Post your current illnesses here

[speedlolita]

21 - 35 Minor to moderate depression

Scored 24 - without girlfriend's influence would be over 54 probably. lol

[nakamura]

I scored 6. Marry a japanese women, that takes away all of the despression!

[hudson]

So my flu-like symptoms are starting to dwindle, but have now woken up to a new chapter of my illness, horrid earache! Grrr. Been in bed for 2 days and now...now this ****. Luckily the Driving Test I had booked today has been cancelled due to poor weather.

Any tips on getting rid of earache anyone?

[Bort]

Presume I've sprained my ankle.

My local gym is being redecorated and I'm going to a new one that has a very different set of stepping machines.

A few days after starting there (around the 27th) my ankle hurt off and on. I stopped using the stepper and used other machines. The pain largely subsided.

I used the stepper over this past weekend again and the pain came back. I could walk normally but I'd hobble in the morning or after a period of sitting. Gave the gym a rest on Monday and the ankle got quite a bit better. Went to the gym Tues and only did the elliptical/bike and took a long walk in the evening. The ankle is a bugger this morning and has swollen up a bit under the ankle joint for the first time.

Outside of my right foot. The pain is in a semi circle under the joint. Fun fun fun, in the cold cold cold.

[Skull Commander]

40 for me on that test. Like everything else I end up with a half arsed result

[Dirty Sanchez]

So my flu-like symptoms are starting to dwindle, but have now woken up to a new chapter of my illness, horrid earache! Grrr. Been in bed for 2 days and now...now this ****. Luckily the Driving Test I had booked today has been cancelled due to poor weather.

Any tips on getting rid of earache anyone?

Take a cup and put cotton wool/tissue in bottom, pour in boiling water to soak it then squeeze most of the water out. Press the cup over your ear.

The heat/steam helps to equalize the pressure in the ear, easing the earache.

[kernow]

I went for my first MRI scan the other day, was quite nervous but it wasn't actually too bad and only lasted about 10mins.

[Rossco]

I went for my first MRI scan the other day, was quite nervous but it wasn't actually too bad and only lasted about 10mins.

I found the hardest thing was staying still in the MRI. They made it out that if I moved an inch it would bugger it up!

Bort, rest your ankle I can testify that it's not worth risking it! Incase you didn't see my posts, I just got operation on mine two years after injuring it!

Still really sore so still taking the painkillers. Starting to not rely on the crutches as much but still need to use them to take the weight off the foot when walking. Still don't have full movement in the ankle yet either.

[dvdx2]

Mental illness is no laughing matter -

there is a big difference to being 'a bit low' and feeling unhappy, to being severely depressed. Depression affects every part of your life - your job, r'ships, confidence, motivation, rationality and health and if not treated its potentially fatal.

I am only just now getting my head around it, after being ill for 2 years (almost back to full health now). I had 7 months off work and went from a confident, outgoing guy to an anxious, panic ridden mess. Recovery takes a long, long time. Counselling, anti-depressants can help, but I found family support and change of lifestyle to be the key.

There is a big difference between stress and anxiety and anxiety and depression. So much stigma still out there :-(

I managed stress for years, before i had a breakdown - if you think you are getting worse, go and have a chat with your doctor, speak to someone - a friend; dont keep bottling it up like i did.

[Bort]

Bort, rest your ankle I can testify that it's not worth risking it! Incase you didn't see my posts, I just got operation on mine two years after injuring it!

Still really sore so still taking the painkillers. Starting to not rely on the crutches as much but still need to use them to take the weight off the foot when walking. Still don't have full movement in the ankle yet either.

Yep, I've read about your injury as you've posted. I was half tempted to just do a light session today but I'm going to leave it and just do some light stretching of my right foot over the next few days and no long walks.

[hudson]

Take a cup and put cotton wool/tissue in bottom, pour in boiling water to soak it then squeeze most of the water out. Press the cup over your ear.

The heat/steam helps to equalize the pressure in the ear, easing the earache.

Thanks I tried this, but it didn't help me. The pain worsened (not due to your help, im sure ), so I went the doctors. I now have a bad ear infection to round my flu off. Nice one, God of Ill!

[Friction]

Mental illness is no laughing matter -

there is a big difference to being 'a bit low' and feeling unhappy, to being severely depressed. Depression affects every part of your life - your job, r'ships, confidence, motivation, rationality and health and if not treated its potentially fatal.

I am only just now getting my head around it, after being ill for 2 years (almost back to full health now). I had 7 months off work and went from a confident, outgoing guy to an anxious, panic ridden mess. Recovery takes a long, long time. Counselling, anti-depressants can help, but I found family support and change of lifestyle to be the key.

There is a big difference between stress and anxiety and anxiety and depression. So much stigma still out there :-(

I managed stress for years, before i had a breakdown - if you think you are getting worse, go and have a chat with your doctor, speak to someone - a friend; dont keep bottling it up like i did.

Big respect for being that honest there mate

I too had major health probs after a bad accident (there was a thread here once) and have spent years on the road to recover. It was a real game changer for me too - totally changed my outlook and my way of looking at things.

I had all the help on offer and it made a real difference that's for sure. Granted I pulled a high score in that test, but this time around I'm far more aware of myself through having lived the stress before, and on the day I took the test I was under pressure having got an assignment to do for uni - I'm in my third and final year now - which is one of the best examples I've got to show how far I've come since all my problems

Like I say I have my off days (outside influences, time of year), but then don't we all. The key is to recognise the symptoms and get them dealt with I guess!

[Dogg Thang]

Big respect for being that honest there mate

Yep, QFT. And, yes, there is so much stigma out there, which is the main reason I rarely talk about my own experiences with depression.

Edit: Just realising I went and managed to make that about me. Me, me, me. But, to be honest, I know that there are several others who have been through things on these boards and, well, if those tests are anything to go by, there'll be a few more too! Depression, for something people rarely talk about, seems bizarrely common.

[Friction]

It's guess its because depression is still one of those big taboo things I suppose. You can have so much good going on in your life but still be depressed. And then you sometimes you are ashamed to admit you have trouble coping etc.

When I was at my worst, I just didn't have anyone to talk to, hence my posting here. IIRC you were one of the people who messaged me back then Dogg and the response from everyone here was actually really sound. Back then I felt very alone, I'd never been in that sort of situation before and I was struggling. Having the thoughts and views of people who knew what I was feeling and had perhaps experienced similar things etc really helped out.

Sure it took more than talking, but just putting it out there really made a difference to how I felt at the time

[Dogg Thang]

You can have so much good going on in your life but still be depressed.

That's the thing that always got to me. When I was at my worst, on paper my life should have been great. It prevented me from feeling joy or excitement even when I had every reason to. And then I'd feel guilty for feeling like crap when my life was actually much better than so many out there in the world. I drew a little cartoon once. It was a guy standing in front of an empty cup, a teabag and a kettle and it read something like 'life can be so hard sometimes'. That sums up what it did to me - the easiest things in the world just became too difficult. Sucks, to be honest!

You're right though. It does help knowing others have been or are going through the same thing. And just getting it out in the open can really help. There are also some really helpful websites and boards too, which helped me when I needed it.