Sorry to interrupt but I just popped in and saw that fab picture, it made me chuckle

I'm glad you like it

Aww that is so cute!   Hi Summer, great pic isn't it?

Good evening everyone.  Pleased to say the sun did come out.     Love the picture El Loro.

Done as much as I can for today.  The ironing will have to wait until tomorrow.  Won't be back again tonight.  Will catch up with you all again tomorrow. 

 That's my job  

 Hope you're bearing up Joyron  

We still love you, Velvet.

El, your pic of Skylark on the log made me laugh.

hi in here

love the pic EL Loro - fantastic

Good morning everyone, grey and cloudy here.  The reason I am first this morning is that I have a fasting blood test, oh joy!   Have a good day, speak to you later, after my breakfast

Good morning everyone

It's grey and cloudy here as well. Good luck with the blood test squiggle . I had a blood test for my thryroid a few days ago (just routine) and the nurse at the surgery managed to do it in such a way that it was hardly noticeable. I hope your test is first thing this morning.

Love your picture

Good morning everyone.Weather is cloudy and grey up here, too.

Good luck with the blood test, Squiggle. I hope you don't have to wait too long for your breakfast.

Good morning again, just had my breakfast   I was early for my blood test and as the previous patient hadn't shown up I was all done and dusted and out of the surgery before my appointment was due   The nurse was telling me she lives next door to a wildlife park very near here and she can hear the lions roaring at night not what you would expect really in sleepy North Devon

Or is it the dinosaurs there?

I'm glad you didn't have to wait long for your blood test and your breakfast

Have you been researching EL?

Good afternoon everyone.    It was bright and sunny here this morning but is dull and dismal now.  The ironing is done and I've just about managed to catch up on all the other jobs that needed doing.

Squiggle, I have my fasting blood tests tomorrow too!!  The coincidences in here are really spooky (car MOTs last week and blood tests this week).  Unfortunately I have to have a double appointment with a two hour break in between as I am having my annual GTT test this time, as well as the six monthly cholesterol test.  That means I won't get anything to eat and drink until around 11.00 am tomorrow, worse luck.  Lovely picture today. 

That sounds like quite a tough day Joyron, but it will be so nice when its all behind you. You know we will all be thinking of you and looking forward to when its over and done with.

I wish I didn't get so stressed about having my blood pressure taken, it puts your blood pressure up   There was an article in the paper this morning about 300,000 people in this country taking blood pressure tablets unnecessarily because of 'white coat hypertension' and I think I am one of them because I get so stressed for ages beforehand when I know they are going to take my blood pressure, I try to think calm thoughts and everything

I've just come back from seeing a client this afternoon. We were chatting and she mentioned that this morning she had to fast overnight last night and had no breakfast as this morning she had her GTT test. And I come back home and see your post Joyron, and

What's going on? Maybe everyone is having fasting blood tests today and tomorrow - I'm feeling left out as I didn't have to fast for mine last week

squiggle, you are not alone in white coat hypertension - I have that as well. I do have to take high blood pressure tablets, have done so for a few years. I bought myself a blood pressure monitor and for the 2-3 weeks before I have my test I take my own reading each day and record that. I work out the average and give a copy of the readings to the nurse. My readings are well within the normal levels and are typically somewhat below the nurse's reading. Last week the nurse's readings were just at the top of the normal range, but it's reasonable to say that that is as high as it gets.

It may be worth your while buying your own meter as that will give a more reliable reflection of what your normal blood pressure is. You can get them from Boots and Lloyds - go for upper arm ones rather than wrist ones as these are more accurate. The one I have is a cheaper version of the ones at my doctors. Having your own is also likely to make you less stressed about the one at the doctors.

It is advisable not to have a full bladder before a test, and also not to have caffineated coffee or tea in the couple of hours before. Either a full bladder or caffeine in the body will tend to give higher readings.

I swear this place gets spookier and spookier!!  I too suffer from white coat hypertension and, like El Loro, I have my own blood pressure monitor and take readings a week or so before I go for my check ups.    My readings are always much lower than when the nurse takes it.

I always hate the GTT blood test done because you have to have the blood taken then drink a big glass of what I assume is a glucose solution, go away for two hours and then come back and have more blood taken.  It's a right pain and I'm glad it's only done once a year.

Joyron, you are right - it is a glucose solution.As I understand it, the glucose tolerance test is designed to first check what your blood sugar level is having fasted so it should be at a low level. Then you have the glucose, have to wait a couple of hours for the glucose to get into the blood stream which is quick but then reduces over the two hours, so the following blood test can see how well the body has coped with the glucose intake.

To date, I haven't needed one of those tests, just the routine urine test and sometimes a one-off blood test. But I'm not seen as a potential diabetic, so it's just a routine checkup. Many years ago when my thyroid became overactive, they thought at that time I might have been marginally diabetic, but since then I never have sugar in coffee or tea, and have little in the way of sweets. That keeps the risk of developing diabetes reasonably low, and neither parent suffered from that.

for everyone having blood tests, ATM. I don't get mine done again for another week.

I've had my hair cut this afternoon and feel human again.

I had my hair cut this afternoon as well Joyron's right it is spooky

This is proof - I'm a week before the rest of you. Not only did I have by blood test last week, I also had my hair cut

We'll be synchronising our watches before you know it

... and I'm having my hair cut on Saturday!!! 

Hi everyone  Its like a Doctors surgery in here !  
Just finished my work, after being off on hols the first day back is exhausting, and a 12 shift at that! Going to have my tea and watch Scotland Debates, to see what they have to say for themselves, trying to get our votes .

I need to psyche myself up before I start listening to politicians.

Hi Yogi, i may not watch it all , Alex Salmond annoys me and they will talk drivel , i imagine! I want to know what their plans are for the NHS tho, but what they say to get votes and what they  actually do afterwards are two different things !

 Thanks for the reminder Sky 

That's the problem Skylark, they will promise us the moon to get our votes and then they don't deliver.

Yes indeed!   No probs Velvet x     Going off now, i am needing food and my feet up. Tiddle pip

See you later, Skylark.

Hello Velvet.

Hi Yogi  

I'll be tuning in at nine  

I think I'll be ignoring the politicians and watching the lovely Rupert Penry-Jones on BBC1 instead.

You're voting Penry-Jones  

 Rupert gets my vote.

Signing out for tonight.  Just off to make my last cup of tea for about the next 14 hours!!  I can do without food in the morning but I will miss my cup of tea.  Will catch up with you all when I get back from the surgery. 

hi in here

joyron - hope your op goes OK - i would miss my cup of tea as well

Joyron, I'm like a bear with a sore head if I don't get my morning cup of tea, so you have my sympathy.

Hi Ros, how are things with you?

hi yogi - had pooter trouble and couldn't post for DOI final - would have preferred chloe to win TBH or Laura - i know Sam was the best but he was soooooo smug

I wouldn't have minded if Chloe had won but I didn't want Laura to win - I just couldn't warm to her. I did think Sam was the best skater on the night.