

Oh gosh Tami, I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. You may want to go to A&E with that much swelling, especially if you have a fever of any sort to go with it. The reason I say that is I've had many friends with EDS and gallbladder issues, where it turned into pancreatitus from not being treated quickly enough. The only way they got help was going to the ER, because the US also has very long waits for specialists and they kept being fobbed off as over emotional. You need an ultrasound!

Just as an FYI - Another cause of the GI stuff (which can be secondary to gallbladder) is called SIBO (small intestine bacteria overgrowth) and that's made much worse by eating fermentable fibers called FODMAPs. A course of specific antibiotics can actually treat that. I know you follow a lower carb diet most of the time and those are usually loaded with healthy fats and brassica veggies, which can aggravate both of those things.

I really hope you feel better soon! Rest as much as you can ️

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I'm glad you brought this up Margo. I just did some reading and this may actually be it. Of course,  my gallbladder may be going bad at the same time but all of my symptoms fit 100% with sibo including my iron deficiency (waiting on an iron infusion)  and my other vitamin deficiencies. (A,D,E,K and zinc)

I am reworking my new food plan with the fodmap food list. I had planned on going back to strict low carb after my food tour of North Carolina.  Lol I'll just combine the two to find something that works for me.

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hahaha i am so sorry you're in pain and that you're just stuck waiting in this limbo, but that did make me laugh out loud! hahahah why was his go to to take his pants off?!?!

I have no idea but it was hilarious.  He's a silly, silly man.

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I'm glad you brought this up Margo. I just did some reading and this may actually be it. Of course,  my gallbladder may be going bad at the same time but all of my symptoms fit 100% with sibo including my iron deficiency (waiting on an iron infusion)  and my other vitamin deficiencies. (A,D,E,K and zinc)

I am reworking my new food plan with the fodmap food list. I had planned on going back to strict low carb after my food tour of North Carolina.  Lol I'll just combine the two to find something that works for me.

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Feel free to pm if you have any questions. Functional GI disorders are part of EDS so I've become a bit of an unintentional expert. The leg swelling is the concerning bit of everything you talked about so I really wouldn't take that too lightly. Your GP may be able to upgrade the referral to an urgent one.

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Feel free to pm if you have any questions. Functional GI disorders are part of EDS so I've become a bit of an unintentional expert. The leg swelling is the concerning bit of everything you talked about so I really wouldn't take that too lightly. Your GP may be able to upgrade the referral to an urgent one.

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Thanks Margo.

The lymphedema is the only part that doesn't fit but I *think* (I got my degree from Google School of Medicine) it may have to do with my extended abdomaplasty. I had vertical and horizontal incisions plus the surgeon tightened my abdominal muscles.

When I start bloating, I can feel the tightness on my abdominal muscle so I'm thinking the pressure is reducing my circulation causing the swelling.

I think I've got a good grip on the food plan. I'm used to restricting food groups as part of low carb eating. I'll just need to remove some of my dairy and avocado intake plus some of my preferred vegetables.

I've got 2 whole chickens in the oven, I have steak, eggs and some approved vegetables already in the fridge. I'm all set to start tomorrow.

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Thanks Margo.

The lymphedema is the only part that doesn't fit but I *think* (I got my degree from Google School of Medicine) it may have to do with my extended abdomaplasty. I had vertical and horizontal incisions plus the surgeon tightened my abdominal muscles.

When I start bloating, I can feel the tightness on my abdominal muscle so I'm thinking the pressure is reducing my circulation causing the swelling.

I think I've got a good grip on the food plan. I'm used to restricting food groups as part of low carb eating. I'll just need to remove some of my dairy and avocado intake plus some of my preferred vegetables.

I've got 2 whole chickens in the oven, I have steak, eggs and some approved vegetables already in the fridge. I'm all set to start tomorrow.

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Hey, if you know how to Google appropriately sometimes you end up knowing more on a given subject than your doctors, you just have to hope they'll read the research papers you give them the printouts and links to.

Make sure you bring photos to your Dr appointments, that's the only thing that works sometimes when symptoms come and go. Good luck with the adapted diet!

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Our celebrations are on short hold.  My husband got caught up in standstill traffic near Cardiff, and then the van overheated.  He's on the hardshoulder waiting for the van to cool and for the traffic to clear.  The van is probably cooled, but if the traffic continues to move so slowly, there's no point trying to move again, as he'd just end up stopped slightly further up the motorway.  So he waits.  All the annoyance.  But THIS IS THE LAST TIME HE HAS TO DO THIS COMMUTE!  Once we get through this, we're done! I will not let this get us down!

Our celebrations are on short hold.  My husband got caught up in standstill traffic near Cardiff, and then the van overheated.  He's on the hardshoulder waiting for the van to cool and for the traffic to clear.  The van is probably cooled, but if the traffic continues to move so slowly, there's no point trying to move again, as he'd just end up stopped slightly further up the motorway.  So he waits.  All the annoyance.  But THIS IS THE LAST TIME HE HAS TO DO THIS COMMUTE!  Once we get through this, we're done! I will not let this get us down!

Yay for the commute being almost over! Boo to the traffic and van overheating I hope he's home soon!

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Yay for the commute being almost over! Boo to the traffic and van overheating I hope he's home soon!

He's trying now.  I guess there's a break in the traffic.  Fingers crossed I don't hear from him again until he's home. 

X

He's trying now.  I guess there's a break in the traffic.  Fingers crossed I don't hear from him again until he's home. 

X

Did he get home okay??

My IA this week is customer service (sorry, this post ended up being a lot longer than expected):

1) I bought an exercise bike in March last year, which I quickly realised wasn't very good, but unfortunately I didn't think of returning it until it was too late. I only used it about 5 times between March and September, but when I got on it in September, one of the pedals fell off, bringing some of the thread with it, which meant I couldn't screw it back on.
The store website said it may be possible to get a refund if it was purchased within the last 12 months, so since I didn't like the bike anyway, I tried for that. But they told me that it could only be refunded if an engineer had come out and deemed it couldn't be repaired. However, I was only a couple of days away from flying to Germany for the weekend and only a week away from moving to Gibraltar, so I didn't have time to get it fixed and ended up having to leave it broken.
Fast-forward to 2 weeks ago, and I still had a few days left of the 12-month warranty, so I tried again, figuring if I couldn't get a refund, I might as well get it repaired. After about 45 minutes or going back and forth with having to call various numbers, it was determined that they couldn't fix it because they didn't have the part, so I could get an exchange. But when they tried to do, they said it was out of stock... so they could give me a refund... which is what I wanted in the first place back in September and they told me I couldn't have!
Okay, great - so, they came to collect it on March 4th and I got an email to say the refund was being processed...  but I still don't have the money back yet . I called again yesterday and they're supposed to be sorting it out, but I have no idea when I'll get the money.

2) I ordered some shoes from Amazon about 10 days ago and they were out for delivery last Saturday by 8pm, estimated by 1pm on the Royal Mail website. 1pm came and went and no shoes. I waited at home all day, until I had to go to work at 7pm... still no sign of them. Turned out they weren't delivered until Monday... and after all that waiting, I was out when they came and had to get them from the neighbour .

3) Two weeks ago, I ordered a new chest of drawers and bedside table from B&Q for home delivery within 7 days. I was supposed to get a call within 48 hours to arrange a delivery date. 48 hours came and went, and no call. So I called them and they said the manufacturer would have them on Tuesday (13th) and would call to arrange delivery. Tuesday came and went with no call, but they did eventually send a text on Wednesday to say it would be delivered on Friday (16th).
It was finally delivered on Friday afternoon but when I unwrapped the furniture, I found the handles attached to the insides of the drawer for transportation... okay, fine, fair enough. I unscrewed them on the chest of drawers and put them on the right way around... all good. Got to the bedside table and the screws were so tight that I ended up stripping them on the first attempt of trying to get them out. I managed to put 2 of the 3 handles on the right way, but the screws wouldn't go in properly, and were just getting more and more damaged from trying. The third drawer, I couldn't even unscrew the handle to get it off the inside of the drawer - and I ruined the screw in the process.
I went into B&Q about 2 hours after the delivery to ask what to do and they said they could give me replacement screws and if I brought the drawer into store, they could get the other handle off for me. So, yesterday after my night shift, I took the drawer into the store. After about 20 minutes of trying, they couldn't get the handle off the inside of the drawer either... it turned out that the manufacturer had put the protective plastic packaging on the handle first before screwing it in and some of it had got caught in the thread, so it wasn't going come off without damaging the drawer. Plus, the replacement screws they had in store were too long, and the threads of the other handles were damaged as well, so even with new screws, they still wouldn't screw in properly.
In the end, they decided to order a replacement unit to be delivered to me (which will take another few days). At the time though, the order was still 'open' in the system which meant they couldn't arrange a replacement until it was closed. They're supposed to call me to arrange it, but I haven't heard anything yet . I'm gonna try calling when they open today.

4) The other week, I booked cheap advance train tickets to London from Lincoln for late April, only to discover the next day that my April roster had been issued and I actually have 6 days off in a row that week instead of the 2 days I asked for as leave... which means it would be easier/cheaper for me to drive down to my parents' house for a few days and then get the bus to and from London from there (only £6 each way), especially as I may have to go to London twice that week and the train fares are much more expensive.
I knew I couldn't get a refund on the train tickets, but I'd read I could change the date on them (for a fee of £10 per ticket plus the difference in price)... and I know I'll need to go to Heathrow via London in July. However, the Trainline website won't let me change them online at the moment, so I called them and got the most incompetent guy ever. He didn't understand what I was asking (which was whether there were any cheap tickets on the dates I need) and kept explaining the process of changing the date over and over (which I already knew before I called). Then he kept offering me cheap tickets at times I couldn't do (i.e. before my plane landed at Heathrow, or the next day when I'd be at work) and then when I told him (3 times) that I was going to have to keep the April tickets for now and figure out what to do, he still tried to charge me £10 per ticket for a change I wasn't even making! After all that, I still don't know what to do about the train tickets in April .

It's just so frustrating to have to constantly deal with incompetent companies .

My IA this week is customer service (sorry, this post ended up being a lot longer than expected):

1) I bought an exercise bike in March last year, which I quickly realised wasn't very good, but unfortunately I didn't think of returning it until it was too late. I only used it about 5 times between March and September, but when I got on it in September, one of the pedals fell off, bringing some of the thread with it, which meant I couldn't screw it back on.
The store website said it may be possible to get a refund if it was purchased within the last 12 months, so since I didn't like the bike anyway, I tried for that. But they told me that it could only be refunded if an engineer had come out and deemed it couldn't be repaired. However, I was only a couple of days away from flying to Germany for the weekend and only a week away from moving to Gibraltar, so I didn't have time to get it fixed and ended up having to leave it broken.
Fast-forward to 2 weeks ago, and I still had a few days left of the 12-month warranty, so I tried again, figuring if I couldn't get a refund, I might as well get it repaired. After about 45 minutes or going back and forth with having to call various numbers, it was determined that they couldn't fix it because they didn't have the part, so I could get an exchange. But when they tried to do, they said it was out of stock... so they could give me a refund... which is what I wanted in the first place back in September and they told me I couldn't have!
Okay, great - so, they came to collect it on March 4th and I got an email to say the refund was being processed...  but I still don't have the money back yet . I called again yesterday and they're supposed to be sorting it out, but I have no idea when I'll get the money.

2) I ordered some shoes from Amazon about 10 days ago and they were out for delivery last Saturday by 8pm, estimated by 1pm on the Royal Mail website. 1pm came and went and no shoes. I waited at home all day, until I had to go to work at 7pm... still no sign of them. Turned out they weren't delivered until Monday... and after all that waiting, I was out when they came and had to get them from the neighbour .

3) Two weeks ago, I ordered a new chest of drawers and bedside table from B&Q for home delivery within 7 days. I was supposed to get a call within 48 hours to arrange a delivery date. 48 hours came and went, and no call. So I called them and they said the manufacturer would have them on Tuesday (13th) and would call to arrange delivery. Tuesday came and went with no call, but they did eventually send a text on Wednesday to say it would be delivered on Friday (16th).
It was finally delivered on Friday afternoon but when I unwrapped the furniture, I found the handles attached to the insides of the drawer for transportation... okay, fine, fair enough. I unscrewed them on the chest of drawers and put them on the right way around... all good. Got to the bedside table and the screws were so tight that I ended up stripping them on the first attempt of trying to get them out. I managed to put 2 of the 3 handles on the right way, but the screws wouldn't go in properly, and were just getting more and more damaged from trying. The third drawer, I couldn't even unscrew the handle to get it off the inside of the drawer - and I ruined the screw in the process.
I went into B&Q about 2 hours after the delivery to ask what to do and they said they could give me replacement screws and if I brought the drawer into store, they could get the other handle off for me. So, yesterday after my night shift, I took the drawer into the store. After about 20 minutes of trying, they couldn't get the handle off the inside of the drawer either... it turned out that the manufacturer had put the protective plastic packaging on the handle first before screwing it in and some of it had got caught in the thread, so it wasn't going come off without damaging the drawer. Plus, the replacement screws they had in store were too long, and the threads of the other handles were damaged as well, so even with new screws, they still wouldn't screw in properly.
In the end, they decided to order a replacement unit to be delivered to me (which will take another few days). At the time though, the order was still 'open' in the system which meant they couldn't arrange a replacement until it was closed. They're supposed to call me to arrange it, but I haven't heard anything yet . I'm gonna try calling when they open today.

4) The other week, I booked cheap advance train tickets to London from Lincoln for late April, only to discover the next day that my April roster had been issued and I actually have 6 days off in a row that week instead of the 2 days I asked for as leave... which means it would be easier/cheaper for me to drive down to my parents' house for a few days and then get the bus to and from London from there (only £6 each way), especially as I may have to go to London twice that week and the train fares are much more expensive.
I knew I couldn't get a refund on the train tickets, but I'd read I could change the date on them (for a fee of £10 per ticket plus the difference in price)... and I know I'll need to go to Heathrow via London in July. However, the Trainline website won't let me change them online at the moment, so I called them and got the most incompetent guy ever. He didn't understand what I was asking (which was whether there were any cheap tickets on the dates I need) and kept explaining the process of changing the date over and over (which I already knew before I called). Then he kept offering me cheap tickets at times I couldn't do (i.e. before my plane landed at Heathrow, or the next day when I'd be at work) and then when I told him (3 times) that I was going to have to keep the April tickets for now and figure out what to do, he still tried to charge me £10 per ticket for a change I wasn't even making! After all that, I still don't know what to do about the train tickets in April .

It's just so frustrating to have to constantly deal with incompetent companies .

If we weren't on an island with limited options I don't think many companies would stay in business.

We had an ordeal ordering a new mattress. We ordered the new one on Monday last week, definitely the one we want. We were told we'd get a confirmation email and a call from the courier shortly to confirm the delivery day/time. On Friday after multiple calls we got an email saying stock was low at our local shop and delivery would be delayed. Why didn't they tell us that on Monday? We've been sleeping on air mattresses and thanks to the fire retardant they put on everything it'll still be another few weeks minimum after it arrives before I can sleep on it. My legs are half numb in the morning when I wake up due to a bad back so I want this solved sooner than later!

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If we weren't on an island with limited options I don't think many companies would stay in business.

I know! I'm British so I grew up with it and I spent 12 years working in retail, so usually I have a bit of sympathy, but I'm just having issues with everything I order at the moment.

I just called B&Q and they said that the manufacturer of the bedside table will call me within 48 working hours to arrange delivery... so that's Monday or Tuesday. But the problem is, I'm only available for the delivery on Monday, Tuesday or Friday next week. After that, I'm in Bristol for a week, so unless they can deliver on Friday, I won't be able to get it replaced until after Easter .

We had an ordeal ordering a new mattress. We ordered the new one on Monday last week, definitely the one we want. We were told we'd get a confirmation email and a call from the courier shortly to confirm the delivery day/time. On Friday after multiple calls we got an email saying stock was low at our local shop and delivery would be delayed. Why didn't they tell us that on Monday? We've been sleeping on air mattresses and thanks to the fire retardant they put on everything it'll still be another few weeks minimum after it arrives before I can sleep on it. My legs are half numb in the morning when I wake up due to a bad back so I want this solved sooner than later!

That's so annoying .