The totally off-topic thread

[drron]

Well done to the Roar.
2-1 in the Grand final.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Anyone seen this video.

Look Up.

Computers and technology have their place, a few times I have used the map features on my Iphone, but mindlessly looking at that small screen means you can miss a few things.

 

[JohnK]

A positive post from Johnk, I almost don't believe it.

Maybe the engagement has given you a new positive streak in life, congratulations.

I am always positive about things I can control.

You think I am negative but most of those are things beyond my control. I do not believe in miracles and make a statement based on information and lifetime trends known to me which others fnd difficult to understand.

 

[drross]

Well done to the Roar.
2-1 in the Grand final.

3 times in 4 years! Excellent outcome. Go QLD! Bring on state of origin.

 

[JohnK]

Go QLD! Bring on state of origin.

The little brother syndrome again?

As long as it keeps you happy....

 

[JohnK]

Re: Heads up about program changes

More importantly, does she play golf??

The most important thing of all is that she loves to follow me around the golf course. I would love for her to learn how to play but that could be later.

Let's get through the engagement first. Then plan on using my Qantas points on some Oneworld awards.

 

[whatmeworry]

Presenteeism is as bad as absenteeism. It has a large impact, from the basic spread of communicable diseases such as gastro and colds and influenza to worsening health effects and mental health issues.

Underlying this is the archaic view, shared by many bosses, that taking a day off is somehow bad. If your work is that important that you can't miss a day, then what will happen when you die?

Truth is, the world will go on and only your family and good friends will care. Your boss will just hire someone else.

My boss is a workaholic and has no qualms coming into work sick to infect us. I think 3 of the last 4 times I was ill was a direct result of him coming in to infect us.

I actually took had a sick day off last week because of him!

He also had a heart attack 3 years ago at only the age of 50. He quit smoking and started riding his bike to work...

However his company will eventually be bought out by another company in 2 years time and since the eventual buyout his has resumed smoking again... I think to cope with the stress.

 

[JohnK]

Congratulations JohnK,

I'll talk to you sometime soon as we may just be able to do the engagement party.

I have been trying to get the engagement organised but not easy being here and my fiancee in Chiang Mai.

Looks like we will have 2 engagement parties.

- One will be June 03 in village at her mum's house with some family and friends from the village. I will more than likely be the only farang there. Not looking forward to it but must be done.
- Second will more than likely be on June 01 in a restaurant in Chiang Mai inviting some of her closest friends and her favourite boss

We can have a chat at Ozfest if we get the chance.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I have been trying to get the engagement organised but not easy being here and my fiancee in Chiang Mai.

Looks like we will have 2 engagement parties.

- One will be June 03 in village at her mum's house with some family and friends from the village. I will more than likely be the only farang there. Not looking forward to it but must be done.
- Second will more than likely be on June 01 in a restaurant in Chiang Mai inviting some of her closest friends and her favourite boss

We can have a chat at Ozfest if we get the chance.

Congratulations JohnK.
Best wishes to you both

 

[Bundy Bear]

Not sure if anyone has seen this article from The Age.

The key to a long healthy life is not exercise or diet, its strong social connections - in other words friends. The problem: men suck at friendship.

That is not to say you shouldn't exercise and eat well, but, A single good friend can make as much as a 10-year difference in life expectancy.

Read more: Why friends can make men live longer
​

 

[rogerkambah]

I have been trying to get the engagement organised but not easy being here and my fiancee in Chiang Mai.

Looks like we will have 2 engagement parties.

- One will be June 03 in village at her mum's house with some family and friends from the village. I will more than likely be the only farang there. Not looking forward to it but must be done.
- Second will more than likely be on June 01 in a restaurant in Chiang Mai inviting some of her closest friends and her favourite boss

We can have a chat at Ozfest if we get the chance.

Being the only farang in the party is not unusual, unless you have other farang friends. I hope you can speak Thai.

 

[drross]

The little brother syndrome again?

As long as it keeps you happy....

Nothing better than the feeling of upsetting the coughy big brother

 

[TonyHancock]

Re: Heads up about program changes

The most important thing of all is that she loves to follow me around the golf course. I would love for her to learn how to play but that could be later.

Let's get through the engagement first. Then plan on using my Qantas points on some Oneworld awards.

Get a pre nuptial to protect your QF points

 

[jetlagger]

I have been trying to get the engagement organised but not easy being here and my fiancee in Chiang Mai.

Looks like we will have 2 engagement parties.

- One will be June 03 in village at her mum's house with some family and friends from the village. I will more than likely be the only farang there. Not looking forward to it but must be done.
- Second will more than likely be on June 01 in a restaurant in Chiang Mai inviting some of her closest friends and her favourite boss

We can have a chat at Ozfest if we get the chance.

Congratulations JohnK!
Well done.. I'll join you in a celebration as time avails.

 

[somebol]

Calling all the doctors on AFF.

Early April, I started showing symptoms of jaundice so I got myself admitted. Blood tests showed my bilirubin count was 180. Over the next couple of days the count increased to 450.
I had ultrasound and abdominal CT scans done, both results were normal and showed no reason for my Jaundice. Although the pancreas was not visualised in ultrasound.

Because apart from the Jaundice I had no other symptoms, I was discharged from the hospital. A MRCP was organised for later in the week.

Day after I underwent MRCP, the doctors asked me back to the hospital to discuss the results. I was told that the MRCP showed liver lesions and they were pretty sure that I potentially could have cancer. They organised an appointment with upper GI surgeon at the cancer centre.

The next day, I met the surgeon and his team, he told me that my tumour markers count was 12000 which is very high. He wanted me to undergo an ERCP to check for potential blockages in my bile duct and also get some samples for biopsy.

The ERCP was ok, they found a couple of gall stones and also installed as stent to improve the flow of bilirubin. There was also a stricture of the bile duct. The biopsy of the samples obtained during ERCP was also negative. But the surgeons wanted to perform couple of other tests to be certain that I had no cancer, because they were very concerned about the high tumour markers.

So I underwent a PET scan and an endoscopic ultrasound. Unfortunately in the EUS they found mass on the head of pancreas from which they retrieved samples for biopsy.

This biopsy was also negative. But my surgeon recommended I undergo the whipple procedure as they were very concerned about the mass on the head of pancreas. They said, even though the biopsy was negative it is not 100% conclusive that the mass was not cancerous. They also recommended I undergo a liver biopsy to checkout the liver lesions.

Last friday I had the liver biopsy. I am scheduled for surgery on Thursday week.

So what I have could be
1. Pancreatic cancer
2. Bile duct cancer
3. Liver cancer
4. No cancer

Appreciate any thoughts from our resident doctors about my case.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Calling all the doctors on AFF.

Early April, I started showing symptoms of jaundice so I got myself admitted. Blood tests showed my bilirubin count was 180. Over the next couple of days the count increased to 450.
I had ultrasound and abdominal CT scans done, both results were normal and showed no reason for my Jaundice. Although the pancreas was not visualised in ultrasound.

Because apart from the Jaundice I had no other symptoms, I was discharged from the hospital. A MRCP was organised for later in the week.

Day after I underwent MRCP, the doctors asked me back to the hospital to discuss the results. I was told that the MRCP showed liver lesions and they were pretty sure that I potentially could have cancer. They organised an appointment with upper GI surgeon at the cancer centre.

The next day, I met the surgeon and his team, he told me that my tumour markers count was 12000 which is very high. He wanted me to undergo an ERCP to check for potential blockages in my bile duct and also get some samples for biopsy.

The ERCP was ok, they found a couple of gall stones and also installed as stent to improve the flow of bilirubin. There was also a stricture of the bile duct. The biopsy of the samples obtained during ERCP was also negative. But the surgeons wanted to perform couple of other tests to be certain that I had no cancer, because they were very concerned about the high tumour markers.

So I underwent a PET scan and an endoscopic ultrasound. Unfortunately in the EUS they found mass on the head of pancreas from which they retrieved samples for biopsy.

This biopsy was also negative. But my surgeon recommended I undergo the whipple procedure as they were very concerned about the mass on the head of pancreas. They said, even though the biopsy was negative it is not 100% conclusive that the mass was not cancerous. They also recommended I undergo a liver biopsy to checkout the liver lesions.

Last friday I had the liver biopsy. I am scheduled for surgery on Thursday week.

So what I have could be
1. Pancreatic cancer
2. Bile duct cancer
3. Liver cancer
4. No cancer

Appreciate any thoughts from our resident doctors about my case.

I'm being pretty honest here when I say that the internet is fraught with danger when seeking a medical opinion. A Whipple's procedure is major surgery and I'm sure that your doctors wouldn't be recommending you have it without a very good reason for doing so.
I wish you all the best for the surgery this week and I think that you should place your trust in the team looking after you.

 

[whatmeworry]

Not sure if anyone has seen this article from The Age.



That is not to say you shouldn't exercise and eat well, but, A single good friend can make as much as a 10-year difference in life expectancy.

Read more: Why friends can make men live longer
​

Cambridge professors Jacqueline Olds and Richard Schwartz, writing in The Lonely American: Drifting Apart in the Twenty-First Century, point to a current tendency among adults to build stronger, more intimate marriages at the expense of almost all other social connections. In a study of contemporary childcare arrangements, they found a deep sense of loneliness among many parents, especially men. ‘‘Almost every father we spoke with explained that he had lost contact with most of his male friends,’’ they write. And lest you believe family is company enough, the 2005 Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing showed that family relationships have almost no impact on longevity. Friendships, by contrast, boosted life span as much as 22 per cent.

So man are harming their health by pleasing their wives?

 

[drross]

Calling all the doctors on AFF.

Early April, I started showing symptoms of jaundice so I got myself admitted. Blood tests showed my bilirubin count was 180. Over the next couple of days the count increased to 450.
I had ultrasound and abdominal CT scans done, both results were normal and showed no reason for my Jaundice. Although the pancreas was not visualised in ultrasound.

Because apart from the Jaundice I had no other symptoms, I was discharged from the hospital. A MRCP was organised for later in the week.

Day after I underwent MRCP, the doctors asked me back to the hospital to discuss the results. I was told that the MRCP showed liver lesions and they were pretty sure that I potentially could have cancer. They organised an appointment with upper GI surgeon at the cancer centre.

The next day, I met the surgeon and his team, he told me that my tumour markers count was 12000 which is very high. He wanted me to undergo an ERCP to check for potential blockages in my bile duct and also get some samples for biopsy.

The ERCP was ok, they found a couple of gall stones and also installed as stent to improve the flow of bilirubin. There was also a stricture of the bile duct. The biopsy of the samples obtained during ERCP was also negative. But the surgeons wanted to perform couple of other tests to be certain that I had no cancer, because they were very concerned about the high tumour markers.

So I underwent a PET scan and an endoscopic ultrasound. Unfortunately in the EUS they found mass on the head of pancreas from which they retrieved samples for biopsy.

This biopsy was also negative. But my surgeon recommended I undergo the whipple procedure as they were very concerned about the mass on the head of pancreas. They said, even though the biopsy was negative it is not 100% conclusive that the mass was not cancerous. They also recommended I undergo a liver biopsy to checkout the liver lesions.

Last friday I had the liver biopsy. I am scheduled for surgery on Thursday week.

So what I have could be
1. Pancreatic cancer
2. Bile duct cancer
3. Liver cancer
4. No cancer

Appreciate any thoughts from our resident doctors about my case.

Whipples is abig op. You don't do it for fun or practice. Your tumour markers are a concern.. I presume it is CEA? Recovery post op is usually slow and maybe rather uncomfortable ( bloody painful really). Good luck somebol

 

[Shelf]

Not sure if anyone has seen this article from The Age.



That is not to say you shouldn't exercise and eat well, but, A single good friend can make as much as a 10-year difference in life expectancy.

Read more: Why friends can make men live longer
​

A very interesting article!

 

[Deleted member]

Not sure if anyone has seen this article from The Age.



That is not to say you shouldn't exercise and eat well, but, A single good friend can make as much as a 10-year difference in life expectancy.

Read more: Why friends can make men live longer
​

Even if it's not true, the upside has to be a more interesting and vibrant life.
Interesting read