I've had this succulent for about 10 years. I got it from IKEA when my sister moved to her first home after university. it was a scrawny little thing when I first got it, now it's got about 10 generations in one pot. I love it
Last year, my husband bought us tickets to see MCR last night. I've been wanting to see them for over half my life, and just missed out on seeing them when I was 13/14 during their Danger Days tour shortly before they announced they were splitting up. So of course, I'm not missing this. I've posted a few times about being stuck in a prolonged pain flare, and it's still ongoing and getting progressively worse. I was prepared to be in a lot of pain today, but honestly I wasn't prepared for this amount. I cannot move without pain. I can't breathe properly. I'm struggling with bone deep fatigue and my daughter just doesn't understand (will be showing her surgery incisions to explain the soreness and healing as I think not seeing something physical causing my pain is confusing her). I absolutely loved last night and do not regret a thing, but I'm so upset that I'm in as much pain as I am just now. I knew that I'd be tired and sore today, that's a given after a concert anyway (minimal jumping around, just standing relatively stationary) but especially during a flare. But fucking hell this is agony
We had just had a story (Oh The Places You'll Go!) while I dried her hair after a bath, and another one (Green Eggs & Ham) while snuggled in bed, when she started asking for another book. I started out with no, then decided I cba with that tantrum as I'm in a shit load of pain from an endo flare, and asked which book she wanted. "Bugs bunny!" .. we do not have any bugs bunny books, I was confused for a solid 30 seconds before I realised. She meant The Velveteen Rabbit π€¦πΌββοΈ showed her the book to confirm, and she fell asleep midway through the first chapter. Just a funny little thing that happened because my child thinks every animal has one name (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, our pets' names apply to every cat and dog etc)
My house is constant chaos with the toddler, cats being morons, and this silly sausage. But I wouldn't change a thing π also apologies for the chaos of the video. I was trying to keep my daughter's face out of it whilst battling the sausage π
Edit: thanks for the award! π
picked up this beautiful orchid from my local Morrisons today! advertised as a double stem when it's actually a triple!! I saw it the other day and haven't stopped thinking about it so we went on a trip to get it after some other errands π
Not sure if the flair is correct since these are stickers and I didn't paint them myself. I did my nails for the first time in MONTHS yesterday (I'm a nurse and can't have nails done) to try and cheer myself up during this ridiculous endo flare. It kinda worked? The little bees and ladybugs make me smile, and my daughter is enamoured with them which makes me happy by default ππ
Hi, I started a post at the beginning of May (qualified since 2019, moved trusts). I was diagnosed with endometriosis last year, and it had been causing some issues in my previous post, however it's gotten significantly worse over the last 6 months, and since March I've been on pretty strong painkillers to be able to function (tramadol & diclofenac). Unfortunately, it's just getting worse each week, and as a result I've been off work since the end of May, with my pain hitting an 8-9/10 on the regular. I've tried so much to try and help it alongside my pain relief (physio, heat packs/hot water bottles, hot baths, "special" teas etc), and none of it helps. I have an excision surgery booked for July, and my line manager is aware of the surgery and the fact that I've been struggling with my endo for a while.
I sent along a fit note extension today as I still feel unable to work the 12 hour shifts and am still in a lot of pain all the time, and it's impacting my life in significant ways. My line manager has now booked a teams meeting for us to discuss this, and specifically mentioned that any further meetings may have HR involved. I'm getting very in my head about this, as I have made everyone who needs to know aware of my situation, and I feel like I'm about to be told I may lose my job if this continues (I tend to catastrophise). Can anyone help me chill out and give me advice on what might be mentioned in this meeting? I can't help but feel like my line manager/other staff on the ward think I'm taking the piss when I'm really not, I hate being off work and being unable to do the most basic of tasks.
Edit: I want to clarify that the teas are ones like raspberry leaf, chamomile/peppermint together etc. They're from a company who apparently specialises in making teas for conditions like endo etc and that's why I worded it like that
Edit 2: I should have added, this extended absence is my third which is why I'm getting concerned about the meeting and any potential ones with HR. I've tried pushing through and working during the flare but that ends badly and makes me worse in the long run
As the title says. I've been in constant pain since November (?) 2025, started Dienogest in January 2026, which has stopped my periods but not much else that I've noticed. Since March, the pain has gotten so much worse, to the point I've had tramadol and diclofenac prescribed to manage it, and I'm on the highest doses of each of these and I'm having to take them regularly to try and manage the pain. I can barely sleep or eat. I'm currently signed off work until next week but chances are I'll have to extend that again because I physically can't do my job. I have surgery in mid-July which is great! But I need to actually reach that point and I don't know what to do anymore. TENS machines don't work, heat packs/hot water bottles don't work, hot baths don't work. I have no energy to do the things I love, even reading and cross stitch which are very low energy. I can barely parent my child, she's 2.5 years old and always wants to play and I have to constantly say to her that I can't because I'm too sore. I don't want this to be her early memories of me, but I can't be up all the time with her, because she's so energetic and constantly on the go (as you can imagine). I feel so fucking guilty every time I tell her that, because I want to play with her and join in her games, but I can't. And then the main bulk of parenting lands on my husband along with everything else in the house because I'm just stuck in this pain loop that's getting progressively worse. I want to scream. I'm so sick and tired of this and I just don't know how I'm going to manage getting to my surgery date at this point. I don't expect any responses to this, I just wanted to vent somewhere other than my husband because he always gets it since I'm a bit of a social hermit.
To preface, I have discussed all of this with my husband and he's so supportive and understanding of my fears, but I just need a place to vent that isn't him because he gets it all the time as I'm a bit of a social hermit.
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I had my MRI with and without contrast on June 10th ahead of my surgery in July. My consultant has said once she has the report she will let me know and give me the information, which is incredibly helpful for me so I don't catastrophise like I currently am.
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I've got two fears/worries. The first one being that the MRI won't show much of anything, and my surgery will do the same, meaning my endo has been so superficial for the amount of pain I'm in all the time, basically meaning I've been pathetic about the pain.
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The second one is the exact opposite. That the MRI will show such extensive and severe endo that the initial plan of excision will end up with us having to discuss hysterectomy instead, obviously leaving me infertile.
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We already have a daughter who is my entire world, and we've had many discussions around what we would do if I ended up being unable to carry another child. I would love to be able to give my daughter a sibling because she would honestly be the best big sister, but also if I can't then that's okay because she's an incredible little girl. I do want a hysterectomy in the future, but preferably after second child is born.
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I know these fears are coming because I don't have results yet and it's the unknown but they're just constantly nagging at me right now and it's frustrating as hell.
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Thanks for reading my daft vent
After having my consultant suggest a potential emergency admission to manage my pain earlier this week, today he managed to convince me to go to A&E. I've told him previously they won't be able to do anything, but I still went because hey, consultant suggested it and I'm genuinely very stuck just now. I spent 5 hours there, had bloods done and urine dipped, to be told to visit a chronic pain website and that taking pain medication for long periods actually makes the pain worse (more likely that your body adjusts to the meds but heyho). I'm frustrated at the whole situation, not so much with my husband because I know he was doing it with my best interests at heart. It's just so frustrating that nothing can be done to help things like this and you're sent home with "go to this website and just keep pushing through". I'm still sore as hell, exhausted and bruised now from bloods today and yesterday. I'm going to enjoy a cuddle with my daughter before she sleeps and then go cuddle my dog and husband.
Hi! I've been stuck in a pain loop for a few months now, resulting in being prescribed tramadol and diclofenac to manage. I'm usually roughly 7/10 on the pain scale (10 being actual childbirth), and as this has become my new "normal", I am able to work and somewhat function.
For nearly two weeks now (π« ), I've had a flare up of pain, going up to 8-9/10, unable to function, can't move, can't eat, can't sleep, can't work, can't parent properly or support my husband with it (she's 2.5 and a handful). The tramadol and diclofenac don't seem to actually do much anymore, however I feel that if I were to stop taking them I'd be screaming in pain. I'm on the highest dose I can take of both of them also.
I emailed my consultant (who will also be performing my excision in July), on Sunday asking for any advice or suggestions to help, as I've taken on board her previous suggestions and started taking fexofenadine, vitamin D, and omega 3 alongside my regular medications and pain relief. Her only suggestion was that I may need an emergency admission to try and manage my pain.
My question is, would the hospital be able to do much more than what I already am doing? I am a nurse so I have a fair knowledge of medications, treatments etc, but I'm paediatric trained so I'm not 100% certain on drug interactions in adults.
Any advice or suggestions are much appreciated! Also so sorry for the long post π
First pic is from Friday (4 days ago) second pic is yesterday. I bought a couple of peony cuttings a few months ago and potted them up with a bunch of other seeds and bulbs (not all in the same pot). This one is doing so well, I'm delighted! The other one isn't doing much at all, so I'm getting concerned it's a dud but I'm going to leave it be and see if something magically appears in time. For now, I'll continue to be very excited with this one!
My daughter has a few of my old toys (my mum kept everything), and one of her new favourites is one that was my favourite growing up too! My old Pound Puppies van π she also loves my old Woody doll, whose boots you can see in the photo! I love that so many of my old favourites she loves too, and it gives me a reason to play with them again
she's 3 in almost 2 weeks! she's my daughter's absolute best friend, my little shadow (who I constantly trip over..) and just the best dog. she has her moments where she can be an absolute dickhead, but of course she does! we took her home when I was 5 months pregnant and yes it was an insane decision but it was also the best decision. my Tala π
I'm having my first planned surgery in roughly six weeks (both my previous surgeries - 1 not endo/gynae related - have been emergencies π« ) and I have no idea how to prepare. what should I pack/have prepped for when I'm home and in recovery? I've seen that pregnancy pillows can help? thankfully I've already got one of those, but what else should I have on hand? thanks in advance!! π
This evening myself and my husband went to an appointment (booked via our Bupa insurance) with a gynaecologist consultant who specialised in endometriosis. She listened to my whole history, acknowledged how frustrated I've been and actually came up with a plan that targets multiple areas. I'm getting physio for potential musculoskeletal injury during my rather traumatic labour and general pelvic strength exercises, an MRI to check where the endo is and the progress of my ovarian cyst that's been there for who knows how long at this point, and after the MRI she's going to book me in for laparoscopy that she will personally perform, stage my endometriosis and tell me where it is etc, and it will be excision surgery!! I'm over the moon that I have a plan in place with a rough timeline, especially since my previous experiences with gynaecologists haven't been the best. I feel a massive weight off my shoulders now
Hi! I have some old rings my grandmother gave me/kept aside for me as a child, and I was hoping for some help identifying some of the stones/ages of the rings if that's possible? The two dark stone rings I already know are sapphires, as they have previously been resized and indentified by a jeweller, however I don't have any other information. The one with the light blue stone has no hallmark unfortunately, but I've no idea what the stone is if someone could help with that! I believe a couple were possibly my great-grandmother's but I'm not entirely certain about which ones (if any) these are. I have put the photos of the ring next to their hallmarks so they all line up. Thanks in advance!!
I've been in a flare for quite a while now and right now, I'm on 100mg of tramadol 4x a day and 50mg of diclofenac 3x a day. I took these long enough ago that they should have kicked in by now but I'm still in 9/10 pain and I genuinely have no idea what to do to manage this anymore. I can't really take codeine because I react to it, and was given tramadol as it's an adjacent (?) to codeine so there was still a chance I'd react. at this point I'll take the fucking reaction I just need some proper relief from this pain. Heat pads/hot water bottles only work for so long and they need to be the hottest they can go, which in turn has led to me being covered in blisters which have scarred. TENS machines are the same (minus blisters/scarring), but I'm allergic to the adhesive so my skin gets irritated and peels if I use them for too long. I'm just stuck in a rut and I don't know how to manage this pain