Caryl

Grant's main allergies (apart from cats and dogs) are grass, pine pollen and wattle plus just about any flower that has a perfume. :roll: I am unable to have a bouquet of flowers in the house &c:ry

It certainly pays to know the drug name rather than the brand name as they are usually cheaper to buy by prescription (you pay for the script but you get a bigger supply). For instance Claratyne, which is heavily advertised during the hay fever season, is loratadine. You can get a 3 month supply of loratadine from your GP (fees for these vary) which is cheaper than the 30 or so they sell in a packet under the brand name. Grant uses loratadine all year around and usually needs 2 or 3 hay fever injections between August and Feb. Sometimes they work instantly and sometimes they don't :dunno:

Grant wins as he is just as good today as yesterday whereas poor Ade has to improve slowly. To be almost pain free after many years is wonderful and he is making the most of it. Yes it is subsidised if you meet the criteria to apply for Special Authority, otherwise it costs $1,000 per injection (so $2,000 per month)! Basic requirements before being subsidised are (among other things)... Patient has had severe and active erosive rheumatoid arthritis for 6 months duration or longer. Patient has tried and not responded to at least 3 months of oral or parenteral methotrexate in combination with sulphasalazine and hydroxychloroquine sulphate (at maximum tolerated doses). Patient has tried and not responded to at least 3 months of therapy at the maximum tolerated dose of leflunomide alone or in combination with oral or parenteral methotrexate. Patient has persistent symptoms of poorly controlled and active disease in at least 20 swollen, tender joints. Patient has a C-reactive protein level greater than 15 mg/L measured no more than 1 month prior to the date of application. Unfortunately the injections do not replace all the other drugs he has to take, they are to be used in conjunction with them all so he still takes up to 9 pills per day (down from 11). Half of those are to counteract the side effects of the other half :roll: He now has an even more compromised immune system so has to avoid people with bugs, have flu injections and pneumonia boosters. He also has to go onto antibiotics immediately if his temp goes over 38C. He has a little card to present at any hospital ED to give him priority treatment if his temp rises on a weekend and we can't see the GP.

Quite a few of you know my husband Grant has rheumatoid arthritis. He was first diagnosed over 20 years ago and has slowly, over the years, progressed through various drug regimes and combination as the disease worsened. The past 6 months have been particularly bad and the last few weeks even more so. His hands have been so badly swollen he has been unable to clench his fingers or do fiddly work (being unable to hold small objects like screw drivers, a problem with his type of job). He has limped everywhere as the ankle and hip pain has worsened. At times he has been unable to eat much as his jaw hurt too much to chew or he could not open his mouth wide enough to get the food in. Last visit to the rheumatologist, just after he got the plaster cast off his arm, he was told he was now eligible for another drug treatment as all the others were failing. It meant he would have to inject himself once a fortnight with a powerful drug that suppresses his immune system even further (RA is the body's immune system attacking the body), a TNF inhibitor. Before going on this drug, he had to have blood tests to check he did not have Hep B or C, HIV, or TB and a chest X-ray to check there were no lung infections. Once they all came back clear the Dr was able to apply for special authority to give him the Adalimumab. Without this, it would cost him $1,000 per injection! With it, it is free, apart from the prescription charges of course. We went to Nelson yesterday for him to pick up his TNF inhibitor kit (he has a special freezer pack for travel as the drug must be kept refrigerated, and special containers in which to put the used injections) and to learn how to inject himself. He has a pen-like device similar to what diabetics use. The nurse said he ought to see some improvement in about 3 weeks. Well, Grant is a new man this morning! He woke in the early hours, as usual, but not in screaming pain but only mild discomfort. He got straight out of bed instead of having to take it slowly, sitting until he could get various body parts to bend enough to stand up and walk, and then take 10 minutes to just get his undies on. He was able to dress immediately and quickly. He can clench his fingers tightly and pick up small items. He then got his shoes and socks on immediately, and as fast as most people, instead of having to wait an hour or 2 and then take about 10 minutes to complete the task. He just about ran up and down the hall gathering gear to load into the vehicle and was able to carry it all in one go, and open the door at the same time, instead of having to make several slow trips. He has just returned home again and showed me the swelling in his hands has reduced even further. He showed me that not only could we see his knuckles again but he could bend over and drag them along the ground! :gigl: Unless you have lived with this disease I don't think you can appreciate how thrilled and astounded we are at how quickly and thoroughly it has started to work. Long may it continue! To those out there with RA, we recommend this stuff, although it has only been a day so he may get hit with some side effects further down the track! Here's hoping it continues to work for many years more. :dnc1: :happy1: :happy2:

MAC have a number of non local members and our sub is $15. We do not offer a newsletter though. If you want someone closer, Kapi-Mana or Upper Hutt, or perhaps Hawkes Bay couyld be considered.

I have AquaClear sponges over 15 years old. They can be rinsed and re-used. I never even do that until the water flow is obviously reduced.

Surgery went well and she is sore but recovering. :dnc1:

We went through Seddon earlier this afternoon (we were in ChCh for the majority of these quakes). A TV1 van was parked at the railway station. They are probably there now in hopes that the dam, that has developed cracks, bursts. Seddon has had chimneys down, cladding coming off houses and broken windows. At least they do not have falling masonry from tall buildings like those in Wgtn. They don't go higher than 2 stories in Seddon. Peter Yealand said the wine silos swayed in a spectacular manner and terrified the staff but his winery was built to withstand about quakes up to 9.0.

:rolfl:

I'm glad I have dropped the water level in the tank. Just had another series of large jolts. :tears:

Sounds like it most likely is excess sunlight so should fix itself once the fish are in their new home. I am not too happy with the mix of fish as I don't think the clown loaches should be with Africans. Also, as stated, those fish need lots of caves for hiding places. They will be feeling very stressed with nowhere to hide.

Daphnia do not travel well so it is quite likely any couriered would die in transit. See if you can find someone nearby wo has some to offer. Chances are better in summer when daphnia abounds. I have never bought any, I just fill a container with water and leave it outside. Daphnia magically appear in it, along with mozzie larvae and other critters :bggrn:

A glass merchant

We say quite a few piranha for sale when we were overseas. All looked quite boring from a colour point of view (but fish often don't look their best in shop tanks) and all were very tatty from nipping.

Public Id: 2013p537512 NZST: Friday, July 19 2013 at 9:06:39 am Intensity: severe Depth: 8 km Magnitude: 5.7 Location: 30 km east of Seddon Good wallop felt here. Water in the tank didn't slosh out though as it was such a sudden jolt, not a rolling motion. Items have fallen off shelves but nothing major reported so far (that I have heard)

Why not ring Kelly Tarlton's and ask?

Got a call from one of the rest homes today. They have brought a fish tank and some fish and were looking for someone to tell them how to keep fish correctly. They have bought a 200L and so far stocked it with a mix of real (one of which isn't aquatic, despite being purchased from a lfs) and plastic plants, a clown loach, 8 guppies, a golden algae eater and 2 gouramis (which turned out to be Boesemanis). They eventually want angels but will now wait for the tank to cycle (a process they knew nothing about but do now and understand the idea). The residents are all very pleased with it and apparently several of them have kept fish in the past and were keen to have some to look at.

Yes they do lose colour with age but generally speaking if you buy a group from the same tank chances are they are siblings so all the same age. You can get 5 years out of a neon. A fish will also lose colour when it is unwell. It may have been damaged when being caught, or been unwell when you got it. This means it is less likely to survive the stress of being caught, transported and re-homed in a new environment than its healthier mates.

How did you hold them in that long???

I don't recommend using a commercial bacon slicer without the safety guard either :oops: It is often the smaller cuts that seem to hurt the most though isn't it? And it is invariably on a part of you that you keep bumping against things!

But they are so small! Make your own and get a lot more

Capitations are now being sent in by clubs. The FNZAS treasurer is away at the moment but things will be dealt with on her return so the wait should not be long.

Welcome. I am worried about the Betta though. With a name like that it sounds as if you expect him to explode! :gigl:

and the earth will shoot off all over the place like when someone lets go a balloon full of air that has not had the opening tied off!!

From the cat, the lorikeet, or both? :gigl: