n.b.Goldie

Usually I am lucky enough to be a healthy chap only suffering from the usual coughs and colds associated with winter but as the title of this blog entry indicates the 2010/11 winter brought something very different. Early December 2010 I caught a 'winter cold' which lasted a few days but the symptoms went on for about three weeks. Just when the throat stopped tickling and I could sleep at night without coughing I started to get the occasional dizzy spell. It only lasted a second or two and did not occur very often, no more than once or twice a day and I made a mental note to visit my G.P. Then on the evening of Sunday 16th January I went upstairs to visit the 'facilities' when I felt very dizzy as I ascended the stairs. Once in the bathroom I felt really unwell, the world was spinning round at an incredible rate and I felt very nauseous. It was all I could do to drag myself to the bedroom where I collapsed onto the bed and called for my Landlady. She came upstairs and helped me into bed. The only way I felt I could avoid the by now severe dizzyness was to lay on my side and as still as possible. The slightest movement made me feel very sick. After about half an hour of feeling like this I knew I was going to vomit, she fetched me a bowl and I proceeded to vomit no less than twelve times in the next hour. It took a good two weeks for the symptoms to abate sufficiently for me to start functioning again including eating. I had been unable to keep much down and survived on a daily diet of a glass of milk and a banana. It sure got the weight off but not in a manner I would advise! Slowly, I had to learn to walk again, just like a baby. My GP said that my ear infection had changed the signals that is sent to the brain and the brain has to learn over what those new signals mean. The brains confusion is what causes the sickness. Not only that, he does a urine test and promptly pronounces me a TYPE 2 DIABETIC and prescribes Metformin. So, just over a month or so passes and I am beginning to think I am over it and wham! It comes back with a vengeance. This time I was down my boat club (Lionhearts Cruising Club) and I collapsed in the clubhouse. Same symptoms. I could not walk, stand or even crawl. A couple of the guys bundled me into a car with a sickbowl and took me to Milton Keynes hospital. The A&E doctor examined me and pronounced that I had a migraine and should go home and see my GP the next day. A nurse gave me an injection to stop the sickness and I was carted off home. The next day Landlady makes me an appointment at my GP and somehow I crawled down the stairs and got into the car. Arriving at the surgery the receptionists could see I was in a bad way and I was duly ushered into the doctors consulting room. The doctor asked why I was there when clearly I should be in hospital and as Landlady explained the situation I threw up. The doctor got me into a side-room and called an ambulance. The paramedics were very understanding and made me as comfortable as they could on the journey back to MK hospital thoughtfully avoiding speed-humps on the route there. Back at the hospital a different A&E doctor sent me to the Clinical Decisions Unit (CDU) and I was given a bed and a injection to stop the vomiting which up to that point I had been doing every few minutes and a drip to replace lost fluids etc. A doctor visited after about an hour or so although my awareness was very iffy by this point so I would not swear to the timescale and he asked load of questions and looked into eyes and ears before finally pronouncing severe labrynthitis. Normally this affliction would last three days maybe a week but trust me to get an abnormally severe dose. Next day I am transferred to Ward 2 which is quite literally next to the CDU and during the transfer my notes became lost so the staff in Ward 2 had to start over. Oh well, par for the course........................ I was in hospital for a week and during this time I slowly recovered my faculties thanks to the wonderful stuff they pumped into me to stop the vomiting. A consultant came to have a look at me and confirmed severe labrynthitis but booked a brain scan just to be sure there was nothing nasty which would produce the same symptoms. He also looked at my medical notes over the previous few days and observed that I am type 2 diabetic with hypertension. He looked at my blood sugar levels and said "are you sure you are diabetic?" I don't know I replied , my GP diagnosed me. "Well", he said "your blood sugars are normal as is your blood pressure" so he cancelled all my medication and wrote to my GP. Since then I have had numerous blood tests and so far all come back as normal but as the consultant said once you are diagnosed with diabetes you cannot be undiagnosed because nobody recovers from it. So as far as the NHS is concerned I am still a diabetic but I am not going to argue, just treat it as a warning and behave myself. The brain scan results were normal so I am thankful for that and now every time I get a sniffle or cold I worry that the dreaded Labrynthitis will return. Now in 2013, on a day to day basis I cannot say I am back to normal. As I began to recover I got 'dizzy days', two or three a week and as time progressed they thankfully became less. Nowadays I might get one or two a month and I know when I have one as soon as I wake up. On those days I have to watch my balance and not turn or bend too quickly. Hopefully those days will become rarer. The consultant said that the infection will have scarred the inner ear so I guess it will take time to get over it. Looking on some websites dedicated to labrynthitis some rare unfortunates never get over it so I will count myself lucky.

Cannot find it on Kindle or iBooks. Link anyone? Help?? Regards Ditchdabbler

I think it should not be applied when temperatures are below ten deg c. Also it will not turn black if applied to non-rusty areas. Wait till temps lift then reapply to the rusty bits only. Regards Ditchdabbler

Some on eBay http://www.ebay.co.u...150993829984%26 Regards Ditchdabbler

Could it be a drain hole for a calorifier PRV? Regards Ditchdabbler

The profile of the canal bed has changed since the 'old days' due to different usage patterns. Apparently it is now more 'saucer' shaped rather than the 'vee' shape which heavily loaded deep drafted traffic would cause. Not my deduction, although I agree with it, it came from a BW lengthsman. Regards Ditchdabbler

Anyone tried plumbers mait? Regards Ditchdabbler

It does sound like a case of over-confidence does it not? I know that OC has caught me out once or twice but thankfully not resulting in sinking the boat. There but for the grace of god............................... Regards Ditchdabbler

I found a poncho very good on my cruiser stern but my present boat is a trad and I find a poncho to be a right pain. I have found a wind proof brolly less hassle. RegardsDitchdabbler

Yep, that's me. Very little electrical or technical knowledge required and it does what it says on the box. Cannot ask for more. Regards Ditchdabbler

What do I miss now I no longer live aboard? Everything, from waking up in the morning to the sound of ducks and swans pecking the weed from the hull to emptying the porta potti and everything inbetween. If I was not so fond of my landlady I know where I would be. Regards Ditchdabbler

Had one for about three years or so. Does what is says on the box. Batteries always well charged and no apparent deterioration yet. Have used Sterling stuff on previous boat with excellent results. Have no hesitation in recommending Sterling. No connection with them, just a satisfied customer. Regards Ditchdabbler

About four or five years ago approaching Braunston Tunnel from the North end comes in the other direction no less a celebrity than BARRY GIBB of Bee Gee fame at the tiller of a (not obviously a hire boat) narrowboat. I looked at him, he looked at me and he gave me a look that said 'I know you know who I am', we exchanged greetings and passed each other by. Where he went after then I do not know. Regards Ditchdabbler