Before reading this please be aware that I am not a doctor. I am writing this because I have first hand experience of a heart condition that meant I had to be on warfarin for over a year. Please check any information or agree any changes to medication with your doctor first.
If you have been affected by a blood clot, stroke, DVT (deep vein thrombosis), or heart arrythmia (irregular rhythm) or heart condition such as atrial fibrillation, you might be put onto warfarin (Coumadin). Irregular heart beats could produce turbulence and lead to bits of heart valves breaking into the bloodstream. Blood clots are formed when platelets get "stuck" in the capillary system or the arteries start to harden as they degenerate. Calcium is also needed for them to form.
Warfarin thins the blood by inhibiting the action of an enzyme that converts vitamin K to an active form.
It has a stronger action than aspirin or clopidogrel which inhibit platelet activity. Once you are put on warfarin the level in your bloodstream must be measured at least weekly until you are stable and know your own levels. Testing might then be reduced to fortnightly. The level must not be altered rapidly. It is a bit like steering a barge on the canal. The barge takes a while to respond, if you move the tiller too far it will hit the bank. Blood clotting rates are measured as an INR (Internation Normalised Ratio). A therapeutic dose is normally between 2 and 3, (or 4 if you are waiting for an operation).
Warfarin will have a stronger effect if you take non-steroidal anti-inflammatories like neurofen or aspirin. It might also have more effect if you are on metformin for diabetes. Some anti-biotics also reduce vitamin K levels in the blood. Bromelain which is extracted from pineapple core might increase its effect. Grapefruit or grapefruit juice is an active substance that can increase the effect of medication. High levels of anti-oxidants like vitamin C might affect the level.
More importantly, foods that contain vitamin K will reduce the effect of warfarin. If your diet regularly includes green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, lettuce and spinach you might reach a stable level on warfarin without having to make changes, the dose will be higher. But if you change your diet frequently it will be harder to stabilise. Foods that are very high in vitamin K are alfalfa sprouts and watercress. There were times on warfarin that I simply had a craving and ate a whole bag of watercress. It is as if my body needed to stock up again. Green vegetables (and cauliflower, oranges, tahini and honey are also good sources of calcium). Calcium is needed for blood clotting and muscle function. You might be led to believe that you must not eat these foods at all. Taking these foods is not harmful, but stopping them or changing your diet might lead to a change in your INR levels.
Long Term Effects of Warfarin (Coumadin)
Tiredness is a common side effect. My suspicion is that it lowers calcium uptake and leads to energy loss in muscles. Frequent bruising at the slightest knock, break down of capillaries around the eyes and nose, in the legs and all signs of too high a dose for too long. Nose bleeds are another sign of capillary breakdown. A blow to the head could lead to a haemorrhagic stroke (a bleed in the brain). If you have a sudden severe "thunderclap" headache the physician must be informed that you have been on warfarin. The biggest long term risk is osteoporosis. I suspect that the increase in hip and other fractures from falls could correlate with increased numbers of elderly people on warfarin. As long ago as 1975 scientists isolated a substance called osteocalcium from the bones of chicks. Vitamin K acted as a catalyst to start bone formation around this protein framework.
Conclusion
Doctors have to weigh up the benefits of a mediation against the risks of its side effects. In my case I am glad that I took warfarin, unpleasant though it was. It enabled me to have numerous complex heart procedures that led to a great improvement in my energy levels. It is up to you, talk with your own GP or specialist physician.
Monday, 9 August 2010
Monday, 26 July 2010
Cracked Heels, dry feet, hard skin
Wearing sandals with no socks, walking in bare feet, canoeing and wading in the mud or sand, all lead to cracked heels and feet. You take your feet for granted until they cause you pain. Then you are desperate to find someone to help you. Infection and the lack of sensitivity are the main dangers. Keeping your feet clean is obvious but it really helps. A number of soldiers come to see me for help with their aches and injuries. The last SAS training involved 3 weeks of exercises. One day recently they had to walk for 40 miles carrying over 70 lb (32 Kg) packs and a rifle. The latest qualifying training co-incided with the Tour de France. One soldier said to me that the cyclists would have cold baths, masseurs every night, calorie measured food intake and a host of support for drinks. The SAS trainees had to go to the canteen at night or eat army rations and expend about the same energy as the Tour de France cyclists.
It is obvious, but keep your feet clean and moisturise. We use light olive oil for massage, you could use it every day. On a trip take some alcohol hand gel, tweezers and a needle, remove any tiny splinters. Try the inner pith of citrus fruits if you have no gel. Grapefruit works particularly well. If my heels crack when I am away I use superglue, dribble a little on, let it dry then add a little more. An emery board or pumice stone keeps the dry skin smooth. The best foot cream that we have come across is:
Scholl, Cracked Heel Repair Cream. It is brilliant.
Find someone to give you a foot massage or reflexology. Practice yoga balance postures or simply balance on one foot when you are waiting for someone. There are 26 bones in each foot and 72,000 nerve endings. Your feet form a tripod between the big toe, the cuboid in the outer border and the calcaneus in the heel. Pain in one big toe can be caused by stubbing the toe or other damage. However numbness in the big toe can indicate nerve root entrapment. It could relate to the nerve that comes out below the 5th lumbar vertebra in your back. If you are local to Milton Keynes we can treat that problem with success in most cases
Someone said to me recently that I was the first person to give them a really deep foot massage. They called it an "X ray massage."
Bunions are formed when the big toes are damaged or the arches in your feet start to collapse. The big toe is pushed over into or under the other toes and you walk by rolling off the inside of your big toe not the front of it. If your piriformis muscles in the pelvis are short the feet will externally rotate. You develop the "Charlie Chaplin walk" which is inefficient. That can be cured by muscles energy techniques and piriformis stretches.
To test whether your arches still have some spring in them look at your feet when you are standing. Do they have arches or not? Then sit with your legs dangling. Is the arch higher or are they still flat? If the arch is higher you still have some spring in them. You can work on that and strengthen them. If the arches are still flat you will need orthotics to support them. Podiatrists call orthotics, orthoses (from the Greek, orthosis - making straight).
It is obvious, but keep your feet clean and moisturise. We use light olive oil for massage, you could use it every day. On a trip take some alcohol hand gel, tweezers and a needle, remove any tiny splinters. Try the inner pith of citrus fruits if you have no gel. Grapefruit works particularly well. If my heels crack when I am away I use superglue, dribble a little on, let it dry then add a little more. An emery board or pumice stone keeps the dry skin smooth. The best foot cream that we have come across is:
Scholl, Cracked Heel Repair Cream. It is brilliant.
Find someone to give you a foot massage or reflexology. Practice yoga balance postures or simply balance on one foot when you are waiting for someone. There are 26 bones in each foot and 72,000 nerve endings. Your feet form a tripod between the big toe, the cuboid in the outer border and the calcaneus in the heel. Pain in one big toe can be caused by stubbing the toe or other damage. However numbness in the big toe can indicate nerve root entrapment. It could relate to the nerve that comes out below the 5th lumbar vertebra in your back. If you are local to Milton Keynes we can treat that problem with success in most cases
Someone said to me recently that I was the first person to give them a really deep foot massage. They called it an "X ray massage."
Bunions are formed when the big toes are damaged or the arches in your feet start to collapse. The big toe is pushed over into or under the other toes and you walk by rolling off the inside of your big toe not the front of it. If your piriformis muscles in the pelvis are short the feet will externally rotate. You develop the "Charlie Chaplin walk" which is inefficient. That can be cured by muscles energy techniques and piriformis stretches.
To test whether your arches still have some spring in them look at your feet when you are standing. Do they have arches or not? Then sit with your legs dangling. Is the arch higher or are they still flat? If the arch is higher you still have some spring in them. You can work on that and strengthen them. If the arches are still flat you will need orthotics to support them. Podiatrists call orthotics, orthoses (from the Greek, orthosis - making straight).
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Caeder Idris, Dolgellau, Mountain Navigation
Peter Cliff wrote a book called Mountain Navigation. In it he has a chapter called, "If Lost".
He writes, "The really bad one is where you don't even know which mountain you are on. In this case work your way downhill following streams, as these tend to lead eventually to habitation; and read this book again!" I have done that, but streams tend to follow the shortest route down. There is nothing worse than following a stream in icy conditions, only to find that it drops over a frozen precipice.
Normally you are temporarily not sure exactly where you are; well that happens to me sometimes. Here is some advice. Before you start look at your compass and lay it on your map. One of the scales will fit the map. It might even say 1:50000 or 1:25000. That tells you how many kilometres you intend to walk. If you are with others try Naismith's group rule. You will walk at 4 km and hour or 1 km in 15 minutes, plus 40 minutes for every 1,000 feet (300 metres) that you climb. Make the downhill sections 4 km an hour unless you are a fell runner. If you are really fit you might walk at 5 km an hour plus 30 minutes for every 300 metres climbed. Keep your breaks fairly short and take your compass bearings when you are somewhere sheltered, not when you are hanging onto your ice axe to avoid being blasted off your feet.
If you are not quite sure where you are take a compass bearing straight down a slope. Ask yourself, Where could this slope be on the map. Does the compass bearing fit the slope that we are on? In our case the bearing I wanted us to walk on went straight over a cliff. That indicated we were not quite in the right place.
Walk back to where you last knew you were. Have a close look at the features to see if you recognise them. Grazing sheep might just move. My daughter Zoe was not convinced by the assertion that the sheep were below us when we came across a slope.
Wear enough clothes especially a hat and gloves. I tried walking Caeder Idris in a gale and pouring rain wearing socks and sandals. That worked OK but the trousers did not work. most Rohan trousers are made of polamide which is nylon. It doesn't keep any heat in at all when it is wet. Goretex jackets need your body heat to push the moisture out through the fabric. If your hands are blue and your body heat has gone the Goretex doesn't work and you get wetter. It's best to wear a bit more. Many cases of hypothermia happen because people are dehydrated, and don't eat soon enough. We sometimes forget to drink enough when it is cold and wet.
He writes, "The really bad one is where you don't even know which mountain you are on. In this case work your way downhill following streams, as these tend to lead eventually to habitation; and read this book again!" I have done that, but streams tend to follow the shortest route down. There is nothing worse than following a stream in icy conditions, only to find that it drops over a frozen precipice.
Normally you are temporarily not sure exactly where you are; well that happens to me sometimes. Here is some advice. Before you start look at your compass and lay it on your map. One of the scales will fit the map. It might even say 1:50000 or 1:25000. That tells you how many kilometres you intend to walk. If you are with others try Naismith's group rule. You will walk at 4 km and hour or 1 km in 15 minutes, plus 40 minutes for every 1,000 feet (300 metres) that you climb. Make the downhill sections 4 km an hour unless you are a fell runner. If you are really fit you might walk at 5 km an hour plus 30 minutes for every 300 metres climbed. Keep your breaks fairly short and take your compass bearings when you are somewhere sheltered, not when you are hanging onto your ice axe to avoid being blasted off your feet.
If you are not quite sure where you are take a compass bearing straight down a slope. Ask yourself, Where could this slope be on the map. Does the compass bearing fit the slope that we are on? In our case the bearing I wanted us to walk on went straight over a cliff. That indicated we were not quite in the right place.
Walk back to where you last knew you were. Have a close look at the features to see if you recognise them. Grazing sheep might just move. My daughter Zoe was not convinced by the assertion that the sheep were below us when we came across a slope.
Wear enough clothes especially a hat and gloves. I tried walking Caeder Idris in a gale and pouring rain wearing socks and sandals. That worked OK but the trousers did not work. most Rohan trousers are made of polamide which is nylon. It doesn't keep any heat in at all when it is wet. Goretex jackets need your body heat to push the moisture out through the fabric. If your hands are blue and your body heat has gone the Goretex doesn't work and you get wetter. It's best to wear a bit more. Many cases of hypothermia happen because people are dehydrated, and don't eat soon enough. We sometimes forget to drink enough when it is cold and wet.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory condition in the blood circulation that damages synovial (fluid bearing) joints. It is different to osteo-arthritis in that it tends to affect the base of the thumbs on both sides. Osteo-arthritis affects weight bearing or joints that have been damaged in the past. It might only affect one side. During a flare up you could feel heat or swelling in some joints.
Some accepted causes are:
1) Auto-immunity - the body reacts to antigens in the bloodstream by forming immunoglobulins. Tests would include looking for an immunoglobulin that is specific to IgG. Immunoglobulins engulf bacteria, viruses, allergens and antigens. Antigens are protein substances that cause the immune system to react. Rheumatoid arthritis is an over reaction in which the immune system starts to inflame the synovial joints and break them down over a period of time. (Synovial means 'like an egg'. It refers to the slippery fluid that lubricates your joints).
Antigens might include undigested proteins that come through the walls of the gut into the bloodstream, (known as leaky gut syndrome). If you think about most of the reactive foods that cause intolerance they contain proteins. For instance egg whites, milk casein, wheat gluten, soya proteins, brazil nuts. Intolerance is different from allergy. If you had an allergy say to shellfish like prawns, coconuts or to peanuts you would react quickly in a matter of minutes to hours. Your lips might swell and feel numb. You might feel tingling, nausea. You might develop a skin rash or itchiness. The immunoglobulin reaction is often IgE related. Intolerance however takes longer to develop. The antigen in the food has to reach the bloodstream and lead to an immunoglobulin IgG reaction. That might take between 12 and 72 hours. You need to remember this if you are keeping a food diary. Examples might be a persistent cough due to a reaction to yeast or to hazelnuts or a reaction to white fish, carrots or garlic.
Avoiding one food at a time and keeping a diary
2) Genetic - some families have a disposition to inflammatory arthritis of which rheumatoid is one. Ankylosing spondylitis, scleroderma, lupus erythematosis, Reiter's syndrome, psoriatic arthritis are other examples. They are less common in under developed countries which might point to food allergies or environmental factors. Sexually transmitted diseases can lead to some forms of inflammatory arthritis.
3) Infections from bacteria, mycoplasma (bacteria without a cell wall), viruses, or fungi.
4) Major stress in your life or a sudden change of circumstances has a dramatic effect on your immune system. It can tip your body into a state of emergency. Stress management can help you combined with a course of acupuncture.
Conventional medical treatment is quite crude. It relies on masking the pain and suppressing the immune system with steroids. Steroids are the body's emergency drugs. They have a wonderful effect at first but are extremely hard to come off and cause unpleasant long-term side effects. It is better to find someone who will help you to examine possible allergens or infections.
For more information or specialist help with treating the disease refer to the Breakspear Medical Group Ltd.
http://www.breakspearmedical.com
If you want help with musculoskeletal effects and commonsense food approaches book with us for an appointment: info@johnperrott.com
Some accepted causes are:
1) Auto-immunity - the body reacts to antigens in the bloodstream by forming immunoglobulins. Tests would include looking for an immunoglobulin that is specific to IgG. Immunoglobulins engulf bacteria, viruses, allergens and antigens. Antigens are protein substances that cause the immune system to react. Rheumatoid arthritis is an over reaction in which the immune system starts to inflame the synovial joints and break them down over a period of time. (Synovial means 'like an egg'. It refers to the slippery fluid that lubricates your joints).
Antigens might include undigested proteins that come through the walls of the gut into the bloodstream, (known as leaky gut syndrome). If you think about most of the reactive foods that cause intolerance they contain proteins. For instance egg whites, milk casein, wheat gluten, soya proteins, brazil nuts. Intolerance is different from allergy. If you had an allergy say to shellfish like prawns, coconuts or to peanuts you would react quickly in a matter of minutes to hours. Your lips might swell and feel numb. You might feel tingling, nausea. You might develop a skin rash or itchiness. The immunoglobulin reaction is often IgE related. Intolerance however takes longer to develop. The antigen in the food has to reach the bloodstream and lead to an immunoglobulin IgG reaction. That might take between 12 and 72 hours. You need to remember this if you are keeping a food diary. Examples might be a persistent cough due to a reaction to yeast or to hazelnuts or a reaction to white fish, carrots or garlic.
Avoiding one food at a time and keeping a diary
2) Genetic - some families have a disposition to inflammatory arthritis of which rheumatoid is one. Ankylosing spondylitis, scleroderma, lupus erythematosis, Reiter's syndrome, psoriatic arthritis are other examples. They are less common in under developed countries which might point to food allergies or environmental factors. Sexually transmitted diseases can lead to some forms of inflammatory arthritis.
3) Infections from bacteria, mycoplasma (bacteria without a cell wall), viruses, or fungi.
4) Major stress in your life or a sudden change of circumstances has a dramatic effect on your immune system. It can tip your body into a state of emergency. Stress management can help you combined with a course of acupuncture.
Conventional medical treatment is quite crude. It relies on masking the pain and suppressing the immune system with steroids. Steroids are the body's emergency drugs. They have a wonderful effect at first but are extremely hard to come off and cause unpleasant long-term side effects. It is better to find someone who will help you to examine possible allergens or infections.
For more information or specialist help with treating the disease refer to the Breakspear Medical Group Ltd.
http://www.breakspearmedical.com
If you want help with musculoskeletal effects and commonsense food approaches book with us for an appointment: info@johnperrott.com
Friday, 2 July 2010
Dervla Murphy, Madam Guyon, Richard Bach,Esther Ranzom
Have you ever wondered what motivates you? Do goals fire you into action? Do you lay out your list of tasks for the day and steadily work through them? Can you picture yourself completing all of those tasks?
Our daughter Zoe has just off to Portugal having won yet another prize at work. Whatever goal they set her she exceeds it. She organises her time and her team to achieve the most they can in a day with the most amount of fun and reward thrown in. Earning money can be very appealing not for what it is, but for the opportunities it gives. Too many people have been deluded into pursuing things that money cannot buy. In Dervla Murphy's book, Silverland she quotes a Buryat friend called Todo (p.162), "People forget now what has been known for thousands of years. It's good to have enough money, bad and dangerous to have too much. Very rich people are not free; they live in their own sort of Gulag.
On the other hand there are those of us who dream. We create something in our heads that when the ingredients are combined gives a moment of perfection. Some of us are fortunate to look back to a happy childhood and try to recreate what it is we had. Others of us look forward to a future of security and safety. The past has gone, we can do nothing about it. The future is all we have. The present has not fulfilled our dream.
I live somewhere in-between; I dream, but not big dreams. There are moments in the day that I think, this is a dream come true. It might be on my yoga mat holding an asana that I had never held before. It might be soaking up the warmth of the sun with friends and family, surrounded by beautiful colours. It might be a serendipitous discovery of something knew, an insight or revelation that comes to me. It might be a feeling in the body of strength and energy. Once I was paddling to the Old Man of Hoy with my friend Chris. I looked at his blonde hair, like a Vikings. Behind his yellow boat the 1100 foot sandstone cliffs rose out of the deep water glinting in the sunlight. A black fin cut through the surface between our boats.
We rose and fell on the huge sea like tiny corks. It put me completely into awe like a dream. All we could do was to keep on paddling by the seat of our pants, allowed for a few hours into this magnificent world untamed by mankind.
What is it that you dream? Richard Bach said in, The Gift of Wings, "I never knew anyone who having held onto a dream and worked towards its fulfilment has not one day found that dream to come true." That might be hard to digest for those of us who lack opportunities in life, but how many of us turn down opportunities when they come. Esther Ranzom always finds a way to give, to help others when they need it. But she also believes that when an opportunity comes your way you take it. I find that if you have a hunch to train in something, to educate yourself along a line that interests you, one day you will be presented with an opportunity to explore and use all that you have spent years learning.
In many things you appear to fail, or not yet succeed, depending on whether you are a half cup empty person or a half cup full person. Yet nothing of what you have attempted will be wasted if you hold onto it.
The mystic Madam Guyon was locked away for a time but she could still look upwards to the stars. Her view was not limited by her walls. "Two prisoners looked through the prison bars. One saw the earth, the other saw the stars. " What do you see?
Our daughter Zoe has just off to Portugal having won yet another prize at work. Whatever goal they set her she exceeds it. She organises her time and her team to achieve the most they can in a day with the most amount of fun and reward thrown in. Earning money can be very appealing not for what it is, but for the opportunities it gives. Too many people have been deluded into pursuing things that money cannot buy. In Dervla Murphy's book, Silverland she quotes a Buryat friend called Todo (p.162), "People forget now what has been known for thousands of years. It's good to have enough money, bad and dangerous to have too much. Very rich people are not free; they live in their own sort of Gulag.
On the other hand there are those of us who dream. We create something in our heads that when the ingredients are combined gives a moment of perfection. Some of us are fortunate to look back to a happy childhood and try to recreate what it is we had. Others of us look forward to a future of security and safety. The past has gone, we can do nothing about it. The future is all we have. The present has not fulfilled our dream.
I live somewhere in-between; I dream, but not big dreams. There are moments in the day that I think, this is a dream come true. It might be on my yoga mat holding an asana that I had never held before. It might be soaking up the warmth of the sun with friends and family, surrounded by beautiful colours. It might be a serendipitous discovery of something knew, an insight or revelation that comes to me. It might be a feeling in the body of strength and energy. Once I was paddling to the Old Man of Hoy with my friend Chris. I looked at his blonde hair, like a Vikings. Behind his yellow boat the 1100 foot sandstone cliffs rose out of the deep water glinting in the sunlight. A black fin cut through the surface between our boats.
We rose and fell on the huge sea like tiny corks. It put me completely into awe like a dream. All we could do was to keep on paddling by the seat of our pants, allowed for a few hours into this magnificent world untamed by mankind.
What is it that you dream? Richard Bach said in, The Gift of Wings, "I never knew anyone who having held onto a dream and worked towards its fulfilment has not one day found that dream to come true." That might be hard to digest for those of us who lack opportunities in life, but how many of us turn down opportunities when they come. Esther Ranzom always finds a way to give, to help others when they need it. But she also believes that when an opportunity comes your way you take it. I find that if you have a hunch to train in something, to educate yourself along a line that interests you, one day you will be presented with an opportunity to explore and use all that you have spent years learning.
In many things you appear to fail, or not yet succeed, depending on whether you are a half cup empty person or a half cup full person. Yet nothing of what you have attempted will be wasted if you hold onto it.
The mystic Madam Guyon was locked away for a time but she could still look upwards to the stars. Her view was not limited by her walls. "Two prisoners looked through the prison bars. One saw the earth, the other saw the stars. " What do you see?
Friday, 25 June 2010
Wilderness camping
The wilderness drifts its way through many towns without the inhabitants ever knowing. A dog walker catches a glimpse of three canoeists quietly slipping down the river Tweed as it flows to Berwick on its way to the sea. A few months ago Joanna and her son Tom asked me if I would guide them on a trip by open canoe. We set off late one afternoon from Innerleithen, leaving her car and trailer in a small clearing by the river bridge, just before the traffic lights. The river was so low that we poled the canoes for many miles between bouts of paddling. Curious horses watched us; snipe rose to their erratic flight; common merganser ducks fussed and shooed away their broods. Late that evening looking for level ground for a camp site we found a park near Galashiels. A car turned up and I wondered if a warden had arrived to tell us what to do. Instead a man got out with his children and put up a tent in the park. In the morning he gave me the rest of their milk for our own journey. In this part of the Scottish borders everyone is happy to talk, their curiosity aroused by our journey.
The next day a fresh headwind rose to cool the sunshine. We paddled, poled, and waded, pulling the boats down the rocky shallows. We inspected and shot rapids and weirs. This one at Melrose was rocky.
Merkatoun proved an interesting rapid. We shot it in turns, covering for each other.
The tricky part was a hard paddle to the right. Tom went for it.
and Joanna thought about it.
By supper time we had spent 12 hours with the boats. A Canadian canoe is about the same area as a yoga mat. You live in that space for several days, carrying everything that you need, gazing out at the world from your small territory.
The grounds of Floors Castle looked inviting for a level campsite.
Cooking supper across the river on the beach below an old battlement of Roxburgh Castle we tried to avoid any disturbance or trace of our being there.
Roxburgh was built by King David and taken by the English in 1174 A.D. We rose early and slipped away before anyone was about.
Tom and I had bought one day tickets for trout fishing. Salmon fishing is expensive but the trout beats are let to local clubs at a low rent.
I took an ice axe for digging a toilet so we lashed it to a milk bottle full of stones and water. It make a great anchor for the canoes. I taught Tom how to cast a fly line and of course he caught a fish.
Kelso is a lovely town. The old market square is a great place to sit and eat take aways from the bakery. You would think that you were in France. Sir Walter Scott, who went to the grammar school said, "it is the most beautiful if not the most romantic village in Scotland". A Lidl store provided a top up for our water. The Town hall has a tourist information desk. We took half a day around the town before setting off again into the headwind. Kelso was the only weir that we decided was unsafe to shoot. You can exit just above the weir on the left, or on the left below the first road bridge called Rennie's Bridge. The original had been washed away in the floods of 1797.
The river widened as it dropped through a series of weirs, all shootable. Sand martins flew in and out of their nests feeding their young on the wing. Swallows and swifts dived over the water. Black headed gulls and cormorants took their fill. Oyster catchers, sand pipers and curlews conducted their noisy orchestras.
Dog walkers and fisherman alike all stopped what they were doing to chat and ask how far we had come.
The pools under these bridges would be a fisherman's dream. Large salmon or sea trout slid beneath our canoes.
Slowly Coldstream campsite came into view just before the town on the right. The river had been our companion now so we chose to paddle past the town and found a perfect site on the left bank. With a saw we cut the driftwood that we carried into short lengths. It quickly made a fire, the glowing embers perfect for cooking. Tom and I had taken bivvy bags. Jo took a tent that afforded her privacy. Midges can be a nuisance but eating at least a clove of garlic a day puts them (and everyone else) off. Eating fresh grapefruit and rubbing the inner pith on the skin also puts them off. The pith contains hyalauronic acid which is used in high quality skin cleansers. Taking vitamins also helps your sweat to smell repellent. B vitamins change your sweat and vitamin C and MSM act as anti histamines without making you sleepy.
It was midsummer's day, this view looked back to Coldstream at nearly 10 pm.
On the Sunday we set off for the final haul to Berwick on Tweed. The river widened. The fish leapt straight out of the water as if in mockery. No fishing is allowed on a Sunday. A pair of eagles circled above their eyre high in the trees. The fresh river turned to the salt marshes of the estuary. The numbers of Bewick Swans increased. I counted 14 at one time. The wind freshened again as if to give us a final challenge. Reluctantly we completed our journey as the tide was falling. Between the two road bridges in Berwick there is a sea wall on the right. You can haul canoes up the stone steps and leave them on the grass. We left my car on the trading estate with permission, by a manager of a business.
The Tweed is a wonderful river. In Scotland you have a right to navigate and wild camp. Politeness, respect and leaving no trace of litter or campfires goes a long way. Remember that Salmon fishermen have paid a lot of money for the privilege of their beat. Wait for them to see you. Ask them which way to go and paddle silently past them.
For me the pleasures lay in great companions, sharing a son for a few days, (I have two lovely daughters). There was no obligation to train or coach anyone, yet the skills and confidence of my companions came on leaps and bounds. There was no element of competition or prize winning and no deadline except to reach Berwick on Sunday. We were humans being in the wilderness not human beings competing in the wilderness. A group of young women once asked Hamish Brown to advise them on what they needed for a trip into the wilderness. He was tempted to offer his services as a guide but he wrote back to say that all they needed was a bus ticket.
Useful Kit
In this target driven society saving weight costs an arm and a leg. I buy the best I can and make do with the rest.
Some kit can save your life: a quick drying Buffalo or Montane fleece, an air breathable Goretex bivvy bag, a down sleeping bag, (provided you keep it dry).
For canoe camping a tent can be a nuisance. You wake up either hot and sweaty or cold and damp. The breeze under a tarp or over your bivvy bag dries your kit out.
5 coloured dry bags help you find your stuff, one for day time, for night time, one for valuables, one for day food, and a barrel for the rest.
A saw helps to cut driftwood short for a quick fire. It also helps to clear branches that obstruct fishing, cut poles for a tarp or cut someone out of a boat in emergency.
An ice axe digs a toilet in stony ground, acts as an anchor (with a milk bottle and stones attached), and acts as a belay point for rescues and abseiling.
For cold, wet feet I might invest in some socks from:
http://www.chillcheater.com
For camping equipment and good advice try:
http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/
If you want a reflective book on walking in the hills look out for:
Hamish's Mountain Walk by Hamish Brown. I heard him speak when we lived in the Orkneys. He has also put poetry together into collected works.
The next day a fresh headwind rose to cool the sunshine. We paddled, poled, and waded, pulling the boats down the rocky shallows. We inspected and shot rapids and weirs. This one at Melrose was rocky.
The tricky part was a hard paddle to the right. Tom went for it.
By supper time we had spent 12 hours with the boats. A Canadian canoe is about the same area as a yoga mat. You live in that space for several days, carrying everything that you need, gazing out at the world from your small territory.
The grounds of Floors Castle looked inviting for a level campsite.
Cooking supper across the river on the beach below an old battlement of Roxburgh Castle we tried to avoid any disturbance or trace of our being there.
Roxburgh was built by King David and taken by the English in 1174 A.D. We rose early and slipped away before anyone was about.
Tom and I had bought one day tickets for trout fishing. Salmon fishing is expensive but the trout beats are let to local clubs at a low rent.
I took an ice axe for digging a toilet so we lashed it to a milk bottle full of stones and water. It make a great anchor for the canoes. I taught Tom how to cast a fly line and of course he caught a fish.
Kelso is a lovely town. The old market square is a great place to sit and eat take aways from the bakery. You would think that you were in France. Sir Walter Scott, who went to the grammar school said, "it is the most beautiful if not the most romantic village in Scotland". A Lidl store provided a top up for our water. The Town hall has a tourist information desk. We took half a day around the town before setting off again into the headwind. Kelso was the only weir that we decided was unsafe to shoot. You can exit just above the weir on the left, or on the left below the first road bridge called Rennie's Bridge. The original had been washed away in the floods of 1797.
The river widened as it dropped through a series of weirs, all shootable. Sand martins flew in and out of their nests feeding their young on the wing. Swallows and swifts dived over the water. Black headed gulls and cormorants took their fill. Oyster catchers, sand pipers and curlews conducted their noisy orchestras.
Dog walkers and fisherman alike all stopped what they were doing to chat and ask how far we had come.
The pools under these bridges would be a fisherman's dream. Large salmon or sea trout slid beneath our canoes.
Slowly Coldstream campsite came into view just before the town on the right. The river had been our companion now so we chose to paddle past the town and found a perfect site on the left bank. With a saw we cut the driftwood that we carried into short lengths. It quickly made a fire, the glowing embers perfect for cooking. Tom and I had taken bivvy bags. Jo took a tent that afforded her privacy. Midges can be a nuisance but eating at least a clove of garlic a day puts them (and everyone else) off. Eating fresh grapefruit and rubbing the inner pith on the skin also puts them off. The pith contains hyalauronic acid which is used in high quality skin cleansers. Taking vitamins also helps your sweat to smell repellent. B vitamins change your sweat and vitamin C and MSM act as anti histamines without making you sleepy.
I had no stove so sawing driftwood into short lengths made a quick cooking fire.
On the Sunday we set off for the final haul to Berwick on Tweed. The river widened. The fish leapt straight out of the water as if in mockery. No fishing is allowed on a Sunday. A pair of eagles circled above their eyre high in the trees. The fresh river turned to the salt marshes of the estuary. The numbers of Bewick Swans increased. I counted 14 at one time. The wind freshened again as if to give us a final challenge. Reluctantly we completed our journey as the tide was falling. Between the two road bridges in Berwick there is a sea wall on the right. You can haul canoes up the stone steps and leave them on the grass. We left my car on the trading estate with permission, by a manager of a business.
The Tweed is a wonderful river. In Scotland you have a right to navigate and wild camp. Politeness, respect and leaving no trace of litter or campfires goes a long way. Remember that Salmon fishermen have paid a lot of money for the privilege of their beat. Wait for them to see you. Ask them which way to go and paddle silently past them.
For me the pleasures lay in great companions, sharing a son for a few days, (I have two lovely daughters). There was no obligation to train or coach anyone, yet the skills and confidence of my companions came on leaps and bounds. There was no element of competition or prize winning and no deadline except to reach Berwick on Sunday. We were humans being in the wilderness not human beings competing in the wilderness. A group of young women once asked Hamish Brown to advise them on what they needed for a trip into the wilderness. He was tempted to offer his services as a guide but he wrote back to say that all they needed was a bus ticket.
Useful Kit
In this target driven society saving weight costs an arm and a leg. I buy the best I can and make do with the rest.
Some kit can save your life: a quick drying Buffalo or Montane fleece, an air breathable Goretex bivvy bag, a down sleeping bag, (provided you keep it dry).
For canoe camping a tent can be a nuisance. You wake up either hot and sweaty or cold and damp. The breeze under a tarp or over your bivvy bag dries your kit out.
5 coloured dry bags help you find your stuff, one for day time, for night time, one for valuables, one for day food, and a barrel for the rest.
A saw helps to cut driftwood short for a quick fire. It also helps to clear branches that obstruct fishing, cut poles for a tarp or cut someone out of a boat in emergency.
An ice axe digs a toilet in stony ground, acts as an anchor (with a milk bottle and stones attached), and acts as a belay point for rescues and abseiling.
For cold, wet feet I might invest in some socks from:
http://www.chillcheater.com
For camping equipment and good advice try:
http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/
If you want a reflective book on walking in the hills look out for:
Hamish's Mountain Walk by Hamish Brown. I heard him speak when we lived in the Orkneys. He has also put poetry together into collected works.
Monday, 31 May 2010
Yoga, psoas, hip flexors, dislocated patella, Sciatica, BP Oil leak, contentment
Nearly did not go to yoga on Saturday. Monday and Tuesday were both hip openers, hard on the groin when you have had a double hernia operation. Guess what he concentrated on - hip openers and groin stretches; came home feeling like John Wayne after a long ride on a horse.
Saw a few people over the weekend. You can tell by the sound of urgency in their voice whether they really need to see you now. A lady had mid back pain for three months. After lots of tests and seeing specialists the conclusion was gall stones. Even the orthopaedic specialist thought it was nothing to do with the joints or muscles. Two weeks after the operation she had exactly the same pain. It turned out to be short hip flexors, especially psoas and a rib that was a fraction out of place. There are some major nerve ganglions (or junctions) right underneath the rib heads. the psoas muscles interlock with the cross shaped tendons of the diaphragm into the ribs between the kidneys. The diaphragm acts slightly upwards and the psoas muscles act downwards.
A young woman came in panic and great pain about her knee. The meniscus was stuck and she could not straighten the leg. You have to work very firmly and gently with knees. A few months ago she had come with her father because of the other knee. She had been to the drop in centre with a severely swollen knee. The doctor on duty had examined it and told her to take a hot bath. I have a great respect for doctors but it takes a nose dive when someone gives the wrong advice. The knee cap was completely dislocated. We sat her up straight with her father behind her to shorten the quadriceps. I took the leg into strong traction and worked for 35 minutes to ease the patella (knee cap) back into place. My colleague Vanya had to wipe away the sweat that was dripping off my forehead. We cooled it down and it has been fine every since.
Someone else came with sciatica. Sciatica is pain, tingling, electric, fuzzy feeling, deep aching in the back of one or both legs, running from the gluteal muscles, down the back or outside of the leg, into the calf muscles and sometimes to the foot. It can affect the toes especially the big toe. We will talk about it another time. Tell me if you have found ways of relieving sciatica.
The thought occurred to me that perhaps BP will never block the oil leak. We love to blame someone, but it happened to be them not some other oil company. As human beings we need to accept the responsibility for poisoning our planet. Using non recyclable laminated plastics in packaging, being lazy about recycling Constantly buying and throwing away plastics, using our cars without a second thought or offering lifts to others are all ways that we put pressure on companies like BP to keep that oil spewing out of the earth for our convenience.
We had a couple in their eighties round for tea tonight. It struck me how content they were. Yet the other In laws of the same family are suffering. What is the difference. Both men started on the same job level. This one was a rep for a timber merchant and worked until he was 70 years old. The other man had higher ambitions and drove himself to earn a lot more money until he was a director of his company. He travelled the world with his wife and made many friends in exotic places. Then he suffered panic attacks and could not travel any more. He could hardly drive his Range Rover and lost all his confidence. It was a kind of M.E. Perhaps M.E. affects driven people more than contented people?
"Ambition is a hard task master."
Who has the better quality of life now? When my mother died my dad decided that he would sell his perfect house with the perfect garden. Perfection became a burden to him. Most of his life he and his wife had acquired possessions. (They had 10 teapots!). He went off around the country on National Trust trips, walked a bit with the ramblers, or sat in the pub at lunchtime and waited for the group to arrive, found himself a lady friend who would go to the teashops with him and buy the most expensive meals there. He would drink half a bottle of wine with his grand children and do all of the things that he had not been allowed to do when he was married.
He died at 92 a contented man.
ps if you want to buy a bargain flat in Warwick have a look at:
http://flatinwarwick.wordpress.com
Saw a few people over the weekend. You can tell by the sound of urgency in their voice whether they really need to see you now. A lady had mid back pain for three months. After lots of tests and seeing specialists the conclusion was gall stones. Even the orthopaedic specialist thought it was nothing to do with the joints or muscles. Two weeks after the operation she had exactly the same pain. It turned out to be short hip flexors, especially psoas and a rib that was a fraction out of place. There are some major nerve ganglions (or junctions) right underneath the rib heads. the psoas muscles interlock with the cross shaped tendons of the diaphragm into the ribs between the kidneys. The diaphragm acts slightly upwards and the psoas muscles act downwards.
A young woman came in panic and great pain about her knee. The meniscus was stuck and she could not straighten the leg. You have to work very firmly and gently with knees. A few months ago she had come with her father because of the other knee. She had been to the drop in centre with a severely swollen knee. The doctor on duty had examined it and told her to take a hot bath. I have a great respect for doctors but it takes a nose dive when someone gives the wrong advice. The knee cap was completely dislocated. We sat her up straight with her father behind her to shorten the quadriceps. I took the leg into strong traction and worked for 35 minutes to ease the patella (knee cap) back into place. My colleague Vanya had to wipe away the sweat that was dripping off my forehead. We cooled it down and it has been fine every since.
Someone else came with sciatica. Sciatica is pain, tingling, electric, fuzzy feeling, deep aching in the back of one or both legs, running from the gluteal muscles, down the back or outside of the leg, into the calf muscles and sometimes to the foot. It can affect the toes especially the big toe. We will talk about it another time. Tell me if you have found ways of relieving sciatica.
The thought occurred to me that perhaps BP will never block the oil leak. We love to blame someone, but it happened to be them not some other oil company. As human beings we need to accept the responsibility for poisoning our planet. Using non recyclable laminated plastics in packaging, being lazy about recycling Constantly buying and throwing away plastics, using our cars without a second thought or offering lifts to others are all ways that we put pressure on companies like BP to keep that oil spewing out of the earth for our convenience.
We had a couple in their eighties round for tea tonight. It struck me how content they were. Yet the other In laws of the same family are suffering. What is the difference. Both men started on the same job level. This one was a rep for a timber merchant and worked until he was 70 years old. The other man had higher ambitions and drove himself to earn a lot more money until he was a director of his company. He travelled the world with his wife and made many friends in exotic places. Then he suffered panic attacks and could not travel any more. He could hardly drive his Range Rover and lost all his confidence. It was a kind of M.E. Perhaps M.E. affects driven people more than contented people?
"Ambition is a hard task master."
Who has the better quality of life now? When my mother died my dad decided that he would sell his perfect house with the perfect garden. Perfection became a burden to him. Most of his life he and his wife had acquired possessions. (They had 10 teapots!). He went off around the country on National Trust trips, walked a bit with the ramblers, or sat in the pub at lunchtime and waited for the group to arrive, found himself a lady friend who would go to the teashops with him and buy the most expensive meals there. He would drink half a bottle of wine with his grand children and do all of the things that he had not been allowed to do when he was married.
He died at 92 a contented man.
ps if you want to buy a bargain flat in Warwick have a look at:
http://flatinwarwick.wordpress.com
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